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The Survival of the Princes in the Tower: Murder, Mystery and Myth


Matthew Lewis - 2018
    Traditionally considered victims of a ruthless uncle, there are other suspects too often and too easily discounted. There may be no definitive answer, but by delving into the context of their disappearance and the characters of the suspects, Matthew Lewis will examine the motives and opportunities afresh as well as ask a crucial but often overlooked question: what if there was no murder? What if Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York, survived their uncle’s reign and even that of their brother-in-law Henry VII? There are glimpses of their possible survival and compelling evidence to give weight to those theories which is considered alongside the possibility of their deaths to provide a rounded and complete assessment of the most fascinating mystery in history.

The Travels of Sherlock Holmes (A Sherlock Mystery Book 1)


John Hall - 1999
     While mourning and memorialising Sherlock, the best and the wisest man he has ever known, Watson suffers an additional bereavement - the death of his wife. Alone in the world, Watson’s only choice is to move forwards with his life and also move out of London, a place where he knows the past will haunt him. While working in a convalescent hospital in Surrey, Watson meets a patient who claims to know the truth and can answer his painstaking questions. The patient, delirious with pain, says he witnessed Sherlock in Tibet, Persia and other exotic locations. Thus begins Watson's hunt for the truth which leads him from the darkest alleys of London all the way to the upper echelons of the British Empire. The Travels of Sherlock Holmes is the First of John Hall's Sherlockian pastiches and a brilliant addition to the Holmes and Watson casebooks. John Hall spent many years in the civil service before becoming a professional writer specialising in crime fiction. His book Death of a Collector won the Sherlock Magazine’s competition for the best new fictional detective. He is also the author of several other Sherlock mysteries.

Her Instruments Box Set, Books 1-4: Earthrise, Rose Point, Laisrathera, and A Rose Point Holiday


M.C.A. Hogarth - 2017
    so naturally she spends four books wrapped up in spies, pirates, and a space elf civil war! The "Her Instruments" box set contains all four novels: Earthrise Reese Eddings has enough to do keeping her rattletrap merchant vessel, the TMS Earthrise, profitable enough to feed herself and her crew. So when a mysterious benefactor from her past shows up demanding she rescue a man from slavers, her first reaction is to run for the hills. Unfortunately, she did promise to repay the loan. But she didn't think it would involve tangling with pirates over a space elf prince... Rose Point Reese is only just getting used to running the Earthrise in the black—and with an Eldritch in her crew—when Hirianthial starts showing powers that even the Eldritch have only in legend. He badly needs training, support and advice, and the only place he can find them is... at home. To see the world of the Eldritch is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And to finally meet the Eldritch Queen! You'd have to twist her arm to get her to admit it, but Reese can't wait to go. But a court out of fantasy and a breathtaking land aren't enough compensation when they come packaged with a rabidly xenophobic species whose world is falling apart.... Laisrathera The Queen of the Eldritch has offered Reese Eddings a life out of a fairy tale. Now the only thing between Reese and a castle of her very own is a maniacal alien despot, his native quisling and all the Eldritch dead-set on preventing the incursion of aliens at any cost, including the ousting of their current usurper, who happens to be an alien himself. The stakes have never been higher, and this last time will count for all... A Rose Point Holiday With the Eldritch civil war over, a castle to renovate, and a wedding to prepare for, the last thing Reese is thinking about is taking a break. But the new year is coming and the Eldritch take their holidays very seriously, so Reese decides it can’t hurt to observe the local proprieties. Who knows? Maybe it’ll make good practice for what Felith is calling the wedding of the century. Of course, that was before Reese realized it was going to involve gifts. And decorating. And a town full of recalcitrant Eldritch tenants who have no reason to trust her...

