Historical Fiction Books

Book Synopsis''An enthralling adventure story, honest and powerful. The Wars of the Roses are imagined here with energy, with ferocity, with hunger to engage the reader.'' Hilary Mantel''An enthralling adventure story, honest and powerful. The Wars of the Roses are imagined here with energy, with ferocity, with hunger to engage the reader.'' Hilary MantelOctober, 1463England is a divided nation. In the north, the Lancastrian king struggles to hold power, while in the south, the princes of the house of York prepare for war.Across this land, pursued by the Church and the Law, a young man, Thomas, and a young woman, Katherine, make their way, bearing proof of a secret both sides will kill to learn.Bent on revenge for a past outrage, Thomas and Katherine journey to the mighty castle of Bamburgh to join a weakening king as he marshals his army to take up arms in one of the most savage civil wars in history: the Wars of the Roses.Trade ReviewToby Clements is an exceptionally good writer. His debut was a tour de force. His second novel outdoes that, bringing new depth to his characters, and continuing his vivid, blood-soaked insight into the real, grim, ghastly, and occasionally glorious human cost of the Wars of the Roses. This is history in the raw: powerful, potent stuff, always real, but always gloriously unpredictable. This is a gem of a book, one of my must-reads for this year. * Manda Scott *This is a miserable, vicious world, vividly recreated by Clements. Immersive historical fiction at its best. * The Times *The book glides along effortlessly, it’s a simple excellent love story, bursting with action, intrigue and history. a real contender for book of the year. * Parmenion Books *It's raw and heart-rending… A searing narrative that will definitely stay with you after you've closed the book. * Fantasy Smorgasboard *It's raw and heart-rending… A searing narrative that will definitely stay with you after you've closed the book. * Fantasy Smorgasboard *

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Book SynopsisSebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage. He lives in London.Trade ReviewIt is a wonderfully happy book. * Guardian *This light-hearted romp is delightfully witty, packed with puns and boasts a few phrases that Wodehouse himself would have deemed top-hole. Splendid stuff. * Sunday Mirror *The finished product resembles, in all but cover, a traditional Wodehousian yarn. Harking back to the summer of 1926, it is a gentle, jolly tale – of farce and mistaken identity, of love lost and found, of cricket matches, village fetes and the eccentric upper classes. * Telegraph *At two memorable moments in Jeeves and the Wedding Bells I did indeed laugh until I cried… Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is a masterpiece… This is a pitch-perfect undertaking: proof, almost a century after his debut, that Jeeves may not be so inimitable after all. * Spectator *The plot is satisfyingly convoluted in the best Wodehouse tradition . . . A genuine addition to my growing Wodehouse collection and there is no higher tribute. * Daily Express *He catches the Wodehousean idiom, periphrasis, surreal similes and bally silliness to a T, all done with love. Please commission a dozen more, Hutchinson. * Literary Review *From the first page of Sebastian Faulks’s entirely delightful book . . . we are transported to Wodehouse land. All the details, of plot, of character, and of setting, are lovingly drawn. The hours spent reading Jeeves and the Wedding Bells are pure pleasure. * Financial Times *Faulks has caught the mood and the dialogue perfectly * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisElinor is as prudent as her sister Marianne is impetuous. Each must learn from the other after they are they are forced by their father's death to leave their home and enter into the contests of polite society.Trade ReviewJane Austen is the pinnacle to which all other authors aspire -- J.K. RowlingJane Austen is my favourite author -- E.M. ForsterThe technique of [Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise.... Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete -- Elizabeth BowenThe wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste -- Virginia WoolfI am a great admirer of Jane Austen -- Alexander McCall Smith

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Book SynopsisRichard Bolitho returns in this captivating page-turner set on the high seas from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent. Fans of Patrick O''Brian and C.S. Forester will not be disappointed!''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' - THE SUNDAY TIMES''Good characters, good story, good action.'' -- ***** Reader review''Leaves you wanting more'' -- ***** Reader review''Every ''Kent'' book is a joy to read, immersing you in this bygone era of seafaring.'' -- ***** Reader review''Just good nautical escape-ism, with a solid basis in history.'' -- ***** Reader review''Band Of Brothers is a classic Kent/Bolitho epic which I hardly put down for days until it was reluctantly finished.'' -- ***** Reader review**********************************************************************************1774: The new year seems to offer Richard Bolitho and his friend Marty

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Book SynopsisDouglas Reeman did convoy duty in the navy in the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the North Sea. He has written over thirty novels under his own name and more than twenty bestselling historical novels featuring Richard Bolitho under the pseudonym Alexander Kent.

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Book SynopsisMulti-million copy bestselling author Douglas Reeman will take you right to the heart of the action in this page-turner of a historical adventure novel. Laden with tension, explosive developments and unforgettable battle scenes, this is perfect for fans of Clive Cussler, Bernard Cornwell and Wilbur Smith.''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' - Sunday Times''Masterly storytelling'' - The Times''Gripping and a book you just can not put down...'' -- ***** Reader review''An edge-of-your-seat story'' - ***** Reader review''Highly recommended'' -- ***** Reader review********************************************************************December 1917: Germany opens the final, bitter round of the war with a new and deadly weapon in the struggle for the seas - the Vulcan.When she sails from Kiel Harbour, she is, to all appearances, a harmless merchant vessel

