Recommendations based on "Enlightenment"

Oxford, 1836.The city of dreaming spires.It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.Until it became a prison…But can a student stand against an empire?

“Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.”—New York Times Book ReviewIntrepid archaeologist and superior sleuth Amelia Peabody returns in A River in the Sky. In this breathtaking new adventure, New York Times bestselling Grand Master Elizabeth Peters transports the indomitable Amelia and her family, the Emersons, from their usual milieu, early twentieth-century Egypt, to an exciting—and dangerous—new locale: Palestine! A tale full of atmosphere, intrigue, and thrills, A River in the Sky is further proof that “Peters has few rivals” (Houston Chronicle).

The Final Instalment In The Breathtaking Orphans Of The Tide Trilogy, Which The Times Calls 'unputdownable'. The Seas Have Parted To Reveal The Remains Of Humanity's Lost Empire And Opened A Path From Shipwreck Island To The Enemy's City. Now Only Ellie Lancaster And Her Orphan Friends Can Prevent A Terrible War. As Kate Marches North At The Head Of Her Army, Panic Infests The City As The Enemy's Strength Grows. For The Parting Of The Seas Has Also Uncovered The Eternity Engine, A Dreadful Machine From Before The Drowning, With The Power To Remake The World - Or Destroy It Forever . . . The Critically-acclaimed Orphans Of The Tide Trilogy Reaches Its Spine-tingling Climax And Dramatic Conclusion. Perfect Reading For Fans Of His Dark Materials Or Vashti Hardy. Praise For Orphans Of The Tide: 'unputdownable' - The Times 'enthralling' - The Daily Express 'sumptuously Atmospheric . . . Tirelessly Inventive' - The Daily Telegraph 'gripping' - The Guardian 'energetic And Inventive' - Sunday Times 'gripping And Original' - The Observer 'singularly Brilliant' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Author Of The Girl Of Ink And Stars And The Mercies 'compellingly Inventive And Unpredictable' - Piers Torday, Author Of The Last Wild 'a Terrific Debut Of Strange Myths And Dark Secrets' - The Bookseller (editor's Choice)

In The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage Sydney Padua transforms one of the most compelling scientific collaborations into a hilarious set of adventuresMeet two of Victorian London's greatest geniuses... Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron: mathematician, gambler, and proto-programmer, whose writings contained the first ever appearance of general computing theory, a hundred years before an actual computer was built. And Charles Babbage, eccentric inventor of the Difference Engine, an enormous clockwork calculating machine that would have been the first computer, if he had ever finished it.But what if things had been different? The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage presents a delightful alternate reality in which Lovelace and Babbage do build the Difference Engine and use it to create runaway economic models, battle the scourge of spelling errors, explore the wider realms of mathematics and, of course, fight crime - for the sake of both London and science. Extremely funny and utterly unusual, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage comes complete with historical curiosities, extensive footnotes and never-before-seen diagrams of Babbage's mechanical, steam-powered computer. And ray guns.

A #1 New York Times Bestseller, Anathem is perhaps the most brilliant literary invention to date from the incomparable Neal Stephenson, who rocked the world with Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and The Baroque Cycle. Now he imagines an alternate universe where scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians live in seclusion behind ancient monastery walls until they are called back into the world to deal with a crisis of astronomical proportions.Anathem won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the reviews for have been dazzling: “Brilliant” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel), “Daring” (Boston Globe), “Immensely entertaining” (New York Times Book Review), “A tour de force” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch), while Time magazine proclaims, “The great novel of ideas…has morphed into science fiction, and Neal Stephenson is its foremost practitioner.”

WINNER OF THE 2022 BRITISH BOOK AWARD FOR NARRATIVE NONFICTION***THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHANNEL 4 DOCUMENTARY 'EMPIRE STATE OF MIND'***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'The real remedy is education of the kind that Sanghera has embraced - accepting, not ignoring, the past' Gerard deGroot, The Times_____________________________________________________EMPIRE explains why there are millions of Britons living worldwide.EMPIRE explains Brexit and the feeling that we are exceptional.EMPIRE explains our distrust of cleverness.EMPIRE explains Britain's particular brand of racism.Strangely hidden from view, the British Empire remains a subject of both shame and glorification. In his bestselling book, Sathnam Sanghera shows how our imperial past is from how we live and think to the foundation of the NHS and even our response to the COVID-19 crisis.At a time of great division, when we are arguing about what it means to be British, Empireland is a groundbreaking revelation - a much-needed and enlightening portrait of contemporary British society, shining a light on everything that usually gets left unsaid._______________________________________________________' Empireland takes a perfectly-judged approach to its contentious but necessary subject' Jonathan Coe'I only wish this book has been around when I was at school' Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London'This remarkable book shines the brightest of lights into some of the darkest and most misunderstood corners of our shared history' James O'Brien

And the Land Lay Still is the sweeping Scottish epic by James RobertsonAnd the Land Lay Still is nothing less than the story of a nation. James Robertson's breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle and hope - epic in every sense.The winner of the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award 2010, And the Land Lay Still is a masterful insight into Scotland's history in the twentieth century and a moving, beautifully written novel of intertwined stories.'Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece and, without a doubt, my book of the year' Daily Mail'A jam-packed, dizzying piece of fiction' Scotland on Sunday'Gripping, vivid, beautifully realized' The Times'Engrossing' Daily Telegraph'Powerful and moving. A brilliant and multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century' Sunday Times'Brilliant and thoughtful. Eminently readable, subtle and profound' Independent on Sunday'Bold, discursive and deep, Robertson's sweeping history of life and politics in 20th-century Scotland should not be ignored' Ian Rankin, Observer Books of the YearJames Robertson is the author of three previous novels: The Fanatic, Joseph Knight and The Testament of Gideon Mack, which is available in Penguin. Joseph Knight was awarded the two major Scottish literary awards in 2003/4 - the Saltire Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year - and The Testament of Gideon Mack was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, picked by Richard and Judy's Book Club, and shortlisted for the Saltire Book of the Year award.

Abridged, 12 CDs, 14 hoursRead by TBAKen Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic.

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?This Indigo special edition of Babel includes an exclusive—and somewhat cheeky—dramatis personae for the key players in the novel. The descriptions may contain spoilers, though, so we’re putting it at the end!

A Dance to the Music of Time – his brilliant 12-novel sequence, which chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England.The novels follow Nicholas Jenkins, Kenneth Widmerpool and others, as they negotiate the intellectual, cultural and social hurdles that stand between them and the “Acceptance World.”