From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that tells the epic story of Catherine the Great’s improbable rise to power—as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.
 
Her name is Barbara—in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she’s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world’s...

The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Catherine House is a school of higher learning like no other. Hidden deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania, this crucible of reformist liberal arts study with its experimental curriculum, wildly selective admissions policy, and formidable endowment, has produced some of the world's best minds: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, Supreme Court justices, presidents. For those lucky few selected, tuition, room, and board are free. But acceptance...

"A killer virus ... an all-powerful Empress... an encounter cloaked i secrecy. Within living memory, smallpox was a dreaded disease. Over human history it has killed untold millions. Back in the eighteenth century, as epidemics swept Europe, the first rumours emerged of an effective treatment: a mysterious method called inoculation. But a key problem remained: convincing people to accept the preventative remedy, the forerunner of vaccination. Arguments...

“[A] superb biography….Scholarly, refreshing, commonsensical, and compelling, vividly portraying the charismatic Empress and her times.”
—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Sashenka

Simon Dixon’s Catherine the Great is a complete and revealing portrait of an extraordinary leader, chronicling her rise to power and her remarkable reign as empress of Russia. Catherine Merridale, author

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"A brilliant and beautifully written deep dive into the complicated relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe who shaped each other as profoundly as they shaped the course of history. Sixteenth-century Europe was a hostile world dominated by court politics and patriarchal structures, and yet against all odds, two women rose to power: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. One a young...

Provides an inside look at Prince William and Kate Middleton, delving into their backgrounds, their meeting as students at the University of St Andrews, the ups and downs of their relationship, their engagement, and their wedding.

"In Mystic Creek, Oregon, Tanner Richards and Crystal Malloy cross paths as they both try to help Crystal's grandfather, who constantly skirts the rules of the retirement center where he lives. As they bond over her grandfather's escape artist dog, Crystal must deal with secrets from her past if their love is to survive"-- When a favorite customer on his delivery route needs a favor, Tanner Richards agrees to help without a second thought. Crystal...

Whitehall Palace, England, 1539 When Catherine Howard arrives at the court of King Henry VIII to be a maid of honour in the household of the new queen, Anne of Cleves, she has no idea of the fate that awaits her. Catching the king's fancy, she finds herself caught up in her uncle's ambition to get a Howard heir to the throne. Terrified by the ageing king after the fate that befell her cousin, Anne Boleyn, Catherine begins to fear for her life . ....