Helen Rodgers Livres

A scintillating history of one of Europe's most alluring cities. Granada is a deceptive city, concealing a layered past and a complex character. The last Muslim capital in Western Europe, over the centuries it has captured hearts and imaginations, inspiring countless myths and legends. Yet its history reveals even more fascinating secrets and follies, victory and failure, poetry and art. City of Illusions brings together Granada's many stories―the archaeological forger, the renegade French general, the garrotted liberal heroine, the Jewish poet who served two Muslim rulers. This colorful cast of characters takes us from the founding eleventh-century dynasty and the building of the Alhambra, through the Reconquista, French occupation and Spanish Civil War, right up to the present day. Granada's history has long been fought over, rewritten, idealised or buried. This rich, elegant book sets the record straight on a beautiful, elusive city, with all its quirks, mysteries, intrigues and triumphs.

Berlioz was a pioneer in the genre of 'program music' - music that draws its inspiration from the world of literature, theatre, and other arts. This book explores how Berlioz's music is related to the stories it conveys, demonstrating how he manipulated musical forms to depict emotions such as madness or love.