The Hell-Fire Clubs scandalized eighteenth-century English society. Rumours of their orgies, recruitment of prostitutes, extensive libraries of erotica, extreme rituals, and initiation ceremonies circulated widely at the time, only to become more sen...

For sale in CIS only! Scattered off the west coast of mainland Greece are the seven Ionian Islands, celebrated for their spectacular landscapes, olive groves and classical associations. Together with the mountainous mainland region of Epirus, the co...

To many outside India, Hinduism is envisioned as the foundation of an ideal, all-embracing society. Yet this is far from the truth. Though historically the practice of Hinduism does promote the idea of an inclusive and tolerant way of life, in the pa...

In "Rebels, Wives, Saints", acclaimed scholar Tanika Sarkar continues her revolutionary scholarship on women, religion, and nationhood in colonial Bengal. The colonial universe Sarkar describes in "Rebels, Wives, Saints" centers around symbols of wom...

The list of favorite flowers has remained remarkably constant over the centuries. From late-sixteenth, early seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish flower-pieces we can see what were considered desirable at that time: the rose, iris, carnation and lil...

Part of an ongoing series published in cooperation with the "Index on Censorship" that deals with religion and free expression, "The Jewish Case" is distinctive in several ways. To begin with, even calling Judaism a religion is problematic. The bread...

For sale in CIS only! Situated on Lake Malaren on one of the world's most beautiful harbours, Stockholm has set the benchmark for civilized city-living since the time of the Vikings. Its medieval regal period saw the Vasa dynasty turn a small town i...

For sale in CIS only! The Andes form the backbone of South America. Irradiating from Cuzco the symbolic "navel" of the indigenous world the mountain range was home to an extraordinary theocratic empire and civilization, the Incas, who built stone te...

For sale in CIS only! We all have our image of the French Riviera: the azure blue of the sea and the swimming pools; the dark green of the pines and the swaying palms; the yachts and the sports cars on the Corniche roads; the hovering croupiers raki...

For sale in CIS only! The English West Country is a land of exceptional landscapes: many miles of wild, unspoilt coastline and vast expanses of wild moorland; great cities such as Exeter, Plymouth, Bath and Bristol; and market towns, villages and ha...