Six ravens are feasting on the corpses. It is springtime in 1413 and Henry V is now on the throne of feudal England. The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 had begun the great shift towards democracy and the country is recovering from the ravages of the Black Death. Wat Baudin is a man on the up in this brave new world and is returning from his duties as an alderman at the assizes in Maidstone. He can sit in judgement on the lower classes but the noble families of the land remain a law unto themselves. When Wat and his colleagues happen upon the unfortunate murder victims, he is only too aware of the superstition that still surrounds the macabre presence of that posse of birds. They are a sign of more death to follow. Wat is glad to get back home where his wife Rosalind in expecting their second child. But his joy is short-lived as he is suddenly summoned by the Earl of Rochester, Lord John Ridley. It appears that the earl’s nephew, young Sir Hugh Montmorency, has mysteriously disappeared and Wat is tasked to get to the bottom of the matter. It is not long before Wat finds himself heading a murder investigation. Not one murder, but two… then three. The ravens’ augury seems to be true as a knight and a member of castle staff are added to the body count. Even Wat himself comes under attack as he works his way through the suspects within the walls of Rochester Castle. What part can the earl’s doe-eyed daughter, Lady Susanna, possibly have in these evil crimes? And where might the unflappable earl’s wife, the Lady Joan Ridley, fit into the equation? Can Wat trust the earl’s steward Ralph or his chaplain Father Anthony? The Ravens’ Augury is a classic tale of intrigue and plotting at a time in England’s history when the stakes were sky-high and skulduggery the default position in their ruthless pursuit. LJ Shea resides in her native rural Australia with her two sons, where she teaches English and history. She spends her spare time studying history, reading historical fiction, and spoiling her dogs, cats and horses, whom she counts amongst her dearest friends.

    Her job is to pull a valuable warlord out of his black hole. The king wants Laird Tam out of the doldrums and back doing what he does best: killing in the name of Scotland. Juliette reluctantly agrees to the king’s task, because she has no choice. Lady Juliette is sweet, sassy, and determined, but also a little spoilt. She knows she’ll cope with the bleak north, the boredom and the barbarous Scotsmen, but when these two hundred days are done, she’s bolting back to England as quickly as her silk slippers will take her. Juliette underestimates the Scottish Highlands. She greatly underestimates Laird Tam. And there’s something else she doesn’t realise: the Highlands are never boring . . . “We’re going into the sea, Juliette.” “No, no, no . . .” “Aye, we are. You’re a strong Sassenach, remember that. You’ll survive this shipwreck.” “No. I won’t . . .” “I’ll find you, my darling, I’ll always find you . . .” Then the wave hits. Now Lady Juliette must survive the sea, the Irish outlaws, runaway nuns, and the ancient Caledonian Forest. Not to mention her growing attraction to Laird Tam . . .

