The Master of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley. US and UK reissue July 1, 2013.
Queen Catherine de Medicis astrologer, the prophet Nostradamus, has divined a dreadful secret. The queen is trying to obtain the Undying Head of Menanderthe Master of All Desiresin order to get rid of her husbands mistress. But she does not understand that the Master, a living mummified head, is malice itself, twisting the wishes that he grants to bring destruction. The battle that ensues is set in a world where colorful court pageantry conceals a nation balanced on the brink of bloody civil war.
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Forthcoming Books: 2013 edition
Sworn Sword by James Aitcheson. US release August 1, 2013 (was released in the UK in 2011)
Less than three years after the Battle of Hastings, 2,000 Normans march to subdue the troublesome province of Northumbria. Tancred, an ambitious knight, is among them, hungry for battle. But at Durham, they are ambushed by English rebels and Tancreds lord is slain as he barely escapes alive. Seeking vengeance for his lords murder, he becomes caught up in secret dealings between a powerful Norman magnate and a shadow from the past. As the Norman and English armies prepare to clash, Tancred uncovers a plot which harks back to Hastings itself. If successful, it threatens to destroy the entire conquest.
Less than three years after the Battle of Hastings, 2,000 Normans march to subdue the troublesome province of Northumbria. Tancred, an ambitious knight, is among them, hungry for battle. But at Durham, they are ambushed by English rebels and Tancreds lord is slain as he barely escapes alive. Seeking vengeance for his lords murder, he becomes caught up in secret dealings between a powerful Norman magnate and a shadow from the past. As the Norman and English armies prepare to clash, Tancred uncovers a plot which harks back to Hastings itself. If successful, it threatens to destroy the entire conquest.
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Robert the Bruce by Jack Whyte. US and UK release August 6, 2013.
The second novel in Jack Whytes series, The Guardians, chronicling the lives of the three greatest heroes of Scottish history
Robert I, or as he is known to a grateful Scottish nation, Robert the Bruce, was one of Scotlands greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation. He spearheaded the valiant Scots in their quest for freedom, leading his people during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England. His reign saw the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and today Bruce is remembered in Scotland as a national hero.
It was by no means a fair and easy road for this indomitable fighter. As a young man he saw the English king Edward I award the vacant Crown of Scotland to John Balliol. The nation quickly splintered into factions and this spurred Robert and his father to at first side with Edward and then against John, whom many of the nobles did not feel was the correct person to guide the nation. Thus began a decades-long path for Scottish freedom. To achieve this goal, Robert sometimes had to delicately balance the power of the nobles against the might of the English. He was a tireless campaigner and after a full life of battle and diplomacy, in May 1328, King Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce as its king.
A passionate man. An incredible warrior. And one of Scotlands finest.
The second novel in Jack Whytes series, The Guardians, chronicling the lives of the three greatest heroes of Scottish history
Robert I, or as he is known to a grateful Scottish nation, Robert the Bruce, was one of Scotlands greatest kings, as well as one of the most famous warriors of his generation. He spearheaded the valiant Scots in their quest for freedom, leading his people during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England. His reign saw the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation, and today Bruce is remembered in Scotland as a national hero.
It was by no means a fair and easy road for this indomitable fighter. As a young man he saw the English king Edward I award the vacant Crown of Scotland to John Balliol. The nation quickly splintered into factions and this spurred Robert and his father to at first side with Edward and then against John, whom many of the nobles did not feel was the correct person to guide the nation. Thus began a decades-long path for Scottish freedom. To achieve this goal, Robert sometimes had to delicately balance the power of the nobles against the might of the English. He was a tireless campaigner and after a full life of battle and diplomacy, in May 1328, King Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Bruce as its king.
A passionate man. An incredible warrior. And one of Scotlands finest.
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The Outlaw Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick. US reissue September 1, 2013. (Previously released as Lords of the White Castle)
The New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick continues her tradition of gripping historical fiction with this tale of honor, treachery, and love spanning the turbulent reigns of four great medieval kings.
Fulke FitzWarin has played many rolesloyal knight, dangerous outlaw, dashing lover, loyal husband. But when a violent quarrel with King John disrupts Fulkes ambition to become Lord of his own castle, his true character as a valiant hero is revealed.
There - 11 books and not a Tudor in sight!
The New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Chadwick continues her tradition of gripping historical fiction with this tale of honor, treachery, and love spanning the turbulent reigns of four great medieval kings.
Fulke FitzWarin has played many rolesloyal knight, dangerous outlaw, dashing lover, loyal husband. But when a violent quarrel with King John disrupts Fulkes ambition to become Lord of his own castle, his true character as a valiant hero is revealed.
There - 11 books and not a Tudor in sight!
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Vanessa
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 4351
- Joined: August 2008
- Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
- Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
- Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
- Preferred HF: Any
- Location: North Yorkshire, UK
I've received notification from Goodreads that Tracy Chevalier will be giving an interview regarding her new book and I don't recall it being mentioned on here.
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, to be published in March 2013.
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, to be published in March 2013.
The stunning new novel from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
When modest Quaker Honor Bright sails from Bristol with her sister, she is fleeing heartache for a new life in America, far from home. But tragedy leaves her alone and vulnerable, torn between two worlds and dependent on the kindness of strangers.
Life in 1850s Ohio is precarious and unsentimental. The sun is too hot, the thunderstorms too violent, the snow too deep. The roads are spattered with mud and spit. The woods are home to skunks and porcupines and raccoons. They also shelter slaves escaping north to freedom.
Should Honor hide runaways from the ruthless men who hunt them down? The Quaker community she has joined may oppose slavery in principle, but does it have the courage to help her defy the law? As she struggles to find her place and her voice, Honor must decide what she is willing to risk for her beliefs.
Set in the tangled forests and sunlit cornfields of Ohio, Tracy Chevaliers vivid novel is the story of bad men and spirited women, surprising marriages and unlikely friendships, and the remarkable power of defiance.
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind
[quote=""Vanessa""]I've received notification from Goodreads that Tracy Chevalier will be giving an interview regarding her new book and I don't recall it being mentioned on here.
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, to be published in March 2013.[/quote]
I'll be looking forward to that one. I loved 'Girl with a Pearl Earing.'...
Bec
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier, to be published in March 2013.[/quote]
I'll be looking forward to that one. I loved 'Girl with a Pearl Earing.'...
Bec
Looking forward to that Venus in Winter - Bess of Hardwick with her rags to riches story has been crying out for a novel for years - she was a remarkable, entrepreneurial woman, if not an easy one to live with! Another one of those remarkable characters the Tudor period threw up. There's an old biographical novel around called The Tower and the Dream, but that's about it.
And, hallelujah, Tim Willocks has finally come up with the sequel to The Religion! We've been waiting years for this one - he must have had writer's block, like good old G R R Martin
And, hallelujah, Tim Willocks has finally come up with the sequel to The Religion! We've been waiting years for this one - he must have had writer's block, like good old G R R Martin
Last edited by annis on Wed November 28th, 2012, 2:21 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Mythica
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: November 2010
- Preferred HF: European and American (mostly pre-20th century)
- Location: Colorado
- Contact:
Another Downton bandwagoner:
Tyringham Park by Rosemary McLoughlin
UK release 14 Feb 2013 (the Kindle Edition in the US will be available then too - not sure what is going on with the paperback).
Rosemary McLoughlin elegantly captures period glamour and darkness in Tyringham Park - a brilliant and epic tale of love and loss.
It is 1917 and Charlotte Blackshaw is only eight years old when her little sister Victoria vanishes from the magnificent country estate of Tyringham Park. The feverish search for Victoria soon uncovers jealousies and deceits that the inhabitants of the grand house have fought for years to keep hidden.
As the years pass and her sister's disappearance casts a long shadow over their lives, Charlotte finds herself embroiled in the passions and secrets, lives and deaths, trysts and betrayals that affect the days of everyone connected to this once great house.
And though she tries to escape, she knows that Tyringham Park and its mysteries will never release their hold on her . . .
Tyringham Park by Rosemary McLoughlin
UK release 14 Feb 2013 (the Kindle Edition in the US will be available then too - not sure what is going on with the paperback).
Rosemary McLoughlin elegantly captures period glamour and darkness in Tyringham Park - a brilliant and epic tale of love and loss.
It is 1917 and Charlotte Blackshaw is only eight years old when her little sister Victoria vanishes from the magnificent country estate of Tyringham Park. The feverish search for Victoria soon uncovers jealousies and deceits that the inhabitants of the grand house have fought for years to keep hidden.
As the years pass and her sister's disappearance casts a long shadow over their lives, Charlotte finds herself embroiled in the passions and secrets, lives and deaths, trysts and betrayals that affect the days of everyone connected to this once great house.
And though she tries to escape, she knows that Tyringham Park and its mysteries will never release their hold on her . . .