Literature By Time Period

In this brief and incisive book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills tells the story of the "Confessions"--what motivated Augustine to dictate it, how it asks to be read, and the many ways it has been misread in the one-and-a-half millennia since it was composed. Following Wills's biography of Augustine and his translation of the "Confessions," this is an unparalleled introduction to one of the most important books in the Christian and Western traditions.

The king was going mad . . . So begins Polly Schoyer Brooks's account of one of history's most compelling stories and one of the world's most popular heroines-Joan of Arc. Brooks tells us of a fifteenth-century France ravaged by war, plague, and religious conflict; of a king who suffered fits of madness and his weak son who made a disappointing successor; and of a peasant girl from the countryside who accomplished what appeared to be miracles by rallying the dispirited French nation with her desire to see the rightful king rule. 

At the end of the 13th century, the oppressed Scots rebelled against England under the leadership of William Wallace, a scottish knight who fought for Scotland's independence, and Robert the Bruce, who was eventually crowned king of Scotland. This gripping tale of courage, loyalty, and ingenuity takes readers into heroic company with a fictional protagonist, young Archie Forbes, who fights alongside the legendary heroes.

When a Roman ship is wrecked off the coast of Britain, an infant, Beric, is the only survivor. He is rescued by a British tribe who raise him as their own until they can no longer ignore his Roman ancestry. Fifteen-year-old Beric feels increasingly bitter isolation when, because of his Roman birth, he is cast out by the Celtic tribe that raised him and, after reaching a Roman settlement, he is sold into slavery and sentenced to serve in a galley for the rest of his life.

"One of the most important figures to come out of the awakening world of the Renaissance was Galileo Galelei. Often referred to as the "Archimedes of his time" Galileo was forever asking questions. Is it possible to measure heat? Is it possible to weigh air? Does the earth stand still or does it move? How fast do objects fall to the earth? His questions led to some of the most important answers of the scientific world

When the great Velazquez was painting his masterpieces at the Spanish court in the seventeenth century, his colors were expertly mixed and his canvases carefully prepared by his slave, Juan de Pareja. In a vibrant novel which depicts both the beauty and the cruelty of the time and place, Elizabeth Borton de Trevino tells the story of Juan, who was born a slave and died an accomplished and respected artist.

"Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched" is what the people said. And that made young Gerhard Koestler smile. He knew that Erasmus had influenced Luther's thinking. He also believed both men were trying to serve God according to the Scriptures. Young Gerhard Koestler lived in Germany in the 1500s. He inherited money and a castle when his rich parents died. After a series of adventures and narrow escapes, Gerhard arrived in Basel, Switzerland, where he was able to live in the same house as Erasmus. Although Erasmus' enemies accused him of agreeing with Martin Luther, Erasmus said that the Bible was his guide.

A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt (Homeschool subjects covered: history renaissance and reformation, martyrs) Robert Bolt's classic play...

In 1520, thirteen-year-old Anne Boleyn, jealous of her older sister's beauty and position at court, declares that she will one day be queen of England, and that her sister will kneel at her feet. Though born without great beauty, wealth, or title, Anne Boleyn blossomed into a captivating woman. She used her wiles to win the heart of England's most powerful man, King Henry VIII, and to persuade him to defy everyone--including his own wife--to make her his new queen. But Anne's ambition proved to be her fatal flaw.

In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk--whose customs are even older than the Druids' and include human sacrifice.

An Indian boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his Inca ancestors.

That's the order from his fearsome master. And Widge -- a poor orphan with the rare ability to write a unique coded shorthand -- has no choice but to follow orders. So Widge works his way into the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's troupe rehearses and performs. The players take him in and treat him as one of their own. Afraid to disappoint his master, but unwilling to betray his new friends, Widge is torn. Will he secretly copy down the lines? Until he decides whether to disobey his sinister master or betray his new friends, he must play the part of his life.