Publisher: Altus Press
H. Bedford-Jones’ thrilling novel of the Vikings and King Olaf, who broke the power of the old gods and who introduced Christianity into his realm. One of H. Bedford-Jones’ earliest novels, it’s now part of The H. Bedford-Jones Library.
'a wonderful book from one of our finest writers' Colum McCann Bella is a bright, clever girl who trains as a school teacher, determined to escape the limitations of her genteel impoverishment and become a "mistress of her own life". However, the manager of her school, the Rev Archibald Leeper, a married clergyman, develops a morbid attachment to her, which is to colour the rest of her life. Leeper places Bella in an untenable position; her only escape is to seduce a young army corporal, Nicholas Beaver, to hide the fact that her reputation has been ruined by the clergyman. She marries Nicholas and they have five children. However, when Nicholas dies at the age of 40 from syphilis, Bella realizes belatedly that she is not the only one who has been keeping sexual secrets. Bella Casey was the sister of the playwright, Sean O'Casey. Tellingly, though, her brother chose to kill her off prematurely in his autobiography – at least 10 years before her actual demise.Show book
After narrowly escaping Nazi terror, Rowland Sinclair and his companions land in London, believing they are safe. But they are wrong. A bizarre murder plunges the hapless Australians into a queer world of British aristocracy, Fascist Blackshirts, illicit love, scandal and spies. A world where gentlemen are not always what they are dressed up to be…Show book
Capturing historical events, terrifying moments of danger, tragedy, the price of war, and the invincible spirit of a woman of honor, The Award is a monumental tale from one of our most gifted storytellers-Danielle Steel's finest, most emotionally resonant novel yet. Gaëlle de Barbet is sixteen years old in 1940 when the German army occupies France and frightening changes begin. She is shocked and powerless when French gendarmes take away her closest friend, Rebekah Feldmann, and her family, and send them to a detention camp for deportation to an unknown, ominous fate. The local German military commandant makes Gaëlle's family estate outside Lyon into his headquarters. Her father and brother are killed by the Germans; her mother fades away into madness and ill health. Trusted friends and employees become traitors. And by accident, Gaëlle begins a perilous journey with the French Resistance, hoping to save lives to make up for the beloved friend she could do nothing to help. Taking terrifying risks, Gaëlle becomes a valuable member of the Resistance, fearlessly delivering Jewish children to safety underneath the eyes of the Gestapo and their French collaborators. Then she is suddenly approached by the German commandant with an astonishing and dangerous plan to save part of France's artistic heritage as the Germans withdraw. And once again, her life is on the line. Conducted in secret, flawlessly carried out, her missions for the Resistance change her life and mark her for years. She is falsely accused of collaboration at the end of the war, and flees Lyon in disgrace, orphaned and alone. She goes to Paris to put the war behind her and begin a new life, with the ghosts of the past always close at hand. Gaëlle's life will take her from Paris to New York, from a career as a Dior model to marriage and motherhood, unbearable loss, and mature, lasting love. She returns to Paris to run a small museum, honoring victims of the Holocaust. She has never sought recognition for her courage during the war years she can never forget. Her label as a collaborator remains, until her granddaughter, a respected political journalist, is determined that past wrongs finally be made right, and her grandmother's brave acts be recognized. Now a grateful nation will finally acknowledge this remarkable woman. At last, she is absolved and honored as the war hero she was.Show book
In this #1 international bestselling historical adventure trilogy opener, Incan civilization is rocked by omens, civil war, conquest, and a destined love. In sixteenth-century Peru, Anamaya, daughter of an Incan princess, is summoned to the dying Huayna Capac, ruler of the Incan empire. Huayna makes her guardian of the Empire, entrusted with the mysteries of the Inca Gods. But after his death, Anamaya finds she cannot remember these secrets. Her only reminder is the black puma spirit that prowls around her at night. Yet Anamaya must remember them. For sailing from Spain is a force of men intent on capturing the wealth of the Empire, and at its head, Francisco Pizarro, a man whose destiny is inextricably linked with the fate of the Incas . . . Praise for The Puma’s Shadow: “What Gary Jennings did for the Aztecs, Daniel attempts to do for the Incas. . . . Daniel’s rich historical detail is in perfect proportion to his narrative, always enhancing and never slowing down the action, which is considerable. This is a robust and well-balanced adventure.” —Publishers WeeklyShow book
The Armies of the Night chronicles the famed October 1967 March on the Pentagon, in which all of the old and new Left-hippies, yuppies, Weathermen, Quakers, Christians, feminists, and intellectuals-came together to protest the Vietnam War. Alongside his contemporaries, Mailer went, witnessed, participated, suffered, and then wrote one of the most stark and intelligent appraisals of the 1960s: its myths, heroes, and demons. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a cornerstone of New Journalism, The Armies of the Night is not only a fascinating foray into that mysterious terrain between novel and history, fiction and nonfiction, but also a key chapter in the autobiography of Norman Mailer-who, in this nonfiction novel, becomes his own great character, letting history in all its complexity speak through him.Show book
A Mystic's daughter flees Moscow on the eve of the Great War. A French soldier lies wounded on the Western Front. A German officer veers between loyalty and integrity. An English courtesan reclines on a sea of books. Each will make a journey that changes history. The constellations will force the Mystic's daughter to make an impossible choice. To remain at her harp as the shadow of the war looms again – or join the top-secret Special Operations Executive (SOE). Bābouli to her Sufi father, Madeleine to the Gestapo, a lone mission to Occupied Paris promises to be the most hazardous of World War Two. Inspired by real events, Codename: Madeleine is the most unexpected spy story ever told. It teems with tigers, zeppelins, elephants, U-boats, angels, assassins, chessmen, cyanide, beetles, butterflies and Rumi. Revolving between Paris, London, Prague, India and Latin America, Codename: Madeleine is a kaleidoscope of love, war, music, betrayal, poetry and resistance.Show book
