A Burning Desire for One Country, One Love, and One Legacy That Will Last Forever.Llewelyn, prince of Gwynedd, dreams of a Wales united against the English, but first he must combat enemies nearer home. Llewelyn and his brothers-Owen Goch, Rhodri, and David-vie for power among themselves and with the English king, Henry III. Despite the support of his beloved wife, Eleanor, Llewelyn finds himself trapped in a situation where the only solution could be his very downfall...Originally published in England as four individual novels, The Brothers of Gwynedd transports you to a world of chivalry, gallant heroes, and imprisoned damsels; to star-crossed lovers and glorious battle scenes; and is Edith Pargeter's absorbing tale of tragedy, traitors, and triumph of the heart."A lively evocation of life on the Welsh borders in the Middle Ages, coupled with an ingenious plot, and the whole narrated with elegant crispness."-The Times L iterary Supplement"Strong in atmosphere and plot, grim and yet hopeful...carved in weathered stone rather than in the sands of current fashion." -Daily Telegraph"A richly textured tapestry of medieval Wales."-Sunday Telegraph"Those who fancy historical fiction with an emphasis on the history will savor this convincing tale."-Publishers WeeklyAbout the AuthorEdith Pargeter (1913-1995) has gained worldwide praise and recognition for her historical fiction and historical mysteries, including A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury. She also wrote several novels of crime fiction as Ellis Peters. She was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire). Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.My name is Samson. I tell what I know, what I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. And if it should come to pass that I must tell also what I have not seen, that, too, shall be made plain, and how I came to know it so certainly that I tell it as though I had been present. And I say now that there is no man living has a better right to be my lord's chronicler, for there is none ever knew him better than I, and God He knows there is none, man or woman, ever loved him better.Now the manner of my begetting was this:My mother was a waiting-woman in the service of the Lady Senena, wife of the Lord Griffith, who was elder son to Llewelyn the Great, prince of Aberffraw and lord of Snowdon, the supreme chieftain of North Wales, and for all he never took the name, master of all Wales while he lived, and grandsire and namesake to my own lord, whose story I tell. The Lord Griffith was elder son, but with this disability, that he was born out of marriage. His mother was Welsh and noble, but she was not a wife, and this was the issue that cost Wales dear after his father's death. For in Wales a son is a son, to acknowledge him is to endow him with every right of establishment and inheritance, no less than among his brothers born in wedlock, but the English and the Normans think in another fashion, and have this word "bastard" which we do not know, as though it were shame to a child that he did not call a priest to attend those who engendered him before he saw the light. Howbeit, the great prince, Llewelyn, Welsh though he was and felt to the marrow of his bones, had England to contend with, and so did contend to good purpose all his life long, and knew that only by setting up a claim of absolute legitimacy, by whatever standard, could he hope to ensure his heir a quiet passage into possession of his right, and Wales a self-life secure from the enmity of England. Moreover, he loved his wife, who was King John's daughter, passing well, and her son, who was named David, clung most dearly of all things living about his father's heart, next only after his mother. Yet it cannot be said that the great prince ever rejected or deprived his elder son, for he set him up in lands rich and broad enough, and made use of his talents both in war and diplomacy. Only he was absolute in reserving to a single heir the principality of Gwynedd, and that heir was the son acceptable and kin to the English king.But the Lord Griffith being of a haughty and ungovernable spirit, for spite at being denied what he held to be his full right under Welsh law, plundered and abused even what he had, and twice the prince was moved by complaints of mismanagement and injustice to take from him what had been bestowed, and even to make the offender prisoner until he should give pledges of better usage. This did but embitter still further the great bitterness he felt rather towards his brother than his father, and the rivalry between those two was a burden and a threat to Gwynedd continually.At the time of which I tell, which was Easter of the year of Our Lord twelve hundred and twenty-eight, the Lord Griffith was at liberty and in good favour, and spent the feast on his lands in Lleyn, at Nevin where his court then was. And there came as guests at this festival certain chiefs and lesser princes from other regions of Wales, Rhys Mechyll of Dynevor, and Cynan ap Hywel of Cardigan, and some others whose attachment to the prince and his authority was but slack and not far to be trusted. Moreover, they came in some strength, each with a company of officers and men-at-arms of his bodyguard, though