"Extraordinary. . . . It is a tribute to Starkey's narrative drive, his puckish wit, and sharp discrimination that it doesn't seem a page too long. . . . With each queen, Starkey offers a vivid character study but also has fresh discoveries that subtly alter the picture he started out with." - Sunday Times (London) The dramatic, legendary story of Henry VIII, his six wives, and the England they ruled-told by one of the world's preeminent historians...

"On September 8, 2022, the world stood still as news broke of Queen Elizabeth II's passing. Her death dismantled the protective shield around the world's most famous family and saw a long-simmering crisis of confidence in the British monarchy begin to resurface. Now, with unique insight, deep access, and exclusive revelations, journalist Omid Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil, exposing the infighting, family deterioration,...

The tragic end to James Bond’s last mission—courtesy of Ernst Stavro Blofeld—has left 007 a broken man and of little use to the British Secret Service. At his wit’s end, M decides that the only way to snap his best agent out of his torpor is to send him on an impossible diplomatic mission to Japan. Bond’s contact there is the formidable Japanese spymaster Tiger Tanaka, who agrees to do business with the West if Bond will assassinate one...

At the heart of this panoramic, multidimensional narrative is the compelling struggle of a young woman to lift her body and soul out of the gutter. Faber leads us back to 1870s London, where Sugar, a nineteen-year-old whore in the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, yearns for escape to a better life. Her ascent through the strata of Victorian society offers us intimacy with a host of lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters. They begin with...

"A mystery with the fascinating Mitford sisters at its heart, Jessica Fellowes's The Mitford Secret is the sixth and final intriguing installment in the Mitford Murders series. It's 1941, and the Mitford household is splintered by the vicissitudes of war. To bring the clan together-maybe for one last time, Deborah invites them to Chatsworth for Christmas, along with a selection of society's most impressive and glamorous guests, as well as old family...

While not the most intrepid knight of the Round Table, Sir Givret the Short helps King Arthur and the other knights with his cunning and cleverness.

When Jasper Jupiter's Circus of Wonders pitches its tent in a poor coastal town, the life of one young girl changes forever. Sold to the ringmaster as a "leopard girl" because of the birthmarks that cover her body, Nell is utterly devastated. But as she grows close to the other performers, she finds herself enchanted by the glittering freedom of the circus, and by her own role as the Queen of the Moon and Stars. Before long, Nell's fame spreads across...

In 1520, thirteen-year-old Anne Boleyn, jealous of her older sister's beauty and position at court, declares that she will one day be queen of England, and that her sister will kneel at her feet.

"A Christmas Carol in Prose; Being a Ghost Story of Christmas" by Charles Dickens is a timeless novella that encapsulates the holiday spirit through Ebenezer Scrooge's transformative journey. Set on a haunting Christmas Eve, the story follows Scrooge, an old man known for his miserly and cold-hearted ways, as he is visited by spectral apparitions: his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Encountering...

" "You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time ... That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke-these young people had no idea what kind...