Description: 401 p. : 24 cm. Subjects: Calisher, Hortense --Novelists, American --20th century --Biography. Views: 16
The nine Tudor novels by beloved novelist Jean Plaidy are now available as one complete series spanning sixteenth-century England. This exciting collection includes a brand-new character guide, along with reading group guides for seven books. Read all nine novels in order for the first time digitally and delve into the lives of this fascinating dynasty—full of intrigue, betrayal, marriages, and deaths, in a complete package, never before available. 1. To Hold the Crown In this sweeping tale of marriage and power, love and heartbreak, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York’s troubled ascension to the throne of England ultimately launches the Tudor dynasty.2. Katharine of Aragon Katharine of Aragon held her husband Henry VIII’s affection—but only for so long.3. Murder Most Royal One powerful king. Two tragic queens. Sophisticated Anne Boleyn and innocent Catherine Howard meet with the all-consuming—and fickle—passions of tempestuous King Henry VIII.4. The King’s Confidante The King’s servant, but God’s first. The English lawyer Sir Thomas More rises to become King Henry VIII’s most trusted advisor, but his refusal to recognize Henry as the supreme head of the Church of England ends his political career . . . and leads to his trial for treason.5. The Sixth Wife Dangerous court intrigue and affairs of the heart collide during the story of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s six queens. 6. The Thistle and the Rose The story of Princess Margaret Tudor, whose life of tragedy, bloodshed, and scandal would rival even that of her younger brother, Henry VIII.7. Mary, Queen of France The story of Princess Mary Tudor, a celebrated beauty and born rebel who would defy the most powerful king in Europe—her older brother.8. For a Queen’s Love Power-hungry monarch, cold-blooded murderer, obsessive monster—who could love such a man? Set against the glittering courts of sixteenth-century Europe, the Spain of the dreaded Inquisition, and the tortured England of Bloody Mary, this is the story of Philip II of Spain—and of the women who loved him as a husband and father.9. A Favorite of the QueenTorn between her heart’s passion and duty to her kingdom, Elizabeth I must make a decision that will shape her country and place her name in history forever. Views: 16
"We summon thee, Prince, Ruler of Darkness, Lord of Evil: Your worshippers summon thee to receive our sacrifice." James Gunn's science fiction world has veered into the realm of the unholy with The Witching Hour, three novelettes of satanic scenery and devilish deceit. Demons, death, and disbelief will haunt you at every corner. Macabre rituals of darkness will creep up your spine until your fragile mind tingles with fear. Views: 16
Swords in the Mist, book three in the Lankhmar series, thrusts our indentured, sword-swinging servants into the question of hate, its power, and its purpose. Times are lean in Lankhmar, illuminating the link between money and love. Luckily, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser don't always believe in love. When Lankhmar gets too gritty, our travelers take to their other, less harsh mistress, the sea. But the sea can play tricks on men, and so can the sea king. He can break a man, or worse yet, curse him. But when he is away, it's all play for the formidable swordsmen and the Triple Goddess . . . and two luscious sea queens. But luck may not always be there, as they discover on the way to see Ningauble, their wizard employer. After a long journey in defense of their control over their own fates, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser find themselves pawns in a life-and-death chess game, all of Lankhmar being the pieces. How many pawns will be left on the board before someone wins? Before... Views: 16
ReviewA new Phar?? attempts to reunite the Two Lands of Ancient Egypt and to drive out the usurping Hyksos. Entering his service as The Leader of Ten; a young Nubian noble puts his experience as a border scout to good account on behalf of the Son of Re and the two royal princes. Using guerrilla techniques already familiar to Norton space-story fans, the Nubian archers successfully pave the way of the Egyptians to conquer the key city of the Hyksos. As usual, Andre Norton packs so much uncompromising exposition into the first half-chapter that it proves a stumbling block to many readers. But once the initial dose is swallowed, the story moves quickly to a high interest peak. Whether the author's locale is in the storied past or the imagined future, there is always the feeling of cardful research and plausible detail. No sissy stuff, this , but rich fare for the avid reader. (Kirkus Reviews) Views: 16
The second of Reid’s three novels featuring Tom Barber, The Retreat earned universal critical acclaim when first published in 1936.
The Retreat opens with a vivid dream about an evil sorcerer and his boy apprentice. The dreamer is Tom Barber, age 13, who, like many intelligent and sensitive children, moves between the world of everyday life and that of the imagination. “I pretend things, and all at once they become real,” Tom says, and they become real for the reader as well, as we follow him over the course of one summer during which the lines between reality and fantasy are frequently blurred.
In his depiction of Tom’s fantastic adventures in an unseen world – his attempts to thwart the malign influence of the cat Henry, whom he has observed scratching cabbalistic symbols on the gravel path; his meetings with the beautiful boy-angel Gamelyn; his conversations with animals; his experiences in the Garden of Eden – Forrest Reid’s delicate artistry is at its finest and most delightful.
