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The Moghul emperors are still bloodthirsty and entirely ruthless; they control a quarter of the world's population and have wealth beyond imagining. But this is the final flowering of a doomed empire and, while Shah Jahan mourns his dead wife and obssesses over the Taj Mahal, her monument, his son Aurangzeb is planning to take his father's throne, by any means necessary.
Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558, restoring the Protestant faith to England. At the heart of the new queen’s court lay Elizabeth’s bedchamber, closely guarded by the favoured women who helped her dress, looked after her jewels and shared her bed.
Elizabeth’s private life was of public, political concern. Her bedfellows were witnesses to the face and body beneath the make-up and elaborate clothes, as well as to rumoured illicit dalliances with such figures as Robert Dudley. Their presence was for security as well as propriety, as the kingdom was haunted by fears of assassination plots and other Catholic subterfuge. For such was the significance of the queen’s body: it represented the very state itself.
This riveting, revealing history of the politics of intimacy uncovers the feminized world of the Elizabethan court. Between the scandal and intrigue the women who attended the queen were the guardians of the truth about her health, chastity and fertility. Their stories offer extraordinary insight into the daily life of the Elizabethans, the fragility of royal favour and the price of disloyalty.
Hannibal's campaign to defeat Rome continues as he marches south to confront his enemy.
With him is a young soldier, Hanno. Like his general, Hanno burns to vanquish Rome. Never has the possibility seemed so likely.
But a stealthy game of cat and mouse is being played as Rome's generals seek to avoid confrontation.
Eventually the two armies meet under a fierce summer sun. The place is Cannae - the fields of blood.
The battle will go down in history as one of the bloodiest ever fought, a battle in which Hanno knows he must fight as never before - just to stay alive.
AD 69. Aulus Caecina Severus has thrown in his lot with the hedonistic Vitellius and prepares his legions for a gruelling march over the Alps.
Driven by the desire to repay the treachery of his former patron, the Emperor Galba, and to keep his rival Valens in check, Severus leads his army against barbarian rebellions and against the mountains themselves in his race to reach Italy first. With the vast Po valley almost in sight, news reaches the army that Galba has been killed in a coup, and that Otho has been declared Emperor by the Praetorians who he had bribed to murder their own emperor.
But there is no turning back for Severus, even if he wanted to. The Rhine legions want their man on the throne, and they won't stop until they reach Rome itself. Even once Otho is defeated, the battle for supremacy between Severus and Valens is far from over. The politics of the court and the mob is the new battleground, and Severus needs the help of his wife Salonina and his freedman Totavalas in this constant game of thrones. When stories spread of a new power in the east, Severus has to decide where his real loyalty lies: to his Emperor, to his city or to himself?
When past crimes resurface, Sir Alan Dale, loyal lieutenant of the Earl of Locksley - better known as the murderous thief Robin Hood - faces terrible vengeance at the hands of those that he and his master have wronged.
With his beloved wife on her deathbed, Sir Alan must seek salvation by following Robin into the lair of their enemy, the mysterious leader of a band of renegade Templars, on the trail of the most precious object in the world: the Holy Grail.
As vengeful Templars hound Robin and his men across England and France, deals done with mighty lords turn to bloody battle. The companions must find the Cup of Christ before they face certain destruction.
Myth, mayhem and masterly storytelling meet in the astounding new epic from the bestselling author of Outlaw and Holy Warrior.
Uncovering the secrets of Lady Jane Grey – who ruled England for nine days before her execution – and her two sisters Katherine and Mary – who both served Elizabeth I.
An unforgettable story of ambition, lust and jealousy.
Led by love into the jaws of fate….
Lady Jane Grey is crowned Queen at the behest of Edward VI. Her reign lasts only nine days before she is executed for treason and Elizabeth takes the throne.
Lady Jane’s two sisters, Katherine and Mary, live on into Elizabeth’s reign but in family misfortune they are bound, inspiring the Queen’s wrath against them.
In secret, Katherine and Mary risk everything and disobey the royal order by marrying the men they love. Will their treachery be discovered? And must they face imprisonment in the Tower of London, just as their sister did before them?
A stunning tale of treachery and treason, perfect for fans of The Tudors and Philippa Gregory.
The Pagan Lord by Bernard Cornwell. UK release September 26, 2013.
The seventh book in Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series, The Warrior Chronicles.
Alfred the Great is dead and Edward his son now reigns as king. Wessex survives but the Danes will never rest until the emerald crown is theirs.
In English Mercia Æthelflæd, the King’s sister and Uhtred’s lover is wife to Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. But on his death she will rise to rule the kingdom herself and emerge as the Lady of Mercia.
The seventh book in Cornwell’s epic series The Warrior Chronicles is a dramatic story of divided loyalties, bloody battles and the struggle to unite Britain.
Knights of the Hawk by James Aitcheson. UK release October 1, 2013.
AUTUMN, 1071. The struggle for England has been long and brutal. Now, however, five years after the fateful Battle of Hastings, only a desperate band of rebels in the Fens stand between King William and absolute mastery of his kingdom.
Tancred, a proud and ambitious knight, is among the Normans marching to crush them. Once lauded for his exploits, he is now all but destitute. Embittered by his dwindling fame and by the oath shackling him to his lord, he yearns for the chance to win back his reputation through spilling enemy blood.
But as the Normans' attempts to assault the rebels' island stronghold meet with failure, the king grows increasingly desperate. With morale in camp failing, and the prospect of victory seeming ever more distant, Tancred's loyalty is put to the test as never before.
For his true path, he knows, lies in a different direction. He seeks his love, Oswynn, once presumed dead but now believed to be held captive by a powerful Danish warlord. His journey will take him from the marshes of East Anglia into the wild, storm-tossed seas of the north, as he ventures in pursuit not just of her, but also of vengeance.
The Great King by Christian Cameron. UK release November 21, 2013.
Close your eyes and you could be in fifth-century Egypt. With his trademark ability to step into the shoes of his fifth-century protagonists, once again Christian Cameron plunges us headlong into the thick of the action. This time, the indomitable Arimnestos of Plataea finds himself caught up in the ill-fated Spartan expedition to the land of the Sphinx, while on the horizon, forces gather for the colossal naval battle of Artemesium.
Whether it's in the unforgiving furnace of the Egyptian desert or the blood-frothed seas off the coast of Greece, Christian Cameron brings these momentous events to thrilling life as we watch the epic story unfold.
"The Queen's Bedfellows" looks like it might be covering the same ground as "Elizabeth's Women" by Tracy Borman. Will be interesting to read it, and compare.
March 16, 2013 at 4:53 AM