The author of the internationally acclaimed Josephine Bonaparte trilogy returns with another irresistible historical novel, this one based on the life of Louise de la Vallière, who, against all odds, became one of the most mysterious consorts of France's Louis XIV, the charismatic Sun King.Set against the magnificent decadence of the seventeenth-century French court, Mistress of the Sun begins when an eccentric young Louise falls in love with a wild white stallion and uses ancient magic to tame him. This one desperate action of her youth shadows her throughout her life, changing it in ways she could never imagine. Unmarriageable, and too poor to join a convent, Louise enters the court of the Sun King, where the king is captivated by her. As their love unfolds, Louise bears Louis four children, is made a duchess, and reigns unrivaled as his official mistress until dangerous intrigue threatens her position at court and in Louis's heart. A riveting love story with a captivating mystery at its heart, Mistress of the Sun illuminates both the power of true and perfect love and the rash actions we take to capture and tame it.From Publishers WeeklyAs she did for Napoleon's wife (The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.), Gulland skillfully blends fact and fiction to imagine the life of Louise de la Vallière (1644–1710), mistress to Louis XIV, France's Sun King. Louise loses her father early and spends her childhood in a convent run by her aunt, Sister Angelique. When Louise's mother, Françoise, marries a marquis, she takes Louise home, where, by chance, she meets King Louis. As she secures a position at court about 100 pages in, the plot finally begins to bubble with intrigue: the king has married for political reasons, but, as a young and pious man, he has not kept a mistress before Louise. Their secret love eventually comes to light, but not without exacting a price. A supernatural element threaded throughout adds color to Gulland's vivid period imaginings. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn spirit, there was nothing diminutive about Louise de la Valliere, known to her family as “Petite.” A rambunctious girl who could tame the wildest stallion, the impoverished and unmarriageable Petite was also able to tame the heart of the legendary Sun King, Louis XIV. Once she had captured his eye, Petite was quickly ensconced in his court, where, as his mistress, she was elevated to a titled position. Such a meteoric rise was bound to attract attention of the wrong sort, and Petite’s life was filled with the terrors and tragedies that accompany all internecine tales of palace intrigue. Amid rumors of black magic and sorcery, loved ones would die, and Petite herself would ultimately arrive at a crossroads where she would be forced to choose between her loyalty to the king and her own personal salvation. Teeming with the rich period details that make historical fiction so rewarding, Gulland’s dynamic and nuanced portrait of Louis’ notorious reign thrums with page-turning expediency and deliciously seductive machinations. --Carol Haggas Views: 44
Second Sight And Seduction… Daniel Mackenzie lives up to the reputation of the scandalous Mackenzie family—he has wealth, looks, and talent, and women love him. When he meets Violet Bastien—one of the most famous spiritual mediums in England—he immediately knows two things: that Miss Bastien is a fraud, and that he’s wildly attracted to her. Violet knows she can’t really contact the other side, but she’s excellent at reading people. She discerns quickly that Daniel is intelligent and dangerous to her reputation, but she also finds him generous, handsome, and outrageously wicked. But spectres from Violet’s past threaten to destroy her, and she flees England, adopting yet another identity. Daniel is determined to find the elusive Violet and pursue the passion he feels for her. And though Violet knows that her scandalous past will keep her from proper marriage, her attraction to Daniel is irresistible. It’s not until Daniel is the only one she can turn to that he proves he believes in something more than cold facts. He believes in love. Views: 44
Her name is synonymous with the West. Her celebrity has spread to the East Coast and California, traveling down the new-laid railroads and along the telegraph wire. But breathless tales of Calamity Jane bear little resemblance to the truth. As she senses death coming closer, the legendary hellcat longs to set the record straight—to reveal her life story at last, unclouded by legend, every sin and failing laid bare. Only then can she hope to rest in peace. In a Deadwood saloon, she finds a writer willing to hear her out, and recount the truth to a public hungry for more tales of Calamity Jane... So begins Libbie Hawker's expansive biographical novel, an intimate portrait of one of the best-known yet least-understood women of the American frontier. The international bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night takes the reader on a heart-rending journey through a landscape lost to time, as seen through the eyes of one outcast woman. Calamity is... Views: 44
Victory is on the horizon, but will it bring lasting happiness for Martha's beloved girls? Irene loves her job at the aircraft factory but her pregnancy is making the work increasingly difficult. She feels her job and her independence slipping away. How will she cope when the baby arrives? Peggy falls under the spell of a dashing Guards officer. Much older than her and a sophisticated man of the world, he persuades Peggy to keep their relationship quiet. But does the major have other secrets too? Pat has overcome tragedy and found love again. But then her fiancé, US Army captain Tony Farrelly, is posted to North Africa, and Pat teeters on the edge of heartbreak once more. Sheila, the youngest of the girls, has met a teacher who seems the perfect match – but she still longs for excitement. A chance encounter with a recruiting sergeant for the WAAF takes her away from home – and towards danger and romance. If you've read Martha's Girls and The Golden Sisters,... Views: 44
Naive and nineteen, Alexander came to Athens wanting nothing more than to study at Aristotle's famed Lyceum. He could see no further than his self-absorbed dreams, from which he was savagely awakened by Sulla's brutal legions. Free one moment and slave the next. Wrenched from a life unlived to serve the richest man in Rome. Views: 44
A lady's reputation is a fragile thing. If anyone ever discovered that
Miss Elizabeth Bennet had received a letter from a single gentleman, she
could be ruined... or forced to marry a man she detests. In this Pride
& Prejudice variation, Elizabeth takes the safer course and refuses
to read Mr. Darcy's letter of explanation. Returning home unaware of
Wickham's true nature, Elizabeth confesses everything to him, putting
both Mr. Darcy and herself in grave danger from Wickham's schemes. Views: 44
A wry romp through 1930s mores, social and sexualProgressive for its time as well as ours, The Friendly Young Ladies is a deftly witty comedy set in England between the wars. At eighteen, Elsie has had enough of life at her bickering parents' Cornwall home. She decides to join up with her bohemian older sister, Leo, in the city. Leo's life is full of surprises—not least her significant other, Helen, a beautiful nurse. As Elsie gets acquainted with Leo's world, new characters—including a novelist and a doctor deluded enough to chase all three women at once—come into play. With acid humor and a supremely light touch, The Friendly Young Ladies colors in an unseen dimension of the 1930s. Views: 44
Just another dull debutante?From boxing at Jackson's to dancing starry-eyed society belles around London's ballrooms, Beldon Stratten is the perfect English gentleman. And he's looking for a perfectly bland, respectable wife.Appearances can be deceiving...Exotic Lilya Stefanov is anything but bland. Beldon is intrigued to see that the ragamuffin girl he once knew has matured into an elegant lady, poised and polite!But beneath the mysterious beauty's evening gowns and polished etiquette lies a dangerous secret—and a scandalous sensuality... Views: 44
Book 3 in the Rebels and Patriots seriesThough the worlds of the Imperium became a nightmare of oppression, the lost colonies have modeled themselves on an ancient dream of democracy and freedom. Imperial Inspector Paul Grimm and Marine General Julia Urbica turn their backs on the Imperium and, in the colonies, they find something worth fighting for. Bordering both the Imperium and the aliens of the Gray Quorum, the colonies have managed to thrive despite the menacing shadows of their neighbors but it has always been a precarious existence. In seizing their one chance at true independence, the worlds of the colonies might just lose everything. The Gray Matter is a high-stakes tale of intrigue, atrocity and inter-species conflict – a universe tumbling toward war, ascendancy and decline. (Approx 93,000 words)** Views: 44