CONTEMPORARY REVIEWS
“He writes with such ease and simplicity, his stories, always unusual, are so exquisitely told, and when, as often happens, he takes you into regions not too far distant from fairyland, he has only to wave his wand to make you believe.” – Ralph Straus, Sunday Times
“[An] eerie, unusual, quite enchanting book.” – Guardian
“A book of fine and haunting quality.” – Dublin Magazine
“He has a simple story to tell, but he tells it with the fastidious craftsmanship of a Flaubert or a Turgenev, and because it is told supremely well it lives in the memory long after more strident dramas have been forgotten. . . . [The Retreat] is a book which everyone who has not wholly lost touch with his youth will be certain to enjoy.” – Irish Independent
“Mr. Reid is one of the most remarkable living fantasists . . . [A]t once charming and a psychological tour de force.” – London Mercury Views: 16
Цикл о Крае Времени весьма необычен. Это не фэнтези, это не научная фантастика в обычном смысле этого термина, это - нечто иное. Край Времени - это когда "дни вселенной были сочтены". Герои этого цикла - люди, хотя человеческого в них не сильно много. Они всемогущи, а если их настигает смерть, то они легко могут возродиться, а главное - они не живут, они скорее играют в жизнь. Играют в любовь, в страдания, играют во что угодно, лишь бы занять время. Беспрерывные развлечения - вот смысл их жизни. Цикл полон языковых изысков, необычных способов построения речи и сюжета, странных имен героев, но при этом читается просто отлично. Первая трилогия , Танцоры на Краю Времени, это "история Джерека Карнелиана, несведущего в тонкостях морали, и миссис Амелии Ундервуд, неукоснительно следующей ей". Рассказывать сюжет этой книги, все равно, что пытаться описать вкус прекрасного вина. Лучше попробовать... Единственно, что хочется к этому добавить - это наличие в этом мире сразу двух инкарнаций Вечного Героя. Кроме собственно Джерека Карнелиана, который является главным героем цикла, есть еще Лорд Джеггед Канарья, собственно, и являющийся настоящей инкарнацией Вечного Героя - единственный на Краю Времени человек действия. "Танелорн: Всё о Майкле Муркоке" http://www.moorcock.narod.ru/ Views: 16
Story about the adaptation of a shipwrecked human girl on another planet. Views: 16
Something went wrong… and Ed Fletcher got mixed up in the biggest thing in his life. Views: 16
War hero Mack Bolan, wearing a new Sicilian-style face fashioned for him by a plastic surgeon and ex-war buddy, infiltrates the inner family of the Mafia. Aided by the head mans beautiful daughter, Bolan almost becomes son-in-law and heir-apparent to the powerful Di George West Coast empire. Still hunted by police and mafiosi alike, with a $100,000 price tag on his head, the Executioner evades all the dragnets and strikes a crippling blow against the "invincible" underground organization before his identity is uncovered and he disappears — to fight another day. Views: 16
Disgrace and favour is a novel of life on the Border in the dying years of Elizabeth I's reign and of intrigue and immorality at the court of King James. It is the story of the Queen's cousin, Sir Robert Carey, who was disgraced for marrying without her consent, of his struggle to restore his fortunes under her successor, and his realisation that favour among the hazards of a decadent court was even less appealing than a hard but untrammelled life in exile on the Border. Views: 16
Probably the most famous thief of all fiction, Raffles was a man-about-town and famous cricketer by day and a master burglar by night. When they were first issued at the turn of the century, these stories rivaled the popularity of Sherlock Holmes and established the prototype for The Saint, James Bond, and the other gentleman-rogue figures of popular fiction. Raffles has been called "the greatest cracksman in the literature of roguery" by the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, while Ellery Queen has described Raffles as the "inspiration for the whole school of devil-may-care adventurers on the borderlines of the law, not least the eponymous James Bond." E. W. Hornung was friendly with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and married his sister. Hornung took his brother-in-laws detective pair, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and reincarnated them on the wrong side of the law as Raffles and Bunny, who pursued the business of getting a living by the entirely logical method of stealing it. Conan Doyle wrote in his autobiography: "I think I may claim that his famous character Raffles was a kind of inversion of Sherlock Holmes, Bunny playing Watson. He admits as much in his kindly dedication. I think there are few finder examples of short-story writing in our language than these, though I confess I think they are rather dangerous in their suggestion. I told him so before he put pen to paper, and the result has, I fear, borne me out. You must not make the criminal a hero." Views: 16
Joseph Andrews refuses Lady Booby's advances, she discharges him, and Joseph and his old tutor, Parson Adams (one of the great comic figures of literature), sets off to visit his sweetheart, Fanny. Along the way, they meet with a series of adventures in which, through their own innocence and honesty, they expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others.Review(in full The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams) Novel by Henry Fielding, published in 1742. It was written as a reaction against Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). Joseph Andrews begins as a burlesque of Pamela, but the parodic intention of the novel soon becomes secondary, and it develops into a masterpiece of sustained irony and social criticism. At its center is Parson Adams, one of the great comic figures of literature. Joseph and the parson have a series of adventures, in all of which they manage to expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others through their own innocence and guilelessness. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of LiteratureFrom the Back CoverJoseph Andrews, first published in 1742, is in part a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela. But whereas Richardson's novel is marked by the virtues of female chastity and the triumph of steadfast morality, Fielding's Joseph Andrews is peopled with lascivious women, thieves, hypocrites, and general fools. As we follow the characters in their travels, what unfolds is a lively panoramic satire of mid-Georgian England. Views: 16
A rebel spaceship - in a gamble that would either save or destroy Empire Earth.Close to the top of Earth’s pyramid of power was Isidor Norin, leading member of the Council, respected advisor to Emperor Penn VII, and honored pillar of the Establishment.In a spaceship orbiting Mars was his son, Aaron Norin, issuing his ultimatum to the government on Earth: that liberty be restored to humanity, or the vital nerve center of the Empire would be destroyed.It was father against son, as a young man battling for old dreams and an old man defending new realities faced each other across space in a showdown to the death.... Views: 16