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Book SynopsisAlexander Kent is the author of twenty-seven acclaimed books featuring Richard Bolitho. Under his own name, Douglas Reeman, and in the course of a career spanning forty-five years, he has written over thirty novels and two non-fiction books.Trade ReviewShipwreck, survival... a spirited battle... a splendid yarn * Times *One of our foremost writers of naval fiction * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisWith the epic scenes of action, powerful characterisation and the authentic period detail that we have come to expect from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent, this all-action naval adventure is perfect for fans of Patrick O''Brian and C. S. Forester. You''ll be hooked from page one!''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' -- Sunday Times''Shipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn'' -- The Times''I recommend it to anyone who liked Sharp, Hornblower and Master and Commander...this series is the daddy!'' -- ***** Reader review''This whole series of books is brilliant.'' -- ***** Reader review''The story line was gripping, felt the sea in my face and guns in my ears'' -- ***** Reader review''These books by Alexander Kent are very well written. I find them riveting and always find myself engrossed coTrade ReviewOne of our foremost writers of naval fiction * Sunday Times *Shipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn * The Times *

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Book SynopsisIn brilliant poetic prose Bright Air Black brings us aboard the ship Argo for its epic return journey across the Black Sea from Persia's Colchis where Medea flees her home and father with Jason, the Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece. Vann's reimagining of this ancient tale offers a thrilling, realist alternative to the long held notions of Medea as monster or sorceress. We witness with dramatic urgency Medea's humanity, her Bronze Age roots and position in Greek society, her love affair with Jason, and her tragic demise. Atmospheric and spellbinding, Bright Air Black is an indispensable, fresh and provocative take on one of our earliest texts and the most intimate and corporal version of Medea's story ever told.Trade ReviewThis Medea is intelligent and cynical, slighted by a husband and her gender. She is a woman who craves revenge for the fate of being born a woman and thus rendered powerless in a world ruled by men. Vann strips away the softer parts of Medea’s character as ruthlessly as Medea slits throats ... The centrepiece of Bright Air Black is the butchering of Pelias, a long and magnificently gruesome scene, described in stomach-churning detail ... Vann leaves us with the troubling paradox that murderous Medea is also a devoted mother ... Vann evokes this visceral, sensual, brutal world of warring city states, capricious gods and fragile human agency in a fractured prose style, reminiscent of ancient Greek drama and poetry. Short poetic phrases pile up, fall away, stop short. Powerful internal rhythms build and subside, like the waves the Argonauts sail over ... The time and the place may be very different from his previous novels, but Bright Air Black shares the same central structure of a searing family drama set against a backdrop of untamed nature … At the heart of this ambitious, dazzling, disturbing and memorable novel lies the uneasy juxtaposing of the wild and the civilised, and the complex, shifting relationship between the two. -- Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *[Vann’s] genius lies in his ability to blow away all the elegance and toga-clad politeness that have grown like a crust around our idea of ancient Greece and to reveal the bare bones of the Archaic period in all their bloody, reeking nastiness. * The Times *Bright Air Black is a poetic fever dream, beautiful and unflinchingly primal. A vivid and forceful retelling of Medea’s famous story. -- Madeline Miller, author of 'The Song of Achilles'[David Vann] allows Medea to devour him and his readers: to read his book is to be swallowed down into her mad mind … Her wonder at the sea, and the way its water buoys her up, prompts a beautiful passage … Vann is indebted to poets, and he grants himself great poetic licence in his handling of syntax … Vivid, often appalling, sometimes piercingly sad and frequently striking. -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *A retelling of an ancient tale, a retouched portrait of one of mythology’s most enthralling and notorious women, Medea … (Vann) gives us a ringside seat to a blood-soaked, viscera-dripping gore-fest. Vann gives us a fresh slant on an early myth, an up-close and in-depth character study. From the outset, his drama unfolds in prose that is both atmospheric and electrifying … Vann’s content can be grim but his language has beauty and poise … [A] stunning depiction of one of mythology’s most complex characters … The tale is also one of great power and intensity. Bright Air Black possesses the same potency. Its dark energy shocks us and shakes us, yet it is impossible to pull away. * The Australian *

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Book SynopsisA return to the epic romance, heroism, history and warm and eccentric cast of characters that made CAPTAIN CORELLI''S MANDOLIN such an extraordinary hit (2.5 million copies sold). The very first adventure with flying ace and war hero Daniel Pitt.In the brief golden years before the outbreak of World War I, Rosie McCosh and her three very different sisters are growing up in an eccentric household in Kent, with their neighbours the Pitt boys on one side and the Pendennis boys on the other. But their days of childhood adventure are shadowed by the approach of the conflict that will engulf them on the cusp of adulthood.When the boys end up scattered along the Western Front, Rosie is left confused by her love for two young men - one an infantry soldier and one the flying ace Daniel Pitt. Can she, and her sisters, build new lives out of the opportunities and devastations that follow the Great War?For more adventures with flying ace Daniel Pitt, seTrade Review"A feast of a novel ... This book is very much a hit" -- John Sutherland The Times "Louis de Bernieres is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh... he has only to look into his world, one senses, for it to rush into reality, colours and touch and taste" Evening Standard "This, [De Bernieres]' eighth novel, proves that he can and is still producing Good Things" -- Fiona Wilson The Times "A richly rewarding read" -- Vanessa Berridge Daily Express "De Bernieres is an astute observer of the human heart, and his account of an idealistic young woman learning to live in the real world is beautifully observed" Mail on Sunday

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Book SynopsisAs the war takes its toll, the Nightingale nurses must do their bit for king and country... Dora is the devoted mother of twin babies but, determined to help the war effort, she goes back to work at the Nightingale Hospital. More used to nights out in the West End, Jennifer and Cissy volunteer in the hope of tending to handsome soldiers.

