Historical Fiction Well

'Tis the season when lovers' eyes shine by the light of a blazing Yule log, when a quick kiss is shared beneath the mistletoe, and when love is the most splendid gift of all. Savor the beauty and passion of Christmas with two heartwarming stories by outstanding Regency author Elizabeth Mansfield. From A Sneeze on Tuesday: A broken engagement and a miserable cold were not in Elinor's holiday plans. But her spirited heart found its own remedy: a true and lasting love.

Britain, 1961: A beautiful blonde baby is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school. Her refuge throughout is romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.

1740s France and England—the age of hedonism and enlightenment. Antonia must flee the Court of Versailles and the predatory schemes of the Comte de Salvan. She orchestrates an escape with the unwitting assistance of the all-powerful Duke of Roxton, a man she has been warned against as too dangerous for her to know.

The time for Antonia’s court presentation has finally arrived, but how will she be received? Not only by the King, but by his Majesty’s new mistress Mme de Pompadour, and also the French nobility? This seems the least of the Duchess’s worries, until the Duke comes face to face with the Comtesse Duras-Valfons in the very public space of the Hall of Mirrors.

The Duke and Duchess, with their infant son, are living in a pretty villa on the outskirts of the royal township of Versailles, preparing for Antonia's court presentation. With them is Lord Vallentine—kicked out of his home by his pregnant wife—and Martin Ellicott, who receives news from the Duke that changes his life forever.

Domestic harmony is once again disrupted at the villa, this time by one of the Duke’s ex-lovers—the Comtesse Duras-Valfons, claiming Roxton is the father of her infant son, which is supported by the Salvan ancient aunts.

Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man—any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call—by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest.

Narra la historia de un fértil y apacible valle, localizado en el territorio más inhóspito de los Andes ecuatoriales, donde se asientan unos colonos que pronto han de enfrentarse a una terrible desgracia: todos sus hijos nacen ciegos.

Liverpool 1942. Seventeen-year-old Frankie Franconi falls in love with charismatic British officer Nick Harper as quickly and certainly as the bomb that falls on their shelter. He is impressed by her good looks and intelligence, and the fact that, like him, she speaks fluent Italian. When she insists on staying to help rescue others who have been trapped he realises that she has courage, too. He gives her a business card with a Baker Street address, and suggests she put her skills to good use.

Arabella Godwin is an Incomparable in London Society—elegant, wealthy, and meticulously trained. Yet, she has nothing to show for her efforts aside from her pretentious reputation and a collection of disappointed suitors. When her plan to secure a promising offer of marriage is temporarily delayed, she must bide her time in the company of an estranged childhood friend—the much-too-endearing, but regrettably untitled, Augustus Brundage.

It is April 1939 and unaware that the German war machine is advancing towards the Channel Islands, seventeen-year-old Meg Colivet and her sister are enjoying a holiday in Oxford with their aunt. Here Meg meets charismatic German undergraduate Rayner Weiss and the couple fall passionately in love. But all too soon, Britain is at war with Germany, Guernsey has been occupied and Meg's family home requisitioned by the German army.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that two conniving minds are better than one. Lady Venetia Lockhart has one goal: prove to her family that her fragile health will not keep her from next year’s London Season. But between her inattentive family who only seems to notice her when she’s ill, and the advances of an unwanted suitor, Venetia finds herself struggling just to make it through autumn’s relaxed social diversions. How will she ever manage in London?

EVERYONE IS GRIPPED BY STEPHEN RONSON!

When Zac Cobb foils an attempt to kidnap the family of the oldest daughter of General Sydney Roberts, the President of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, he then must lead the threatened family to safety in Colorado despite the pursuit of a small army of hired gunmen. Once, there, Zac finds himself ensnared in the ongoing railroad war between the Chicago Pacific and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroads. But when Elizabeth Robert decides she's in love with Zac, his personal danger is compounded.

A Line in the Sand captures the essence of the Middle East with a richly detailed historical fiction of two lifelong friends - Magnus and Finn - thrown into a sleuthing adventure where mysteries of the Middle East and its people are gradually revealed. Following the trail of clues left by one TE Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia - the Gentlemen ramble from Europe to the Levant to Arabia as their quest gains momentum, the situation on the ground unwinds, and history repeats itself.

Odin’s mind is lost in the mists of time, unable to make sense of cryptic visions. He remains certain of one thing alone: a final battle is coming. One that, should he lose it, all humanity will die. Ragnarok. To win this battle, Odin must harness his prescient knowledge, but the only way to do so is to drink from the lost Well of Mimir. The Well lies beyond the perilous stretches of Jotunheim.

When war broke out, 17-year-old Christie could have stayed down on the family farm in Norfolk, where she was wanted and needed. So why had she joined up? Come to that, why had Meg from Cheshire, and Sue, very much the big city girl from Liverpool, and Shanna, the life-toughened product of a broken home in Glasgow? Mixed reasons. Very mixed backgrounds. But no time to think now. Not with the sergeant shouting and the station air-raid siren beginning to wail....

Edmund Graves, Sixth Baron Tewkbury, is in a pretty pickle after lying to his friend about being married. To save face, he must introduce a fictitious wife at a high-society house party. But where does one obtain a wife at the snap of one’s finger, especially when one isn’t keen on being married?

London, 1940. Sheila Phipps is orphaned after a devastating air raid claims her family and her home. She is evacuated to Bletchley to live with her aunt Constance, where she forms an unlikely friendship with Prudence Le Strange, who is working in the code breaking unit at Bletchley. As their friendship grows stronger, the war subjects Sheila and Prue to fresh tragedies as, one by one, those they love are called away to distant battlefields, only to join the growing ranks of the missing, the captured and the dead.

The Honorable Roberta Talbot is tired of being the practical one in her family. As the impoverished daughter of a reckless baron, she has spent years supporting her mother and siblings. When a chance meeting brings an opportunity for adventure her way, Birdie grabs hold and takes it… all the way to a haunted castle in Scotland and into the domain of its beastly lord.