Showing results for "Illusion" in Historical Fiction

At a time of extraordinary change, two women must harness their talents to take control of their own destiny . . . Bristol, 1896. Used to scraping a living as the young assistant to an ageing con artist, Cecily Marsden's life is turned upside down when her master suddenly dies. Believing herself...

The Palace of Illusions brings readers to a Paris breathless with excitement at the dawn of the twentieth century, where for a select few there is a second, secret Paris where the magic of the City of Light is very real in this enchanting and atmospheric fantasy from the author of The Fairy...

Cora is about to discover who she truly is. It’s the summer of 1913, and Cora Kensington’s life on the family farm has taken a dark turn. Not only are the crops failing, but someone dear to Cora is failing as well. One fateful afternoon, a stranger comes to call, and Cora discovers a terrible secret about her past… a secret that will radically change her future. Cora is invited to take the “Grand Tour” of Europe, a trip intended to finish a person’s education and solidify an understanding of refinement and ancient culture.

Ghostly images appear and float across the stage, objects levitate into the air, and a beautiful assistant disappears inside a glass box, then reappears inside a second glass box. All while the audience at the Crystal Palace, including amateur investigator Mikaela Forsythe, watch the performance. Is it real? Then, an evening with her friend, Theodora Templeton, attending the one-night performance by master illusionist Jean Luc Betard, takes a ghastly turn and plunges Mikaela headlong into murder when the illusionist's young assistant is found dead at the end of his newest stunt.

June 1940. As World War Two rages, Daphne Devine remains in London, performing each night as assistant to stage magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka the Grand Mystique. Then the secret service call. For, aware of Hitler's belief in the occult, the war office has set up a hidden cohort to exploit this quirk in the enemy's chain of command. Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison. Here, they join secret ranks of occultists, surrealists, and other eccentrics co-opted to the war effort.

Irish immigrant and private detective Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to see world-famous illusionist Harry Houdini. But before he can even take the stage, the opening act goes horribly wrong—and the sensational Signor Scarpelli’s lovely assistant is sawed in half. In the aftermath, Scarpelli accuses Houdini of tampering with his equipment. Who else but the so-called Handcuff King could have got a hold of his trunk of tricks, which he keeps under lock and key?

England, 1911. When a free-spirited young woman arrives in a sleepy Berkshire village to work as a maid in the household of The Reverend and Mrs Canning, she sets in motion a chain of events which changes all their lives. For Cat has a past - a past her new mistress is willing to overlook, but...

Lady Abigail of Blackmore is being sent by her father to marry the vile Lord Shrewsbury in return for the release of her brother. When a thief robs them on the road, she sees him as her opportunity to run from a life that no longer suits her. Madoc ap Powell has been raised as a peasant, knowing nothing about his true heritage. In order to survive, he has lived his life as a thief. He is known for his disguises, and being a master of illusion is his best skill. But when the Lady Abigail hunts him down to retrieve her stolen dagger, he finds that he is not the only one looking to escape a life of doom.

With the coming of the Olympic Games to Berlin, a false air of civility has taken over as the government extends a welcome to the world. But below the surface, the police state remains, and hundreds of so-called “undesirables” are rounded up and held in a newly constructed concentration camp in the city. In desperation, one of the prisoners reaches out to the Ritter family, and Maureen and her band of subversives will undertake a mission of mercy that could see them all end up as victims of the dreaded Gestapo.

This is the very first collection of short stories written by author David Niall Wilson. It was originally published as a signed, limited edition trade paperback in 1995. This book includes many early stories that have never been reprinted, and some, like "On the Third Day," and "A Candle Lit in Sunlight" that were later expanded to full-length novels. This collection includes vampires, magic, Lovecraftian horror, and religious fable. The introduction is by the late grandmaster of horror and fantasy, Hugh B. Cave.

