{"title":"Leader Of Battles","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"leader-of-battles-i-book-david-pilling-9781500284862","title":"Leader of Battles (I)","description":"A proud Armenian who claimed a distant link to nobility, born in what was then part of czarist Russia, Rouben Mamoulian (1897-1987) was one of the most astonishing and confounding figures in American film and theater, directing the original stage productions of\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003ePorgy and Bess\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCarousel\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eOklahoma\u0026gt;\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as films including\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eLove Me Tonight\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eQueen Christina\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCity Streets\u003c\/i\u003e, and\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eSilk Stockings\u003c\/i\u003e. He was famously fired from the film version of\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003ePorgy and Bess\u003c\/i\u003e in a dispute over publicity and quit\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eCleopatra\u003c\/i\u003e after arguments over a single scene. Mamoulian's mercurial confidence and autocratic tendencies were among the reasons he had a reputation for being uncompromising. This frustrating mix of genius and stubbornness, of critical successes and financial flops, has proven challenging for biographers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Kurt Jensen's magisterial volume, extensively researched and filled with trenchant observations, brings to life this charming, flawed, and fascinating man-and demonstrates how the wellspring of his art contained the seeds of his own destruction. Drawing upon Mamoulian's unfinished memoir and voluminous diaries, as well as interviews with the director's surviving collaborators, Jensen delivers fresh and informative insider stories from seminal productions. Meanwhile, he explores Mamoulian's aesthetic principles and strategies as manifested in lighting, choreography, and sound design. A tour de force, \u003ci\u003ePeerless\u003c\/i\u003e offers readers a multifaceted, in-depth look at an idiosyncratic genius.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49628309913873,"sku":"GOR006680174","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50095349432593,"sku":"CIN1500284866G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50386919391505,"sku":"CIN1500284866A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50958551580945,"sku":"GOR006599216","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1500284866.jpg?v=1751149104"},{"product_id":"leader-of-battles-ii-book-david-pilling-9781502322180","title":"Leader of Battles (II)","description":"Beware the shadow, and the storm in the north. Britain, 470 AD. Ambrosius Aurelanius, the defender of Britannia, is dead, murdered by the son of his greatest enemy. His successor, the heroic General Artorius, is meant to take the crown his predecessor refused and reign as High King. With the Saxons defeated, and the Picts and Scotti driven out, all is set for a golden age of peace and prosperity. Artorius, however, chooses to step aside and allow another to seize power. The new king, Constantine, despatches Artorius and his army across the sea, to aid the Western Empire in her fight against the Visigoths. Betrayed on all sides, the general narrowly avoids death and returns home to disgrace and exile. Now reduced to a mercenary, fighting the enemies of British kings, Artorius gathers a band of elite horsemen around him. As Britannia's enemies slowly recover their strength, and the realm slides back into darkness and ruin, he proves to be the only hope of his people. All the while, a terrifying new threat arises in the north, from the lands Artorius once called home. Book Two of the Leader of Battles trilogy chronicles the military exploits of Artorius, destined to be remembered as King Arthur, in the treacherous, crumbling world of Sub-Roman Britannia, where every man was a potential enemy, and the sword ruled.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50378122330385,"sku":"CIN1502322188G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1502322188.jpg?v=1751180421"},{"product_id":"leader-of-battles-iv-book-more-visual-9781518788291","title":"Leader of Battles (IV)","description":"Britannia, 491 AD. Twelve years have passed since the British victory at Mount Badon. For the first time since the departure of the legions, Britannia is at peace. The Saxons are quiet in the east, towns and villages once again flourish, and Artorius reigns supreme as High King. Yet the hard-won peace is fragile. Trouble flares in the north, inside the Kingdom of Rheged, where civil war threatens to break out over territory and the hand of a royal princess. Artorius once again rides out at the head of his famous Companions to restore order, but the war only exposes tension among his followers. The long peace has bred resentment, and a new generation of warriors grow to manhood who care little for the past. While Artorus struggles to maintain order in Rheged, a new and far more deadly enemy rises in the far south-west. Drystan of Kernow, bastard son of King Marcus, slays a famous pirate in single combat. Having earned a glorious reputation, he is sent to Hibernia to fetch back a young bride for his father. The bride is Esyllt, daughter of King Niall. Drystan falls in love with the girl and abducts her, threatening to start a new war that will tear Britannia all to pieces. Artorius is forced to move swiftly to save his kingdom. The ageing warlord soon discovers that no man is invincible, and suffers defeat, betrayal and personal loss in his fight against Drystan. Meanwhile, as the British kingdoms falter, the shadow in the east continues to gather strength. Book Four of the Leader of Battles series follows the tale of Drystan and Esyllt, better-known as the doomed lovers Tristan and Isolde. This version sets their romance against the harsh, unforgiving backdrop of post-Roman Britannia, where treachery is rife, and darkness closes over the head of the High King.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50379168219409,"sku":"CIN1518788297VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51923179733265,"sku":"GOR014464228","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1518788297.jpg?v=1751055006"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/leader-of-battles-book-series.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}