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Books > Fiction > Genre fiction > Historical fiction
In Dawn of Grace: Mary Magdalene's Story All Mary has ever known is
fear and loss-until she encounters a rabbi different than all the
others. One touch from Jesus and she is never the same. Her new mission
in life is to serve the one who set her free. But when the unthinkable
happens, she must fight not to descend into darkness once again.
From her earliest days, Mary Magdalene has known fear and loss at a
level so deep she has no hope of surfacing. Bound to the demons within
her and incapable of freeing herself, Mary walks in shadow--until one
day she encounters a healer, a rabbi who is radically different from
the religious leaders and family members who could do nothing to help
her. One touch from Jesus and Mary is never the same.
Now Mary's one mission in life is to serve the one who freed her. She
is determined never to leave his side, fearing that if she loses him,
she'll return to her former bondage. Even when the unthinkable happens
and her saviour is arrested and sentenced to execution, she cannot
abandon him as so many others did. Let her be buried in his tomb, for
she cannot live without him.
On the brink of despair, Mary is about to discover that while the life
of faith is never perfect, perfect love casts out fear--and Jesus makes
all things new.
Italy, 1456. The Renaissance is in glorious bloom. A Carmelite
monk, the great artist Fra Filippo Lippi acts as chaplain to the
nuns of the Convent Santa Margherita. It is here that he encounters
the greatest temptation of his life, beautiful Lucrezia Buti, who
has been driven to holy orders more by poverty than piety. In
Lucrezia's flawless face Lippi sees the inspiration for countless
Madonnas and he brings the young woman to his studio to serve as
his model. But as painter and muse are united in an exhilarating
whirl of artistic discovery, a passionate love develops, one that
threatens to destroy them both even as it fuels some of Lippi's
greatest work.
A breathtaking historical novel following the incredible construction of the Panama Canal and casting light on the unsung people who lived and laboured in its shadow – by acclaimed author Cristina Henríquez.
It is said that the Canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built.
Ada Bunting, a bold sixteen-year-old from Barbados, arrives alone in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work in the grand building project of the Canal. Francisco, a local fisherman, resents the foreign nations clamouring for a slice of his country, but nothing is more upsetting for him than his son Omar’s decision to work as a digger. For Omar, whose upbringing was quiet and lonely, this job offers a chance to finally find connection and independence. Scientist John Oswald has come from further afield. He has journeyed to Panama in pursuit of one goal: eliminating malaria. But everything hangs in the balance as his wife Marian falls ill herself.
When John witnesses an act of bravery and compassion from Ada one day, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver for his wife. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Breathtaking and impossible to put down, The Great Divide explores the lives of the labourers, fishmongers, journalists, protesters, doctors and soothsayers who lived alongside the construction of the Canal – those rarely acknowledged by history even as they carved out its course.
Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to
be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship
HMS Sophie. Meanwhile-after a heated first encounter that nearly
comes to a duel-Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck
physician, Stephen Maturin, strike up an unlikely rapport. On a
whim, Aubrey invites Maturin to join his crew as the Sophie's
surgeon. And so begins the legendary friendship that anchors this
beloved saga set against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic
Wars. Through every ensuing adventure on which Aubrey and Maturin
embark, from the witty parley of their lovers and enemies to the
roar of broadsides as great ships close in battle around them,
O'Brian "provides endlessly varying shocks and surprises-comic,
grim, farcical and tragic.... [A] whole, solidly living world for
the imagination to inhabit" (A. S. Byatt).
From the author of the international bestseller, The Mad Women's Ball, a hugely atmospheric novel for fans of Elizabeth Strout and Annie E Proulx.
Sometimes the truth lies in the things you cannot see.
In 1830 a young novice called Catherine Labouré was granted a vision of the Virgin Mary. Nearly 200 years later, Sister Anne is also waiting for a sign. Which is why she accepts a mission to go to a tiny community on an island just off the coast of Brittany. Her only companion there is a sceptical, chain-smoking older nun who just wants to be left in peace.
On the island she meets Hugo, the son of a devout family who prefers to look for the meaning of life amid the stars; Madenn, a grandmother whose daughter was killed in a crash and who finds meaning in routine; Isaac, Madenn's grandson, an otherworldly teenager who doesn't fit in but who befriends Hugo, and Julia, a sickly child. If anyone needs a miracle, it is her.
But it is not Sister Anne who receives a vision. Instead it is Isaac who is found on a promontary, transfixed, unable to utter more than the words 'I see'. The event soon becomes headline news and the world descends on the small island, opening old wounds and unleashing a chain of events none of them could have foreseen.
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