Search results for ""Author Ian Ross""

'Belissimo' - Daily Mail 'an amusing and charming read...Ross is the champion of the impulsive adventurer...If you are interested in Italy, in travel writing and the tales of a decent raconteur then this is for you.' - Paul Burke, NB Magazine Where do you go to when you only have a pittance for a home away from home for a huge family? Ian Ross realises that his small inheritance won't get him a place in France or even Spain, so he heads for southern Italy where he remembers the Blue Guide describing long empty sandy beaches in southern Calabria. When he arrives in Southern Italy he finds the house prices are encouragingly low. Why does no one go there? It's inaccessible and it's beloved of the Mafia. Not to be put off Ross stumes on the perfect beach on a crystal-clear bay in the deeply southern province of Reggio Calabria, an area he is soon advised is 'Bandit Country'. And the fact that there is a house right on the beach big enough for all the family at a price he can afford overcomes all fears and to a large extent all common sense. Buying it was only the beginning. Beached in Calabria catalogues the things that can go wrong in southern Italy for this English fish-out-of-waterman; he's out of his depth in a whirlpool of incomprehensible rules and regulations, family systems, conflicting advice and linguistic conundrums. Disaster follows disaster, but this travelogue encompasses tales of the friendships Ross makes on the way in this forgotten corner of Old Italy where the food and the 326 days of sunshine a year make for a perfect setting to a triumphant escapade.

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1265 England has a new master. Simon de Montfort''s victory at the Battle of Lewes has made him king in all but name. He has vowed to restore the rights and liberties of the kingdom, but now even his friends grow wary of his power. As old alliances break down, new rebellions gather strength. The captive king''s supporters muster, vowing to overthrow the new regime. Meanwhile Adam de Norton, who won the honour of knighthood on the field at Lewes, has reclaimed his ancestral lands. A peaceful and prosperous future lies before him - until he receives a summons he cannot refuse. War is inevitable. But this time, will Adam be on the winning side?

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Ferocity, heroism, and savage bloodshed: the next gripping instalment in the Twilight of Empire series. For fans of Ben Kane and Conn Iggulden. When the simmering conflict between Rome and Persia threatens to reignite into open war, there is only one man the Emperor Constantine can trust to hold the eastern frontier. Aurelius Castus, retired general of the empire, has fought long and hard for Rome. When the summons comes to command an army once more, he obeys with a heavy heart. But is he still the fearsome fighting machine of old? As tragedy strikes the imperial household, Castus must race to defend the last bulwark standing against the might of Persia. Castus knows that the fight ahead will be the fiercest he has ever known, and will very probably be his last. 'I was immersed from the very first page. Wonderful writing. Rich and evocative, astute and assured. Great stuff!' Giles Kristian, bestselling author of Lancelot.

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'A very promising historical adventure' - THE TIMES'A terrific novel' - HISTORIA MAGAZINE***'There is a fury in England that none shall suppress - and when it breaks forth it will shake the throne'1264 Storm clouds are gathering as Simon de Montfort and the barons of the realm challenge the power of Henry III. The barons demand reform; the crown demands obedience. England is on the brink of civil war. Adam de Norton, a young squire devoted to the virtues of chivalry, longs only to be knighted, and to win back his father's lands. Then a bloody hunting accident leaves him with a new master: the devilish Sir Robert de Dunstanville, who does not hesitate to use the blackest stratagems in pursuit of victory. Following Robert overseas, Adam is introduced to the ruthless world of the tournament, where knights compete for glory and riches, and his new master's methods prove brutally effective. But as England plunges into violence, Robert and Adam must choose a side in a battle that will decide the fate of the kingdom. Will they fight for the king, for de Montfort - or for themselves? Searingly vivid and richly evocative, Battle Song is tale of friendship and chivalry, rivalry and rebellion, and the medieval world in all its colour and darkness.***Readers absolutely love BATTLE SONG:'Another five star Ian Ross novel!' *****'Truly is a masterclass in historical fiction' *****'The best historical fiction I've read in years. Up there with Hilary Mantel!' *****'A great well researched novel' *****'Brilliantly researched, gorgeously plotted and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters' *****'Well written and engaging characters' *****'Ian Ross writes with a class and style that leaves the reader or listener thirsting for more' *****'Brilliantly researched, gorgeously plotted and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters' *****'A gripping tale of early England' *****'A really good story, brought to life by an excellent narrator' *****

