Informed by a wealth of information that has come to light in recent years, this engaging biography tells the complete story of the life and work of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The book is the first to set all Sibelius’s works in historical and musical context, assess the full range of his formerly unknown early works, and dispel myths surrounding his life and oeuvre.  

This groundbreaking book is the first to focus on the flamboyant Carl Van Vechten, his notoriety as a white man with a passion for black people and culture, and his still-debated contributions to the Harlem Renaissance.

This groundbreaking book is the first to focus on the flamboyant Carl Van Vechten, his notoriety as a white man with a passion for black people and culture, and his still-debated contributions to the Harlem Renaissance.

Lauded by scholars as a landmark work and published for the first time in English to coincide with the centenary of Mahler's death, this is the best-sourced and most balanced biography available about the celebrated composer.

In this meticulously researched book, Oliver Hilmes paints a fascinating and revealing picture of the extraordinary Cosima Wagner—illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt, wife of the conductor Hans von Bülow, then mistress and subsequently wife of Richard Wagner.

The leading authority on Michelangelo presents a major new biography of the artist, shedding fresh light on the years when he built his reputation with the Pietá, the Sistine Ceiling frescoes, and many other masterpieces.

The gifted composer of a string of masterworks, Richard Strauss was also a conductor of worldwide acclaim. This book is the first to investigate how Strauss's career as a conductor was deeply entwined with his life as a composer.

This new biography of Shostakovich views him through the intimate music of his string quartets, weaving together interviews with the composer's friends, family, and colleagues, as well as conversations with present-day musicians who have played the quartets.

An intimate, penetrating study of Joseph Brodsky’s life and work, written by his lifelong friend, the eminent Russian literary scholar Lev Loseff.

This book is the first full-scale appraisal of the life and work of Jacques Derrida, one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth-century.

This new biography of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), by one of the leading scholars of nineteenth- and twentieth-century French music, is based on a wealth of written and oral evidence, some newly translated and some derived from interviews with the composer’s friends and associates. The world of Maurice Ravel—including friendships (and some fallings-out) with Debussy, Fauré, Di...

This new biography of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), by one of the leading scholars of nineteenth- and twentieth-century French music, is based on a wealth of written and oral evidence, some newly translated and some derived from interviews with the composer’s friends and associates. The world of Maurice Ravel—including friendships (and some fallings-out) with Debussy, Fauré, Di...

Adam Smith is celebrated all over the world as the author of The Wealth of Nations and the founder of modern economics. This book shows the extent to which The Wealth of Nations and Smith’s other great work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, were part of a larger scheme to establish a grand “Science of Man,” one of the most ambitious projects of the European En...

A giant of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, David Hume was one of the most important philosophers ever to write in English. He was also a brilliant historian. In this book—a new and revised edition of his 1989 classic—Nicholas Phillipson shows how Hume freed history from religion and politics. As a philosopher, Hume sought a way of seeing the world and pursuing happiness independe...

This mesmerizing new biography of Strindberg, named the "greatest genius of all modern dramatists" by Eugene O'Neill, uncovers the full story of his chaotic life and his revolutionary writings.

The first full-scale biography of the seminal dancer, anthropologist, and educator, who championed social and racial justice through her blazingly original choreography and performances.

The first full-scale biography of the seminal dancer, anthropologist, and educator, who championed social and racial justice through her blazingly original choreography and performances.

This book uncovers the little-known story of the Panacea Society, a post-World War I utopian community of remarkable English women led by Octavia, whom they believed was the daughter of God.

Drawing on exhaustive archival research, the voluminous corpus of Andrew Marvell's previously little-known writing, and recent scholarship across several disciplines, Smith's portrait becomes the definitive account of the British poet's elusive life.

The most authoritative biography of Francis of Assisi in more than a generation, this book brings the medieval saint to life and explores the abundance of writings by contemporaries who set down their memories of him.

Having scoured original sources to uncover the truth of Robert Schumann’s life, John Worthen now offers the first reliable portrait of the enigmatic composer. Far from a depressed and often helpless individual, Schumann emerges in this biography as an astute, witty, and immensely determined creative genius who composed some of the best music of his era.

OTHER SECTIONS IN OUR HUMANITIES 2012 CATALOG: