The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half-history half-myth & wholly magical; narrated by Panchaali the wife of the five Pandava brothers we are -- finally -- given a womans take on the timeless tale that is the Mahabharata Tracing Panchaalis life -- from fiery birth & lonely childhood where her beloved brother is her only true companion; through her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna; to marriage motherhood & Panchaalis secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands most dangerous enemy -- The Palace of Illusions is a deeply human novel about a woman born into a mans world -- a world of warriors gods & the ever manipulating hands of fate. A mythic tale brimming with warriors magic & treachery Los Angeles Times A radiant entree into an ancient mythology.. . Charming & remarkable Houston Chronicle A womans look at crime & punishment loyalty promises love & vengeance.. . With The Palace of Illusions Divakaruni has proven that her storytelling talents put her right up there with the best Miami Herald ...

On a blustery October night the Circus Oscuro came to town. It was clear from the start that this was no ordinary circus. They did not roll into town with fanfares & cartwheeling clowns. Instead they came in the dead of night when all the townspeople were asleep. The circus wagons turned into the long field at the bottom of the hill that overlooked the town of Larde & creaked to a halt in neat rows with barely a sound. There was just one witness to the arrival of the circus. A small boy huddled in a large wooden barrel high on the side of the hill watched the raising of the big top awakened from his sleep by the shouts of the circus people & the occasional trumpeting of the elephants. The boys name was Miles & the barrel was his home... ...

In the third instalment in the creepy captivating Larten Crepsley series Larten finds out what it means to love...but is he also damned to find out what it means to lose? Lost in the arctic waste carrying a baby whose love he could never deserve Larten faces the darkest time he has ever known. But hope has a way of shining through even the smallest of cracks & just as Larten reaches the end a new beginning presents itself. The trouble is for Larten the violence of his youth is never far from the surface...and those he loves are the ones he hurts the most. As Larten experiences heaven & hell & tries to save the soul of a child the question is: can he save his own? ...

In the third instalment in the creepy captivating Larten Crepsley series Larten finds out what it means to love...but is he also damned to find out what it means to lose? Lost in the arctic waste carrying a baby whose love he could never deserve Larten faces the darkest time he has ever known. But hope has a way of shining through even the smallest of cracks & just as Larten reaches the end a new beginning presents itself. The trouble is for Larten the violence of his youth is never far from the surface...and those he loves are the ones he hurts the most. As Larten experiences heaven & hell & tries to save the soul of a child the question is: can he save his own? ...

FAMILY & LOCAL HISTORIANS frequently encounter the challenge posed by the writing & sometimes the translation of the records which might most enable them to make further progress with their research. Many pamphlets booklets & even books have been produced over the past century to help with old handwriting & abbreviations but this new work written by an author who has for years run courses on the subject is the most practical & comprehensive yet for family & local historians. Based on some fifty facsimile reproductions of documents of graduated difficulty culled from many useful sources it provides transcripts & translations where appropriate together with advice on methods of transcribing. The alphabet with commentary of the numerous types of letter to be found in the examples (many being in the secretary & court hands which so often cause problems) & illustrations of forms of abbreviation will greatly help to unravel the difficulties of reading. Many documents before 1733 were written in Latin & the author

Includes:: an outline of the differences between classical & medieval usage & a vocabulary to cover the section in Latin. There are examples from the 1400s to the 1700s of a wide range of hands found in the most usual categories of record used by family historians such as parish registers wills & court rolls & in many others which disclose helpful information on families & localities. Those who use this book will not need to be persuaded of the great enjoyment to be derived from pursuing research into family or local history & the pleasures of piecing together evidence to throw new light on old times. They may also find great enjoyment in the deciphering of documents the means to that end. For the solitary searcher or a member of a class or local society this will be the standard work upon which to rely for many decades to come.

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The latest stirring instalment of the urban fantasy-thriller series starring Rachel Morgan. A pacey & addictive novel of sexy bounty-hunting witches cunning demons & vicious vampires. Condemned & shunned for black magic Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches conference & clear her name or be trapped in the demonic ever-after.. .forever after. But a witch an elf a living vampire & a pixy in one car going across the country? Talk about a recipe for certain disaster even without being the targets for assassination. For after centuries of torment a fearsome demon walks in the sunlight
- freed at last to slay the innocent & devour their souls. But his ultimate goal is Rachel Morgan & in the fight for survival that follows even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.
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The American poet John Shade is dead; murdered. His last poem Pale Fire is put into a book together with a preface a lengthy commentary & notes by Shade's editor Charles Kinbote. Known on campus as the ' Great Beaver' Kinbote is haughty inquisitive intolerant but is he also mad bad
- & even dangerous? As his wildly eccentric annotations slide into the personal & the fantastical Kinbote reveals perhaps more than he should. Nabokov's darkly witty richly inventive masterwork is a suspenseful whodunit a story of one-upmanship & dubious penmanship & a glorious literary conundrum.
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A priest's death leads to sinister goings-on in an old country pub... To understand the strange goings on at The Pale Horse Inn Mark Easterbrook knew he had to begin at the beginning. But where exactly was the beginning? Was it the savage blow to the back of Father Gorman's head? Or was it when the priest's assailant searched him so roughly he tore the clergyman's cassock? Or could it have been the priest's visit just minutes before to a woman on her death bed? Or was there a deeper significance to the violent squabble which Mark Easterbrook had himself witnessed earlier? Wherever the beginning lies Mark & his sidekick Ginger Corrigan may soon have cause to wish they'd never found it... ...

A priest's death leads to sinister goings-on in an old country pub... To understand the strange goings on at The Pale Horse Inn Mark Easterbrook knew he had to begin at the beginning. But where exactly was the beginning? Was it the savage blow to the back of Father Gorman's head? Or was it when the priest's assailant searched him so roughly he tore the clergyman's cassock? Or could it have been the priest's visit just minutes before to a woman on her death bed? Or was there a deeper significance to the violent squabble which Mark Easterbrook had himself witnessed earlier? Wherever the beginning lies Mark & his sidekick Ginger Corrigan may soon have cause to wish they'd never found it... ...

Continuing the outstanding success of The Last Kingdom The Pale Horseman is the second installment of Bernard Cornwell s fantastic series following the fate of Alfred the Great & the forging of Britain. It is the lowest time for the Saxons. Defeated comprehensively by the Vikings who now occupy most of England Alfred & his very small group of surviving followers retreat to the trackless marshlands of Somerset. There forced to move restlessly to escape betrayal or detection using the marsh mists for cover they travel by small boats from one island refuge to another hoping that they can regroup & find some more strength & support. Only Uhtred remains resolute. Determined to discover the enemys strategies he draws once again on his Viking upbringing & attempts to enter the Viking camps. His plan is to become accepted by their leaders & to sit in their councils & uncover their plans. But once there the attractions of his many friends among the Vikings coupled with his disillusion with the Saxons leadership & anger at Alfreds criticism of his own conduct draws him back again to his allegiance to the Vikings. The Pale Horseman an even more powerful & dramatic book than The Last Kingdom brings both Uhtred & the Saxons dilemmas vividly to life. ...