Isolde

Isolde
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2002
Genre: Adultery
ISBN: 9780671037215

Only daughter of Ireland's ruling queen, Isolde has always known that she will take over the rule of the sacred Island of the West when her time comes. Until then she practises her skills as a healer and struggles to hold back her mother, a passionate, headstrong woman under the sway of her champion, Sir Marhaus, who is determined to make war. Attacking Cornwall, Sir Marhaus wounds the king's nephew, Sir Tristan of Lyonesse, so badly that he can only be saved by Isolde, the most noted healer of the isles. And when the King of Cornwall decides to marry Isolde, unaware of the young couple's growing love, the stage is set for the mythic tale of star-crossed lovers that the world knows so well. Like Arthur's queen Guenevere, her friend from their girlhood days on Avalon, Isolde is fated to a lifelong struggle between duty and desire before finding peace. Tristan too relies on his dearest friend at the Round Table, Sir Lancelot of the Lake, as he strives to balance his loyalty to his king against the dictates of his heart. Set in Ireland, Cornwall and Camelot, ISOLDE offers a compelling new version of the familiar legend rich in Celtic magic and mythology, yet firmly grounded in the well-loved Arthurian world. Merlin, Arthur, Guenevere, and all their knights appear once again to delight those who enjoyed Rosalind Miles's previous forays into this enchanted terrain.

Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle

Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307421120

In the golden time of Arthur and Guenevere, the Island of the West shines like an emerald in the sea—one of the last strongholds of Goddess-worship and Mother-right. Isolde is the only daughter and heiress of Ireland’s great ruling queen, a lady as passionate in battle as she is in love. La Belle Isolde, like her mother, is famed for her beauty, but she is a healer instead of a warrior, “of all surgeons, the best among the isles.” A natural peacemaker, Isolde is struggling to save Ireland from a war waged by her dangerously reckless mother. The Queen is influenced by her lover, Sir Marhaus, who urges her to invade neighboring Cornwall and claim it for her own, a foolhardy move Isolde is determined to prevent. But she is unable to stop them. King Mark of Cornwall sends forth his own champion to do battle with the Irish—Sir Tristan of Lyonesse—a young, untested knight with a mysterious past. A member of the Round Table, Tristan has returned to the land of his birth after many years in exile, only to face Ireland’s fiercest champion in combat. When he lies victorious but near death on the field of battle, Tristan knows that his only hope of survival lies to the West. He must be taken to Ireland to be healed, but he must go in disguise—for if the Queen finds out who killed her beloved, he will follow Marhaus into the spirit world. His men smuggle him into the Queen’s fort at Dubh Lein, and beg the princess to save him. From this first meeting of star-crossed lovers, an epic story unfolds. Isolde’s skill and beauty impress Tristan’s uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, and—knowing nothing of her love for Tristan—he decides to make her his queen, a match her mother encourages as a way to bind their lands under one rule. Tristan and Isolde find themselves caught in the crosscurrents of fate, as Isolde is forced to marry a man she does not love. Taking pity on her daughter, the Queen gives her an elixir that will create in her a passion for King Mark and ensure that their love will last until death. But on the voyage to Ireland, Tristan and Isolde drink the love potion by accident, sealing their already perilous love forever. So begins the first book of the Tristan and Isolde trilogy, another stunning example of the storyteller’s craft from Rosalind Miles, author of the beloved and bestselling Guenevere trilogy.

