Witty and enigmatic, Vladimir Nabokov’s produced some of the last century’s most celebrated and notorious fiction. Using newly declassified intelligence files and recovered military reports, author Andrea Pitzer argues that far from being an advocate of art for art's sake, Vladimir Nabokov managed to hide disturbing real-life history in his works.

Lose yourself in Prague as cultural and music historian Carol Reynolds leads you along medieval cobblestone lanes, past stunning churches and synagogues, and into the heart of a city dominated by the magnificent Hradcany, the 1,100-year-old castle complex. She’ll reveal Prague’s history, amazing architecture from the Romanesque and Gothic periods to the modern era, and wonderful offbeat places such as the Cafe Slavia, once a haunt of the poet Rilke and the Jewish Quarter where Kafka was born.

Though Jews have been part of British society since the 11th century, that long relationship was often a troubled one. Historian Virginia W. Newmyer surveys a cultural and religious history in which achievement and acceptance prevailed over suspicion and ignorance.

Monoliths, monuments, tombs, and temples mark the millennia on Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and tiny Gozo. Archaeologist Robert R. Stieglitz explores the cultural legacies of the little-known prehistoric islanders whose civilizations once thrived here.

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice by spending a splendid day immersed in all things Jane Austen (and with sherry and biscuits, too). Sandy Lerner, author and founder of Chawton House Library in Hampshire, England, offers an entertaining look at Regency-era daily life as it might have been experienced by Austen’s most romantic couple.