A reporter photographs the miracle, and wealthy, skeptical, Jewish psychiatrist Camillo Lombardi arrives in Naples to investigate. When she materializes the ghost of his dead mother, he risks his reputation and fortune to finance a tour of the Continent, challenging the scientific and academic elite of Europe to test Alessandra's mysterious powers. She will help him rewrite Science. His fee will help her escape her sadistic husband Pigotti and start a new life in Rome. Newspapers across Europe trumpet her Cinderella story and baffling successes, and the public demands to know - does the "Queen of Spirits" really have supernatural powers? Nigel Huxley is convinced she's simply another vulgar, Italian trickster. The icy, aristocratic detective for England's Society for the Investigation of Mediums launches a plot to trap and expose her. Meanwhile, the Vatican is quietly digging up her childhood secrets, desperate to discredit her supernatural powers; her abusive husband Pigotti is coming to kill her; and the tarot cards predict catastrophe. Inspired by the true-life story of controversial Italian medium Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918), The Witch of Napoli masterfully resurrects the bitter,19th-century battle between Science and religion over the possibility of an afterlife.

    But a case of mistaken identity put her in a compromising position with the Highland earl sworn to protect her. Marriage to him saved her reputation, but nothing could save her from the stormy passion that bent her innocent body to his will--and shattered his last defense...The acclaimed author of The Thistle and the Rose presents an exciting new trilogy. Three sisters each hold a clue to their family's treasure--and the key to the hearts of three Highland warriors...

    After their deaths, each year on the anniversary of the broadcast, their souls would return to the Chinese village of their younger days. It’s where they had fought—and survived—a war that shook the world and changed their own lives in unimaginable ways. Now, seventy years later, the pledge is being fulfilled by American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu.All that’s missing is Ah Yan—also known as Swallow—the girl each man loved, each in his own profound way.As they unravel their personal stories of the war, and of the woman who touched them so deeply during that unforgiving time, the story of Ah Yan’s life begins to take shape, woven into view by their memories. A woman who had suffered unspeakable atrocities, and yet found the grace and dignity to survive, she’d been the one to bring them together. And it is her spark of humanity, still burning brightly, that gives these ghosts of the past the courage to look back on everything they endured and remember the woman they lost.

    And he has no choice but to see them all wed in haste.Lady Madeline’s heart is not for sale…especially not to a notorious outlaw like Rhys FitzHenry. Yet Madeline’s hand has been sold, to none other than this battle-weary warrior with a price on his head. A more dutiful maiden might cede to the Laird’s command and meekly accept her fate, but Madeline has never been obedient. She decides to run away, though she never dreams that Rhys will pursue her.She does not expect this taciturn man to woo her with fanciful stories, much less that each of his enthralling tales will reveal a scar upon his shielded soul. She never imagines that a man like Rhys could imperil her own heart while revealing so little of his own feelings. When Rhys’ past threatens his future, Madeline takes a leap of faith. She dares to believe him innocent—and risks her own life to pursue a passion more priceless than the rarest gem.

    They are placed in the home of Captain Charles Whitmore but soon discover that the household is in turmoil. Charles, hoping to amass a fortune, is preparing to set off on a long sea voyage, deliberately leaving his wife Georgina almost penniless to fend for herself and the servants. Georgina, who has been desperate to break free from a life of violent marital abuse, is relieved that he will be gone for some years, but nevertheless the future is frightening. Then help comes from an unexpected quarter. An organisation that helps women escape lives of abuse or genteel poverty makes Georgina an offer. They propose that her house should become a school designed to train such women to seek employment in the American West. The very idea is at once shocking and appealing. Can Georgina step into the unknown and lead the women under her care into the future? The orphan maids listen and wonder. Can they too dare to dream of a better life for themselves?

    Alone in the devastated city of Málaga she makes friends with two young men, Juan, an idealistic Spaniard and Alex, a pragmatic Englishman. Together they make their escape from the war-torn city along the coast to Almeria. Amongst the death and carnage she falls in love with Juan, only to lose him shortly afterwards when he is badly wounded. Believing he is dead she returns to England with Alex, whom she later marries.Seventy years later Kate, Elizabeth´s granddaughter, is left a legacy following the death of her grandfather, a legacy that opens a Pandora´s box of secrets and lies which Kate can only unravel by returning to Spain.

    Once an exile, Somerled the Mighty now dominates the west. He’s making alliances, expanding his territory, and proposing marriage to the Manx princess. It’s a bad time to fall for Breagha, a torc-wearing slave with a supernatural sense of smell. Somerled resists the intense attraction to a woman who offers no political gain, and he won’t have a mistress making demands on him while he’s negotiating a marriage his people need. Besides, Breagha belongs to a rival king, one whose fresh alliance Somerled can’t afford to lose. It’s when Breagha vanishes that Somerled realizes just how much he needs her. He abandons his marriage plans to search for her, unprepared for the evil lurking in the shadowy recesses of Ireland—a lustful demon who will stop at nothing to keep Breagha for himself.

    Naomi, a young Jewish woman, gives birth to a baby girl in a remote rural farm. The Nazi foe is everywhere, and Naomi realizes she must do everything in her power in order to save her daughter’s life, even at the expense of her own.United States, 1990. Helena tells her daughter, Blair, for the first time, the truth about her past, and presents her with a mysterious box that sheds light on her personal story. Blair, stunned and sore by the shattering discovery, storms out of the house and disappears to the other side of the world.Her family situation unsettled as ever, Helena leaves next. Shadows from her past and the need to cope with them have gradually revealed painfully tangible memories, imploring to be exposed. She travels far, determined to try and build bridges—to her past, to her husband and children, and to her loved ones that are long gone.Distant and removed from everyone in her life, at a furious pace, she writes down all her secrets, as well as the life story of her extensive family, which was torn to shreds by the Second World War.When she’s closer than ever to exposing her account, devastating news from home force Helena to expedite her return.Is her world about to change forever?Beneath a Glass Bridge raises profound questions about loss, motherhood in times of crisis, hiding and exposure of the truth. Are the decisions we make in our lives reversible? Can we make up for missed opportunities?

    As an English lord descends to claim her father's lands, Kensey escapes north with her mother and brother, and runs straight into the arms of the outcast Highlander.Driven from home and family by a crazed father, Broccin Sinclair refuses to stand aside while the English invade his beloved Scotland. But who should he champion? The freedom fighter who saved his life, the family who has forgotten him, or the woman who captured his childhood heart?

    Who will protect her from herself? Shoney's lightning speed with a bow captures Ronan by surprise, and their chance meeting ends with him lying unconscious at the bottom of a ravine. When he awakens, he cannot rid his mind of her startling beauty, her valor, or the secret fear he glimpsed in her steel eyes. He vows to find her, but as the mysteries of her identity unfold, his courage and heart are tested as never before.

    I might be the only person in Scotland that’s not fussed, one way or the other. But my friend, Lily, loves the idea. That’s how I wound up on the set, cast as an extra in a low budget movie set in a castle. I’m a freshly-trained history teacher about to begin my new career. History’s my passion and soon I’ll get to teach it all day long. There are so many other, more important things I should be doing right now, rather than standing in line waiting for a costume, then waiting for hair, then waiting for makeup. When I agreed to this, to be part of the crowd scene, Lily was thrilled and promised me a special time. She delivered on that promise-rather too well. Sure, I love history, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to be thrust back in time, into our dark past. That’s what happens to me though. I suddenly find myself living the humble and horribly dangerous life of a Scottish lass in 1263. I was not ready for this. I’m a modern woman who likes modern things. I love the idea that there’s a doctor around the corner waiting to cure me. If I had to choose a place and time in history to stop for a while, it wouldn’t be medieval Scotland. That's the end of the Viking era. It’s a tumultuous time in history when the Vikings still own small bits of Scotland, and are determined to hold on, no matter the cost. The Scots are equally as stubborn. Nevertheless, this is where I end up, forced to deal with lawlessness, disease, lack of education, and an entirely foreign sort of man. In these wayward times, men are not like they are in my own century. Here, they’re wilder and a whole lot more frightening. I need to find my way home before something really bad happens to me. I’m not blending in well in the past. Laird Bern is curious and itching to know more. He plans to keep me indefinitely, I think. But that’s not happening because I’m determined to get home again, back to my own time, to the place I belong. Someone else has noticed me too—Storr, the Viking leader. It’s bad enough to be caught between warring Vikings and Scotsmen, but somehow I also find myself trapped in a tug of love. Do I want an ambitious Viking leader or a rugged, Scottish laird, one that is hellbent on getting his own way? What I want is to go home.

