Download or read book Crown Sceptre written by Tracy Borman and published by Grove Atlantic. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth look at the British monarchy that’s “a superb synthesis of historical analysis, politics, and top-notch royal gossip” (Kirkus Reviews). Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, forty-one kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre. Ironically, during very few of these 955 years has the throne’s occupant been unambiguously English—whether Norman French, the Welsh-born Tudors, the Scottish Stuarts, and the Hanoverians and their German successors to the present day. Acknowledging the intrinsic fascination with British royalty, Borman lifts the veil to reveal the remarkable characters and personalities who have ruled and, since the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, more ceremonially reigned. It is a crucial distinction explaining the staying power of the monarchy as the royal family has evolved and adapted to the needs and opinions of its people, avoiding the storms of rebellion that brought many of Europe’s royals to an abrupt end. Richard II; Henry VIII; Elizabeth I; George III; Victoria; Elizabeth II: their names evoke eras and the dramatic events Borman recounts. She is equally attuned to the fabric of monarchy: royal palaces; the way monarchs have been portrayed in art, on coins, in the media; the ceremony and pageantry surrounding the crown. Elizabeth II is already one of the longest reigning monarchs in history. Crown & Sceptre is a fitting tribute to her remarkable longevity and that of the magnificent institution she represents. “Crown & Sceptre brings us in short, vivid chapters from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth herself, much of it constituting a dark record of bumping off adversaries, rivals and spouses, confiscating vast estates and military invasions…. [A] lucid, character-rich book.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Borman’s deep understanding of English royalty shines.” —Chris Schluep, Amazon Editors’ Picks, The Best History Books of February 2022

Download or read book The Book of Elizabethan Verse written by William Stanley Braithwaite and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 822 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book For Sceptre and Crown written by Anonymous and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2023-12-23 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

Download or read book Crown Orb and Sceptre written by David Hilliam and published by History Press (SC). This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published: Stroud: Sutton, 2001.

Download or read book The Honours of Scotland written by C. J. Tabraham and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Honours of Scotland tells the turbulent story of the Honours - Scotland's crown jewels - and the equally dramatic tale of the Stone of Destiny.Over the centuries, Scotland's monarchy experienced relentless conflict and shifts in power. But throughout all of the struggles, there remained one stalwart reminder of the authority of the monarchy: the Honours of Scotland. For centuries, these priceless objects were entangled in the intrigues of Scottish noble and royal families. Hidden, stolen, mended, remade - and now taking pride of place on display in Edinburgh Castle - their survival depended on the brave actions of many Scots.Existing at the crossroads of myth and tradition, ceremony and legitimacy, the Honours and the Stone of Destiny transcended the sway of individual kings and queens to become proud symbols of Scottish identity and power.

Download or read book Orb Sceptre Throne written by Ian C. Esslemont and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2012-05-22 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of a sealed vault triggers discord throughout Darujhistan, where a merchant tries to drive out Malazans, a thief gambles with the fate of the city, and a Malazan veteran seeks his fortune in Moon's Spawn fragments.

Download or read book The Veiled Sceptre written by Anne Twomey and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-12 with total page 913 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extension to other Realms of the reserve power to refuse a dissolution

Download or read book The Kingless Crown Kingdom of the White Sea Trilogy written by Sarah M. Cradit and published by Storyville Press. This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the USA Today & International Bestselling author of the Saga of Crimson & Clover comes a gripping new epic fantasy world that will leave you breathless to the very last page. A crown woven together by lies. A kingdom with the power to unravel them. Four Reaches. Four brides. Only a fortnight separates the young women from becoming reluctant queens of the usurper king, Eoghan Rhiagain. Twenty years earlier, King Eoghan’s father cunningly devised marriages between the highborn sons and daughters of the oft-warring Reaches, sealing the unions before they could protest, shattering existing betrothals in place of forced alliances. Now, Eoghan, the cruel boy king who stole his crown through murder, demands the eldest daughters of these unions. To accept is unfathomable. To refuse is treason. The lords and ladies of the kingdom have no choice but to prepare their beloved daughters for the horrors ahead. But they’ll soon discover there are no longer any daughters left to present. All four have disappeared, painting the world with their rebellion. Theirs is not the only rebellion. Across the kingdom, little fires light within. From the enigmatic sorcerers in the northern mountains, to the magi who both wield and regulate the kingdom’s magic, and beyond... to a place where two prisoners are not what they seem. As the Reaches ready themselves to face the king, the kingdom hovers on the edge of chaos. And there are many who recall, in candlelit secrecy, tales of a time before... 👑 Evil King ⚔️ Formidable Women 👑 Raven Priestesses ⚔️ Arranged Marriages 👑 Found Family ⚔️ Enemies to Lovers 👑 Friends to Lovers ⚔️ Multiple Romantic Subplots 👑 Unique Magic System ⚔️ Revenge 👑 Medieval Fantasy ⚔️ Forbidden Romance 👑 Epic Worldbuilding ⚔️ Politics and Intrigue For content warnings, please visit sarahmcradit.com.

Download or read book Thomas Cromwell written by Tracy Borman and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An exceptional and compelling biography about one of the Tudor Age’s most complex and controversial figures.” —Alison Weir Thomas Cromwell has long been reviled as a Machiavellian schemer who stopped at nothing in his quest for power. As King Henry VIII’s right-hand man, Cromwell was the architect of the English Reformation; secured Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and plotted the downfall of his second wife, Anne Boleyn; and was fatally accused of trying to usurp the king himself. In this engrossing biography, acclaimed British historian Tracy Borman reveals a different side to one of history’s most notorious characters: that of a caring husband and father, a fiercely loyal servant and friend, and a revolutionary who was key in transforming medieval England into a modern state. Thomas Cromwell was at the heart of the most momentous events of his time—from funding the translation and dissemination of the first vernacular Bible to legitimizing Anne Boleyn as queen—and wielded immense power over both church and state. The impact of his seismic political, religious, and social reforms can still be felt today. Grounded in excellent primary source research, Thomas Cromwell gives an inside look at a monarchy that has captured the Western imagination for centuries and tells the story of a controversial and enigmatic man who forever changed the shape of his country. “An intelligent, sympathetic, and well researched biography.” —The Wall Street Journal “Borman unravels the story of Cromwell’s rise to power skillfully . . . If you want the inside story of Thomas Cromwell . . . this is the book for you.” —The Weekly Standard “An engrossing biography. . . . A fine rags-to-riches-to-executioner’s-block story of a major figure of the English Reformation.” —Kirkus Reviews “An insightful biography of a much-maligned historical figure.” —Booklist

Download or read book The Stories of English written by David Crystal and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2005-09-06 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking history of worldwide English in all its dialects, differences, and linguistic delights: “Informative . . . distinctive . . . a spirited celebration.” —The Guardian In this “well-informed and appealing” work (Publishers Weekly), David Crystal puts aside the usual focus on “standard” English, and instead provides a startlingly original view of where the richness, creativity, and diversity of the language truly lies—in the accents and dialects of nonstandard English users all over the world. Whatever their regional, social, or ethnic background, each group has a story worth telling, whether it is in Scotland or Somerset, South Africa or Singapore. He reminds us that for several hundred wonderful years, there was no such thing as “incorrect” English—and traces the evolution of the language from a few thousand Anglo-Saxons to the 1.5 billion people who speak it today. Moving from Beowulf to Chaucer to Shakespeare to Dickens and the present day, Crystal puts regional speech and writing at center stage, giving a sense of the social realities behind the development of English. This significant shift in perspective enables us to understand for the first time the importance of everyday, previously marginalized, voices in our language—and provides an argument too for the way English should be taught in the future. “A work of impeccable scholarship [that] could easily serve as a standard textbook for students of linguistics, but Mr. Crystal, reaching out to a more general audience, recognizes that even the most avid reader might flinch at the sections on Old Norse grammatical influence. Cleverly, he has sprinkled the book with little digressions, set apart in boxes, that address historical mysteries, strange loanwords, interesting etymologies and the like.” —The New York Times “Learned and often provocative . . . demonstrates repeatedly that common conceptions about language are often historically inaccurate—split infinitives bothered no one until recently (likewise sentence-ending prepositions).” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Simply the best introductory history of the English language family that we have. The plan of the book is ingenious, the writing lively, the exposition clear, and the scholarly standard uncompromisingly high.” —J.M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

Download or read book The Crown Jewels written by Anna Keay and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text captures the magnificence of a collection of symbolic objects steeped in English history like no other: the crown jewels.

Download or read book Turncoat written by Stephen Brumwell and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-29 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A historian examines how a once-ardent hero of the American Revolutionary cause became its most dishonored traitor. General Benedict Arnold’s failed attempt to betray the fortress of West Point to the British in 1780 stands as one of the most infamous episodes in American history. In the light of a shining record of bravery and unquestioned commitment to the Revolution, Arnold’s defection came as an appalling shock. Contemporaries believed he had been corrupted by greed; historians have theorized that he had come to resent the lack of recognition for his merits and sacrifices. In this provocative book Stephen Brumwell challenges such interpretations and draws on unexplored archives to reveal other crucial factors that illuminate Arnold’s abandonment of the revolutionary cause he once championed. This work traces Arnold’s journey from enthusiastic support of American independence to his spectacularly traitorous acts and narrow escape. Brumwell’s research leads to an unexpected conclusion: Arnold’s mystifying betrayal was driven by a staunch conviction that America’s best interests would be served by halting the bloodshed and reuniting the fractured British Empire. “Gripping… In a time when charges of treason and disloyalty intrude into our daily politics, Turncoat is essential reading.”—R. R. B. Bernstein, City College of New York “The most balanced and insightful assessment of Benedict Arnold to date. Utilizing fresh manuscript sources, Brumwell reasserts the crucial importance of human agency in history.”—Edward G. Lengel, author of General George Washington “An incisive study of the war and the very meaning of the American Revolution itself…. The defining portrait of Arnold for the twenty-first century.”—Francis D. Cogliano, author of Revolutionary America

Download or read book The Sword and the Scepter written by Gerhard Ritter and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The King s Witch written by Tracy Borman and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Already a great historian, Tracy Borman proves with this thrilling debut novel that she is also a born storyteller. As she helps to nurse the dying Queen Elizabeth, Frances Gorges longs for the fields and ancient woods of her parents' Hampshire estate, where she has learned to use the flowers and herbs to become a much-loved healer. Frances is happy to stay in her beloved countryside when the new King arrives from Scotland, bringing change, fear and suspicion. His court may be shockingly decadent, but James's religion is Puritan, intolerant of all the old ways; he has already put to death many men for treason and women for witchcraft. So when her ambitious uncle forcibly brings Frances to court, she is trapped in a claustrophobic world of intrigue and betrayal - and a ready target for the twisted scheming of Lord Cecil, the King's first minister. Surrounded by mortal dangers, Frances finds happiness only with the precocious young Princess Elizabeth, and Tom Wintour, the one courtier she can trust. Or can she? 'Watch out Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, I can see a new contender for the Queen of Historical Fiction!' Netgalley reviewer 'A fascinating read, felt very true to time period but with that personal touch . . . Five stars' Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Download or read book Hemingway s Widow written by Timothy Christian and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning portrait of the complicated woman who becomes Ernest Hemingway's fourth wife, tracing her adventures before she meets Ernest, exploring the tumultuous years of their marriage, and evoking her merry widowhood as she shapes Hemingway's literary legacy. Mary Welsh, a celebrated wartime journalist during the London Blitz and the liberation of Paris, meets Ernest Hemingway in May 1944. He becomes so infatuated with Mary that he asks her to marry him the third time they meet—although they are married to other people. Eventually, she succumbs to Ernest's campaign, and in the last days of the war joined him at his estate in Cuba. Through Mary's eyes, we see Ernest Hemingway in a fresh light. Their turbulent marriage survives his cruelty and abuse, perhaps because of their sexual compatibility and her essential contribution to his writing. She reads and types his work each day—and makes plot suggestions. She becomes crucial to his work and he depends upon her critical reading of his work to know if he has it right. We watch the Hemingways as they travel to the ski country of the Dolomites, commute to Harry's Bar in Venice; attend bullfights in Pamplona and Madrid; go on safari in Kenya in the thick of the Mau Mau Rebellion; and fish the blue waters of the gulf stream off Cuba in Ernest's beloved boat Pilar. We see Ernest fall in love with a teenaged Italian countess and wonder at Mary's tolerance of the affair. We witness Ernest's sad decline and Mary's efforts to avoid the stigma of suicide by claiming his death was an accident. In the years following Ernest's death, Mary devotes herself to his literary legacy, negotiating with Castro to reclaim Ernest's manuscripts from Cuba, publishing one-third of his work posthumously. She supervises Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest, sues A. E. Hotchner to try and prevent him from telling the story of Ernest's mental decline, and spends years writing her memoir in her penthouse overlooking the New York skyline. Her story is one of an opinionated woman who smokes Camels, drinks gin, swears like a man, sings like Edith Piaf, loves passionately, and experiments with gender fluidity in her extraordinary life with Ernest. This true story reads like a novel—and the reader will be hard pressed not to fall for Mary.

Download or read book The Awakening of Ren Crown written by Anne Zoelle and published by Excelsine Press. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would you do to save someone you love? In a world where layers of magic create worlds on top of our own, a girl desperately searches for a cure for death. From the hallowed halls of the magic world's most elite institution to the criminal underworld seething beneath it--where art comes alive and unimaginable power waits to be claimed--Ren will find the answer to who and what she is.

Download or read book For Sceptre and Crown Vol II of II written by Gregor Samarow and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: