Penguin Books

Not simply an investigation into melancholy, these unique essays form part of a panoramic celebration of human behaviour from the time of the ancients to the Renaissance. God, devils, old age, diet, drunkenness, love and beauty are each given equal consideration in this all-encompassing examination of the human condition....

Rousseau's explosive cry for human liberty helped to spark the French Revolution and has haunted our discussion of how we should rule one another ever since - seen as both a blueprint for political terror and as a fundamental statement of democracy....

Describing the silliness and 'feminine fatuity' of many popular books by lady novelists, George Eliot perfectly skewers the formulaic yet bestselling works that dominated her time, with their loveably flawed heroines. She also examines the great women writers of France and their enrichment of the culture, and the varying qualities of literary...

Woolf's blazing polemic on female creativity, the role of the writer, and the silent fate of Shakespeare's imaginary sister remains a powerful reminder of a woman's need for financial independence and intellectual freedom....

Written during Karl Marx's brilliant career as a polemical journalist, these blazing pieces tackle subjects ranging from the strikes of angry British workers to insurrection in Europe, from the American Civil War to the misery of colonial rule in India, demonstrating the radical spirit and outrage at social injustice that would make him one of the...

Today The Pronce is still seen as the Bible of realpolitik, read by strategists, businessmen and political animals everywhere as the ultimate guide to gaining and maintaining power in a dangerous world....