The Blade of the Courtesans
The Blade of the Courtesans

Author: Keiichiro Ryu

Publisher: Vertical Inc

Published: 2022-09-27

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 1647292484

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This Naoki Prize-nominated historical thriller marked the auspicious debut of late-blooming author Keichiro Ryu, who in five years made a name for himself as a master of period novels. In The Blade of the Courtesans, a young samurai by the name of Seichiro Matsunaga, trained in swordfighting by non other than the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, finds himself in Yoshiwara (the pleasure quarters of old Tokyo), per Miyamoto's dying wishes. In Yoshiwara, Seichiro finds himself defending its denizens against what may be spies from the Yagyu Clan, including one young woman named Oshabu, whose story runs deeper than still water suggests. The Blade of the Courtesans is at once a quiet ode to human liberties in the face of political warfare and edge-fo-your-seat swordfighitng, a Japanese counterpart to the romantic adventures of the medieval knights whose chivalry is rivaled only by their prowess at battle.

Automatic Eve
Automatic Eve

Author: Rokuro Inui

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC

Published: 2019-08-20

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1974712982

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A mighty shogunate ruling the land from Tempu Castle. An imperial line with strict female succession. Caught between these two immense powers, the sprawling city of Tempu is home to many wonders—not least a superhuman technological achievement in the form of a beautiful automaton known as Eve. When a secret that threatens to shake the imperial line intersects with the mystery of Eve’s creation, events are set in motion that soon race toward a shocking conclusion. A new, astonishingly inventive science fantasy masterpiece of historic proportions. -- VIZ Media

In the Company of the Courtesan
In the Company of the Courtesan

Author: Sarah Dunant

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2006-04-11

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1588365506

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My lady, Fiammetta Bianchini, was plucking her eyebrows and biting color into her lips when the unthinkable happened and the Holy Roman Emperor’s army blew a hole in the wall of God’s eternal city, letting in a flood of half-starved, half-crazed troops bent on pillage and punishment. Thus begins In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant’s epic novel of life in Renaissance Italy. Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice, the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade: rich and rancid, pious and profitable, beautiful and squalid. With a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf, and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Yet as their fortunes rise, this perfect partnership comes under threat, from the searing passion of a lover who wants more than his allotted nights to the attentions of an admiring Turk in search of human novelties for his sultan’s court. But Fiammetta and Bucino’s greatest challenge comes from a young crippled woman, a blind healer who insinuates herself into their lives and hearts with devastating consequences for them all. A story of desire and deception, sin and religion, loyalty and friendship, In the Company of the Courtesan paints a portrait of one of the world’s greatest cities at its most potent moment in history: It is a picture that remains vivid long after the final page.

Kushiel's Dart
Kushiel's Dart

Author: Jacqueline Carey

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2002-03-15

Total Pages: 930

ISBN-13: 1429910909

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The lush epic fantasy that inspired a generation with a single precept: Love As Thou Wilt The first book in the Kushiel's Legacy series is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, deposed rulers and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of Travelers, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess...all seen through the unflinching eyes of an unforgettable heroine. A nation born of angels, vast and intricate and surrounded by danger... a woman born to servitude, unknowingly given access to the secrets of the realm... Born with a scarlet mote in her left eye, Phédre nó Delaunay is sold into indentured servitude as a child. When her bond is purchased by an enigmatic nobleman, she is trained in history, theology, politics, foreign languages, the arts of pleasure. And above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Exquisite courtesan, talented spy...and unlikely heroine. But when Phédre stumbles upon a plot that threatens her homeland, Terre d'Ange, she has no choice. Betrayed into captivity in the barbarous northland of Skaldia and accompanied only by a disdainful young warrior-priest, Phédre makes a harrowing escape and an even more harrowing journey to return to her people and deliver a warning of the impending invasion. And that proves only the first step in a quest that will take her to the edge of despair and beyond. Phédre nó Delaunay is the woman who holds the keys to her realm's deadly secrets, and whose courage will decide the very future of her world. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Mistress of Paris
The Mistress of Paris

Author: Catherine Hewitt

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2017-01-24

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1250120667

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"First published in the United Kingdom by Icon Books Ltd"--Title page verso.

