Sins of the House of Borgia

Spirited daughter. Rebellious wife. Powerful woman.

The adored and spirited daughter of England's greatest knight, Mahelt Marshal lives a privileged life. But when her beloved father falls foul of the volatile and dangerous King John, her world is shattered. The king takes her brothers hostage and Mahelt's planned marriage to Hugh Bigod, son of the Earl of Norfolk, takes place sooner than she expected. Mahelt and Hugh come to care for each other deeply, but Hugh's strict father clashes with the rebellious Mahelt. When more harsh demands from King John threaten to tear the couple's lives apart, Mahelt finds herself facing her worst fears alone, not knowing if she-or her marriage-will survive.

A brilliant story of a vibrant woman in a tyrant's world, To Defy a King is another impeccably researched masterpiece from a beloved author.

"The best writer of medieval fiction." -Historical Novels Review

"I rank Elizabeth Chadwick with such historical novelist stars as Dorothy Dunnett and Anya Seton." -Sharon Kay Penman, New York Times bestselling author of Devil's Brood

"Brilliantly weaving a strong plotline, historical accuracy, depth of character, and dialogue filled with intelligence and wit...Elizabeth Chadwick is one of the very best of historical fiction authors." -Passages to the Past

"When Elizabeth Chadwick writes about history, you feel like you are there in the thick of it." -Long and Short Reviews

"Blindly, she inched along a floor pitching as violently as the deck of a boat in a midwinter storm. Her hands touched the threshold opening onto the ninth floor foyer at the instant the glass transom over her head exploded into a thousand pieces. Reflexively, Amelia cast her right arm in front of her face, but not before blood spurted from her scalp and ran down her checks. She crumpled beneath the doorframe, curling into a ball. Amelia screamed again as a twenty-five-foot expanse of wood paneling and masonry pitched outward and plunged nine stories to Montgomery Street below. She knew that no structure on landfill, no matter how well built, could withstand much more shaking without collapsing.

Then, just as suddenly, the convulsions subsided."

Early in 1906, the ground in San Francisco shook buildings and lives from their comfortable foundations.

Amidst rubble, corruption, and deceit, two women-young architects in a city and field ruled by men-find themselves racing the clock and each other during the rebuilding of competing hotels in the City by the Bay.

Based on meticulous research, A Race to Splendor tells the story of the audacious people of one of the world's great cities rebuilding and reinventing themselves after immense human tragedy. Filled with courage, passion, and conflict, Amelia Bradshaw's spirit will capture your imagination as she strives to redraft her life amidst the ruins with both help and hindrance from a wayward son of privilege who pulls her into worlds she'd never have known.

"Richly drawn characters...will keep you turning these pages!"
-Michael Llewellyn, author of Twelfth Night

Two Women, Eight Hundred Years, and the Destiny They Share

"Barbara Erskine can make us feel the cold, smell the filth, and experience some of the fear of the power of evil men...The author's storytelling talent is undeniable."
-Times of London

With a story as mesmerizing as it is chilling, Lady of Hay explores how Jo, a journalist investigating hypnotic regression, plunges into the life of Matilda, Lady of Hay-who lived eight hundred years earlier. As she learns of Matilda's unhappy marriage, her troubled love for Richard de Clare, and the brutal treatment she received from King John, it seems that Jo's past and present are hopelessly entwined. Centuries later, a story of secret passion and unspeakable treachery is about to begin again-and she has no choice but to brave both lives if she wants to shake the iron grip of history.

"So well researched and so well written that it is almost impossible to put down. The novel has everything that readers of racy fiction could ask for: beautiful characters, exotic settings, and passion...situations and characters that are so completely convincing that they come to life."
-Philadelphia Inquirer

"Told with hair-raising intensity, this is a gripping tale."
-Daily News

"Barbara Erskine is a superb storyteller."
-Los Angeles Daily News

"Fascinating, absorbing, original-all such praise comes easily when describing Barbara Erskine's Lady of Hay. But perhaps the most suitable word is hypnotic."
-She

What Readers are Saying

"A classic in its own right."
"An extraordinary story of time travel at its best."
"The most unputdownable book I have ever come across."

Barbara Erskine is a historian and internationally bestselling author of Lady of
Hay as well as Time's Legacy, Kingdom of Shadows, Encounters, Child of the Phoenix, Midnight Is a Lonely Place, House of Echoes, Distant Voices, Whispers in the Sand, Hiding from the Light, and On the Edge of Darkness. Her first novel blending the historical and the supernatural catapulted her to success, and her novels have been translated into thirty languages.

When the time is ripe, Genevieve enters the magnificent world of the French court. With grace to match her ambition, she becomes maid of honor to Anne de Pisseleau, King Francis's mistress. Yet neither the court--which teems with artistry and enlightenment as well as intrigue--nor Francis himself are at all what Genevieve expected. And with her mission, her life, and the fate of two kingdoms at stake, she will be forced to make deadly decisions about where her heart and her ultimate loyalties lie.

"As opulent and sparkling as Louis XIV's court and as filled with intrigue, passion and excitement as a novel by Dumas. . .a feast for the senses." --Romantic Times (4 stars)

"Vivid, delightful, spirited. . .a page-turner as smooth as fine cognac." Steven Manchester, author of The Unexpected Storm

"A wonderfully spun gem of a story." --Armchair Reviews

They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel millions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply believers.

Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is "Jesus plus nothing." Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith—part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition—has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world.

The Legend of the Greatest Knight Lives On

William Marshal's skill with a sword and loyalty to his word have earned him the company of kings, the lands of a magnate, and the hand of Isabelle de Clare, one of England's wealthiest heiresses. But he is thrust back into the chaos of court when King Richard dies. Vindictive King John clashes with William, claims the family lands for the Crown-and takes two of the Marshal sons hostage. The conflict between obeying his king and rebelling over the royal injustices threatens the very heart of William and Isabelle's family. Fiercely intelligent and courageous, fearing for the man and marriage that light her life, Isabelle plunges with her husband down a precarious path that will lead William to more power than he ever expected.

"Everyone who has raved about Elizabeth Chadwick as an author of historical novels is right." -Devourer of Books on The Greatest Knight

"Elizabeth Chadwick is a gifted novelist and a dedicated researcher; it doesn't get any better than that." -Sharon Kay Penman