whether in preparation for some planned and concerted action against the good order of Gywnedd, as was afterwards believed, or because they had no great trust in one another, will never be truly known. Thus they spent the Eastertide at Nevin, with much men's talk among the chiefs, in which the Lord Griffith took the lead.At this time the Lord David had been acknowledged as sole heir to his father's princedom by King Henry of England, his uncle, and also by an assembly of the magnates of Wales; but some, though they raised no voice against, made murmur in private still that this was against the old practice and law of Wales, and spoke for Griffith's right. Therefore it was small wonder that Prince Llewelyn, whose eyes and ears were everywhere, took note of this assembly at Nevin, and at the right moment sent his high steward and his private guard to occupy the court and examine the acts and motives of all those there gathered. David he did not send, for he would have him held clean of whatever measure need be taken against his brother. There was bitterness enough already.They came, and they took possession. Those chiefs were held to account, questioned closely, made to give hostages every one for his future loyalty, and so dispersed with their followings to their own lands. And until their departures, all their knights and men-at-arms were held close prisoner under lock and key, and the household saw no more of them. As for the Lord Griffith, he was summoned to his father at Aber, to answer for what seemed a dangerous conspiracy, and not being able to satisfy the prince's council, he was again committed to imprisonment in the Castle of Degannwy, where he remained fully six years. Views: 39
Buried secrets from the Nazi era threaten to destroy an Austrian composer It's been years since Lucas Corinth, world-renowned composer, has set foot in the town of his birth. In that time, Europe has been torn apart by war, but Gries, an exquisite little village nestled deep within the Alps, has not been touched—at least not perceptibly. In this high-altitude paradise, the scars lie just below the surface. As a young man, Corinth worked with the resistance, helping refugees evade the Nazis and escape across the Swiss border. When the operation was discovered, he escaped. His best friend was not so lucky. Back in Gries as the guest of honor for the town's annual music festival, Corinth receives a message: The past has not been forgotten, and vengeance will be exacted. Corinth was born in Gries, and if he's not careful, he'll die there too. Views: 39
If Jessica Keller wants to advance in the Republic of Aquitaine’s Navy, she must become more than just Aquitaine’s best fighting commander: she must learn diplomacy.
The First Lord sends her to a safe backwater ally, Lincolnshire, to learn.
However, Jessica finds herself neck deep in an Imperial conspiracy to over throw the King of the Pirates and ignite the entire border.
Jessica and Auberon must go to the very edge of the galaxy and far beyond mere diplomacy to stop them.
Be sure to also read "Auberon", volume one of The Jessica Keller Chronicles, as well as "Last of the Immortals", volume 3.
**About the Author
Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe as well as The Collective. He also write fantasy stories with several characters and series, from an alternate Rome to epic high fantasy in the desert. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Facebook, Goodreads, and other places. Blaze’s works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors (Kobo, Amazon, and others). His newsletter comes out quarterly, and you can also follow his blog on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books! Views: 39
It's all about that second chance... Simple Riches is Book Three of That Second Chance Series. (These are standalone books tied together by a common theme--belief in the beauty of that second chance.)Alexandra Chamberlain is a cosmopolitan woman whose uncle taught her to discard everything but the bottom line on a balance sheet. She'll do anything to earn his approval and prides herself on excelling at her job, which is selecting small towns to buy up, flatten, and replace with luxury resorts. When Alex decides to investigate Restalline, Pennsylvania as a potential site for the next resort, she enters the town under the guise of a researcher gathering information for a documentary. It should be easy, just like all the others. But this town is different, from Alex's zany landlord to Nick Androvich, the town doctor with a battered heart who questions Alex's motives yet can't deny his attraction to her. As Alex and Nick explore their growing relationship, they must face the truth about each other and themselves as they search for their own Simple Riches.That Second Chance SeriesBook One: Pulling HomeBook Two: The Way They WereBook Three: Simple RichesBook Four: Paradise FoundBook Five: Not Your Everyday HousewifeBook Six: The Butterfly Garden (Coming 2014)Review"An emotional story of healing and homecoming, spiced with secrets, passion and revenge."