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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Adventure / thriller > Historical adventure
The White Tower. A terrible vision. Her home invaded and precious documents stolen. Lady Isabelle must flee her pursuers, posing as a young male scholar in the New College of St Mary in Oxford. But when she learns she is with child it won't be long until she is discovered amongst their ranks. Can she bring herself to love an infant conceived in evil? And will she ever be reunited with her beloved Richard, or will Sir Henry Lormont's dagger find him first? This deftly plotted 15th century novel traverses the well-trodden pilgrimage routes from Oxford to Rome encountering lepers, assassins, sea rovers and historical figures Lady Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor along the way. Superbly researched by a scholar of the period, Clover blends history with the riveting story of a woman who overcomes the restrictions placed on her sex to create a page-turning novel.
'Like all the best vintages Jack Lark has aged to perfection. Scarred, battered and bloody, his story continues to enthral' Anthony Riches Roguish hero Jack Lark - soldier, leader, imposter - crosses borders once more as he pursues a brand-new adventure in Africa. London, 1868. Jack has traded the battlefield for business, running a thriving club in the backstreets of Whitechapel. But this underworld has rules and when Jack refuses to comply, he finds himself up against the East End's most formidable criminal - with devastating consequences. A wanted man, Jack turns to his friend Macgregor, an ex-officer, treasure hunter and his ticket out of England. Together they join the British army on campaign across the tablelands of Abyssinia to the fortress of Magdala, a high-stakes mission to free British prisoners captured by the notorious Emperor Tewodros. But life on the run can turn dangerous, especially in a land ravaged by war . . . Praise for the Jack Lark series: 'Brilliant' Bernard Cornwell 'Enthralling' The Times 'Bullets fly, emotions run high and treachery abounds... exceptionally entertaining historical action adventure' Matthew Harffy 'Expect ferocious, bloody action from the first page' Ben Kane 'You feel and experience all the emotions and the blood, sweat and tears that Jack does... I devoured it in one sitting' Parmenion Books
A journalist in nineteenth-century New York matches wits with a serial killer in a gripping thriller by the prizewinning author of the Ian Hamilton Mysteries. New York, 1880. Elizabeth van den Broek is the only female reporter at the Herald, the city's most popular newspaper. Then she and her bohemian friend Carlotta Ackerman find a woman's body wrapped like a mummy in a freshly dug hole in Central Park-the intended site of an obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle. The macabre discovery takes Elizabeth away from the society pages to follow an investigation into New York City's darkest shadows. When more bodies turn up, each tied to Egyptian lore, Elizabeth is onto a headline-making scoop more sinister than she could have imagined. Her reporting has readers spellbound, and each new clue implicates New York's richest and most powerful citizens. And a serial killer is watching every headline. Now a madman with an indecipherable motive is coming after Elizabeth and everyone she loves. She wants a good story? She may have to die to get it.
Charlie Marder is an unlikely Congressman. Thrust into office by his family ties after his predecessor died mysteriously, Charlie is struggling to navigate the dangerous waters of 1950s Washington, DC, alongside his young wife Margaret, a zoologist with ambitions of her own. Amid the swirl of glamorous and powerful political leaders and deal makers, a mysterious fatal car accident thrusts Charlie and Margaret into an underworld of backroom deals, secret societies, and a plot that could change the course of history. When Charlie discovers a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of governance, he has to fight not only for his principles and his newfound political career...but for his life.
Torii Enshin was the son of a high-ranking warrior in the late-fifteenth century and a skilled swordsman. He was disturbed at the sad lives of the common people and became a priest. He intended to devote his life to healing the poor who suffered everywhere in war-torn Japan. But then found himself reluctantly having to use his samurai skills once again... These short stories, drawn from his own accounts, follow Enshin and his faithful companion, Kuroi-san (or Mr Black), a black ox, and later both joined by a former carpenter who served Enshin's father. Together, the three wander across Japan, their adventures presenting a fascinating picture of life at a number of levels in the centuries of unrest before the Tokugawa at the beginning of the sixteenth century subjected the country to their iron grip.
Ravindra is back, and close to his dream of becoming the Demon King Ravana once and for all - unless Vikram, Amanjit, Deepika and Ras find their own powers, evil will overwhelm the world . . . Bollywood superstar Sunita Ashoka's reality show Swayamvara Live! has ended in bloodshed and disaster, and Vikram, Amanjit and Rasita are on the run, accused of her murder. And just like the heroes of the Ramayana, they soon find themselves beset by the same perils as Rama, Laksmana and Sita. When an unexpected death forces Vikram into the open, they start to despair - but there is some hope: Amanjit's warrior skills are returning, Rasita is beginning to remember her own past lives, and Deepika is awakening to terrifying new powers. But the enemy, Ravindra, has also found allies: the nightmarish Rakshasa army. Memories and legends are coming alive all over India. The fight to the finish has begun . . . 'David Hair hasn't just broken the mould. He's completely shattered it' - Bibliosanctum on The Pyre
The Sunday Times bestseller - a thrilling new adventure in Simon Scarrow's acclaimed Eagles of the Empire series. Perfect for readers of Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell. READERS CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SIMON SCARROW'S BOOKS! 'I could not put it down' ***** - AMAZON REVIEW 'Awesome read . . . ' ***** - AMAZON REVIEW 'A storytelling master . . . I loved this novel and can't wait for the next' ***** - AMAZON REVIEW 'If you have read the previous books, you already know how good they are . . . If you have not read any of these books, then get started!' ***** - AMAZON REVIEW A.D. 57. Battle-scarred veterans of the Roman army Tribune Cato and Centurion Macro return to Rome. Thanks to the failure of their recent campaign on the eastern frontier they face a hostile reception at the imperial court. Their reputations and future are at stake. When Emperor Nero's infatuation with his mistress is exploited by political enemies, he reluctantly banishes her into exile. Cato, isolated and unwelcome in Rome, is forced to escort her to Sardinia. Arriving on the restless, simmering island with a small cadre of officers, Cato faces peril on three fronts: a fractured command, a deadly plague spreading across the province...and a violent insurgency threatening to tip the province into blood-stained chaos. IF YOU DON'T KNOW SIMON SCARROW, YOU DON'T KNOW ROME! MORE PRAISE FOR SIMON SCARROW'S NOVELS 'Scarrow's [novels] rank with the best' Independent 'Blood, gore, political intrigue' Daily Sport 'Always a joy' The Times
A profoundly unsettling story of a plantation slave's desperate escape into a rainforest beyond human control, with his master and a ferocious dog on his heels. This flight to freedom takes them on a journey that will transform them all, as the overwhelming physical presence of the forest and its dense primeval wilderness reshapes reality and time itself. In the darkness, the old man grapples with the spirits of all those who have gone before him; the knowledge that the past is always with us, and the injustice that can cry out from beyond the grave. From a Prix Goncourt writer hailed by Milan Kundera as the 'heir of Joyce and Kafka', The Old Slave and the Mastiff fearlessly portrays the demonic cruelties of the slave trade and its human costs - a wise, loving tribute to the Creole culture of Martinique, and a vividly told journey into the heart of Caribbean history and human endurance.
In the summer of 1779, as the major fighting of the Revolutionary War moves to the South, a British force consisting of fewer than a thousand Scottish infantry and backed by three sloops-of-war sails to the fogbound coast of New England. Establishing a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay, in the eastern province of Massachusetts, the Scots harry rebel privateers and shelter American loyalists. In response, the Americans send more than forty vessels and some one thousand infantrymen to "captivate, kill, or destroy" the foreign invaders. But ineptitude and irresolution lead to a mortifying defeat that will have stunning repercussions for two men on opposite sides of the conflict: an untested young Scottish lieutenant named John Moore, at the beginning of an illustrious military career . . . and a Boston silversmith and patriot named Paul Revere, who will face court-martial for disobedience and cowardice.
A The Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year 'An enthralling and wonderfully vivid novel from a master storyteller' Joseph O'Connor 'Kneale's medieval world is animated with a refreshing lightness of touch' Sunday Telegraph 1289. A rich farmer fears he'll go to hell for cheating his neighbours. His wife wants pilgrim badges to sew into her hat and show off at church. A poor, ragged villager is convinced his beloved cat is suffering in the fires of purgatory and must be rescued. A mother believes her son's dangerous illness is punishment for her own adultery and seeks forgiveness so he may be cured. A landlord is in trouble with the church after he punched an abbot on the nose. A sexually driven noblewoman seeks a divorce so she can marry her new young beau. These are among a ragtag band of pilgrims that sets off on the tough and dangerous journey from England to Rome, where they hope all their troubles and their prayers will be answered. Some in the group, however, have their own secret reasons for going. Others, while they might aspire to piety, succumb all too often to the sins of the flesh. A riveting, sweeping novel of medieval society and historic Englishness, Pilgrims illuminates the fallibility of humans, the absurdities and consolations of belief, and the very real violence at the heart of religious fervour.
