The Children of Henry VIII by
At his death in 1547, King Henry VIII left four heirs to the English throne: his only son, the nine-year-old Prince Edward; the Lady Mary, the adult daughter of his first wife Katherine of Aragon; the Lady Elizabeth, the teenage daughter of his second wife Anne Boleyn; and his young great-niece, the Lady Jane Grey. In this riveting account Alison Weir paints a unique portrait of these extraordinary rulers, examining their intricate relationships to each other and to history.
The Ghost Map by
A page-turner about a real-life historical hero, Dr. John Snow. It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure -- garbage removal, clean water, sewers -- necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician is spurred to action to solve the medical riddle.
Henry VIII by
Henry VIII, renowned for his command of power and celebrated for his intellect, presided over one of the most magnificent-and dangerous-courts in Renaissance Europe. Never before has a detailed, personal biography of this charismatic monarch been set against the cultural, social, and political background of his glittering court. Now Alison Weir, author of the finest royal chronicles of our time, brings to vibrant life the turbulent, complex figure of the King.
Henry VIII by
Chronicles the dramatic monarchy of King Henry VIII, and the many unfortunate souls who lost their heads at his command.
Hero of the Empire by
Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters--including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi--with whom he would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect 20th century history.
The Life of Elizabeth I by
Perhaps the most influential sovereign England has ever known, Queen Elizabeth I remained an extremely private person throughout her reign, keeping her own counsel and sharing secrets with no one--not even her closest, most trusted advisers. Now, in this brilliantly researched, fascinating new book, acclaimed biographer Alison Weir shares provocative new interpretations and fresh insights on this enigmatic figure.
Mary Tudor by
Her parents split up during one of the messiest divorces in history. Her father disowned her. Her half-brother took her crown and attacked her religious faith. But this sad little girl grew up to be the first ruling queen of England. And when she took over, she ruled with a vengeance. Convinced that God was on her side, Mary Tudor lashed out at religious dissidents. She made Protestants all across England live in fear. Mary had people executed or burned at the stake for heresy.
Sir Francis Drake by
What sight sent shivers down the spines of 16th-century Spanish sailors? The masts of any ship belonging to Sir Francis Drake the slavetrader, pirate, and looter known as "The Dragon," who prowled the seas from the Mediterranean to the Pacific Ocean.
The Tudors by
John Guy provides the most authoritative overview of this age in British history, offering a compelling account of the political, religious, and economic changes that occurred under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. In addition, Guy comprehensively reassesses the reigns of Henry VII, Edward VI, and Philip and Mary.
City of Light, City of Poison by
Appointed to conquer the "crime capital of the world," the first police chief of Paris faces an epidemic of murder in the late 1600s. Assigned by Louis XIV, Nicolas de La Reynie begins by clearing the streets of filth and installing lanterns throughout Paris, turning it into the City of Light.The fearless La Reynie pursues criminals through the labyrinthine neighborhoods of the city. He unearths a tightly knit cabal of poisoners, witches, and renegade priests.
Guillotine: The Timbers of Justice by
The guillotine is undoubtedly the most potent image of revolutionary France, the tool whereby a whole society was "redesigned". Yet what came to be seen as an instrument of terror was, paradoxically, introduced as the result of the humanitarian feelings of men intent on revising an ancient and barbaric penal code. Robert Frederick Opie takes the reader on a sometimes terrifying journey through the narrow streets of 18th-century Paris and beyond.
Napoleon by
The very name, Napoleon Bonaparte, still enthralls. Ever since this towering and terrible genius conquered Europe, he has been endlessly debated, compared, and made an icon.
Robespierre by
Was Robespierre a bloodthirsty tyrant or a misunderstood man of virtue? Follow the French Revolution's most notorious leader from his "incorruptible" beginnings to his end on the guillotine.
The Age of Napoleon by
The age of Napoleon transformed Europe, laying the foundations for the modern world. Born into poverty on the remote island of Corsica, he rose to prominence in the turbulent years following the French Revolution, when most of Europe was arrayed against France. Through a string of brilliant and improbable victories (gained as much through his remarkable ability to inspire his troops as through his military genius), Napoleon brought about a triumphant peace that made him the idol of France .
