Medieval English

Torrian Ramsay, future laird of the Ramsay clan, learned long ago not to take his family for granted. Without the love and devotion of his sire, he would never have survived the childhood illness that kept him abed for years. Now Torrian is a strapping lad, unrecognizable as the sickly laddie of his past, but one thing has not changed - he will still do aught in his power to make his sire proud.

Power is never granted… it can only be seized. BLOOD AND EMPIRE begins best-selling author James Maxwell’s long-awaited new epic fantasy series, THE GATEWAY SAGA—a gripping tale of ambition, sacrifice, and defiance in the face of destiny. Young seamstress Bethany dreams of becoming a diviner, one of the select few able to navigate the mysterious gateways that unite the empire. But without wealth or education, and only her mother to raise her, she is on a path to disappointment. Then Bethany meets Charlton, a cleric, who offers her books and guidance, and she glimpses a life she had ...

Virginal, chaste, humble, patiently waiting for rescue by brave knights and handsome princes: this idealized—and largely mythical—notion of the medieval noblewoman still lingers. Yet the reality was very different, as Kelcey Wilson-Lee shows in this vibrant account of the five daughters of Edward I, often known as Longshanks. The lives of these sisters—Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth—ran the gamut of experiences open to royal women in the Middle Ages.

Seven McTiernay brothers, each a Highlander born to protect Scotland and her people, warriors known for their quick wits and quicker broadswords. The third brother, Cole, stared death in the face when he was only a boy... Now Cole McTiernay is a man. And though he resists them in every way, he has responsibilities. The wild northern Highlands need a laird who can guide them to peace. Cole has the army strong enough to accomplish this task. What he doesn't have is the desire to be a leader among men.

Saint Augustine is one of the most influential figures in all of Christianity, yet his path to sainthood was by no means assured. Born in AD 354 to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine spent the first 30 years of his life struggling to understand the nature of God and his world. He learned about Christianity as a child but was never baptized, choosing instead to immerse himself in the study of rhetoric, Manicheanism, and then Neoplatonism - all the while indulging in a life of lust and greed.

A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.

A Determined Highlander . . . Duncan MacConnoway, son of a powerful thane and used to getting his way in life, is desperate to wed the woman of his dreams. Her uncle, the wily Earl of Lochlann, demands that he fulfill three tasks that even Hercules would struggle to finish. Their love is all that lights his way through this dark labyrinth, that if only he can hang onto it long enough . . . The wise woman . . . Alina du Mas can see things that no one else believes, so she usually keeps her secrets to herself.

Sleep disorders specialist Kennedy Plain has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. When her research subject dies after trying to convince her he has achieved dream-induced time travel and her study is shelved, she enlists herself as a subject to complete her research.

A big Irish knight, much beloved by his English men, faces his biggest challenge when an injury nearly claims his life...and his confidence as a warrior.

Drawing on the latest discoveries that have only recently come to light, Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver goes on the trail of the real Vikings. Where did they emerge from? How did they really live? And just what drove them to embark on such extraordinary voyages of discovery over 1,000 years ago? The Vikings: A New History explores many of those questions for the first time in an epic story of one of the world's great empires of conquest.

Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium-long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.

Lochlan MacAllister was born to lead. Ruthlessly groomed to take control of his clan, he has given his life to his people. But when he learns that the brother he thought was dead might still be alive, he embarks on a quest to find the truth. Catarina wants a life of freedom. But now Catarina's royal father wants to use her as a pawn to ensure a treaty between conflicting lands. So much so that he's willing to kidnap his daughter to force the issue. But when she escapes, fate throws her into the path of a man she loathes.

May 1483: The Tower of London. When King Edward IV dies and Lady Elysabeth Scrope delivers her young godson, Edward V, into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Elysabeth's sister Margaret Beaufort conspires with her son Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne. Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal and power of the last medieval court to keep Prince Edward safe.

Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations—both supernatural and human—while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.

The emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married the most powerful empress, and wrote the empire's most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed 5,000 people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.

When Mairead MacMhathain learns that the eldest MacBrieve is returning home, she imagines he'll bring salvation in the form of a powerful army. Instead, the hulking, powerful man she idolized as a girl arrives alone. But now instead of a little sister, Hamish sees her as the woman she has become. And under his heated gaze, despite the danger swirling around them, Mairead finds herself tempted, taunted, and tantalizingly seduced....

Alexia D'Clere didn't ask to be Protector of the Spear, but after her dying mother gave her the tiny metal object and made her promise to keep it safe, she had no choice. Orphaned at age eight, she began to take over the running of her parents' castle with the help of a trusted steward. Yet when a plot to murder her was revealed, a friar whisked her away to live hidden in the forest. There she learned to shoot expertly with a bow and arrow and hone her skills to see into the spirit realm.

The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.

They call him the Beast - a hardened mercenary whose heart seems as cold as his icy blue gaze. They do not know his true name: Niall Braewick, son of the Laird of Kincaid. It has been years since he escaped into the forest the night his father was murdered. Now he has returned, ablaze with a vengeful hunger. He will gain the MacClaren chief's trust, gather his clan, and take back his lands. And take the MacClaren's daughter as well....

Hugh and his men are faced with fighting creatures only thought to live in legend but which have been brought to Earth by evil bent on annihilating all the realms. That is Hugh's life - and he loves it. At least he did until he found himself staring into the angelic, innocent face of Lady Mina of Stone Crest. In all the time he has led the Shields Hugh has trusted his instinct to keep his men alive, yet now he doesn't know what to believe. Everything points to Mina as the evil summoning the creatures, but she proclaims her innocence. He should be able to see through her lies, if she is indeed lying, but his attraction to her blinds him to even that.