In Volume V (Chapters XLVII-LVI), Gibbon further explores the influence of Christianity on the fall of the Roman Empire. He looks at the growth of the worship of Christian images and the resulting persecution by Leo III, emperor of the East. The conflict is intensified as a split develops between the Eastern and Western churches, a weakness that encourages attacks from Lombardy. Gibbon then moves to the foundation of the Muslim religion and the attempts of the Arabs to besiege Constantinople.


Naxos AudioBooks: The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, Vol V

The accomplished Corinthian Sir Richard Wyndham is wealthy, sophisticated, handsome and supremely bored. Tired of his aristocratic family constantly pressuring him to get married, he determines to run away after meeting the delightful, unconventional heroine Penelope Creed. Penelope - literally - falls into his life late one night as she hangs from the window of her aunt's house - she too attempting to escape the pressures of forced marriage. The two allies become embroiled in a series hilarious madcap adventures as they cross-dress, run into escaped criminals, have a case of mistaken identity and save people from their own dramatics. Little do they predict their feelings for one another blossoming into romance.


Naxos AudioBooks: The Corinthian

Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent is a tale of anarchism, espionage and terrorism. Our agent, a man named Mr Verloc, minds his own business while he keeps his shop in London's Soho, alongside his wife, who attends to her aged mother and disabled brother. Their lives are turned upside down when Verloc is reluctantly employed to plant a bomb and destroy an observatory in London. What was once the perfect bomb plot inevitably turns awry and Verloc, his family and his associates are forced to face the consequences. Conrad's later political novel bears all the hallmarks of his captivating style: The Secret Agent brims with melodious and poetic language, alongside crystal-clear psychological insights that could only be the work of a uniquely gifted storyteller.


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