Angela's Ashes by
Angela’s Ashes is Frank McCourt’s masterful memoir of his childhood in Ireland. “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt.
The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short History by
This Very Short Introduction offers a powerfully-written explanation of the war's complex origins and course, and explores its impact on a personal and international scale. It also provides an ethical reflection on the war in the context of Europe's tumultuous twentieth century, highlightingwhy it has inspired some of the greatest writers of our time, and how it continues to resonate today in Britain, continental Europe, and beyond.
Forty Autumns by
In this deeply moving memoir of 5 women separated by the Iron Curtain for more than 40 years, and their miraculous reunion after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At 20, Hanna escaped from East to West Germany. But the price of freedom--leaving behind her parents, eight siblings, and family home--was heartbreaking. She takes us into the terrifying world of East Germany under Communist rule, revealing both the cruel reality her relatives endured and her own experiences as an intelligence officer, running secret operations behind the Berlin Wall that put her life at risk.
Four Princes by
A bold tapestry of Europe and the Middle East in the early sixteenth century, when four legendary rulers towered over the era. Francis I of France was the personification of the Renaissance. Henry VIII, appointed himself head of the Church of England. Charles V was the most powerful industrious man of the time, and was elected Holy Roman Emperor. Suleiman the Magnificent, brought the Ottoman Empire to its apogee of political, military, and economic power.
All Quiet on the Western Front by
Considered by many the greatest war novel of all time, a masterpiece of the German experience during World War I. Paul Baumer, enlists in the German army during World War I. With his classmates, they become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principle of hate.
Kipling's Choice by
As a young man, Rudyard Kipling was devastated when his military application was rejected because of poor eyesight. Although Rudyard would go on to win England's highest accolades, he never got over this lost opportunity to serve his country. When World War I broke out, John, like his father before him, wanted to fight for his country. When his military application was threatened for the same reason as his father's--poor eyesight--Rudyard took matters into his own hands.
All the Light We Cannot See by
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure's reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum's most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure's converge.
The Bitter Road to Dachau by
Christian Reger’s quiet, storybook world collapsed in the frenzy of l939 prewar Germany. Joining the Confessing Church to protest Adolf Hitler and Nazism, the fury of the Reich was unleashed. Ending up in the Dachau concentration camp where 10 percent of the prisoners were men of the cloth, Reger struggled to survive. Crammed into the Pastor’s Barracks with other ministers, the clergyman came face to face with man’s inhumanity to man.
A Brief History of Montmaray by
Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. After receiving a journal for her 16th birthday, she decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. European politics seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics matter.
City of Thieves by
During the Nazis' brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter's wedding cake. Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.
Code Name Verity by
Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.
Mapping the Bones by
Influenced by Dr. Mengele's sadistic experimentations, this story follows twins as they travel from the Lodz ghetto, to the partisans in the forest, to a horrific concentration camp where they lose everything but each other. But in all darkness there is light, and the twins find it through Chaim's poetry and the love they have for each other. Filled with brutality and despair, this is also a story of poetry and strength, in which a brother and sister lose everything but each other.
My Real Name Is Hanna by
1941, Hitler's army crosses into Soviet-ruled Ukraine in a secret mission titled "Operation Barbarossa. A young Jewish girl, Hanna Slivka is fourteen when German soldiers arrive in her small village of Kwasova. Families are forced into hiding, first in the woods outside of their town and then into caverns beneath it. They battle sickness and starvation, and the local peasants who join the Nazis in hunting Jews through the ravaged countryside. Based on a true story.
The Orphan's Tale by
A powerful novel of friendship set in a traveling circus during World War II. Introduces two extraordinary women and their harrowing stories of sacrifice and survival Sixteen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby. When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants bound for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the child that was taken from her. And that will change the course of her life.