'What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating - if bumpy - ride through a man's world. I laughed, cried and most of all cheered! Can't stop thinking about it... an absolute cruncher of a tale' Janice Hallett, author of The Appeal 'A complete joy of a novel that, like it's wonderful protagonist's namesake, is a story of endurance against all odds. Full of heart and so eloquently written, THAT BONESETTER WOMAN had me cheering Durie on from start to finish - I absolutely loved it' Susan Stokes-Chapman, author of Pandora It's usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she'd make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all. Meet Endurance Proudfoot: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with a tactless tongue and a face she's sure only a mother could love. Durie wants one thing in life: to become a bonesetter like her father. It's physically demanding work, requiring nerves of steel, and he's adamant it's not a job for a woman. Strong-willed and stubborn, Durie's certain that in bonesetting, her big, usually clumsy hands have found their natural calling. So when she's bundled off to London with her beautiful sister, she won't let it stop her realising her dream. As her sister finds fame on the stage, Durie becomes England's most celebrated bonesetter - but what goes up must come down, and her success may become her undoing. Inspired by the true stories of two of Georgian England's most famous celebrities, That Bonesetter Woman is an uplifting tale about finding the courage to go your own way, when everyone says you can't - and about realising that what makes you different can also make you strong. Praise for That Bonesetter Woman: 'Durie Proudfoot is a brilliant heroine: stubborn, flawed and so entertaining to spend time with. I loved every step of her journey, and Frances Quinn is fast becoming one of my favourite historical novelists' Louise Hare 'I adored every second of this book - historical fiction at its finest, and Quinn is a natural storyteller. Quirky, funny and original. Durie and her lions will stay with me' Ericka Waller 'I feel as if I left a little bit of my heart between the pages of this extraordinary book' Nicola Gill 'Filled with hope and humour, That Bonesetter Woman is a novel that truly champions the underdog. I devoured it with as much gusto as the inimitable heroine sets people's bones' Polly Crosby 'That Bonesetter Woman is a wonderfully uplifting, charming, addictive and unusual story. Quinn delivers astute and acutely observed aspects of human behaviour delivered with great humour and compassion. Replace the coffee houses and newspaper scribblers with Twitter and YouTube and I'd say, not so much has changed!' Louise Fein 'Frances Quinn has done it again! Georgian London is vividly brought to life in a fast-paced story full of quirky characters, wry wit, warmth and wisdom. I was completely charmed!' Anita Frank
After a series of bloody battles, Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester) has fallen to the invading Roman army. The Emperor has returned to Rome, leaving the fearless Centurion Macro and his young Optio, Cato, to rest and regroup, along with the rest of the Second Legion. As their leader General Plautius plans the next phase of their campaign, word arrives that the ship carrying his family to join him was wrecked in a storm off the south coast. His wife and children have fallen into the hands of a dark sect of Druids, who now demand the return of those of their brotherhood taken prisoner by the Romans. Unless their demands are met within one month, Plautius's family will be burned alive. Will Cato and Macro discover where the Druids are hiding their hostages? And can they find some way to rescue them before time runs out?
1820s Britain: after the wars with France, when unemployment was high and soldiers could be paid off, when the government was desperately afraid of social unrest, any crime was drastically punished and thousands were hung. But one could petition the King and an investigation might ensue... The man in the dark cell in Newgate Prison was due to hang in a week. He had been found guilty of murdering the aristocrat whose portrait he was painting. He claimed to be innocent - but then the hangman had never hung a guilty man, he said. But even in 1820, the Home Secretary could occasionally use his powers to grant mercy if his investigator found cause and Rider Sandman, once of the First Foot Guards, is given the job. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, has family debts to repay but when his first steps in the investigations produce a sizeable bribe to look the other way, this only arouses his smouldering anger over the condition of England, a country which he and others in Wellington's army had fought to preserve. Stepping between gentlemen's clubs and taverns, talking to aristocrats, fashionable painters, their models, and their mistresses, dodging professional cut-throats and deceptive swordsmen, Sandman uncovers a conspiracy of silence, a group whose proudest boast was that they would do anything for any one of them. Sandman is a wonderful character, as yet undaunted by the sleazy streets, dank jails or the looming scaffold, and uncorrupted by politicians, sneering gentlemen or frightening bruisers, an investigator in the making and a brilliant, but very different, hero for all Bernard Cornwell fans.
