Historical Classics

Sometimes life is unfair. No pleasant reading without angst, no sunny weather without previous clouds. One cannot enjoy reading without emotional turmoil, just as one cannot appreciate a beautiful day without the memory of prior gloom. A year since Elizabeth and Mr Darcy married, their love remains strong, but the two of them have found it uneasy about adjusting to the new dynamics of marriage. Although no longer as judgmental as she used to be, Elizabeth still has strong-willed tendencies and holds onto her ideals. Mr Darcy has to travel more to solve estate matters. The Napoleonic Wars ...

In the town of Night Vale, there’s a faceless old woman who secretly lives in everyone’s home, but no one knows how she got there or where she came from...until now. Told in a series of eerie flashbacks, the story of The Faceless Old Woman goes back centuries to reveal an initially blissful and then tragic childhood on a Mediterranean Estate in the early 19th century, her rise in the criminal underworld of Europe, a nautical adventure with a mysterious organization of smugglers, her plot for revenge on the ones who betrayed her, and ultimately her death and its aftermath.

A careless whisper. A shattered trust. Will Darcy choose love. . .or vengeance? Elizabeth's secret hopes for an offer from Mr. Darcy are shattered when gossip spreads like wildfire through Meryton, branding Miss Georgiana a compromised woman at the hands of George Wickham. There is only one person entrusted by Darcy with his sister's secret—Elizabeth Bennett. Lizzy's fierce pride forbids she continue to plead her innocence. She would never betray Georgiana, but if Darcy does not know her better than that by now, then he never will. Bruised pride and a broken heart must be set aside when a...

A young girl called Tozi stands at the bottom of a pyramid, waiting to be led to the top where her heart will be cut out.... Pepillo, a Spanish orphan who serves a sadistic Dominican friar, is aboard the Spanish fleet as it sails towards Mexico.... This is the epic story of the clash of two empires, two armies and two gods of war. Five hundred desperate adventurers are about to pit themselves against the most brutal armies of the ancient Americas, armies hundreds of thousands strong.

A Scandal, A Mystery and Marriage of Convenience. Rebecca Allen is forced to leave London in disgrace after her mother causes a scandal in an attempt to secure her a titled marriage. She’ll never be able to step foot in London again. It gets worse, her mother contrives to marry her off to an old balding baron. Enough. She flees to the seaside, escaping her mother’s obsession. James Westcott disappointment at losing the lovely Juliana to an earl, makes a trip to the seaside escaping London society and his mother who insists he find a wife now. Finding Rebecca, James offers marriage, on a...

Young Peony is sold into a rich Chinese household as a bondmaid - an awkward role in which she is more a servant, but less a daughter. As she grows into a lovely, provocative young woman, Peony falls in love with the family's only son. However, tradition forbids them to wed. How she resolves her love for him and her devotion to her adoptive family unfolds in this profound tale, based on true events in China over a century ago.

Katherine comes to the court of Edward III at the age of 15. The naïve convent-educated orphan of a penniless knight is dazzled by the jousts and the entertainments of court. Nevertheless, Katherine is beautiful, and she turns the head of the King's favourite son John of Gaunt. But he is married, and she is soon to be betrothed. A few years later their paths cross again and this time their passion for each other cannot be denied or suppressed.

Proud… Not proud… Proud… Elizabeth Bennet is visiting her friend Charlotte—now Mrs. Collins—at Hunsford when they are invited to Rosings Park, the luxurious estate of Mr. Collins’ matron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. To her surprise, she meets a former acquaintance there, one she never would have expected to see again—Mr. Darcy! It turns out that Mr. Darcy is the nephew of Lady Catherine, and is now visiting his aunt with his younger sister, Georgiana. Elizabeth becomes quick friends with the spirited young girl, who is not at all as proud as a certain Mr. Wickham once described....

Joan of Arc's life and her accomplishments, as seen through the eyes of her childhood friend, are described with irony and brilliant insight into human nature. This was Twain's last book and he considered it to be his best.

Published on the eve of World War I, a decade after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity, Death in Venice tells the story of Gustave von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom.

I’ve gone by many names, though you most likely know me as Milady de Winter: Villainess. Seductress. A secondary player in someone else’s tale. It’s finally time I tell my own story. The truth isn’t tidy or convenient, but it’s certainly more interesting. Before you cast judgment, let me start at the beginning, and you shall learn how an innocent girl from the countryside became the most feared woman in all of Europe.

World-renowned pianist Gloria Banderas is at the height of her career when a curious ailment forces her to cancel a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall. The same day, she befriends one of the many free-spirited artists inhabiting the warren of apartments above the theater. With her career and marriage at a standstill, Gloria moves into an empty studio and convalesces among the poets, photographers, and dancers who eke out a living with total dedication to their art. As a return to her old routine beckons, Gloria must decide which parts of her life are worth fighting for.

The tulip craze of 17th century Holland has a dark side! Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy but naive tulip grower, finds himself entangled in the deadly politics of his time, and he must decide where his true love lies.

England is overrun by dragons of all shapes and sizes. Most people are blissfully unaware of them and the Pendragon Treaty that keeps the peace between human and dragon kind. Only those born with preternatural hearing, like Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are able to hear and converse with dragonkind.

Set in Venice at the close of World War II, Across the River and into the Trees is the bittersweet story of a middle-aged American colonel, scarred by war and in failing health, who finds love with a young Italian countess at the very moment when his life is becoming a physical hardship to him.

Merlyn Britannicus, leader of the Colony known as Camulod, is faced with the task of educating his younger charge, Arthur, future King of the Britons. Fearing for the life of his nephew when an assassination attempt goes awry, Merlyn takes Arthur and his boyhood companions Gwin Ghilleadh, and Bedwyr on a journey that will take then to the ruins of a long-abandoned Roman fort - far from Camulod and the only place where Merlyn feels they will be safe.

En 1517, las tesis de Martín Lutero desencadenaron la Reforma protestante. Ese mismo año nació en Valladolid Cipriano Salcedo. En tiempos de convulsiones políticas y religiosas, esa coincidencia de fechas marcaría fatalmente su destino. Huérfano desde su nacimiento y falto del amor del padre, Cipriano contó, no obstante, con el afecto de su nodriza Minervina, una relación que le sería arrebatada y que le perseguiría el resto de su vida.

"Death Comes for the Archbishop" is a masterful work of historical fiction by Willa Cather. Set in the American Southwest in the mid-19th century, the novel tells the story of a young French priest who is sent to establish a Catholic diocese in a rugged and unfamiliar land. Through his encounters with the indigenous people and his fellow settlers, the priest comes to understand the complexities and beauty of the human spirit.

The Greatcoats are back - and this time it's personal. How do you kill a Saint? Falcio, Brasti and Kest are about to find out, as someone is doing just that, and they've started with a friend. The Dukes were already looking for ways to weasel out of their promise to put Aline on her father's throne - but with Saints turning up dead and Church Inquisitors pushing for control, rumours are spreading that the gods themselves oppose her ascension.

When first published in 1759, Candide became an instant best seller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in this philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar.