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More great releases for this week!
Inspired by female architect Julia Morgan, this is the riveting tale of a race against time to rebuild two luxury hotels after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed 400 city blocks and left 250,000 homeless. Morgan's fictional protegee Amelia Bradshaw and client J.D. Thayer will sacrifice anything to see the city they love rise from the ashes; in the process, they can't help but lose their hearts.
The moving, tragic story of Charles I, the last absolute monarch of England, during his imprisonment in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Richly drawn and inspired by the New York Times bestselling author's own experience living on the Isle of Wight, this dramatic retelling brings to life the cavalier king whom Cromwell deposed. But even more fascinating than the account of royal hopes and misfortunes is the tale of a charming servant girl who is as romantic and tender in love as she is bold and resourceful in plotting the king's escape.
This is a new edition of the drama and history of Britain's royal lineage from the Saxons to the Windsors. Don't know your Albert from your Ethelred? Which Henry had six wives, and which was crowned at eight years old? "Kings & Queens of England and Scotland" is the essential guide that will help you sort your Tudors from your Stuarts, and discover how each monarch helped to shape the country we live in today. Easy to read biographies of each sovereign highlight key dates and achievements and family trees illustrate relations and ancestors - new edition includes noteworthy recent events in the Royal Family including the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton. "Kings & Queens of England and Scotland" is suitable for those just beginning their journey into royal history or for those who simply want to check their facts.
A compelling historical novel from a much-loved author - 1567. A young man – Lachlan Gilmore – rescues a lady whose cart has become stuck in a ditch, but unbeknownst to him, Lady Annabel Erskine has a secret mission: to keep Mary, Queen of Scots, imprisoned on Castle Island in Lochleven, supplied with garments fit for her high estate. Soon, Lachlan’s sister, talented seamstress Christina, is assisting Lady Annabel in her work. But as their friendship grows, she is unwittingly drawn deeper into the doomed Queen’s affairs . . .
The book is a highly readable account of a fascinating era - an era that witnessed barbaric public executions and courtly conspiracies, the Great Fire of London and the plague, as well as being the age of Shakespeare, Bacon and Raleigh, the Reformation, exploration and victory over the Spanish Armada. Full of colourful detail and intrigue, the book explores the shocking contrasts of the Tudor age, where the splendour of court life contrasted with the squalor of the overcrowded, rat-infested cities and the harsh treatment meted out to heretics and traitors, real and imagined.
First published in 1946, Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain continues the "vivid, psychologically brilliant" (Times Literary Supplement) journey begun in Young Bess and Elizabeth, Captive Princess. Philip, Prince of Spain, the unwilling bridegroom of Queen Mary, has been warned about the young Elizabeth. According to all reports, she is a heretic, a rebel, and a potential enemy-but she's also alluring. Accused of treachery by Mary, Elizabeth finds herself teetering between Mary's vengeance and Philip's uneasy ardor, with her life in the balance. "Striking and unforgettable."-Blog Critics
To the extent that she is popularly known, Katherine Parr (1512-48) is the woman who survived King Henry VIII as his sixth and last wife. She merits far greater recognition, however, on several other fronts. Fluent in French, Italian, and Latin, Parr also began, out of necessity, to learn Spanish when she ascended to the throne in 1543. As Henry's wife and queen of England, she was a noted patron of the arts and music and took a personal interest in the education of her stepchildren, Princesses Mary and Elizabeth and Prince Edward. Above all, Parr commands interest for her literary labors: she was the first woman in England to publish under her own name in English.
For this new edition of Parr's writing, Janel Mueller has assembled the four publications attributed to her - "Psalms or Prayers", "Prayers or Meditations", "The Lamentation of a Sinner", and a compilation of prayers and Biblical excerpts written in her hand - as well as her extensive correspondence, which is collected here for the first time. Mueller brings to this volume a wealth of knowledge of sixteenth-century English culture. She marshals the impeccable skills of a textual scholar in rendering Parr's sixteenth-century English for modern readers and provides useful background on the circumstances of and references in Parr's letters and compositions. Given its scope and ambition, "Katherine Parr: Complete Works and Correspondence" will be an event for the English publishing world and will make an immediate contribution to the fields of sixteenth-century literature, Reformation studies, women's writing, and Tudor politics.
This richly imagined tale takes readers to a tiny German town in the time of “the burnings,” when pious and heretic alike became victims of witch-hunting zealots. When a double murder stirs up festering fears, the village priest sends for help. But the charismatic Inquisitor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, village fear, guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. In the midst of this nightmare, a doubting priest and an unloved wife—a secret friend of the recently martyred William Tyndale—somehow manage to hear another Voice…and discover the power of love over fear.
Dinfoil, Germany, 1538. In a little town on the edge of the Black Forest, a double murder stirs up festering fears. A lonely woman despairs of pleasing her husband and wonders why other women shun her. An overworked sheriff struggles to hold the town—and himself—together. A priest begins to doubt the power of the words he shares daily with his flock. And the charismatic Inquisitor who arrives to help—with a filthy witch in a cage as an object lesson—brings his own mix of lofty ideals and treacherous evil. Under his influence, ordinary village fears and resentments take a deadly turn. Terror mounts. Dark deeds come to light. And men and women alike discover not only what they are capable of, but who they are…and what it means to grapple for grace.
The complete letters, dispatches and chronicles that tell the real story of Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, caused comment wherever she went. Through the chronicles, letters and dispatches written by both Anne and her contemporaries, it is possible to see her life and thoughts as she struggled to become queen of England, ultimately ending her life on the scaffold. Only through the original sources is it truly possible to evaluate the real Anne.
George Wyatt's Life of Queen Anne provided the first detailed account of the queen, based on the testimony of those that knew her. The poems of Anne's supposed lover, Thomas Wyatt, as well as accounts such as Cavendish's Life of Wolsey also give details of her life, as do the hostile dispatches of the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys and the later works of the slanderous Nicholas Slander and Nicholas Harpsfield. Henry VIII's love letters and many of Anne's own letters survive, providing an insight into the love affair that changed England forever. The reports on Anne's conduct in the Tower of London show the queen's shock and despair when she realised that she was to die. Collected together for the first time, these and other sources make it possible to view the real Anne Boleyn through her own words and those of her contemporaries.
Wolves Among Us and Mary of Carisbrooke sounds good. Never read anything by Margaret Irwin but I've heard good things.
March 28, 2011 1:49 AM