Spy Hook

The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. Its prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil–gifted, wealthy, and bored–form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game. And they play this game with such wit and style that it is impossible not to admire them, until they discover mysterious rules that they cannot understand. In the ensuing battle there can be no winners, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. This new translation gives Laclos a modern voice, and readers will be able to judge whether the novel is as “diabolical” and “infamous” as its critics have claimed, or whether it has much to tell us about a world we still inhabit. Douglas Parmee is Retired Fellow of Queen’s College, Cambridge. He is the translator of Nana, Attack on the Mill (Zola) and A Sentimental Journey (Flaubert) for World’s Classics. David Coward is Professor of French at the University of Leeds. He is the translator and editor of Maupassant, de Sade, and Dumas in World’s Classics.

Ranging from the Peloponnesian war, to Trafalgar and Gettysburg, to the War in Iraq, this exciting book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history. This superb, one-volume reference describes almost 300 battles from around the world–from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as well as from Europe and the Americas. All the battles are grouped in chapters which tell the wider story of a particular era or region, whether it be the ancient world or Asia and the Middle East. Each chapter includes an introduction that sets out the historical, tactical, and technological context, and looks at current debates among military historians. In addition, individual battles are placed within the wars of which they formed a part, allowing readers understand a battle’s full military and historical significance. With detailed maps, a wide range of illustrations, and an extensive index, this book offers a gold mine of information for everyone interested in world or military history.