BOOK EXCERPT This excerpt establishes the main theme and the high stakes. Prologue Vienna, July 1847 Helga winces as a contraction ripples through her. She knows it is time. She dresses and then wakes her mother, who will accompany her to the lying-in clinic. Within the half-hour they are ready, shawls wrapped tightly around them. Helga clutches the banisters as she follows her mother down the stairs and out onto the street. Slivers of dawn start to separate the darkness as t

BOOK EXCERPT ‘Luigsech of the Cornovii?’ Boudicca stopped short, shock widening her bright eyes. ‘What in the name of Andraste are you doing here?’ She smiled ruefully. ‘I could ask you the same. We’re a long way from the lands of the Iceni.’ Boudicca’s face darkened. ‘We were bringing the tribe’s yearly tribute to the Roman scum.’ She gestured to the water. ‘It belongs to the gods now.’ Luciana frowned, regarding the woman. Boudicca, her childhood foe in the Beltane chariot

BOOK EXCERPT From Chapter 2 - A Garden’s Secret The abbess sat in her chambers, reviewing the abbey’s ledgers. Sister Agnes entered without waiting for the novice outside to announce her. “My child! What urgency drives you to burst in so?” “I must tell you what I’ve found, Mother. It is deeply troubling.” “Then speak, Sister.” “The piglets did not die by the blade alone. They were prepared first with a potion—I suspect monkshood, judging by the blue tint of their lips and ton

BOOK EXCERPT: An hour later, after exchanging my wet clothes for dry ones, I notice that the sun has broken through the heavy overcast and is shining directly onto my desk, inviting me to sit down and begin the laborious, one word at a time task of translating a letter, written in the tiniest possible handwriting by someone named Irina. Our Dearest Rachael, I am sorrowfully writing with sad news. Your mother’s brother, who is also my husband and your Uncle Levi, and your cous

BOOK EXCERPT: DANCE OF THE EARTH, ACT 2 A little about Rose’s son, Walter, as a boy. Mother, when she came in, removing her gardening hat, was remarkably gentle. ‘Walter,’ she moved forward to hug him. ‘We’ve a lot to talk about. Dora, refreshments, I think.’ Dora nodded and hurried to the kitchen as Mother led him by the hand towards chairs stacked with things to pack. They moved aside a pile of cushions and settled not quite side by side, not quite facing each other. ‘ I a

BOOK EXCERPT He was introduced plainly as Jean Luc de Delacroix, a member of the Royal Society, whose studies were following in the path already trodden by Mark Catesby. She was aware of a ripple of anticipation going through the audience, which had become so numerous that people were having to stand at the back. She realised it was now too late to escape and sat in resignation, angry at her own recklessness. His voice was strong and clear and, in spite of her agitation, she

Book Excerpt: Joel’s eyes roamed the room again, seeking an anchor to steady his turbulent thoughts. The canopy bed, draped in fine linens and accented by plush pillows, exuded comfort and security. Lavender lingered on the sheets, intertwining with the sweetness of the candles. It was a scene so removed from the barren trenches and the grim realities he had lived through. The suite was a testament to permanence, to wealth, to a life he wasn’t sure he deserved anymore.

BOOK EXCERPT “I doubt Saint-Thomas d’Aquin bears any resemblance to how we remember it,” Papa grumbled, his tone plain. “And Paris is not the safest place to be for anyone these days.” “There’s talk of war in Paris now,” Florian added, absently chewing on his thumbnail. His words struck me like a cold gust of wind, leaving a sharp ache in the pit of my belly. I had heard rumours of war before, but they were just rumours; they had no reason to be true. The Bastille had fallen

BOOK EXCERPT Betsey gently pushed back the thin blanket, swung her feet over the side of the bed, and reached for her soft leather slippers, a Christmas present from Annie that she treasured. She tiptoed from the room, determined not to wake Ned if she could help it, for it was early and she had heard the church clock strike six. Closing the door quietly behind her, she descended the stairs and went to the kitchen, where she pulled the kettle forward onto the stove, for her f

BOOK EXCERPT: I walked quickly to the hotel. It was just two blocks away, but by the time I got there, I was struggling to catch my breath. Like Teo on that last day, the small voice inside whispered, gasping for air at the top of the loft ladder. In the apartment, Nonna was packing, a handwritten list on the bed beside her valise. She’d brought only a few things to Palermo—a blouse, a pair of bloomers and stockings, her prayer book and rosary. Too few items, I thought, to wa

BOOK EXCERPT Chapter 2 - Australia, 1939 - 1941 General Nursing and Obstetrics qualifications clutched firmly in gloved hand, Annie waited for Iris and Verna on Oxford Street, Paddington, so they could walk along to Victoria Barracks together. She smoothed down her waisted floral dress, then touched her hat. Not often intimidated, Annie felt a flutter of nerves. What had seemed an easy decision did not feel so comfortable now. “G’day.” Startled from her doubts, Annie turned a

BOOK EXCERPT April 1471: Dawn on Easter Day, Barnet Heath. Eighteen-year-old Richard of Gloucester, brother of Edward IV, takes confession and prepares for his first taste of battle. They wake, those who have dared sleep, to a grey and muffled world. Overnight, heavy mist has fallen, and the air of early dawn is like a breath of winter. Beneath his coif, Richard’s hair sticks to his skull like goose grease, his cheeks sore and clammy. Worse is the effect of the sodden grass;

BOOK EXCERPT He needed to see his grandson, Nathan, immediately. It was finally time to tell the story. No, not a story, his biography. No. Too noble sounding. His life. A time in his life. His history. That’s it. And his history wasn’t a “story.” It was his reality, an indelible part of his being, his core. A part he had brushed aside and cloistered away, but yet central to his person. This would be his last Passover. It was time. He was never able to tell his own son, who

BOOK EXCERPT: Frankfurt November 1938 Gustav carefully navigated the streets to the shop. It was normally a five-minute walk, but broken glass was everywhere and Gustav needed to be careful. To complicate matters, Nazi brownshirts were still in the streets, looking to inflict more damage. Everywhere Gustav looked, there were broken windows and defaced storefronts. They lived in the East End of Frankfurt – often called the Jewish section – and the hoodlums knew where to focus

BOOK EXCERPT: Alex found himself in a small formal room off the main portego, talking to a group of masked women, all seemingly competing for his attention and laughing eagerly at his every word although he said very little. They pressed upon him endless information regarding the delights of Venice, the best shops, the best coffee places, and of course more invitations to visit their own Palazzos and their upcoming soirees as part of the Season’s festivities. Eager to distrac