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Book SynopsisChristmas 1941 and the nurses at the Nightingale are facing their toughest winter yet.With shortages everywhere, and every news bulletin announcing more defeats and losses, the British people are weary and demoralised and The Nightingale Hospital is suffering too. Millie is recently widowed and dealing with the demands of her family's estate. It's not long before her old world of The Nightingale begins to beckon, along with a long-lost loveJess is struggling with her move from East London to the quiet of the countryside.Effie finds herself exiled to a quiet village, but the quiet doesn't last for long as she soon finds excitement in the shape of a smooth-talking GI. As Christmas approaches, even the shelter of the countryside can't protect the girls from heartache. Trade ReviewIt was a perfect winter read as I sat in front of a roaring fire, mug of tea and a box of choccies to hand. I was soon deep in the world of nurses and country living. The characters are likeable and realistic and the author strikes a perfect balance between the hard, grudging work that nurses do and the camaraderie that comes from pulling together. It doesn’t shy away from the awfulness of war but deals with it in a way that’s informative without being too upsetting and certainly made me wonder at the bravery of people during those trying times. That said there is humour and warmth on every page. * Frost *great story-telling * Choice Magazine *Written in a heart-warming and easy-going style, it is a perfect book to curl up with on a winter’s afternoon. * Nursing Standard *Written in a heart-warming and easy-going style, it is a perfect book to curl up with on a winter’s afternoon’ 5* review * Nursing Standard *

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Book SynopsisIn this vast and gorgeous tapestry of a novel, serf and master, Cossack and tsar, priest and Jew are brought together in a family saga which unrolls through centuries of history to reveal that most impenetrable and mysterious of lands - Russia.Trade ReviewIt is a series of ingeniously linked short novels, with a great deal of history painlessly delievered ... a very good read indeed * The Times *Even textured, with just the right amount of spice, it is the literary equivalent of hot cakes * Sunday Telegraph *Rewarding reading ... an engrossing story. The novel manages to capture and convey the vastness of Mother Russia, her story and her potential * Boston Sunday Herald *What's impressive about Russka is Edward Rutherfurd's audacity - and his erudition * Washington Post *Impressive . . . Rutherfurd has indeed embraced all of Russia * The Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade ReviewA great storyteller * Guardian *Jazz blazes with an intensity more usually found in tragic poetry of the past, not in fiction today.... Morrison's voice transcends colour and creed and she has become one of America's outstanding post-war writers... A great storyteller, her characters have amazing and terrible pasts - they must find them out, or be haunted by them * Guardian *Morrison’s writing of a black romance pays its debt to blues music, the rhythms and the melancholy pleasures of which she has so magically transformed into a novel * London Review of Books *The author conjures up worlds with complete authority and makes no secret of her angst at the injustices dealt to black women * New York Times Book Review *Wonderful... A brilliant, daring novel... Every voice amazes * Chicago Tribune *

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Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade Review'Toni Morrison was a giant of her times and ours... Beloved is a heartbreaking testimony to the ongoing ravages of slavery, and should be read by all'‘I adored her honesty. I admired the way she occupied her space in the world. I believed her’‘[Toni Morrison] led and we followed, and she showed us the beauty of the language, and the power that was unleashed when that beauty was allied to a great heart and a ferocious mind’‘No other writer in my lifetime, or perhaps ever, has married so completely an understanding of the structures of power with knowledge of the human heart’‘Toni Morrison is the greatest chronicler of the American experience that we have ever known’‘Morrison is, to me, the best writer the English-speaking world has ever seen’‘Morrison’s legacy in commemorating slavery’s survivors will endure and uplift for centuries to come'‘Her every word a caress, her every sentence an embrace, her every paragraph, a cupping of her hands around our faces that said: I know you, I see you, we are together’‘I have never read anyone else like her . . . She was an opener of doors, doors that seemed they might always be shut, doors shut so tight they seemed not to be doors at all’‘Her legacy is total excellence . . . she is magnificent, her emotional intelligence is second to none and her bravery was equal to her artistry’‘Morrison almost single-handedly took American fiction forward in the second half of the twentieth century’‘[Toni Morrison’s] irreverence was godly’ * Guardian *A beautiful book and it's beautifully written -- Kit de Waal * Good Housekeeping UK *My favourite book of all time -- Sareeta Domingo * Good Housekeeping *Morrison's stunning trilogy is an evocation of black life over the past four centuries. It defies summary. Completed almost 25 years ago, these novels top anything produced by any American writer including Hemingway, Updike and DeLillo -- Trevor Phillips * Sunday Times *[A] beautiful, haunting novel -- Stig Abell * Sunday Times *More than one of Morrison's books could be classed as masterpieces, but this one is famous for a reason: everyone should read it -- Bernice McFadden, author of SUGAR * Guardian *A triumph -- Margaret Atwood * New York Times Book Review *A magnificent achievement... An American masterpiece -- A. S. Byatt * Guardian *There is something great in Beloved: a play of human voices, consciously exalted, perversely stressed, yet holding true. It gets you * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade ReviewToni Morrison makes me believe in God. She makes me believe in a divine being, because luck and genetics don’t seem to come close to explaining her * Guardian *The poetry of the language. The vernacular and the rhythms of speech... It's eavesdropping on a slice of life. You care for every character. You love them, you bleed for them. It's a masterclass in narrative fiction. It's a book that not only makes me want to be a better writer, but a better person as well -- Sarah Winman * Good Housekeeping *Stunningly beautiful... Full of magnificent people... They are still haunting my house. I suspect they will be with me forever * Washington Post *Song of Solomon…profoundly changed my life * Guardian *A rhapsodic work... Intricate and inventive * New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisIn 1812, Francisco Manoel da Silva, escaping a life of poverty in Brazil, sailed to the African kingdom of Dahomey, determined to make his fortune in the slave trade. Armed with nothing but an iron will, he became a man of substance in Ouidah and the founder of a remarkable dynasty. His one remaining ambition is to return to Brazil in triumph, but his friendship with the mad, mercurial king of Dahomey is fraught with danger and threatens his dream.Trade ReviewA masterpiece which everybody should read...It deserves to become a classic -- Auberon WaughNo lunacy too weird, no irony too oblique, heart too tender, mischief too black, to dodge the sharp angle of his eye. He slips from the hilarious to the macabre, he celebrates the comedy and plumbs the tragedy of Francisco's life - and of Africa - in prose that grabs you with its precision * Observer *Outstanding, finely written * Independent *It is hard to know how posterity will regard this remarkable writer, but his terse, honed language was built to last -- Colin Thubron * Sunday Times *Magnificent. The beautiful, succinct prose is so incredibly visual, vibrant and visceral -- Bernardine Evaristo * Independent *

