Historical Fiction World Literature

From the author of the “engrossing” (People) and “poignant” (Booklist) international best seller The Room on Rue Amélie comes a remarkable and moving story of love, danger, and betrayal: two women in France in the darkest days of World War II and another in present-day America on a quest to uncover the secret that connects them.

AD 1380. The great-grandson of the legendary William de Wolfe is not as his family had hoped; although a man of legendary skill and strength like his great-grandfather, Gates de Wolfe is something of a legendary rake as well. A man with an eye for women, he has left a string of broken hearts all across England and rumors of at least two bastards, possibly more. But Gates is also a man of humor, charm, and great charisma, making it difficult for women to resist him and making it even more difficult for men to despise him, because he is such a likable character.

Battle-hardened warrior and favored of the king, Sir Lucien de Russe is called the Iron Knight because of his indestructibility in battle. An older knight, Lucien is entering his fortieth year and has seen a good deal in his lifetime. But having sustained fairly serious wounds in the most recent rebellions against Henry IV, Lucien retires his sword and spurs, choosing to live out the rest of his life in peace. Physically, he is damaged goods and must heal. Mentally, however, he is already dead.

Tallulah James comes from a long line of intelligent college professors with strong Southern roots - and long-buried family secrets. Tallulah's childhood is a tumultuous one: Her mother is often absent as she puts her goals to save the world over her family. Her father's ignored bipolar disorder results in bouts of depression and manic behavior that often leave Tallulah afraid and confused.

Atretes, a German barbarian who has won his freedom in the Roman arena, finds his life changed forever by an encounter with a young Christian woman. Atretes vows to move heaven and earth to find his son--the baby he thought was dead, and take him back to Germany. Only one thing stands in his way: Rizpah, the Christian widow who has cared for the child since his birth.

Kaspian is tended by a woman who offers him her breasts as way of sustaining his life. At first, he looks at the situation as a necessity, but he soon comes to crave it. He struggles to keep his feelings from the widowed woman, but it becomes increasingly difficult. For a man who has known little compassion or kindness in his life, Madelayne comes to represent everything he has been missing. She soon becomes to represent everything he wants, and he wants her.

Au cœur de l'enfer, une femme se bat pour l'espoir. "Rappelle-toi: notre seule arme, c'est de rester en vie, et pour rester en vie, nous devons aimer, nous devons donner, et, malheureusement, nous devons souffrir." Lorsqu'elle arrive à Auschwitz, sous un ciel bas et gris, Ana est persuadée qu'elle ne survivra pas à l'enfer du camp. Mais elle possède une compétence que les nazis recherchent : elle est sage-femme. Son travail sera de donner naissance aux enfants des autres prisonnières.

A generous, kind, and always hungry Charles Bingley sheds a little light on keeping company with the most interesting man in the world and shares his thoughts on puppies, his dreadful sisters, and the meaning of happiness.

As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything - beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses - but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets.

At 97 years old, Winnifred Ellis knows she doesn’t have much time left, and it is almost a relief to realize that once she is gone, the truth about her shameful past will die with her. But when her great-grandson Jamie, the spitting image of her dear late husband, asks about his family tree, Winnifred can’t lie any longer, even if it means breaking a promise she made so long ago....

AD 1461 - Two brothers and the best of friends. One is betrayed and murdered at the Battle of Towton by men who were supposed to be his allies. The surviving brother, Sir Atticus de Wolfe, promises to seek revenge for his brother's murder. The Lion of Northumbria, heir to The Wolfe's legacy, is now unleashed and seeking vengeance. No one is safe until his bloodlust is sated.

France, 1939. Dans le village de Carriveau dans la Loire, Vianne Mauriac fait ses adieux à son mari qui part au front et se retrouve seule avec sa fille. Elle ne peut imaginer que les nazis vont envahir le pays. Pourtant, lorsqu'un capitaine allemand réquisitionne sa maison, elle est forcée d'accueillir un officier sous son toit. Et fait le choix de protéger sa fille avant la liberté de son pays.

AD 1301. Following the great quest north with Cortez de Bretagne ( The Questing), de Bretagne's knight, Sir Drake de Winter, returns home to the great de Winter empire in Norfolk, but it is not the safe and wonderful haven he remembers. Family unrest causes him to flee to London and into the service of the elderly King Edward I, a personal friend of Drake's father. In Edward's service, Drake finds himself in Scotland as a major player in the Siege of Caerlaverock Castle.

Can a young war correspondent find herself and follow her heart? In this work of historical fiction, 20-something Annabella “Annie” March arrives in France in 1944 intending to write about the war. Soon, however, Annie begins to distance herself from her sometimes-mentor, sometimes-rival - the great Martha Gellhorn - and Gellhorn’s larger-than-life husband, the novelist Ernest Hemingway. She turns to photography in the hopes of making her own name and, to her delight, discovers that images come more easily than words.

Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life back together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honor his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and will perform in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and loss.

After Grand-mere Ursule gives her life to save her family, their magic seems to die with her. Even so, the Orchires fight to keep the old ways alive, practicing half-remembered spells and arcane rites in hopes of a revival. And when their youngest daughter comes of age, magic flows anew. The lineage continues, though new generations struggle not only to master their power, but also to keep it hidden. But when World War II looms on the horizon, magic is needed more urgently than ever.

On a freezing night in January 1941, a little Jewish girl is found on the steps of an apartment building in Bucharest. With Romania recently allied with the Nazis, the Jewish population is in grave danger, undergoing increasingly violent persecution. The girl is placed in an orphanage and eventually adopted by a wealthy, childless couple who name her Natalia. As she assimilates into her new life, she all but forgets the parents who were forced to leave her behind. They are even further from her mind when Romania falls under Soviet occupation.

They call him the Great Defender. As Richard the Lionheart's most powerful general, Sir Juston de Royans is as moody as he is skilled. Reminiscent of the ancient warrior Achilles, Juston fights when it is necessary, instead choosing to command the powerful men beneath him. Never wrong in action or command, he has never lost a battle, and when he finds himself in the midst of a terrible siege at Bowes Castle, he predictably emerges the victor, with the lady of the keep as his prize.

Warwick “War” Herringthorpe was born of a Northumberland de Percy daughter and the Wolfe of the Border, William de Wolfe, back in the days when William was a rising hero, unencumbered by marriage, free to do, and love, whom he so chooses. A brief relationship with Jane de Percy left Jane pregnant and William unaware of the situation. Jane’s father had bigger aspirations for his daughter than a mere knight and quickly married her to a much-older, titled husband who was willing to overlook her indiscretion.