English Renaissance

Throughout history, events and people have shaped the world we live in today. Some are famous, whilst others are merely distant figures rarely acknowledged for their contributions. Bringing the periods and events together, seeing them through the lives of such individuals, is illuminating, informative, and enjoyable. This book has all three. History at its most enjoyable. Paul Henke. The History of the World's Greatest Entrepreneurs is an essential addition to the personal library of anyone who has the entrepreneurial spark.

After the kaiju attack of Kaw City, Police Chief Brannigan Novak, and his friends attempt to return to a sense of normalcy. But while denizens of Kaw City struggle with the past, there is a whisper of a new threat—a drug-fueled, primordial alligator creature!

Centralization is failing us—waste piles up, dreams fade, and society’s stuck in a tarpit of complacency. From the food we eat to the money we earn, modern systems are broken, draining our health, families, and futures. But a revolution is brewing. In The Second Renaissance, Mike Hobart unveils how Bitcoin and a radical reimagining of energy can spark a global rebirth. By fixing the money, we free the mind—unleashing creativity, strengthening families, and empowering communities to thrive. By harnessing power through innovation, we fuel progress, slashing costs and building resilience for all.

Neva Friezland is born into a world of trickery and illusion, where fortunes can be won and lost on the turn of a card. She is also born with an extraordinary gift. She can predict the weather. In Regency England, where the proper goal for a gentlewoman is marriage and only God knows the weather this is dangerous. It is also potentially very lucrative.

In true stories as vivid as the colors in which they painted, Jim Weiss brings to life the astounding Leonardo da Vinci; the volcanic genius Michelangelo; Brunelleschi, who changed the way we see the world; the lighthearted sculptor, Donatello; and other captivating characters. You will watch fierce Pope Julius II drive out invaders while supervising the painting of the Sistine Chapel, and dine in the palace of Lorenzo de Medici, swordsman, statesman and patron of the arts, as he faces treachery and turns war to peace.

Donna, a bold and unconventional young woman, has always defied expectations. Raised among soldiers and statesmen, she dreams of leading men into battle and unearthing the secrets of the ancient world. But her journey takes an unexpected turn when she finds herself entangled in the shadowy world of the Medici and the cosmic codes of power.

Elena Morandi has gained a fragile foothold in a master tailor's workshop, despite the profession being barred to women. But then Antonio della Fontana, a powerful man from her past, crosses her path and threatens everything she has built. Fontana has every corner of the city in his pocket and Elena knows all too well of his past abuses, but driven to fight for justice, she hatches a daring plan to get retribution for herself, a lost friend, and his other victims.

Jianetta is the newest arrival to the court of the powerful Gonzaga family, and she comes with a plan. She’ll need to use all her cunning to steal the secrets of the Gonzaga’s new and beautiful horse breed to rescue her own family’s crumbling finances. But her mission to betray the family is turned upside down as she meets the young heir to the Gonzaga fortune, Armand, who has ambition and heavy secrets of his own.

Anne Boleyn is at the height of her power. Feisty heroine Kat Cooke returns to the Tudor court, where danger lurks around every corner and even love is uncertain. Now a musician for Anne Boleyn, Kat struggles to keep her marriage afloat as she balances her loyalties, risking her heart and her life.

May 1536: Queen Anne Boleyn has fallen and Jane Seymour is about to become Queen, yet the King's new love is troubled not only by the fall and execution of his last wife and Queen, but by the creeping feeling that she knows not the man she has promised to marry. As Jane steps into the palaces of the King, emerging quietly as England's Queen, she finds herself haunted by thoughts of Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon and what the past means for her own fate. And Jane is not the only one troubled by the actions of King Henry VIII.

