Historical Sagas

Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.

In Sarum, Edward Rutherfurd weaves a compelling saga of five English families whose fates become intertwined over the course of centuries. While each family has its own distinct characteristics, the successive generations reflect the changing character of Britain. We become drawn not only into the fortunes of the individual family members, but also the larger destinies of each family line.

The year is 1883, and in New York City it's a time of dizzying splendor, crushing poverty, and tremendous change. With the gravity-defying Brooklyn Bridge nearly complete and New York in the grips of antivice crusader Anthony Comstock, Anna Savard and her cousin, Sophie - both graduates of the Woman's Medical School - treat the city's most vulnerable, even if doing so may put everything they've strived for in jeopardy.

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.

First published in 1944, The Building of Jalna is one of sixteen books in the Jalna series written by Canada's Mazo de la Roche. In The Building of Jalna, Adeline, an impulsive bride with an Irish temper, and her husband, Captain Whiteoak, select Lake Ontario as the site of their new home. De la Roche chronicles their trials and tribulations during the building of the house, the swimming and skating parties, and the jealousies and humourous events that arise.

Famed sailor Hal Courtney is now a man of land and family. But when the King orders him to sail to Madagascar and stop the pirates responsible for looting the finest trading ships of the East India Trading Company and bringing ruin to them all, Hal must travel with his three younger sons on a journey that will shape the young men forever. In this swashbuckling adventure of marauders and slave traders, love and treasure, the brothers will face duels, chases, betrayals and battles - and see their fates cast in ways they could never have imagined.

"ALIENA" : 1140. La construction de la grande cathédrale est sur le point de commencer. À l'appel du clergé, des travailleurs de toute l'Angleterre affluent vers la ville de Kingsbridge, dans l'espoir de racheter leurs péchés par le dur labeur de la pierre. Déterminé à s'emparer du comté de Shiring, William Hamleigh, l'un des prétendants au trône, dresse une armée contre ses rivaux : une guerre civile éclate. Dans son sillage de flammes et de dévastations, le peuple, assoiffé de justice, de vérité ou de vengeance, œuvre à reconstruire la vie qu'on lui a arrachée.

In the burning heat of the Sudanese sun, the city of Khartoum is under siege from the fearsome forces of the Mahdi, the charismatic leader of those who tire of the brutal Egyptian government. In Khartoum, along with thousands of innocent citizens, are trapped the fanatical General Charles Gordon, intrepid soldier Penrod Ballantyne of the 10th Hussars, English trader Ryder Courtney and the British consul and his three beautiful daughters.

Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart - and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister, Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection, nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart.

When Viking warlord Hasting arrives at the gates of Constantinople, he knows he can't conquer it. Not with deeds of arms alone. But fate has other plans. His failed raid turns into an opportunity: serve Empress Theodora as her sword-for-hire. Hasting quickly proves himself more capable than the generals she no longer trusts. But the empire is a viper's nest of betrayal, and when an attempt to scare off his men ends in the death of his lover, Hasting's mission changes.

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke's eye - and she was the only female in the room who wasn't even trying.

When Royan Al Simma is the victim of a vicious attack that leaves her husband dead, her only thought is that she must continue their joint work: to use the secrets of the seventh scroll to find the hidden tomb of Pharaoh Mamose and its untold trove of lost Egyptian riches. To do so, she must bury her grief and partner with the eccentric aristocrat Nicholas Quenton-Harper, a man who shares her passion for the ancient world. But the men who killed her husband are not yet finished.

De 17-jarige Lady Caroline is slim en weet wat ze wil. Wat ze zeer zeker níet wil, zijn de ongepaste toenaderingen van Sir Montagu. Midden in de nacht slaat ze op de vlucht het bos in en ontmoet ze de knappe Lord Vane Brecon. De nacht neemt een bizarre wending, wanneer ze plotseling deel worden van een plaatselijk delict. De volgende dag wordt Brecon verdacht van moord! Caroline, normaal gesproken zo dapper en sterk, wordt overmand door angst. Wat als ze hem kwijtraakt en hij ondanks zijn onschuld gestraft wordt?

Brigadier Ian McCraggan heeft een succesvolle carrière in de diplomatie achter de rug. Hij keert nu terug naar zijn vaderland, Schotland, om daar een oud kasteel te bewonen dat al generaties eigendom is van zijn familie. Zijn verbazing is dan ook groot als het kasteel bewoond blijkt! De betoverende Moida heeft bovendien geen enkele intentie haar biezen te pakken. Ze beweert de enige erfgenaam van de McCraggan-clan te zijn en lijkt over bijzondere krachten te beschikken om Ian onder haar invloed te krijgen.

On the hottest day in 1935, and on the brink of a world war, three children lose their innocence as the sweltering summer heat bears down and their lives are changed forever. Cecilia Tallis is of England's privileged class; Robbie Turner is the housekeeper's son. In their moment of intimate surrender, they are interrupted by Cecilia's hyper-imaginative and scheming 13-year-old sister, Briony. As chaos consumes the family, Briony commits a crime, the guilt of which she shall carry throughout her life.

Na haar vaders dood verneemt Marie-Teresa, Gravin van Beauharnais, dat zij voorbestemd is te trouwen met Leo, Markies de Montereau. Ze heeft hier echter geen zin in, omdat Leo in Parijs als een ware Don Juan bekendstaat en bovendien geen fortuin bezit. De jonge gravin vermoedt dat hij haar slechts wil trouwen om zo in het bezit van kasteel Beauharnais te komen. Hoe kan ze zijn ware motieven doorgronden?

Als de bewoners van het plattelandsdorpje Steeple een bewusteloze jonge vrouw vinden weten ze zeker dat ze met een heks te maken hebben. Juist als ze van plan zijn te testen of haar lichaam zinkt, redt de knappe, rijke Markies van Aldridge het meisje van een zekere dood. Wie is die mysterieuze Idylla, die zich niets meer van haar leven kan herinneren? In de boeken van Cartland is de hoofdrolspeelster meestal een onschuldige, pure vrouw, die een intrigerende, avontuurlijke man ontmoet. Het einde is altijd goed - liefde overwint alles.

Wanneer de jonge Richard Wood in een vlaag van jaloezie de minnaar van zijn verloofde doodschiet, is het aan zijn oom Nolan, de Hertog van Kingswood, om te zorgen dat alles op zijn pootjes terechtkomt. Gelukkig is Nolan een slim militair strateeg, en weet hij binnen korte tijd allerlei plannetjes te smeden. Maar valt liefde te dwingen? En hoe lang kan Nolan nog zijn eigen hart met ratio overmeesteren?

King and country. No matter the cost. With the backing of his uncle, General Penrod Ballantyne, young Leon Courtney joins the King's Rifles of Nairobi. When he becomes discouraged by the dishonesty of army life, his uncle recruits him for a special mission - spying on the Germans in East Africa, whom the General suspects are preparing for the Kaiser's war. Posing as a professional game hunter, Leon is tasked with gathering information on one of his clients, wealthy industrialist Otto Von Meerbach.

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress' rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, but that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.