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Book SynopsisChristopher Isherwood was born at High lane, Cheshire, in 1904. He left Cambridge without graduationg, tried briefly to study medicine and in 1928 published All the Conspirators, followed by a second novel, The Memorial in 1932. From 1928 onwards he lived mostly out of England: four years in Berlin, five in various European countries including Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Denmark. In 1939 he went to California, which became his home for the rest of his life. His Berlin experiences produced two novels, Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) and Goodbye to Berlin (1939).Isherwood worked with the American Friends Service Committee during part of the war. In 1946 he became a US citizen. Following his move to America he wrote five novels - Prater Violet, The World in the Evening, Down There on a Visit, A Single Man and A Meeting by the River; a travel book about South America, The Condor and the Cows; and Ramakrishna anTrade ReviewA supreme example of a radiant prose rhythm married to the most delicious dialogue – a portrait of the subtly ruinous Mr Norris. -- Sebastian Barry * Week *Isherwood sketches with the lightest of touches the last gasp of the decaying demi-monde and the vigorous world of Communists and Nazis, grappling with each other on the edge of the abyss * Sunday Telegraph *What the Berlin stories retain, to a unique degree, is the ability to tell us what it really felt like then - to feel involved with the Germans and still to find that they retained their mystery; to be in the mode, yes, of a camera, and yet to be furiously, hopelessly involved -- James FentonThe first literary novel that really switched me on was Christopher Isherwood's Mr Norris Changes Trains -- Chris Pattern * Daily Mail *He immortalised Berlin in two short, brilliant novels both published in the Thirties, Mr Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye To Berlin, inventing a new form for future generations - intimate, stylised reportage in loosely connected episodes * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisSusan Hill''s classic novel Strange Meeting tells of the power of love amidst atrocities.''He was afraid to go to sleep. For three weeks, he had been afraid of going to sleep . . .''Young officer John Hilliard returns to his battalion in France following a period of sick leave in England. Despite having trouble adjusting to all the new faces, the stiff and reserved Hilliard forms a friendship with David Barton, an open and cheerful new recruit who has still to be bloodied in battle. As the pair approach the front line, to the proximity of death and destruction, their strange friendship deepens. But each knows that soon they will be separated . . .''A remarkable feat of imaginative and descriptive writing'' The Times''The feeling of men under appalling stress at a particular moment in history is communicated with almost uncanny power'' Sunday Times''Truly Astonishing'' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisThe exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett''s revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Scales of Gold is Book Four in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------''You know what is drawing him? He is going to the market no white men attend. He is going to sail up the River of Gold.''In the Spring of 1464 Nicholas vander Poele returns to Venice in time to witness a plot to wipe out Casa de Niccolo - his own bank. Near-ruined, he secures a ship, a crew and sails for the one place he is confident none of his rivals would dare follow - Africa.Yet Nicholas is disconcerted to find he is racing against another vessel as they head for the fabled lands of Prester John and his fountains of gold, where strangers and plunderers alike are treated with suspicion.But nothing will turn Nicholas away from the glitteTrade ReviewPraise for Dorothy Dunnett -- - * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention -- - * New York Times *Marvellous, breathtaking -- - * The Times *A masterpiece of historical fiction -- - * Washington Post *One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas -- - * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety -- - * The Times *Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction -- - * New York Times *'A glorious panorama of medieval times . . . The historical research is impeccable' -- - * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisThe exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett''s revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.The Unicorn Hunt is Book Five in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------''Rich, newly wed, with a palatial banking house, a busy fleet, a small army, why should Nicholas vander Poele choose to travel to Edinburgh?''That is the question on everyone''s lips in the Autumn of 1468 - especially those of his enemy, Simon de St Pol of Kilmirren, who seeks nothing less than the destruction of the House of Niccolo and its cunning head.But Nicholas soon proves that there are very good mercantile reasons for expanding his trading empire into the north. They also help to conceal his attempts to discover the true father of the child his vengeful wife insists is not his own.From Scotland to the Tyrol, Cairo to Cyprus, NichTrade ReviewPraise for Dorothy Dunnett -- - * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention -- - * New York Times *Marvellous, breathtaking -- - * The Times *A masterpiece of historical fiction -- - * Washington Post *One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas -- - * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety -- - * The Times *Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction -- - * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett''s revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.To Lie With Lions is Book Six in The House of Niccolo series.-----------------------------''We are going to the Westmann Isles. We are going to tamper with Nature, defy law and cheat pirates. We are going to sail the stiffening ocean to Iceland.''It is 1471 and Nicholas de Fleury has confounded the Lions of Europe - the courts of England, France, Burgundy, Venice and Cyprus. The very future of the continent hinges on the fate of his bank, the enigmatic House of Niccolo.Yet Nicholas'' attention appears to lie elsewhere. Having overcome the schemings of his wife, Gelis, he now seeks a truce. He looks north to the lands of ice and fire, and new treasure to wrestle from the hands of rivals.And, in Edinburgh, there is a play to perTrade ReviewPraise for Dorothy Dunnett -- - * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention -- - * The New York Times *Marvellous, breathtaking -- - * The Times *A masterpiece of historical fiction -- - * Washington Post *One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas -- - * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety -- - * The Times *Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction -- - * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe exquisitely-researched standalone prequel series to Dorothy Dunnett''s revered Lymond Chronicles, following the ancestors of Francis Crawford of Lymond in Continental Europe.Spring of the Ram is Book Two in The House of Niccolo series.----------------------------- ''Catherine de Charetty, having chosen a lover just after the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was much put out to learn that, at nearly thirteen, she did not possess all the required qualifications . . .''Yet her secret suitor, Pagano Doria, claims he will wait and spirits her away from Bruges, first to Florence and then eastwards. On their trail is Nicholas vander Poele, her step-father, conducting his own journey to the fabled city of Trebizond, a Byzantine outpost on the Black Sea.Known as the treasure-house of the East, Trebizond in 1461 is the ideal location for Nicholas to open the House of Niccolo''s new trading post. However, the Trade ReviewPraise for Dorothy Dunnett -- - * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention -- - * New York Times *Marvellous, breathtaking -- - * The Times *A masterpiece of historical fiction -- - * Washington Post *One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas -- - * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety -- - * The Times *Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction -- - * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisThe seventeen year old Hornblower became infamous as soon as he stepped on board ship as the midshipman who was seasick in the Spithead, but things were soon to change. Amid battle, action and adventure he proves himself time and time again - courageous in danger, resourceful in moments of difficulty and decisive in times of trouble.

