Uneasy Lies the Head

Author: Jean Plaidy
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446411532
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
If you like Philippa Gregory, you will love this vibrant and captivating historical page-turner from multi-million copy and international bestselling author Jean Plaidy - the perfect blend of history with romance and drama. 'Full - bloodied, dramatic, exciting' - THE OBSERVER 'Plaidy, by the skilful blending of superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of characterization has become one of the country's most widely read novelists.' - THE SUNDAY TIMES 'It is hard to better Jean Plaidy . . . both elegant and exciting' - DAILY MIRROR 'Excellent. Jean Plaidy really knows how to bring history to life.' -- ***** Reader review 'Great, exciting. Couldn't put down' -- ***** Reader review *********************************************** In the aftermath of the bloody Wars of the Roses, Henry Tudor has seized the English crown, finally uniting the warring Houses of York and Lancaster through his marriage to Elizabeth of York. But whilst Henry VII rules wisely and justly, he is haunted by Elizabeth's missing brothers; the infamous two Princes, their fate in the Tower forever a shrouded secret. Then tragedy strikes at the heart of Henry's family, and it is against his own son that the king must fight for a bride and his throne... The Tudor Saga continues in Katharine, the Virgin Widow.

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics

Author: Stephen Greenblatt
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635767
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Book Description
"Brilliant, beautifully organized, exceedingly readable." —Philip Roth World-renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores the playwright’s insight into bad (and often mad) rulers. Examining the psyche—and psychoses—of the likes of Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, and Coriolanus, Greenblatt illuminates the ways in which William Shakespeare delved into the lust for absolute power and the disasters visited upon the societies over which these characters rule. Tyrant shows that Shakespeare’s work remains vitally relevant today, not least in its probing of the unquenchable, narcissistic appetites of demagogues and the self-destructive willingness of collaborators who indulge their appetites.

Uneasy Lies the Crown

Author: Tasha Alexander
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 1250164729
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
In Uneasy Lies the Crown, the thrilling new mystery in Tasha Alexander's bestselling series, Lady Emily and her husband Colin must stop a serial killer whose sights may be set on the new king, Edward VII. On her deathbed, Queen Victoria asks to speak privately with trusted agent of the Crown, Colin Hargreaves, and slips him a letter with one last command: Une sanz pluis. Sapere aude. “One and no more. Dare to know.” The year is 1901 and the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch has sent the entire British Empire into mourning. But for Lady Emily and her dashing husband, Colin, the grieving is cut short as another death takes center stage. A body has been found in the Tower of London, posed to look like the murdered medieval king Henry VI. When a second dead man turns up in London's exclusive Berkeley Square, his mutilated remains staged to evoke the violent demise of Edward II, it becomes evident that the mastermind behind the crimes plans to strike again. The race to find the killer takes Emily deep into the capital’s underbelly, teeming with secret gangs, street children, and sleazy brothels—but the clues aren’t adding up. Even more puzzling are the anonymous letters Colin has been receiving since Victoria's death, seeming to threaten her successor, Edward VII. With the killer leaving a trail of dead kings in his wake, will Edward be the next victim?

Henry IV: The Righteous King

Author: Ian Mortimer
Publisher: Rosetta Books
ISBN: 0795335431
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 862

Book Description
The real life story of the Plantagenet ruler, by “the most remarkable medieval historian of our time” (The Times, London). The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God’s law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law—in highly turbulent times. In this book, noted historian Ian Mortimer, bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, goes beyond the legend portrayed in Shakespeare’s history play, and explores the political and social forces that transformed Henry IV from his nation’s savior to its scourge.

Our Last Best Chance

Author: King Abdullah II of Jordan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101190132
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
A newsbreaking memoir that tackles head-on the toughest challenge in the world today. When a dying King Hussein shocked the world by picking his son rather than his brother, the longtime crown prince, to be the next king of Jordan, no one was more surprised than the young head of Special Operations, who discovered his life was in for a major upheaval. This is the inspirational story of a young prince who went to boarding school in America and military academy in Britain and grew up believing he would be a soldier. Back home, he hunted down terrorists and modernized Jordan's Special Forces. Then, suddenly, he found himself king. Together with his wife, Queen Rania, he transformed what it meant to be a monarch, going undercover to escape the bubble of the court while she became the Muslim world's most passionate advocate of women's rights. In this exceptionally candid memoir, King Abdullah tackles the single toughest issue he faces head-on- how to solve the Israeli-Palestinian standoff- and reveals himself to be an invaluable intermediary between America and the Arab world. He writes about the impact of the Iraq war on his neighborhood and how best to tackle Iran's nuclear ambitions. Why would a sitting head of state choose to write about the most explosive issues he faces? King Abdullah does so now because he believes we face a moment of truth: a last chance for peace in the Middle East. The prize is enormous, the cost of failure far greater than we dare imagine.

