Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies. With appearances from beloved characters from her novel, including Jonathan Strange and Childermass, and an entirely new spin on certain historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, this is a must-have for fans of Susanna Clarke's and an enticing introduction to her work for new readers. Some of these stories have never before been published; others have appeared in the New York Times or in highly regarded anthologies. In this collection, they come together to expand the reach of Clarke's land of enchantment-and anticipate her next novel (Fall 2008)

When the women of the City of Mandrigyn, led by Sheera Galernas, hired the mercenary army of Captain Sun Wolf, to help them rescue their men from the mines of evil, he refused. Little did he realize how insistent the ladies could be, and how far they would go to persuade him to train them against the evil of Altiokis

The Owen Archer Series #2 “A lovingly detailed background informs and animates the plot at every point.” – KIRKUS Perfect for fans of both Ellis Peters and CJ Sansom, The Lady Chapel is a vivid and immersive portrait of court intrigue and a testament to the power of the medieval guilds. Summer in the year of our Lord 1365. On the night after the Corpus Christi procession, a man is brutally murdered on the steps of York Minster. The next morning his severed hand is found in a room at the York Tavern – a room hastily vacated by a fellow guild member who had quarreled with the victim. Archbishop Thoresby calls on Owen Archer to investigate. As Owen tracks the fleeing merchant, he uncovers a conspiracy involving a powerful company of traders, but his only witness is a young boy who has gone into hiding, and his only suspect is a mysterious cloaked woman. When Owen discovers a link between the traders and a powerful coterie in the royal court, he brings his apothecary wife Lucie into the race to find the boy before he is silenced forever by the murderers

Tristan Wemyss, Earl of Trentham, never expected he'd need to wed within a year or forfeit his inheritance. But he is not one to bow to the matchmaking mamas of the ton. No, he will marry a lady of his own choosing. And the lady he chooses is the enchanting neighbor living with her family next door. Miss Leonora Carling has beauty, spirit and passion; unfortunately, matrimony is the last thing on her mind . . . To Leonora, Tristan's kisses are oh-so-tempting, but once bitten, forever shy, she has determinedly turned her back on marriage. But Tristan is a seasoned campaigner who will not accept defeat. And when a mysterious man attempts to scare Leonora and her family from their home, Tristan realizes he's been given the perfect excuse to offer his services—as protector, seducer and, ultimately, husband. From Publishers Weekly "It's a sad day when, having survived everything the French could throw at us, we, England's heroes, return home-only to face an even greater threat," laments Tristan, fourth Earl of Trentham, to his fellow ex-spies after they return from war with Napoleon to discover the sword of matrimony hanging over their heads. In response, the titled gentlemen set up the Bastion Club, a retreat where they can exchange intelligence about the eager-eyed damsels who are their latest challenge. This first installment in Laurens's new series focuses on Tristan, who must wed within a year or support his 14 maiden aunts without his inheritance. Little does he expect to find his future with Leonora Carling, neighbor to the Bastion Club and the victim of several recent home invasions. Intrigued by both Leonora and the suspicious events, Tristan bends his talents to uncovering the mystery burglar and to charming Leonora. Leonora, who has no use for marriage, may be new to the sexual tension vibrating between her and Tristan, but she's willing to explore further, believing that nothing permanent can come of it. When Tristan insists that she marry him, the battle of wills commences. Fans of Laurens's popular Cynster (The Perfect Lover, etc.) romances will expect the high adventure and steamy, sensual love scenes that are her signature, and they won't be disappointed by this solid, if conventional, offering

In the economy class of a plane, the lives of two passengers intersect: Walid, a Palestinian writer, is returning to Gaza for the first time in thirty-eight years; Dana, an Israeli actress, is on her way back to Tel Aviv. As the night sky hurtles past, what each confides and conceals will expose the chasm between them in the land they both call home. Walid soon discovers that Gaza has changed beyond all recognition. Yet through the haze of checkpoints and lives lived across borders, he finds a message from Dana that will change the course of his life. The Lady from Tel Aviv is a powerful and poetic story of love, loss and the desire to belong. ‘The Lady from Tel Aviv will take you to the height of reading pleasure’ Elias Khoury ‘Al-Madhoun brings Gaza to life vividly through his characters and his ability to acknowledge the absurd within the tragic.’ Selma Dabbagh

When the lighthouse keeper’s daughter Ellida meets the widower Dr Wangel, she tries to put her long-lost first love far behind her and begin a new life as a wife and stepmother. But the tide is turning, an English ship is coming down the fjord, and the undercurrents threaten to drag a whole family beneath the surface in this passionate and sweeping drama. Ellida must choose between the values of the land: solidity and reliability against those of the sea: mystery and fluidity. Ibsen’s lyrical and still startlingly modern masterpiece, anticipated the emergence of psychoanalysis and talking cures. Similar to Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House, The Lady from the Sea vibrantly explores the constrained social position of women, exploring themes of choice, marriage, responsibility and freedom

A beautiful actress, a rising star of the giant German film company UFA, now controlled by the Propaganda Ministry. The very clever, very dangerous Propaganda Minister — close confidant of Hitler, an ambitious schemer and flagrant libertine. And Bernie Gunther, former Berlin homicide bull, now forced to do favors for Joseph Goebbels at the Propaganda Minister’s command. This time, the favor is personal. And this time, nothing is what it seems. Set down amid the killing fields of Ustashe-controlled Croatia, Bernie finds himself in a world of mindless brutality where everyone has a hidden agenda. Perfect territory for a true cynic whose instinct is to trust no one

ANNE BOLEYN'S CLAIM TO FAME is distinct from that of every other woman in English history. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry VIII enacted a massive schism in the Catholic Church, renouncing the authority of the Pope and setting himself as the head of the Church of England—a move that shifted religious boundaries permanently. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry risked international war and domestic turmoil by leaving his wife of twenty years, Katharine of Aragon, which set a precedent for divorce in the English court. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry struggled bitterly with his advisors for six long years to make their union legitimate. Yet Anne Boleyn paid the ultimate price for Henry's mighty love. Three years after she was married to the king, she was beheaded at his orders. In this extraordinary tale of political treachery and romantic obsession, bestselling author Jean Plaidy spins Anne's story as never before. Weaving together impeccable historical research and an intuitive grasp of Anne's voice, Plaidy conjures courtly life in all its brocaded finery, complete with feasts and balls, deceptions and betrayals, political backstabbing and religious fanaticism. This guide is designed to help direct your reading group's discussion of The Lady in the Tower. After a childhood spent soaking up the sophistication and romantic intrigue of the fashionable French court, Anne Boleyn returns to her native England, expecting life to calm down considerably. Before long, the dark-eyed, wild-haired beauty finds herself in the court of King Henry VIII with none other than England's monarch fixated on her. Willful, proud, and virtuous, Anne will not play mistress to any man— even a king—who is already married. And so the desperate pursuit begins. Henry is up against his most trusted advisors, his queen, her royal Spanish family, the pontiff in Rome, and an increasingly critical public, as he turns his court upside-down to find a way to possess what he truly desires. And when Anne finally gives in to Henry's onslaught, she finds herself in a deadly game at the intersection of power and desire, where no amount of love or devotion will guarantee her safety. In Anne's unforgetable voice, The Lady in the Tower explores her astonishing career from the confines of the tower where she ekes out her last days, pondering what she could have done differently, and how she might have escaped her world-renowned fate as the first—but not the last—of Henry's wives to be executed

A dizzying tale of lust and murder, from one of Japan’s greatest mystery writers. A hunter prowls the night spots of Shinjuku But he’s the one walking into a trap… Ichiro Honda leads a double life: by day a devoted husband and diligent worker, by night he moves through the shadow world of Tokyo’s cabaret bars and nightclubs in search of vulnerable women to seduce and then abandon. But when a trail of bodies seems to appear in his wake, the hunter becomes the prey and Ichiro realises he has been caught in a snare. Has he left it too late to free himself before time runs out?

The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window is an award-winning fantasy novella by Rachel Swirsky. It explores the conjunction of invocation, deep time, and culture shock. It was originally published in Subterranean Magazine, in the summer of 2010, and subsequently republished in The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011 (from Prime Books) and The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 5 (from Night Shade Books). Naeva—the Lady of the story’s title—is a sorceress in a matriarchy. After being fatally injured, she is persuaded to allow her spirit to be bound, so that she can be summoned and thus continue to advise her queen. However, after the queen has herself died, Naeva continues to be summoned… first by the queen’s successor, and then by people from civilizations later than hers. The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window can be read for free by following the official URL. LITERARY AWARDS: • Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novella (2011) • Nebula Award for Best Novella (2011)

During the last ten years of his life, Anton Chekhov penned his great plays, spent time treating the sick, and wrote a small number of stories that are considered his masterpieces. The eleven stories collected here-_The Lady with the Little Dog,_ The House with the Mezzanine, My Life, Peasants, A Visit to Friends, Ionych, About Love, In the Ravine, The Bishop, The Bride, and Disturbing the Balance-hail from this fertile period. They reveal a writer who, in response to the techniques of Symbolism and Impressionism, moved beyond nineteenth-century realism to become an innovator of the modern short story, influencing such key twentieth-century literary figures as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner