Showing results for "Ink" in Historical Fiction

Some valuable books have been stolen from Master John Wyclif, the well-known scholar and Bible translator. He calls upon his friend and former pupil, Hugh de Singleton, to investigate. Hugh’s investigation leads him to Oxford where he again encounters Kate, the only woman who has tempted him to leave bachelor life behind, but Kate has another serious suitor. As Hugh’s pursuit of Kate becomes more successful, mysterious accidents begin to occur. Are these accidents tied to the missing books, or to his pursuit of Kate?

WINNER OF A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD A USA TODAY BESTSELLER "A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion."—Toni Morrison Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of...

London, 1665. The city is in the grip of plague. Houses are sealed, doors are marked with red crosses, and fear hangs over every street. In the midst of it all, a young draughtsman begins a diary, recording the shadows gathering over a city that seems to be unravelling before his eyes. What begins as a private record of survival soon becomes something more. Amid sickness, grief, and suspicion, he finds an unexpected connection that offers a glimmer of hope. But as the plague loosens its hold, darker forces begin to emerge.

Grace Fitzgerald, a fiery-haired dreamer, longs to escape the confines of her windswept Dingle fishing village. Across the Atlantic, Richard Lewis, heir to a Savannah banking fortune, suffocates under the weight of societal expectations he can't quite understand. When their worlds collide through a twist of fate, Grace and Richard uncover a bond so profound it shakes the very foundations of their existence. As Europe inches towards chaos, they find themselves caught in a whirlwind of discovery, challenging everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other.

When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician, Oscar Barratt, asks India and Matt to investigate. As the recipient of threatening letters written on magic paper, he believes he was the intended target. With suspects ranging from Oscar's brother to guild masters and London's elite, India and Matt have a lot of investigating to do. But the more they dig, the more dark secrets they uncover.

Philadelphia, 1778. The British are watching, the French have arrived, and freedom is still a rumor. Claire Valois-widowed, fluent, almost invisible-steps ashore with a sewing basket and a deadlier cargo: messages written in lemon ink, meant for General Washington's spies and Rochambeau's officers. Her nerve and quiet brilliance pull her through candlelit taverns, Loyalist parlors, and river crossings where one wrong glance can end a war-or a life. Shadowing her is Captain Edward Ashford, a British dragoon who prides himself on restraint and never misses a seam.

David Lloyd George is at Chequers for the weekend with his mistress Frances Stevenson, fretting about the fact that his involvement in selling public honours is about to be revealed by one Victor Grayson. Victor is a bisexual hedonist and former firebrand Socialist MP turned secret service informant. Intent on rebuilding his profile as the leader of the revolutionary Left, he doesn't know exactly how much of a hornet's nest he's stirred up. Doesn't know that this is, in fact, his last day.

Housewife and mother of two, Mitzy Barlow is tired of the stifling monotony of her everyday life. With a husband who brushes off all affection and a routine that leaves her bored out of her mind, playing pretend is no longer enough. To help make ends meet, she hosts Tupperware parties, selling...

All Asanka knows is poetry. From his humble village beginnings in the great island kingdom of Lanka, he has risen to the prestigious position of court poet and now delights in his life of ease: composing romantic verses for love-struck courtiers, enjoying the confidence of his king, and covertly teaching Sarasi, a beautiful and beguiling palace maid, the secrets of his art.

Peyne Erlich’s mission from the king is to learn everything he can about the rival kingdom’s magical ink mage warriors. What he finds is Zayda Yond. Ever since Zayda was sold into servitude by her financially destitute father, her masters have taught her a punishing lesson: erase the past. Collared with an unmovable band of exotic metal, she faces a future of slavery. She’s also become an ink mage, marked with a tattoo that enables her to experience the world as no one else can - a powerful honor, yet one out of her control. Now, Zayda dreams only of escape.

How far must you run to leave the past behind you? It is 1919 and the end of the war has not brought peace for Emeline Vane. Lost in grief, she is suddenly alone at the heart of a depleted family. She can no longer cope. And as everything seems to be slipping beyond her control, in a moment of...

It’s October, 1923, and Olive Belgrave has a new case. Her client, Lady Agnes doesn’t believe in curses, and she hires Olive to prove her Egyptologist uncle wasn’t the victim of a malevolent mummy. Olive investigates and discovers the truth is much worse—it’s murder. Can Olive debunk the curse and reveal the true culprit before the supposed curse claims another victim?

Switzerland, 1924. Lady sleuth Olive Belgrave is set to enjoy a holiday of ice skating and snowshoeing in the glamorous alpine setting of St. Moritz, but her plans are rudely interrupted when an unfortunate accident takes place. It quickly becomes clear that the tragic event was a carefully concealed murder. Olive isn’t one to shy away from a challenge, and with her sharp intuition and knowledge of the high society set, she uncovers motives among the elite guests. However, this case is one of the most challenging she’s faced.

The Ink That Stares is a chilling, literary descent into the secret history of the 20th century’s greatest monsters. What if the iconic images of horror—Nosferatu’s shadow, Frankenstein’s creature—weren’t created in a writer’s imagination, but were excavated from the battlefields of World War I?

Judea, AD 66. A Roman legion suffers a smashing and catastrophic defeat at the hands of an angry band of Hebrews armed with only slings and spears. Knowing Emperor Nero's revenge will be swift and merciless, they must decide how to defend their land against the Roman invasion. Caught up in the tumult is the mason Judah, inadvertent hero of Beth Horon, who now finds himself rubbing shoulders with priests, revolutionaries, generals, and nobles, drafted to help defend the land of Galilee.

In the tradition of The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber, the debut historical fiction novel Blood and Ink tells the story of Christopher (Kit) Marlowe, the dark and brooding playwright of Queen Elizabeth's court. Marlowe sells his soul to gain the one thing he desires: to see his name immortalized. Inspired at an early age on the banks of the Stour River, his passion for a goose quill and ink thrusts him into the labyrinth of England's underworld - a secret spy ring created by the Queen's spymaster, Sir Frances Walsingham.

In ancient Samaria, Aban anticipates his rites of passage with excitement and dread. He yearns to join the priesthood of Ba’al Melqart, unlock the power of the rain god, and hear the deity’s voice. He’s been warned the licentious ceremony can take a dangerous turn, but as eldest son of the high priestess, he holds a privileged position. If he can make it through the ceremony, one day he’ll rise to high priest.

When reporter Evelyn Drake turns up dead, Detective Declan Marr is assigned the kind of case nobody wants: no witnesses and no motive—at least not at first glance. The more Marr pulls at the threads Evelyn left behind, the more he uncovers a quiet network of men who move money, favors, and threats through the city without ever being seen. A network people whisper about but never name. And they’ve already marked their next target.

France, 1926. In the wake of murder and tragedy, Lord Unsworth and his family flee to the French Riviera in a desperate attempt to escape the ensuing scandal and find a few months of peace and solitude. But their hopes are soon dashed when Fanny joins a community of writers, artists, and anarchists, and Arthur unwittingly becomes entangled in a plot to catch an elusive international jewel thief.

Penniless and disgraced, Adelaide Wentworth is feeling rather desperate. With nothing left to lose, she and her sister, Louisa, flee to Lake Geneva with Adelaide's lover, the infamous poet Julian Estes. There, Louisa hopes to persuade Bayard Sonnier - celebrated writer and her former lover - to advance Julian's career. He is their last hope for salvation.