An epic novel of genius and obsession — apocalyptic, lyrical and erotically charged. Spanning three centuries and two cultures, Hunger’s Brides brings to vivid life the greatest Spanish poet of her time, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and plumbs a mystery that has intrigued writers as diverse as Robert Graves, Diane Ackerman, Eduardo Galeano and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz. Why did a writer of such gifts silence herself?At the time of her death in 1695, Juana Inés de la Cruz was arguably the greatest writer working in any European tongue, yet she had never set foot in Europe. Instead she was born among the descendants of the Aztec empire, in the shadow of the mountain pass Cortés and his troops descended on their advance to Montezuma’s capital. A child prodigy from a barbarous wilderness, her beauty and wit provoked a sensation at the viceregal court in Mexico City. But at the age of nineteen, still a favourite of the court, Juana entered a convent, and from that point her life unfolded between the mystery of her sudden flight from palace to cloister, and the enigma of her final vow of silence, signed in blood. After a quarter-century of graceful, often sensuous poetry, plays and theological argument, Sor Juana chose silence, which she maintained until she died of plague at the age of forty-five.Drawing on chronicles of the conquest and histories of the Inquisition, myth cycles and archeological studies, ancient poetry and early Spanish accounts of blood sacrifice, Hunger’s Brides is a mammoth work of inspired historical fiction framed in a contemporary mystery. In the dead of a Calgary winter night, a man escapes from an apartment in which a young woman lies bleeding — in his arms he clutches a box he has found on her table addressed to him. He is Donald Gregory, a once-respected, now-disgraced, academic. She is Beulah Limosneros, one of his students, and for a brief time his lover. Brilliant, erratic, voracious, she had disappeared two years earlier in Mexico, following the thread of her growing obsession with Sor Juana. Over the ensuing days and weeks, as a police investigation closes in around him, Gregory pieces together the contents of the box she has left him: a poetic journal of her travel in Mexico, diaries, research notes, unposted letters, and a strange manuscript — part biography, part novel — on Sor Juana.Hunger’s Brides is a dramatic unveiling of three intimate journeys: a man’s forced march to self-knowledge, a great poet’s withdrawal from the world, and a profane mystic’s pilgrimage into modern Mexico, in which the bones of the past constantly poke through a present built on the ruins of the vanquished.Excerpt from *Hunger’s Brides“From the moment I was first illuminated by the light of reason, my inclination toward letters has been so vehement that not even the admonitions of others . . . nor my own meditations have been sufficient to cause me to forswear this natural impulse that God placed in me . . . that inclination exploded in me like gunpowder. . . .” —Sor Juana, in a letter of self-defence written to a bishop in 1691, just before she took a vow of silence*From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com ReviewBook Description: On a frigid winter's night, a man escapes from an apartment in which a young woman lies bleeding. In his hands he clutches a box he has found there. He is Donald Gregory, a once-respected college professor and serial adulterer, whose last affair has left his career in ruins. She is Beulah Limosneros, one of his students and for a brief time his lover. She had disappeared into Mexico two years earlier, following her obsession with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, who was born in 1648, entered a convent at age nineteen, and became the greatest poet of her time, only to die of plague in 1695. As a police investigation closes in around Gregory, he examines the box’s contents, fearful of incriminating evidence Beulah may have against him--translated poems of Sor Juana, a travel journal, research notes on the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Inquisition, diary entries concerning him, and a strange manuscript about Sor Juana. Based on the life of one of literature's most compelling figures, Paul Anderson's astonishing debut unveils a great poet's withdrawal from the world who at the height of her creative powers signs a vow of contrition in her own blood. From Publishers WeeklyA nearly 1,500-page novel that was 12 years in the making deserves consideration, even though in this instance, its complex central story could have been told in 500 pages. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz died of the plague in Mexico in 1695, and for the next two centuries her work was rarely referenced or read. Her poems, confessions and life story were rediscovered in the 20th century, most notably by Mexican poet Octavio Paz. In Anderson's elephantine debut novel, Sor Juana's story is told through the testimony of her "secretary," Antonia Mora (her intellectual equal), Carlos Sigüenza y Gongora (a rival and a suitor), her confessor, Father Núñez (an enemy), and Sor Juana herself. We follow her fortunes from her illegitimate birth, through her inability to find success as a poet and scholar (due both to her gender and the authoritarian nature of colonial Mexican society), her taking of the veil and-finally-her downfall. As if distrusting his material, however, Anderson encloses Sor Juana's story within a contemporary tale focused on Beulah Limosneros, a brilliant but unstable student of Sor Juana's writing who begins an affair with Donald Gregory, her married English professor. With Gregory, Beulah re-enacts the scorned woman role à la Fatal Attraction with a passive-aggressive twist. Beulah keeps a journal that is a mixture of sophomoric beat poetry and mystical descriptions of sex. She is the embodiment of present day angst: there are food issues, childhood abuse, low self-esteem. There are hundreds too many pages of her interior life. The conjunction of Limosneros's story and Sor Juana's is mutually weakening. Still, the central narration is definitely worth following, particularly for its version of the inevitable conflict between beauty, intellect and government power. Unfortunately, the framing story is ludicrous; this is no Pale Fire. Sor Juana's translated verse doesn't jump out (despite some translations by Paz), but her confession does, as does the way Anderson conveys the gradual closing in of forces beyond her control, reminiscent of Akhmatova's confrontations with Stalin.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Views: 63
Use As Directed, For As Long As It Takes
Dr. Houston Hayes has never had trouble maintaining his professional distance. . .until he meets resident Josie Adkins. Every time she drops a chart in his presence, he's treated to a view that makes him extremely interested in her bones. Jumping them, that is. For a man who prides himself on control at all times, this is a problem. . .
All her life, Josie has wanted to be a surgeon. But how can she do that while she's suffering from the debilitating Dr. Hayes Induced Dropping Medical Equipment Syndrome? And then Dr. Hayes prescribes a cure: one night of sheet-burning passion to erase the tension for both of them. But only one night. . .he won't need more than that. . .
Suddenly, Josie has her mission--a chance to prove to the arrogant Dr. Hayes that one night with her will never be enough. And soon, both doctors may be falling into a desire deeper than any they've ever known. . . Views: 63
Alyx is a Prime Warrior of the Dragon Clan, an alien to Earth, fighting a battle that could tip the balance between two separate worlds. Now, his greatest mission isn't the battle or the blood of the enemy. It's the love of one woman's heart. One he's lost once already and vows he will not lose again. Views: 63
The most outrageous and reckless of the Douglas sisters, Victoria marries Alexander Emerson, the Earl of Winchester. She curbs her wild ways and tries to be a devoted wife. Everything would be perfect if not for her shameful secret. Victoria cannot read or write. She is determined to overcome her disability because she fears her sophisticated husband's former mistresses will lure him away. Alexander agreed to marry Victoria to right a grievous wrong that his late father perpetrated on the Douglas family. He soon realizes Victoria will make the perfect wife. Her sensual beauty and bright spirit captivate him. Could their marriage be a love match after all? Ugly rumors and a malicious plot threaten to tear them apart. Can their marriage withstand the vicious ton? Will their love survive the scandal? Views: 63
Having escaped from yet another scandal, libidinous lawyer Leo Davies has at last decided to settle down. He's going to sell his Belgravia pad and buy a family home for his son, Oliver, and he's set on marrying the lovely Camilla. But when Camilla gets stuck working on a case halfway across the world and the gorgeous Adriana - sexy, wealthy owner of a multi-million pound Greek shipping line - hires Leo as QC on her case, Leo finds that he's tempted to stray. Worse still, Adriana is as insatiable as Leo - and she always gets what she wants. Has Leo finally met his match? And can a heart ever be calculating without being cruel?Review'Fraser writes with panache, exuberance and humour, and never leaves the reader waiting too long for the next twist ... Most enjoyable' The Times 'Engages her readers quickly and never lets go' Tatler Magazine 'Prepare to be seduced by this masterful tale of love, duplicity and ambition' Company Magazine 'Witty ... polished ... Rumpole eat your heart out' She Magazine 'Smart, complex and deliciously racy' Daily Record About the AuthorCaro Fraser read law at King's College, London. She has written nine other novels, five of which are part of the highly successful, critically acclaimed Caper Court series. She is married to a solicitor and has four children. Views: 63
