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Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather, one of the leading intellectuals of colonial America, has often been overshadowed by his younger Puritan contemporary, Jonathan Edwards. Now, however, the publication of this first edition of Mather's magnum opus in the area of biblical knowledge focuses fresh attention on early New England's second most prodigious intellect. Mather's commentary takes the form of questions and answers on the whole biblical canon. The edition, prepared by an international team of experts in early American studies, will consist of ten volumes published over the course of a decade. This first volume introduces the project and offers Mather's comments on Genesis. This work will be treasured by students of American church history, colonial-era Puritanism, Christian responses to the Enlightenment, American intellectual development, and the history of biblical interpretation. It is a must-have acquisition for research libraries covering these disciplines. - Publisher.

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Nita Abrams

A Dangerous Deception 1813: Napoleon's empire is starting to crumble. And the drawing rooms of Vienna hold the key to the future of Europe... Disguised as a boy for her hazardous journey across the continent, then set upon by thieves in a dark Viennese alley, Elizabeth DeQuincy is grateful that the handsome Englishman who rescues her asks her no questions afterwards. The great city is swarming with foreign agents of every nationality, and no one is safe. With nowhere to turn, her money gone, she dares not refuse his kind offer of apprenticeship -- or reveal her true identity to the man she must call master. Sommers is clearly a gentleman, and clearly more than a simple fencing master. The question is, which side is employing him? Elizabeth is compelled to find out, although she is not certain she wants to know the truth. A double agent for the Crown, Sommers has managed to outwit the best French intelligence operatives in Europe -- so far. And when he discovers Elizabeth's deception, he is resolved to send her home to England. Spying is hardly suitable work for a lovely young gentlewoman, even if she is good at it. Damnably good at it. And all too willing to risk her life to save his...

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Molly Caldwell Crosby

In the summer of 1913, under the cover of London's perpetual smoggy dusk, two brilliant minds are pitted against each other -- a celebrated gentleman thief and a talented Scotland Yard detective -- in the greatest jewel heist of the new century. An exquisite strand of pale pink pearls, worth more than the Hope Diamond, has been bought by a Hatton Garden broker. Word of the "Mona Lisa of Pearls" spreads around the world, captivating jewelers as well as thieves. In transit to London from Paris, the necklace vanishes without a trace. Joseph Grizzard, "the King of Fences," is the charming leader of a vast gang of thieves in London's East End. Grizzard grew up on the streets of Whitechapel during the terror of Jack the Ripper to rise to the top of the criminal world. Wealthy, married, and a father, Grizzard still cannot resist the sport of crime, and the pearl necklace proves an irresistible challenge. Inspector Alfred Ward patrols the city's dark, befogged streets before joining the brand-new division of the Metropolitan Police known as "detectives." Ward earns his stripes catching some of the great murderers of Victorian London and, at the height of his career, is asked to turn his forensic talents to finding the missing pearls and the thief who stole them. In the spirit of The Great Train Robbery and the tales of Sherlock Holmes, this is the true story of a psychological cat-and-mouse game set against the backdrop of London's golden Edwardian era. Thoroughly researched, compellingly colorful, The Great Pearl Heist is a gripping narrative account of this little-known, yet extraordinary crime. - Jacket flap.

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W.B. Yeats

Unsigned binding design by Althea Gyles in gold on smooth dark blue cloth. Includes frontispiece and 6 b/w illustrations after John Butler Yeats (the author's father). A collection of 17 short stories blending Irish with Rosicrucian characters and themes. Gyles' masterpiece shows influences of both the Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist movements. The front cover design is the Tree of Life, with its roots entwined in the skeleton of a dead knight and its crown displaying three roses (echoing the central rose representing a 'rosy cross' at the tree's 'heart'), The tree is composed of Celtic interlace that culminates in an image of kissing lovers. The spine design is that of Lug's spear (symbol of desire) enwreathed with poppies and immersed in a bowl of sleeping potion. The design on the rear cover is of the alchemical rose, a rose-cross contained in a diamond-like configuration of pointed spears and a circle (a 'squared circle'). Second binding issue, on smooth rather than ribbed cloth with publisher "A.H. Bullen" at the base of the spine. There were thought to be approximately 1000 copies of this issue. Althea Gyles (1868-1949) was a gifted artist, designer and poet who studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She met W. B. Yeats in 1891, and became, with Yeats, an adherent of the Order of the Golden Dawn, an organization devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities. Gyles' works in Symbolism derive from the cabalistic iconography of the Golden Dawn's second order of Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis (the Ruby Rose and Cross of Gold). Her ability to use abstract means to express the truth as she saw it, makes her work one of the vanguards of Modernism. Gyles is best known for her binding designs for Yeats including The Secret Rose (1897), Poems (1899) and The Wind Among the Reeds (1899). -- Austin Abbey Rare Books.