Fascinating . . . jam-packed with adventure and colour -JODI TAYLOR, author of The Chronicles of St Mary's, on Jennifer Macaire.ONE LAST CHANCE FOR REDEMPTION . . . TWO THOUSAND YEARS IN THE PAST.For fans of JODI TAYLOR and NEIL GAIMAN, the first in an action-packed new series, from the author of the incredible and compelling Time for Alexander novels. England, the year 2900 CE. Sentenced to decades of imprisonment, Isobel believes that life as she knows it is entirely over.Or is it? When she's offered a time-travelling mission back in the time of the Crusades, she has the chance to change the course of history - and free herself in the process.But the perils of medieval France are like nothing she's encountered before, and Isobel realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . .A CROWN IN TIME will have you on the edge of your seat from the very first page* * * * * READERS AND AUTHORS ARE GRIPPED BY JENNIFER MACAIRE: A vividly written, characterful, informed and unusual take. I loved it - Carol McGrathFun, sexy and at times incredibly sad, the story held me to the end and the research was incredible - Karen KingPRAISE FOR A CROWN IN TIME: From the moment you open a Macaire book, you're sucked in ... I lost myself in this novel and simply devoured it. - VAIN RADICALI love how vivid Jennifer Macaire's writing is. I was transported - JESSICA BELMONTThis book reads like a dream! I finished the book in one go - BOOK VUE
A lost legacy puts one of England's great families in mortal peril ... Lazen Castle, home to the much-envied Lazender family, is a house under siege. The heir is abroad, pursuing his own adventures, so the family estates fall under the control of his sister, Campion. Meanwhile, The Fallen Angels, a powerful and dangerous secret society in Europe, need the Lazender fortune to bring their rebellion to England. Surrounded by deceit, Campion draws ever closer to a subtle trap that has been laid for her, her only hope being Gypsy - her brother's aloof horse-master, whose loyalties have always been uncertain. In this powerful blend of passion, adventure and intrigue, the second chronicle of the great Lazender family comes to life.
Widespread mutiny threatens the fleet in this classic historical naval adventure.Alan Lewrie, our rakish captain, is promoted for his quick action in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Captain Horatio Nelson has gone against orders by breaking out to pursue his own instincts against an enemy division, and Lewrie gets sucked into the action against his much better judgment. But Nelson's success gets him promoted to Rear Admiral and wins Lewrie a fine new frigate, HMS Proteus. But before he's even had a chance to settle into his new role, the terrible and widespread mutinies of Spithead and the Nore rage through the fleet. Together with the sudden reappearance of an old enemy, it has Lewrie fighting not just for his command, but for his life... The King's Captain, ninth in The Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures, is perfect for fans of Philip McCutchan, Julian Stockwin and Patrick O'Brian. Praise for Dewey Lambdin'You could get addicted to this series. Easily' New York Times Book Review 'The best naval series since C. S. Forester' Library Journal 'Fast-moving... A hugely likeable hero, a huge cast of sharply drawn supporting characters: there's nothing missing. Wonderful stuff' Kirkus Reviews
Introduced by David Mitchell In a coastal village in medieval Japan, a young boy called Isaku battles to keep his family alive against the odds. With his father gone, Isaku is forced to grow up well before his time. He must learn how to catch fish, how to distil salt, and about all the mysteries of the vast churning sea, not least the legend of O-fune-sama, of ships wrecked offshore providing the village with unexpected bounty. When a ship founders on the rocks, Isaku and the villagers rejoice. Long have they prayed for the sea's gifts. But the cargo is not at all the blessing they had hoped for. At first mystifying, then terrifying, something dark is coming ashore and it's about to change their lives forever.
