Renaissance Fiction

"Je ne sais pas si un paradis quelconque existe ni si je mérite d’y atterrir, mais j'espère avoir au moins la chance de rencontrer ce fameux passeur et de pouvoir plaider ma cause auprès de lui. Moi qui attrape un coup de soleil après à peine dix minutes de bronzette, que vais-je devenir si je dois me faire rôtir les fesses aux Enfers ?"

In The Lantern: A Renaissance Mystery, a 21st century American woman searches to learn the truth about the 15th century mysterious Italian girl who dared to compete with the most famous artists of the Renaissance. Across time and space, their lives collide as they battle abuse, disease, fear and prejudice in pursuit of their dreams. Along the way, they intersect with some of the most famous figures of the Renaissance.

Isaac Stanfield leaves his home to become a sailor on a merchantman, the Sweet Rose, and through ingenuity and sheer luck, finds himself in the middle of the drama and explorations that precede the departure of the Mayflower for New England in 1620. Exploration is Isaac's coming-of-age story, capturing the turbulence of the times through his observations and experiences. Suspenseful, poignant, and expertly researched, David Tory's novel brings to life an engaging cultural history of English seafaring exploration and intrigue in the early 17th century.

England, 1613. At the dazzling but brutal court of King James I, politician and philosopher Francis Bacon, the cleverest person in England, the inventor of the modern world, has a fight to survive. A life-threatening alliance of his enemies has formed around the king's exquisite but noxious lover, Carr. Bacon, always the outsider and the plotter, goes to his friend, James' neglected queen, and together they come up with a plan.

Ein geheimnisvolles Manuskript, eine Frau, die dessen Macht spürt – und ein Mann, der vor nichts zurückschreckt, um beide zum Schweigen zu bringen... Italien, zur Zeit der Renaissance: Beatrice, die Bibliothekarin eines Klosters, scheut seit Jahren die Gesellschaft ihrer Schwestern und findet nur in ihren Manuskripten Zuflucht. Sie sehnt sich nach der Außenwelt – einer Welt, die jedoch durch skrupellose Männer beherrscht wird und in der es für Frauen wie sie keinen Platz gibt.

The eagerly awaited first book in Philippa Gregory’s sweeping new series begins with the story of Alinor, a young midwife who finds herself tempted by a forbidden love affair. But in a society that has already set a path for her, she is all too aware of the dangers that await a woman who dares step out of place....

Eric Walrond was a singular voice of the Harlem Renaissance, and Tropic Death is his most famous work - a collection that highlights his particular strength as a writer of short fiction. Over the course of these ten stories, Walrond vividly details the punishing realities of life and labor across the Caribbean, and yet the overall effect is far from grim. These are unsentimental yet startlingly beautiful portraits of the migrant experience, full of distinctive voices striving for an audience in a seemingly implacable world.

Une maladie mystérieuse, une famille qui cache plein de secrets, une nouvelle vie dont elle se serait bien passée ! Quand elle finit à l'hôpital suite à une crise, Ayden doit s'exiler à la campagne, chez une grand-mère dont elle a peu de souvenirs. Elle seule est détentrice d'un remède qui la soulagera de ses maux. Cette fameuse maladie qui touche les filles de sa famille depuis des générations, elle en est malheureusement victime... Sa nouvelle vie commence alors, entre tisanes de plantes et rentrée scolaire.

The running wolf inscription told the world that a Solingen blade was at its throat. When a German smuggler is imprisoned in Morpeth Gaol in the winter of 1703, why does Queen Anne's powerful right-hand man, the Earl of Nottingham, take such a keen interest? At the end of the turbulent 17th century, the ties that bind men are fraying, turning neighbour against neighbour, friend against friend and brother against brother.

Vera Kincaid had everything to live for. The wife of a wealthy preacher man, she was smart, beautiful, and popular. But lovely wives often have dark secrets. Vera was no exception. When Vera is found dead, society reporter Lanie Price launches an investigation into the death of a woman she held dear and finds out that, for Vera, forbidden love had deadly consequences. Lanie's investigation takes her deep into the heart of a world where elegance masks deception and trust is a dangerous game. As Lanie peels back the layers of Vera's life, she discovers a tale of forbidden love and deadly ...

Brilliantly read by Nigel Gore, this audiobook joins together George Robert Minkoff’s three critically acclaimed historical novels about the founding of the first English colony at Jamestown - The Weight of Smoke, The Dragons of the Storm, and The Leaves of Fate. The novels are visionary epics chronicling lesser-known aspects of the Elizabethan world, including the importance of alchemy to Queen Elizabeth and her court. The canvas is vast, intertwining the life of John Smith, as a narrator, with that of Sir Francis Drake, the great Elizabethan explorer.

Dans la lutte entre le bien et le mal, êtes-vous sûr d'être dans le bon camp ? XXIe siècle. Le monde vit sous la coupe de différentes races de surnaturels qui se partagent le pouvoir sans que les humains en soient conscients. Seuls les membres de l'élite connaissent leur existence. Les plus puissants sont les vampires, fondateurs d'un réseau d'humains affiliés à leur cause, qu'ils soumettent grâce à la magie.

Mary is queen of Scotland, but she has been forced to flee her land and take refuge in an England that is ruled by her cousin, Elizabeth. But England, precarious in its Protestant state, set against the mighty powers of Spain, France and Rome, doesn't need a charismatic Catholic figurehead at large. So Elizabeth's chief advisor, Cecil, devises a plan in which Mary will live under guard with his trusted accomplice: Bess of Hardwick.

Sabina Rossi's forced marriage comes to an abrupt end during the infamous Pazzi Conspiracy. Wealthy beyond her dreams, the young widow is free to pursue her passions - with the utmost discretion, of course. The patriarchal society of Florence is full of secrets, and women who don't follow the rules suffer dire consequences. An unexpected betrayal leaves Sabina facing a potential scandal. Now, she must pick up the pieces of her shattered life and save her reputation.

Chi se non Paolo Poli poteva calarsi nei panni di Don Abbondio e della Monaca di Monza, dando una voce inconfondibile a ciascuno dei memorabili personaggi manzoniani e tirandoci dentro nelle vicende umane e storiche del grande romanzo? Il libro di tutti e per tutti, in una lettura che è un vero spettacolo!

Spanien, 1503: In der Festung La Mota soll Johanna von Kastilien endlich zur Vernunft kommen. Zu viel steht für ihre Mutter, Isabella die Katholische, auf dem Spiel. Die Königin regiert das Land mit unerbittlicher Härte, sie hat die Mauren vertrieben und lässt Tausende als Ungläubige auf den Scheiterhaufen der Inquisition verbrennen. Sie kann ihr Reich nicht in die Hände einer Tochter geben, die nicht betet, nicht beichtet und der Macht nichts bedeutet. Johanna will nicht über andere herrschen. Alles, was sie will, ist, über sich selbst zu bestimmen.

The riveting story of Margaret Pole, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, and was one of the few surviving members of the Plantagenet dynasty after the Wars of the Roses. Plantagenet, once carried proudly by Margaret like a crown upon her head, is now, at the end of the 15th century, the most dangerous name in England...

Welcome to Florence, 1517. Sharp-witted seventeen-year-old con-woman Rosa Cellini has plans for the Pope and the Medicis - and, more specifically, the mountain of indulgence money they've been extorting from the people of Tuscany. To pull off the Renaissance's greatest robbery, she'll recruit a team of capable misfits: Sarra the tinkerer, Khalid the fighter, and Giacomo, the irrepressible master of disguise. To top it all off, and to smooth their entrance into the fortress-like Palazzo Medici, Rosa even enlists the reluctant help of famed artist and local misanthrope, Michelangelo.

When the curtains rise on Angelina Weld Grimké’s devastating drama, the Lovings—a Black family from the South—have settled into a small but immaculate apartment in an unnamed northern city. The widowed matriarch, Mary; her daughter, Rachel; and her son, Tom anticipate a more promising future here, but Rachel, a sensitive young woman, has a sudden reckoning with the past that throws her future into serious doubt.

Enjoy these poems on brotherhood, connection, and community struggle by Harlem Renaissance authors. This collection is ideal for Black History and Women’s History programs.