Shakespeare Among the Courtesans
Shakespeare Among the Courtesans

Author: Duncan Salkeld

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1317056671

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Courtesans - women who achieve wealth, status, or power through sexual transgression - have played both a central and contradictory role in literature: they have been admired, celebrated, feared, and vilified. This study of the courtesan in Renaissance English drama focuses not only on the moral ambivalence of these women, but with special attention to Anglo-Italian relations, illuminates little known aspects of their lives. It traces the courtesan from a wry comedic character in the plays of Terence and Plautus to its literary exhaustion in the seventeenth-century dramatic works of Dekker, Marston, Webster, Middleton, Shirley and Brome. The author focuses especially on the presentation of the courtesan in the sixteenth century - dramas by Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Lyly view the courtesan as a symbol of social disease and decay, transforming classical conventions into English prejudices. Renaissance Anglo-Italian cultural and sexual relations are also investigated through comparisons of travel narratives, original source materials, and analysis of Aretino's representations of celebrated Italian courtesans. Amid these fascinating tales of aspiration, desire and despair lingers the intriguing question of who was the 'dark lady' of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Pharmakon
Pharmakon

Author: Michael A. Rinella

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2010-06-05

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 0739146866

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Pharmakon: Plato, Drug Culture, and Identity in Ancient Athens examines the emerging concern for controlling states of psychological ecstasy in the history of western thought, focusing on ancient Greece (c. 750-146 BCE), particularly the Classical Period (c. 500-336 BCE) and especially the dialogues of the Athenian philosopher Plato (427-347 BCE). Employing a diverse array of materials ranging from literature, philosophy, medicine, botany, pharmacology, religion, magic, and law, Pharmakon fundamentally reframes the conceptual context of how we read and interpret Plato's dialogues. Michael A. Rinella demonstrates how the power and truth claims of philosophy, repeatedly likened to a pharmakon, opposes itself to the cultural authority of a host of other occupations in ancient Greek society who derived their powers from, or likened their authority to, some pharmakon. These included Dionysian and Eleusinian religion, physicians and other healers, magicians and other magic workers, poets, sophists, rhetoricians, as well as others. Accessible to the general reader, yet challenging to the specialist, Pharmakon is a comprehensive examination of the place of drugs in ancient thought that will compel the reader to understand Plato in a new way.

In the Black
In the Black

Author: Sheryl Nantus

Publisher: Sheryl Nantus

Published: 2021-08-05

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13:

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When Sam Keller left the military, she ran to the far end of the galaxy. Now she captains the Bonnie Belle, a spaceship full of courtesans who bring a little pleasure to hard-up men and women on distant mining colonies. When one of the women turns up dead, it’s Sam’s job to find out who killed her, and fast—time is money, as far as the Guild is concerned. Marshal Daniel LeClair is as tough as steel, and quick on the draw. But when his vacation gets replaced by an assignment to help find the killer, he can’t help angling for a little action with the hard-charging captain. She’s got brains, attitude, and a body he wouldn’t mind investigating. Sam, six months lonely, might just indulge him. But the Guild wants the case closed yesterday—no matter what the truth might be. With pressure coming from all quadrants, Sam and Daniel clash over false leads, and who’s going to be on top. But when the killer threatens the Belle again, romance will have to wait. It’s a captain’s job to save her crew, no matter what the cost—and Sam's not going to let anything happen to those under her command. Not again. Even if it threatens her chance at happiness with Daniel…

The Sword Dancer
The Sword Dancer

Author: Jeannie Lin

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2013-06-01

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1460313712

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Set during the Tang Empire, this Chinese historical romance “is politically and culturally rich . . . atypical, sensual and filled with honor and wit” (Publishers Weekly). The thief who stole his heart Sword dancer Li Feng is used to living life on the edge of the law—a woman alone in the dangerous world of the Tang Dynasty has only her whirlwind reflexes to trust. She will discover the truth about her past, even if that means outwitting the most feared thief-catcher of them all. . . . Relentless, handsome and determined, Han sees life—and love—as black and white. Until he finally captures the spirited, courageous Li Feng, who makes him question everything he thought he knew about right and wrong. Soon he’s faced with an impossible choice: betray the elusive sword dancer he is learning to love, or trust his long-disregarded heart and follow her to dangerous, tempting rebellion. . . . “The graceful, almost poetic quality of Lin’s writing perfectly complements the Tang Dynasty setting of her latest expertly crafted historical romance, and the book’s potent combination of compelling characters and exotic historical setting make The Sword Dancer an auto-buy for libraries in search of something different for their romance collections.” —Booklist

Mistress by Marriage
Mistress by Marriage

Author: Maggie Robinson

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.

Published: 2011-05-26

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0758274599

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Too late for cold feet Baron Edward Christie prided himself on his reputation for even temperament and reserve. That was before he met Caroline Parker. Wedding a scandalous beauty by special license days after they met did not inspire respect for his sangfroid. Moving her to a notorious lovebirds' nest as punishment for her flighty nature was perhaps also a blow. And of course talk has gotten out of his irresistible clandestine visits. Christie must put his wife aside—if only he can get her out of his blood first. Too hot to refuse. . . Caroline Parker was prepared to hear the worst: that her husband had determined to divorce her, spare them both the torture of passion they can neither tame nor escape. But his plan is wickeder than any she's ever heard. Life as his wife is suffocating. But she cannot resist becoming her own husband's mistress. . . "A very talented debut author." —Romance Junkies Praise for Maggie Robinson's Mistress by Mistake "Sizzles off the page." —Anna Campbell