Jane Stevenson Book order

An illustrated history of Siena, one of the most-visited cities in Italy.

The one-eyed mercenary soldier Federico da Montefeltro, lord of Urbino between 1444 and 1482, was one of the most successful condottiere of the Italian Renaissance: renowned humanist, patron of the artist Piero della Francesca, and creator of one of the most celebrated libraries in Italy outside the Vatican. From 1460 until her early death in 1472 he was married to Battista, of the formidable Sforza family, their partnership apparently blissful. In the fine palace he built overlooking Urbino, Federico assembled a court regarded by many as representing a high point of Renaissance culture. For Baldassare Castiglione, Federico was la luce dell'Italia - 'the light of Italy'. Jane Stevenson's affectionate account of Urbino's flowering and decline casts revelatory light on patronage, politics and humanism in fifteenth-century Italy. As well as recounting the gripping stories of Federico and his Montefeltro and della Rovere successors, Stevenson considers in details Federico's cultural legacy - investigating the palace itself, the splendours of the ducal library, and his other architectural projects in Gubbio and elsewhere.

Jane Stevenson's new book, A Trail of Two Telegraphs, is a fascinating collection of historic tales that portray the strong pioneering spirit of BC's rugged North from Prince George to Prince Rupert. Stevenson writes of Perry Collins's dream, in 1864, of connecting North America to Europe by telegraph. She introduces us to Captain Charles East, whose mission it was to recover Japanese fire balloons in Northern BC during the Second World War. She shares the adventures of iconic characters such as Jean-Jacques Caux, "Cataline," an intrepid businessman and obstinate mule driver, and Charles Hoetzky, who journeyed by foot and dog sled from Fort Edmonton to Fort Simpson in 1872. In A Trail of Two Telegraphs, Jane combines tantalizing new tales with stories from her popular history column published in Northword magazine. This richly illustrated collection is guaranteed to satisfy anyone who loves a good yarn.

Every writer aspire to create a character like Hamlet or a Love story like Romeo and Juliet. But how did Shakespeare create characters of such compelling psychological depth? What makes his stories so romantic, funny, heartbreaking, and gripping? Why have his creations stood the test of time? Shakespeare for Screenwriters is the first book to use Shakespeare's works to examine the fundamentals of screenwriting, breaking down beloved characters, stories, and scenes to uncover timeless storytelling secrets. Book jacket.

The story of the railway has never been told in such a charming voice as in these letters by Bernice Medbury Martin. Bernice Medbury married railroader Leslie Martin in 1912 and arrived later that year in Prince Rupert at the height of rock blasting and railroad building. Lonely for her family in Wisconsin, Bernice wrote frequent letters home in which she described in striking detail the machinery and mudslides, the weather and the wilderness, the local characters and the outrageous cost of supplies. She wrote of her frustration at the slow pace of the railway work and her happiness at an invitation to a social event many miles away. She lived in a tent at Kitselas, a hotel in Hazelton, a shack in the Bulkley Valley and a hand-hewn log cabin at Decker Lake. Bernice's letters span the two final years of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway track building and are neatly woven together by Jane Stevenson's well-researched narration. A stunning collection of photographs illustrates the enormous task of constructing a railway along the Skeena River, through the Bulkley Valley and on to Burns Lake. Bernice travelled to a land her friends and family could not imagine, where she experienced the challenges and joys of the Canadian western frontier and witnessed the construction of the truly "Grand" Trunk Pacific Railway, until the last spike was driven near her home early in the spring of 1914.

Edward Burra never followed the fashion: in the thirties, when modern art was dominated by abstraction and landscape, he painted people; Inventive, entertaining and unique, his writing expresses a man who combined profound personal loyalty with distaste for any kind of emotional grandstanding.

Focusing on the life of Christ, this historical exegesis is the sole complete text attributed to Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury, highlighting the significance of Canterbury as the first school of Anglo-Saxon England. This edition includes translation and commentary, contributing to a broader reassessment of the intellectual environment of the time. Jane Stevenson’s introduction explores the context of the work, supports Theodore's authorship, and advocates for a reevaluation of Anglo-Saxon cultural foundations.

A collection of four novellas, it was unashamedly erudite, marvellously witty and just a little bit cruel. It revived a neglected form quite brilliantly. Now, after four acclaimed novels, she returns with another sparkling novella collection.

Set in the late seventeenth century, the story follows Balthasar Stuart, a biracial doctor grappling with his complex identity as the illegitimate son of a Bohemian queen and an African prince. After fleeing the plague in Holland, he navigates the morally ambiguous landscape of Restoration London, crossing paths with the enigmatic Aphra Behn. His journey leads him to colonial Barbados, a society rife with slavery and racism. The novel vividly portrays historical details, including speech, cuisine, fashion, and medical practices, creating an immersive experience.

The sequel to Astraea, The Pretender is the second part of Jane Stevenson's trilogy. Balthasar van Overmeer is the son of the secret marriage between Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of James I, and an exiled African prince. We see him first as a young medical student in Holland, then as a doctor in Middleburg, where he becomes involved with Aphra Behn, an English intelligence agent and later a playwright, in Restoration London and in the developing colonial society of Barbados. As he matures he is forced to come to terms with his peculiar upbringing and to explore his strange and powerful heritage, both black and white.