Renaissance Great

Elizabeth Fane is on the cusp of 50, but instead of celebrating with her family, she is on a plane to Italy alone, leaving behind her husband, three adult sons, and the profound rift between them.

Spanien, Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. Lázaro schildert dem Leser seinen Aufstieg aus ärmlichen Verhältnissen zum angesehenen Ausrufer in der damaligen spanischen Hauptstadt Toledo. Bis zu diesem Ziel ist jedoch ein langer Weg zu gehen, und Lázaro muss vielen verschiedenen Herren dienen und oft schlechte Behandlung und Leid erdulden. Allerdings lernt er von seinem ersten Herren, einem blinden Wahrsager, auch viele listige Tricks, die ihm den steinigen Weg erleichtern. Welche das sind, verrät er in seinen Erzählungen.

The Renaissance was an era of cultural development during the 14th to the 17th centuries. Beginning in Italy, the learning of the Renaissance soon spread all over Europe, with an emphasis on intellectual inquiry and Classical revival that marked a departure from the Middle Ages. While some Europeans pursued these ideals through art and learning, others explored the world across the oceans.

Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen's court lay Elizabeth's bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed. Elizabeth’s private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge.

History has pictured Elizabeth I as Gloriana, an icon of strength and power - and has focused on the early years of her reign. But in 1583, when Elizabeth is 50, there is relentless plotting among her courtiers - and still to come is the Spanish Armada and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. We have not, until now, had the full picture.

Throughout history, events and people have shaped the world we live in today. Some are famous, whilst others are merely distant figures rarely acknowledged for their contributions. Bringing the periods and events together, seeing them through the lives of such individuals, is illuminating, informative, and enjoyable. This book has all three. History at its most enjoyable. Paul Henke. The History of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs is an essential addition to the personal library of anyone who has the entrepreneurial spark.

On 9th September 1560 Amy Robsart, the wife of Queen Elizabeth’s favourite courtier, Robert Dudley, was found lying dead at the foot of a staircase. It was a death that scandalised Tudor England. Was it an accident, suicide or murder? Robert Dudley’s open flirtation with the young Queen Elizabeth only fuelled rumours that he had orchestrated his own wife’s death. With Dudley now conveniently widowed, perhaps the queen had found her consort at last.

In 1610 Henry Stuart was a celebrity throughout Europe, at a momentous period for European history and culture. Eldest son of James VI and the epitome of heroic Renaissance princely virtue, his life was set against a period about as rich as any. The King James Bible, religious tension throughout Europe, the Gunpowder plot, Jacobean theatre and the dark tragedies pouring from Shakespeare's quill, innovation in learning and science, exploration and trade and the bloody traumas of the Thirty Years' War were his backdrop.