Among the captives sold into slavery in Algiers were the island pastor, his wife and their three children. Although the raid itself is well documented, little is known about what happened to the women and children afterwards. It was a time when women everywhere were largely silent.In this brilliant reimagining, Sally Magnusson gives a voice to Ásta, the pastor's wife. Enslaved in an alien Arab culture Ásta meets the loss of both her freedom and her children with the one thing she has brought from home: the stories in her head. Steeped in the sagas and folk tales of her northern homeland, she finds herself experiencing not just the separations and agonies of captivity, but the reassessments that come in any age when intelligent eyes are opened to other lives, other cultures and other kinds of loving.The Sealwoman's Gift is about the eternal power of storytelling to help us survive. The novel is full of stories - Icelandic ones told to fend off a slave-owner's advances, Arabian ones to help an old man die. And there are others, too: the stories we tell ourselves to protect our minds from what cannot otherwise be borne, the stories we need to make us happy.

    When she was married at sixteen to a German count far below her rank, it was with the understanding that her father would help her husband achieve the kingship of Bohemia. The terrible betrayal of this commitment would ruin "the Winter Queen," as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved, and launch a war that would last for thirty years. Forced into exile, the Winter Queen and her family found refuge in Holland, where the glorious art and culture of the Dutch Golden Age indelibly shaped her daughters' lives. Her eldest, Princess Elizabeth, became a scholar who earned the respect and friendship of the philosopher René Descartes. Louisa was a gifted painter whose engaging manner and appealing looks provoked heartache and scandal. Beautiful Henrietta Maria would be the only sister to marry into royalty, although at great cost. But it was the youngest, Sophia, a heroine in the tradition of a Jane Austen novel, whose ready wit and good-natured common sense masked immense strength of character, who fulfilled the promise of her great-grandmother Mary and reshaped the British monarchy, a legacy that endures to this day.Brilliantly researched and captivatingly written, filled with danger, treachery, and adventure but also love, courage, and humor, Daughters of the Winter Queen follows the lives of five remarkable women who, by refusing to surrender to adversity, changed the course of history.

    She is happy to stay at home when King James of Scotland succeeds to the throne. His court may be shockingly decadent, but his intolerant Puritanism sees witchcraft in many of the old customs—punishable by death.But when her ambitious uncle forcibly brings Frances to the royal palace, she is a ready target for the twisted scheming of the Privy Seal, Lord Cecil. As a dark campaign to destroy both King and Parliament gathers pace, culminating in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Frances is surrounded by danger, finding happiness only with the King’s precocious young daughter, and with Tom Wintour, the one courtier she feels she can trust. But is he all that he seems?Acclaimed as a brilliant historian, Tracy Borman proves with this thrilling debut novel that she is also a born storyteller.

    Born on the night of an ill-auguring comet just before Charles II's Restoration, Ursula Flight has a difficult future written in the stars.Against the custom of the age she begins an education with her father, who fosters in her a love of reading, writing and astrology.Following a surprise meeting with an actress, Ursula yearns for the theatre and thus begins her quest to become a playwright despite scoundrels, bounders, bad luck and heartbreak.

    PERFECT FOR FANS OF BERNARD CORNWELL AND CONN IGGULDEN. AFTER THE TUDORS CAME THE STUARTS . . . London, Winter 1670. Holcroft Blood has entered the employ of the Duke of Buckingham, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom after the king. It is here that his education really begins. With a gift for numbers and decoding ciphers, Holcroft soon proves invaluable to the Duke, but when he's pushed into a betrayal he risks everything for revenge. His father, Colonel Thomas Blood, has fallen on hard times. A man used to fighting, he lives by his wits and survives by whatever means necessary. When he's asked to commit treason by stealing the crown jewels, he puts himself and his family in a dangerous situation - one that may end at the gallows. As the machinations of powerful men plot to secure the country's future, both father and son must learn what it is to survive in a more dangerous battlefield than war - the court of King Charles II.

     Titus Oates, an unknown preacher, creates panic with wild stories of a Catholic uprising against Charles II. The murder of a prominent Protestant magistrate appears to confirm that the Popish Plot is real. Only Nathaniel Thompson, writer and Licenser of the Presses, instinctively doubts Oates’s revelations. Even his young wife, Anne, is not so sure. And neither know that their friend William Smith has personal history with Titus Oates. When Nathaniel takes a public stand, questioning the plot and Oates’s integrity, the consequences threaten them all.

