Medieval English

The company of the Ring is torn asunder. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go. This continues the classic tale begun in The Fellowship of the Ring, which reaches its awesome climax in The Return of the King.

Mankind puts its faith in many things - gods, kings, money - anything for protection from the worlds many dangers. When a cult springs up in neighboring Clonmel, promising to quell the recent attacks by lawless marauders, people flock to offer gold in exchange for protection. But this particular group, with which Halt is all too familiar, has a less than charitable agenda. Secrets will be unveiled and battles fought to the death as Will and Horace help Halt in ridding the land of a dangerous enemy.

Former knight Crispin Guest is now known in the streets of medieval London as the Tracker—an investigator who can find anything and anyone. What begins as a straightforward case of murder turns complicated when Crispin realizes that the victim was an important courier in possession of a holy artifact—an object so valuable that its absence could start a war between France and England. Surrounded by possible suspects, Guest will have to use his wiles to navigate both the exclusive halls of King Richard's court and the hardscrabble streets of fourteenth-century London.

The Magna Carta is revered around the world as the founding document of Western liberty. Its principles - even its language - can be found in our Bill of Rights and in the Constitution. But what was this strange document and how did it gain such legendary status? Dan Jones takes us back to the turbulent year of 1215, when, beset by foreign crises and cornered by a growing domestic rebellion, King John reluctantly agreed to fix his seal to a document that would change the course of history.

Chandra de Avenell might look like a golden princess, but she fights like a warrior, dreams a warrior’s dreams, and wears a warrior’s pride like a suit of armor. She wants to be strong, independent, and free. She has no use at all for a husband. Enter the man her father has selected for her. Jerval de Vernon takes one look at Chandra, and he wants her. After he saves her from a very bad situation, he sets himself to wooing her—not an easy task.

In a realm carved by ambition and blood, Queen Isolde ascends to power amid whispers of betrayal and the iron clash of swords. Kind yet merciless, she must navigate deadly court intrigue, forge uneasy alliances, and face enemies who lurk in every shadow. As she balances compassion and steel-edged justice, one secret romance at her side may prove her greatest strength—or her most perilous weakness. Welcome to My Queen, where mercy and might duel for the fate of a kingdom. “She can be both kind and ruthless. Cross her and you’ll disappear forever.” When Queen Isolde takes the throne ...

The Year of our Lord 1071 The beautiful but feisty Saxon, Lady Kendra, finds her world turned upside down when her home and lands are claimed by the handsome and commanding Norman, Sir Leon Dubois, following the conquest of England. Forced into a marriage of convenience, Kendra is determined to resist her new husband at every turn. Fiercely independent and unyielding, she refuses to acknowledge Leon as her lord, let alone as her partner. Leon is equally determined to tame the fiery beauty who now shares his name. He quickly realises that Kendra is not a woman who can be easily subdued, and ...

Since it was first published more than 25 years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that "makes Homer live as never before" ( Library Journal).

Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization, they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated.

Anna is driving her aunt's minivan with her brother, David, when she crashes through time and finds herself in the middle of an ambush of Llywelyn, the last Prince of Wales. It is December 1282, and the English have attacked, hoping to eliminate the Welsh rebels forever. Instead, the siblings save Llywelyn's life and embark on a journey that transforms not only themselves but an entire world. is the story of what might have happened, had Llywelyn lived. And what happens to the two teenagers who save him.

When English troops threaten Lady Christiane MacGillean's beloved castle, she has no choice but to set it ablaze - and with it, the ancient treasure hidden there. Escaping into the Highland hills, she is quickly captured, taken south, and caged by the English king. Outraged by the lady's treatment, Sir Gavin Faulkener bargains for her life - and suddenly finds himself not only guardian of her castle, but wedded to her as well.

CHRISTIAN KNIGHTS AND MEDIEVAL CHIVALRY MEET THE MAGICAL PAGAN REALMS. Feisty Catherine defies every Christian doctrine, prayer, and curtsy expected from a daughter of a duke, as her connection to the mystical world fades. When Crown Prince Philip arrives to wed her sister as arranged, their hearts ignite, but the intense attraction is soon smothered by his knightly devotion to the church. For he is sworn to God and throne. Seeking guidance from her missing mentor—the Druidic elder who taught her the Old Ways of alchemical magic—Catherine learns of an ancient prophesy foretelling her ...

The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads even wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring. The devastating conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic tale of adventure, begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.

Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable, is central to the enmity of two of the greatest powers in the world. Morgoth of the uttermost evil seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city of his Elven enemies, while the gods in Valinor refuse to support Ulmo Lord of Waters' designs to protect it. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, and guided unseen by Ulmo he sets out on the fearful journey to Gondolin to warn them of their coming doom.

Set in treacherous sixteenth-century Scotland, Border Bride is the unforgettable story of a woman sworn to defy the knight she is forced to wed - only to discover a love she’ll do anything to claim. As Mary, Queen of Scots, languishes in the Tower of London as a prisoner of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, war tears Scotland apart. To save her beloved homeland, a proud Highland beauty named Mary Kate MacPherson must wage her own battle when she’s forced into wedlock with a knight, Sir Adam Douglas.

J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.

England, 1110. When King William Rufus of England is killed mysteriously during a hunting accident in the New Forest in 1100, his younger brother Henry, who had been present, loses no time in riding hard to claim both the Treasury and the crown. Rumors quickly being swirling that Henry was himself responsible for Rufus's death. One of Henry's main accusers is his older brother Robert, Duke of Normandy, who believes the throne of England is his by right and threatens to invade from across the Channel.

Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey has been the standard translation for more than three generations of students and poets. Macmillan Audio is delighted to publish the first ever audio edition of this classic work, the greatest of all epic poems. Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited for audio, recounting the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language listener in all its glory.

Catlin MacRob is used to being called headstrong. So when news arrives that she will be forced to wed Laird Broden Shaw in one month’s time if their clans’ feud is not laid to rest, she knows what she must do: single-handedly solve the mystery of her missing clanswoman, which has pushed both clans to the verge of war. Easy enough. But when Broden comes upon her snooping on his lands, his steely blue stare sends her wits scattering, and his nearness throws her best-laid plans into disarray. Can she uncover the truth before she loses her heart to the enemy?

Amidst the turmoil of the battle for the Scottish throne, bonny red-haired Meghan Innes and darkly handsome Black William meet at a Mayday celebration. They delight in the blush of newfound love until Meghan learns that Black William is actually William Bruce, cousin to the self-proclaimed king of Scotland, and enemy to her own clan. But when Meghan’s father is captured by the English, she must swallow her pride and appeal to King Robert and his cousin William for help in freeing her father. Forced into each other's company, can they conquer their differences and rekindle their love? War ...