Rome: The Emperor's Spy


M.C. Scott - 2009
    I, your Emperor, order it.'The Emperor: Nero, Emperor of Rome and all her provinces, feared by his subjects for his temper and cruelty, is in possession of an ancient document predicting that Rome will burn.The Spy: Sebastos Pantera, assassin and spy for the Roman Legions, is ordered to stop the impending cataclysm. He knows that if he does not, his life - and those of thousands of others - are in terrible danger.The Chariot Boy: Math, a young charioteer, is a pawn drawn into the deadly game between the Emperor and the Spy, where death stalks the drivers - on the track and off it.From the author of the bestselling Boudica series, The Emperor's Spy begins a compelling new series of novels featuring Sebastos Pantera. Rich characterisation and spine tingling adventure combine in a vividly realised novel set amid the bloodshed and the chaos, the heroism and murderous betrayal of ancient Rome.

Edward I


Michael Prestwich - 1972
    A major player in European diplomacy and war, he acted as peacemaker during the 1280s but became involved in a bitter war with Philip IV a decade later. This book is the definitive account of a remarkable king and his long and significant reign. Widely praised when it was first published in 1988, it is now reissued with a new introduction and updated bibliographic guide.Praise for the earlier edition:"A masterly achievement. . . . A work of enduring value and one certain to remain the standard life for many years."—Times Literary Supplement"A fine book: learned, judicious, carefully thought out and skillfully presented. It is as near comprehensive as any single volume could be."—History Today"To have died more revered than any other English monarch was an outstanding achievement; and it is worthily commemorated by this outstanding addition to the . . . corpus of royal biographies."—Times Education Supplement

Cornelli


Johanna Spyri - 1892
    Such has been the fate of Johanna Spyri, the Swiss authoress, whose reputation is mistakenly supposed to rest on her story of Heidi. To be sure, Heidi is a book that in its field can hardly be overpraised. But the present story is possessed of a deeper treatment of character, combined with equal spirit and humor of a different kind. Cornelli, the heroine, suffers temporarily from the unjust suspicion of her elders, a misfortune which, it is to be feared, still occurs frequently in the case of sensitive children. . . .

Thrilling Cities


Ian Fleming - 1963
    Ian Fleming visits the following cities:Hong Kong, Macao, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles & Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples and Monte Carlo.

The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure


Carl Hoffman - 2018
    The other vanished forever into an endless jungle. Had he shed civilization—or lost his mind? Global headlines suspected murder. Lured by these mysteries, New York Times bestselling author Carl Hoffman journeyed to find the truth, discovering that nothing is as it seems in the world’s last Eden, where the lines between sinner and saint blur into one.In 1984, Swiss traveler Bruno Manser joined an expedition to the Mulu caves on Borneo, the planet’s third largest island. There he slipped into the forest interior to make contact with the Penan, an indigenous tribe of peace-loving nomads living among the Dayak people, the fabled “Headhunters of Borneo.” Bruno lived for years with the Penan, gaining acceptance as a member of the tribe. However, when commercial logging began devouring the Penan’s homeland, Bruno led the tribe against these outside forces, earning him status as an enemy of the state, but also worldwide fame as an environmental hero. He escaped captivity under gunfire twice, but the strain took a psychological toll. Then, in 2000, Bruno disappeared without a trace. Had he become a madman, a hermit, or a martyr?American Michael Palmieri is, in many ways, Bruno’s opposite. Evading the Vietnam War, the Californian wandered the world, finally settling in Bali in the 1970s. From there, he staged expeditions into the Bornean jungle to acquire astonishing art and artifacts from the Dayaks. He would become one of the world’s most successful tribal-art field collectors, supplying sacred works to prestigious museums and wealthy private collectors. And yet suspicion shadowed this self-styled buccaneer who made his living extracting the treasure of the Dayak: Was he preserving or exploiting native culture?As Carl Hoffman unravels the deepening riddle of Bruno’s disappearance and seeks answers to the questions surrounding both men, it becomes clear saint and sinner are not so easily defined and Michael and Bruno are, in a sense, two parts of one whole: each spent his life in pursuit of the sacred fire of indigenous people. The Last Wild Men of Borneo is the product of Hoffman’s extensive travels to the region, guided by Penan through jungle paths traveled by Bruno and by Palmieri himself up rivers to remote villages. Hoffman also draws on exclusive interviews with Manser’s family and colleagues, and rare access to his letters and journals. Here is a peerless adventure propelled by the entwined lives of two singular, enigmatic men whose stories reveal both the grandeur and the precarious fate of the wildest place on earth.