Orphan Monster Spy by
After her mother is shot at a checkpoint, fifteen-year-old Sarah meets a mysterious man with an ambiguous accent, a suspiciously bare apartment, and a lockbox full of weapons. He's part of the secret resistance against the Third Reich, and he needs Sarah to hide in plain sight at a school for the daughters of top Nazi brass, posing as one of them. If she can befriend the daughter of a key scientist she might be able to steal the blueprints to a bomb that can destroy key Reich cities.
Prisoner B-3087 by
A gripping novel based on the astonishing true story of a boy who survived ten concentration camps. Ten different places where he was starved, tortured, and worked mercilessly. It is what Yanek Gruener has to face. As a Jewish boy in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Nazis who have taken over. Everything he has, and everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally from him. And then Yanek himself is taken prisoner - his arm tattooed with the words PRISONER B-3087.
Projekt 1065 by
It's the height of World War II. Michael O'Shaunessey, son of the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany, lives with his family in Berlin. But Michael, like his parents, is a spy. He joins the Hitler Youth, taking part in their horrific games and book-burning, despising everything they stand for but using his insider knowledge to bring important information back to his parents and the British Secret Service.
Rose under Fire by
While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbruck, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that's in store for her? Companion novel to Code Name Verity.
Salt to the Sea by
Based on the forgotten tragedy that was six times deadlier than the Titanic. Winter 1945. WWII. Four refugees. Four stories. Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies, war. As thousands desperately flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. But not all promises can be kept . . .
The Siege by
One family, the Levins, fights to stay alive in their small apartment, held together by the unlikely courage and resourcefulness of twenty-two-year-old Anna. Though she dreams of an artist's life, she must instead forage for food in the ever more desperate city and watch her little brother grow cruelly thin. Their father, a blacklisted writer who once advocated a robust life of the mind, withers in spirit and body. At such brutal times everything is tested.
The Watch That Ends the Night by
The voices in this remarkable re-creation of the Titanic disaster span classes and stations, from Margaret ("the unsinkable Molly") Brown to the captain who went down with his ship; from the lookout and wireless men to a young boy in search of dragons and a gambler in search of marks. Slipping in telegraphs, undertaker's reports, and other records, poet Allan Wolf offers a breathtaking, intimate glimpse at the lives behind the tragedy, told with compassion and emotional power.
The Children's War by
The Children’s War re-creates the landscape of World War II in a new and utterly unforgettable way. Interweaving the stories of Ilse and of Nicolai, it is a gripping tale of adventure, loyalty, love and betrayal; of disappointment and hope; of parents and children trying to protect one another; of self-discovery. It is a stunning novel.
Born Survivors by
The Nazis murdered their husbands but concentration camp prisoners Priska, Rachel, and Anka would not let evil take their unborn children too. Having concealed their condition from infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, they are forced to work and almost starved to death, living in daily fear of their pregnancies being detected by the SS. In 1945, as the Allies close in, Priska gives birth. She and her baby and the remaining inmates are sent to Mauthausen concentration camp but a miracle occurs.
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by
At the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, fifteen-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and schoolmates to take action against the Nazis if the adults would not. The young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually tracked down and arrested them. The boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.
The Children of Willesden Lane by
Mona Golabek tells the tale of her mother Lisa Jura Golabek's escape from Nazi-controlled Austria to England on the infamous Kindertransport. Jewish musical prodigy Lisa Jura has a wonderful life in Vienna. But when the Nazis start closing in on the city, life changes irreversibly. Although he has three daughters, Lisa's father is able to secure only one berth on the Kindertransport. The family decides to send Lisa to London to pursue career as a concert pianist.
The Diary of a Young Girl by
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit. In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding for 2 years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo.
In the Garden of Beasts by
A story of Hitler's rise to power. Berlin in 1933- when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Nazi Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his family. As laws change and Jews are persecuted, Dodd becomes concerned but the U.S. fails to act. This story show why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Europe was awash in blood and terror.
The Periodic Table by
The Periodic Table is largely a memoir of the years before and after Primo Levi's transportation from his native Italy to Auschwitz as an anti-Facist partisan and a Jew. It recounts, in clear, precise, unfailingly beautiful prose, the story of the Piedmontese Jewish community from which Levi came, of his years as a student and young chemist at the inception of the Second World War, and of his investigations into the nature of the material world. As such, it provides crucial links and backgrounds, both personal and intellectual, in the tremendous project of remembrance that is Levi's gift to posterity. But far from being a prologue to his experience of the Holocaust, Levi's masterpiece represents his most impassioned response to the events that engulfed him. The Periodic Table celebrates the pleasures of love and friendship and the search for meaning, and stands as a monument to those things in us that are capable of resisting and enduring in the face of tyranny.
The Secret Rescue by
When 26 Army nurses and medics-- part of the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron-- boarded a cargo plane for in November 1943, they never anticipated the crash landing in Nazi-occupied Albania that would lead to their months-long struggle for survival. A drama that captured the attention of the American public, the group dodged bullets and battled blinding winter storms as they climbed mountains and fought to survive, aided by courageous villagers who risked death at Nazi hands.
Women Heroes of World War II by
Readers will meet courageous women and girls who risked their lives to help defeat the Nazis. 26 engaging and suspense-filled stories unfold from across Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, and the United States, providing an inspiring reminder of women and girls' refusal to sit on the sidelines around the world and throughout history. An overview or each country's entrance and involvement in the war provide a framework for better understanding.
The Romantic Revolution by
A superb, concise account of a cultural upheaval that still shapes sensibilities today. A rebellion against the rationality of the Enlightenment, Romanticism was a profound shift in expression that altered the arts and ushered in modernity, even as it championed a return to the intuitive and the primitive. Reveals how artists began experimenting with themes of artistic madness, the role of sex as a psychological force, and the use of dreamlike imagery.
The Pianist by
Originally published in Poland in 1945 but then suppressed by the Communist authorities, this memoir of survival in the Warsaw Ghetto joins the ranks of Holocaust memoirs notable as much for their literary value as for their historical significance. Szpilman, a Jewish classical pianist, played the last live music broadcast from Warsaw before Polish Radio went off the air in September 1939 because of the German invasion. Szpilman relates the horrors of life inside the ghetto.
The Book Thief by
Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
The King's Speech by
It's the eve of World War II, and King Edward VIII has abdicated the throne of England to marry the woman he loves. Never has the nation needed a leader more. But the new monarch, George VI--father of today's Queen Elizabeth II--is painfully shy and cursed with a terrible stammer. How can he inspire confidence in his countrymen when he cannot even speak to them? Help arrives in speech therapist Logue, who not only is a commoner, but Australian to boot. Can he help the King?
I Curse the River of Time by
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR It's 1989 and "three monumental events twine around one another in Arvid Jansen's penumbral soul. His fifteen-year marriage is dissolving, his mother is dying of cancer, and the Berlin Wall is tumbling down. The parallels are obvious--worlds are ending, internally and externally--but the analogies Petterson draws among these dramatic endings are not....
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by
In the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, she is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building's tenants.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by
In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired). Wry, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. They soon find their friendship blossoming into something more.
The Pillars of the Earth by
Book 1. Tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect--a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. An epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and power in twelfth-century England.
World Without End by
Book 2 in series. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroads of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.
A Column of Fire by
Book 3. In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and Protestants, royalty and commoners clash, testing friendship, loyalty, and love. Set during one of the most turbulent and revolutionary times in history,
Fatal Throne by
Perfect for anyone fascinated by the Royal Wedding, the tragic lives of Henry VIII and his six wives are reimagined by seven acclaimed and bestselling authors in this riveting novel. He was King Henry VIII, a charismatic and extravagant ruler obsessed with both his power as king and with siring a male heir. They were his queens--six ill-fated women, each bound for divorce, or beheading, or death. Watch as each of Henry's wives attempts to survive their unpredictable king.
Puppet by
It is 1882. A young servant girl disappears from a small Hungarian village. Several Jewish men from the village of Tisza Eszvar face the ‘blood libel’ — the centuries-old calumny that Jews murder Christian children for their blood. A fourteen-year-old Jewish boy becomes the star witness of corrupt authorities who coerce him into testifying against his fellow Jews, including his own father, at the trial. Fictionalized account of one of the last blood libel trials in Europe.