Persian Classics

Kamran Esfahani, a Persian Jewish dentist from Stockholm, dreams of starting afresh in California. To finance his new life, he agrees to spy for Mossad in Iran, working with a clandestine unit tasked with sowing chaos and sabotage inside the country. When he's captured by Iranian security forces, Kamran is compelled to confess his experiences as a spy, in a testimonial dealing not only with the security of nations, but also with revenge, deceit, and the power of love and forgiveness in a world of lies.

Savushun chronicles the life of a Persian family during the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II. It is set in Shiraz, a town which evokes images of Persepolis and pre-Islamic monuments, the great poets, the shrines, Sufis, and nomadic tribes within a historical web of the interests, privilege, and influence of foreign powers; corruption, incompetence, and arrogance of persons in authority; the paternalistic landowner-peasant relationship; tribalism; and the fear of famine.

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas is sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but finds freedom with Alexander the Great after the Macedon army conquers his homeland. Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper.

This masterful translation brings legendary heroes, tragic destinies, sweeping romances, colossal monsters, and fearless warriors vividly to life, unfolding a mythic saga that spans thousands of years. Originally composed as an 11th-century epic poem, Shahnameh endures as one of the world’s greatest masterpieces of mythology and storytelling. Performed by award-winning voice actor Marc Thompson and enriched with evocative sound design by Hamid Rahmanian, creator of the Shahnameh Project, this theatrical audiobook is truly cinema for the ear.

Aeschylus’ historical tragedy Persians, with its dire warnings against the hubris of imperialist overreach, is as relevant today as it was when first presented to an Athenian audience in 472 BC. This new edition of the classic drama features a literal translation by Mark Will (translator of Fernando Pessoa’s Message) which reconstructs in contemporary English verse the epic cadences of the original Greek.

Unquestionably, Herodotus has left mankind one of the world's greatest works of literature. The Persian Wars is part history, part geography, part anthropology...and completely entertaining. It possesses a charm that is legendary. But, over and above this, Herodotus has succeeded for all time in brilliantly expressing the conflict between the ideal of the free man defending his liberty within a state based on the rule of law, and that of the despot who bases his rule on brute force and whose subjects are considered slaves.

Prepare to be transported into the thunderous sweep of Persian history. This section of Shahnameh (Chapters 16-27 in Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings) moves from myth to history, chronicling the dramatic rise of the Sassanian dynasty and its eventual fall. Through masterful storytelling, the epic brings to life royal ambition, political intrigue, heroic resistance, and cultural transformation—culminating in the Arab conquest of Iran in the seventh century. Performed by award-winning voice actor Marc Thompson, this performative audiobook places you at the heart of the action.

THE ANCIENT GREEK STAGE BROUGHT THRILLINGLY TO LIFE BY THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE WOMEN OF TROY AND THE ODYSSEY 'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERS The...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 1970 LOST BOOKER PRIZE, INTRODUCED BY TOM HOLLAND THE ANCIENT GREEK STAGE BROUGHT THRILLINGLY TO LIFE BY THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE WOMEN OF TROY AND THE ODYSSEY 'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise...

In 1892, Gertrude Bell visited Persia (now Iran) shortly after the appointment of her uncle, Sir Frank Lascelles, as British minister in Tehran. Three years later came Persian Pictures, Gertrude Bell’s first written work, which presents a series of vivid sketches of Persian culture and society at the time. Bell explores various cities and landscapes, and encounters local characters along the way, providing a unique perspective on Persian life and customs.

The Persians: A Translation from Aeschylus There is no drama where the total multiplicity of horror in defeat is more cogently presented than in the Persians by Aeschylus, who fought in the Athenian triumph at Salamis, where the Persian fleet was rammed and wrecked.