The King's Concubine

Author: Anne O'Brien
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101586672
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 565

Book Description
A child born in the plague year of 1348, abandoned and raised within the oppressive walls of a convent, Alice Perrers refused to take the veil, convinced that a greater destiny awaited her. Ambitious and quick witted, she rose above her obscure beginnings to become the infamous mistress of Edward III. But always, essentially, she was alone... Early in Alice’s life, a chance meeting with royalty changes everything: Kindly Queen Philippa, deeply in love with her husband but gravely ill, chooses Alice as a lady-in-waiting. Under the queen’s watchful eye, Alice dares to speak her mind. She demands to be taken seriously. She even flirts with the dynamic, much older king. But she is torn when her vibrant spirit captures his interest...and leads her to a betrayal she never intended. In Edward’s private chambers, Alice discovers the pleasures and paradoxes of her position. She is the queen’s confidante and the king’s lover, yet she can rely only on herself. It is a divided role she was destined to play, and she vows to play it until the bitter end. Even as she is swept up in Edward’s lavish and magnificent court, amassing wealth and influence for herself, becoming an enemy of his power-hungry son John of Gaunt, and a sparring partner to resourceful diplomat William de Windsor, she anticipates the day when the political winds will turn against her. For when her detractors voice their hatred,and accusations of treason swirl around her,threatening to destroy everything she has achieved, who will stand by Alice then? Includes a readers guide

Gods' Concubine

Author: Sara Douglass
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0765305410
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 558

Book Description
In the second title of The Troy Game series, love and revenge are set against the very fabric of time itself as a warrior waits for his opportunity to finish what was started centuries before.

The Concubine

Author: Norah Lofts
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439100659
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Book Description
Acclaimed and beloved historical novelist Norah Lofts brings to life the danger, romance, and intrigue of the Tudor court that forever altered the course of English history. The king first noticed Anne Boleyn as a heartbroken sixteen-year-old, sullen and beautiful after a thwarted romance with the son of the Earl of Northumberland. "All eyes and hair," a courtier had said disparagingly of her, but when King Henry VIII fell for young Anne, nothing could keep him from what he desired. Against common sense and the urgings of his most trusted advisors, Henry defied all, blindly following his passion for Anne, using the power he held over the bodies and souls of all who reside in his realm and beyond. Anne's ascent to the throne elevates her from lady-in-waiting to the highest position a woman could attain, but her life spirals out of control when Henry is driven to desperate acts of betrayal and violence. The consequences of Anne's rise to power and eventual demise are felt well beyond the inner circle of the court. Loyalties, to church, to queen, to country, are tested, and -- in the wake of the king's volatile passions -- can be an unpredictable matter of life and death. First published in 1963 and adored by readers for generations, Lofts' lush and moving portrayal of the ambitious and doomed Anne Boleyn will continue to reign as a classic retelling of this epic chapter of history vividly brought to life.

Queens, Concubines, and Dowagers

Author: Pauline Stafford
Publisher: Burns & Oates
ISBN: 9780718501747
Category : Ehe
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
'Between the sixth and eleventh centuries, many women exercised a profound influence on the politics of Western Europe. The histories of Frankia, Italy, and England would have been different had it not been for queens such as Brunhild, Judith, Angelberga, Emma and others. This is a composite biography of the early queens and royal bedfellows and provides a fascinating picture of their political importance and the many factors that affected their personal lives. Woven with the political story of these women is the story of courtships, weddings, dowries; the anxieties of confinements, sterility and infant mortality; the tense relationships with in-laws; and the peaceful, if often involuntary, religious retirement of widowhood. A fascinating study of a period in world history that requires more illumination. Maps and charts are excellent. Highly recommended.' Genealogical Library Journal

Empress Dowager Cixi

Author: Jung Chang
Publisher: Random House Canada
ISBN: 0307363120
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 431

Book Description
From the beloved, internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans, and co-author of the bestselling Mao: The Unknown Story, the dramatic, epic biography of the unusual woman who ruled China for 50 years, from concubine to Empress, overturning centuries of traditions and formalities to bring China into the modern world. A woman, an Empress of immense wealth who was largely a prisoner within the compound walls of her palaces, a mother, a ruthless enemy, and a brilliant strategist: Chang makes a compelling case that Cixi was one of the most formidable and enlightened rulers of any nation. Cixi led an intense and singular life. Chosen at the age of 12 to be a concubine by the Emperor Xianfeng, she gave birth to his only male heir who at four was designated Emperor when his father died in 1861. In a brilliant move, the young woman enlisted the help of the Emperor's widow and the two women orchestrated a coup that ousted the regents and made Cixi sole Regent. Untrained and untaught, the two studied history and politics together, ruling the huge nation from behind a curtain. When her boy died, Cixi designated a young nephew as Emperor, continuing her reign till her death in 1908. Chang gives us a complex, riveting portrait of Cixi through a reign as long as that of her fellow Empress, Victoria, whom she longed to meet: her ruthlessness in fighting off rivals; her curiosity to learn; her reliance on Westerners who she placed in key positions; and her sensitivity and desire to preserve the distinctiveness of China's past while overturning traditions (she, as Chang reveals--not Mao, as he claimed--banned footbinding) and exposing its culture to western ideas and technology.

The Alpha's Concubine (Romantic Shifter Fantasy)

Author: Claudia King
Publisher: Claudia King
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 571

Book Description
Taken from her people. Claimed by an alpha. Forced into a new life. In a time before tools of metal and houses of wood, tooth and claw rule the wild places of the world. The Moon People have been enemies to Netya's kind for as long as the stars can remember. They are monsters, demons, men and women who take the shapes of beasts. The murderers of her father. An outsider taken as a prize by the pack, Netya must overcome suspicion, rivalry, and the division of her own heart as she grows to realise that monsters wear many different faces. Among the Moon People she uncovers the potential of a life she never knew existed. The chance for a woman to become something more than a prize, or a mother, or a concubine. But as the alpha and others vie for her heart, the powerful huntress Vaya seeks to purge Netya from her pack. Before Netya can decide where she belongs, she must endure the trials of love, hatred, and heartbreak. The girl taken as a trophy must become a woman. 170,700 words in length. Contains explicit sexual content.

The Viking's Runaway Concubine

Author: Caitlin Crews
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 0369729676
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
This intense, passionate Viking romance will have you gripped! The Viking’s captive Bonded by more than chains…? Renowned Viking warrior Ulfric can’t stop thinking about his runaway concubine, Eithne. Their powerful connection seared his soul…and still she’d escaped, scarring his face in the process! But now he’s found her. He intends to teach her a lesson, but the white-hot passion between them has only grown hotter, wilder. Is he the one in danger of falling captive to the emotion only Eithne rouses in him…? From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.

The King's Concubine

Author: Anne O'Brien
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 1408969815
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Book Description
A Sunday Times BestsellerEngland’s Forgotten Queens ‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’ The Times

Solomon's Concubine

Author: S.A. Jewell
Publisher: Ambassador International
ISBN: 1649601816
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Book Description
Her extraordinary beauty sentences her to a life she does not want. King Solomon is well-known as a wise man and the wealthiest king to have ever lived. But with great power often comes great corruption, and Solomon unfortunately allowed himself to be lured by the many temptations this world has to offer—including the hundreds of wives and concubines he brought into his court. But who were these women? What was life like for them in Solomon's harem? Nalussa is a simple Jewish girl, living with her family in a small town a day's travel from Solomon's kingdom. When a strange man meets her one day at the town well, Nalussa suddenly finds herself whisked away from all that she wants and desires to fulfill the lusts of a king she has never met. But one word of outcry can lead to her family's harm and her own disgrace and removal from society. While giving in to her new life at Solomon's palace, Nalussa still holds onto hope that God will rescue her. When the king suddenly dies, the kingdom is in turmoil over who will be king next. Could this be her opportunity to escape? But where will she go, and will anyone want the king's concubine? S.A. Jewell looks at life in Solomon's harem through the eyes of a concubine, taking the reader on a quest through Scripture to see a different side to the king who was given great wisdom and wealth from the one true God. Did Solomon die outside the will of God? And who is the mysterious woman he writes to in Song of Songs? In Solomon's Concubine, S.A. Jewell uses historical references and Scripture to dive into a deeper part of Solomon's kingdom and to show how God is always faithful, even when we may doubt His plan.

كتاب الف ليلة وليلة

Author: Muhsin Mahdi
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004101067
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 404

Book Description
This volume of Indexes and an extensive English introduction completes the publication of the critical edition of The Thousand and One Nights, of which the first two volumes, the Arabic text and commentary, were published in 1984. For the first time, the oldest manuscript of this famous Arabic text is now completely accessible to scholars and interested readers. This third and final volume, which completes painstaking work of more than three decades, magnificently adds to the important and pioneering work by Muhsin Mahdi which has been lauded by so many.