    Jeanne is the wife of a once-wealthy merchant, but now she risks losing everything. Louis XIV’s soldiers will stop at nothing to forcibly convert the country’s Huguenots to Catholicism. The men ransack Jeanne’s belongings and threaten her children. "An extremely well-researched book, rich with history and big on heart. The story made me run a gamut of emotions along with the characters..." One by one, Jeanne watches her Protestant neighbors cave under the constant harassment. She and her husband resolve to keep their faith, but Jeanne wonders if the punishment for their defiance is more than she can bear…If Jeanne can’t find a way to evade the soldiers’ clutches, her family will face a fate worse than poverty and imprisonment. They may never see each other again…Merchants of Virtue is the first book in the Huguenot Connection, a series of historical fiction novels. If you like fast-paced adventure, rich layers of historical detail, and inspirational stories based on true events, then you’ll love Paul C.R. Monk’s stirring novel. Buy Merchants of Virtue to immerse yourself in a dangerous world today!

    Together, they have ten children. At last, she can pass on the stories she has heard—magical tales of men from the sea—and her warrior’s courage, along with her wonderful kueh (cakes).But the cultural shift towards the West has begun. Chye Hoon finds herself afraid of losing the heritage she so prizes as her children move more and more into the modernising Western world.

    Onboard one of the ships is a terrified Ulv. The youngest of the crew - he is not a Viking, not a warrior, not a fighter. Despised by most of the hird he has to prove himself worthy as a raider. His honor and his life is at stake, as he faces a battle with enemies on both sides.Standing on the pier, Marcus watches in horror as the Viking ships appear. This time he is old enough to fight. To stand, side by side with the other men against the mighty foe. The scourge of the North. At least, he hopes he can slow the Northmen down so that his little sister, Julia, can get away.In a twist of fate, both teenage boys ends up hiding in a cellar. From that moment, their destiny is intertwined in a relationship spanning from friends to enemies, from thrall and master to weapon brothers, and from friendship to hate.Follow Ulv, Marcus, Julia and the whole band of Viking misfits as they change the course of history. In the epic story of ‘Two Kings’ you will meet real historical figures like Ragnar Lothbrok and Charles the Bald. You will bear witness to the occupation of Dublin and the siege of Paris. You will visit Hedeby and Rouen, and take part in battles, sieges and duels.

    Aldine’s sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she’s meant to lead and the person she’s meant to love.In New York, Aldine answers an ad soliciting a teacher for a one-room schoolhouse in a place she can’t possibly imagine: drought-stricken Kansas. She arrives as farms on the Great Plains have begun to fail and schools are going bankrupt, unable to pay or house new teachers. With no money and too much pride to turn back, she lives uneasily with the family of Ansel Price—the charming, optimistic man who placed the ad—and his family responds to her with kind curiosity, suspicion, and, most dangerously, love. Just as she’s settling into her strange new life, a storm forces unspoken thoughts to the surface that will forever alter the course of their lives.Laura McNeal’s novel is a sweeping and timeless love story about leaving—and finding—home.