-Susan Wiggs, Bestselling Author, on Simple Riches From the AuthorI grew up in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania, much like the one in Simple Riches. There were four of us kids, my two older brothers, me, and my younger sister--all of us born within 5 ½ years. There were no McDonalds in our town, no malls, no fancy movie theaters. I used to walk over a mile to school every day, (yes, I really did!) Time was filled with little things, everyday life; weeding the flower beds and garden by hand and getting snail guts under my nails, holding the flashlight while my brothers caught night crawlers, helping my mother bake bread or hang sheets on the line so they could 'catch the fresh air'. Huddling with my sister in bed on Easter Sunday before Mass and gorging on a milk chocolate baby doll, planting a maple tree-- my maple tree--with my father in our back yard, listening to my grandmother speak in broken English as she told stories of being a young girl in Italy and coming to America. Getting ready to go out on Saturday night and fighting over one shower and one hairdryer between the four of us... Today, my brothers and sister and I live hundreds of miles away from that little town in Pennsylvania, but it is still part of us, it will always be part of us because that's where we learned the true meaning of family and friendship, and the importance of honoring your word. And so, when I decided to write about a small town and its people with their traditions and values, I thought about life, as a child and as an adult, and this is the question that led to Simple Riches; What is real wealth? Is it a balanced stock portfolio and a seven-figure income? Or is it more elusive ... intangible...something perhaps that cannot be measured or identified or even...understood? Is real wealth that, which reaches out to us, touches our hearts, our souls, filling us yet leaving us longing for more? Is it a fall morning, crisp and clear, with the tip of frost covering green, ... a smile, full and honest, ... a tradition handed down, ... a string of memories planted with a maple tree... Views: 39
To protect the man she loves from her enemy, Lady Whitney Rutherford flees and disguises herself as Mr. Roger Wentworth, missing person locator extraordinaire. When her best friend comes up missing, Whitney infiltrates a secret sex club to solve the mystery and shockingly encounters her lost love―Drake Sutherland. Views: 39
Join three of today's bestselling inspirational fiction authors in a collection of Christmas stories from Victorian-era America that are full of romance and bonus reader gifts. Views: 39
September 1939. As Warsaw falls to Hitler’s Wehrmacht, Captain Alexander de Milja is recruited by the intelligence service of the Polish underground. His mission: to transport the national gold reserve to safety, hidden on a refugee train to Bucharest. Then, in the back alleys and black-market bistros of Paris, in the tenements of Warsaw, with partizan guerrillas in the frozen forests of the Ukraine, and at Calais Harbor during an attack by British bombers, de Milja fights in the war of the shadows in a world without rules, a world of danger, treachery, and betrayal.From the Trade Paperback edition.From Publishers WeeklyWith clear, reticent prose and his trademark mastery of historical detail, Furst (Shadow Trade; Night Soldiers) brings vividly to life this WWII-era tale of espionage and bravery, chronicling the work of the Polish underground in Poland, France and the Ukraine. As Warsaw is falling in 1939, Polish Captain Alexander de Milja embarks on a harrowing journey to smuggle the national gold reserves out of the country by rail-the first of many death-defying missions he will undertake for the nascent ZWZ, the Union for Armed Struggle. Under a series of false identities, mingling with the bon vivants of occupied Paris, he later becomes a prized intelligence resource in France, surviving by cunning and passing valuable strategic information to the British. In the novel's final section, de Milja is in even more danger, working as a saboteur based in a Ukrainian forest as the Germans march east. Throughout these dramatic events, Furst's understated narrative is insightful and convincing. The unassuming de Milja-who considers himself merely "unafraid to die, and lucky so far"-proves an engaging protagonist. His exploits and the courageous sacrifices of the ordinary patriots who help him are both thrilling and at times inspiring. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalCapt. Alexander de Milja is a chameleon. A cartographer by profession, de Milja works as an intelligence officer in the Polish underground at the outset of World War II. When the Germans discover de Milja's identity in Poland, he goes to France and later Russia to continue his work. De Milja's disguises are many-he passes as a Russian writer, a Czech coal merchant, and a Polish horse breeder-and he embraces each persona completely as he goes about the business of espionage and sabotage. De Milja comes across as a genuine individual who, in his weaker moments, grapples with his desire to give up the fight. This well-written, realistic novel by the author of A Distant War (LJ 10/1/94) paints a vivid picture of the grayness and despair of the German occupation. Recommended for larger public libraries.--Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., KalamazooCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 39
