Showing results by publisher "-emdashery books-" in Biographical Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Catherine Seymour has always idolized her elder sister Jane. As a child was groomed to be queen, to marry her cousin King Edward, and since his death she has been determined to restore her family's claim to throne. After spending time at Queen Mary's court, Jane has now returned home to Hanworth Park to the delight of Catherine and their brother Ned. To their surprise, Jane brings with her Lady Catherine Grey, sister of Jane Grey, the ill-fated nine-day queen, and heiress to the throne after Princess Elizabeth.

Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.

England. 1535. Jane Seymour is 27 years old and increasingly desperate to marry and secure her place in the world. When the court visits Wolf Hall, the Seymour ancestral manor, Jane has the perfect opportunity to shine: her diligence, efficiency, and newfound poise are sure to finally attract a suitor. Meanwhile, King Henry VIII is 45 and increasingly desperate for an heir. He changed his country's religion to leave his first wife, a princess of Spain, for Anne Boleyn—but she, too, has failed to provide a son.

Rome, AD 51: Vespasian brings Rome's greatest enemy before the emperor. After eight years of resistance, the British warrior Caratacus has been caught. But Agrippina, Emperor Claudius' wife, pardons Caratacus. Claudius is a drunken fool, and Narcissus and Pallas, his freedmen, are battling for control of his throne. Separately,they decide to send Vespasian east to Armenia to defend Rome's interests. Meanwhile the East is in turmoil.

Born in 1859 to Irish immigrants, Mary Dowling arrived at the height of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic fervor in America. The hardscrabble life her family led provided the foundation of grit and determination that would serve her well. She married the enterprising John Dowling. He offered her oversight of their burgeoning bourbon company's financial books and sought her insight as they grew from distillery investors to sole proprietors of Waterfill and Frazier.

New York, 1953. For Alana Olson, there's always been something about Picasso. An art historian and aspiring journalist, Alana was bound to encounter the most renowned artist of the era, but it was her late mother's strange fascination with the man that inspired Alana's doctoral thesis on his work. Then an assignment for a profile on Picasso from her dream publication leads Alana to a series of intimate interviews with Sara Murphy and Irene Legut - two women from the once-vibrant French social circle that included the artist.

Irvin D. Yalom, einer der angesehensten Psychotherapeuten Amerikas, wurde am 13. Juni 2021 neunzig Jahre alt. Er gilt als Klassiker der existentiellen Psychotherapie, seine Lehrbücher und Romane erscheinen weltweit und erreichen Millionen. Seine Frau Marilyn Yalom, eine renommierte Kulturwissenschaftlerin und Autorin, starb im letzten Herbst nach 65jähriger Ehe. Als klar war, dass ihre Krankheit zum Tode führen würde, begannen beide ein Buch zu schreiben - das am Ende Irvin D. Yalom alleine fertigstellen musste.

Hailes Castle, 1511. Midnight on a doom-laden Halloween and Elisabeth Hepburn, feisty daughter of the Earl of Bothwell, makes a wish to wed her lover, the poet David Lindsay. But her uncle has other plans. To safeguard the interests of the Hepburn family, she is to become a nun and succeed her aunt as Prioress of St. Mary’s Abbey, Haddington. However, plunged into the political maelstrom and religious turmoil of the early Scottish Reformation, Hepburn's life there is hardly one of quiet contemplation.

England, 1065: The Saxon kingdom is under threat of invasion at both ends. From the north comes Harald Hardrada of Norway intent on pillage, while across the Channel, Duke William of Normandy is about to enforce his claim to the throne. Between the two lie the villages and townships defended only by part-time armies maintained by the Earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria, barely united under King Harold Godwineson. It falls to brave and determined young men like Will Riveracre and Selwyn Astenmede to stand firm against whichever marauding invader reaches them first.

Paris in the 1920s: It is a city of intoxicating ambition, passion, art, and discontent, where louche jazz venues like the Chameleon Club draw expats, artists, libertines, and parvenus looking to indulge their true selves. It is at the Chameleon where the striking Lou Villars, an extraordinary athlete and scandalous cross-dressing lesbian, finds refuge among the club's loyal denizens, including the rising photographer Gabor Tsenyi, the socialite and art patron Baroness Lily de Rossignol, and the caustic American writer Lionel Maine.