Chapter I The Great Britain MissionThe Hawker Hurricane, one of the most famous British fighters of WWII was never designed and built stripping Great Britain of the needed help during the Battle of Britain and ensuring that they lost not only that battle but the war. Once the Royal Air Force was defeated, Hitler's armies invaded and conquered the island nation. They then took the rest of Europe and later Canada with their next target: The United States of America. All of this happens because a horse and buggy ran down the aircraft designer, Sydney Camm when he was a little boy. The 1800 Club is given the mission to go back and prevent that from happening and the club's president, William Scott, decides to take two other time traveling companions along with him. It turns out that there is enough twists and turns for the three men.Chapter II The Jessie James MissionWhen young Jessie ran with Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War, he found a letter written in French... Views: 63
“Church is boring.”“It’s irrelevant.”“It’s full of hypocrites.”You’ve heard the excuses —now learn the real reasons men and boys are fleeing churches of every kind, all over the world.Christianity is the only world religion with a chronic shortage of men. David Murrow identifies the barriers to male participation, and explains why it’s so hard to motivate the men who do go to church. Then, he takes you inside several fast-growing congregations that are winning the hearts of men and boys.The first release of Why Men Hate Going to Church sold more than 125,000 copies and was published in multiple languages. This edition is completely revised, reorganized, and rewritten, with more than 70 percent new content. Why Men Hate Going to Church does not call men back to church—it calls the church back to men. “This is one of the most helpful books for understanding why men are indifferent toward church and how churches must change to welcome men.”—MARK DRISCOLL, pastor of Mars Hill Church; cofounder of Acts 29 Church Planting; founder of The Resurgence“[This] is a prophetic and relevant ‘snap-out-of-it’ masterwork that every pastor must read—not just for the sake of the kingdom, but also for his own sake and sanity in ministry.”—KENNY LUCK, men’s pastor, Saddleback Church“David Murrow knows how to connect with men. Where was this guy when I was twenty?”—FRANK PASTORE, host of America’s largestChristian talk show, KKLA (Los Angeles)GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE AVAILABLE FOR FREE AT WWW.CHURCHFORMEN.COM/GUIDES Views: 63
She won’t be tamed. A
fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and
has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates
of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she
desperately protects. He can’t forget.Haunted by his past,
Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding
himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the
cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.Mistaking
Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows
vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but
he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform
Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement. He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart. Views: 63
Breaking the rules was what she liked best. That was her sport. Renegade, rebel, bad girl. Getting away with it. Pia Soto is the sexy and glamorous prima ballerina, the Brazilian bombshell who's shaking up the ballet world with her outrageous behaviour. She's wild and precocious, and she's a survivor. She's determined that no man will ever control her destiny. But ruthless financier Will Silk has Pia in his sights, and has other ideas . . . Sophie O'Farrell is Pia's hapless, gawky assistant, the girl-next-door to Pia's Prima Donna, always either falling in love with the wrong man or just falling over. Sophie sets her own dreams aside to pick up the debris in Pia's wake, but she's no angel. When a devastating accident threatens to cut short Pia's illustrious career, Sophie has to step out of the shadows and face up to the demons in her own life.Prima Donna is an excitingly glamorous novel from Karen Swan, author of the bestselling Christmas... Views: 63
A new short story collection by Mercedes Lackey, Fiddler Fair demonstrates her wide range as a writer, running the gamut from her beloved Bardic fantasies to urban fantasy set in the modern world, from science fiction adventure to chilling horror. Learn what happens when animal rights fanatics try to "liberate" genetically reconstructed dinosaurs. Follow Lawrence of Arabia into the desert to meet a power beyond human comprehension, and be with King Arthur, reborn into the present day, when he again gains possession of the enchanted sword Excalibur. And, in a very weird encounter of the most bizarre kind, learn why an alien from a UFO took an unusual interest in a battered Chevy pickup truck. Stories include: How I Spent my Summer Vacation Aliens Ate My Pickup Small Print Last Rights Dumb Feast Dance Track Jihad Balance Dragon's Teeth The Cup and the Cauldron Once and Future Fiddler Fair The Enemy of My Enemy Views: 63
