"Lily Baldwin is an excellent writer! She spins her tales...with elegance and a unique flair" ~ Amazon Reviewer "You know a book is great when you can feel the characters pain, their fears and their happiness...Lily Baldwin's books do that!" - Amazon Reviewer This collection includes : The complete medieval highland romance series ~ The Isle of Mull Series: Meet three generations of Highland Brides and the Warriors whose hearts they captured. To Bewitch a Highlander, Book One Highland Thunder, Book Two To Love a Warrior, Book Three Praise for To Bewitch a Highlander "This book will have you laughing out loud...then crying like your heart is breaking. A beautiful and bewitching story." ~ Amazon Reviewer "This is one of the best debut novels that I've ever read!" - Suzan Tisdale, USA Today Bestselling author This collection also includes three standalone Highland romances: Highland Shadows...In Alexander MacKenzie’s youth, his clan prospered. Until one night fire and death descended, and all that was good and green fled the ensuing darkness, leaving the MacKenzie clan impoverished, and Alex's face severely scarred. A Jewel in the Vaults...In 1802, Edinburgh’s poverty-ridden Old Town is rife with danger, but it is the only home Robbie MacKenzie has ever known. To safeguard herself against the worst villains of the street, Robbie conceals her femininity behind her shorn hair, dirt-smeared face, and tattered breeches. To all the world she is a lad, but beneath the ruse is a woman aching to break free. Quinn: A Scottish Outlaw...When Lady Catarina is accused of a horrific crime and is forced to flee Ravensworth castle for her life, the only man she can trust is the one man who believes she is innocent, Quinn MacVie. Join Quinn and Catarina as they disappear into the wilds of the Scottish Highlands where danger follows at their heels and desire burns in their hearts. This diverse, fast-paced, and passionate collection of Highland romance will only be available for a limited time. Pick up your copy today!

    . .Janet Buchanan is no man's property. She refuses to marry her family's sworn enemy-consequences be damned. She'd rather take a dagger to the brute herself. Yet when a tantalizing-and infuriating-man from her past comes to her rescue, Janet finds herself undeniably tempted by his hot, hungry kiss.HE COULD NOT BE TAMED . . .Notorious for his prowess as a lover and a fighter, Darach Grant has only one goal in mind: to defend his kin's land from the impending siege of a hostile clan. The last thing he needs is the delicious distraction of Janet Buchanan-the only woman who can stir his ire as deeply as she warms his blood. But Janet's intended will stop at nothing to claim her, forcing Darach to choose between surrendering his honor . . . or his heart.

    Thomas Madden is a professor of medieval history at Saint Louis University.As late as 1518, plans were laid by Pope Leo X and the monarchs of Europe to set aside their internal quarrels and once more embark on a holy crusade to wrest the Middle East from the Ottoman Turks. Finding accord and even enthusiasm for the enterprise, all was on course for a multiyear military campaign to push east from North Africa through Egypt and south through the Balkans to squeeze the Turks in a pincer movement and finally oust the Muslims from the Holy Land. The great plan, however, died when Europe was once again plunged into internal strife with the death of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who had been a leader for the crusade.Even this event in conjunction with the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, the rise of ever-stronger Ottoman leaders, and the political conflicts throughout Europe did not completely erase the idea of crusading. Today, the military orders of the Teutonic Knights and the Knights Hospitallers continue to care for the poor and the sick, albeit without raising armies to fight.For over 400 years, crusaders (“those signed by the cross”), out of Christian zeal, a declared love for their fellow man, and, in many cases, a simple desire for fortune, glory, and heavenly reward, marched to the Holy Land to battle both a real and perceived threat to their way of life and their religious beliefs. The story of the many crusades are filled with an unremitting passion to keep or return the home of Christianity to Christians. It is also filled with death, destruction, disorder, greed, avarice, and self-interest on all sides. Much of what occurred during the Crusades has come down to us today in the form of continued suspicion among religious ideologies—not only between Christians and Muslims, but also internally among Christian sects and, to some degree, among Muslim sects. There is certainly much to learn about our own history from a better understanding of the Crusades and what led so many to crusade. Course SyllabusLecture 1 The Medieval Background of the CrusadesLecture 2 Islam: Faith, Culture, EmpireLecture 3 Pope Urban II and the Calling of the First CrusadeLecture 4 The First CrusadeLecture 5 What Were the Crusades? Who Were the Crusaders?Lecture 6 The Latin Kingdom of JerusalemLecture 7 The Second CrusadeLecture 8 The Third CrusadeLecture 9 The Fourth CrusadeLecture 10 Crusades in EuropeLecture 11 The Fifth CrusadeLecture 12 The Crusades of St. LouisLecture 13 The Fall of the Crusader StatesLecture 14 Later Crusades and the Legacy of the Crusades

    Royal Tudor blood ran in her veins. Her mother was a Queen, her father an Earl, and she herself was the granddaughter, niece, cousin and grandmother of monarchs.Beautiful and tempestuous, she created scandal not just once but twice by falling in love with unsuitable men. Fortunately the marriage arranged for her turned into a love match.

    Honor-bound and sworn to protect, they're about to meet their match in twelve feisty heroines. Amidst the wild Scottish mountains, the snow is falling deep, but twelve heart-warming stories of love await--one for each day of Christmas. Discover an embroidered partridge fuelling revenge, two turtle doves sealing an ill-fated match, a feathery Yuletide tale, the betrothal of a reluctant songbird, five golden rings forged in forbidden love, a pet goose who represents a second chance, a swan taking flight, a dairymaid with murder on her mind, nine ladies dancing in the moonlight, a duty-bound laird and a wayward lady, a beautiful piper, and a ghostly drummer playing matchmaker.Twelve historical romance tales set against the backdrop of snowy medieval Scotland at Christmas.Loving Her Highland Enemy - by Samantha HoltA revenge-obsessed lass keeps a depiction of her clan's partridge close to her heart in this passion-steeped enemies-to-lovers Yuletide tale.Highland Dove - by Elizabeth RoseWill Duncan MacLean be able to escape the English prison in time to fulfill his promise of marrying Mari Stewart on Hogmanay, before she weds another?The Kitchen Maid’s Tale - by Hildie McQueenRiding in the back of a cart down the center of the village could be quite embarrassing. Riding in the back of a cart, in a cage with three chickens, was mortifying.Brenna's Yuletide Song - by Cathy MacRaeHumor abounds in this rollicking tale of a pampered merchant’s daughter and the Highlander she must marry.Ringing in Yule - by Sky Purington Will years of forbidden love remind Tavish and Nessa what's at stake before she marries another?Highlander's Christmas - by Mariah StoneA secret child. A pet goose. And an unlikely couple who could get a second chance at love this Christmas—if he doesn’t kill her father.Highland Swan - by Anna MarklandDr. Pendray must save his patient’s life, though it means losing the woman he loves.The Lady's Guide to a Highlander's Heart - by Emmanuelle de MaupassantDisguised as a simple dairymaid, Lady Flora Dalreagh sneaks into the home of the warrior she believes murdered her father, intent on revenge.The Laird's Midnight Dancer - by Ashe BarkerA sacred stone circle, moonlight, and a bewitching midnight dancer to bring a laird to his knees…An Angel at the Highland Court - by Celeste Barclay A laird who fears making a mistake, and a lady whose made one mistake after another...innocence and experience, fire and ice make for one steamy Christmas.The Piper - by Lily BaldwinA battle-wounded laird whose sight has been stolen is soothed by the music of a beautiful piper who also bears scars of a tragic past.Scot Under the Mistletoe - by Caroline LeeA ghostly drummer turns out to be very much flesh and blood in this hilarious Yuletide romp featuring a second-chance romance, a mysterious little plant, and more than a few Henrys.

    She also writes of her fiercely independent mother, whose skill with healing plants and inner strength she inherited. She writes of her druid teacher, the brusque but magnetic Giannon, who first introduced her to the mysteries of written language. But disturbing events at the cloister keep intervening. As the monastery is rent by vague and fantastic accusations, Gwynneve's words become the one force that can save her from annihilation.

    Elizabeth and Mary were cousins and queens, but eventually it became impossible for them to live together in the same world. This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man's world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men--those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies--who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary. But first they were each other's lone female friends in a violent man's world. Their relationship was one of love, affection, jealousy, antipathy--and finally death.

    In one of the most original and stunning debuts of the season, Glenna McReynolds brings historical romance readers the experience they've been waiting for: a novel of dark magic, stirring drama, and fierce passion that weaves a wondrous, unbreakable spell...In a land of forbidding castles, sacred prophecies, and unholy betrayals, mystery surrounds the one woman who holds the key to an ancient legacy.  She is Ceridwen, an orphan unaware of her immense power--until fate leads her from a secluded abbey into the tower of a feared sorcerer.Dain Lavrans has no magic in himself, only the secrets of medicine he uncovered while a soldier in the Crusades.  But he finally beholds true enchantment in the spell of passion innocently woven by the ethereal Ceridwen.  Yet there are many who seek the maiden, all meaning to wrest her power for themselves.  Now Ceridwen and Dain must struggle to escape the snares set by friend and foe alike, even as they discover a love that promises to bind them forever.