In 16th century France, Marguerite de Valois is growing up in one of Europe's most dysfunctional families - the Medici clan. Their extreme inbreeding has led to an alarming number of genetic defects in France's kings. Marguerite alone has escaped this curse. Uncharacteristically beautiful, intelligent, and sane, she is seen as a useful pawn by her mother, Catherine de Medici. In a scheme to unite the country during the raging religious wars, the queen decides to marry her Catholic daughter to Protestant Henri, Prince of Navarre, a charming libertine.

After the first two episodes of the series ”The Printer”, here we are at the end, the last episode of the saga dedicated to the Renaissance Jesi. We left Andrea almost at the point of death, helped by his beloved, hidden in disguise. The plot has moved to Urbino, but certainly our two heroes, Andrea Franciolini and Lucia Baldeschi, will have to return to Jesi to fulfill their dream of love. The wedding will have to be a festive and opulent event, and will have to be celebrated by the Bishop of the City of Jesi, Monsignor Piersimone Ghislieri.

Step into a world of rogue screen readers, Braille in fantasy worlds, a friend meeting an acquaintance after several years, and more. This #OwnVoices anthology features fiction by blind and visually impaired authors showing readers how they thrive, hurt, get revenge, outsmart bullies, or go on epic adventures. Artificial Divide is an own-voices story collection that captures the many layers of blindness and, for once, puts visually impaired protagonists in the driver’s seat, letting us glimpse their lives. When we think about it, we're not really divided.

If you've ever experienced your life and the world out of control, understand why, and take control.

The daughter of a wealthy merchant, young Dolça Llull Prat is besotted with the dashing, bootstrapping Miguel Cervantes from their first meeting. Despite Miguel’s entreaties, the ever-practical Dolça, with her love of luxury and her devotion to her own art, repeatedly refuses to upend her life for him, although she always welcomes his attentions on her own terms. When Miguel renders her as the lowly Dulcinea in his great Quixote, revealing their association, he commits an unforgivable offense and their decades-long affinity is severed—until he reaches out to her one last time.

Fighting for success in 17th century Amsterdam, a female artist must risk everything - and make enemies along the way. Defying convention, gifted artist Clara becomes a pupil to the renowned painter Osias Beerts. But when the highly prized patronage won from the powerful Burgomeister Fabritius turns to hostility, Clara has to make sacrifices and risk everything to pursue her craft. Together with her fellow pupil, Nico, she finds herself surrounded by dangerous secrets and powerful enemies. But in the face of so much past pain, can something as fragile as love survive?

It's 1669, and feisty Isobel de Toledo is betrothed to be married to the son of a rich landowner when she learns people in her Seville, including her friends, are being burned at the stake. Outraged, she joins a revolutionary group of ladies of intrigue and danger, healers, and others who question the Church's preoccupation with sexual crimes and women who heal, shaking her very values and birthright. Isobel flees her homeland with Richard, a handsome sailor who saves her from being burned at the stake. They marry and board a ship, setting sail for the New World.

In the late autumn of the first year of the English Civil War, William Sparrow and Hugo Telling are again caught up in the impossible confusion tearing the country and their lives apart. This time, their greatest battles, fought on both land and sea, are with a new enemy, Lord Clavincale.

Will Shakespeare is about to meet the girl who will change his life forever. After a mixed-up courtship with the Hathaway sisters ends badly, Will jumps at the chance to go to London, where he can pursue his dream of becoming an actor. There, Will meets the unusually tall (and strong) Meg who has earned the nickname "Long Meg" for her height. She's also fleeing her own past as an orphan turned thief. Disguised as "Mack", Meg was once a member of a band of boy thieves who betrayed her.

Isaac Stanfield leaves his home to become a sailor on a merchantman, the Sweet Rose, and through ingenuity and sheer luck, finds himself in the middle of the drama and explorations that precede the departure of the Mayflower for New England in 1620. Exploration is Isaac's coming-of-age story, capturing the turbulence of the times through his observations and experiences. Suspenseful, poignant, and expertly researched, David Tory's novel brings to life an engaging cultural history of English seafaring exploration and intrigue in the early 17th century.