Historical Fiction Renaissance

Forcibly seduced by George Villiers, duke of Buckingham and the king's favourite, doctor's daughter Hester was cast aside to raise her illegitimate son, Rafe, alone and in secret. She hopes never to see his father again. Melis's visions cause disquiet and talk. She sees what others can't - and what has yet to be. She'd be denounced as a witch if Hester wasn't so carefully protective. Young Hope's beauty marks her out, drawing unwelcome attention to the family. Yet she cannot always resist others' advances. And her sisters cannot always be on their guard.

During the sweltering Roman summer of 1492, Rodrigo Borgia has risen to power as pope. Rodrigo’s eldest son Cesare, forced to follow his father into the church and newly made the Archbishop of Valencia, chafes at his ecclesiastical role and fumes with jealousy and resentment at the way that his foolish brother has been chosen for the military greatness he desired. Maddalena Moretti comes from the countryside, where she has seen how the whims of powerful men wreak havoc on the lives of ordinary people. But now, employed as a servant in the Vatican Palace, she cannot help but be entranced by Cesare Borgia.

Au printemps 1598, le jeune Aurelio quitte la ferme de ses parents pour la plus belle et décadente ville du monde : Rome. Depuis qu'il est enfant, il n'a qu'un rêve, devenir sculpteur et travailler avec il gigante, le génie, Michel-Ange. Mais l'artiste a dû abandonner son art, contraint par le puissant pape Jules II à se consacrer à un autre projet, peindre le plafond de la chapelle Sixtine. Engagé comme modèle et apprenti, Aurelio assistera aux tourments quotidiens du maestro, aux terribles luttes de pouvoir qui agitent Rome et à la création du plus grand chef-d'œuvre.

Palermo 1632: Giulia is thirteen when she learns her mother's greatest secret: Teofania makes an undetectable, slow-acting, lethal poison—Acqua Tofana—which she uses to free the broken and abused women of Palermo. Now Teofania wants to pass her recipe on to her daughter, and Giulia soon realizes that in a time when women have no voice, justice is sometimes best served in a cup of wine or broth.

Les aventures du Chevalier de Pardaillan sont celles que l'on dévore sans voir passer les heures, pour retrouver, confus et enthousiaste le bouillonnement d'une épopée traversée par la générosité d'un héros qui se place aux côtés de d'Artagnan et de Cyrano de Bergerac.

Der junge, aus verarmten Landadel stammende d'Artangnan verlässt seine gascognische Heimat und zieht nach Paris, um sich in den Dienst König Ludwigs XIII. zu stellen...

Only in the world of the theater can Nat Field find an escape from the tragedies that have shadowed his young life. So he is thrilled when he is chosen to join an American drama troupe traveling to London to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream in a new replica of the famous Globe theater. Shortly after arriving in England, Nat goes to bed ill and awakens transported back in time 400 years - to another London, and another production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Amid the bustle and excitement of an Elizabethan theatrical production, Nat finds the warm, nurturing father figure missing from his life - in none other than William Shakespeare.

Marie, la fille du seigneur de Croixmart, grand chasseur de sorciers et sorcières, au temps de François Ier, consulte une voyante qui lui prédit, entre autres choses, la mort de son père. Marie prévient son père et ce dernier saute sur l'occasion de faire condamner la "sorcière" qui, bientôt, brûle sur le bûcher. La foule, excédée par toutes ces exécutions, attaque le baron de Croixmart et le massacre. Renaud, le fils de la voyante, jure qu'il se vengera de la fille de Croixmart et la tuera.

Settled down in his beloved Mortlake once again, philosopher and astronomer John Dee is enjoying the quiet life when Her Majesty’s spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham darkens his door, instructing him to befriend a certain Polish count with an interest in alchemy and angelic communication. But when Dee and the count are caught breaking the law, trying to convene with angels, they are exiled, and must make their way to the court of Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor, in far-off Prague.

In 1660, Amsterdam is the trading and map-printing capital of the world. Anneke van Brug is one of the colorists paid to enhance black-and-white maps for a growing number of collectors. Her artistic talent brings her to the attention of the Blaeu printing house, and she begins to color for a rich merchant, Willem de Groot. But Anneke is not content to simply embellish the work of others; she longs to create maps of her own. Cartography, however, is the domain of men - so it is in secret that she borrows the notes her father made on a trip to Africa in 1642 and sets about designing a new map.

October 1604. Plague has hit London, and the theatres are closed. But the capital's loss is Plymouth's gain, when a London theatre troupe, the Company, arrive on their 'Plague Tour'. Country physician Gabriel Taverner is bewitched and unnerved by the Company's sexually charged staging of Othello. But when Gabriel's friend tells him of a dangerous whispered conversation overheard during a brief break, he is relieved the Company will soon be on their way. Then one of the actors collapses, and Gabriel finds himself caught in a waking nightmare, where nothing is as it appears.

La increíble historia de Caterina, una niña nacida en la meseta caucásica. Su lengua era la más antigua del mundo y ella estaba destinada a ser una guerrera como sus ancestros, pero un día se vio arrastrada violentamente a la historia. Capturada en Tana, la última colonia veneciana en la desembocadura del Don, emprende un asombroso viaje por el Mar Negro y el Mediterráneo para llegar a Florencia en pleno esplendor del Renacimiento.

Each night, after dark, men flock to Bankside seeking girls of easy virtue, prostitutes known as the Winchester Geese. Joanie Toogood has worked the streets of Southwark since childhood, but her path is changed forever by an encounter with Francis Wareham, a spy for the King’s secretary, Thomas Cromwell. Meanwhile, across the river, at the glittering court of Henry VIII, Wareham also sets his cap at Evelyn and Isabella Bourne, members of the Queen’s household and the girls, along with Joanie, are drawn into intrigue and the shadow of the executioner’s blade.

Paris, 1572. Seventeen-year-old Jacqueline “Jac” d’Argenson-Aunis is lady-in-waiting to her best friend and former lover, the French Princess Marguerite “Margot” de Valois, but she dreams of more. If Jac plays her cards right, one day, she’ll become a full member of the Societas Solis, a secret society of spies. But it’s hard to think about her own ambitions while France is on the brink of war, and the only thing that might save the country is an alliance—a marriage between the Catholic Princess Margot and Henry, the awful son of the Huguenot queen.

March 1557. Jack Blackjack is back in London and enjoying a sedentary life. After his treacherous voyage back to his beloved city the previous year, he desires nothing more than women, wine, beer and more women. But his new parish of St Helen's has different ideas for him. A week after first laying eyes on the tempting Miss Rachel Nailor, she turns up dead on the church vestry floor...and someone is trying to frame him for her murder! Rachel was a woman with many secrets. But was she murdered in a fit of lustful rage, or was it part of a wider political play?

Après avoir découvert son château pillé et dévasté par les troupes du Grand Condé, qu'elle aime depuis toujours, Isabelle, duchesse de Châtillon, est déterminée à obtenir réparation. Mais elle ne résistera pas longtemps aux sentiments qu'il lui avoue. Ce pourrait être le bonheur. Ce sera la fin d'une paix relative pour Isabelle. La Fronde du Parlement et des Parisiens se termine, celle des Princes commence.

Though Eleanor is not wealthy, the saffron spice she grows for her new husband is more valuable than gold. But as his reputation in Henry’s court soars, Eleanor soon understands that she has entered into a dangerous game. The king’s affections do not last forever, and she must do anything to protect her family.

1586 : Le duc de Guise, surnommé le Balafré, contrôle la moitié de la France. Henri III n'est même plus le roi de Paris où la Ligue fait la loi, tandis que le huguenot Henri de Navarre conduit une guerre d'escarmouches dans l'ouest du royaume. Décidée à mettre un terme à cette guerre, Catherine de Médicis part rencontrer Navarre, héritier légitime selon la loi salique, pour le convaincre de se convertir. Mais est-ce la véritable raison de ce voyage ? Pourquoi a-t-elle choisi Michel de Montaigne, l'ami d'Henri de Navarre, comme messager ?

Hubo una época en la que los hombres levantaron catedrales, pintaron frescos e imitaron al ser humano en sus mármoles... Entonces, apareció alguien que se atrevió a construir una raza de caballos para la posteridad. En 1522, fruto del amor prohibido entre una criada y un rico y corrupto hacendado, vecino de Jerez de la Frontera, Yago volverá a la vida gracias al aliento de un viejo caballo. Privado del amor de su madre, su vida no va a ser nada fácil.

Harlem, 1927. Twenty-seven-year-old Louise Lloyd has found the perfect job! She is the new manager of the Dove, a club owned by her close friend Rafael Moreno. There Louise meets Nora Davies, one of the girls she was kidnapped with a decade ago. The two women—along with Rafael and his sister, Louise’s girlfriend, Rosa Maria—spend the night at the Dove, drinking and talking. The next morning, Rosa Maria wakes up covered in blood, with no memory of the previous night. Nora is lying dead in the middle of the dance floor.