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Book SynopsisJoin young Horatio Hornblower in the thrilling naval adventure from the author of The Good Shepherd, now a major-motion picture starring Tom Hanks''A joyous creation, a perfection in words. Young Hornblower is, simply, one of the most complete creations of character in fiction'' Conn Iggulden, The IndependentSeventeen-year-old Hornblower became notorious as soon as he stepped on board a ship - as the midshipman who was seasick in Spithead. But he was soon to gain his sea legs.Amid battle, action and adventure he proves himself time and time again - courageous in danger, resourceful in moments of difficulty and decisive in times of trouble.Stand right beside Hornblower as he prepares to fight his first duel.Feel the heat as he battles to control a blazing ship.Share his horror as he experiences for the first time the panic of the Plague.This omnibus edition contains:

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Book SynopsisBefore George R. R. Martin there was Dorothy Dunnett . . . PERFECT for fans of A Game of Thrones.''She is a brilliant story teller, The Lymond Chronicles will keep you reading late into the night, desperate to know the fate of the characters you have come to care deeply about.'' The Times Literary SupplementQueen''s Play is the second book in the series-----------------------------''The crossroads may not be of your own seeking, but at least the road you choose will be your own''It is 1548 and seven-year-old Mary Queen of Scots, betrothed to her cousin the Dauphin, heir to the French throne, has been dispatched to France. But far from home and vulnerable, surrounded by the double-dealing and debauchery of a dangerous and unpredictable court, she suffers a series of ''accidents''. Her mother, Scotland''s Queen Dowager, orders Francis Crawford of Lymond Trade ReviewPraise for Dorothy Dunnett * - *A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention * New York Times *Marvellous, breathtaking * The Times *A masterpiece of historical fiction * Washington Post *One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas * Cleveland Plain Dealer *Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety * The Times *Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction * New York Times *

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Book Synopsis''What spectacle is more august than that of a great king in exile? Who is more worthy of respect than a brave man in misfortune?'' When Henry Esmond appeared in 1852, noted writers and critics of the time acclaimed it as the best historical novel ever written. Set in the reign of Queen Anne, the story follows the troubled progress of a gentleman and an officer in Marlborough''s army, as he painfully wrestles with an emotional allegiance to the old Tory-Catholic England until, disillusioned, he comes to terms of a kind with the Whiggish-Protestant future. This change also entails a very uncomfortable switch in his affections. The love story of Henry Esmond is charged with sombre, unconscious emotions, yet is skilfully embedded into historical events which are convincing but never too prominent.

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Book SynopsisJeanie Deans, a dairymaid, decides she must walk to London to gain an audience with the Queen. Her sister is to be executed for infanticide and, while refusing to lie to help her case, Jeanie is desperate for a reprieve. Set in the 1730s in a Scotland uneasily united with England, The Heart of Mid-Lothian dramatizes different kinds of justice - that meted out by the Edinburgh mob in the lynching of Captain Porteous, and that encountered by a terrified young girl suspected of killing her baby. Based on an anonymous letter Scot received in 1817, this is the seventh and finest of Scott''s ''Waverley'' novels. It was an international bestseller and inspired succeeding novelists from Balzac to George Eliot.

