Showing results by publisher "Orion" in Historical Fiction

Arimnestos of Plataea grew up wanting to be a bronzesmith, like his father. Then, in the chaos of war, he was taken to a city in the Persian empire and sold as a slave. To win his freedom he had to show that he could fight and kill. Now, to preserve that freedom, he must kill again. For the Persians are coming. A vast army sent by King Darius to put down the rebellious Greeks and burn the city of Athens to the ground. Standing against them on the plain of Marathon is a much smaller force of Athenians, alongside their Plataean allies. To defeat such overwhelming force seems impossible.

Tom Swan - soldier, scholar, bastard, spy. Tom Swan and his friends are trying to save Europe from the Turks, but most of his adversaries seem to be other Europeans. This time, an unnamed cabal is trying to kill him and, incidentally, ruin the banks and trade of England, France and Italy. Join Tom Swan on his latest adventure as the likes of Cosimo di Medici, Warwick the Kingmaker, Bessarion the cardinal and Aneas Picclomini the Pope show Tom the Renaissance in all its deadly glory!

The moment Pixie Tate steps inside the opulent Aldershoff Hotel in Manhattan, one of the last relics of New York's Gilded Age, she senses instantly that its elegant walls hide a dark secret. Pixie knows that she must use her unique gift to travel back in time in order to discover the mysteries of the past, and as she slips back over a hundred years, she's shocked to find herself in the midst of one of the most famous events in history.

One empire will rise Flamininus of Rome and Macedonian King Philip's battle-hardened armies are on the march towards their final, climactic encounter. The other must burn. The outcome will decide the fate of Greece. But, on opposite sides, legionary Felix and Phalanx soldier Demetrios have more pressing concerns: staying alive long enough to taste glory....

Fifteenth Century Europe. Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

It's 1816 and nineteen-year-old Eliza Melrose, daughter of a printing magnate, is about to be launched into London's high society—much to her distaste, the last thing she wants is a husband. But then she meets the youngest son of the late Duke of Chester, a disgraced nobleman who is shrouded in mystery and proving quite impossible to resist! As the season begins, Eliza is shocked to discover that she won't even be given the chance to choose her own husband—and that the Melrose family fortune hangs in the balance...

England, 1469. As the War of the Roses rages on, Margaret Paston knows that there is only one way to survive the loss of the Paston's family seat, Caister Castle: a fortunate marriage for one of her unruly daughters. A favourable match will change the future of her family overnight but a scandal will ruin the Paston name forever.

The vast and deadly conflict between Alexander the Great's former generals as they battle for control of his empire has reached a tense stalemate. No one seems able to strike the decisive blow. But with everything in the balance, a secret emerges: hidden in the remote mountains is a young man who could change everything: Herakles, the son of Alexander. Whoever aspires to Alexander's mantle must now control his one legitimate heir - or destroy him - and a war being played across the known world is set for its final, bloody conclusion.

Half-sister to Emperor Honorius, unmarried and powerless, twenty-year-old Galla Placidia watches from the shadows as imperial policies are made and unmade. Her plans to gain power and influence are halted when the city is besieged and captured by a vast army led by Alaric the Visigoth. Taken hostage, travelling out of Italy, Galla Placidia falls in love and marries a barbarian king. At a time when Rome's power is fast dwindling, its authority diminishing year upon year, she embarks on a dangerous and remarkable journey towards the imperial throne.

In Paris 1940, survival means sacrifice. Like most in the city, Detective Eddie Giral has already lost so much under Occupation: the people he once loved, the job he once believed in. And his latest investigation into the murder of a black-marketeer has made it clearer than ever: Eddie is no longer just catching criminals. He's working for them. Because when a German trader is the next to die, the authorities decide it's innocent civilians who will pay the price - unless Eddie can find the killer in time.

211 BCE. The Roman invasion from the western seas is imminent, and from the south the Spartans are burning and pillaging their way north. Battle-hardened Philopoemen believes the Achean League is facing annihilation if it does not arm. But without a formal army or cavalry, they don't stand a chance. Convincing his friend and healer Alexanor that the threat is real, together they begin to build a massive cavalry guard from the ground up - one that will fight on all fronts. It is the last roll of the dice for the Achean League.

1941. It is the Second World War, and Louise Keene's small Cornish village is full of soldiers. Among them is the dashing RAF pilot Paul Bolton, who sweeps her off her feet, only to be deployed days later. Desperate not to be another girl pining for her sweetheart, Louise runs away to join the army, never imaging she would end up watching the pitch-black skies of London as a gunner girl....

Autumn, 1942. The Blitz has come to an end, but for many families, it's not over yet. As the residents of Jubilee Row begin to rebuild their lives, twins Sybil and Maudie Maguire decide to go off and do their bit by joining the WAAFs. But what starts off as a great adventure soon forces the girls to grow up as they are confronted with the harsh realities of war. Will they stick together, or will their experiences drive them apart? Back in Hull, their older sister Florence is a typing pool supervisor who has resigned herself to a life without love.

Marion Crawford is just 22 years old when she becomes governess to the little Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose in 1931. As their beloved 'Crawfie', she is instantly confided in, trusted and immersed in the lives of the royal family. As World War II finally comes to an end, it's clear that Princess Elizabeth has fallen in love. Now heiress presumptive to the British throne, no one believes that Prince Philip of Greece is a suitable husband for the future queen of England. No one, that is, except for Crawfie.

Princess Grace of Monaco has invited the world-famous Forsyth Variety Company to perform at her annual high society ball. Monaco is in the heat of its preparations for the Grand Prix when the Forsyth family makes their emotional return to the city, stirring up painful memories for father Ed Forsyth. When daughter Evie Forsyth meets Formula 1 driver Charles, their chemistry is unforgettable and a passionate affair begins. Meanwhile her brother Cal Forsyth is on location with Hollywood's biggest star, his new glittering career shaken by the arrival of a stranger from his past.

Georgiana Bailey is making her debut, but she's not looking for a husband. Her heart is finally on the mend and she's on the search for a wealthy benefactor to fund her charity home instead. John Tyrold has made a fortune, but he's not in the business of charity. Until his young ward, Flora, runs away, forcing him to seek help from the ravishing and secretive debutante, Georgiana. In return, he'll help save her from her money troubles. But being so close to the infuriating - and frustratingly handsome - John isn't as easy as Georgiana would like.

Dracula. A name of horror, depravity and the darkest sensuality. Yet the real Dracula was just as alluring, just as terrifying, his story not of a monster but of a man - and a contradiction. For the one they called 'The Devil's Son' was both tyrant and lawgiver, crusader and mass slaughterer, torturer and hero, lover and murderer. His tale is told by those who knew him best. The only woman he ever loved, who he must sacrifice. His closest comrade and traitor.

Meet the greatest Greek general you've never heard of: Philopoemen. In his day, a leader as skilled and as dangerous as Hannibal: a ferocious fighter, a superb general, and credited as the inventor of modern 'special operations'. More importantly, he was a brilliant political leader. He commanded Greek forces at the turn of the third century BC, when mighty Rome, fresh from the destruction of Carthage, and Imperial Macedon, the greatest power of the day, chose Greece as their battlefield.

Queen Margaret knows she must protect the crown - and her son Prince Edward's claim to it - at all costs. With her husband, King Henry, increasingly frail, it is up to Margaret to fight for their inheritance. And as the Wars of the Roses rage on, her enemies and their wives lurk close, threatening to unravel everything she is trying to protect.

From Sunday Times best-selling author Ben Kane comes a collection of short stories.