Book picks similar to
Masada: The Last Fortress by Gloria D. Miklowitz
historical-fiction
fiction
young-adult
jewish
The Wellington and Napoleon Quartet: Young Bloods, The Generals, Fire and Sword, Fields of Death
Simon Scarrow - 2015
Arthur, Duke of Wellington, and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte were adversaries on an epic scale. Across Europe and beyond, the armies of Great Britain and France clashed, from the Iberian Peninsula to India, from Austerlitz to the final confrontation at Waterloo. What drove the two clever, ambitious, determined men who masterminded these military campaigns? How did the underdog from Corsica develop the strategic military skills and the political cunning that gave him power over swathes of Europe? And how did Wellington, born to be a leader, hone his talents and drive an army to victory after victory?From an outstanding historian and novelist come four epic novels, now available in one volume for the first time, which tell the full story of both these men, from their very early days till the momentous battle at Waterloo which decided the future of Europe.INCLUDES MAPS
Bondage
H.B. Moore - 2015
A gripping, historical fiction account of the events that lead to Moses’s flight into the wilderness, The Moses Chronicles: Bondage will take you back to a rich period of history replete with scandal, strife, love, and hope as God prepares a prophet to lead His chosen people.
Amora
Grant J. Hallstrom - 2020
Blood on the stone wall. Rust on the cell’s bars. The glance of a gladiator sitting in his cell. The soldier’s sandals stepping in front of her. Amora grasped every detail as her world moved in slow motion, drawing her closer to her fate. The stench of death permeated the suffocating darkness, making a mockery of the heightened vitality within her. Her chains rattled, gears ground, animals roared, and people cheered. She gave them no heed. Amora, in an elegant white gown, moved with natural grace in front of a cell of prisoners. Her sixteen-year-old chained slave, Maria, followed behind wearing a simple tunic; a second soldier brought up the rear…”With that introduction, author Grant Hallstrom draws you into the world of ancient Rome with its intrigue and contrasts, where he explores the timeless struggles between revenge and forgiveness, hope and despair, and loss and redemption.This award-winning bestseller follows Amora on her path of self-discovery from her opulent teenage wedding with Leo through her life full of personal disappointment, tragedy, and betrayal, ultimately leading to peace in the face of death. We watch Leo withdraw into his dark private world of despair as he struggles to maintain his standing in society while trying to escape from the ever-present pain of loss. We delight in the romance between two slaves and champion the young man’s quest to avenge his lover’s untimely death. The sweeping panorama of this immersive story includes the suspense of battles and the action of gladiators fighting to survive in the arena as well.The author weaves a well-crafted and deeply researched historical fiction based on a true story that will captivate the reader’s attention from the start. The book is filled with non-stop action and suspense, so you are never sure what’s about to happen on the next page. This superbly written and richly descriptive novel with brilliantly drawn characters and settings will have you turning pages from beginning to end. Skillfully constructed, cinematic in presentation and deeply inspiring, this thought-provoking book makes a solid impact.Even though the book shows how new Christian ideas influenced some characters, it does not try to convert the reader. It simply tells the story including the role that religion played in their lives. Amora is ultimately a story about love, family, friendships, faith, trials and forgiveness. It is well worth the read!
Gladiatrix
Russell Whitfield - 2008
The Emperor Domitian's passion for novelty and variety in the arena has given rise to a very different kind of warrior - the Gladiatrix.
Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
India Edghill - 1999
She was the beautiful and proud daughter of King Saul and the prize David would risk his kingdom to win. Behind the palace doors, beneath the burning sun of the desert, or fleeing from Absalom's warriors, Michal was at the center of court intrigues.
The Second Bend in the River
Ann Rinaldi - 1997
Over the years, her friendship with Tecumseh, the respected Shawnee chief, grows into love. Rebecca must choose a future on her family homestead, or with the man she loves.
That First Montana Year
Donna L. Scofield - 2015
But she's a minister’s daughter and pregnant. To save embarrassment for the families, and hoping a fresh start will help them become the sweethearts they were before, B’Anne agrees to leave everyone and everything she knows and go with Will to the Montana Territory. They hope Will's uncle Hiram, whom he has never met, will guide them in their homesteading. Uncle Hiram welcomes Will, but treats B’Anne coolly until he realizes she isn’t a “frills and furbelows” girl. Although Will seems to care for B’Anne, she loses her confidence when she discovers a letter from Will's former sweetheart. Will's secrecy threatens to build a wall between them. Spring arrives, and with it the promise of renewal. But is B’Anne's hope for a fresh start enough to sustain the young couple through the years of hard living under that big Montana sky?
Cassidy
Lee Nelson - 2002
Unlike most cowboy outlaws of his day, Butch Cassidy defended the poor and oppressed, refused to shoot people, and shared his stolen wealth with those in need. Early in his outlaw career, Butch discovered true love. Her name was Mary, and the love they shared lasted for decades. However, Pinkerton agents, law officers, bank detectives and bounty hunters chased Cassidy relentlessly, making it impossible for him to leave the outlaw life, eventually pushing him to seek refugein Argentina and Bolivia. But in the end Butch outsmarted them all.