    Planned by one of the most renowned Byzantinists and Medievalists of the day, John B. Bury, it became the de facto standard by which all comprehensive period histories would be measured. Its impact on the field of medieval scholarship is every bit as great as Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.Volume One – The Christian Roman Empire and the Foundation of the Teutonic Kingdoms begins with the accession of Constantine to the Imperium and ends roughly with reign of Justinian in the East. It covers the migration of Germanic tribes into Roman territories. Significant attention is given the ecumenical church councils of the 4th Century, with particular emphasis on the Arian controversies.Volume Two – The Rise of the Saracens and the Foundation of the Western Empire covers the time period from roughly 500 CE to 814 CE. Beginning with Justinian, it also looks at the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, the Lombard Kingdom in Italy, the Restoration of the Imperium in Italy, and ends with the transition of power from the Merovingians to the Carolingians through Charlemagne’s reign. Chapters covering England and English institution and the conversion of the Celts. Finally, attention is given to the birth and spread of Islam and the growth of the Islamic Caliphate.Volume Three – Germany and the Western Empire covers the period from roughly 814 CE through the end of the first millennium. Beginning with the reign of Louis the Pious, it traces the decline of the Carolingian Empire and the foundation of the Capetian Dynasty. Attention is paid to the Holy Roman Empire in Germany through Henry III. The impact of the Norse Vikings on the political landscape is examined as is the development of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England through the death of Edward the Confessor. Throughout the volume development of feudalism as a primary labor, land-owning, and social way of life is highlighted. Finally, the continued growth of the Western Caliphate is looked at.Volume Four – The Eastern Roman Empire focuses primarily on the Byzantine East from roughly 700 CE through the end of the Empire in 1483. The different dynasties (Isaurian, Phrygian, and Macedonian) receive their own chapters, and in-depth attention is paid to the struggle with the emerging Islamic Caliphate. The religious and political relationship with the West is considered and significant attention is paid to the Comneni and Fourth Crusade.Volume Five – The Contest of Empire and Papacy is concerned primarily with the century and a half from 1050 CE to 1200 CE. It looks at the surging political power of the Church and the corresponding growth of nations of Western Europe. The Holy Roman Empire and the Norman Invasion of England, the establishment of the Plantagenet Dynasty in Norman Britain, and the emergence of Monasticism and Scholasticism in the period receive attention.Volumes 6-8 were published after 1923 and are therefore not in the public domain. Plantagenet Publishing will not be able to make them available in this format.

    He becomes a staunch Christian on Iona and trains to be a warrior, making a name for himself in the frequent wars in Ulster and in a divided Scotland. Having earned himself the nickname of ‘Whiteblade’, he establishes himself as the greatest war leader in his adopted homeland. However, he is beset by enemies on all sides and is betrayed by those he should be able to trust the most. After playing a leading role in deposing the treacherous Connad, King of Dalriada, he helps his successor to extend Dalriada to include the Isles of Skye, Arran and Bute. When King Edwin is killed in battle and those who try to succeed him are also killed by Cadwallon and his invading Welsh army, Oswald decided that his moment of destiny has arrived; he sets out with his warriors to confront Cadwallon and win back the throne of Northumbria.

    What ambitions motivated her long before anyone dreamed of a Tudor dynasty?The Last Lancastrian is a prequel novella to the Plantagenet Embers Trilogy.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    But much less attention has been paid to his monarchy, especially the closing years of his reign.Rich with information including details from new archival material and written with the nail-biting suspense of a modern thriller, The Last Days of Henry VIII offers a superb fresh look at this fascinating figure and new insight into an intriguing chapter in history.Robert Hutchinson paints a brilliant portrait of this egotistical tyrant who governed with a ruthlessness that rivals that of modern dictators; a monarch who had "no respect or fear of anyone in this world," according to the Spanish ambassador to his court. Henry VIII pioneered the modern "show trial": cynical propaganda exercises in which the victims were condemned before the proceedings even opened, proving the most powerful men in the land could be brought down overnight.After thirty-five years in power, Henry was a bloated, hideously obese, black-humored old recluse. And despite his having had six wives, the Tudor dynasty rested on the slight shoulders of his only male heir, the nine-year-old Prince Edward -- a situation that spurred rival factions into a deadly conflict to control the throne.The Last Days of Henry VIII is a gripping and compelling history as fascinating and remarkable as its subject.

    It isn’t until a trick of fate sends her sprawling under a noblewoman’s horse that her life takes a different turn. But is it for the best or is she being pulled into a web of intrigue and lies? A prequel to the Imp of Eye, it will appeal to fans of Dorothy Dunnett’s gripping and intrigue filled plots.This novella begins the Renaissance Sojourner Series. A wonderfully spun gem of a story of 15th century London, beautifully brought to life by the reigning queens of historical fiction. Real magic! C.M.T. Stibbe, author of Chasing Pharaohs.

