T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral is both a fascinating retelling of the twelfth-century assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket and a compelling call for resistance in the face of intimidation. Written against the backdrop of rising Fascism in twentieth-century Europe, Eliot’s classic verse play is as relevant now as it ever was. This re-release of the original 1953 recording stars Robert Donat whose commanding performance as the Archbishop, alongside a full cast, is widely celebrate...

Issues of identity have always been central to the American musical in all its guises. Who appears in musicals, who or what they are meant to represent, and how, over time, those representations have been understood and interpreted, provide the very basis for our engagement with the genre. In this third volume of the reissued Oxford Handbook of the American Musical, chapters focus on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, regional vs. national identity, and the cultural and class...

For the past several years, the American musical has continued to thrive by reflecting and shaping cultural values and social norms, and even commenting on politics, whether directly and on a national scale (Hamilton) or somewhat more obliquely and on a more intimate scale (Fun Home). New stage musicals, such as Come from Away and The Band's Visit, open on Broadway every season, challenging conventions of form and content, and revivals offer audiences a ...

The American musical is a paradox. On stage or screen, musicals at once hold a dominant and a contested place in the worlds of entertainment, art, and scholarship. Born from a mélange of performance forms that included opera and operetta, vaudeville and burlesque, minstrelsy and jazz, musicals have always sought to amuse more than instruct, and to make money more than make political change. In spite of their unapologetic commercialism, though, musicals have achieved supreme artistry and ha...

Four girls share a cabin in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack haunts isolated campers.Shelley is the new girl with her own haunted past.Mack made things awkward by kissing her best friend.Priya thinks she's ready to take the next step with her boyfriend.Raffi has a flair for drama, and convinces them all to hold a seance.But when you call on the darkness, sometimes the d...

The story of Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg and the author's efforts to rescue him from Soviet Union imprisonmentIt is widely known that the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during WWII to save the lives of over 100,000 Jews from Nazi extermination. But what happened after the hero disappeared in 1946? This never-before told story reveals Wallenberg's detention by the Russians and relates the legal and diplomati...

Morris Wolff is a distinguished lawyer, Humanitarian, and United Nations Humanitarian of the Year awardee.One of the defining roles of his life was serving as the first president of AIESEC,where his leadership transformed the organization into a global force for fostering youth leadership and international cooperation. Beyond AIESEC, Wolff has advocated civil rights and human dignity,contributing to achievements like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the rescue of Ho...

It is widely known that the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during WWII to save the lives of over 100,000 Jews from Nazi extermination. But what happened after the hero disappeared in 1946? This never-before told story reveals Wallenberg's detention by the Russians and relates the legal and diplomatic efforts of the author, Morris Wolff, and others to gain (or impede) his release from the Soviet Union. Playing a role in the saga are such participants as Chi...

The prizewinning historian and bestselling author of D-Day, Stalingrad, and The Battle of Arnhem reconstructs the Battle of the Bulge in this riveting new accountOn December 16, 1944, Hitler launched his ‘last gamble’ in the snow-covered forests and gorges of the Ardennes in Belgium, believing he could split the Allies by driving all the way to Antwerp and forcing the Canadians and the British out of the war. Although his generals were do...

Medieval history from a rising star in the field, this is a biography of one of the most important figures of the age, John of Gaunt.John Gaunt was the son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV, and the sire of all those Tudors. He has had pretty bad press: supposed usurper of Richard II’s crown and the focus of hatred in the Peasants’ Revolt, as they torched his home, the Savoy Palace.Helen Carr paints a complex portrait of a man w...

From multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining of the story of Penelope, famed wife of Odysseus, that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. Perfect for fans of The Odyssey and Circe**.**"North brings a powerful, fresh, and unflinching voice to ancient myth. Breathtaking." —Jennifer Saint, au...

""Fiendish good fun."" —Anthony HorowitzFrom the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw...