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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Adventure / thriller > Historical adventure
'A brutal, brilliant tale, told with verve and pace' Bernard Cornwell In the twilight of the Wars of the Roses, one knight carries out a final mission for his fallen king...HAUNTED BY A SIN August, 1485. Grizzled knight Sir John Hawker carries a heavy burden on his soul: a decision taken, a deed committed that cannot be undone. When his liege lord, King Richard III, charges Hawker with two secret missions, a chance for atonement beckons. A RACE ACROSS EUROPE... Then Richard falls at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and Hawker puts spurs to his horse, ready to discharge his final duty to the king. But the usurping Tudors have discovered Hawker's quest, and are hot on his heels. ...FOR THE FATE OF A KINGDOM The Tudors know that Hawker carries with him two things; the king's priceless ruby, rumoured to be cursed, and a Plantagenet heir... And they know where he's going. A breath-taking cat and mouse chase across medieval Europe, from Bosworth to Venice. Packed with intricate plotting and beautifully realised characters, this is perfect for fans of Christian Cameron and David Gilman. Praise for Hawker and the King's Jewel 'A brutal, brilliant tale, told with verve and pace. Hawker is a terrific creation' Bernard Cornwell 'Bale takes the reader from the terror of battle where a crown is lost and won to the sparkling jewel that is Venice, teeming with intrigue and treachery. Great storytelling' David Gilman, author of the Master of War series 'An absolute gem of a novel. I was taken aback by Bale's skill and talent. Meticulously researched, with a totally authentic medieval feel, the novel fizzes with action, romance and intrigue. A gripping yarn' Angus Donald, author of the Outlaw series
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE A ROYAL READING ROOM PICK 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA GOLD CROWN THE NEW YORK TIMES AND TIMES BESTSELLER TIME MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A gripping historical adventure that feels sharp, fresh and modern' STYLIST 'So beautiful, so daring, so complete' TAYLOR JENKINS REID 'A masterpiece' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through the 20th century, immersing the reader' TELEGRAPH, Best Fiction of 2021 'How deeply we care about each of these people. Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES 'Wonderful. Memorable characters and vivid storytelling' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINE 'A tour-de-force' DAILY EXPRESS A soaring, breathtakingly ambitious novel that weaves together the astonishing lives of a 1950s vanished female aviator and the modern-day Hollywood actress who plays her on screen. _______________________ From her days as a wild child in prohibition America to the blitz and glitz of wartime London, from the rugged shores of New Zealand to a lonely iceshelf in Antarctica, Marian Graves is driven by a need for freedom and danger. Determined to live an independent life, she resists the pull of her childhood sweetheart, and burns her way through a suite of glamorous lovers. But it is an obsession with flight that consumes her most. Now, as she is about to fulfil her greatest ambition, to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole, Marian crash lands in a perilous wilderness of ice. Over half a century later, troubled film star Hadley Baxter is drawn inexorably to play the enigmatic pilot on screen. It is a role that will lead her to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh and spellbinding light on the story of the unknowable Marian Graves. _________________________________________ 'Extraordinary' NEW YORK TIMES 'Full of adventure, passion and tragedy' THE TIMES 'Soars from the very first page' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Luminous, masterful. Glides seamlessly through 20th century history' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Breathtaking' OBSERVER 'Impressive and gripping' SUNDAY TIMES 'Surprising and moving at every turn' GUARDIAN 'Audacious and Immersive' DAILY MAIL 'Accomplished and ambitious' FINANCIAL TIMES Readers love GREAT CIRCLE: ***** What a read! Immense story with beautifully created characters ***** A 600 page turner that you are sad to finish ***** The story is so well researched and planned; historical fiction standing side by side with history itself ***** This is a stunning achievement, my perspective feels fundamentally transformed through reading it ***** A wonderful saga, covering a large chunk of the twentieth century
A ship adrift, all hands dead. A lighthouse keeper murdered in the night. The Crown needs man to find the truth. Doctor Mungo Lyon, his reputation tarnished by the Burke & Hare scandal, and forbidden to practise as a surgeon, is the wrong man. That's exactly why the Crown chose him.
The fast-paced sequel to the near-future adventure The Rise and Fall of D.O.DO. In this history-bending adventure, the ragtag team of ex-D.O.D.O. agents must traverse time and space to stop the powerful Irish witch Grainne from reversing the evolution of all modern technology. From Jacobean England to the ancient Roman Empire, Mel Stokes and her fellow outcasts must untangle the knotted threads of history while the diabolical Grainne jumps from timeline to timeline, always staying one step ahead - or is it behind? Historical objects disappear, cities literally rise and fall, and nothing less than the fate of humanity is at stake. Will they be able to fix the past-in order to save the future?
MASTER STORYTELLER JACK HIGGINS DISPLAYS ALL HIS CUSTOMARY SKILLS IN A HEART-POUNDIING ADVENTURE WITH A LESS FAMILIAR SETTING – 19TH CENTURY RURAL IRELAND – AND FEATURING A SWASHBUCKLING NEW HERO At the end of the American Civil War, Confederate Colonel Clay Fitzgerald escapes to Ireland, where his uncle has left him an estate, only to find that Ireland is caught up in a civil war of its own. The struggle between the wealthy landlords and the impoverished tenant farmers is growing in intensity, and having just fought and lost a terrible war, Clay wants to avoid the coming conflict. But after witnessing the atrocities that the landowners visit upon the people, Clay is unable to stand by. Taking the guise of a legendary night-riding outlaw, he joins the fight against the landlords – and wages a rebellion of his own . . . "Higgins is the master" "A compulsively readable storyteller" " A thriller writer in a class of his own" "Higgins makes the pages fly"
THE COMPELLING NOVEL FROM SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER PHILIPPA GREGORY 'There is only one bond that I trust: between a woman and her sisters. We never take our eyes off each other. In love and in rivalry, we always think of each other.' When Katherine of Aragon is brought to the Tudor court as a young bride, the oldest princess, Margaret, takes her measure. With one look, each knows the other for a rival, an ally, a pawn, destined - with Margaret's younger sister Mary - to a sisterhood unique in all the world. The three sisters will become the queens of England, Scotland and France. United by family loyalties and affections, the three queens find themselves set against each other. Katherine commands an army against Margaret and kills her husband James IV of Scotland. But Margaret's boy becomes heir to the Tudor throne when Katherine loses her son. Mary steals the widowed Margaret's proposed husband, but when Mary is widowed it is her secret marriage for love that is the envy of the others. As they experience betrayals, dangers, loss and passion, the three sisters find that the only constant in their perilous lives is their special bond, more powerful than any man, even a king. Praise for Philippa Gregory: 'Meticulously researched and deeply entertaining, this story of betrayal and divided loyalties is Gregory on top form' Good Housekeeping 'Gregory has popularised Tudor history perhaps more than any other living fiction writer...all of her books feature strong, complex women, doing their best to improve their lives in worlds dominated by men' Sunday Times 'Engrossing' Sunday Express 'Popular historical fiction at its finest, immaculately researched and superbly told' The Times
King and Country. No matter the cost. With the backing of his uncle, General Penrod Ballantyne, young Leon Courtney joins the King's Rifles of Nairobi. When he becomes discouraged by the dishonesty of army life, his uncle recruits him for a special mission - spying on the Germans in East Africa, whom the General suspects are preparing for the Kaiser's war. Posing as a professional game hunter Leon is tasked with gathering information on one of his clients, wealthy industrialist Otto Von Meerbach. Leon finds himself falling for Von Meerbach's beautiful mistress, but never forgets that his real mission is to destroy the enemy. But how easy will he find his task when his true enemy is closer to home than Leon ever expected?
A young man's life depends on the verdict of a jury made up of vengeful, blood thirsty residents of a small town. Is circumstantial evidence, and an unbelievable series of events, enough for them to him convict and sentence him to hang? Is his best friend, the man he is actually accused of killing, really dead?
The captivating Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Familiars Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . . London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, Bess is astonished to be told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why. Less than a mile from Bess's lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart. From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds . . . 'The new Hilary Mantel' COSMOPOLITAN 'Stacey Halls is a writer of great originality, great imagination and great sense of place. Atmospheric, intelligent, accessible, every novel is worth reading, then reading again and again' KATE MOSSE Another gripping, immersive, intelligent work of historical fiction from the bestselling author of The Familiars' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of THE MERCIES A moving, atmospheric chiller' INDEPENDENT 'A breathtaking achievement' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Enjoyable and atmospheric' THE TIMES 'Historical drama at its very best' MY WEEKLY **MRS ENGLAND: the brand new novel from Stacey Halls is out now** *Sunday Times bestseller February and September 2020*
Artist and photographer Clare Newton rediscovers and records the faint remnants of old London, only made visible when lit by a fleeting low winter's sun. These images are the conduits through time, analysing the sometimes uncomfortable balance between a struggling heritage to exist and the insatiable appetite of modern regeneration. But deep inside East London also lies a Victorian era. The mother of inventions, which not only stimulated change across the world then but even now their lingering artefacts and sayings effect us even in today's hi-tech social world. Strange but true stories that explain how and where artefacts have come from. Including the roots of 'Sarcasm' or the colour purple, both invented in the east end. Or how Shoreditch got its name. This book arose after many previous years exploration for a large exhibition displayed before the Olympics in London, called Riches Uncovered. The facts of which will be made into a series of photographic studies for all to enjoy and smile over. About Clare Newton In 2001 Clare Newton was awarded the British Female Inventor of the Year, and she has received 5 international awards for innovation. Born in London, her creative talents were expressed at a young age, first painting her bedroom to building wooden aeroplanes. But when she was given her first camera, a little Minolta, at the age of 14, it inspired her to build a dark room in the roof of her parents' house, where she taught herself how to shoot and develop photographs, with neighbours encouraging her with small commissions. She took a degree in art and design in East London and worked as a Graphic & Interior Designer for many years. Photography really took off for her when the Olympics came to London. She made her first large photographic installation in 2009, 'Riches Uncovered', a collection of photographic montages to explain and document East London's disappearing heritage. After this first project she went on to produce numerous extraordinary community art projects, involving hundreds of children and adults. The resulting photographic montages were displayed outdoors in unexpected public places, encouraging all to take part, share and learn about local heritage. Clare believes that it is through the passion of creating participatory public projects, that art can positively affect people in different and personal ways, even drawing communities together. Clare's next endeavour was to create Jump4London - the World's Longest Photograph, with 5,000 people taking part, who appeared to jump simultaneously. Two meters high and one kilometre in length, it was printed on 2.5 tons of specialist photographic material, and documented an important piece of London's history as people celebrated the 2012 Olympic Games. It made a Double Guinness World Record as part of the Cultural Olympiad's World Record London.
The recent release of the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World has focused even more attention on the publishing phenomenon of the late Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels about the Royal Navy in the age of Nelson. These five volumes, beautifully produced and boxed, contain over 7,000 pages of what has often been described as a single, continuous narrative. They are a perfect tribute to such a literary achievement, and a perfect gift for the serious O'Brian enthusiast.
Richard Sharpe, asked to help an old friend, meets, at last, the greatest enemy. Five years after the Battle of Waterloo, Sharpe's peaceful retirement in Normandy is shattered. An old friend, Don Blas Vivar, is missing in Chile, reported dead at rebel hands - a report his wife refuses to believe. She appeals to Sharpe to find out the truth. Sharpe, along with Patrick Harper, find themselves bound for Chile via St. Helena, where they have a fateful meeting with the fallen Emperor Napoleon. Convinced that they are on their way to collect a corpse, neither man can imagine that dangers that await them in Chile... Soldier, hero, rogue - Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.
The year is 1805, and the "Calliope," with Richard Sharpe aboard, is captured by a formidable French warship, the "Revenant," which has been terrorizing British nautical traffic in the Indian Ocean. The French warship races toward the safety of its own fleet, carrying a stolen treaty that could provoke India into a new war against the British -- and render for naught all that Sharpe has bravely fought for till now. But help comes from an unexpected quarter. An old friend, a captain in the Royal Navy, is on the trail of the "Revenant," and Sharpe comes aboard a 74-gun man-of-war called "Pucelle" in hot pursuit. What results is a breathtaking retelling of one of the most ferocious and one-sided sea battles in European history, in which Nelson -- and Sharpe -- vanquish the combined naval might of France and Spain at Trafalgar.
Nominated for the 2019 Hammett Prize Autumn 1915. The First World War is raging across Europe. Woodrow Wilson has kept Americans out of the trenches, although that hasn't stopped young men and women from crossing the Atlantic to volunteer at the front. Christopher Marlowe 'Kit' Cobb, a Chicago reporter and undercover agent for the US government is in Paris when he meets an enigmatic nurse called Louise. Officially in the city for a story about American ambulance drivers, Cobb is grateful for the opportunity to get to know her. Soon his intelligence handler, James Polk Trask, extends his mission and he is active again. Parisians are meeting 'death by dynamite' in a new campaign of bombings, and the German-speaking Kit seems just the man to discover who is behind this - possibly a German operative who has infiltrated with the waves of refugees? And so begins a pursuit that will test Kit Cobb, in all his roles, to the very limits of his principles, wits and talents for survival. Fleetly plotted and engaging with political and cultural issues that resonate deeply today, Paris in the Dark is a page-turning novel of unmistakable literary quality.
A slave woman is the only survivor of a failed expedition into the depths of Africa. She shelters in the hollow trunk of a baobab tree where she relives her earlier existence in a state of increasing isolation. How she was captured in her hometown and taken away as a child, her life in a harbour city on the eastern coast as servant to different masters, her journey with her last owner and protector, and her life in the baobab tree.
The Yellow Admiral ? the eighteenth novel in the sequence hailed as the greatest series of historical novels ever written ? sets the fall and rise of Jack Aubrey in brilliant counterpoint to the fall and rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
John becomes the hunted instead of the hunter, while trying to expose and execute those responsible for framing and hanging his best friend for a murder he didn't commit.
Following the extraordinary success of The Yellow Admiral, this latest Aubrey-Maturin novel brings alive the sights and sounds of North Africa as well as the great naval battles in the days immediately following Napoleon?s escape from Elba. Aubrey and Maturin are in the thick of the plots and counterplots to prevent his regaining power. Coloured by conspiracies in the Adriatic, in the Berber and Arab lands of the southern shores of the Mediterranean, by night actions, fierce pursuits, slave-trading and lion hunts, The Hundred Days is a masterpiece. |
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