Wanda McCaddon
41) A mortal bane
Roberta Gellis, acclaimed author of The Roselynde Chronicles, brings medieval London to life—and death—with this tale of splendor and squalor.
Magdalene la Batarde is the madam of the Old Priory Guesthouse in Southwark. She and her women are expected to engage in a number of sinful activities, but bloody murder isn't one of them—until Baldassare, the messenger, dies. Magdalene and her women refuse to allow his death to go
...Magdalene la Bâtarde obeys William of Ypres, her great patron, as a vassal obeys his overlord—even though William would laugh if he knew how she felt. However, when King Stephen summons his barons to a great council in Oxford, William can smell the stink of treason—and he has enemies who might spread that stink over him. He needs a safe place to talk to friends and cajole enemies, so he summons Magdalene.
When Magdalene is called,
...This magnificent story of one thousand years of English history is told through the lives and deeds of Kings and Queens, from the Normans to the Windsors. Understand how the power of the crown has changed as a result of both the character and ability of each monarch and evolving historical circumstances. Eight specialist contributors depict the whole spectrum of royal life in a succinct and fascinating way. Newly revised in 1998, this edition offers
..."Fourth-century Athens has a special claim on our attention," writes the author, "apart from the great men it produced, for it is the prelude to the end of Greece.... The kind of events that took place in the great free government of the ancient world may, by reason of unchanging human nature, be repeated in the modern world. The course that Athens followed can be to us not only a record of old unhappy far-off things but a blueprint of what may
...46) The Greek way
The aim of this work is not a history of events but an account of the achievement and spirit of Greece.
"What the Greeks discovered, how they brought a new world to birth out of the dark confusions of an old world that had crumbled away, is full of meaning for us today who have seen an old world swept away."
In The Greek Way, Edith Hamilton shares the fruits of her thorough study of Greek life, literature, philosophy, and art. She
...A "marvelous history"* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years' War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August *Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October, in The Wall Street Journal
The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours;
...51) Aesop's Fables
Aesop was an Ancient Greek story-teller and slave, famed and cherished for his short fables that often involve personified animals. In the renowned collection of works that is Aesop's Fables, he weaves moral education and entertainment together into tales that have been enjoyed by many, many generations. A lot of the stories in Aesop's Fables, such as The Fox and the Grapes (giving us the term "sour grapes"), The Tortoise and the
...54) Final Curtain
"How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century," Fleur Talbot rejoices. Loitering about London in 1949, with intent to gather material for her writing, Fleur finds a job "on the grubby edge of the literary world," as secretary to the odd Autobiographical Association. Are they a group of mad egomaniacs, hilariously writing their memoirs in advance—or poor fools ensnared by a blackmailer? Rich material, in any case.
But
...56) Death of a fool
Doctor Dolittle, a little, lovable old doctor, had so many animal pets spread throughout his house and garden that patients would not come to him anymore. As a result, he became poorer and poorer.
But Doctor Dolittle occupied nearly all of his time tending to his pets, and his fame as an animal doctor spread all over the world. When the monkeys in Africa were stricken with an epidemic, they gave the good doctor a call. He set sail at once.
The
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