Renaissance Fiction

Florence. Autumn, 1539. Cesare Aldo was once an officer for the city’s most feared criminal court. Following a period of exile, he is back but demoted to night patrol when only the drunk and the dangerous roam the streets. Chasing a suspect in the rain, Aldo discovers a horrifying scene beneath Michelangelo’s statue of David. Lifeless eyes gaze from the face of a man whose body has been posed as if crucified. It’s clear the killer had religious motives. When more bodies appear, Aldo believes an unholy murderer is stalking the citizens of Florence.

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.

Anne Boleyn is at the height of her power. Feisty heroine Kat Cooke returns to the Tudor court, where danger lurks around every corner and even love is uncertain. Now a musician for Anne Boleyn, Kat struggles to keep her marriage afloat as she balances her loyalties, risking her heart and her life.

"Die Hexe, sie soll brennen!" Im Jahre 1484 muss Richard, Sohn eines schwäbischen Kaufmanns und einer Sarazenin, hilflos mit ansehen, wie seine Mutter auf dem Scheiterhaufen stirbt; ist damit auch sein Schicksal besiegelt? Als der Junge in den Haushalt seiner Tante aufgenommen wird, wendet sich das Blatt – sie ist die Frau von Jakob Fugger, dem einflussreichsten Kaufmann des Abendlandes.

È l'anno del signore 1550 L'Europa è ancora percorsa da venti di guerra. Il lungo scontro tra Spagna e Francia, durato decenni, causando tante morti e tanta distruzione, senza risparmiare nemmeno Roma, messa a ferro e fuoco dai lanzichenecchi, non si è ancora concluso. Il luteranesimo e le altre confessioni protestanti infiammano gli animi del Nord Europa e dell'Inghilterra. E la minaccia dei turchi, che hanno già conquistato tutto l'Oriente e raso al suolo quel che restava dell'impero bizantino, è più viva che mai.

Ny bestseller af forfatteren til Havets Katedral. I 1500-tallets Andalusien stræber den unge Hernando efter frihed - for sig selv og sit folk. Som uægte søn af en katolsk præst og en muslimsk kvinde efter en voldtægt fanges han i et brutalt opgør mellem to religioner og i et spil om kærlighed, han umuligt kan vinde. Fatimas Hånd er en gribende og brutal rejse med tragedier og triumfer i det gryende moderne Spanien.

A shocking ancient secret. The origins of western civilization discovered. The Renaissance - our most fundamental age of technological and artistic advance, was built upon a secret passed down to a banking family in Florence - the Medici. 500 years ago that secret was buried. Florence, Italy, present day. A trove of letters belonging to the Medici family is discovered underground. Archaeologist Kat Cullen comes across a map that leads her to the Swiss Alps where her partner is murdered and she is left for dead.

"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 ?"

Firenze, 1469. Lorenzo de' Medici sta vincendo il torneo in onore della sua sposa, Clarice Orsini, appena giunta a Firenze per le nozze con l'uomo che diventerà il Magnifico. Questo matrimonio non è un passo facile per Lorenzo: il suo cuore - ne è convinto - appartiene e sempre apparterrà a Lucrezia Donati, donna di straordinaria bellezza e fascino. Eppure asseconderà il volere della madre e rafforzerà l'alleanza con una potente famiglia romana.

England, 1647. As civil war gives way to an uneasy peace and Puritanism becomes the letter of the law, Frances Wolfreston, a rector's wife, is charged with enforcing religious compliance by informing on her parishioners. This awful task triggers memories of her mother, Alice, who inspired Frances' love of books and secretly practiced Catholicism at great risk. Conflicted, she doesn't report a reclusive and mysterious midwife to delay her going to gaol.

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.

In the late 1590s, Scotland was on the verge of many changes that would shape its future, such as religious reformation and the union of the crowns with England. But in many ways the country, was still rooted in its medieval past, and fear of witches and demons was still a large part of everyday life. Seton confronts his demons, both internal and external, as he wanders on the fringes of history.

Montpellier in 1566 - only fools walk the streets at night unarmed while a profession of faith in the wrong company can lead to a knife in the back. Not even this proud city of philosophers is safe from the menaces that endanger the peace of France. The city militia are struggling to contend with the lawlessness and religious hatred that threaten to tear the whole country in two.

Countee Cullen was already a prominent literary figure when he published Color, his auspicious debut collection of poetry. In deceptively simple verse, and in harmony with lyric tradition rather than rebellion against it, Cullen covered such complex terrain as race, faith, mortality, sexuality, and identity. Cullen may be less well known today than his contemporaries, but his emotional candor, creative ambition, and impudent humor retain an unforgettable spark.

Light-skinned black woman Irene Redfield meets an old childhood friend - Claire - who is now "passing" as a white woman... Claire is married to a racist white man, who doesn't know she has African American blood. Despite the danger of being found out by her husband and society at large she finds herself helplessly drawn to Irene's world. An absolutely fascinating listening experience on many levels simultaneously.

Le roman Les Borgia fait partie de la saga historique "Les Crimes célèbres", une série de romans d'Alexandre Dumas, parus entre 1839 et 1840. Chaque roman prend son origine dans un contexte historique différent, couvrant une période allant de la Renaissance à l'époque contemporaine de Dumas. César Borgia, fils du pape Alexandre VI, domine cette famille illustre qui va se construire un royaume dans l'Italie de la Renaissance, éliminant par le fer ou le poison ses principaux rivaux. Il est le frère de Lucrèce Borgia qui a marqué son époque comme protectrice des arts et des lettres.

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.

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.

Georgia Douglas Johnson was a key contributor to the Harlem Renaissance - hosting an influential salon, breaking new ground as a Black playwright, and playing an important role as an anti-lynching activist. Her poetry, however, is what first brought her to national attention, and in the early works collected here, her wide-ranging talents are already quite evident. In The Heart of a Woman, Johnson’s exquisite verse captures the full emotional terrain of womanhood. These are poems about love and disillusionment, empowerment and fulfillment, loneliness and joy.

D'un échec naît parfois un nouveau départ. À la tête d'un grand studio hollywoodien depuis près de vingt ans, Andy Westfield aime son métier plus que tout. Mais il voit son existence s'effondrer quand il est licencié du jour au lendemain. Afin de passer ce cap difficile, il part se réfugier en Angleterre, dans une petite station balnéaire. Là-bas, il fait la connaissance de Violet Smith. La jeune femme, ancienne journaliste, aspire elle aussi à retrouver la paix après une série de drames personnels.