Historical Fiction Well

Sleep. Something Henry longs for yet cannot seem to attain. It had never been the case before, but since his younger sister, Louisa, has been out in society, he is plagued by nightmares of failure. And to top it all off, an old acquaintance has asked for his assistance in watching out for another young lady during her first season. He should say no. But his good nature will not allow it.

After receiving a mysterious summons from her long-lost grandmother, Australian teacher Annabel Logan agrees to visit her home in the Cotswolds. But when she arrives at the magnificent Beechwood Hall, it appears abandoned, and the local villagers have no idea where the reclusive Caroline Banks might be. The one person who might know something is enigmatic journalist Simon Culpepper. He reveals that Caroline Banks was once known as Carrie Granger.

Quirky and fun-loving American heiress Daisy Bowman is the last unmarried Wallflower. Her exasperated father has informed her that if she can’t find a husband by the end of her third London season, she will be forced to marry a man she hates - the ruthless entrepreneur Matthew Swift. Daisy is horrified. A Bowman never admits defeat, so she decides to do whatever it takes to marry someone...anyone...other than Matthew.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here. Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

When Royal Academy painting student Lucy Coover trips over a naked man passed out in an East End alley, she does the decent thing. She covers him up and fetches help. Trouble is, she can't banish his muscular form from her dreams as easily. Compelled to capture every detail, she creates a stunning portrait but is forced to sell it when the rent comes due. What could be worse than surrendering the very picture of your desire? Meeting the man himself.

In the heart of Rome, danger lurks around every corner as whispers of a new religion spread through the streets. For two orphaned sisters, Tryphosa and Tryphena, life is precarious—they are unmarried, without protection, and deeply devoted to their faith in the mysterious new teachings of Jesus. With the tell-tale symbol of the fish hidden discreetly behind their ears, they live in constant fear of discovery.

Pretty and pampered, Lavinia Yardley always dreamed of becoming a duchess. But family disgrace forces her into marriage with the most vile duke in England, and she finds herself desperate for a way out. When a rustic stranger mistakes her for globe-trotting botanist Muriel Pendrake at a train station, Lavinia has a split second to decide whether to submit to her fate or steal someone else's.

Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for her and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the tsarina has come to rely.

Cleo Davenport has heard the whispers: the murmured conversations that end abruptly the second she walks into a room. Told she was an orphan, she knows the rumor—that her father is none other than the Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne. And at her childhood home at Cairo’s Shepheard’s Hotel, where royals, rulers, and the wealthy live, they even called her “The Princess.” But her life is turned upside down when she turns seventeen. Sent to London under the chaperonage of her very proper aunt, she’s told it’s time to learn manners and make her debut.

G.A. Henty weaves a rousing, yet poignant, adventure of the revolt of Palestine against the power of Rome, and the birth of Christianity. Follow John, a courageous young Jew, as he fights in the siege of Jerusalem, survives slavery in Alexandria and the dispersal of the Jews, wins the favor of the Emperor Titus, and returns triumphantly to Galilee.

G.A. Henty's classic work, The Young Carthaginian, tells the story of this struggle and the attempt of Hannibal to conquer Rome, despite the formidable geographical barriers and the corrupt leadership in Carthage, which time-and-again undermined all his efforts. Malchus, the young hero, a cousin of Hannibal, becomes involved in political intrigue and joins Hannibal in Spain, sharing for a time in his adventures. Later, he suffers imprisonment and slavery and then escapes to Gaul, where he finally settles. This story is set around 220 B.C.

Max Wolff is a committed soldier of the Reich. So when he is sent home wounded, only to discover that his mother is sheltering two young Jewish women in their home, he is outraged. His mother’s act of mercy is a gross betrayal of everything Max stands for. He has dedicated his life to Nazism, fighting to atone for the shame of his anti-Hitler father’s imprisonment. It’s his duty to turn the sisters over to the Gestapo. But he hesitates, and the longer Max fails to do his duty, the harder it becomes.

What happens when a bride says no? He is the bastard son of a duke, arrogant, handsome, a little bit dangerous, and, of course, one of the most sought-after bachelors in London. He is also about to be publically jilted by some chit of a girl! Blake Stephens' pride isn't about to let him be humiliated, so he charges after his bride to the wilds of Scotland, determined to bring her to the altar. What happens when the heart says yes? He is promised to one woman, but discovers his soul stirred by…the chit's sister!

Welcome to the most dangerous town in the West. For Marshal Bob Hatfield, that means rough justice and 100 ways to die... In the shadow of the Prophecy Mountains, the ramshackle boomtown of Rattlesnake Wells draws schemers, predators, and desperate pilgrims. As for the law, that's the town marshal, a former Texas outlaw trying to make a new life for himself. But Sundown Bob Hatfield knows a man who's slick on the draw can't escape trouble for long. In Rattlesnake Wells, you fight fire with fire - and a new one has just exploded.

Lucy Bell burns with determination. Convinced an arrogant aristocrat is to blame for her expulsion from her beloved school, the penniless girl sets out to visit her best friend to help her undo the catastrophe. But when a storm on the road leaves her in a compromising position with a handsome gardener, she is swept away by his gruff kindness.

At her assisted living center in Wedding Tree, Louisiana, 93-year-old Amelie O'Connor is in the habit of leaving her door open for friends. One day she receives an unexpected visitor - Kat Thompson, the ex-fiancée of her late husband, Jack. Kat and Jack were high school sweethearts who planned to marry when Jack returned from France after World War II. But in a cruel twist of fate, their plans were irrevocably derailed when a desperate French girl overheard an American officer's confession in a Parisian church...

She'd once been the toast of London, but now scandal has brought her down. Still, pretty, petted Lady Tara Davidson can't believe her new fate. She had wanted to marry for love…but her profligate father has promised her hand to none other than Breccan Campbell, the "Beast of Aberfeldy" and laird of the valley's most despised clan! Well, Tara may have to marry him, but Breccan can't make her love him…can he?

Is it wrong for a woman to want more? Not if she is a Spinster Heiress. They do not settle. Any young miss would be very lucky to find herself promised to a man like the duke of Camberly. However, Miss Willa Reverly has watched her friends marry for love. Camberly may be the prize of the season, but she will not be “sold” to any man. She wants his devotion or she wants nothing at all.

Trapped in the wrong time, she needs a knight in shining armor, but this damsel in distress might be the real savior. With a day planner attached to her hip, the last thing Katy Tolson wants is a romance that threatens her well-ordered life. She's set to marry the safe - but bland - guy, but something's not quite...right. A careless wish thrusts her through time into medieval Wales and into the arms of a knight in somewhat shining armor.

Miss Cassandra Holwell is too tall, too bookish, and too smart - but she does have money and a father who wants a grand title for her. Cassandra hasn’t felt a desire to marry until she meets the sinfully handsome Duke of Camberly, who captures her imagination...until Soren York, Earl of Dewsberry and her family’s sworn enemy, steps in the way.