Fresh from his defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings William of Normandy has returned home in triumph accompanied by the English nobles he cannot trust to leave behind. For Waltheof of Huntingdon however rebellion is not at the forefront of his thoughts. From the moment he catches sight of Judith daughter of the Kings formidable sister he knows he has found his future wife. When Waltheof saves Judiths life it is clear that the attraction is mutual. But marriage has little to do with love in mediaeval Europe. William refuses to let the couple wed & Waltheof joins an uprising against him. William crushes the rebellion but decides the best way to keep Waltheof in check is to agree to the marriage. But is the match between Saxon earl & Norman lady one made in heaven or hell? As their children grow Waltheof & Judith must choose between their feelings for each other & older loyalties... Based on an astonishing true story THE WINTER MANTLE reaches from the turbulent reign of William the Conqueror to the high drama of the crusades... ...

Eduardo a retiree whose wife & son have died lives on his isolated Montana ranch. His life is peaceful
- if lonely
- until he

...

Out of print for thirty years & incredibly difficult to get hold of The Winter of Enchantment" is an iconic & elusive book written by the author when she was just 21. It tells the story of Sebastian who travels back from his Victorian world to a magical world of Melissa Mantari & the wicked Enchanter. The reissue of this book has been clamoured for by many." ...

Steinbeck's last great novel focuses on the theme of success & what motivates men towards it. Reflecting back on his New England family's past fortune & his father's loss of the family wealth the hero Ethan Allen Hawley characterizes success in every era & in all its forms as robbery murder even a kind of combat operating under 'the laws of controlled savagery'. ...

Berlin in 1933 is in upheaval. Eleven-year-old Carla von Ulrich struggles to understand the tensions disrupting her family as Hitler strengthens his grip on Germany. Into this turmoil steps her mother's formidable friend & former British MP Ethel Leckwith & her student son Lloyd who soon learns for himself the brutal reality of Nazism. He also encounters a group of Germans resolved to oppose Hitler
- but are they willing to go so far as to betray their country? Such people are closely watched by Volodya a Russian with a bright future in Red Army Intelligence. The international clash of military power & personal beliefs that ensues will sweep over them all as it rages from Cable Street in London's East End to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii from Spain to Stalingrad from Dresden to Hiroshima. At Cambridge Lloyd is irresistibly drawn to dazzling American socialite Daisy Peshkov who represents everything his left-wing family despise. But Daisy is more interested in aristocratic Boy Fitzherbert
- amateur pilot party lover & leading light of the British Union of Fascists. Back in Berlin Carla worships golden boy Werner from afar. But nothing will work out the way they expect as their lives & the hopes of the world are smashed by the greatest & cruellest war in the history of the human race. Winter of the World is the second novel in Ken Follett's uniquely ambitious & deeply satisfying trilogy ' The Century'. On its own or read in sequence with Fall of Giants this is a magnificent spellbinding epic of global conflict & personal drama.

...

When Vavara a young orphaned Polish girl is brought to serve at Empress Elizabeths glittering dangerous court in St Petersburg she is schooled by the Chancellor himself in skills from lock-picking to love-making learning above all else to stay silent
- & listen. Soon she is Elizabeths tongue
- her secret eyes & ears. Then Sophie a vulnerable young princess arrives from Prussia as a prospective bride for Elizabeths heir. Set to spy on her by the Empress Vavara soon becomes her friend & confidante & helps her navigate the illicit seductions & the treacherous shifting allegiances of the court. But Sophies destiny is to become the notorious Catherine the Great. Are her ambitions more lofty & far-reaching than anyone suspected & will she stop at nothing to achieve absolute power?

...

The Iceman crept into the house on the edge of the lake. He killed the father first. Then the mother & child. & when his work was done he set the house on fire. Lucas Davenport has tracked killers in cities across America. But the woods of rural Wisconsin are as dark & primal as evil itself. The winters are harsher & colder. & in the heart of every mother & father there is fear.. . Because tonight the Iceman cometh. ...

Elfrida Phipps loves her new life in her pretty Hampshire village. She has a tiny cottage her faithful dog Horace & the friendship of the neighbouring Blundells
- particularly Oscar
- to ensure that her days include companionship as well as independence. But an unforeseen tragedy upsets Elfridas tranquillity: Oscars wife & daughter are killed in a terrible car crash & he finds himself homeless when his stepchildren claim their dead mothers inheritance. Oscar & Elfrida take refuge in a rambling house in Scotland which becomes a magnet for various waifs & strays who converge upon it including an unhappy teenage girl. It could be a recipe for disaster. But somehow the Christmas season weaves its magical spell & for Elfrida & Oscar in the evening of their lives the winter solstice brings love & solace.

...

Winter Town follows two childhood best friends who learn that growing up means growing apart. This is written from both points of views Every winter Evan looks forward to a visit from Lucy a childhood pal who moved away after her parents divorce. But when Lucy arrives this year shes changed. The girl next door has chopped dyed black hair a nose stud & a scowl. But even though Lucys changed Evan & Lucy connect again. & this time Evan falls in love. Lucy has secrets. She doesnt tell Evan about her mothers new abusive boyfriend her own violent boyfriend & the fights that got her kicked out of her house. She feels guilty & starts to resent Evans picture perfect (boring) life. She knows Evan wont change & Lucy knows she must break his heart & move on. The next winter after transferring to an art college against his fathers wishes Evan sees Lucy again. & this time they know the timing is right. This unique story features gorgeous black-&-white illustrations throughout (comic strips spot art chapter heads etc.). ...

Egypt 1964. The great temple at Abu Simbel must be dismantled & resurrected high above the rising waters of the Aswan Dam. This daunting task is overseen by Avery a young engineer who at the same time is carefully building a life with his new wife Jean. But not everything can be saved once the floodgates have opened: villages will be deluged thousands will be exiled from their homes & graves will be moved. & when Avery & Jean suffer a terrible loss of their own they begin their separate journeys through the landscape of grief. Weaving historical moments with the quiet intimacy of human lives The Winter Vault" is the story of a husband & a wife trying to find their way back to each other; of people & nations displaced; & of the myriad means by which we all seek out a place to call home." ...