    Through both a narrow focus on Weetamoo, Printer, and their network of relations, and a far broader scope that includes vast indigenous geographies, Brooks leads us to a new understanding of the history of colonial New England and of American origins. Brooks’s pathbreaking scholarship is grounded not just in extensive archival research but also in the land and communities of Native New England, reading the actions of actors during the seventeenth century alongside an analysis of the landscape and interpretations informed by tribal history.

    It is also a place of supernatural peril, and Circe Swinburne, the daughter of Puritans, is drawn to its shadowy mystery. From her birth, Circe has been haunted by pagan dreams and they intensify when fireflies begin to haunt her, flooding her with riddles. The tiny creatures guide her to a group living in secret, practicing the ancient ways of the Celts in the backwoods of the colony. She escapes to live in peace with them until one day a mysterious man appears with an unusual map. Circe is increasingly drawn to this dark and enigmatic Spaniard, and together they fight against the malicious Puritan witch hunters who are determined to execute her new family and destroy her way of life forever.

    . .It's 1685 and after the victory of Sedgemoor by King James II's men and the Bloody Assizes that followed, the British Isles faces an uneasy time. Many powerful men have grown tired of Catholic James's brutal, autocratic rule and seek to invite William, the Protestant Prince of Orange, to seize the thrones of the Three Kingdoms.When Lieutenant Holcroft Blood, a brilliant but unusual gunnery officer in His Majesty's Ordnance, discovers that a sinister French agent, known only by his code name Narrey, has landed on English soil, he discovers a plan that could threaten the stability of the nation even further.While revolution brews in the gentlemen's clubs of London, Holcroft faces a deadly choice - fight for his king, or fight for his friends.Every decision has a consequence - would you be willing to pay the price?

     If young, ambitious art historian May Gold could talk to one person about her life, she’d ask her idol, Italian sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini. The question she’d put to him: If I were trapped in stone, how would you chisel me free?” Because at just twenty-six, May is already trapped in a dead-end college teaching job and a slowly failing love affair. She yearns to fly free of both job and boyfriend, though he’s the one who has brought her to Italy with their teaching colleagues. May longs to soar with creative wings, like one of Bernini’s marble angels. Secretly, she also longs to be in his arms, the wildly adored partner of the man who created the world’s most beautiful art. When the floor under the gilded dome of St Peter's basilica rocks under her feet, May finds herself in the year 1624, staring straight into Gianlorenzo's eyes. Their immediate attraction grows each time she meets him during her tour, but her academic future begins to look brighter too. Passion for her artist shakes her to the core, but history says they have no future. Would she give up everything, even the time in which she lives, to be with her soul mate? A CAPTIVATING LOVE STORY illuminating love’s enduring truth and the timeless power of beauty to uplift us. Perfect for lovers of art, Italy, and time travel romance. Praise for The Renaissance Club “Enchanting, rich and romantic…a poetic journey through the folds of time.” – Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon Kindle bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale “Highly recommended for lovers of time travel fiction or anyone looking for a compelling story about a woman trying to find happiness.” – Annabelle Costa, Author of The Time Traveler’s Boyfriend.

    His magnum opus, the Go-Rin-Sho or Book of Five Rings is a classic that is still read by tens of thousands of people each year—Japanese and foreigners alike.Alex Bennett's groundbreaking new translation of The Book of Five Rings reveals the true meaning of this text for the first time. Like Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Musashi's book offers unique insights, not just for warriors, but for anyone wanting to apply the Zen Buddhist principle of awareness to achieve success in their endeavors. This book sheds new light on Japanese history and on the philosophical meaning of Bushido—the ancient "code of the Japanese warrior."Unlike other translations that are based on incomplete and inaccurate versions of Musashi's work, Bennett's is the first to be based on a careful reconstruction of the long-lost original manuscript. Capturing the subtle nuances of the original Japanese classic, the result is a far more accurate and meaningful English version of The Book of Five Rings text. Richly annotated and with an extensive introduction to Musashi's life, this version includes a collection of his other writings—translated into English for the first time. A respected scholar, as well as a skilled martial artist, Bennett's understanding of Musashi's life and work is unparalleled. This book will be widely read by students of Japanese culture, history. military strategy, and martial arts. It sets a new standard against which all other translations will be measured.

    

    Calvin Schermerhorn charts changes in the family lives of enslaved Americans, exploring the broader processes of nation-building in the United States, growth and intensification of national and international markets, the institutionalization of chattel slavery, and the growing relevance of race in the politics and society of the republic. In chapters organized chronologically, Schermerhorn argues that American economic development relied upon African Americans' social reproduction while simultaneously destroying their intergenerational cultural continuity. He explores the personal narratives of enslaved people and develops themes such as politics, economics, labor, literature, rebellion, and social conditions.