Engaged by proxy to a man she’s never met, Lady Daintry Tarrant is dismayed when the war hero returns, introducing himself as her fiancé, Lord Penthorpe. She cherishes her independence and has turned away many suitors, but this one she must marry. Penthorpe is completely captivated by Lady Daintry - but he’s not who he claims to be. Penthorpe and Lord Gideon Deverill fought together at the battle of Waterloo, and when Penthorpe fell, Gideon assumed his identity in order to see the beautiful Lady Daintry. Gideon knows there’s bad blood between Lady Daintry’s family and his own, but he’s smitten....

Venise, 1907. D'étranges incidents viennent perturber les répétitions de Chung Ling Soo, le légendaire magicien chinois. Dans les coulisses du Teatro Rossini, des ombres sans visage rôdent, les murs semblent respirer, murmurer et la scène réclamer le sang des intrus. Pour Paolo, le vieux gardien, il n'y a aucun doute : le Fantôme de l'Opéra est de retour !

Twenty-five years ago, Martin Roth made the most difficult decision of his life. He gave up the girl he loved, married a different woman, and raised a family. But he's just been given another shot at happiness. Sylvia has loved Martin since she was a young girl. They have two great children and a wonderful life together - until a love from Martin's past threatens everything she's worked so hard to build. Jenny McCoy can't believe she and Martin have found each other again - but she's never gotten over his cruel betrayal.

Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand. Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and get back to work until her kids had their own children, and it would be her turn to stop working to take care of them.

Chicago, 1971. A marriage broken. A second chance at complicated love. Jackie Moretti always believed in fairy tale endings. But six months into her marriage, it becomes alarmingly clear that Jackie's husband Stephen is not the man she thought she married. Her husband blames Jackie for the destruction of their relationship. She tries to cope with the pain by taking on a new job at a local bar, diving into a series of one-night stands, and numbing herself with drugs. Then sexy mechanic Michael Nowak grabs Jackie's attention.

1892, New York. Après un tour de pyrotechnie qui dérape, Jenny Marton, jeune magicienne, voit le théâtre où elle se produisait partir en fumée et toutes ses économies avec. Son seul moyen de s’en sortir ? Résoudre l’enquête que lui a confiée Pinkerton, célèbre agence de détectives privés. Au Havre, un bateau a disparu et tout son équipage s’est réveillé sur le port sans que personne ne se rappelle rien, si ce n’est d’un monstre à la voix berçante. De plus, le cadavre d’un marin a été retrouvé sur le quai ! 

Madeleine Ingleton has just come home from the Swiss finishing school where she has spent the last two years. She returns to a whirl of social engagements and parties...and to Hamilton Bramwell, the young man her parents are determined she marry. Hamilton is wealthy and agreeable, but he isn’t the man of Madeleine’s dreams, and she longs to choose her own husband rather than bow to her parents’ wishes. Innocent Madeleine’s eye is caught by a young milkman, and she succumbs to new and overwhelming feelings - feelings which lead to disaster.

UN THRILLER HALETANT CONSTRUIT COMME UNE MÉCANIQUE DE PRÉCISION. À la mort de son protecteur de toujours, Atanasio se rend à Genève pour la lecture du testament. Pour toucher l'héritage, le jeune homme doit consentir à une mission machiavélique : accomplir la vengeance de Don Carlo en assassinant les ennemis de ce dernier selon un protocole précis. À commencer par l'ensorcelante Alba Malcessati, l'épouse de Don Carlo.

Despite the misgivings of her fiancé, Calder Hart, Francesca cannot turn away from a threat that is terrorizing the tenement neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. A madman has attacked three women, but while the first two victims survived, the third is found dead. All the victims are impoverished but beautiful Irishwomen - and Francesca fears that her dear friends Maggie Kennedy and Gwen O'Neil could be next. Soon she is working with her former love, police commissioner Rick Bragg - Calder's half brother and worst rival.

When Kate arrives in Hays, Kansas to teach in a one-room schoolhouse, she learns she will be "boarding around". She is alarmed to learn she'd have to board at the home of Josh Redfield. Could she live in the home of a man thought to have killed his wife? Rumors and gossip plague the town and the results could be dangerous.