Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

I am the Chosen King by Helen Hollick.  US and UK release date March 1, 2011 (previously released in the UK as Harold the King).




 
 
 
 
 
 
Sins of the House of Borgia by Sarah Bower.  US and UK release March 1, 2011 (previously released in the UK as The Book of Love).

A Notorious Duke
An Infamous Duchess
An Innocent Girl

Violante isn't supposed to be here, in one of the grandest courts of Renaissance Italy. She isn't supposed to be a lady-in-waiting to the beautiful Lucrezia Borgia. But the same secretive politics that pushed Lucrezia's father to the Vatican have landed Violante deep in a lavish landscape of passion and ambition.

Violante discovers a Lucrezia unknown to those who see only a scheming harlot, and all the whispers about her brother, Cesare Borgia, never revealed the soul of the man who dances close with Violante.  But those who enter the House of Borgia are never quite the same when they leave-if they leave at all. Violante's place in history will test her heart and leave her the guardian of dangerous secrets she must carry to the grave.



The Second Duchess by Elizabeth Loupas.  US release March 1, 2011; UK release March 24, 2011.

A rich, compelling historical novel-and a mystery of royal intrigue.

In a city-state known for magnificence, where love affairs and conspiracies play out amidst brilliant painters, poets and musicians, the powerful and ambitious Alfonso d'Este, duke of Ferrara, takes a new bride. Half of Europe is certain he murdered his first wife, Lucrezia, the luminous child of the Medici. But no one dares accuse him, and no one has proof-least of all his second duchess, the far less beautiful but delightfully clever Barbara of Austria.

At first determined to ignore the rumors about her new husband, Barbara embraces the pleasures of the Ferrarese court. Yet wherever she turns she hears whispers of the first duchess's wayward life and mysterious death. Barbara asks questions-a dangerous mistake for a duchess of Ferrara. Suddenly, to save her own life, Barbara has no choice but to risk the duke's terrifying displeasure and discover the truth of Lucrezia's death-or she will share her fate.


Mermaid:  A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon. Young Adult.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.  
Two sheltered princesses, one wounded warrior; who will live happily ever after?

Princess Margrethe has been hidden away while her kingdom is at war. One gloomy, windswept morning as she stands in a convent garden overlooking the icy sea, she witnesses a miracle: a glittering mermaid emerging from the waves, a nearly drowned man in her arms. By the time Margrethe reaches the shore, the mermaid has disappeared into the sea. As Margrethe nurses the handsome stranger back to health, she learns that not only is he a prince, he is also the son of her father's greatest rival. Sure that the mermaid brought this man to her for a reason, Margrethe devises a plan to bring peace to her kingdom.

Meanwhile, the mermaid princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart….

A surprising take on the classic tale, Mermaid is the story of two women with everything to lose. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, it will make you think twice about the fairytale you heard as a child, keeping you in suspense until the very last page.




With Fire and Sword:  The Battle of Bunker Hill.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.
A masterful new history of the first real battle of the Revolutionary War

If Lexington and Concord was the shot heard around the world, then Bunker Hill was the volley that rocked Parliament and the ministry of George III. The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first time that a genuine American army had ever taken the field. Just as David McCullough’s 1776 did for the fighting in New York and David Hackett Fischer’s Washington’s Crossing did for the Battles of Trenton and Princeton, With Fire and Sword reveals the dramatic story of the fight that changed the face of the Revolution.








The Queen's Rival by Diane Haeger.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.

From the author of The Queen's Mistake comes the untold story of King Henry VIII's first well-known mistress.

As the beautiful daughter of courtiers, Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount is overjoyed when she secures a position as maid of honor to Katherine of Aragon. But when she captures the attention of the king himself, there are whispers that the queen ought to be worried for her throne.

When Bess gives birth to a healthy son the whispers become a roar. But soon the infamous Boleyn girls come to court and Henry's love for her begins to fade. Now, Bess must turn to her trusted friend, the illegitimate son of Cardinal Wolsey, to help her move beyond life as the queen's rival...




Scandalous Women:  The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.

Throughout history women have caused wars, defied the rules, and brought men to their knees. The famous and the infamous, queens, divorcées, actresses, and outlaws have created a ruckus during their lifetimes-turning heads while making waves. Scandalous Women tells the stories of the risk takers who have flouted convention, beaten the odds, and determined the course of world events.

* When Cleopatra (69 BC-30 BC) wasn't bathing in asses' milk, the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt and forged an important political alliance with Rome against her enemies-until her dalliance with Marc Antony turned the empire against her.

* Emilie du Châtelet (1706-1748), a mathematician, physicist, author, and paramour of one of the greatest minds in France, Voltaire, shocked society with her unorthodox lifestyle and intellectual prowess-and became a leader in the study of theoretical physics in France at a time when the sciences were ruled by men.

* Long before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1928) fought to end discrimination and the terrible crime of lynching and helped found the NAACP, but became known as a difficult woman for her refusal to compromise and was largely lost in the annals of history.

* Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) had a passion for archaeology and languages, and left her privileged world behind to become one of the foremost chroniclers of British imperialism in the Middle East, and one of the architects of the modern nation of Iraq.

 
 
Royal Pains:  A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes and Bad Seeds by Leslie Carroll.,  Non-fiction.  US release March 1, 2011; UK release April 28, 2011.  
The author of Notorious Royal Marriages presents some of history's boldest, baddest, and bawdiest royals.

The bad seeds on the family trees of the most powerful royal houses of Europe often became the most rotten of apples: über-violent autocrats Vlad the Impaler and Ivan the Terrible literally reigned in blood. Lettice Knollys strove to mimic the appearance of her cousin Elizabeth I and even stole her man. And Pauline Bonaparte scandalized her brother Napoleon by having a golden goblet fashioned in the shape of her breast.

Chock-full of shocking scenes, titillating tales, and wildly wicked nobles, Royal Pains is a rollicking compendium of the most infamous, capricious, and insatiable bluebloods of Europe.




Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.

The 6th in a series set in 1812 London. Sebastian St. Cyr finds himself in the realm of international intrigue when he investigates the murder of a foreign office diplomat—a murder his reluctant bride-to-be, Hero Jarvis, knows something about. And when a second body is found, Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening Hero’s life—and the life of their unborn child.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bathsheba by Jill Eileen Smith.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.  
Bathsheba is a woman who longs for love. With her devout husband away fighting the king's wars for many months at a time, discontent and loneliness dog her steps--and make it frighteningly easy to succumb to King David's charm and attention. Though she immediately regrets her involvement with the powerful king, the pieces are set in motion that will destroy everything she holds dear. Can she find forgiveness at the feet of the Almighty? Or has her sin separated her from God--and David--forever?

With a historian's sharp eye for detail and a novelist's creative spirit, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the passionate and emotional story of David's most famous--and infamous--wife. Smith uses her gentle hand to draw out the humanity in her characters, allowing readers to see themselves in the three-dimensional lives and minds of people who are often viewed in starkly moralistic terms. You will never read the story of David and Bathsheba in the same way again.




Behind the Palace Doors:  Five Centures of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery and Folly from Royal Britain by Michael Farquhar.  Non-fiction.  US and UK release March 1, 2011.

Spanning 500 years of British history, a revealing look at the secret lives of some great (and not-so-great) Britons, courtesy of one of the world’s most engaging royal historians

Beleaguered by scandal, betrayed by faithless spouses, bedeviled by ambitious children, the kings and queens of Great Britain have been many things, but they have never been dull. Some sacrificed everything for love, while others met a cruel fate at the edge of an axman’s blade. From the truth behind the supposed madness of King George to Queen Victoria’s surprisingly daring taste in sculpture, Behind the Palace Doors ventures beyond the rumors to tell the unvarnished history of Britain’s monarchs, highlighting the unique mix of tragedy, comedy, romance, heroism, and incompetence that has made the British throne a seat of such unparalleled fascination.

Featuring:

• stories covering every monarch, from randy Henry VIII to reserved Elizabeth II
• historical myths debunked and surprising “Did you know . . . ?” anecdotes
• four family trees spanning every royal house, from the Tudors to the Windsors



Royal Sisters:  The Story of the Daughters of James II by Jean Plaidy.  US and UK reissue March 1, 2011.
Two sisters change the course of a nation by forsaking the King—their own father.

England is on the verge of revolution. Antagonized by the Catholicism of King James II, the people plot to drive him from the throne. But at the heart of the plot is a deep betrayal: the defection of the daughters James loves, Mary and Anne.

Both raised Protestant according to the wishes of England, the sisters support Protestant usurper William of Orange, Mary's husband, who lusts after the British crown. Passive Queen Mary is subservient to her husband's wishes, while Anne is desperate to please her childhood friend Sarah Churchill, a bold and domineering woman determined to subdue Anne, the queen-to-be, and rule England herself.
Intrigue and political drama run high as the sisters struggle to be reconciled with each other--and with the haunting memory of the father they have exiled.



Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran.  UK release March 3, 2011; released in the US in February 2011.
Marie has grown up in her step-father's waxwork museum, learning the ways of crafting human statues for the rich and famous of Paris. But all is not well in the French capital, the people are going hungry while the king and queen and their court live increasingly lavish lives. Surrounded by her father's friends, Marie learns of their plans for revolution. All the while, she talks to her best friend and childhood sweetheart, Jack.

Meanwhile a visit from Marie Antoinette results in Marie being offered a job in the palace, teaching the reviled queen how to make waxwork masks. Wary at first, Marie soon discovers the most hated woman in France to be charming, endearing and ultimately a dear friend. And when the revolution comes, Marie's loyalties are sorely tested.

As an ally of the queen, she is thrown into jail and only has one method of survival - to make death masks of the key figures of the revolution and buy her way out. Will Jack have waited, or lost patience with her friendship with the queen?



The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland.  US and UK release March 3, 2011.
1210 and a black force is sweeping England. For a vengeful King John has seized control of the Church, leaving corpses to lie in unconsecrated ground, babies unbaptized in their cradles and the people terrified of dying in sin. And in the village of Gastmere, the consequences grow darker still when Elena, a servant girl, is dragged into a conspiracy to absolve the sins of the lord of the manor. As the terrors that soon begin to plague Elena's sleep grow darker, in desperation she visits the cunning woman, who has been waiting for just such an opportunity to fulfil an ancient curse conjured at the gallows. Elena, haunted by this curse and threatened with death for a crime she didn't commit, flees the village ... only to find her nightmare has barely begun. For treachery lurks in every shadow as King John’s brutal reign makes enemies of brothers, murderers of virgins and sinners of us all.



Prophecy by S. J. Parris.  UK release March 3, 2011; US release May 2011. 
The second in a major new series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno, philospher, scientist and heretic, for all fans of C.J.Sansom and The Name of the Rose.


Autumn, 1583. It's the year of the Great Conjunction: an astrological phenomenon believed to herald the death of one age and the dawn of another. England's tentative peace is under threat and prophecies foretell the death of Queen Elizabeth and, with her, the end of the Protestant religion.

When one of the queen's young maids of honour is found murdered inside the palace walls - astrological symbols carved into her flesh and clutching a sinister witch's doll - Elizabeth refuses to believe the killer could be someone within her own court.

In the meantime, Giordano Bruno, now secretly working for Elizabeth's spymaster Francis Walsingham at the French Embassy, is closely monitoring a Catholic conspiracy funded by King Philip of Spain and a cousin of Mary Stuart. But his position is growing increasingly tenuous; though the ambassador trusts him, his presence has been noted by Lord Henry Howard, a devout Catholic who publicly opposes anyone associated with magic or esoteric knowledge.

Bruno has cause to believe there's a connection between the murdered girl and the conspirators at the embassy. But when a second maid of honour is killed in the same way, he realizes that the killer may be watching him too. Determined to prove his worth to Elizabeth, Bruno must play a dangerous game: can he allow the plot to progress far enough to hand the queen the proof of conspiracy she needs, without putting her, England or his own life in danger?



Deliverance from Evil by Frances Hill.  US release March 3, 2011.
 
Salem, Massachusetts, Winter 1692: In the parsonage of Reverend Samuel Parris, two young girls are seated by the fire and play at fortune-telling as snow falls softly outside. What starts as a game sends one of the girls into a hysterical trance, and a small town begins its descent into madness. Accusations of witchcraft would destroy lives and old scores would be settled. Over 150 people would be arrested and imprisoned, with even more accused of consorting with the devil.


In Deliverance from Evil, Frances Hill brings her deep historical and political understanding together with her honed skills as a novelist to produce a picture of the Salem witch trials both realistic and emotional.







A Dark Anatomy by Robin Blake.  UK and US release March 4, 2011.
This title introduces a major new historical mystery series. The year is 1740. George II is on the throne but England's remoter provinces remain largely a law unto themselves. In Lancashire a grim discovery has been made: a Squire's wife, Dolores Brockletower, lies in the woods above her home, Garlick Hall, her throat brutally slashed. Called to the scene, Coroner Titus Cragg finds the Brockletower household awash with rumour and suspicion. He enlists the help of his astute young friend, doctor Luke Fidelis, to throw light on the case. But this is a world in which forensic science is in its infancy, and policing hardly exists. Embarking on their first gripping investigation, Cragg and Fidelis are faced with the superstition of witnesses, obstruction by local officials, and denunciations from the Squire himself.




And there you have it...19 new books that you'll just have to have!!