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Book SynopsisWhen Reverend Josiah Crawley, the impoverished curate of Hogglestock, is accused of theft it causes a public scandal, sending shockwaves through the world of Barsetshire. The Crawleys desperately try to remain dignified while they are shunned by society, but the scandal threatens to tear them, and the community, apart.Drawing on his own childhood experience of genteel poverty, Trollope gives a painstakingly realistic depiction of the trials of a family striving to maintain its standards at all costs. With its sensitive portrayal of the proud and self-destructive figure of Crawley, this final volume is the darkest and most complex of all the Barsetshire novels.

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Book Synopsis“The surprise ‘must-read’ for people facing the Covid-19 epidemic.” —The TelegraphIn 1665 the plague swept through London, claiming over 97,000 lives. Daniel Defoe was just five at the time of the plague, but he later called on his own memories, as well as his writing experience, to create this vivid chronicle of the epidemic and its victims. A Journal (1722) follows Defoe's fictional narrator as he traces the devastating progress of the plague through the streets of London. Here we see a city transformed: some of its streets suspiciously empty, some—with crosses on their doors—overwhelmingly full of the sounds and smells of human suffering. And every living citizen he meets has a horrifying story that demands to be heard.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics reprTrade Review“One of the most original and harrowing accounts of living through a virulent pandemic . . . as full of meaning about human suffering today as it was when it was written.” —The Daily Beast“A brilliant account of the last major outbreak of bubonic plague in Britain—and it can still educate readers three centuries later.” —BBC News“[A] classic of plague literature . . . Camus was inspired by this book in writing The Plague.” —The Jerusalem Post “So grimly immediate . . . you can practically smell the death and decay.” —The Guardian “A realistic account of the plague’s effects on [London]. Defoe’s novel still has the power to unsettle—like when he writes about families forced into quarantine due to an infected family member.” —Vulture"Within the texture of Defoe's prose, London becomes a living and suffering being." —Peter AckroydTable of ContentsA Journal of the Plague YearChronology Introduction Notes Further Reading A Note on the TextA Journal of the Plague Year Appendix I: The Plague Appendix II: Topographical Index Appendix III: London Maps Appendix IV: Introduction by Anthony Burgess to the 1966 Penguin English Library Edition Glossary Notes

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Book SynopsisWritten around the thirteenth century AD by Icelandic monks, the seven tales collected here offer a combination of pagan elements tightly woven into the pattern of Christian ethics. They take as their subjects figures who are heroic, but do not fit into the mould of traditional heroes. Some stories concern characters in Iceland - among them Hrafknel's Saga, in which a poor man's son is murdered by his powerful neighbour, and Thorstein the Staff-Struck, which describes an ageing warrior's struggle to settle into a peaceful rural community. Others focus on the adventures of Icelanders abroad, including the compelling Audun's Story, which depicts a farmhand's pilgrimage to Rome. These fascinating tales deal with powerful human emotions, suffering and dignity at a time of profound transition, when traditional ideals were gradually yielding to a more peaceful pastoral lifestyle.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literaTable of ContentsHrafnkel's SagaIntroductionNote on the Translation1. Hrafnkel's Saga2. Thorstein the Staff-Struck3. Ale-Hood4. Hreidar the Fool5. Halldor Snorrason6. Audun's Story7. Ivar's StoryList of Personal NamesMaps

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Book SynopsisWritten around AD 1200 by an unnamed Icelandic author, the Orkneyinga Saga is an intriguing fusion of myth, legend and history. The only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action, it tells of an era when the islands were still part of the Viking world, beginning with their conquest by the kings of Norway in the ninth century. The saga describes the subsequent history of the Earldom of Orkney and the adventures of great Norsemen such as Sigurd the Powerful, St Magnus the Martyr and Hrolf, the conqueror of Normandy. Savagely powerful and poetic, this is a fascinating depiction of an age of brutal battles, murder, sorcery and bitter family feuds.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to prov

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Book SynopsisThese sagas recount fierce feuds in which honour is fought for, sacrifice is demanded, and blood is shed. The fate of the characters at the centre of each saga, however, is very different. Gisli is a traditional Viking-age hero who is determined to exact revenge at any cost and whose death is tragic when it comes. In contrast his nephew, Snorri, represents a new generation and acts to strengthen the new social order. Taken together these sagas reveal the richness and variety of the saga tradition.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Book SynopsisSet at the height of the tulipomania that gripped Holland in 17th century, this is the story of Cornelius van Baerle, a humble grower whose sole desire is to grow the perfect specimen of the tulip negra. When his godfather is murdered, Cornelius finds himself caught up in the deadly politics of the time, imprisoned and facing a death sentence. His jailor''s daughter Rosa, holds both the key to his survival and his chance to produce the ultimate tulip.

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Book SynopsisPreviously published as L''assommoir (The Dram Shop), Emile Zola''s The Drinking Den is an unflinching study of a desperate young woman struggling against the ravages of vice. This Penguin Classics edition is translated from the French with an introduction by Robin Buss.Abandoned by her lover and left to bring up their two children alone, Gervaise Macquart has to fight to earn an honest living. When she accepts the marriage proposal of Monsieur Coupeau, it seems as though she is on the path to a decent, respectable life at last. But with her husband''s drinking and the unexpected appearance of a figure from her past, Gervaise''s plans begin to unravel tragically. The Drinking Den caused a sensation when it was first published, with its gritty depiction of the poverty and squalor, slums and drinking houses of the Parisian underclass. The seventh novel in Zola''s great Rougon-Macquart cycle, it was the work that made his reputation. And, in his movi

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Book SynopsisIain Sinclair is the author of numerous works of fiction, poetry non-fiction, including Lud Heat; White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings; Downriver; Radon Daughters; Lights Out for the Territory; Rodinsky's Room, with Rachel Lichtenstein; Landor's Tower; London Orbital; Dining On Stones; Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire and Ghost Milk; American Smoke and London Overground. Downriver won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Encore Award. He lives in Hackney, east London.

