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

The King's Concubine

Author: Jm Howard
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 143899785X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 346

Book Description
Book 2 of Edmond and Arabella's Story Trapped in a world of a corrupted and cruel king, Arabella is forced to endure his wrath and manipulation. Lord Peter Evanston has given up everything to do all he can to be of some comfort to her during this dark time in her life, while keeping King Eric from killing her with his fits of anger. Meanwhile, Edmond has returned home to Arminia and has done as Arabella wanted. He is now engaged to the Countess D'Winter, even though the only one he can ever love is the one woman he can never have. Yet he loves her so much that he is willing to do this to make her happy, despite the misery it leaves in his heart. However, a small glimmer of hope comes when King Eric brings Arabella back to Arminia for the King's Tournament. It is the hope of helping her to leave such a cruel and dark world behind. But can he do this when she is so well guarded and now that she is too afraid to leave the prison of malice that Eric has her in? Or will Eric suceed in using Arabella to bring down King Kendrick and Edmond both by using her to seduce them into his plans?

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.

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 King's Harem

Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: Less Than Three Press, LLC
ISBN: 1620044080
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Book Description
The country of Tavamara is renowned for its famous Market, its decadent wines, the harsh climate in which it manages to flourish. It is also well known for the harems kept by the royal family. King Shahjahan's harem is especially infamous, for his concubines are comprised of an unusual, many say dangerous, assortment... This volume also contains three additional stories. The Jewel of Tavamara Fahima has always been the lesser sister: younger, plainer, too smart and independent. Then her sister commits the ultimate taboo, putting their lives in danger. In order to save her family, Fahima must take her place, though she is painfully aware Shahjahan will never see her as more than a paltry substitute... Knight to Rook Displaced by war, Rook makes a home in the Desert where his cousin Cordelia has become Princess. A famous, highly-regarded strategist back home, in the Desert he is regarded as useless and held in contempt for his inability to fight. Adrift and alone, he can only watch and wait for a chance to prove he belongs amongst the Sons of the Sands. Everything You Need Though he left the Desert years ago and is set to become the next Advisor to the King of Tavamara, Ikram spends most of his days feeling out of place, living a life of civility and calm that is nothing like the Desert he left behind. Eager to get away from the palace for a time, he braves the famous Market...

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.

Prostitutes and Matrons in the Roman World

Author: Anise K. Strong
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107148758
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 315

Book Description
From streetwalkers in the Roman Forum to imperial concubines, Roman prostitutes defined what it meant to be a 'bad girl'.

Celestial Women

Author: Keith McMahon
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442255021
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
This volume completes Keith McMahon’s acclaimed history of imperial wives and royal polygamy in China. Avoiding the stereotype of the emperor’s plural wives as mere victims or playthings, the book considers empresses and concubines as full-fledged participants in palace life, whether as mothers, wives, or go-betweens in the emperor’s relations with others in the palace. Although restrictions on women’s participation in politics increased dramatically after Empress Wu in the Tang, the author follows the strong and active women, of both high and low rank, who continued to appear. They counseled emperors, ghostwrote for them, oversaw succession when they died, and dominated them when they were weak. They influenced the emperor’s relationships with other women and enhanced their aura and that of the royal house with their acts of artistic and religious patronage. Dynastic history ended in China when the prohibition that women should not rule was defied for the final time by Dowager Cixi, the last great monarch before China’s transformation into a republic.

Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?

Author: Lester L. Grabbe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567670449
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Book Description
In Ancient Israel Lester L. Grabbe sets out to summarize what we know through a survey of sources and how we know it by a discussion of methodology and by evaluating the evidence. The most basic question about the history of ancient Israel, how do we know what we know, leads to the fundamental questions of Grabbe's work: what are the sources for the history of Israel and how do we evaluate them? How do we make them 'speak' to us through the fog of centuries? Grabbe focuses on original sources, including inscriptions, papyri, and archaeology. He examines the problems involved in historical methodology and deals with the major issues surrounding the use of the biblical text when writing a history of this period. Ancient Israel provides an enlightening overview and critique of current scholarly debate. It can therefore serve as a 'handbook' or reference-point for those wanting a catalogue of original sources, scholarship, and secondary studies. Grabbe's clarity of style makes this book eminently accessible not only to students of biblical studies and ancient history but also to the interested lay reader. For this new edition the entire text has been reworked to take account of new archaeological discoveries and theories. There is a major expansion to include a comprehensive coverage of David and Solomon and more detailed information on specific kings of Israel throughout. Grabbe has also added material on the historicity of the Exodus, and provided a thorough update of the material on the later bronze age.