Cambridge philosophy student Rickie Elliot—an orphan, lame in one foot—wants to be a writer. He exists in the intense university environment, influenced by relationships with other students both intellectual and sporty, and faces a growing involvement with the beautiful Agnes Pembroke. But he finds himself ill prepared for the reality of life and work in the outside world, further complicated by the unexpected appearance of a half-brother. His life moves toward compromise shaped by marriage and a teaching post. Where will this ultimately lead?

This is a story of philosophy, identity, and the powerful grip of travel, written by an iconic American author at the height of his fame, after spending ten days in France searching for his French heritage. Was the satori handed to him by a taxi driver, a waiter, a monsieur with a dazzlingly beautiful secretary, or while feeling fearful in the foggy streets at 3:00 a.m.? Or was it when hearing a requiem by Mozart in an old church, seeing trees in the Tuileries Garden, or while walking on a bridge over the River Seine?

Hayti 1811. Crowned Queen of Hayti, the first and only free Black nation in the Western Hemisphere, Marie-Louise Christophe rules alongside her husband King Henry. But Hayti still struggles with unrest and when Henry is overthrown, Queen Louise and her daughters are forced to leave their royal palaces and flee to London. In exile, Louise must redefine her position in society.

Librarian Heather Brown discovers the fascinating life of Alice Bailey - a long forgotten occultist. Back in 1931, Alice is preparing to give a speech at a Swiss summer school. But how can she stave the tide of hatred and greed set to bring the world to its knees? Soon after, Alice is put on Hitler's blacklist. What she doesn't realize is the enormity of her influence to the world, and the real enemies who are much closer than she thinks. A dynamic and complex figure, Alice Bailey’s reach was huge.

It is 1981. As a wave of puzzling medical cases sweeps across the US, a Parisian doctor is presented with a rare case of a disease long thought to be eradicated. It marks the beginning of a race on both sides of the Atlantic to make sense of a deadly virus that will define a generation.

Ein Schicksal, das über eine halbe Million Russland-Deutsche teilten. Nummer-1-Bestseller-Autorin Hera Lind erzählt die wahre Geschichte der Schwarzmeer-Deutschen Lydia, die erst 16 Jahre alt ist, als sie in einen sibirischen Gulag verschleppt wird. 1944 beginnt für die 16-jährige Lydia ein Alptraum, der nicht enden will: Als die Rote Armee auf ihr kleines Dorf bei Odessa in der Ukraine vorrückt, flieht die Familie. Sie schaffen es sogar bis nach Deutschland, doch sie werden zurückgeholt. Mit Mutter und vier Geschwistern wird Lydia bei minus 50 Grad nach Sibirien verschleppt.

Elizabeth Tudor has chosen never to marry. The man she loves, Robin Dudley, has lost his wife in mysterious circumstances. Knowing that were she to marry him, it would lead to his destruction and hers, Elizabeth has made up her mind... But Robin does not know this yet. Afraid to lose her favourite, Elizabeth has told Robin there may be hope. As times goes on, Robin attempts persuasion, pressure and trickery to take his place beside her on the throne of England. And it is not only with her beloved that Elizabeth is having problems...

In Hitler’s Germany, loyalty is demanded and dissent is deadly. But for a young German girl named Waltraud, nothing is more devastating than the day the Nazis steal away her father and force him to fight on the front lines. Even as their reign of terror spreads, she convinces herself that war will never touch her quiet village. But when bombs start falling and innocent people disappear, she’s confronted with a stark reality… she might be next. That’s because Waltraud has a secret. She’s been quietly resisting all along, and now she’s hiding someone in the barn.

They were the Boleyns, once one of England's most powerful family. Anne Boleyn captured the hand of Henry VIII, and now we see the rise and fall of their family fortunes through the eyes of the eldest Boleyn daughter, Mary. Mary Boleyn is overshadowed in history by her sister, Anne, but it was she who first caught the eye of Henry VIII, setting the stage for her family's dramatic rise to power - and ultimate fall from grace. Although Henry set her aside as his mistress, Mary still navigated the dangerous waters of the Tudor court while forging ahead to find a life.

London, 1926. American-raised Maisie Musgrave is thrilled to land a job as a secretary with the upstart British Broadcasting Corporation, whose use of radio - still new and electrifying - is captivating the nation. Soon Maisie is gaining confidence as she arranges broadcasts with famous writers and politicians, but she's also caught up in a growing conflict between her two bosses.