The masters of the universe have crushed the Iceni rebellion with an iron hand, slaughtering and enslaving her people.For Philip, his existence as a captive means living to hatred. He despises his rich, young master, resenting his life of servitude and the wrestling feats Marcus forces him to perform. Bitterness engulfs his soul until he only lives for the day when he will crush the might of Rome.Then Christianity enters the picture. Taught by a Jewish breadmaker to know the man called Christus, Philip begins the struggle to forgive and honor his master. But forgiveness is not easy towards one who lives for himself.Marcus Virginius knows nothing but power and pleasure. Destined to a successful career serving Nero in the Praetorian Guard, he wants no part of Christianity. And he is determined to crush Philip’s newfound faith – no matter what it takes.Join Philip and Marcus in their journey of redemption, faith, and forgiveness. Is love enough to conquer hate? And will the light of the gospel ever surmount the darkness of Rome? Persecution abounds – will the two young men survive its terrors and live to experience the bright hope of a new dawn?Endorsement"Alicia Willis sketches a stirring tale that delivers a powerful message of friendship, forgiveness, and God's grace. An authentic period piece, it leaves you with a greater awareness that God's ways are higher than our ways and we are on this earth for His purposes. Anyone with a bend for historical-fiction will thoroughly enjoy this book. Definitely a moving, worthwhile, and edifying read!"-Josiah Jost, actor/writer with Jostie Flicks.

    . . this nail-biting adventure has all the hard-edged appeal of the Bravo Two Zero mission. When Valens, a junior officer in the Roman Army, joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission, little does he know what's in store for him. Tasked with rescuing the young Prince Sasan, who has been imprisoned in the impenetrable Castle of Silence, the troops set out across Mesopotamia and into the mountains south of the Caspian Sea. Deep in hostile territory, inexperienced Valens finds himself in charge. And as one by one his soldiers die or disappear, he begins to suspect that there is a traitor in their midst, and that the rescue is fast becoming a suicide mission. Valens must marshal this disparate group of men and earn their respect, before it's too late . . .

    Lord Vye's daughter might be thought to want for nothing, but life isn't easy on fifty guineas a year, with a jealous stepmother watching one's every move. Eugenie's passionate nature and unerring ability to get hold of the wrong end of the stick land her in trouble as she follows her heart: from elegant Swallowcliffe to the streets of fashionable London, by way of rural Ireland, glamorous belle époque Paris and an idyllic artists' retreat at Giverny. She hurtles from one near-disaster to another, rescued only by a sense of humour, unquenchable optimism and her dear American friend Julia - until finally discovering love was right under her nose all along.

    Robert, a doctor; Duncan, a cobbler; and Christopher, a lawman set up shop in a small Texas town and quickly make the acquaintance of local women. Tragedy has struck Mercy Stein on the eve of her wedding, leaving her soul battered. Alone and crippled, Carmen Rodriguez wears a protective shell of bitterness. Harboring a secret, Kathryn Regent always seems to be getting in others way. Can gifts left by their father help the brothers lead these women to healing faith?

    They intend to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first.Gretl is the only survivor. Though spared from the concentration camp, the orphaned German Jew finds herself lost in a country hostile to her people. When Jakób discovers her, guilt and fatherly compassion prompt him to take her in. For three years, the young man and little girl form a bond over the secrets they must hide from his Catholic family.But she can’t stay with him forever. Jakób sends Gretl to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.Separated by continents, politics, religion, language, and years, Jakób and Gretl will likely never see each other again. But the events they have both survived and their belief that the human spirit can triumph over the ravages of war have formed a bond of love that no circumstances can overcome.

    And she's the kind of girl who acts first, and apologizes later whenever she witnesses injustice or cruelty. But she is also extraordinarily beautiful. And news of her striking beauty and impulsive behavior attracts the attention of her aunt, the manipulative Queen Tiye, who sees Nefertiti as an ideal pawn in her desire for power. Even though Nefertiti is taken from her beloved family and forced into a life filled with courtly intrigue and danger, her spirit and mind will not rest. She continues to challenge herself and the boundaries of ancient Egyptian society.Esther Friesner offers readers another fresh new look at an iconic figure”blending historical fiction and mythology in a thrilling concoction.

    He will fight for her life. Mila might be slaveborn, but she has no intention of remaining a slave. Impatient for her freedom, the nineteen-year-old takes matters into her own hands. Armed with the combat skills her half-brother taught her, Mila ignores the pleas of her family and takes to the arena. She is prepared to do whatever is necessary, prepared for anything--except Remus Latinius. Raised inside the greatest gladiator school in Rome, Remus fought hard for his freedom. He earned it the only way he knew how--in the arena. Now he is content training others to do the fighting--or so he thought. Something changes the night he meets a slave girl desperate to prove herself. He should walk away, but the gods have other plans. This is the first book in the historical action romance series Roman Hearts. If you enjoy a moving love story with strong female characters, then you will love A Gladiator's Oath.

    We come to know and love this girl, called Small Bird by her family, through the events of her colorful childhood and her marriage to Tutankhaten, a boy of royal birth. Her efforts to save the kingdom from conniving priests and soldiers were gallant and dramatic.While the fate of the Queen is unknown, in her story Lucile Morrison ventures to suppose a satisfying ending to the romance. An extraordinarily accurate, vivid picture of domestic and court life which will enrich any study of the culture of ancient Egypt.Illustrations by Franz Geritz, done in the style of ancient Egypt, help set the mood of Ankhsen­amon's story as the clock is turned back more than three thousand years. Color frontispiece and newly recolored map end pages.

