Beauty History

In this Very Short Introduction audiobook, the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, asking what makes an object - either in art, in nature, or the human form - beautiful and examining how we can compare differing judgments of beauty when it is evident all around us that our tastes vary so widely.  

There's an unspoken rule in hockey: don't date your teammate's little sister. Dating the coach's little sister might be even worse. Not to mention bro code, which clearly states a best friend's little sister is off-limits. And I'm definitely prohibited from dating the owner of the team. But what...

New York Times best-selling author Robin McKinley has won numerous awards for her writing, including the prestigious Newbery Medal. Though her two sisters are beautiful, Beauty, despite her name, is thin and awkward - but she's also courageous. So when her father makes a terrible promise to a Beast living in an enchanted castle, Beauty knows she must volunteer to be the Beast's prisoner.

There isn’t a woman on earth who doesn’t have her beauty secrets. But for Dina Kane, beauty is more than just business. It’s power. And it is the secret. She’s dragged herself up from poverty to Park Avenue. She’s rolled with the punches, and she’s learned how to win. Now someone is out to destroy her, and all she’s built. They’ve underestimated Dina Kane. She’s staying at the top – and she’s happy to wait for the perfect moment to exact her revenge...

Uncover the fascinating history of aesthetics and how shifting cultural ideals shape our bodies, art, and power today. Perfect for a thought-provoking commute, this sociological journey traces human desire from ancient cave paintings to modern digital screens. Dive into a reflective exploration...

An award-winning Northwestern University psychology professor reveals how the cultural obsession with women's appearance is an epidemic that harms women's ability to get ahead and to live happy, meaningful lives, in this powerful, eye-opening work in the vein of Naomi Wolf, Peggy Orenstein, and...

Brought to you by Penguin. Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase into New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They're the guards in dark blue suits, keeping careful watch over this vast treasure...

Acclaimed novelist of the Italian Renaissance Sarah Dunant now takes on the era's most infamous family: the Borgias. By the end of the fifteenth century, the beauty and creativity of Italy is matched by its brutality and corruption, nowhere more than in Rome and in the Church. When Cardinal...

From the nation’s favourite storyteller comes a powerful, moving and heartwarming retelling of the beloved, unforgettable story of Black Beauty. A story championing kindness, compassion and humanity, and a rallying cry for the rights of animals, readers have fallen in love with the story of a...

Beauty, make-up, art, power: How to Be a Renaissance Woman presents an alternative history of this period as told by the women behind the paintings, providing a window into their often overlooked or silenced lives. Can the pressures women feel to look good be traced back to the sixteenth century?...

When the Beast took me and dragged me back to his cell, I thought my life was over. In the darkness, he watched me. Yearned for me. Tasted me. He loved my scars, called me a beauty.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable Book “Riveting, heartbreaking, sometimes difficult, always inspiring.” —The New York Times Book Review “An incredibly moving memoir about what it means to be a doctor.” —Ellen Pompeo As seen/heard on Fresh Air, The Daily Show with...

Stephen Killigan has been cold since the day he arrived in Cambridge. Seven hundred years of history staining the stones of the university have given him a chill he can't shake. Then he stumbles across the body of a missing beauty queen - a body which disappears before the police arrive...

In 1960, Hollywood socialite Judith Campbell Exner was introduced to Senator John F. Kennedy in the throes of his run for president. Their secret romance soon entangled her with one of the most dangerous men in America—Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, along with his associate, the sharply...

Justice is blind, they say, but perhaps not to beauty. In supposedly dispassionate courts of law, attractive women have long avoided punishment, based largely on their looks, for cold-blooded crimes. The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial gathers the true stories of some of the most infamous femmes fatales in criminal history, collected by attorney and true crime historian Laura James.

A SPOTIFY BEST NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2026 Bloomsbury presents Beauty of the Beasts by Jo Wimpenny, read by Bettrys Jones In an age of catastrophic biodiversity loss, the author of Aesop’s Animals explains why we should champion and protect nature’s underdogs. Wasps. Snakes...

An erotic novel of discipline, love, and surrender for the enjoyment of men and women. This sequel to The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, the first of Anne Rice's elegantly written volumes of erotica, continues her explicit, teasing exploration of the psychology of human desire. Now Beauty, having...

From bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure. In the traditional folktale of 'Sleeping Beauty,' the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still...

In a trio of popular gender rituals—sorority rush, beauty pageants, and the Confederate Pageant of the Natchez (Mississippi) Pilgrimage—young white southern women have readily ditched contemporary modes of dress and comportment for performances of purity, gentility, and deference. Clearly, the ability to "do" white southern womanhood, convincingly and on cue, has remained a valued performance. Based on ethnographic research and taped interviews, Southern Beauty goes behind the scenes of the three rituals to explore the motivations and rewards associated with participation.

Unlock the inspiring art history of human creativity to understand why cultural upheavals continuously redefine beauty. Perfect for your daily commute or a contemplative evening of lifelong learning, this thought-provoking narrative treats humanity’s artistic evolution as a living, urgent...