Mary Butts was a contemporary of Jean Rhys, H.D., Djuna Barnes, Laura Riding, Marianne Moore and others. Reprinted here for the first time since their original publications, both novels occur in England in the period between the two World Wars. The first novel centers around a group of friends who retrieve a chalice which may be the Holy Grail; the second novel centers around the attempt to uncover the truth behind the death of its namesake, Felicity Taverner, who may have died a suicide, a murder, or an accidental victim.
Death hounds, shape shifters, and vampires are among the patients treated by the Holmes-like Dr. Taverner and his assistant Dr. Rhodes in this work of supernatural fiction by acclaimed spiritualist and occult writer Dion Fortune. First published in 1926, the adventures of Dr.Taverner and Dr. Rhodes take readers across the marshy moonlit fields of nightfall, hunting spirits and keeping watch over souls. Suffering from vampirism? Being stalked by a death hound? Haunted by past life debts? Family under a suicidal curse? From across the countryside patients and their desperate families come to seek treatment for unconventional diseases from an unconventional doctor. His secret? Treating the diseases of the occult. Though Fortune wrote The Secrets of Doctor Taverner as her first novel, she maintained that all the events were based on true occurrences. Many believe Taverner to be Fortune's own spiritual teacher, Dr. Moriarty, and Rhodes to be based on Fortune herself. An essential and fun read for anyone interested in the Western Mystery Tradition, Dion Fortune, the melding of medicine and magic, or just good old-fashioned paranormal fiction.
An altogether unsatisfactory arrangement After their father's death, Miss Judith Taverner and her brother Peregrine travel to London to meet their guardian, Lord Worth, expecting an elderly gentleman. To their surprise and utter disgust, their guardian is not much older than they are, doesn't want the office of guardian any more than they want him, and is determined to thwart all their interests and return them to the country. With altogether too many complications But when Miss Taverner and Peregrine begin to move in the highest social circles, Lord Worth cannot help but entangle himself with his adventuresome wards... Praise for Regency Buck: "Clever!"— Library Journal "Georgette Heyer is unbeatable."— Sunday Telegraph "Light and frothy, in the vein of the author's other Regency novels, this follows the fortunes of Miss Judith Taverner and her brother, Sir Peregrine. A good introduction to Heyer's period stories..." — The Booklist "Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."— Publishers Weekly "A writer of great wit and style... I've read her books to ragged shreds"— Katie Fenton, Daily Telegraph "Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer achieves what the rest of us only aspire too."—Katie Fforde
'A thought-provoking plot, and an affecting and powerful conclusion make this one of Clare's best' - Booklist Starred Review Physician-sleuth Dr Gabriel Taverner uncovers dark secrets in his small Devon village in the second of this intriguing historical mystery series. June, 1604. When the emaciated body of a vagrant is found on the edge of the moor, it’s the verdict of physician Gabriel Taverner that the man died of natural causes – but is all as it seems? Who was the dead man, and why had he come to the small West Country village of Tavy St Luke’s to die cold, sick and alone? With no one claiming to have known him, his identity remains a mystery. Then a discovery found buried in a nearby field throws a strange new light on the case ... and in attempting to find the answers, Gabriel Taverner and Coroner Theophilus Davey unearth a series of shocking secrets stretching back more than fourteen years.
John Taverner was the leading composer of church music under Henry VIII. His contributions to the mass and votive antiphon are varied, distinguished and sometimes innovative; he has left more important settings for the office than any of his predecessors, and even a little secular music survives. Hugh Benham, editor of Taverner‘s complete works for Early English Church Music, now provides the first full-length study of the composer for over twenty years. He places the music in context, with the help of biographical information, discussion of Taverner‘s place in society, and explanation of how each piece was used in the pre-Reformation church services. He investigates the musical language of Taverner‘s predecessors as background for a fresh examination and appraisal of the music in the course of which he traces similarities with the work of younger composers. Issues confronting the performer are considered, and the music is also approached from the listener‘s point of view, initially through close analytical inspection of the celebrated votive antiphon Gaude plurimum.
The First Gabriel Taverner mystery. Devon, 1607. Gabriel Taverner, former ship’s surgeon turned country physician, is called to examine a rotting body found impaled on a blade. Identifying the corpse seems a hopeless task and the death is declared a suicide. But Gabriel is not satisfied and re-examines the body – making the first of a series of shocking discoveries that will lead him deep into the dark underbelly of the lucrative silk trade. As he investigates, Gabriel realises that not only was the death a murder – but even worse, he had a personal connection with the corpse.
If Spook Street is where spies live, Joe Country is where they go to die. In Slough House, the London outpost for disgraced MI5 spies, memories are stirring, all of them bad. Catherine Standish is buying booze again, Louisa Guy is raking over the ashes of lost love, and new recruit Lech Wicinski, whose sins make him an outcast even among the slow horses, is determined to discover who destroyed his career, even if he tears his life apart in the process. Meanwhile, in Regent’s Park, Diana Taverner’s tenure as First Desk is running into difficulties. If she’s going to make the Service fit for purpose, she might have to make deals with a familiar old devil . . . And with winter taking its grip, Jackson Lamb would sooner be left brooding in peace, but even he can’t ignore the dried blood on his carpets. So when the man responsible for killing a slow horse breaks cover at last, Lamb sends the slow horses out to even the score.
Will Kendrick is dead set on putting old memories to rest. But after the passing of his estranged father forces him to visit his quiet, historic hometown in Florida, the young screenwriter steps back into painful memories that he’s spent the last decade trying to forget. Haunted by his mother’s tragic death, Will is determined to shut down the family tavern and get back to LA. Jess Wilder has waited a lifetime for Will to return. With the memory of their childhood friendship still alive in her heart, she struggles to help him discover a glimpse into a side of the tavern – and his father – that he never knew. But as Will unearths his past, he quickly realizes that his mother’s death is shrouded in secrecy... and he can’t escape the disturbing suspicion that the truth is far darker than he imagined. Caught up in a puzzling mystery and grappling with his growing attraction toward the only woman he’s ever trusted, Will must unravel the real story behind his mother's death. And when a shocking truth throws everything into doubt, he’s faced with an impossible choice: abandon Jess and flee back to LA, or stay and fight for a future with the only woman who can save him. Step into a hauntingly beautiful mystery novel that captures your imagination with gripping emotional drama, exhilarating twists, and a feel-good romance that will keep you hooked until the very last page. Scroll up and grab your copy now...