    Indeed, by the time of his death, it contained some 2,000 paintings and sculptures. Charles I: King and Collector explores the origins of the collection, the way it was assembled and what it came to represent. Authoritative essays provide a revealing historical context for the formation of the King's taste. They analyse key areas of the collection, such as the Italian Renaissance, and how the paintings that Charles collected influenced the contemporary artists he commissioned. Following Charles's execution, his collection was sold. This book, edited by the curators of a spectacular exhibition at the Royal Academy, reunites its most important works in sumptuous detail. Featuring paintings by such masters as Van Dyck, Rubens and Raphael, this striking publication offers a unique insight into this fabled collection.

    Mock trials lead to questionable convictions and speedy executions. Most of the condemned are women, all but one are hung. Others, including two infant children, die in prison. For Mehitabel Braybrooke, life began as the illegitimate child of a prosperous landowner. Now her stepmother is convinced the girl is a pawn of the Devil. During a time when women have few rights and even fewer allies in the courts, what will become of the falsely accused? Written for the General Market (G) (I): Contains little or no; sexual dialogue or situations or strong language. May also contain content of an inspirational nature.

    The 2nd Anglo/Dutch war rages at sea. Lord Pilcher, a staunch Cromwell man, hates his grandson who followed King Charles II into exile. When Geoffrey returns to England, bereft and weary, he hopes for succor and support from his grandfather but Pilcher does everything he can to deny Geoffrey his inheritance. As a result, Geoffrey resorts to deceit. He steals goods and money from his grandfather that, by right, should be his. After the death of their parents, Erasmus and Desiderius find Gentleman Jack and are welcomed into his gang of fellows. They learn sleight of hand, transfer stolen goods to cunning hidey-holes. They learn how to be nefarious and follow their leader’s skullduggery. Dodging the constables and the sheriff, will they be caught and hanged for highway robbery?

    American Baroque charts Spain's exploitation of Caribbean pearl fisheries to trace the genesis of its maritime empire. In the 1500s, licit and illicit trade in the jewel gave rise to global networks, connecting the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean to the pearl-producing regions of the Chesapeake and northern Europe.Pearls--a unique source of wealth because of their renewable, fungible, and portable nature--defied easy categorization. Their value was highly subjective and determined more by the individuals, free and enslaved, who produced, carried, traded, wore, and painted them than by imperial decrees and tax-related assessments. The irregular baroque pearl, often transformed by the imagination of a skilled artisan into a fantastical jewel, embodied this subjective appeal. Warsh blends environmental, social, and cultural history to construct microhistories of peoples' wide-ranging engagement with this deceptively simple jewel. Pearls facilitated imperial fantasy and personal ambition, adorned the wardrobes of monarchs and financed their wars, and played a crucial part in the survival strategies of diverse people of humble means. These stories, taken together, uncover early modern conceptions of wealth, from the hardscrabble shores of Caribbean islands to the lavish rooms of Mediterranean palaces.

    Its ancient routes and strategic position between India, Inner Asia, China, Persia, and beyond has meant the region has been subject to frequent invasions, both peaceful and military. As a result, modern Afghanistan is a culturally and ethnically diverse country, but one divided by conflict, political instability, and by mass displacements of its people. In this magisterial illustrated history, Jonathan L. Lee tells the story of how a small tribal confederacy in a politically and culturally significant but volatile region became a modern nation state. Drawing on more than forty years of study, Lee places the current conflict in Afghanistan in its historical context and challenges many of the West’s preconceived ideas about the country. Focusing particularly on the powerful Durrani monarchy, which united the country in 1747 and ruled for nearly two and a half centuries, Lee chronicles the origins of the dynasty as clients of Safavid Persia and Mughal India: the reign of each ruler and their efforts to balance tribal, ethnic, regional, and religious factions; the struggle for social and constitutional reform; and the rise of Islamic and Communist factions. Along the way he offers new cultural and political insights from Persian histories, the memoirs of Afghan government officials, British government and India Office archives, and recently released CIA reports and Wikileaks documents. He also sheds new light on the country’s foreign relations, its internal power struggles, and the impact of foreign military interventions such as the “War on Terror.”