The Lady of the Sea

The Lady of the Sea
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2005-11-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307209857

The final thrilling chapter in the Tristan and Isolde trilogy Isolde, heir to the throne of the queens, is now a sovereign in her own right. With the glories of the throne comes the responsibility of a queen, and Isolde knows she must return to her beloved Western Isle. She can no longer tolerate her marriage to King Mark of Cornwall, a marriage she has accepted for years to save her country from the threat of war—and to be near her only love, Mark’s nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse. And so she leaves Cornwall and comes home to Ireland, where her lords face a growing threat from the warlike Picti, who live in the barren highlands to the north of England. The Picti have a bold new king, Darath, who is determined to take the riches of Ireland for his own people, whether by war or by marriage with Isolde. Isolde gathers her armies to confront the Picti while facing a violent conflict with King Mark, who vows he will not let a prize like Isolde, and Ireland, slip from his grasp. Isolde is last in a line of famous warrior queens who have guarded Ireland from time before memory, and now she—and her knight, Tristan—must play out their fate and face her enemies in a final battle, a war that could spell ruin for them both. To download a free copy of the discussion group guide in this book visit CrownPublishing.com.

I, Elizabeth

I, Elizabeth
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 658
Release: 2003-03-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0609809105

A spellbinding novel about Elizabeth I from the internationally bestselling author of the Guenevere and Tristan and Isolde trilogies. Publicly declared a bastard at the age of three, daughter of a disgraced and executed mother, last in the line of succession to the throne of England, Elizabeth I inherited an England ravaged by bloody religious conflict, at war with Spain and France, and badly in debt. When she died in 1603, after a forty-five year reign, her empire spanned two continents and was united under one church, victorious in war, and blessed with an overflowing treasury. What’s more, her favorites—William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh—had made the Elizabethan era a cultural Golden Age still remembered today. But for Elizabeth the woman, tragedy went hand in hand with triumph. Politics and scandal forced the passionate queen to reject her true love, Robert Dudley, and to execute his stepson, her much-adored Lord Essex. Now in this spellbinding novel, Rosalind Miles brings to life the woman behind the myth. By turns imperious, brilliant, calculating, vain, and witty, this is the Elizabeth the world never knew. From the days of her brutal father, Henry VIII, to her final dying moments, Elizabeth tells her story in her own words.

The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (Illustrated)

The Romance of Tristan and Iseult (Illustrated)
Author: Joseph Bedier
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2018-08-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781726053471

Rare edition with unique illustrations. A tale of chivalry and doomed, transcendent love, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult is one of the most resonant works of Western literature, as well as the basis for our enduring idea of romance. The story of the Cornish knight and the Irish princess who meet by deception, fall in love by magic, and pursue that love in defiance of heavenly and earthly law has inspired artists from Matthew Arnold to Richard Wagner. But nowhere has it been retold with greater eloquence and dignity than in Joseph Bedier's edition, which weaves several medieval sources into a seamless whole, elegantly translated by Hilaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld.

The Child of the Holy Grail

The Child of the Holy Grail
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307421899

Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told—until now. Brokenhearted at her parting from Lancelot and anguished over the loss of the sacred Hallows of the Goddess, Guenevere reconciles with Arthur. But their fragile peace is threatened by a new presence at Camelot. Mordred, Arthur’s son by Morgan Le Fay, has come to be proclaimed heir to Guenevere and Arthur’s kingdoms. At his knighting, the great Round Table, owned by the Queens of the Summer Country since time immemorial, cracks down the center and a terrible darkness falls over Camelot. In the midst of the chaos appears a new knight, Sir Galahad, who may hold the key to the mystery of the stolen Hallows. His arrival sets into motion the Quest for the Holy Grail and the fall of Camelot, which brings Guenevere to the brink of the most dreaded tragedy of all . . . and may ultimately fulfill her destiny as the greatest Queen of the Isles. Available now, Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country and The Knight of the Sacred Lake, Books 1 and 2 of the Guenevere Trilogy. Coming in July 2002, Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle, the First Book of the Tristan and Isolde Trilogy

Tristan And Iseult

Tristan And Iseult
Author: Rosemary Sutcliff
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2014-01-31
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1448173086

Rosemary Sutcliff's starkly simple retelling of the uniquely tragic and romantic story of the warrior Tristan and his love for the fair Iseult of Ireland, his uncle's chosen bride.

