Other books that might interest you

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  The Song of Hild

  Vibeke Vasbo

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  Abbess Hild of Whitby was an extraordinary woman living in extraordinary times. In this exquisite translation of the #1 Danish bestselling novel Hildas sang, we are drawn into a world of dark dealings, powerful patriarchy and religious wrangling.
  
   
  In the political and religious upheavals of the seventh-century British Isles, tensions between the Danish-German invaders and native Celts mirror power struggles masquerading as religious struggles that reverberate internationally today. In The Song of Hild we are brought face-to-face with the political manoeuvres of conflicting religions, the building of a double monastery, and the power exercised by the Church of Rome.
  
   
  This is a gritty, powerful story about the prominent role women played in the spread of Christianity in seventh-century Britain.
  
  “a bestseller of great literary quality”
  Ekstra Bladet (from a review of the original Danish edition)

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  Hinton

  Mark Blacklock

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  A nineteenth-century tale of dangerous and pioneering ideas, based on the incredible true story of a scandalous British mathematician.Howard Hinton and his family are living in Japan, escaping from a scandal. Hinton’s obsession is his work, his voyages into mathematical pure space, into the fourth dimension, but also his wife and sons, each of whom are entangled in the strange and unknown landscapes of Hinton’s science fictions.In a bravura and startling meeting of real and philosophical elements, Mark Blacklock has created a ravishing period piece of late-Victorian social, scientific and domestic life. Hinton is about extraordinary discoveries, and terrible choices. It is about people who discover and map other realms, and what the implications might be for those of us left behind.“A singular literary achievement.” —TheObserver“A refreshing, unusual and enriching tale of sadness and scandal.” —Spectator  “Somewhere between detective novel, philosophical head-scratcher and historical page-turner, Hinton is a chimerical treat.” —Tatler“A brilliant resurrectionist raid on the past as it should have unfolded. Mark Blacklock breathes new life into the tropes of detective fiction, occult mathematics and forensic science. He makes new mysteries out of re-forgotten enigmas.” —Iain Sinclair

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  The daughter of the great Barnum

  Alexander Kuprin

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  While almost entirely fictional, this story about the famous entertainer Barnum, his beautiful daughter, and one very clever clown, set against the backdrop of an old-fashioned circus, is witty, sweet, and romantic.

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  The Nun

  Simonetta Agnello Hornby

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  Winner of the Italian PEN Prize: A tale of illicit love and a girl forced into a convent in the early nineteenth century.   1839, Messina, Italy: Agata is the daughter of an aristocrat, albeit an impoverished one, and she has fallen in love with wealthy Giacomo Lepre. Their families, however, view their romance as unacceptable and tawdry—and when Agata’s father dies, her mother decides to ferry her daughter far away, to Naples, where she hopes to garner a stipend from the king.   The only boat leaving Messina that day is captained by young Englishman James Garson. Following a tempestuous passage to Naples, during which Agata confesses her troubles to James, Agata and her mother find themselves rebuffed by the king, and Agata is forced to join a convent. The Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio Stilita is rife with rancor and jealousy, illicit passions and ancient feuds. But Agata remains aloof, devoting herself to the cultivation of medicinal herbs, calmed by the steady rhythms of monastic life. She reads all the books James sends her and follows the news of the various factions struggling to bring unity to Italy.   She has accepted her life as a nun, but she is divided between her yearnings for purity and religiosity and her desire to be part of the world. And she is increasingly torn when she realizes that her feelings for James, though he is only a distant presence in her life, have eclipsed those for Lepre . . .   “Hornby enriches her story with sensuous details of food, fashion, furnishings, and the rules of an extravagant society, savoring local color and personality quirks.” —Publishers Weekly   “An historical novel, a coming-of-age novel, a perfect portrait of family dynamics, The Nun also gives us, in Agata, an unforgettable heroine.” —Gazzetta di Mantova

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  The Phantom Patrol

  L. Ron Hubbard

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  Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Johnny Trescott is as tough as they come. But he's about to lose everything — his boat, his freedom, and his identity. His mission is to track down drug runners, but a rescue mission leads straight to disaster. Stranded on an island by a smuggler, Johnny's got nothing left to lose... and there's nothing he won't do to reclaim his name and his boat. Rev up your engines and get ready to ride a wave of action and intrigue as the audio version of The Phantom Patrol delivers an unsinkable adventure.

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  A Child Called Happiness -...

  Stephan Collishaw

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  A story of love, race, power and consequences that spans generations 
  Three days after arriving in Zimbabwe, Natalie discovers an abandoned newborn baby on a hill near her uncle’s farm.  
   Years earlier, the hill was home to the Mazowe village where Chief Tafara governed at a time of great unrest. Faced with taxation, abductions and loss of their land at the hands of the white settlers, Tafara joined forces with the neighbouring villages in what becomes the first of many uprisings.  
  A Child Called Happiness is a beautiful and emotive work of historical fiction. This is a story of hope, resilience and reclamation, proving that the choices made by our ancestor’s can echo for many generations to come.  
  'Collishaw's characters are delicately created and endearingly human' Celeste Hicks 
  'An incredibly timely book about the human upheaval in all its emotional forms' Rosie Garthwaite 
  ‘Steeped in the beautiful smells and sounds of Zimbabwe and evidences Stephan Collishaw’s love of the country… His balanced treatment of an emotive issue will challenge and provoke many readers’ Phillip Barclay 
  'Deftly weaves together two stories set in different periods of Zimbabwe's history, always taking the reader with him. The vexed issue of land in Zimbabwe and who it belongs to is the common thread. Collishaw creates atmosphere and a sense of place, bringing to life the characters, the history and the politics' Mary Harper 
  'A gripping yet tender story, played out under a burning African sun, and shot through with thought-provoking authenticity' Nick Brownlee

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