Showing titles in Renaissance

Terry Jones introduces ten dramatisations of choice Florentine Fancies, adapted from Giovanni Boccaccio's classic human comedy by the BBC Monty Python star and medieval historian Terry Jones presents ten BBC Radio dramatisations of tales from Giovanni Boccaccio's humane and comic masterpiece...

‘The master of historical crime fiction’ LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON Don't miss the gripping new historical thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Ashes of London, perfect for fans of CJ Sansom, Robert Harris and Hilary Mantel England, 1688 King James II finally has an heir –...

An enterprising thief witnesses a brutal murder… 1536, London Mother and daughter 'shadow cutpurse' team, Emlyn and Gwynnie have been stealing to survive for years, but they are ready to make their big break and escape a life of crime forever. While Emlyn distracts the guards at Greenwich Palace, Gwynnie sneaks inside, searching for the royal jewels that will set them up for life.

A new spymaster thriller series set during the reign of Elizabeth I! For fans of Rory Clements, S J Parris, S W Perry and Andrew Taylor. Will Tom Walsingham’s first mission be his last…? England, 1581: Nineteen-year-old Thomas Walsingham is thrilled to be working as a confidential courier, carrying messages between London and Paris for his illustrious cousin, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham … until everything goes wrong.

For years d’Artagnan shared his adventures with his three comrades - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - but now, in Between Two Kings, the First Musketeer returns to the forefront. This is truly d’Artagnan’s novel, bringing to a dramatic climax the story that began when he first arrived in Paris 30 years earlier in The Three Musketeers.

WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION FINALIST REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER The author of award-winning Hamnet brings the world of Renaissance Italy to jewel-bright life in this unforgettable fictional portrait of the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici as she...

On May 17, 1536, a young court musician was executed, accused of adultery and treason with the queen. Most historians believe both he and Anne Boleyn were innocent—victims of Henry VIII’s rage. Mark Smeaton was a talented performer who rose from poverty to become a royal favorite. He played for the king in private and entertained at sumptuous feasts. He witnessed Anne Boleyn’s astonishing rise and fall—her reign of a thousand days. History tells us little about him, other than noting his confession and execution.

'A stunning debut. Weaving together a cast of loveable rogues, a richly detailed historical setting, and a cinematic thrill ride of a story, Medici Heist knocked us flat!' The Duffer Brothers, creators of Netflix's STRANGER THINGS 'Riotously readable' the Guardian Welcome to Florence, 1517, a...

From critically acclaimed author Nicole Galland comes a vibrant and thought-provoking historical tale of love, political intrigue, and gender-swapping set in the theatre world of Elizabethan London. Alexander “Sander” Cooke is the most celebrated “boy player” in the Chamberlain’s Men...

In the heart of Rome, the conclave is choosing a new Pope, and whoever wins will determine the fate of the Eternal City. Astrologer Mia and her fiancé Jacopo, a physician at the Santo Spirito Hospital, plan to marry, but the election result is a shock and changes everything. As Pope Innocent X takes the throne, he brings along his sister-in-law, the formidable Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, known as La Papessa – the female Pope. When Mia is offered a position as her personal astrologer, she and Jacopo find themselves on opposite sides of the most powerful family in Rome.

England, 1613. At the dazzling but brutal court of King James I, politician and philosopher Francis Bacon, the cleverest person in England, the inventor of the modern world, has a fight to survive. A life-threatening alliance of his enemies has formed around the king's exquisite but noxious lover, Carr. Bacon, always the outsider and the plotter, goes to his friend, James' neglected queen, and together they come up with a plan. 

✨🗡️A STOLEN RELIC. A MISSING GIRL. A HORROR UNLEASHED.🗡️✨ 💫'History and enchantment woven in a seamless, intricate tapestry' Sarah Rees Brennan 💫 💫 'Intricately plotted and vividly imagined' M.A. Kuzniar 💫 Lyta is trying her best. She's determined to stay out of trouble...

We know the truths men have forgotten… ‘Visceral, twisting, propulsive – Black Wood Women begs to be devoured’ Stacey Halls 'Grim and glorious' Daily Mail 'Will leave you breathless’ Sunday Post 'A vivid, inventive narrative' Sunday Times *** The last wolf in England hunts for prey...

JAPON. 1600. John Blackthorne rêvait d’y accoster. Il n’imaginait pas que, pour y parvenir, il aurait à braver une tempête. Craché par l’océan, l’équipage du pilote anglais touche enfin terre. Mais les marins regrettent bien vite leur découverte, car ils sont maintenant prisonniers de samouraïs aux mœurs très différentes des leurs. Amené devant Toranaga et Ishido, deux daimyō rivaux dont l’ambition secrète est de devenir Shōgun, Blackthorne fera tout pour recouvrer sa liberté. Mais il faudra bien des sacrifices pour survivre sur cette "Terre des Larmes", où la mort est une fatalité.

I saw her file it away: a good Catholic girl come to supervise her in her detention. Every girl in England, now, under the circumstances, made sure to be a good Catholic girl. Except her, of course. And, if only she knew it, me. Escorting 'nine days queen' Lady Jane Grey across the Tower of...

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the most iconic masterpieces of the Renaissance. Here, in Raphael, Painter in Rome, Storey tells of its creation as never before: through the eyes of Michelangelo's fiercest rival - the young, beautiful, brilliant painter of perfection, Raphael. Orphaned at age 11, Raphael is determined to keep the deathbed promise he made to his father: become the greatest artist in history. But to be the best, he must beat the best, the legendary sculptor of the David, Michelangelo Buonarroti. 

*SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH, MARCH 2021* ‘Absolutely spellbinding. I gobbled it up in two days and could not stop' Miranda Seymour A remarkable and meticulously researched novel from award-winning writer Alan Judd, exploring the life of literary genius Kit Marlowe, whose...

Nineteen-year-old Anne of Denmark, Queen of Scotland, is thrilled and triumphant at the birth of a healthy baby boy, destined to reign as King of Scotland and, possibly, England. But Anne's enjoyment of maternal glory quickly fades as her husband King James, fearing his son will be politically manipulated against him as he was against his mother, the deceased Mary Queen of Scots, removes the child permanently from her care. Outraged, Anne tries to regain control of her son, initiating a bitter marital struggle which sours what had been a loving and harmonious marriage.

March, 1605. Country doctor and former ship surgeon Gabriel Taverner is ready for his next adventure. He can't wait to leave Devon and tend to the crew of the Luipaard while sailing the Eastern seas. As years pass by, Gabriel's family and friends back home are struggling with his substitute physician. Doctor Maudsley Cheverell turned out to be as incompetent as they come and unpleasant at best. So when he is found dead in a ditch one day, no one seems to be too surprised. Only, when examining the body, it seems like Cheverell was tortured using a specific method from the East . . .

(Tudor Rose Book 1) Frustrated by his own failures at matrimony, King Henry VIII punishes an insolent nobleman by commanding him to marry the vagabond woman caught stealing his horse. Stephen de Lacey is a cold and bitter widower, long accustomed to the sovereign's capricious and malicious whims...