     Free History BONUS Inside! The themes of the history of Cuba are as vast as they are inspiring. Cuba has stared death in the face throughout its rocky history, and most of the time it has gazed into the eyes of death and smiled. Over and over, oppressors have attempted to seize this island and its riches for their own selfish purposes. And over and over, revolutions have risen up to conquer in an attempt to return Cuba to its people. The story of Cuba is a tale of courage and sacrifice, of horrific oppression and inspiring vision. It is a story about exploitation and hope, about a tiny island that rose to global importance. There are battles and shipwrecks, pirates and Indians, tragic sacrifices and resounding triumphs. The Cuban people over and over show their resilience, courage, and passion in the face of incredible odds. They are a people that one cannot help but admire. And in this captivating history book, you'll discover their story. In History of Cuba: A Captivating Guide to Cuban History, Starting from Christopher Columbus' Arrival to Fidel Castro, you will discover topics such as Cuba before Columbus The Arrival of the Spaniards Slavery and Sugarcane War The Cry of Yara Freedom Independent at Last A New Leader Castro's Cuba Desperate Times A New Horizon And much, much more! So if you want to learn more about the history of Cuba, click "buy now"!

    In 1485, England was an inward-looking country, its priorities largely domestic and European. Over the subsequent two centuries, however, this country was transformed, as the people of the British Isles turned to the sea in search of adventure, wealth and rule. Explorers voyaged into unknown regions of the world, while merchants, following in their wake, established lucrative trade routes with the furthest reaches of the globe. At home, people across Britain increasingly engaged with the sea, whether through their own lived experiences or through songs, prose and countless other forms of material culture.This exquisitely illustrated book delves into a tale of exploration, encounter, adventure, power, wealth and conflict. Topics include the exploration of the Americas, the growth of worldwide trade, piracy and privateering andthe defeat of the Spanish Armada, brought to life through a variety of personalities from the well-known - Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Drake and Samuel Pepys - to the ordinary sailors, dockyard workers and their wives and families whose lives were so dramatically shaped by the sea.

    Traditionally, oppression by the land-holding gentry has been cited as a catalyst for rebellion. On the other hand, tensions between the merchants of the large towns such as Zurich, Basel and Geneva and the peasants in the countryside were equally important. Revolts against ‘foreign’ masters did not play as large a part as often assumed. After all, the Habsburg itself was built in today’s canton Aargau, and became incorporated into the Confederacy by 1415. In many ways the country’s geography has made Switzerland unique. Swiss geologists and engineers have devised a model of a public transportation system, overcoming incredible odds and challenges due to mountains, risk of erosion and avalanches, meandering waterways and thick forests. Politically the country has become the world’s foremost direct democracy, where enough signatures for a petition automatically trigger a referendum. A Short History of Switzerland attempts to capture the essence of the little country that could, from the perspective of someone who grew up there and went through the country’s school system. This short book makes the Swiss story accessible to readers with fluency in English. At the same time, the narrative does not shy away from controversial topics, including the war time experience or drug addiction problems. The work consists of six parts: 1. Before Homo Sapiens 2. The five periods of settlement and civilization 3. Language groups 4. Swiss accomplishments 5. Notable Swiss citizens 6. Conclusion No history written in the 21st century can be complete without examining the natural environment. Swiss civilization in the modern sense began with the Iron Age around 800 BC. Periods of foreign occupation followed before representatives from Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden concluded their eternal allegiance. Five hundred years of Swiss Confederacy followed, the most successful ever. The mountainous terrain made it possible to defend independence without central government. The Austrian and French monarchies officially recognized the Confederacy’s sovereignty in 1648. Napoleon I’s brief occupation in 1798 left a lasting legacy: federalism, which replaced the old Confederacy for good by 1848. The concept of armed neutrality has kept the country out of two world wars. Since 1945 the country has enjoyed nearly unparalleled prosperity, becoming the world’s chocolate producer, watchmaker, and banker. Switzerland is also the home of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and food producers. In 2002 the Swiss finally joined the UN, after decades of harboring UN offices in Geneva. It is an exciting story.

    Focusing on parliament's most militant supporters, David Comoreconstructs the origins and nature of the most radical forms of political and religious agitation that erupted during the war, tracing the process by which these forms gradually spread and gained broader acceptance. Drawing on a wide range of manuscript and print sources, the study situates thesedevelopments within a revised narrative of the period, revealing the emergence of new practices and structures for the conduct of politics. In the process, the book illuminates the eruption of many of the period's strikingly novel intellectual currents, including assumptions and practices we todayassociate with western representative democracy; notions of retained natural rights, religious toleration, freedom of the press, and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment.The study also chronicles the way that civil war shattered English protestantism--leaving behind myriad competing groupings, including congregationalists, baptists, antinomians, and others--while examining the relationship between this religious fragmentation and political change. It traces thegradual appearance of openly anti-monarchical, republican sentiment among parliament's supporters. Radical Parliamentarians and the English Civil War provides a new history of the English civil war, enhancing our understanding of the dramatic events of the 1640s, and shedding light on the long-termpolitical and religious consequences of the conflict.