Athelstan (Penguin Monarchs)

Author: Tom Holland
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241187826
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 127

Book Description
The formation of England occurred against the odds: an island divided into rival kingdoms, under savage assault from Viking hordes. But, after King Alfred ensured the survival of Wessex and his son Edward expanded it, his grandson Athelstan inherited the rule of both Mercia and Wessex, conquered Northumbria and was hailed as Rex totius Britanniae: 'King of the whole of Britain'. Tom Holland recounts this extraordinary story with relish and drama, transporting us back to a time of omens, raven harbingers and blood-red battlefields. As well as giving form to the figure of Athelstan - devout, shrewd, all too aware of the precarious nature of his power, especially in the north - he introduces the great figures of the age, including Alfred and his daughter Aethelflaed, 'Lady of the Mercians', who brought Athelstan up at the Mercian court. Making sense of the family rivalries and fractious conflicts of the Anglo-Saxon rulers, Holland shows us how a royal dynasty rescued their kingdom from near-oblivion and fashioned a nation that endures to this day.

Leap of Faith

Author: Queen Noor
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
ISBN: 9780753817568
Category : Queens
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
The dramatic and inspiring story of one woman's incredible journey into the heart of a man and his nation. Born into a distinguished Arab-American family, Lisa Halaby was a strongly independent young woman. After studying architecture at Princeton, her work on projects in the Middle East gave her a profound understanding both of the links between the environment and social problems, and also of the tumultuous history of the Arab nations. Then, in 1974, her life took a very different turn, when her father introduced her to the world's most eligible bachelor, King Hussein of Jordan. After a whirlwind romance, she became Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan. With eloquence and honesty, Queen Noor speaks of the obstacles she faced as a young bride and of her successful struggle to create a role for herself as a humanitarian activist. She tells of her heartbreaking miscarriage and the births of her four children, along with her continuing support for King Hussein's campaign to bring peace to the Arab nations. But most of all this is a love story - an honest and engaging portrait of a truly remarkable woman and the man she married.

Rebellion in the Middle Ages

Author: Matthew Lewis
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1526727943
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

Book Description
This medieval history of British rebellion examines how five centuries of uprisings and insurrections helped build the United Kingdom. Shakespeare’s Henry IV lamented ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’. It was true of that king’s reign and of many others before and after. From Hereward the Wake’s guerilla war, resisting the Norman invasion of William the Conqueror, through the Anarchy, the murder of Thomas Becket, the rebellions of Henry II’s sons, the deposition of Edward II, the Peasants’ Revolt and the rise of the over-mighty noble subject that led to the Wars of the Roses, kings throughout the medieval period came under threat from rebellions and resistance that sprang from the nobility, the Church, and even the general population. Serious rebellions arrived on a regular cycle throughout the period, fracturing and transforming England into a nation to be reckoned with. Matthew Lewis examines the causes behind the insurrections and how they influenced the development of England from the Norman Conquest until the Tudor period. Each rebellion’s importance and impact is assessed both individually and as part of a larger movement to examine how rebellions helped to build England.

Uneasy Lies the Head the Autobiography of His Majesty

Author: Bernard Geis Associates
Publisher: Franklin Classics
ISBN: 9780343304492
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears the Sombrero

Author: Clint Crockett
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1491700564
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
Jos Valdez IV is your average collegiate sports fan. That is assuming the average collegiate sports fan has been married three times, loves tequila and Salma Hayek, and is a Mexican Presbyterian. Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears the Sombrero features Joss unique take on Ole Miss athletics, its opponents within the Southeastern Conference and polite society in general. Nothing is sacred within these thoughts and chances are youve never read anything like what youll find here. Youll experience the highs and lows in Rebel sports from 2009-2013 just as Jos did, with no holds barred. Keep the tequila handy.