English Middle Ages

Anise Wynford stumbles down the porch steps of her farmhouse in 21st century Massachusetts and into the nightmare of a raging battlefield of armor and sword fighting. When she later awakens in a medieval forest in the presence of a gallant white knight, their connection is immediate. Concerned for her safety, the knight carries her to his castle. Her knight turns out to be King Richard III, the villain of Shakespeare's most famous play. The truth dawns that she has been transported through time by a magic ring. As Anise navigates the complex rules of politics and etiquette in the king's ...

A missing treasure. A cursed property. Will Ellie’s bed and breakfast turn into a dead and breakfast on opening weekend? Excited to restart her life after a bitter divorce, Ellie Byrne plans to re-open her aunt’s old bed and breakfast with a murder mystery weekend. But when she finds out the property possesses a cursed treasure that has robbed all previous owners of their lives, she worries her fresh start may lead to her death. Threats abound and when a body turns up, Ellie’s convinced the curse is real.

Magic has always been the undervalued sister of mainstream spirituality. It is hard to find a religious or spiritual movement that accepts that magic is a fundamental pillar of its philosophy. For thousands of years, magic and magic formulas have been considered dangerous by many religious elites. Many have tried to eliminate or adapt it, but these attempts have failed. Magic is, after all, a practice that predates any established religion. Unfortunately, thousands if not millions of books of magic formulas have been destroyed, but popular forces and beliefs have prevented them from ...

Welcome to Crayton Middle School—where the vending machines eat your change, the janitor closet leads to another dimension, and one kid’s sketchbook might be the only thing standing between the school and total reality-erasure. Dexter “Doodle” Dalton isn’t your average sixth grader. Armed with a magical pencil that brings his drawings to life—and an attitude somewhere between sarcastic and snack-obsessed—Dexter finds himself at the center of a mystery no one else even realizes is happening. When Ms. Pine, the school’s quirky art teacher, vanishes in the middle of class, the ...

Did you know that you can discover loads about history just from the loo? Or piles about the past just from a poo? If not, then get ready to discover everything from Henry VIII's dodgy diet and poo-tastic Roman plumbing, to the stinky secrets of Victorian sewers and how life, death and everything in between can hang on the humble number two. From Saxons and Tudors to Ancient Greece, the Indus Valley, Aztecs and beyond, Poo Through the Ages features mighty monarchs, bonkers battles, deadly diseases, fossilised faeces and poo, poo, poo.

What do you think of when you consider the Middle Ages? Knights in armor and damsels in distress? Vikings plundering monasteries? Religious dissenters burning at the stake? The dead bodies piling up as war, famine, and plague devastated Europe? Think again. While all these are part of the tapestry of the medieval era, the threads of politics, personality and war, culture, religion, education and the arts are vastly more intricate and fascinating.

From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth, the Renaissance.

Milo Mischief is back! And this time, the Naughty Itch has gone international… When Troubleton’s most chaotic prankster is rewarded with a “civilised” family trip to Venice, disaster is practically guaranteed. Between exploding tortellini, rampaging gondolas, and a masked prankster leaving vegetable-themed clues, Milo finds himself in the middle of a centuries-old veggie conspiracy, and the fate of Venice may depend on his biggest prank yet. Armed with fart-powered relics, glitter gadgets, and his legendary inability to behave, Milo must outwit the mysterious Violetta Verde, reunite...

After being stranded among mortals and finding himself too weak to return home, Tarvyn is desperate for a way to recharge his Synn powers. When he meets Captain Bailey, he knows he's found the right man for the job. Together they can find pleasure and power and maybe a future worth risking everything to claim. Together, they embark on a journey of passion and acceptance, where the boundaries between human and demon blur, and love becomes the ultimate source of power. In worlds torn between duty and desire, Tarvyn and Bailey must defy the odds and embrace their bond, knowing that their love ...

Taliyah: The last person I expect to ask me a favor is the headmistress of Blood Rose Academy, Aurea Grimsbane. But when she tells me her daughter, Vivian, has been brutally murdered, I can guess what’s coming next… Yep, Aurea wants me to figure out what happened to Vivian. Of course, my first answer is a resounding ‘no’ because I want nothing to do with that backstabbing witch. But when she threatens the safety of my family, claiming she’s stolen a bone dagger from the would-be Queen of Winter, Janara, my ears perk up. Why? Because that dagger will kill me, and I don’t want to ...

