Ancient Historical Fiction

When Xerxes, king of Persia, issues a call for beautiful young women, Hadassah, a Jewish orphan living in Susa, is forcibly taken to the palace of the pagan ruler. After months of preparation, the girl known to the Persians as Esther wins the king's heart and a queen's crown. But because her situation is uncertain, she keeps her ethnic identity a secret until she learns that an evil and ambitious man has won the king's permission to exterminate all Jews - young and old, powerful, and helpless.

From the national best-selling author of The Serpent and the Pearl comes the continuing saga of the ruthless family that holds all of Rome in its grasp, and the three outsiders thrust into their twisted web of blood and deceit.…

As the cherished concubine of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, Giulia Farnese has Rome at her feet. But after narrowly escaping a sinister captor, she realizes that the danger she faces is far from over - and now, it threatens from within. The Holy City of Rome is still under Alexander's thrall, but enemies of the Borgias are starting to circle.

Fifteen years after Rome's invasion of Britannia, centurion Marco is back. The island is settled now, bustling with commerce. Macro's goal is to help run his mother's Londinium Inn and exploit his land grant. He's prepared for the dismal weather and the barbaric ways of the people. But far worse dangers threaten all his plans.

Troy: city of gold, gatekeeper of the east, haven of the god-born and the lucky, a city destined to last a thousand years. But the Fates have other plans—the Fates, and a woman named Helen. In the shadow of Troy's gates, all must be reborn in the greatest war of the ancient world: slaves and queens, heroes and cowards, seers and kings . . . and these are their stories.

Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Briton . . . and these are their stories.

Gabriel “Gart” Forbes is the most powerful knight in the arsenal of David de Lohr, Baron Thornden, brother to the mighty Earl of Hereford. When Julian de Moyon, Baron Buckland, summons Thornden for critical support, Gart travels to Dunster Castle to meet with Buckland. Upon arrival, he is set upon by three young boys who try to rob him, all sons of Baron Buckland. Gart discovers that their mother, the Lady Emberley de Moyon, is the sister of his long-dead best friend.

AD 1205 - It's years after The Dark Lord Jax de Velt tore through the Welsh marches and captured several castles. Still he holds lands that do not belong to him. Out of the ashes from this dark and lawless time rises the son of one of the men Jax de Velt put to the stake. Bent on revenge against The Dark Lord, Bretton de Llion has grown up in obscurity, hidden from de Velt's rage, and has learned to hate the very world around him. His sense of vengeance against de Velt has been his guiding force for years.

50 avant J.-C. : la bibliothèque d'Alexandrie, qui renferme plus de 700 000 volumes, est de loin la plus grande collection de manuscrits religieux, philosophiques et scientifiques de son époque. Elle va soudainement disparaître sans laisser de traces, dans des circonstances qui demeurent, aujourd'hui encore, mystérieuses. 2007 : Cotton Malone, ex-agent du département de la Justice américain, a repris à Copenhague ses activités d'expert en manuscrits lorsque son fils est kidnappé par une mystérieuse organisation.

Noble Aislinn grieves as the Iron Wolf and his minions storm through her beloved Darkenwald. And she burns with malice for the handsome Norman savage who would enslave her. . .even as she aches to know the rapture of the conqueror's kiss.

On the plains of Marathon an army of slaves gathers. Under Darius the Great, King of Kings, the mighty Persian army - swollen by 10,000 Immortal warriors - have come to subjugate the Greeks. In their path stands an army of freeborn Athenians and among them is fearsome and cunning soldier-statesman, Xanthippus. Knowing defeat means slavery lends keenness to his already sharp blade. Yet people soon forget that freedom is bought with blood.

Two heroes of the Roman army - Prefect Cato and Centurion Macro, now battle-scarred veterans, tough and resilient - lead their best men into the midst of an enemy both fearless and resourceful. Far from Rome in cold, rainy, unwelcoming Britannia, the soldiers need all their training to stand strong and undaunted as constant attacks challenge morale. And a leader like no other sends fear through the ranks: Boudica.

It is AD 60. The hard-won province of Britannia is a thorn in the side of the Roman Empire, its tribes swift to anger and relentless in their bloody harassment of the Roman military. Far from being a peaceful northern enclave, Britannia is a seething mass of bitter rebels and unlikely alliances against the common enemy. Corruption amongst greedy officials diverts resources from the locals who need them. For the military, it's a never-ending fight to maintain a fragile peace.

Achilles de Dere is a stubborn knight prone to fighting - anywhere, anytime. If there is a punch to be thrown, it's usually from Achilles. When he first met Susanna de Tiegh, the sparks flew - and not in a good way. Susanna, an accomplished warrior in her own right and an agent for William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, refused to take Achilles’ bullying behavior. Friends feared they would kill one another. But an abject hatred of each other soon turned into something else. Now, Susanna is all Achilles can think of, even as he goes about his duties for William Marshal.

Coleby de Velt is the firstborn son of the notorious Dark Lord, Ajax de Velt. He grew up idolizing his father - and knowing all about his history - and he has his father's dark streak. That makes him a perfect agent for William Marshal and the Executioner Knights. As William Marshal himself says, "Tis better to be at the Devil's right hand than in his path..." And Coleby is definitely the Devil. He's the spawn of The Dark Lord and everything that goes with it. When Coleby falls for an unusual woman, it’s with his whole heart.

Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet.

Elegant and ambitious, Cornelia embodies the essence of the perfect Roman wife. She lives to one day see her loyal husband as Emperor. Her sister Marcella is more aloof, content to witness history rather than make it. But when a bloody coup turns their world upside-down, both women must maneuver carefully just to stay alive.

6,000 years ago, the land is one dark forest. Its people are hunters and gatherers. They know every tree and herb and they know how to survive in a world steeped in enchantment, menace, and powerful magic.

You are born to a king, but marry a tyrant. You stand helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore and comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. You play the part, fooling enemies who deny you justice. Slowly, you plot. But when the husband who owns you returns in triumph, what then?

An orphan leaves Dark Ages London, taking a dangerous journey and posing as a Jew to study medicine in Persia, in "an adventurous and inspiring tale" (Library Journal). A child holds the hand of his dying mother and is terrified, aware something is taking her. Orphaned and given to an itinerant barber-surgeon, Rob Cole becomes a fast-talking swindler, peddling a worthless medicine. But as he matures, his strange gift - an acute sensitivity to impending death - never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer.

Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories.