BOOK EXCERPT Rome, September 1644 As soon as Mia opened the door Donna Olimpia came straight in, looking side to side as if to check no-one could see her. Mia extended a hand in greeting. ‘This way, honoured Signora.’ ‘What’s that smell?’ ‘Lavender, Signora. For making the linen smell sweet.’ She indicated the stairs and the woman went ahead of her, heavy feet and thick ankles under her richly embroidered black skirts. At the top Mia pointed to the door off the piano nobile

BOOK EXCERPT: Suzanne and Adrian accepted the contessa’s invitation to dinner for the first week in January. She said there were people she wanted them to meet. Adrian speculated they were people of influence who might be able to help him locate Simon. He looked forward to the dinner. Paul met them in the lobby and rode them up to the contessa’s apartment. When they got off the elevator, Paul took their coats and led them into the parlor. A group of six surrounded the contess

BOOK EXCERPT While she hovered, still in the doorway, bright white light illuminated mountain, cloud and town. Jagged sheets of lightning cast their glow through the doorway, through the high window, through even the gaps beneath eaves and between bricks, invading the furthest reaches of the space before her. Bringing each figure into startling clarity. The light drew both men’s gazes towards the doorway. Her husband saw her first; his eyes widened. His lips formed words. She

BOOK EXCERPT Drake Swaggers In Spring, 1588, Dartington Hall Sudden sprays of rain, as hard as volleys of sharp arrows, pelted the window and shook me from slumber. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I realised Gawen was leaning over me as I lay on our marriage bed. I scrambled to sit up and saw that the sky had grown even darker. I must have slept through the afternoon. ‘Good to see you resting. Take good care of the little knave you carry!’ He reached over and patted the mound

BOOK EXCERPT In 1914, newspapers reported the crisis as it unfolded across the country and shocked the world, sliding into war. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the turning of neutral Belgium, and Britain’s declaration of war began an era. They called it the war to end all wars. James Rushworth could still recall the moment he got the news.He could hear the excitement in the stone masons’ yard in Huddersfield, where he was an apprentice. He felt the call of duty

BOOK EXCERPT: CHAPTER 2: PALACE STREET In the Lower City two days later, Yoninah and her daughter Bat-El were walking hand in hand along Palace Street. It was a fine day in early spring. The winter rains were behind them. The trees were just beginning to send out tentative buds. This was their favorite day of the week. They would make this trip weekly. As a healer in the lower city, Yoninah had to buy fresh medicinal plants for her shop. The two of them, mother and child, mad

BOOK EXCERPT Setting the Scene: Herb’s uranium-prospecting Geiger counter went off when Edith placed a glass of milk on the kitchen table...

BOOK EXCERPT Opening: “Hannah!” Dylan calls. “Hannah?” A shiver of worry runs up my spine. He never uses my real name. “Here! I’m in the...

BOOK EXCERPT: Prologue: Two Oaths The Chapel, Alcobaça Abbey, Portugal Lent 1361 Mystified by the abbot’s intransigence, he paused to study the cleric. One explanation made sense. The abbot suspected his motive and gave credence to the scandalmongers’ whispers. Anger surged through King Pedro. “The court fool sings a ditty as he dances a jig, implying the crown will skip the Infante Ferdinand. Do you truly imagine I would kill my son to favor the boys of Inês?” Rolling his ne

BOOK EXCERPT The carriage drove on, almost silently, the padded wheels making soft noises in the grass and autumn leaves. There had not yet been any snow. Everything was black; every shining part of the harness was covered; the coachman was dressed in dull black. Four cloaked figures sat inside, a young woman dressed in deepest mourning, her face buried in her handkerchief, and, huddled next to her, were three little girls. A single small trunk sat behind them. “Mama,” the el

BOOK EXCERPT At Jessie’s Wedding Jessie plopped down beside her and linked arms, snuggling in to Margaret’s side. Jessie’s free hand slid...

BOOK EXCERPT The plague is rampant in Florence. This is a conversation between Carlo Roselli the owner of an apothecary shop and Franco...

BOOK EXCERPT Branwell, the only brother of the family and now thirty years old, has become an alcoholic and drug addict, in spite of the...

AMAZON BEST SELLING BOOK IN 19th Century Historical Fiction Category!! BOOK EXCERPT: From Chapter 1 Bisacquino, Sicily June 1, 1889 6:10...

BOOK EXCERPT: As soon as she emerged from the underground, she made out the abbey and kept it in view until she stood outside its...

BOOK EXCERPT Bayeux Cathedral Here Harold has sailed the sea, and with sails filled with wind has come into Count Guy’s territory. ---...

BOOK EXCERPT: August 1816. Lord Frederick Danlow has returned to England after eighteen years in England, bringing with him his...

BOOK EXCERPT: Dr Anna Petersen is invited to a strange archaeological burial site to interpret runes on a seax. “Dr Petersen?” “Oh! Yes?”...

BOOK EXCERPT: Nathanial On Arriving At Maroons Camp Besides the people waiting here, more are coming. I’m the center of attention. People...

BOOK EXCERPT The magic of the lyres made him weep, as if only he could hear the secrets in their whispers From Antinous