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Every week Tanzanite features upcoming historical fiction and history related non-fiction books that have come to her attention and may be of interest to others. Since she has an out of control TBR pile, so should everyone else!
Politically astute, ambitious, and beautiful, Yolande of Aragon, queen of Sicily, was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. Caught in the complex dynastic battle of the Hundred Years War, Yolande championed the dauphin’s cause against the forces of England and Burgundy, drawing on her savvy, her statecraft, and her intimate network of spies. But the enemy seemed invincible. Just as French hopes dimmed, an astonishingly courageous young woman named Joan of Arc arrived from the farthest recesses of the kingdom, claiming she carried a divine message— a message that would change the course of history and ultimately lead to the coronation of Charles VII and the triumph of France.
Now, on the six hundredth anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc, this fascinating book explores the relationship between these two remarkable women, and deepens our understanding of this dramatic period in history. How did an illiterate peasant girl gain access to the future king of France, earn his trust, and ultimately lead his forces into battle? Was it only the hand of God that moved Joan of Arc – or was it also Yolande of Aragon.
The one and only Conn Iggulden takes on the story of the mighty Kublai Khan. An epic tale of a great and heroic mind; his action-packed rule; and how in conquering one-fifth of the world’s inhabited land, he changed the course of history forever.
A scholar who conquered an empire larger than those of Alexander or Caesar.
A warrior who would rule a fifth of the world with strength and wisdom.
A man who betrayed a brother to protect a nation.
From a young scholar to one of history’s most powerful warriors, Conqueror tells the story of Kublai Khan – an extraordinary man who should be remembered alongside Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte as one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known.
It should have been a golden age, with an empire to dwarf the lands won by the mighty Genghis Khan. Instead, the vast Mongol nation is slowly losing ground, swallowed whole by their most ancient enemy. A new generation has arisen, yet the long shadow of the Great Khan still hangs over them all …
Kublai dreams of an empire stretching from sea to sea. But to see it built, this scholar must first learn the art of war. He must take his nation’s warriors to the ends of the known world. And when he is weary, when he is wounded, he must face his own brothers in bloody civil war.
The Barons' War: Reform and Rebellion by Adrian Jobson. US release November 30, 2011.
Before eventually spiraling into a bitter civil war, a significant section of England’s baronage attempted to transform the governance of the realm by imposing a program of reform that was far more radical and wide ranging than Magna Carta in 1215. Its radicalism was such that nothing like it was to recur until the political upheavals of the seventeenth century.
Simon de Montfort, its champion, was the first leader of a political movement to seize power and govern in the king’s name. The charismatic de Montfort and his forces had captured most of southeastern England by 1263 and at the battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry III was defeated and taken prisoner. De Montfort became de facto ruler of
England and the short period which followed was the closest England was to come to complete abolition of the monarchy until Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth of 1649–1660. The Baron’s War brings recent scholarship to a broad readership in a coherent and readable overview.
Anne Merrick first met Jack Hampton when, celebrating the repeal of the Stamp Act, he abruptly swept her into his arms. Now, a decade later, with war raging in the colonies, Anne and Jack are united in the fight for their country’s independence.
The fight for liberty takes them from the raging battlefields in Saratoga to the bitterly cold encampment at Valley Forge. But it is in Philadelphia that Anne and Jack will come up against their greatest challenge. As Anne works her way into the Philadelphia elite, she comes across an old enemy: a British officer she had left for dead in New York City a year before—and he’ll stop at nothing to get his revenge...
Saint Petersburg 1917. As the new year dawns a diver pulls the murdered body of Rasputin, the Mad Monk, from the icy waters of the Neva River. Hours later, Rasputin's daughters are taken to the tsar's palace as wards of the Romanovs where the tsarina makes a shocking request: would Masha, 18, take the place of her father at the sickbed of the tsaravitch Alyosha? Shaken, Masha agrees to do what she can for the imperious young prince. Two months later, the Bolsheviks force the tsar to abdicate, placing the royal family under house arrest.
Trapped together in increasingly harsh conditions, Masha and Alyosha take solace in each other's company. The two teenagers, with radically difference experiences of Russia, Rasputian and Alyosha's parents unlucky reign, create a private realm of magic and love as Masha introduces the tsaravitch to a wild and beautiful land he will never live to rule.
Like most sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor were rivals. They were also queens.
Raised together at the 13th Century court of their father, Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, Marguerite and Eleanor are separated by royal marriages—but never truly parted.
Patient, perfect, reticent, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. Her husband, Louis IX, is considered the greatest monarch of his age. But he is also a religious zealot who denies himself all pleasure—including the love and companionship his wife so desperately craves. Can Marguerite find enough of her sister’s boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in the guise of forbidden love?
Passionate, strong-willed, and stubborn, Eleanor becomes Queen of England. Her husband, Henry III, is neither as young nor as dashing as Marguerite’s. But she quickly discovers he is a very good man…and a very bad king. His failures are bitter disappointments for Eleanor, who has worked to best her elder sister since childhood. Can Eleanor stop competing with her sister and value what she has, or will she let it slip away?
In the sweeping new historical novel from the author of The Second Duchess, a gifted young woman negotiates maze of murder and conspiracy in court of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Rinette Leslie of Granmuir has the ancient gift of divining the future in flowers, but her gift cannot prepare her for the turmoil that comes when the dying queen regent entrusts her with a casket full of Scotland’s darkest secrets. On the very day she means to deliver it to newly crowned Mary, Queen of Scots, Rinette’s husband is brutally assassinated. Devastated, Rinette demands justice before she will surrender the casket, but she is surrounded by ruthless men who will do anything to possess it. In the end, the flowers are all she can trust—and only the flowers will lead her safely home to Granmuir.
I really like Conn Iggulden. I need to read the series I have on the go by him so I can read this new one!
July 7, 2011 11:59 AM
Well, I think I can safely say everyone of these novels are going on my wish list *sigh* If only somebody would pay me to do nothing but read all day.
July 7, 2011 7:12 PM
"The Sister Queens"...can't wait!
A great intro to these two queens is "Four Queens, The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe" by Nancy Goldstone. Wonderful biography, easy to read and understand, and well worth the effort to meet Marguerite and Eleanor in the flesh.
Now I'm ready for a historical novel featuring these sisters in their respective courts.
July 8, 2011 5:17 AM
All amazing books! I want them all.
July 8, 2011 8:18 AM