Resultado de "David Pilling" em Todas as categorias

With contributions by: William Boyd, Candice Carty-Williams, Imtiaz Dharker, Roddy Doyle, Pico Iyer, Robert Macfarlane, Andy Miller, Jackie Morris, Jan Morris, Sisonke Msimang, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Michael Ondaatje, David Pilling, Max Porter, Philip Pullman, Alice Pung, Jancis Robinson...

L'imperativo della nostra economia è la crescita - continua, inarrestabile, vertiginosa. È il metro con cui giudichiamo il valore delle nostre società e il prodotto interno lordo è il suo indicatore principale, lo specchio magico che ci dice quanto le nostre economie sono belle e sane, senza, dirci nulla su quanto stiamo bene noi e quanto staranno bene i nostri figli.

A provocative critique of the pieties and fallacies of our obsession with economic growth We live in a society in which a priesthood of economists, wielding impenetrable mathematical formulas, set the framework for public debate. Ultimately, it is the perceived health of the economy which...

1570 AD. The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death.

England, 1459. Following her final defeat in The Hundred Years War, England has plunged into the bloody chaos of civil war. King Henry VI, the feeble son of the victor of Agincourt, is unable to prevent the rival houses of Lancaster and York from tearing each other to pieces. Book One of The White Hawk follows the fortunes of a family of Lancastrian loyalists, the Boltons, as they attempt to survive and prosper in this world of brutal warfare and shifting alliances.

England in 1326 stands on the brink of civil war. Due to the incompetence of Edward II's government, the north is virtually overrun by the Scots, while an invasion fleet is massing across the channel, led by Edward's estranged queen, Isabella, the 'She-Wolf of France'. The first book in the Folville's Law series follows the adventures of Sir John Swale, knight of Cumberland, as he investigates a murder that threatens to bring disaster to Edward's failing kingdom. Along the way he clashes with Eustace Folville and James Coterel, two of the most notorious and brutal outlaws in England. As the death toll mounts, it remains to be seen who will survive and who will perish in the savage game of war and politics.

AD 1569. The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage, and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoof beats on the tops is a herald of death. Richie Reade, known as Richie O'the Bow, finds himself dragged into this dark and bloody world.

Artorius once again rides out at the head of his famous Companions to restore order, but the war only exposes tension among his followers. The long peace has bred resentment. While Artorus struggles to maintain order in Rheged, a new and far more deadly enemy rises in the far south-west. Drystan of Kernow, bastard son of King Marcus, slays a famous pirate in single combat. He is sent to Hibernia to fetch back a young bride for his father. The bride is Esyllt, daughter of King Niall. Drystan falls in love with the girl and abducts her, threatening to start a new war.

Artorius has reigned as High King for two years. After his shattering victory at Mount Badon, an uneasy peace reigns over the land. The squabbling British kingdoms cling on in the West, while to the East the Saxons under Cerdic lick their wounds, waiting for a new generation of warriors to grow to manhood. Artorius is still unmarried, and faces increasing pressure from his nobles to take a wife. When civil war threatens, he finds a bride in the person of Gwenhwyfar, eldest daughter of the King of Powys.

Britain, AD 470. Ambrosius Aurelanius, the defender of Britannia, is dead, murdered by the son of his greatest enemy. His successor, the heroic General Artorius, is meant to take the crown his predecessor refused and reign as High King. With the Saxons defeated, and the Picts and Scotti driven out, all is set for a golden age of peace and prosperity. Artorius, however, chooses to step aside and allow another to seize power.

Attacked from all sides, the Britons find a champion in the form of Ambrosius Aurelianus, the last of the Romans. Placed in command of Britain's only standing army, he fights to preserve the dwindling light of civilization while the treacherous High King, Vortigern, plots his destruction. The first book of the Leader of Battles trilogy charts the rise and fall of post-Roman Britain's first great hero, and his desperate struggle to hold back the shadows threatening to engulf his country.

