Novedades

In Penelope’s Bones, award-winning classicist and historian Emily Hauser pieces together compelling evidence from archaeological excavations and scientific discoveries to unearth the richly textured lives of women in Bronze Age Greece—the era of Homer’s heroes. Here, for the first time, we come to understand the everyday lives and experiences of the real women who stand behind the legends of Helen, Briseis, Cassandra, Aphrodite, Circe, Athena, Hera, Calypso, Penelope, and more.

What happens when a favorite fairy tale gets dropped into the middle of Europe in World War 2? Take Cinderella in France in the 1930s-1940s: Ella never got along with her stepmother. After her father died, her stepsisters grew even more horrid to her. She's the only one though who cares about the farm at all. When the Nazis invaded, her stepmother and stepsisters are enjoying the occupation, it seems. That only meant more chores for Ella, and she's weary and overworked. Accidents were bound to happen, and she's put in a prison as an arsonist. But it was only an accident . . . wasn't it? ...

In 2008, academic and scholar Susan Gubar was told by a trusted oncologist that she had only a few years left to live. Though she outlived that dire prognosis, this brush with mortality refocused her attention on the boons of a longevity she did not expect to experience. She began to think: In the last years of our lives, can we shape and change our creative capabilities? The resulting volume, Grand Finales, answers this question with a resounding yes.

A Princess Chosen, A Heart Betrayed – The Untold Story Behind the Royal Curtain She was young, beautiful, and innocent—selected by one of the most powerful institutions in the world to serve a role, not to live a life. Thrown to the Side pulls back the velvet curtain on the dramatic true story of Princess Diana, her arranged royal marriage, her quiet rebellion, and the love that ultimately led to her tragic end. This powerful narrative explores the tangled web between Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Camilla Parker Bowles—from the earliest signs of a royal arrangement to the ...

"There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe . . ." ~Mother Goose. Or in this case, in a shoe shop. So what happens when a favorite nursery rhyme gets dropped into Europe during World War 2? The Netherlands, May 1940: German bombs devastated her neighborhood on the outskirts of Rotterdam. Many people had already left, but Letty Seghur left her leaving too late. After a near escape and further difficulty, she finds shelter on the high street in an old stone tower that used to be a medieval fortress near the river—strangely, both the tower and shop within remained mostly intact after the ...

Once Upon A Time of War . . . What happens when a favorite fairy tale gets dropped into the middle of Europe in World War 2? Take Hansel and Gretel, for example, England, 1941: She was born and raised in the UK, but with a name like Gretel Braun, when Germany started bombing their country, it was no surprise that she lost her teaching position at a posh school for girls. Gretel moved to London to live with her brother, but he neglected to tell her that he was in prison for stealing Lady So-and-So's pearls. Her brother claimed he was framed, but she has her own problems now. Gretel was ...

West Coast, USA, late 1980s: Irina was named after her great-aunt, a Russian woman whom everyone said was eccentric, but that was okay, because her aunt was also a bit mysterious. At least, Irina thought so growing up. They were quite close then, but she hadn't seen Auntie in years, what with college and career and faulty romances taking up Irina's time. All those excuses echoed hollow now with the terrible news that her beloved great-aunt died . . . weeks ago . . . alone. She feels guilty. So, when the summons came from a law firm to come pick through the remnants of the grand lady's life,...

France & Gibraltar, 1795: An adventurous saga of a sea bound healer caught between a British naval blockade and the bloody battles of the counter-Revolution in France. But there's something odd happening to her now, and it started with a rap upon her head, compliments of a French prison. She's remembering things from a past she had forgotten long ago, a trauma when she was only six years old. American Kate Senlis grew up on her father's trading ships, traveling around the world. Her mother died when she was just a little girl, but Kate learned how to heal with herbs using her mother's ...

What happens when a favorite fairy tale gets dropped in the middle of Europe in World War 2? Take Snow White and her usual friends . . . set them in a Serbian village near Belgrade, the Capitol of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, 1941: Lumi Valkoinen buried her parents two years ago, one right after the other. Her father was Finnish; her mother a Serbian who grew up in the forest near this town. They met as circus performers, but that was years ago now. Such frivolous days were long over: Europe was now engulfed in another massive war. Lumi has taken over the operation of her parents' apothecary ...

What happens when favorite nursery rhymes are dropped into World War 2? When Mary had a little lamb and Old MacDonald had a farm, for example. Scotland, 1940 and the years after: When Mary Begbie married James MacDonald she thought it was happily ever after. But he went to war, and now she’s a widow, living with her father-in-law. When her father dies, his adjacent lands are annexed to the MacDonald farm as well. Now they have been called upon to increase their yield to help the war effort, but it’s difficult; they need help. After D-Day, laborers are brought in from the nearby POW camp...

Based on the legends and descendants of Mary Magdalene. In late summer, Anno Domini 1243, southern France: A gifted healer tends the great herbal gardens of her village in the foothills above the river valley. Renata is the botanist here, just as her grandmother had been before, and hers, as far back as remembering. Legend claims the orchard and herbs were first planted here by the earliest Christians fleeing Roman persecution in the Holy Land, perhaps even tended by the hands of Mary Magdalene herself. For generations too, her family has also trained children of the village in the use of ...

Gibraltar & Corsica, 1795: American Kate Senlis grew up on her father's trading ships, traveling around the world. Her mother died when she was just a little girl, but Kate learned how to heal with herbs using her mother's journals. Now with her father also gone, Kate is just trying to get home again. Deception comes too easily, and so when it's a matter of survival, Kate has to become a ghost. A Contrary Wind: "True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher." ~Jean Antoine Petit-Senn

France & Spain, 1795: The adventure continues in the saga of a sea bound healer caught between a British naval blockade and the bloody battles of the counter-Revolution in France. But there's something odd happening to her now, and it started with a rap upon her head, compliments of a French prison. Her cousin is dead, but she's remembering things from a past she had forgotten long ago, a trauma when she was only six years old. Hopefully, fulfilling her promise made there won't be the end of her. Waters, Winds & Rocks: "Ships are but boards, sailors but men; there be land-rats and water-...

Autumn, southern France, 1243: Days ago, the botanist and her students fled from Crusaders attacking their village, but now they must seek shelter from the punishing wind. Searching on her own, Renata hears voices and more visions come—no, those are real, but they aren’t really witches, are they? Why do strangers here seem so familiar? Their party seem safe enough in this shelter . . . for now. But what of their families, and any other survivors from their village? And what of the quest of Sir Simon, their lone protector? Will he save them, or give them into the hands of the Inquisitor ...

Also published as: Secrets in the Shoe Shop. The Netherlands, May 1940: German bombs devastated her neighborhood on the outskirts of Rotterdam. Many people had already left, but Letty Seghur left her leaving too late. After a near escape and further difficulty, she finds shelter on the high street in an old stone tower that used to be a medieval fortress near the river—strangely, both the tower and shop within remained mostly intact after the German Blitzkrieg. But the business has been abandoned, it seems, as the owner was Jewish. Letty hoped he escaped, as there were all sorts of ...

What happens when a favorite nursery rhyme gets dropped in the middle of Europe in World War 2? Take Little Miss Muffet, for instance . . . London, England, 1939-1941: Jane Muffet grew up getting teased about that cursed rhyme. Her family moved a lot, so each spot was another round. Now she has a bad attitude and prefers to be alone most of the time. She tried a few shop positions, but none suited her. Jane moved to London and luckily found a job mending furniture—odds and ends damaged by all the bombs of the Blitz. Now she doesn’t have to interact with others all that much, and ...