An eighth grader dares to direct the school play. Can she handle her cast of peers? Aimi Wilby loves theater and writing. With the spring play coming up, the budding author is thrilled to be assigned as an assistant director. Diligent Aimi can’t believe it when her teacher abruptly quits, and she is chosen to write and direct the entire production. Aimi refuses to be deterred even when she loses her mentor, her cast members fight, the school administrators prove apathetic, and parents are constantly overbearing. However, what the intrepid teenager fears most is that she will disappoint ...

A history of peasants in the Middle Ages, the story takes the listener into the life of Marion, the carpenter's wife, and her extended family as they struggle to survive through hardship, featuring a year in their lives at the mercy of the weather and the Lord of the Manor. Existing without soap, paper or glass and only with the most basic of tools, we learn how they survive starvation, sickness, fire and natural disaster in their home on the edge of the Weald.

A glitter explosion. A ruined poster. A mystery sandwich. Welcome to Marie Lane’s messiest week ever. Twelve-year-old Marie Lane has big plans to win her school’s kindness poster contest—until a spilled paint cup, a very sparkly dog, and a bad case of Tuesday ruin everything. But just when things feel hopeless, Marie turns her glittery disaster into a message from the heart: “Kindness isn’t always neat. But it always matters.” What follows is a week full of awkward apologies, anonymous acts of kindness, and one sandwich that just might change everything. With humor, heart, and a...

Action, adventure, and suspense collide in this swashbuckling tale of pirates, sea monsters, and curses! Perfect for young readers! Summer has arrived at the North Pole, and Santa’s castle is humming in excitement for the upcoming Midsummer Festival. But Leo’s dreams of rest and relaxation are quickly cut short when a new mission falls in his lap. A faraway land called the Emerald Realm has been devastated by a terrible curse. Leo must travel to this land of pirates and tropical wonders and find a way to break the curse. Join Leo the Elf on this exciting adventure where danger lurks ...

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear… underpants. Meet Max Briefly and the elite, elastic-clad team known as Brief Force—a squad so secret, even their underwear has clearance levels. When the world’s most embarrassing mysteries threaten civilization—vanishing laundry, rogue dryers, static-cling insurgencies—it’s up to them to restore order one waistband at a time. From laser-guided boxer raids to emotionally unstable sock puppets, Operation Underpants is an uproariously suspenseful journey through the world’s strangest fashion crimes. Packed with humor, heart, and more briefs ...

The Spanish Flu was a pandemic occurring mainly in the fall of 1918 and affecting most of America and Western Europe. In America it killed 675,000 but in Europe and worldwide 20-40 million souls died from the disease. It killed more persons than all the 20th century wars—World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Afghanistan. Years later the virus was found and made in a lab. It was stored in the CDC, the communicable disease center for the US. It is not known if the virus escaped from its safe locked laboratory by accident or if someone did it purposely. Dr. MacArthur Donne, a...

The year is 1203 and John has succeeded Richard the Lionhearted as England's king. That's when Thomas is captured while trying to deliver a letter from the Pope to the crusaders gathering to once again try to liberate Jerusalem from the Saracens. The gritty realities of the time and the fighting, action, and betrayal are continuous as William takes his archers and galleys to Constantinople in an effort to rescue him.

Unlock the Secrets of Hawthorne Manor… If You Dare! A spooky haunted house chapter book for brave middle-grade readers ages 8–12. At the edge of town looms the eerie and mysterious Hawthorne Manor—a house long whispered about for its ghostly sightings and buried secrets. Most steer clear. But five friends—Oliver, Olivia, Ethan, Violet, and Jack Hawthorne—are drawn to uncover the truth behind the chilling legends. What begins as a daring exploration quickly turns into a spine-tingling quest. Guided by cryptic clues, spectral allies, and their own courage, the kids journey through ...

Surviving Primary School! – The essential self esteem and confidence book for kids… This happened in grade 5. All of us still looked and sounded like young kids when I, and only I, started to develop a ‘phenomenon’: I suddenly started to grow hairs on my arms and on my legs. This was thick black hair that you couldn’t help noticing. I had become hairy! It was hot outside, and the regional sports competition was coming soon. It sounded like great fun, but for me it was a nightmare. Just the thought of our team sports kit (the shortest possible running short and a skimpy vest) made ...

Bea's parents think she can accomplish absolutely anything—and she's determined to prove them right. But at the end of seventh grade, on the same day she makes a gutsy play to send her softball team to the league championships and Xander, the boy she likes, makes it clear that he likes her too, a scandal shakes up her world. Bea's dad made a big mistake, taking money that belonged to a client. He's now suspended from practicing law, and another lawyer spread the news online. To make matters worse, that other lawyer is Xander's dad.