On the Sickle's Edge
Neville Frankel - 2016
What we cannot lose.A sweeping masterwork of love and loss, secrets and survival, On the Sickle's Edge is told through the voices of three characters who lay bare their family's saga: the endearing, scrappy South-African born Lena, transported to Latvia and later trapped in the USSR; her granddaughter Darya, a true Communist whose growing disillusionment with Soviet ideology places her family at mortal risk; and Steven, a painter from Boston who inadvertently stumbles into the tangled web of his family's past. Against the roiling backdrop of twentieth-century Russia and Eastern Europe, the novel delivers equal parts historical drama, political thriller and poignant love story.On the Sickle's Edge takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through some of the most tumultuous events of the 20th century. Instantly immersed in seven generations of the Shtein family, we witness their exhilarating celebrations and provocative controversies, and gain an intimate understanding of the pivotal events in South Africa, Latvia and the Soviet Union. Neville Frankel's ability to combine historical insight and human passion is spellbinding. I couldn't put it down. --Pamela Katz, The Partnership: Brecht, Weill, Three Women, and Germany on the BrinkIn the hands of a masterful storyteller, On the Sickle's Edge pits the weight of an oppressive regime against individual tenacity and profound personal courage. Inspired by Frankel's own family history, this multi-generational epic holds up a mirror to a universal truth: all immigrants face the powerful tension between assimilation and cultural identity. We have--all of us--lived life on the edge of the sickle. --Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of International Jewish Affairs, American Jewish Committee
Saint Ben
John Fischer - 1993
No one who met Ben was ever quite the same. So how could he cause so much trouble?
Torn Between Love and Family
Aurora Hanson - 2018
An interest in an irrigation project, though, and a harrowing attack by local bandits drives her into town and into the company of two men; one could be the love of her life, while the other is her own long-lost cousin. Has she accidentally stumbled upon happiness? Amelia's hope of a new family is dashed when she discovers the truth.A complicated and tragic series of events have pitted Jonas Mayfield, a former missionary and Clayton Knight, a beloved and fair Sheriff, against each other. Both men have suffered many hardships in order to forget, before finding themselves in frontal attack, again. What could possibly cause such hatred between the two men?Amelia has to unite the two sworn enemies and bring all their resources to bear against the forces of nature and of man's most basic instincts. Love, life, everything is on the line for Amelia and her family. Will she be able to save her future, by solving the riddle of the mysterious past? Will she go as far as to put her own life at risk to save the family she's always dreamt of?"Torn Between Love and Family" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 90,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
The Seven Wonders
Steven Saylor - 2012
and the youthful Gordianus has just turned eighteen, and is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a far-flung journey to see the Seven Wonders of the World. Gordianus is not yet called “the Finder”—but at each of the Seven Wonders, the wide-eyed young Roman encounters a mystery to challenge his powers of deduction.Accompanying Gordianus on his travels is his tutor, Antipater of Sidon, the world’s most celebrated poet. But there is more to the apparently harmless old poet than meets the eye. Before they leave home, Antipater fakes his own death and travels under an assumed identity. Looming in the background are the first rumblings of a political upheaval that will shake the entire Roman world.Teacher and pupil journey to the fabled cities of Greece and Asia Minor, and then to Babylon and Egypt. They attend the Olympic Games, take part in exotic festivals, and marvel at the most spectacular constructions ever devised by mankind. Along the way they encounter murder, witchcraft and ghostly hauntings. Traveling the world for the first time, Gordianus discovers that amorous exploration goes hand-in-hand with crime-solving. The mysteries of love are the true wonders of the world, and at the end of the journey, an Eighth Wonder awaits him in Alexandria. Her name is Bethesda.
The Master's Wall
Sandi Rog - 2010
She fights for her life. Together, they fight for each other.After watching Roman soldiers drag his parents away to their death, David, a young Hebrew, is sold and enslaved to serve at a villa outside of Rome. As David trains to become a skilled fighter, he works hard to please his master and hopes to earn his freedom. However, an opportunity to escape tempts him with its whispering call. Freedom beckons, but invisible chains hold him captive to the master's granddaughter, an innocent girl with a fiery spirit. David vows to protect Alethea from his master, the murderous patriarch, and contrives a daring plan;sacrifice his own life to save hers.
Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
Tom Holland - 2015
This is the period of the first and perhaps greatest Roman Emperors and it's a colorful story of rule and ruination, running from the rise of Augustus through to the death of Nero. Holland's expansive history also has distinct shades of I Claudius, with five wonderfully vivid (and in three cases, thoroughly depraved) Emperors—Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—featured, along with numerous fascinating secondary characters. Intrigue, murder, naked ambition and treachery, greed, gluttony, lust, incest, pageantry, decadence—the tale of these five Caesars continues to cast a mesmerizing spell across the millennia.
The Best Gift of All
Julie Lessman - 2017
He just longs for his wife. Until they receive ... the best gift of all. Everyone knows Lizzie and John Brady have the perfect marriage. But when Lizzie’s desire to be a good mother eclipses her desire for her husband, the honeymoon is definitely over. Can the spirit of Christmas heal their hearts when Lizzie gives John the best gift of all?