A Once and Future Love: a time travel romance


Anne Kelleher - 1998
    When Richard Lambert’s beloved wife dies, he thinks he will never find love again. Until, while exploring a medieval tower, he falls from the steps—and into another time… England, 1214. When Richard wakes, he’s in the body of his ancestor, who is near death from battle. As his wife nurses him back to health, she finds he is not the cruel man she knew. And he discovers a second chance—with his one and only love.

Sweet, Savage Death


Jane Haddam - 1984
    This Edgar-nominated whodunit is a behind-the-scenes look at the romance business - authors, agents, editors, publishers, and fans.

Slavery's Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification


David Waldstreicher - 2009
    Constitution. Famously, the Constitution never mentions slavery. And yet, of its eighty-four clauses, six were directly concerned with slaves and the interests of their owners. Five other clauses had implications for slavery that were considered and debated by the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and the citizens of the states during ratification. This “peculiar institution” was not a moral blind spot for America’s otherwise enlightened framers, nor was it the expression of a mere economic interest. Slavery was as important to the making of the Constitution as the Constitution was to the survival of slavery. By tracing slavery from before the revolution, through the Constitution’s framing, and into the public debate that followed, Waldstreicher rigorously shows that slavery was not only actively discussed behind the closed and locked doors of the Constitutional Convention, but that it was also deftly woven into the Constitution itself. For one thing, slavery was central to the American economy, and since the document set the stage for a national economy, the Constitution could not avoid having implications for slavery. Even more, since the government defined sovereignty over individuals, as well as property in them, discussion of sovereignty led directly to debate over slavery’s place in the new republic. Finding meaning in silences that have long been ignored, Slavery’s Constitution is a vital and sorely needed contribution to the conversation about the origins, impact, and meaning of our nation’s founding document.

History of the Wars, Volume I: Books 1-2 (Persian War)


Procopius
    In 527 CE he was made legal adviser and secretary of Belisarius, commander against the Persians, and went with Belisarius again in 533 against the Vandals and in 535 against the Ostrogoths. Sometime after 540 he returned to Constantinople. He may have been that Procopius who was prefect of Constantinople in 562, but the date of his death (after 558) is unknown.Procopius's History of the Wars in 8 books recounts the Persian Wars of emperors Justinus and Justinian down to 550 (2 books); the Vandalic War and after-events in Africa 532-546 (2 books); the Gothic War against the Ostrogoths in Sicily and Italy 536-552 (3 books); and a sketch of events to 554 (1 book). The whole consists largely of military history, with much information about peoples and places as well, and about special events. He was a diligent, careful, judicious narrator of facts and developments and shows good powers of description. He is just to the empire's enemies and boldly criticises emperor Justinian. Other works by Procopius are the Anecdota or Secret History--vehement attacks on Justinian, Theodora, and others; and The Buildings of Justinian (down to 558 CE) including roads and bridges as well as churches, forts, hospitals, and so on in various parts of the empire.The Loeb Classical Library edition of Procopius is in seven volumes.

The Byzantine World War


Nick Holmes - 2019
    But why did they happen?Their origins are revealed in a new light. As part of a medieval world war that stretched from Asia to Europe. At its centre was an ancient empire – Byzantium.Told for the first time as a single, linked narrative are three great events that changed history: the fall of Byzantium in the eleventh century, the epic campaign of the First Crusade and the origins of modern Turkey.Nick Holmes not only presents the First Crusade in a wider global context but he also puts forwards new interpretations of the original sources, suggesting that its success was in fact largely accidental, and that the central role of Byzantium in the Crusades has been underestimated.

Marked by Sin


Debbie Cassidy - 2021
    Better pay and a swanky flat in Soho are all part of the deal. All I need to do to achieve my goal is take out one more scumbag.No big deal.Until it is.When a man with golden eyes and epic wings interrupts my ascension ceremony, everything I knew to be true is turned on its head.I’m a weapon.A key.And I’m one kill away from unlocking the gates to the underworld and unleashing a legion of demons.It’s time to atone and fast.But atonement comes with its own price. Problem is, I’m not sure I’m up to paying it.