Isolde

Isolde
Author: Rosalind Miles
Publisher:
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2004
Genre: Adultery
ISBN:

Queen of Camelot

Queen of Camelot
Author: Nancy McKenzie
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2002-04-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0345455460

Return to a time of legend—the days of Guinevere and Arthur and the glory that was to become Camelot On the night of Guinevere’s birth, a wise woman declares a prophecy of doom for the child: She will be gwenhwyfar, the white shadow, destined to betray her king, and be herself betrayed. Years pass, and Guinevere becomes a great beauty, riding free across Northern Wales on her beloved horse. She is entranced by the tales of the valorous Arthur, a courageous warrior who seems to Guinevere no mere man, but a legend. Then she finds herself betrothed to that same famous king, a hero who commands her willing devotion. Just as his knights and all his subjects, she falls under Arthur’s spell. At the side of King Arthur, Guinevere reigns strong and true. Yet she soon learns how the dark prophecy will reveal itself. She is unable to conceive. Arthur’s only true heir is Mordred, offspring of a cursed encounter with the witch Morgause. Now Guinevere must make a fateful choice: She decides to raise Mordred, teaching him to be a ruler and to honor Camelot. She will love him like a mother. Mordred will be her greatest joy–and the key to her ultimate downfall. “Guinevere comes alive—a strong, resourceful, and compassionate woman, accessible to modern folk . . . The Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle comes alive as well—believable, poignant, and bearing the seeds of tragedy.”—Katherine Kurtz

A Lady in the Smoke

A Lady in the Smoke
Author: Karen Odden
Publisher: Alibi
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2016-03-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101886404

Featuring all the suspense and historical atmosphere of Anne Perry’s Victorian mysteries, Karen Odden’s enthralling debut plunges a headstrong young Englishwoman into a conspiracy that reaches the highest corridors of power. Following a humiliating fourth Season in London, Lady Elizabeth Fraser is on her way back to her ancestral country estate when her train careens off the rails and bursts into flames. Though she is injured, she manages to drag herself and her unconscious mother out of the wreckage, and amid the chaos that ensues, a brilliant young railway surgeon saves her mother’s life. Elizabeth feels an immediate connection with Paul Wilcox—though society would never deem a medical man eligible for the daughter of an earl. After Paul reveals that the train wreck was no accident, and the inspector who tried to prevent it dies under mysterious circumstances, Elizabeth undertakes a dangerous investigation of her own that leads back to her family’s buried secrets. Not only are her dowry and her reputation at stake; Paul’s very life hangs in the balance when he is arrested for manslaughter. Now Elizabeth must risk everything for the man who has found a place in her heart. As the trial draws near, and Parliament prepares for a vote that will change the course of the nation, she uncovers a conspiracy that has been years in the making. But time is running out to see justice done. Praise for A Lady in the Smoke “This riveting historical debut is chock-full of details about Victorian England, spun into a masterful tale of romance, railroads, and mystery. Propelled by an engaging heroine and a deftly plotted conspiracy, it’s a great read!”—Stefanie Pintoff, Edgar Award–winning author of Hostage Taker “Pretty much everything I want in a historical novel: trains, historical detail, secrets, family drama, two lovers separated by society, conspiracy, crusading journalists, women sneaking out of the house, lawyering, and a pickpocket who could give Artful Dodger a run for his money. . . . I was a very satisfied reader by the time I finished this book.”—Book Riot “Readers of Anne Perry will enjoy this mystery set in Victorian England. . . . The characters are interesting and the story is fast-paced and engaging.”—The Book Stop “Filled with all sorts of twists and turns and all sorts of secret, and not-so-secret, relationships . . . Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this excellent mystery and romance.”—Inside of a Dog “Elizabeth was no shrinking violet and had a fire to her. . . . I would definitely recommend this to any fan of the Victorian era or who just wants a good little mystery to keep them busy for awhile.”—Is This Book for Me