Showing results by narrator "Linda Barrans" in Politics & Social Sciences

In Celebrated Crimes [eight volumes: this version, 1895], Dumas the elder, recognised master of historical fiction (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers) turns to historical fact. In this volume: Joan of Naples. The much-married queen does what she must to survive ‘the violence and treachery of this barbarous age’. ‘An angel soiled by crime, she lied like Satan himself .’ The Man in The Iron Mask (an essay). How much of the well-known story is fact, and how much fiction?

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.