by Michael Foy & Brian Barton (2000)
More comprehensive and adhering more closely to the events than any account previously written, this important new treatment of the 1916 Easter Rising draws on an impressive range of hitherto unused primary sources- some closed to the public until recently, others long available but neglected by historians. Opening with an evaluation of the roots of the Rising, the authors present pen portraits of the leaders and a thorough analysis of their motives, plans and objectives. They challenge the traditional interpretation that these leaders expected military failure, motivated by a desire to provide a blood sacrifice and hoping thereby to rejuvenate Irish nationalist sentiment. A detailed chronological account of the Rising itself recaptures the action in the key locations, giving insights into the actual experience of Easter Week for the rebels, the military personnel who opposed them, and the civilian population. The authors conclude their narrative by reviewing the British government's reaction to the Rising, analyzing the background to the declaration of martial law, and assessing the British military response. It contains recently released transcripts of the court martial trials of the executed rebel leaders, plus the testimonies of the witnesses. It graphically describes the execution process and the justification given for imposing the death sentence in each case. -- Publisher description
Amanda Quick
Targeted by a disabled former spy for the Crown who wrongly believes she is blackmailing his sister, Beatrice Lockwood offers her assistance in tracking down the real culprit and eventually falls for the spy only to find herself hunted by a mad scientist who would resurrect a dead lover.
David M. Bergeron
"This book is the first to offer a systematic analysis of prefatory material in English dramatic texts, compelling literary scholars, cultural historians and historians of the book to take seriously the intersection of patronage, book production, and playwrights' textual frames. As Bergeron persuasively argues, we cannot fully comprehend the practice of Renaissance patronage without understanding these documents from England's richest theater period."--Jacket.
J.K. Rowling
Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'. HARRY POTTER has never even heard of Hogwarts when the LETTERS start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in GREEN INK on yellowish parchment with a PURPLE SEAL, they are swiftly confiscated by his GRISLY aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called RUBEUS HAGRID bursts in with some ASTONISHING news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin! **PDF**
Patricia Bracewell
1006 AD. Queen Emma, the Norman bride of England's King Aethelred, has given birth to a son. Now her place as second wife to the king is safe and Edward marked as heir to the throne. But the royal bed is a cold place and the court a setting for betrayal and violence, as the ageing king struggles to retain his power over the realm. Emma can trust no one, not even the king's eldest son Athelstan, the man she truly loves. Elsewhere Viking threats to the crown are gaining strength, and in the north the powerful nobleman Aelfhelm is s.