Renaissance Fiction

Brilliantly read by Nigel Gore, this audiobook joins together George Robert Minkoff’s three critically acclaimed historical novels about the founding of the first English colony at Jamestown - The Weight of Smoke, The Dragons of the Storm, and The Leaves of Fate. The novels are visionary epics chronicling lesser-known aspects of the Elizabethan world, including the importance of alchemy to Queen Elizabeth and her court. The canvas is vast, intertwining the life of John Smith, as a narrator, with that of Sir Francis Drake, the great Elizabethan explorer.

Seit einiger Zeit wohnt Viktoria auf dem Bauernhof der Familie Weiß. Sie ist ein verwöhntes, störrisches Mädchen. Der Bauer und seine Frau bemühen sich sehr um sie. Für die Kinder der Familie ist das Mädchen ein Rätsel. Woher kommt sie? Wer ist ihr Vater? Warum läuft sie plötzlich weg? Eines Tages erscheint König Ludwig lll. auf dem Bauernhof.

The King's Favorite is a mystery thriller set during one of the most spirited, scandalous, and memorable periods in English history - the Restoration - when the son of an executed king brought monarchy back to England after the repressive years of the Commonwealth. Following the coronation of Charles II came a reopening of the theaters, with the first women performing on the English public stage. What follows is a devastating London plague and fire, a monarch who openly indulged his sexual proclivities, a series of plots against the crown, and the first true collection of female celebrities - as actresses, mistresses, and even orange girls.

Lukas wants only two things: to rebuild his castle home in time to make it through the coming winter and to reconnect with the sister who was stolen from him in a plot against his family. But then an astrologer appears with foreboding news: his old adversary, Inquisitor Waldemar von Schönborn, has stolen three royal artifacts, which are required to coronate a new German emperor. With these valuable objects - the sword, the crown, and the scepter - he could blackmail the empire. The treasures are currently hidden in three different places in the old imperial city of Prague.

In this thrilling adventure by bestselling author Oliver Pötzsch, thirteen-year-old Lukas has been trained as a swordsman by his father, a nobleman who was once a famed Musketeer. When the threat of war and accusations of witchcraft spread across the land, Lukas's life is forever changed. He flees his home and vows to find his missing sister.

"No one wanted you. But I did." Kat's true identity is a secret, even from her. All she has ever known are Grace and Anna and their small village. Kat wants more - more than hours spent embroidering finery for wealthy ladies and more than Christian, the gentle young farmer courting her. But there are wolves outside, Grace warns. Waiting, with their eyes glowing in the dark... nd Grace has given Kat safety and a home when no one else would.

This is a performance of the very first English translation of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. This translation, published by Edward Dacres, first appeared in 1640. Machiavelli's original Italian edition was printed in 1532, five years after his death. Due to the evil associated with Machiavelli's book, it took 108 years for The Prince to be published in the English language.

Erzsébet doesn’t want to start a revolution. She just wants to keep her head warm in the winter. When she goes against tribal tradition and refuses to shave her head, she learns of a history as twisted as her lengthy locks.

Nella metà del sedicesimo secolo, in Inghilterra un piccolo straccione si ferma davanti al cancello della residenza reale per spiare la vita dei grandi signori...

When 27-year-old Jakiyah Smith left New York after a failed relationship, she had no plans of returning, but the death of her sister has forced her to come back. Now Jakiyah must help to care for her sister's child, but she soon finds herself surrounded by drama. German, the man she thought she would be with forever, is still with the woman he left her for. To make matters worse, Jakiyah's mother is the side-piece's newest friend.

London, England. A revolutionary decryption program known as TETRA emerges, revealing a cipher with immeasurable power. However, as quickly as the cipher surfaces, it goes missing. Jack's friend and fellow classicist, Egan Church, pursues the cipher by following a mysterious note written five hundred years before by Niccolo Machiavelli. Church ends up in Italy, descending deep into the path of a shadowy brotherhood known as The Prince's Order.

Henry Dumas' fiction is a masterful synthesis of myth and religion, culture and nature, mask and identity. From the Deep South to the simmering streets of Harlem, his characters embark on surreal and mythic quests armed only with wit, words, and wisdom. Championed by Toni Morrison, Walter Mosley, and Quincy Troupe, Dumas' books have long been out of print. All of his short fiction is collected here, for the first time, and includes several previously unpublished stories.

"The Contessa's Legacy" is a novella by Nora D'Ecclesis. The book tells the story of a family living in Pompeii, Naples in 79AD. It follows the lives of the family members as the ancestors eventually immigrate to America, including their relationships with each other, and their struggles to survive in a society that was not known for treating its citizens with compassion.

After decades as a commissario in his city on the River Po, Piero Trotti has retired. But his newfound peace is brief. An old friend calls him to Siena to give him urgent news: a known hit man has returned to Italy to kill Trotti. The former inspector must admit that he isn't entirely undeserving, as his mistaken accusations and failed gambles have cost innocent lives in the course of his investigations.

Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.

The award-winning Beneath the American Renaissance is a classic work on American literature. It immeasurably broadens our knowledge of our most important literary period, as first identified by F.O. Matthiessen’s American Renaissance. With its combination of sharp critical insight, engaging observation, and narrative drive, it represents the kind of masterful cultural history for which David Reynolds is known. Here the major works of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and others receive striking, original readings set against the rich backdrop of contemporary popular writing.

Spanien, Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts. Lázaro schildert dem Leser seinen Aufstieg aus ärmlichen Verhältnissen zum angesehenen Ausrufer in der damaligen spanischen Hauptstadt Toledo. Bis zu diesem Ziel ist jedoch ein langer Weg zu gehen, und Lázaro muss vielen verschiedenen Herren dienen und oft schlechte Behandlung und Leid erdulden. Allerdings lernt er von seinem ersten Herren, einem blinden Wahrsager, auch viele listige Tricks, die ihm den steinigen Weg erleichtern. Welche das sind, verrät er in seinen Erzählungen.

Sam's bright idea to look for the inventor of the Book takes the guys to 15th-century Italy to meet up with Leonardo da Vinci. But it's going to take at least three more bright ideas, two magic tricks, and one great invention to get them out of trouble and safely back home. If not, it could be a lifetime of Italian army toilet-cleaning detail for Joe, Sam, and Fred.

In 1450 Christine de Pisan took up the pen to defend her maligned sex. Her book, The City of Ladies, was built around preserving women's reputations from the slights and misunderstandings of history. In it the author is visited by three spirits - Justice, Rectitude and Reason - who guide her in sifting through countless lives, in search of worthy citizens. Nearly 600 years later, the historian and novelist Lisa Hilton picks up the book and promptly falls asleep, only to be visited by three great women from history: Cleopatra, Lucrezia Borgia and Catherine the Great.

Georgia Douglas Johnson was a key contributor to the Harlem Renaissance - hosting an influential salon, breaking new ground as a Black playwright, and playing an important role as an anti-lynching activist. Her poetry, however, is what first brought her to national attention, and in the early works collected here, her wide-ranging talents are already quite evident. In The Heart of a Woman, Johnson’s exquisite verse captures the full emotional terrain of womanhood. These are poems about love and disillusionment, empowerment and fulfillment, loneliness and joy.