An adventure story of love, loss, survival and reconciliation . . . The Handfasted Wife is the story of the Norman Conquest from the perspective of Edith (Elditha) Swanneck, Harold's common-law wife. She is set aside for a political marriage when Harold becomes king in 1066. Determined to protect her children's destinies and control her economic future, she is taken to William's camp when her estate is sacked on the eve of the Battle of Hastings. She later identifies Harold's body on the battlefield and her youngest son becomes a Norman hostage. Elditha avoids an arranged marriage with a Breton knight by which her son might or might not be given into his care. She makes her own choice and sets out through strife-torn England to seek help from her sons in Dublin. However, events again overtake her. Harold's mother, Gytha, holds up in her city of Exeter with other aristocratic women, including Elditha's eldest daughter. The girl is at risk, drawing Elditha back to Exeter and resistance. Initially supported by Exeter's burghers the women withstand William's siege. However, after three horrific weeks they negotiate exile and the removal of their treasure. Elditha takes sanctuary in a convent where eventually she is reunited with her hostage son.

'You lay hands on a princess of the realm? It is treason.' 'But this princess disobeys her King. Treason indeed.' 1266. Eleanor of Castile, adored wife of the Crown Prince of England, is still only a princess when she is held hostage in the brutal Baron's Rebellion, and her baby daughter dies. Scarred by privation, a bitter Eleanor swears revenge on those who would harm her family - and vows never to let herself be vulnerable again. As she rises to become Queen, Eleanor keeps Olwen - a trusted herbalist, who tried to save her daughter - by her side. But it is dangerous to be friendless in a royal household, and as the court sets out on crusade, Olwen and Eleanor discover that the true battle for Europe may not be a matter of swords and lances, but one fanned by whispers and spies . . .

September 1068. Thea, also known as Gytha, the elder daughter of King Harold II, travels with her brothers and grandmother into exile carrying revenge in her heart. She is soon betrothed to a prince of Kiev. Will her betrothal and marriage bring her happiness, as she confronts enemies from inside and outside Russian territories? Will she prove herself the courageous princess she surely is, win her princely husband's respect and establish her independence in a society protective towards its women?

A marriage made in Heaven, or Hell? 1075 and Dowager Queen Edith has died. Her niece Gunnhild longs to leave Wilton Abbey but is her suitor Breton knight Count Alain of Richmond interested in her inheritance as the daughter of King Harold and Edith Swan-Neck, or does he love her for herself? Is her own love for Count Alain an enduring love or has she made a terrible mistake? The Swan Daughter is woven around a true 11th century tale of elopement, love and courage.

London, 1350. Agnes, daughter of a stonemason, is struggling to keep her father's trade in a city decimated by plague. And then she receives a mysterious message from the disgraced Queen Isabella: mother of King Edward III, and widow of Edward II. Isabella has a task that only Agnes can fulfil. She wants her truth to be told. Much has been whispered of the conflicts in Isabella and Edward's marriage. Her greed and warmongering. His unspoken love for male favourites. But as Agnes listens to Isabella, she learns that she can be of help to the queen - but can either woman choose independence, follow her own desires, and survive? The sweeping third instalment of Carol McGrath's acclaimed She-Wolves Trilogy: the gripping series exploring the tumultous lives and loves of three queens of England - and of three women who lived in their shadow. Based on the extraordinary true story of the female stonemason who carved a queen's tomb!

Young widow Elizabeth Williams is determined to make a success of the business she inherited from her merchant father. But an independent woman draws the wrong kind of attention, and Elizabeth soon realises she has enemies - enemies who know the dark truth about her dead husband. Happiness arrives when Elizabeth meets rapidly rising lawyer, Thomas Cromwell. Their marriage begins in mutual love and respect - but it isn't easy being the wife of an ambitious courtier in Henry VIII's London. The city is both merciless and filled with temptation, and Elizabeth soon realises she must take care in the life she has chosen . . . or risk losing everything.

Бренд: PAT McGRATH LABSЦвет: In The Flesh

On a damp October night the body of beautiful Ashley Cordova is discovered in a Manhattan warehouse. Though her death is ruled a suicide, investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. The last time McGrath got too close to the Cordova dynasty, he lost his marriage and his career. This time he could lose his mind.

The biggest and best Sudoku book on the market - a bumper bestseller from the nation's favourite number cruncher Carol Vorderman Carol Vorderman's follow up to the bestselling How To Do Sudoku is even bigger and better. With over 400 puzzles - from easy to killer Sudoku - this is the very biggest collection on the market. Better still are the advanced secrets and tips for puzzle solving that Carol Vorderman is able to pass on to her readers.

Carol is a divorced teacher living in a small town in Ireland, her only son now grown. A second chance at love brings her unexpected connection and belonging. The new relationship sparks local speculation: what does a woman like her see in a man like that? What happened to his wife who abandoned them all those years ago? But the gossip only serves to bring the couple closer. When Declan becomes ill, things start to fall apart. His children are untrusting and cruel, and Carol is forced to leave their beloved home with its worn oak floors and elegant features and move back in with her parents. Carol's mother is determined to get to the bottom of things, she won't see her daughter suffer in this way. It seems there are secrets in Declan's past, strange rumours that were never confronted and suddenly the house they shared takes on a more sinister significance. In his tense and darkly comic new novel Norton casts a light on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and truth and self-preservation with unnerving effect.

Ashley Cordova, the mysterious, gifted daughter of the reclusive film director Stanislas Cordova, is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Her death is ruled a suicide, but veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. What happened to Ashley? As McGrath tries to uncover the truth, he is drawn into a spellbinding quest in the underworld of the Cordova family's life. With breakneck pace and dazzling inventiveness, Night Film will hold you in suspense until you turn the final page.

Ashley Cordova, the mysterious, gifted daughter of the reclusive film director Stanislas Cordova, is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Her death is ruled a suicide, but veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. What happened to Ashley? As McGrath tries to uncover the truth, he is drawn into a spellbinding quest in the underworld of the Cordova family's life. With breakneck pace and dazzling inventiveness, Night Film will hold you in suspense until you turn the final page.

Audiophile 180 gramm virgin vinyl! Tracklisting: Deck The Halls, Ah Bleak & Chill The Wintry Wind, Bright, Bright The Holly Berries, Jesu Parvule, Caroling Caroling, What Are The Signs, Night Bethlehem, While Be My Sheep, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, Silent Night, Joy To The World, Wassail Song, Carol Of The Russian Children, Good King Wenceslas, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Conventry Carol, Have Yourself A Merry Little ChristmasRecord Label: MPSStyle: JazzТреклист:Deck the Halls, Ah Bleak & Chill the Wintry Wind, Bright, Bright, the Holly Berries, Jesu Parvulé, Caroling, Caroling, What Are the Signs, Night Bethlehem, While by My Sheep, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Silent Night, Joy to the World, Wassail Song, Carol of the Russian Children, Good King Wenceslas, Coventry Carol, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The Canadian Tenors - The Perfect Gift. 1 CD. 1 O Holy Night, 2 Instrument of Peace, 3 Silent Night, 4 The Prayer, 5 Wintersong, 6 Huron Carol, 7 The Perfect Gift, 8 Ave Maria, 9 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, 10 O Viens Emmanuel (0 Come Emmanuel), 11 What Child is This? (Carol of the Bells), Bonus Track, 12 Hallelujah

In the summer of 1844, taking a break from novel-writing, the thirty-two-year-old Charles Dickens embarked on a journey to Italy with his wife, his five children and his young sister-in-law. Struck by the scenery and the rapid diorama of monuments and novelties around him, the celebrated author of Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol captured his experiences and impressions in vivid detail. The result is a travelogue like no other, written by one of the finest writers of all time. Abounding in colour and humour, and interspersed with unforgettable set pieces, such as an eyewitness account of the beheading of a robber in Rome and a hilarious description of a tour guide’s ruinous tumble down the slope of Mount Vesuvius, Pictures from Italy is further proof of Charles Dickens’s genius and versatility.

When Katy's mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn't just Katy's mum, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, the mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer before she met Katy's father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone. But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother's spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and - of course - delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life. And then Carol appears, healthy and sun-tanned... and thirty years old. Katy doesn't understand what is happening, or how - all she can focus on is that somehow, impossibly, she has her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman who came before. But can we ever truly know our parents? Soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.