    Destined to be king. Doomed to be a villain. What matters? Loyalty matters. Loyalty Binds Me.Artist Hans Holbein receives a summons to the home of Sir Thomas More for the commission of his lifetime, but he will leave with a secret that puts his very life at risk. What he will learn is the truth about the life of King Richard III, from his return from exile with his brother, King Edward IV, through his rise to become the king's most powerful subject. From his flourishing personal life to his seizure of the throne. The unfashionable truth about the man the Tudor dynasty has worked tirelessly to villify will be as nothing compared to the reason for it, as Holbein will discover. He is about to be asked to hide the greatest secret in England. A secret that could tear the fragile Tudor regime apart at its seams.Show More Show Less

    

    Once seen as a thousand years of warfare, religious infighting, and cultural stagnation, they are now understood to be the vital connection between the past and the present. Along with the battles that helped shape the modern world are a rich heritage of architecture, arts, and literature, of empire and its dissolution. It was the era of the Crusades and the Norman Conquest, the Black Death and the fall of Constantinople. It is a landscape both familiar and foreign, dark and foreboding at times, but also filled with the promise and potential of the future.

    It was truly horrific, a startling story – and wholly avoidable – but it had only the briefest of inquiries, and it seemed its lessons were not learned.Twelve-year-old Martin Fletcher was at Valley Parade that day, celebrating Bradford's promotion to the second flight, with his dad, brother, uncle and grandfather. Martin was the only one of them to survive the fire – the biggest loss suffered by a single family in any British football disaster.In later years, Martin devoted himself to extensively investigating how the disaster was caused, its culture of institutional neglect and the government's general indifference towards football fans' safety at the time. This book tells the gripping, extraordinary in-depth story of a boy's unthinkable loss following a spring afternoon at a football match, of how fifty-six people could die at a game, and of the truths he unearthed as an adult. This is the story – thirty years on – of the disaster football has never properly acknowledged.

    This is very good read - the exciting first book in Martin Archer's epic saga of what happens to the survivors of a company of English archers after they fight their way back to cruel and brutal medieval England.

    Angst had longed to be a knight of Unsel, to make his mark in history, to be remembered for heroic deeds and wondrous acts. He grew up knowing he was destined for something great, but now it is too late. Not only is 40 far too old to become a knight, Angst is one of the few able to wield “the magics”.For 2,000 years magic has been outlawed, repressed, even outright destroyed throughout the world of Ehrde. By law, Angst is reduced to using his great power only to file papers. His marriage is on the rocks, his friends are bored with him, and he hates his job. The one person that makes him happy is the young Princess Victoria who seems to adore him. Unfortunately, that makes his boss, the Queen, hate him.Without warning, Unsel is besieged with dangerous monsters - birds with metallic beaks, monkey creatures that can dive through solid ground, mindless horse-eating giants. The world that shunned magic now turns to Angst for help, and he is happy to listen once his back stops hurting.On the edge of a mid-life crisis, Angst drags his reluctant friends along with him on an adventure into the heart of magic. He’s not sure where they’re going, what they’ll find, or even if they’ll survive. But he knows this is his one chance to be a hero because the only way to fight magic is with magic.

    Inexplicably, the explorer vanishes, and the object along with him. Nearby, the gears spin on a secret device, setting in motion a chain reaction that could avert a civilization-ending cataclysm. Known only to a select few, the machine must be protected.But watching from the shadows, a brilliant sociopath has plans of his own. . .____________________________________________AboutInspired by Crichton, Asimov, and Brown, “Cold Trap” has intense action, political intrigue, a deep central mystery, and a backdrop of science and high-tech gadgetry, a combination that is sure to resonate with fans of contemporary science fiction and techno-thrillers.____________________________________________ReviewsMelinda Hills for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)"I really enjoyed the story! ... a well written tale of scientific discovery and political/economic maneuvering for world dominance ... Tremendous creativity and an in-depth look at exo-geology - the study of rocks and deposits on the surface of the moon and other 'space rocks' - create a realistic background for action involving the basic human emotions of love, greed, the desire for knowledge and the hunger for power."