Sergeant Richard Sharpe witnesses a murderous act of treachery and, with Sir Arthur Wellesley, faces the Mahratta Horde. The paths of treachery all lead to the small village of Assaye. Outnumbered and outgunned, Wellesley, with a diminished British army, plunges his men into the white heat of battle. A battle that will make his reputation, and perhaps Sharpe's too. 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 Artful Dodger faces his most dangerous adventure yet as he leaves Dickensian London and finds himself manning the barricades in defence of liberty, fraternity and larceny in the 1848 Paris uprising. For Dodger, life as a criminal kingpin is losing its allure. Leading a gang of petty thieves from the Seven Dials is not as easy as Fagin made it look and after a year in charge Jack Dawkins has been reduced to a shadow of the man who used to be the envy of every pickpocket in London. Opium-addicted and heavy-fingered, Dodger is fast becoming a laughing stock on his own patch until a chance encounter leads him to Paris and a job like nothing he's had before. In a city alive with rebellion, Dodger must avoid assassins, jilted lovers and revolutionaries, and rediscover his touch if he is to lift his most precious treasure yet. The third in the James Benmore's acclaimed series continuing the story of the Artful Dodger, this book confirms Jack Dawkins as one of the great fiction characters.
Constance Kopp, America’s first female deputy sheriff, is back in another unforgettable romp by HWA-longlisted international bestseller Amy Stewart. While transporting a woman to an insane asylum, Deputy Kopp discovers something deeply troubling about her story. Before she can investigate, another inmate breaks free and tries to escape. In both cases, Constance runs instinctively toward justice. But 1916 is a high-stakes US election year, and any move she makes could jeopardise Sheriff Heath’s future ― and her own. Constance’s controversial career makes her the target of political attacks. With wit and verve, Amy Stewart brilliantly conjures the life and times of the real Constance Kopp and her feisty sisters.
From the million-copy Sunday Times bestseller comes a gripping story of family secrets, all-consuming love and the chaos of war. 2011. When Lucy's troubled father Tom passes away, she travels to Cornwall to visit his childhood home - the once-beautiful Carlyon Manor. Before he died, Tom had been researching an uncle she never knew he had. Determined to find out why, Lucy tracks down Beatrice Ashton, a local woman who seems to know more than she lets on, and has an extraordinary story to tell . . . 1935. Growing up in Cornwall, Beatrice plays with the children of Carlyon Manor - especially pretty, blonde Angelina Wincanton. Then, one summer at the age of fifteen, she falls in love with a young visitor to the town: Rafe, whom she rescues from a storm-tossed sea. On the surface, her life seems idyllic. But the dark clouds of war are gathering, and nobody, not even the Wincantons, will be left untouched. A Gathering Storm is a powerful tale of courage and betrayal, spanning from Cornwall to London and Occupied France, in which friendship and love are tested, and the consequences span generations. Praise for Rachel Hore's novels: 'Compelling, engrossing and moving' SANTA MONTEFIORE 'Simply stunning . . . I savoured every moment' DINAH JEFFERIES 'A story that stirs the deepest emotions' WOMAN & HOME 'An emotive and thought-provoking read' ROSANNA LEY 'Hore tackles difficult subjects with a clever, light touch and a sunny positivity. Her women are brave and good and you desperately want them to win' DAILY MAIL 'An elegiac tale of wartime love and secrets' TELEGRAPH 'A tender and thoughtful tale' SUNDAY MIRROR
In a brilliant debut to a thrilling series, Grady Service gets news that his nemesis, the head of an incestuous clan of poachers, is to be released from prison. But something even more sinister is afoot in the Mosquito Wilderness. Service must call upon his every reserve to track, stalk, and capture the "ice hunter." MEET GRADY SERVICE: former Marine, renowned tracker, conservation officer, and the last person any errant hunter wants to cross. In Ice Hunter-the first of a series of mysteries set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and celebrated for its intricate plots and outrageously unforgettable characters-Service defends his turf with the tenacity of a bear and the wisdom of an ancient. He shuns all creature comforts and consumerism and is most at home stalking the Mosquito Tract, his self-designated wilderness. Times are not easy for Service. As the summer season opens, he gets news that his nemesis, the despicable leader of an incestuous clan of poachers, is to be released from prison. But something even more sinister is afoot-something that inspires untold greed, involves giants of industry and politics, and renders human life dispensable. Service must call upon his every reserve to track, stalk, and capture the "ice hunter." Full of grit and wilderness lore, Ice Hunter pulls you in and won't let you go.
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