The great pearl heist

Sample

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...

Sample

J. M. Harper

This long-awaited new edition of Lattimore's Iliad is designed to bring the book into the twenty-first century—while leaving the poem as firmly rooted in ancient Greece as ever. Lattimore's elegant, fluent verses—with their memorably phrased heroic epithets and remarkable fidelity to the Greek—remain unchanged, but classicist Richard Martin has added a wealth of supplementary materials designed to aid new generations of readers. A new introduction sets the poem in the wider context of Greek life, warfare, society, and poetry, while line-by-line notes at the back of the volume offer explanations of unfamiliar terms, information about the Greek gods and heroes, and literary appreciation. A glossary and maps round out the book. The result is a volume that actively invites readers into Homer's poem, helping them to understand fully the worlds in which he and his heroes lived—and thus enabling them to marvel, as so many have for centuries, at Hektor and Ajax, Paris and Helen, and the devastating rage of Achilleus.

Sample

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.

Sample

John Blythe Smart

Volume I: "The Churches of London remain unique in Europe due to their sheer number and diversity of design. At one time there were no less than 116 parish churches in the square mile - not forgetting St. Paul's Cathedral and several large religious houses such as the Blackfriars, Whitefriars and Holy Trinity, Aldgate. In fact, the alleyways of the metropolis integrated with these edifices to produce a thriving centre for artisans, livery companies, political aspiration and creative endeavour. Within this sphere were artists, scientists, actors and writers to name but a few. Entries in the parish registers reveal these historic celebrities who are linked to every aspect of British history over many centuries. Today some 40 City Churches still survive and with other hidden gems are revealed from behind the modern street façade"-- Back cover. Volume II: John Stow surveyed the City of London and its environs in 1598, a work that was then added to by chroniclers down the years. At this stage the settlement went little further than Westminister and the area in between, however by the Victorian era there was sprawling growth with stucco mansions and grand churches. The first of these were designed by Wren and Hawksmoor but as London became the largest city in the world, built on the wealth of Empire, numerous edifices followed. Indeed other cities had just one main church but the capital had literally hundreds. Budding architects introduced the Classical and Gothic styles while parish registers recorded the rich and famous from around the land. This volume details these churches and celebrities to provide one of the most comprehensive guides since the time of Stow"--Back cover.