Easter Island

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Elizabeth Peters

A hitherto lost journal of the indomitable Amelia Peabody has been miraculously recovered: a chronicle from one of the "missing years" -- 1907-1908 -- shedding new light on an already exceptional career, a remarkable family . . . and an unexpected terror.Ousted from their most recent archaeological dig and banned forever from the Valley of the Kings, the Emersons are spending a quiet summer at home in Kent, England, when a mysterious messenger arrives. Claiming to be the teenage brother of their dear friend Tarek, prince of the mysterious Lost Oasis, the charismatic herald brings troubling news of a strange malady that has struck down Tarek's heir and conveys his brother's urgent need for help only the Emersons can provide.Driven by loyalty -- and a fear that the evil forces opposing Tarek's rule will now exploit the royal heir's grave illness -- the family sets off in secret for the land time forgot -- a mountain fortress from which they narrowly escaped ten years before. Braving the treacherous desert climate on a trek fraught with danger at every turning, guided only by a crumbling map, the Emersons are unaware that deception is leading them onward into a nest of vipers -- where a dreadful fate may await. For young Ramses, forced to keep his growing love for the beautiful Nefret secret, temptation along the way may prove his ultimate undoing. And a dark past and grim obligation have ensnared Nefret once again, as she is helpless to save those she loves most from the prison of the Lost Oasis.Guardian of the Horizon is rich with suspense, surprises, unforgettable characters, and the intoxicating atmosphere that has earned its author the coveted title of Grand Master two times over. The remarkable Elizabeth Peters proves once again that, in the world of historical adventure fiction, she is truly without peer.

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Karen Maitland

In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales--an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama. The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group's leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all--propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming.Magical, heart-quickening, and raw, Company of Liars is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction.From the Hardcover edition.

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Barbara Cartland

Chandra Wardell, daughter of a world-renowned Sanskrit scholar, learns that her father has been commissioned to journey to Nepal to search for an ancient manuscript. Chandra is thrilled--till she discovers that the invitation, extended by staunch woman-hater Lord Frome, does not include her. When Chandra's father suffers a mild heart attack, Chandra, who knows every aspect of her father's work, decided to take his place! She endures the difficult mountain journey... proves her scholarly proficiency... and ultimately falls in love! Chandra heard Lord Frome's footsteps and the light came nearer as he moved down the dark passageway. He put first the candlem then the pistol back on the table and without warning, pulled her roughly against him. his lips came down on hers and helf her captive. Suddenly Chandra felt a wild rapture that was inexpressible, rising up through her body from her breast into her lips. "This is love, she thought, "love as I always knew it would be... Yet how? Lord Frome despised her. "I have hated women for so long," he whispered, "that I did not know how different you were, how very, very different, my precious one. I have been fighting frantically against admitting it... even to myself... but I have loved you for a long time!"

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Suzanne Keen

"Romances of the Archive in Contemporary British Fiction is a discussion of the debates about the uses of the past contained in British fiction since the Falklands crisis. Suzanne Keen provides a detailed examination of the range of contemporary 'romances of the archive,' a genre in which British novelists both deal with the loss of Empire and a nostalgia for the past, and react to the postimperial condition of Great Britain. Keen identifies the genre and explains its literary sources from Edmund Spenser to H. P. Lovecraft and John LeCarre. She also accounts for the rise in popularity of the archival romance and provides a context for understanding the British postimperial preoccupation with history and heritage."--BOOK JACKET.