Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Historical

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! A thrilling exploration of the nature of power through the inner workings of Putin's regime. Known as the "Wizard of the Kremlin," the enigmatic Vadim Baranov was a TV producer before becoming a political advisor to Putin, aka "The Czar." After his resignation from...

Everyone knows that Colin Bridgerton is the most charming man in London. Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend's brother for...well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret, and fears she doesn't know him at all.

All the ton agree: there is no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. Fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and - according to some, particularly Gareth St. Clair - probably best in small doses. But there's something about her - something charming and vexing - that grabs one and won't quite let go. Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual - and annually discordant - Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to help him out with a knotty inheritance problem he's facing. 

This time the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn't just decided to marry; he's also chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended's older sister, Kate Sheffield: the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate's the woman haunting his dreams....

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay. Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is—a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton is a firm believer in true love. He'd have to be an idiot not to be: all seven of his siblings are happily married. Gregory figures he is just biding his time until the right woman comes along. And so when he sees Hermione Watson, he knows with every fibre of his being that she is meant to be his. But through Hermione's closest - and slightly less beautiful - friend, Lucy Abernathy, he finds out that Hermione is desperately in love with another man. Sadly, by the time Gregory figures out the right girl is actually the wrong girl.

In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one’s life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London’s most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. 

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need, comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.

My dear Miss Bridgerton, We have been corresponding now for quite some time, and although we have never formally met, I feel as if I know you. I am writing to invite you to visit me here at Romney Hall. It is my hope that after a suitable period of time, we might decide that we will suit, and you will consent to be my wife. Did he think she was mad? Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match.

By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister - the lovely and almost-on-the-shelf - Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth - it's all an elaborate ruse to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable. But as Daphne waltzes across ballroom after ballroom with Simon, it's hard to remember that their courtship is a sham. 

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she'd be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton's famed masquerade ball, or that 'Prince Charming' would be waiting there for her!Even though she's the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Remy Wadia left India for the United States long ago, carrying his resentment of his mother with him. He has now returned to Bombay to adopt a baby—and to see his elderly mother for the first time in several years. Discovering that his mother is in the hospital, has stopped talking, and seems to have given up on life, he is struck with guilt for not realizing just how sick she has become. His unexpected appearance and assiduous attention revives her and enables her to return to her home. But when Remy stumbles on an old photograph, shocking long-held family secrets surface.

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk and later his successor. Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events.

The six D’Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister? They only have one clue - an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe - from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland - uniting them all in their mission to complete their family at last.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the mountainous kingdom of Tibet is closed to outsiders. As European powers scramble for global dominance, this only increases the allure of this mysterious territory. Two of those looking to undertake the treacherous journey across Tibet are Balram, an Indian schoolteacher, and Katherine, a fifty-year-old British explorer. He is hired as a guide to an ambitious British surveyor; she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa, home to the legendary Potala Palace.

England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith's son from Putney emerges from the spring's bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen. Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on; he has no great family to back him, no private army. 

It is 1779, and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser's Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible. Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great, and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell's tea-kettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won't be long until the war is on his doorstep.

The boundaries between gods and mortals blur in a futuristic world where ancient Hindu deities reign supreme, not by divine right, but through advanced technology and manipulation of human consciousness. Enter the protagonist, Sam, who dares to challenge these self-proclaimed gods by resurrecting the forgotten concept of Buddhism, symbolizing a cosmic rebellion against tyranny and the timeless struggle for spiritual and intellectual freedom.

By 1535 Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith's son, is far from his humble origins. Chief Minister to Henry VIII, his fortunes have risen with those of Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, for whose sake Henry has broken with Rome and created his own church. In Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel explores one of the most mystifying and frightening episodes in English history: the destruction of Anne Boleyn.

It's 1976 and in the Vile Parle suburb of Mumbai, bastion of the Maharashtrian middle-class, Ila Bendre's mother is determined to get her four daughters married off as soon as possible. Ila wants a career and life of her own, and she'll do whatever it takes to escape married bliss, no matter what the neighbours might say. But when Ila's Bollywood-obsessed younger sister, Latika, takes the matter of marriage into her own hands, it looks as if the Bendre family's reputation in this close-knit community will be ruined once and for all...