Ancient Women

In the first century, under Domitian's reign, strange and brutal goings on are nothing new in Rome. Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, has taken over her father's business as a private informer but she tries to shy away from the brutal, the complicated, and the political—because nothing good comes of any of them. Unfortunately, she's not very good at turning them down. This time a commission shows up on her doorstep—someone is staging brutal murders in some of the most beautiful buildings in Rome, each staging different.

This book follows Agrippina as a daughter born to the expected heir to Augustus’ throne and who was then orphaned; as a sister to Caligula, who raped his sisters and showered them with honours until they attempted rebellion against him and were exiled; as a seductive niece and then wife to Claudius, who gave her access to near unlimited power; and then as a mother to Nero, who adored her until he killed her. She was 44 when she died.

The Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth believed to bear the image of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion, has been pronounced a fake by an antiquities expert. But if that’s true, then where is the authentic shroud of Christ? In this next Phoenix Quest adventure, Simon Kessler sends Thalia Phoenix and her cousin, Casey, to a New York museum to examine the writing on a papyrus document. However, before they can carry out their assignment, Thalia and Casey are kidnapped by a villain who demands that she locate the authentic shroud—Casey will be held hostage until Phoe finds it. Forced to ...

Pregnancy is not just a trek from one medical appointment to another but a journey of the heart. Here at last is a guidebook through its sacred terrain. For each week, Orthodox doula Laura Jansson provides a new reflection on a theme specific to the ground covered at that stage. From one milestone to the next, she helps us unearth the spiritual treasures buried within the physical experiences of childbearing. These are gifts of love from a merciful God who reaches out to us, making a perilous expedition into a path of salvation.

In February of AD 668, Fidelma of Cashel and her companion, Eadulf, are about to get permanently married. As the sister to the king of Muman, Fidelma's marriage ceremony is a major event; the high king of Ireland as well as other kings and major figures are going to be in attendance. On the eve of the ceremony, the fanatical and much disliked Abbot Ultan is found murdered in his chamber, and one of the distinguished guests, the king of Connacht, is accused of the crime.

When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment. Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis. Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason's band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?

The foundations of society are more seriously shaken today than they were in Socrates’s time. Men who, reasonably enough, see no hope of preserving the ancestral order, are building new societies of one sort or another, from all of which certain fundamental values are absent. It seems worthwhile, then, to recall a man who under similar circumstances stood for the spirit of free inquiry, for the inviolability of the individual, with that lonely honesty and courage which are the badge of human dignity. — From the “Author’s Note” “Mask of Silenus deserves both reading and pondering...

In A.D. 670, an Irish merchant ship is attacked by a pirate vessel off the southern coast of the Breton peninsula. Merchad, the ship's captain, and Bressal, a prince from the Irish kingdom of Muman, are killed in cold blood after they have surrendered. Among the other passengers who manage to escape the slaughter are Fidelma of Cashel and her faithful companion, Brother Eadulf.

Princess of Troy, sister of Hector and Paris, Priestess of Apollo. Blessed by the Sun God with the gift of prophecy, and then - for rejecting his advances - cursed by him to never be believed. Diomenes, the enemy Achaean with the healing hands, and Cassandra become puppets of the gods. Their passions are thwarted, their gifts rendered useless for the sake of a wager between two immortals. And now doomed, magnificent Troy is burning. If Cassandra and Diomenes find each other, can their love survive the games of malicious gods, victorious warriors and hated kings?

In October of 667 A.D., Fidelma of Cashel - sister to the one of kings of Ireland, a religieuse of the Celtic Church, and an advocate of the Brehon courts - is struggling with her most challenging role yet, that of mother to her infant son Alchu. So it is with mixed feelings that she receives the summons from Abbot Brogan. There have been a series of shocking murders that have terrorized the villagers near the Abbey of Finbarr; three young girls have been violently slaughtered...

The charismatic Fulvia amassed a degree of military and political power that was unprecedented for a woman in Ancient Rome. Married three times to men who moved in powerful circles, including Marc Antony, Fulvia was not content to play the usual background role that was expected of a wife—instead she challenged the Roman patriarchy and sought to increase her influence in the face of determined opposition.

In mid-seventh-century Ireland, Sister Fidelma of Cashel-sister to the King of Muman, an advocate of Brehon Courts, and religieuse of the Celtic Church-returns hastily from a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. James. The news that brings her back is that her companion and friend, the Saxon monk Brother Eadulf, is under arrest for a serious crime in the neighboring kingdom of Laigin. Riding furiously through hostile territory, she arrives only to find out she is too late.

Continuing the story of the captured Trojan women as they set sail for Mycenae with the victorious Greeks, this novel centres on the fate of Cassandra -- daughter of King Priam, priestess of Apollo, and a prophet condemned never to be heeded. (When she refuses to have sex with Apollo, after he has kissed her, granting her the gift of true prophecy, he spits in her mouth to make sure she will never be believed.)

AD 670: When an eminent scholar is found murdered in his cell in the Abbey of Lios Mor, fear spreads among his brethren. His door was secured from the inside, with no other means of exit. How did the murderer escape? And what was the content of the manuscripts apparently stolen from the scholar's room? Abbot Iarnla insists on sending for Sister Fidelma and her companion, Brother Eadulf, to investigate the killing.

One of Italy’s most revered cultural figures reconstructs the extraordinary life of the legendary Cleopatra at the height of her power in this epic story of passion, intrigue, betrayal, and war.

Told through intimate diary entries, this historical fiction series unfurls the extraordinary sagas of the Bible's best-known characters through the eyes of ordinary girls. In The Laughing Princess of the Desert, the second book of The Promised Land Diaries, Rhoda is orphaned and brought into Abram's household to help his beautiful wife, Sarai. Getting used to the nomadic life of camels and goat-hair tents, Rhoda must exercise courage as she serves the remarkable woman who will one day become matriarch of the Jews.

Thessaloniki lived in a time when Alexander the Great was racing across the known world conquering all in his path. She was his half-sister living the privileged life of a Macedonian Princess. Under the protective eye of Olympias she learned to see everyone as an enemy. Then Alexander perishes. Suddenly, she finds herself thrust forward onto the political stage as those around her struggle for power. In a world, where loyalty is for sale, and words are empty promises, she must find a way to survive—even if that means turning to her enemies.

After a devastating injury, Petra is rescued by a woman and her family deep in the bayous of Southern Louisiana...not far from her home. If only she could remember that. But even as she struggles with memory loss, a more significant threat looms. A danger that no member of the pack could have ever dreamed of existing. When vigilantes from the ‘old country’ set their sights on destroying all the American alphas, men begin turning up dead in every state from New York to West Virginia, and the killings stretch ever south towards the walls of Heureuse. It doesn’t take long for the wolves ...

Sorceress, Princess of Colchis, Securer of the Golden Fleece. Medea - her very name is a byword for infamy. Legend has it that she murdered her own children for revenge. But love in Ancient Greece was often a dangerous game; and legends are not always what they seem. Medea, devoted wife of Jason, was also a loving mother, a loyal friend of Herakles and a brave adventurer with the Argonauts. A woman both betrayer and betrayed, the real story of Medea is strange, sensual and heroic.

In "Echoes of the Deep," a team of courageous scientists embarks on an unprecedented expedition to explore the enigmatic depths of the Mariana Trench, the deepest chasm on Earth. Led by Dr. Eleanor Voss, a marine biologist, and accompanied by Dr. Amir Rajani, Dr. Maya Lin, Dr. Sam Bennett, and Dr. Leo Durand, each an expert in their field, the crew of the research vessel Neptune’s Carapace delves into the abyss in search of unknown life forms and geological wonders. As they descend deeper into the darkness, they encounter a world unlike anything they've ever imagined—bioluminescent ...