In 1764, the great Samuel Johnson, irascible genius, unparalleled wit and the toast of all society, is plagued by ill health and has become jaded by his bickering descendants. Suffering from a bout of melancholy, he accepts an invitation to the table of Henry Thrale, a wealthy Southwark brewer, and his vivacious wife Hester. Thus begins an extraordinary relationship that is to last 20 years. Against the brilliant background of Georgian London, According to Queeney candidly and comically te...

He had everything a man could want, except true love. Young King Solomon dresses as a commoner and travels the kingdom in search of a maiden to be his queen. Enter the peasant girl. She does not know the handsome stranger who has been visiting her vineyard is actually the King! Does he tell her? That depends. Will she love him for who he is? Magical! Google "Solomon's Bride" for reviews.

Dorothy L. Sayers’ 1923 debut mystery novel “Whose Body?” is a classic cozy mystery featuring the debonair aristocrat-sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. After a corpse wearing pince-nez glasses is found in a bathtub, Lord Peter undertakes to investigate the deed privately. But determining whether the corpse belongs to a well-known banker or a group of mischief-making medical students is just the beginning of this tangled mystery plot. This atmospheric novel put Dorothy L. Sayers in the ranks with A...

Bloomsbury presents Mad Enchantment by Ross King, read by Mark MeadowsClaude Monet’s water lily paintings are among the most iconic and beloved works of art of the past century. Yet these entrancing images were created at a time of terrible private turmoil and sadness for the artist. The dramatic history behind these paintings is little known; Ross King’s Mad Enchantment tells the full story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and origina...

Bloomsbury presents Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King, read by Mark Meadows.From the acclaimed author of Brunelleschi's Dome and Leonardo and the Last Supper, the riveting story of how Michelangelo, against all odds, created the masterpiece that has ever since adorned the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to ...

A panoramic new history of modern Britain, as told through the story of one extraordinary family, and one groundbreaking company.In the early 1800s Lehmann Gluckstein and his family escaped the pogroms of Eastern Europe and made their way to Whitechapel in the East End of London. There, starting with nothing, they worked tirelessly to pull themselves out of poverty, creating a small tobacco factory that quickly grew to become the largest catering company in the world: J. Lyons. For...

The first novel from award-winning author Gianfranco Calligarich to be published in English, Last Summer in the City is a witty and despairing classic of Italian literature. Biting, tragic, and endlessly quotable, this translated edition features an introductory appreciation from longtime fan New York Times bestselling author André Aciman.In a city smothering under the summer sun and an overdose of la dolce vita, Leo Gazarra spends his time in an ...

Salonica Greece, 1976. Hellenic Gendarme, Major Mikhail Remis is a man in demand. A dark soul with a fearsome, brutal reputation who operates in the twilight world left after the end of the murderous Regime of Colonels. Feared as much by fellow officers as the criminal underworld, Remis grapples with his own sense of rough justice. When the body of Mossad undercover agent, Konrad Tafel is found deep in the Balkan Mountains, Remis is ordered by his veiled, powerful master, Manolis Callas to...

Cambridge, UK, 1947. Martin Friedrich, a German philosopher, is cycling through an intersection on his way to give a lecture when a speeding car strikes and kills him. Shortly afterwards, Detective Sergeant Stephen Minter - an Austrian-born cockney Jew, whose parents were interned during the war as enemy aliens - stands over the body of Friedrich, contemplating the age-old question: who did it? Friedrich might have been one of the finest minds of his age, but he was problematic: arrogant a...

From the dramatic Highlands to bustling cities, the unique landscapes and locales of Scotland have enthralled and shaped generations of mystery writers. This new collection presents 17 classic stories, spanning a period from the 1880s to the 1970s, by a host of Scottish authors alongside writers from south of the border inspired by the history and majesty of the storied country. Featuring vintage tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and Baroness Orczy together with mid-20th-...

In the Welsh borders, isolated by heavy snow and flooding from the thaw, cut off from telephone access, a tragedy has occurred. Old Dr Robinson known to be 'a menace' on the roads has met his end in a car crash, his big saloon thrown from the track down the steep hillside. But when the police arrive there is more to the tragedy than meets the eye: why was there a second body - an outsider to these parts - in the back of the vehicle? As the local inspectors dive into the muddy waters of thi...

This revealing look at life in ancient Rome offers a compelling journey through the vivid landscape of politics, domestic life, entertainment, and inequality experienced daily by Romans of all social strata.Frenzied crowds, talking ravens, the stench of the Tiber River: life in ancient Rome was stimulating, dynamic, and often downright dangerous. The Romans relaxed and gossiped in baths, stole precious water from aqueducts, and partied and dined to excess. Everyone...