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Book SynopsisAnd the Land Lay Still is the sweeping Scottish epic by James RobertsonAnd the Land Lay Still is nothing less than the story of a nation. James Robertson''s breathtaking novel is a portrait of modern Scotland as seen through the eyes of natives and immigrants, journalists and politicians, drop-outs and spooks, all trying to make their way through a country in the throes of great and rapid change. It is a moving, sweeping story of family, friendship, struggle and hope - epic in every sense.The winner of the Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award 2010, And the Land Lay Still is a masterful insight into Scotland''s history in the twentieth century and a moving, beautifully written novel of intertwined stories.''Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece and, without a doubt, my book of the year'' Daily Mail''A jam-packed, dizzying piece of fiction'' Scotland on Sunday''GTrade ReviewWonderful, brilliant, panoramic, illuminating. A joy to read -- Irvine Welsh * Guardian *Gripping, vivid, beautifully realized * The Times *Powerful and moving. A brilliant and multifaceted saga of Scottish life in the second half of the twentieth century * Sunday Times *Toweringly ambitious, virtually flawlessly realized, a masterpiece and, without a doubt, my book of the year * Daily Mail *Big, ambitious, intricately organised . . . it's some achievement * New Statesman *Dizzying . . . subtle and profound . . . And The Land Lay Still reads like an alternative history of Scotland told by its everyday people instead of its movers and shakers . . . eminently readable * Independent on Sunday *Both epic and domestic, it delivers a wonderful lifelikeness * Scotsman *A hugely ambitious and compassionate novel . . . a jam-packed, dizzying piece of fiction . . . already it's being spoken of as the most important novel about Scotland since Lanark * Scotland on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisAsta''s Book is a classic double-detective story by crime master Barbara VineFor a good, absorbing, well-told story, you could hardly better the unveiling of Asta''s secret'' Sunday TimesIt is 1905. Asta and her husband Rasmus have come to East London from Denmark with their two little boys. With Rasmus constantly away on business, Asta keeps loneliness and isolation at bay by writing a diary. These diaries, published over seventy years later, reveal themselves to be more than a mere journal. For they seem to hold the key to an unsolved murder and to the mystery of a missing child. It falls to Asta''s granddaughter Ann to unearth the buried secrets of nearly a century before.''A dazzling domestic thriller'' Guardian''Obsessively readable'' Sunday Telegraph''Engrossing . . . a mixture of biography, true crime and romance people with vivid minor players and red with herrings'' Independent on Sunday'Trade ReviewSimply put, Vine is one of the greatest writers ever * Scott Turow *Simply put, Vine is one of the greatest writers ever * Scott Turow *

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Book SynopsisDon DeLillo was born and raised in New York City. He has written fifteen novels and three stage plays and has won many honours including the National Book Award for White Noise, the International Fiction Prize for Libra, the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for Mao II, the Jerusalem Prize, the Howells Medal for Underworld and the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction.Trade ReviewAn unparalleled trip into the heart of America * Observer *Wonderful * Guardian *Even with all the swirling contradictory data, this you feel is America, and the news starts here * Sunday Times *Monumental, DeLillo at his chilling best. Concentrates on the inner life of the people who shaped the Kennedy assassination. He constructs the very human faces behind a monstrous event, creating fiction which trespasses on reality * Time Out *An audacious blend of fiction and fact * The Times *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the seriously funny, stunningly written novel about one woman''s attempts to put her past behind her, from the author of 2023 No. 1 bestseller AGAIN RACHEL''A brilliant, unusual, brave book . Confirms Keyes''s place as one of our finest writers'' JOJO MOYES_________Meet Helen Walsh.Wasp-tongued private investigator Helen doesn''t believe in love, fear or hot drinks.But when a missing persons case takes her into the dark, glamorous world of her dodgy ex, Jay Parker, she is drawn away from Artie Devlin, her distinctly unglamorous detective boyfriend.This isn''t good news for Helen.For Jay''s fame-hungry world is one of smoke and mirrors, and Helen is no longer sure what she''s doing, or quite why she''s doing it...To save herself from the brink, she''ll have to start believing in something - and fast.But will it be fear? Or love?Love the Walsh sisters? Don''t miss out on the eagerly awaited sequel to Rachel''s Holiday: AGAIN, RACHEL . . ._________''Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius'' Daily Mail''Gut-bustingly funny'' Independent on SundayFAMOUS FANS AND WHY THEY LOVE MARIAN KEYES''Marian''s writing is the truth. With big laughs'' Dawn French''A giant of Irish writing'' Naoise Dolan''Will make you laugh and make you cry, but will also reveal the truth of who you really are'' Louise O''Neill''Keyes weaves the joy and pain of life in a unique and magical way'' Cathy Rentzenbrink''One of the most honest writers writing today'' Pandora Sykes''Compassionate, tender, incisive writing'' Lucy Foley''Her talent for tackling serious issues with such humanity and wit is balm for the soul'' Nigella Lawson''Marian Keyes is a brilliant writer. No one is better at making terrifically funny jokes while telling such important, perceptive and agonizing stories of the heart. She is a genius'' Sali Hughes''Irresistible, profound. Keyes''s comic gift is always evident'' Independent''Joyful. Keyes'' clever way with words and extraordinary wit. People stared at me as I laughed to myself'' C.L. Taylor''A born storyteller'' Independent on SundayTrade ReviewThe Mystery of Mercy Close is the tale of strong and sassy but vulnerable, private detective Helen Walsh who is looking for a missing person - but can she find him before she loses herself? 'I have a habit of taking instant dislikes to people. Simply because it saves time . . .' * from the publisher's description *When it comes to writing page-turners that put a smile on your face and make you think, Keyes is in a class of her own * Daily Express *Zips along with engaging characters, fabulous plotting and spot-on dialogue. Marian Keyes: what a genius * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisTake a journey across America with a poor Victorian flower girl in her epic journey to a better life, from the internationally bestselling author Lesley PearseAs voted by readers as their favourite Lesley Pearse novel___________One good deed takes her into another world . . .Sixteen-year-old Matilda is a poor Covent Garden flower girl until the day she saves the life of Tabitha, a minister''s daughter. Welcomed into Tabitha''s family, Matilda is offered the chance of a lifetime.She leaves behind London''s slums and enters the darkest corners of New York. Traveling across the vast plains to the Wild West, she finds herself in San Francisco, a city in the grip of the gold rush.Streetwise and strong-willed, Matilda forges a new life for herself and Tabitha among pioneers like Captain James Russell - a man to whom she is deeply attracted.Yet a civil war will soon rip apart this new nation . . .Can MatTrade ReviewThe courageous tale of a poor Victorian flower girl, who makes an epic journey from London across a vast and wild America . . .As voted by readers as their favourite Lesley Pearse novel, Never Look Back is by the international NO.1 BESTSELLING author. * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisLose yourself in this powerful historical novel based on a real life tragedy from the internationally bestselling author Lesley PearseFor one girl, betrayal goes hand in hand with trust . . .When their father tragically kills their mother, Dulcie and her sister are sent to an orphanage. Told that a ''better life'' awaits them in another country, they are shipped off to Australia.But the promises made turn out to be lies.And it seems to Dulcie that everyone who ever said ''trust me'' somehow betrayed that trust. So when she finds a kindred spirit in Ross, another orphanage survivor, hope swells in her heart.But can she ever get over the past betrayals and learn to trust again?And can she fight not only for herself, but also for her sister?Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best'' Daily MailTrade ReviewTrust Me is a powerful historical novel based on a real life tragedy. For one girl betrayal goes hand in hand with trust . . . This is just one of many captivating novels from the international NO.1 BESTSELLING author Lesley Pearse. * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *

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Book SynopsisFrom the internationally bestselling author Lesley Pearse comes the compelling tale of one girl caught in a family mystery, a struggle against cruelty and a quest for loveWithout her mother she is alone in the world . . .1930.Twelve-year-old Adele is placed in a bleak, cruel children''s home after a family tragedy drives her mother to madness. But when trust is betrayed Adele has no choice but to run away . . .Alone and friendless, she heads for Sussex, to seek out the grandmother she has never known. However, the journey, without food or shelter, leaves her desperately ill.Surrounded by the beautiful Rye Marshes, Adele is finally nursed back to health.Can she now dream of a new life?And what will happen when her mother reappears, bearing shocking family secrets?Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling atTrade ReviewIt's 1930, and Secrets tells the tale of one girl caught in family mystery, a struggle against cruelty, and a quest for love . . . * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about, this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman’s Weekly *

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Book SynopsisDiscover the moving novel based on a true story about a woman triumphing against overwhelming odds, from the international bestseller Lesley PearseShe made one mistake, and now she''ll never see home again . . .Mary, a Cornish mariner''s daughter, makes the biggest mistake of her short life when she steals a silk hat. Convicted and sentenced to be transported to Australia, she endures horrific conditions aboard ship before landing in a brutal and barbaric country.It will take all her courage just to survive.But Mary is also determined to make something of herself in this rugged man''s world.And she dreams that one day she will find a way of crossing the cruel seas that lie between her and home . . ._________''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best'' Daily Mail''An emotional and moving epic you won''t forget in a hurry'' WomaTrade ReviewBased on a true story, Remember Me brings Mary Broad vividly to life in this moving story of a woman triumphing against overwhelming odds. She made one mistake, and now she'll never see home again . . . * from the publisher's description *With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its very best * Daily Mail *An emotional and moving epic you won't forget in a hurry * Woman's Weekly *

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Book SynopsisDiscover this thrilling exploration of love, life and morality from the internationally bestselling author Lesley PearseShe defied her parents and married for love . . .Following her heart, Fifi moves with Dan to London where they rent a seedy flat in Dale Street, Kennington.Though Fifi must now become acquainted with squalor, she is soon drawn into the goings on behind the shabby front doors of her new neighbours.But it is the Muckles, at number 11, who are the street''s focus. Rumours of criminal depravity and shocking behaviour are rife.So when Fifi steps in to help their youngest child, she risks the wrath of this frightening family.Suddenly, not only her marriage and her family, but the lives of all the inhabitants of Dale Street are at the mercy of the immoral Muckles . . .Praise for Lesley Pearse:''With characters it is impossible not to care about . . . this is storytelling at its Trade ReviewA gripping unputdownable story, A Lesser Evil follows one courageous young woman as she risks her family to save another's . . . This is just one of many captivating novels from the international NO.1 BESTSELLING author Lesley Pearse.She defied her parents to marry for love . . . * from the publisher's description *

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