Sword Song (The Last Kingdom Series, Book 4)


Book Description

*A brand new companion to the Last Kingdom series, Uhtred’s Feast, is available to pre-order now* BBC2 and Netflix TV series THE LAST KINGDOM is based on Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling novels on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. SWORD SONG is the fourth book in the series.







British Books


Book Description







Two Centuries of British Symphonism


Book Description

Die britische Sinfonik ist erst in jüngster Zeit ins allgemeine Interesse gerückt. Ein Überblick über die sinfonische Entwicklung im Vereinigten Königreich seit den Anfängen im 18. Jahrhundert bis ins 20. Jahrhundert blieb aber bis heute ein Desideratum. Der hier vorgelegte Überblick zeigt, wie sich die Identität einer britischen Sinfonik über mehr als hundert Jahre entwickelte, geprägt durch Einflüsse vom europäischen Kontinent und von dem Bedürfnis, eigene Wege zu finden. Gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts nahm das sinfonische Schaffen in Großbritannien stark zu, brachte jedoch erst mit Edward Elgar einen prominenten Vertreter von internationalem Rang hervor. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt dieser Publikation liegt auf jenen Werken, die zu einem gewissen Grade von anderen überschattet wurden, unveröffentlicht oder unaufgeführt blieben. Das Ergebnis ist das Bild einer vielgestaltigen sinfonischen Landschaft Großbritanniens, das die ästhetischen Perspektiven der einzelnen Komponisten wie auch ihre soziokulturellen Kontexte erhellt. Ein umfangreiches Verzeichnis aller bekannten Werke und eine ausführliche Bibliographie laden zu weiterer Erkundung des Sujets ein. Only in relatively recent times has any real attention been given to British symphonies. So a comprehensive survey, showing what exists and how the situation in the United Kingdom developed, from the beginnings in the 18th century until well into the 20th century, is long overdue. The preliminary survey presented here shows how a British symphonic identity gradually took shape over more than a century, through influences from abroad and, at home, enterprising attempts to find new ways of expression. By the end of the 19th century, British symphonists had produced an impressive body of work, yet only with the appearance of Elgar’s two symphonies in the following decade did this flourishing school find a champion of international renown. In this publication, light is shone on those works that have to some extent been overshadowed, as well as on those that have remained unpublished or unperformed. The result is a multi-faceted panorama of British symphonism, offering many insights into the composers’ thinking and their socio-cultural contexts. A comprehensive catalogue of all known works and an extensive bibliography invite readers to delve further into the subject.
















The Middle Kingdom Ramesseum Papyri Tomb and its Archaeological Context


Book Description

In 1895–96, William Matthew Flinders Petrie and James Edward Quibell discovered a shaft-tomb below the ‘Ramesseum’, the funerary temple of Ramses II at Thebes, Egypt. This is most famous for having the largest group of Middle Kingdom papyri – also known as the Ramesseum Papyri – found in a single spot together with a number of distinctive objects, such as carved ivory tusks and miniature figurines in various materials dated around XVIII century BC. Gianluca Miniaci attempts to thoroughly reconstruct the archaeological context of the tomb: the exact find spot (forgotten afterwards its discovery), its architecture, the identity of its owner(s) and recipient(s) of the assemblage of artifacts. A detailed analysis of the single artifacts – provided for the first with full color photographic records and drawings – and their network of relations gives new life to the Ramesseum assemblage after more than a century from its discovery.