Showing results for "The Tale of Tales" in Historical

Japanese culture has fascinated the West ever since the country’s doors opened up in the 1800s. In many ways, Japan has remained elusive, and people have travelled from all around the world to see for themselves how unique this nation remains. Another way of exploring this enigmatic culture is through its literature. The English language succeeds surprisingly well in revealing the Japanese sense of life.

Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. In a small cafe in Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden, read by Kathleen Gati. For a young woman in medieval Russia, the choices are stark: marriage or a life in a convent. Vasya will choose a third way: magic... The court of the Grand Prince of Moscow is plagued...

The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail's father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved—but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so. Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. 

African-American folklore was Zora Neale Hurston's first love. Collected in the late 1920's Every Tongue Got to Confess, from the celebrated author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is published here for the first time, beautifully performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. Hilarious, bittersweet...

Caecilia has long been torn between her birthplace of Rome and her adopted city of Veii. Yet faced with mounting danger to her husband, children, and Etruscan freedoms, will her call to destroy Rome succeed? Pinna has clawed her way from prostitute to the concubine of the Roman general Camillus. Deeply in love, can she exert her own power to survive the threat of exposure by those who know her sordid past?

In 406 BC, to seal a tenuous truce, the young Roman Caecilia is wedded to Vel Mastarna, an Etruscan nobleman from Veii. Leaving her militaristic homeland, Caecilia is determined to remain true to Roman virtues while living among the sinful Etruscans. But, despite her best intentions, she is seduced by a culture that offers women education, independence, sexual freedom, and an empowering religion.

Caecilia, Roman born but Etruscan wed, forsakes Rome to return to her husband, Vel Mastarna, exposing herself to the enmity of his people while knowing the Romans will give her a traitor's death if Veii falls. Semni, a reckless Etruscan servant in the House of Mastarna, embroils herself in schemes that threaten Caecilia's son and Semni's own chance for love. Pinna, a destitute Roman prostitute, uses coercion to gain the attention of Rome's greatest general at the risk of betraying Caecilia's cousin.

"... Когда в середине тридцатых годов я вспомнил свое детство, оно мне показалось беспорядочным и странным сном... Мне захотелось без всякого «сочинительства» описать прошлую жизнь, всё, что видел, пережил и что осталось в памяти..."

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL “From the lush setting to the evocative prose to the can't-look-away characters, this is one of my most anticipated novels of the year.” —NPR "Come for the fantasy; stay for the vengeance, and enjoy the beauty of both.” —Laini Taylor, New...

A completely re-imagined epic of the man known as Robin Hood from multi-award-winning, bestselling author Stephen R. Lawhead—now with the complete trilogy in one volume. For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated imaginations. Now the familiar tale takes on...

The lives of two women—one desperate only to save her missing sister, the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway—intertwine in this spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart. Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in...

This is the first part of a trilogy on the Mahabharata. Grounded in the original Sanskrit epic, Majmudar recreates the ancient epic for a contemporary audience. It is his finest work yet and is one of the most accessible, magical and unputdownable retellings of the Mahabharata. The Book of Vows...

Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their father and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war. Greta has a secret – the witch’s grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta’s ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you’ve ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.

A young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife. Now she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe. “A modern sapphic updating of the selkie wife folk tale that’s already scoring with readers”—Parade (A Best Romance and Best...

Centuries ago, the skies turned black, and for 300 years, Londoners survived in the dank, underground tunnels of the city. Until one day, a stranger from a faraway land offered to save them. Though it wasn’t without cost...and he has come to collect. When Selene is taken to Master Blackburn’s infamous estate, she fears she and the orphans she’s sworn to protect will meet a gruesome end, like so many others before them. But the beastly landowner is not all there is to fear, and Selene soon learns nothing in Briarwood is as it seems.

A Goodreads Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Book of Fall 2024 “A sinister romance and hypnotic Gothic fairytale—surreal and luscious with a fascinating twist on the story of Hades and Persephone.” —Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne A woman with no past. A man who seems to...

In an unknown year (either 1800, 1801, or 1802 according to the later recollection of his brother) was born Hannali Innominee of the Okla Hannali District of the Choctaw Nation. Hannali would be a big man and would almost exactly fill a century. Hannali was a farmer, a blacksmith, a boatbuilder, a ferryman, a distiller, a tanner, and the founder of an estate that was a town.

This is a story from the Canterbury Tales I: Modern Verse Translation collection. Chaucer's greatest work, written towards the end of the fourteenth century, paints a brilliant picture of medieval life, society and values. The stories range from the romantic, courtly idealism of "The Knight's Tale" to the joyous bawdy of the Miller's; all are told with a freshness and vigor in this modern verse translation that make them a delight to hear.

“Eloisa James’s writing is absolutely exquisite.” —New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros “Nothing gets me to a bookstore faster than a new novel by Eloisa James.” —New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn A wonderful spin on a much-beloved fairy tale, New York...