1297 AD: the kings of England and France have struck a truce, but elsewhere conflict still rages. In Scotland, the armies of Edward Longshanks have been driven out by a mysterious champion named William Wallace. Meanwhile, on the continent, the Holy Roman Empire is torn apart by civil war. En Pascal of Valencia, the poor knight of Aragon, tells the tale of these bloody wars. Fresh from his exploits in Flanders and Aquitaine, he is now an agent of the English king. As warrior, spy, and assassin, he must rely on his wits and his sword to survive. If those fail, there is always blind luck...

Page describes his time among the fanatical Hussites in Bohemia. Condemned by the Pope as heretics, the Hussites dared to defy the might of the Catholic church and the Christian princes of Europe. In response, the Pope ordered their destruction, down to the last child, and the brutal subjugation of their country. Page joins the Hussites just as another crusade is launched against Bohemia. Led by the merciless King Sigismund, known as the Dragon of Prophecy, the crusaders will drown the land in blood rather than let heresy prevail.

In the year 1395, the famous French chronicler Jean Froissart comes to England in search of tales of chivalry and warfare to complete his life's work, the Great Chronicle of England, France, Spain, and Adjoining Countries. Disappointed by the decayed state of England under Richard II, he visits a tavern inside Eastcheap, where a beggar comes to his table and claims to be Thomas Page, the famous soldier of fortune.

1296 AD: the whole of Western Europe trembles on the brink of war. South of the Pyrenees, the Christian and Moorish kingdoms fight and scheme against each for control of Hispania. To the north, the rival kings of England and France feverishly enlist allies as they battle for supremacy on the Continent. Even as the armies clash, spies and double agents fight their own bloody war in the shadows. From the safety of old age, En Pascal of Valencia recalls his own exploits in this brutal and treacherous era.

AD 1267. Civil war continues to rage in England between the supporters of King Henry III and rebel barons known as the Disinherited. The memory of Simon de Montfort, butchered on the field of Evesham, is kept alive by his devoted followers. Disturbing rumours reach London of fresh trouble in distant Northumberland, where royal agents have vanished without trace. At the same time a band of discontended barons have formed an alliance against the crown and occupied Alnwick Castle, one of the strongest castles in the north. 

England, AD 1266. The kingdom lies in ruins after years of bitter civil war. Simon de Montfort is dead, slaughtered in battle, and his surviving followers fight on with the fury of despair. Known as the Disinherited, these landless men infest the forests and highways and prey on the common folk. Hugh Longsword, a common soldier, fights for the King against the rebels who threaten to destroy England. He is taken into the service of the Lord Edward, King Henry’s eldest son, and made to work as a spy. Edward sends him into the wild north country, home to the most dangerous rebel captains: men such as Sir John d’Eyvill and his savage cousin Nicholas, known as the Beast for his cruelty. 

Prince Llywelyn of Wales refuses to swear loyalty to the king, Edward I. To defy the might of the English crown, Llywelyn will need allies. He looks to the west, to Ireland, where the ambitious Clan MacMurrough has set up its chieftain as high king. Together, the Welsh and Irish leaders plan to drive Edward’s forces from their land. Sir Hugh Longsword is summoned to deal with the crisis. With enemies at home thirsting for his blood, he is only too grateful to be sent to Ireland. 

1271 AD. The civil wars in England are over and the Lord Edward has sailed to the Holy Land to save what remains of the crusader states. Abandoned by his allies, Edward insists on pushing on to Acre, one of the few cities still in Christian hands. On the way his fleet is almost destroyed by a storm, and he arrives to find Acre threatened by the host of Baibars, the all-conquering Mamluk sultan of Egypt. Among Edward’s followers is Hugh Longsword. 

The fragile peace is about to be shattered. King Edward’s victory over the Welsh and Irish five years earlier was only temporary, and now hostile forces gather again. In Wales, the defeated prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, plans to claw back his lost power. His turncoat brother, Dafydd, seeks to break free of the king and help the Welsh to recover their liberty. At the same time a fresh revolt breaks out in Ireland. In the northern countries, the outlaw Robyn Hode conspires to raise the northern barons against the king.