December, 1323 AD Holly and ivy decorate the houses while voices are raised in song, but the Christmas cheer is tempered by terror this festive season, as demons haunt a small English village. Strange thefts; cloven hoof-prints in the snow; a house burned to the ground. Something evil stalks the icy streets of Brandesburton and former mercenary Tuck must find out what, before it's too late. As he sets out to solve the mystery the friar prays his faith will protect him. His faith AND his great quarterstaff, for he knows full well - the Devil makes no deals... This brand new novella from the best-selling author of the Forest Lord series will delight and entertain historical fiction fans looking to escape the madness of Christmas shopping for a little while. Grab a mince pie, warm some mulled wine, and join Friar Tuck on this snowy adventure! ..".a heart warming tale, wrapping the deep meaning of Christmas in amongst a clever little mystery..." Parmenion Book Reviews
Medieval Christmas – roaring fires, Yule logs, boar's head on a platter and carols. So many of our best-loved traditions have their origins in the medieval period that it would be impossible to imagine the season without holly and ivy, carol singers calling from door to door and a general sense of celebration in the face of the harshest season. Sophie Jackson investigates the roots of the Christmas celebration in this beautifully illustrated book. She offers guidance for re-creating elements of the medieval Christmas at home, tips on decorations, instructions for playing medieval games and recipes for seasonal dishes. Fascinating facts about some of our most cherished customs, such as the nativity crib, are unearthed, as are some that are less well known – wassailing the apple trees, the ritual beating of children on 28 December and the appointment of a Lord of Misrule and a boy bishop. Lively and entertaining, this book illuminates the medieval Christmas, showing how the traditions of the Middle Ages continue to delight us today.
IN THE DARK A pristine white beach near Sanibel Island, Florida, is an unlikely place for a murder, but that’s where Will Novak finds himself, knee-deep in salt water trying to save a life. Maybe the frantic woman is the client he’s supposed to meet. But there’s no question she’s got plenty of powerful enemies. And now they’re after Novak too. IN THE DETAILS When he meets her again, her story opens a world of nightmares: captured women, stolen children, and “adoptions” forged in blood and death. The network that tore apart her family stretches across continents and corrupts the forces that should fight against it. And its leaders will do anything to silence her. IN THE LAST PLACE YOU LOOK From the alligator-infested waters of the Everglades to the Central American jungle, the fight to stop a ruthless conspiracy—and to find one mother’s child—will take Novak to the edge of hell itself...
The Newbery Medal–winning author of The Hero and the Crown brings the Robin Hood legend to vivid life. Young Robin Longbow, subapprentice forester in the King’s Forest of Nottingham, must contend with the dislike of the Chief Forester, who bullies Robin in memory of his popular father. But Robin does not want to leave Nottingham or lose the title to his father’s small tenancy, because he is in love with a young lady named Marian—and keeps remembering that his mother too was gentry and married a common forester. Robin has been granted a rare holiday to go to the Nottingham Fair, where he will spend the day with his friends Much and Marian. But he is ambushed by a group of the Chief Forester’s cronies, who challenge him to an archery contest . . . and he accidentally kills one of them in self-defense. He knows his own life is forfeit. But Much and Marian convince him that perhaps his personal catastrophe is also an opportunity: an opportunity for a few stubborn Saxons to gather together in the secret heart of Sherwood Forest and strike back against the arrogance and injustice of the Norman overlords.
The Muppets tell the Robin Hood legend for laughs, and it’s the reader who will be merry! Robin Hood (Kermit the Frog) joins with the Merry Men — Sherwood Forest’s infamous gang of misfit outlaws — to take on the stuffy Sheriff of Muppetham (Sam the Eagle) and the wicked Gonzo of Gisbourne! Features a cover from David Petersen, the Eisner Award-winning creator of Mouse Guard!
50 Masterpieces you have to read before you die is the book that everyone should read to understand themselves and each other. The authors and works for this book were selected, as a result of numerous studies, analysis of the texts over the past 100 years and the demand for readers. It must be read in order to understand the world around us, its history, to recognize the heroes, to understand the winged expressions and jokes that come from these literary works. Reading these books will mean the discovery of a world of self-development and self-expression for each person. These books have been around for decades, and sometimes centuries, for the time they recreate, the values they teach, the point of view, or simply the beauty of words. This volume includes famous works: Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden Homer - The Iliad Homer - The Odyssey Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens - Great Expectations Charles Dickens - Bleak House Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist Lyman Frank Baum - The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne - The House Of The Seven Gables Thomas Hardy - Jude The Obscure Robert Louis Stevenson -The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island Henry Haggard - King Solomon's Mines Wilkie Collins - The Woman In White H. G. Wells - The Island Of Doctor Moreau Sir Walter Scott - Ivanhoe Wilkie Collins - The Moonstone A Romance Lucy Maud Montgomery - Anne Of Green Gables Louisa May Alcott - Little Women Henry Fielding - Amelia Mary Shelley - Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus Arthur Conan Doyle - The Lost World Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina Euripides - Medea Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime And Punishment Alexander Pushkin - Eugene Onegin A Romance Of Russian Life In Verse James Fenimore Cooper - The Last Of The Mohicans Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe Joseph Conrad - Heart Of Darkness Jonathan Swift - Gulliver’s Travels William Shakespeare - Romeo And Juliet William Shakespeare - Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark William Shakespeare - Othello Oscar Wilde - The Picture Of Dorian Gray John Bunyan - The Pilgrim's Progress From This World To That Which Is To Come Charles Darwin - The Origin Of Species Or The Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life Alfred Tennyson - Idylls Of The King Bram Stoker - Dracula James Joyce - Ulysses Dante Alighieri - The Divine Comedy Howard Pyle - Robin Hood Jane Austen - Emma Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights Thomas Hardy - Tess Of The D'urbervilles A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented Giovanni Boccaccio - The Decameron Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book