    But his task to protect the legendary Templar treasure brought him straight into the path of a bold lass who demanded he help find her kidnapped father, the treasure’s previous guardian.William dared not abandon Lady Siobhan Fraser to her enemies. She was the best hope for finding the holy artifacts--and a dire temptation to his vow of chastity. How long could he deny the ecstasy that awaited him in her arms? For he knew all too well it’s the forbidden fruit that tastes the sweetest . . .

    Set against the backdrop of the rugged Scottish Highlands and the tumultuous 14th century, Lady Aila Graham is destined for the convent until her brother's death leaves her an heiress and her father hastily arranges a marriage for her with a Highland warrior she's never met. Misunderstandings between the battle-hardened knight and his lady are exploited by their enemies and threaten the entire clan. Only by throwing caution to the winds and forging a powerful bond together can they rout a traitor and save their people—and their love—from destruction.…

    In reality, the flamboyant royal family appear, in many ways, to have behaved much like most other monarchies. Their story, however, is none the less enthralling for that. It is populated by such unforgettable figures as mad Queen Juana, progressing through Spain with her husband’s decaying body; the ‘heroically fertile’ Maria Theresa, and the quixotic Maximilian, ‘Emperor’ of Mexico.

    But when she arrives at Gwynedd Castle, she is only a naive girl who cannot control her desire for Prince Owain-- until he decides to murder her child. Now, in a court filled with jealousy and betrayal, Brenda will harbor a dangerous secret-- and daringly become a Druid healer, a woman who steadily gains influence and cunning to protect her son Madoc at any cost. But soon a prophecy that has foreseen him as a messiah for the Druids and the finder of a faraway shore called America, will magnificently, thrillingly unfold...

    Seduction is a game as easily played as subterfuge, but when Jamie poses a as suitor to a rival clan’s daughter in order to expose treason, the line between duty and pleasure is suddenly blurred. Ebony-haired, ruby-lipped Caitrina Lamont defies him, denies him, and arouses him like no other woman.Caitrina has no intention of forsaking her beloved father and doting brothers for a husband–especially a hated Campbell. But Jamie’s raw, sensual strength and searing kiss melt her resistance. When her idyllic world is shattered, Caitrina’s only hope to save her clan lies in the arms of Jamie Campbell, the enemy she holds accountable for its ruin. Can their tenuous truce, born in the velvet darkness of passionate nights, forge a love as strong as the sword that rules the Highlands?

    Devious, na�ve, beautiful and sexually voracious, often highly principled, she secured the Scottish throne and bolstered the position of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Her plotting, including probable involvement in the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, led to her flight from Scotland and imprisonment by her equally ambitious cousin and fellow queen, Elizabeth of England. Yet when Elizabeth ordered Mary's execution in 1587 it was an act of exasperated frustration rather than political wrath.Unlike biographies of Mary predating this work, this masterly study set out to show Mary as she really was - not a romantic heroine, but the ruler of a European kingdom with far greater economic and political importance than its size or location would indicate. Wormald also showed that Mary's downfall was not simply because of the 'crisis years' of 1565-7, but because of her way of dealing, or failing to deal, with the problems facing her as a renaissance monarch. She was tragic because she was born to supreme power but was wholly incapable of coping with its responsibilities. Her extraordinary story has become one of the most colourful and emotionally searing tales of western history, and it is here fully reconsidered by a leading specialist of the period. Jenny Wormald's beautifully written biography will appeal to students and general readers alike.

    Worshipped in a relentlessly secret manner, and known in its intimate nature by only a handful of the order’s officials, the swathe of fabric was kept in the central treasury of the Knights Templar, who were known for their expertise in the field of relics. The precious cloth’s history and whereabouts were known only to the highest dignitaries of the secretive order. In an era of widespread doctrinal confusion in much of the Church, the Templars considered the Shroud to be a powerful antidote against the proliferation of heresies.Easy to read and thoroughly researched, this book tracks the Templars from their inception as warrior-monks protecting religious pilgrims to the later fascination with their secret rituals and incredible wealth, which ultimately led to their dissolution and the seizing of their assets. Following the Shroud’s pathway through the Middle Ages, Vatican historian Barbara Frale has gone back in time, to the dawn of the Christian era, to provide a new perspective on the controversial relic. The author also includes several photos of the Shroud itself that reveal in startling detail a human face, mysterious writing, and marks of a crucifixion that many have claimed identify it as the true burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.