Books by Jeffrey (Lancaster University Richards

Tells the history of the Ancient World epic from the silent screen successes of "Intolerance" and "The King of Kings" through the 'golden age of the epic' in the 1950s through to the 1990s revival with "Gladiator", its successors in cinema. This book also seeks to tease out the hidden messages concealed in the narrative.

Sir Henry Irving was the greatest actor of the Victorian age and was thought of by Gladstone as his greatest contemporary. He transformed the theatre, in Britain and America, from a disreputable and marginal entertainment into a respected and uplifting art form. This work gives an account of Irving and his impact on the Victorian theatre and life.

The English Pantomime is one of the most popular, least analysed of all theatrical forms. It's been the festive mainstay of the English stage since the eighteenth century, and it has survived by its ability to evolve.

Examines dissent and the persecution of heretics, witches, Jews, lepers and homosexuals in the Middle Ages, and argues that the common motive for their punishment was sexual aberrance.