    It is 701 B.C - rule of the Kushite dynasty in ancient Egypt. Young Prince Taharka, a very minor royal son, succeeds unexpectedly to the throne of Kush and Egypt - a "divine" rulership. It's not long, however, before a treacherous plot pushes him into sudden exile and into the hands of Amos, an emissary of King Hezekiah seeking help with whom he will fight - the mighty Assyrian, Sennacherib, promising alliance or Hezekiah, the Jew who trusts in Yahweh. A novel inspired by research of the historical King Taharka and period. Includes an introduction with home-education suggestions.

     Northern Italy. Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus has served the Roman Empire with distinction. His bucellarii, a small band of irregular soldiers, have helped to bring a fragile peace to the beleaguered empire in the west. But, with the empire now at peace, his master, Flavius Aetius, decides to chain up his dogs of war. Ambrosius and his men are left to idle away their days in a rural backwater, but Ambrosius’ boredom is brutally swept aside when old rivals seize the opportunity to destroy him. Pursued as a traitor by the imperial guard, Ambrosius takes his loyal band, along with other dissident soldiers and a Saxon girl, Inga, into the mountains. Since nowhere is safe, Ambrosius travels north, across the crumbling ruins of the empire, to his estranged family in Gaul. But there too, he finds nothing but conflict, for his home town is now besieged by a small army of rebellious Franks. Freedom and peace seem a world away. Whatever course the soldier takes, Ambrosius and his bucellarii will need to muster all their strength and skill to survive. At the twilight of the empire, they may be the Last of the Romans… Recommended for fans of Ben Kane, Anthony Riches and Conn Iggulden. 'Fast-paced and action-packed.' Richard Foreman, author of Spies of Rome Derek Birks is a former history teacher. He is also the author of Rebels & Brothers, a series of historical novels set during The Wars of the Roses.

    On a stiflingly hot day in August 30 b.c., the thirty-nine-year-old queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, took her own life rather than be paraded in chains through Rome by her conqueror, Octavian--the future first emperor, Augustus. A few days earlier, her lover of eleven years, Mark Antony, had himself committed suicide and died in her arms. Oceans of mythology have grown up around them, all of which Diana Preston explores in her stirring history of the lives and times of a couple whose names--more than two millennia later--still invoke passion, curiosity, and intrigue.Preston views the drama and romance of Cleopatra and Antony's personal lives as an integral part of the great military, political, and ideological struggle that culminated in the full-fledged rise of the Roman Empire, joined east and west. Perhaps not until Joanna in fourteenth-century Naples or Elizabeth I of England would another woman show such political shrewdness and staying power as did Cleopatra during her years atop the throne of Egypt. Her lengthy affair with Julius Caesar linked the might of Egypt with that of Rome; in the aftermath of the civil war that erupted following Caesar's murder, her alliance with Antony, and his subsequent split with Octavian, set the stage for the end of the Republic.With the keen eye for detail, abundant insight, and storytelling skill that have won awards for her previous books, Diana Preston sheds new light on a vitally important period in Western history. Indeed, had Cleopatra and Antony managed to win the battle of Actium, the centuries that followed, which included the life of Jesus himself, could well have played out differently.

    Lamia and her family are caught up in the fighting, with tragic consequences. Lamia struggles with the hatred that threatens to destroy her, until she grasps that forgiveness and love are the most important things. Nothing else matters.

    Raised together like brother and sister, they are bound by surname, but not by skin color. And just as Buck has come to rely on Tunes, Tunes has come to trust that even in a place where race can mean so much, their friendship will remain as dependable as the tides.But then the horrifying events of one spring afternoon tear them apart—and change their world forever. Desperate to hang on to the thing that he values most, Buck struggles to uphold their friendship—without realizing that his efforts are pushing Tunes farther and farther away.From a Newbury Honor-winning author, this is a powerfully moving story of friendship in the face of racism, and betrayal in the name of loyalty. Dangerous Skies is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    In the spring of 1959, The Diary of Anne Frank has just come to the silver screen to great acclaim, and a young woman named Margie Franklin is working in Philadelphia as a secretary at a Jewish law firm. On the surface she lives a quiet life, but Margie has a secret: a life she once lived, a past and a religion she has denied, and a family and a country she left behind. Margie Franklin is really Margot Frank, older sister of Anne, who did not die in Bergen-Belsen as reported, but who instead escaped the Nazis for America. But now, as her sister becomes a global icon, Margie’s carefully constructed American life begins to fall apart. A new relationship threatens to overtake the young love that sustained her during the war, and her past and present begin to collide. Margie is forced to come to terms with Margot, with the people she loved, and with a life swept up into the course of history.

    But when he carries the drugged vinegar wine to a crucifixion, he finds himself face to face with the only One who can heal his face. Is there still time for a miracle?A gripping story of a boy's dramatic encounter with Christ on the cross, this book is a classic work of fiction that has inspired thousands of Christians for decades.  This newly repackaged classic is sure to be a hit with all kids and adults too.