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1265 England has a new master. Simon de Montfort's victory at the Battle of Lewes has made him king in all but name. He has vowed to restore the rights and liberties of the kingdom, but now even his friends grow wary of his power. As old alliances break down, new rebellions gather strength. The captive king's supporters muster, vowing to overthrow the new regime. Meanwhile Adam de Norton, who won the honour of knighthood on the field at Lewes, has reclaimed his ancestral lands. A peaceful and prosperous future lies before him - until he receives a summons he cannot refuse. War is inevitable. But this time, will Adam be on the winning side?

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The Battle of Evesham has been fought and lost. The King is triumphant, Simon de Montfort is dead, and Adam de Norton is a prisoner, stripped of everything he once honoured and prized.Escaping from captivity in the grim castle of Beeston, Adam becomes a fugitive in a country in turmoil. Branded a king''s enemy, he can be slain with impunity.Together with the widowed Joane de Bohun, Adam flees across a bleak winter landscape, evading both pursuing royal troops and a desperate band of outlaws to seek shelter with a surviving rebel force in the north. But when the rebels are beaten once again, only one place in the land still holds out defiantly against the king: Kenilworth Castle, the mightiest fortress in England.Joining the garrison of Kenilworth as it prepares for one of the most epic sieges in English history, Adam finds dangerous foes both inside and outside the walls. But as the siege grows ever more brutal, he must decide between a valiant

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'A very promising historical adventure' - THE TIMES'A terrific novel' - HISTORIA MAGAZINE***'There is a fury in England that none shall suppress - and when it breaks forth it will shake the throne'1264 Storm clouds are gathering as Simon de Montfort and the barons of the realm challenge the power of Henry III. The barons demand reform; the crown demands obedience. England is on the brink of civil war. Adam de Norton, a young squire devoted to the virtues of chivalry, longs only to be knighted, and to win back his father's lands. Then a bloody hunting accident leaves him with a new master: the devilish Sir Robert de Dunstanville, who does not hesitate to use the blackest stratagems in pursuit of victory. Following Robert overseas, Adam is introduced to the ruthless world of the tournament, where knights compete for glory and riches, and his new master's methods prove brutally effective. But as England plunges into violence, Robert and Adam must choose a side in a battle that will decide the fate of the kingdom. Will they fight for the king, for de Montfort - or for themselves? Searingly vivid and richly evocative, Battle Song is tale of friendship and chivalry, rivalry and rebellion, and the medieval world in all its colour and darkness.***Readers absolutely love BATTLE SONG:'Another five star Ian Ross novel!' *****'Truly is a masterclass in historical fiction' *****'The best historical fiction I've read in years. Up there with Hilary Mantel!' *****'A great well researched novel' *****'Brilliantly researched, gorgeously plotted and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters' *****'Well written and engaging characters' *****'Ian Ross writes with a class and style that leaves the reader or listener thirsting for more' *****'Brilliantly researched, gorgeously plotted and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters' *****'A gripping tale of early England' *****'A really good story, brought to life by an excellent narrator' *****

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The Roman Empire is on the brink of civil war... Only Maxentius, tyrant of Rome, stands between the emperor Constantine and supreme power in the west. Aurelius Castus is now a tribune in Constantine's army. But great honour brings new challenges: Castus is tormented by suspicions that his young wife has been unfaithful. And as Constantine becomes increasingly devoted to Christianity, he is forced to ask himself whether he is backing the wrong man. The coming war will decide the fate of empire. But Castus's own battle will carry him much further...

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THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAS NO MERCY IN ITS QUEST FOR POWER. Aurelius Castus is one of the leading military commanders of an empire riven by civil war. As the Emperor Constantine grows ever more ruthless in his pursuit of power, Castus fears that the world he knows is slipping away. On the eve of the war's final campaign, Castus discovers that the emperor's son Crispus aims to depose his father and restore the old ways of Rome. Castus must choose between honour and survival, and face a final confrontation with the most powerful man in the Roman world, the ruler he has sworn loyally to serve: the Emperor Constantine himself.

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