The Taste of Conquest

The Taste of Conquest
Author: Michael Krondl
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2008-10-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 034550982X

The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg-induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise. The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trotting tale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, fickle fashion, and mouthwatering cuisine–in short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, and anecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary cities–Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam–and how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet and set in motion the first great wave of globalization. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the world’s peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in Eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval Europe’s most cosmopolitan urban center. Driven to dominate this trade, Portugal’s mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as Europe’s chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam “invented” the modern corporation–the Dutch East India Company–and took over as spice merchants to the world. Sharing meals and stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors. The spice trade and its cultural exchanges didn’t merely lend kick to the traditional Venetian cookies called peverini, or add flavor to Portuguese sausages of every description, or even make the Indonesian rice table more popular than Chinese takeout in trendy Amsterdam. No, the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans led to great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesale slaughter. As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how, in search of a tastier dish, the world has been transformed.

Lady of Conquest

Lady of Conquest
Author: Teresa Medeiros
Publisher: Amber House Books
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2013-10-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1939541255

Will he surrender his kingdom for a kiss? They call him Conn of the Hundred Battles, the warrior-king who forged a nation from a land of isolated clans. As High King of Ireland, he rides with the legendary Fianna, his elite band of warriors. But a threat to the throne looms from a mysterious enemy who has vanquished several of Conn’s bravest warriors. Conn rides out alone to face a seemingly invincible foe, never dreaming he will find a grief-maddened hellcat with emerald eyes and hair like liquid flame… Wielding a sword called Vengeance, Gelina Ó Monaghan has sworn to defeat the man she holds responsible for her family’s ruin. She never dreams she will be captured by him—and lose her heart in the bargain. Their forbidden passion will spark a private war fought with swords and kisses, promises and betrayal…until they discover the sweetest surrender of all in each other’s arms. Book 2 in the “Brides of Legend” Series, which includes: Shadows and Lace Lady of Conquest “Finely drawn characters bring to life a thrilling legend!”—Romantic Times “Medeiros is an extraordinary storyteller. Lady of Conquest is splendid!”—Bell, Book & Candle “A superb story that will capture your imagination and make your heart sigh with bliss. The kind of book you want to read over and over again!”—Historical Romance Club “Nobody writes humor with more heart or passion with more pleasure.”—Christina Dodd, New York Times bestselling author SPECIAL REVISED EDITION ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION

Spice

Spice
Author: Jack Turner
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2008-12-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0307491226

In this brilliant, engrossing work, Jack Turner explores an era—from ancient times through the Renaissance—when what we now consider common condiments were valued in gold and blood. Spices made sour medieval wines palatable, camouflaged the smell of corpses, and served as wedding night aphrodisiacs. Indispensible for cooking, medicine, worship, and the arts of love, they were thought to have magical properties and were so valuable that they were often kept under lock and key. For some, spices represented Paradise, for others, the road to perdition, but they were potent symbols of wealth and power, and the wish to possess them drove explorers to circumnavigate the globe—and even to savagery. Following spices across continents and through literature and mythology, Spice is a beguiling narrative about the surprisingly vast influence spices have had on human desire. Includes eight pages of color photographs. One of the Best Books of the Year: Discover Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle

Wild Conquest

Wild Conquest
Author: Hannah Howell
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2009-11-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1420113488

From New York Times bestseller Hannah Howell, a classic love story of a Scottish hero too wild to be tamed and the woman he’s destined to set free . . . Pleasance Dunstan is used to silently bearing the cruelties put upon her by her thoughtless family. But nothing can prepare her for the greatest indignity of all: being sold into servitude to a man as wild as Tearlach O’Duine. His untamed ways are whispered of throughout town, and he has set his sights on Pleasance to be more than his servant. He will have her in his bed. Pleasance could escape this fate with a word, but her fierce pride keeps her silent. Instead, she follows her new master to the rough lands where he has made a home and finds a world beyond any she has ever known—a world of desire. For though he is her captor, only Tearlach can show her how freeing true passion can be . . . and while her servitude to him will one day end, nothing can stop the binding of their hearts . . . Praise for the Novels of Hannah Howell “Howell offers readers another captivating tale.” —Booklist “Another wonderful story filled with adventure, emotion, and laughter.” —RT Book Reviews

Reflections on a Ravaged Century

Reflections on a Ravaged Century
Author: Robert Conquest
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2001
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780393320862

A look at the twentieth century examines the factors and events that have sent millions to their deaths, discussing the philosophies that have caused so much conflict, as well as what the future may hold for the human race.

The Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest
Author: Marc Morris
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2022-09-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1639364005

A riveting and authoritative history of the single most important event in English history: The Norman Conquest. An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This new history explains why the Norman Conquest was the most significant cultural and military episode in English history. Assessing the original evidence at every turn, Marc Morris goes beyond the familiar outline to explain why England was at once so powerful and yet so vulnerable to William the Conqueror’s attack. Morris writes with passion, verve, and scrupulous concern for historical accuracy. This is the definitive account for our times of an extraordinary story, indeed the pivotal moment in the shaping of the English nation.

Queens of the Conquest

Queens of the Conquest
Author: Alison Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2017-09-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 110196667X

In the first volume of an exciting new series, bestselling author Alison Weir brings the dramatic reigns of England’s medieval queens to life. The lives of England’s medieval queens were packed with incident—love, intrigue, betrayal, adultery, and warfare—but their stories have been largely obscured by centuries of myth and omission. Now esteemed biographer Alison Weir provides a fresh perspective and restores these women to their rightful place in history. Spanning the years from the Norman conquest in 1066 to the dawn of a new era in 1154, when Henry II succeeded to the throne and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the first Plantagenet queen, was crowned, this epic book brings to vivid life five women, including: Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king; Matilda of Scotland, revered as “the common mother of all England”; and Empress Maud, England’s first female ruler, whose son King Henry II would go on to found the Plantagenet dynasty. More than those who came before or after them, these Norman consorts were recognized as equal sharers in sovereignty. Without the support of their wives, the Norman kings could not have ruled their disparate dominions as effectively. Drawing from the most reliable contemporary sources, Weir skillfully strips away centuries of romantic lore to share a balanced and authentic take on the importance of these female monarchs. What emerges is a seamless royal saga, an all-encompassing portrait of English medieval queenship, and a sweeping panorama of British history. Praise for Queens of the Conquest “Best-selling author [Alison] Weir pens another readable, well-researched English history, the first in a proposed four-volume series on England’s medieval queens. . . . Weir’s research skills and storytelling ability combine beautifully to tell a fascinating story supported by excellent historical research. Fans of her fiction and nonfiction will enjoy this latest work.”—Library Journal (starred review) “Another sound feminist resurrection by a seasoned historian . . . Though Norman queens were largely unknowable, leave it to this prolific historical biographer to bring them to life. . . . As usual, Weir is meticulous in her research.”—Kirkus Reviews

The Conquest

The Conquest
Author: Jude Deveraux
Publisher: Pocket Books
Total Pages: 320
Release: 1991-02-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780671644475

Lovely Zared Peregrine was the pride of her family, a treasure her rough-hewn brothers would strive at any cost to protect from their ancient enemies, the Howards. The Peregrines had suffered loss enough. Thus Zared's brothers trained her in the arts of war, and dressed her in boy's clothing. Beyond the castle walls, none knew that the youngest Peregrine was a girl.... Yet when the magnificent Knight Tearle Howard returned from a lengthy sojourn in France, it took him but one glance to discover that Zared was most definitely female, and beautiful. Now, as the enmity between their families raged on, Tearle would mount a bold campaign to win the ravishing spitfire's heart -- and save her from his brother's dark and deadly obsession!

Out of the East

Out of the East
Author: Paul Freedman
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2008-03-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300211317

How medieval Europe’s infatuation with expensive, fragrant, exotic spices led to an era of colonial expansion and discovery: “A consummate delight.” —Marion Nestle, James Beard Award–winning author of Unsavory Truth The demand for spices in medieval Europe was extravagant—and was reflected in the pursuit of fashion, the formation of taste, and the growth of luxury trade. It inspired geographical and commercial exploration, as traders pursued such common spices as pepper and cinnamon and rarer aromatic products, including ambergris and musk. Ultimately, the spice quest led to imperial missions that were to change world history. This engaging book explores the demand for spices: Why were they so popular, and why so expensive? Paul Freedman surveys the history, geography, economics, and culinary tastes of the Middle Ages to uncover the surprisingly varied ways that spices were put to use—in elaborate medieval cuisine, in the treatment of disease, for the promotion of well-being, and to perfume important ceremonies of the Church. Spices became symbols of beauty, affluence, taste, and grace, Freedman shows, and their expense and fragrance drove the engines of commerce and conquest at the dawn of the modern era. “A magnificent, very well written, and often entertaining book that is also a major contribution to European economic and social history, and indeed one with a truly global perspective.” —American Historical Review

Stolen Princess

Stolen Princess
Author: Nikki Jefford
Publisher: Nikki Jefford
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

A supernatural Cinderella meets Mr. Darcy… With her family on the verge of losing everything, Aerith Heiris competes in an elven tournament to become a princess of Faerie. More like a bodyguard! The royal family is full of wicked siblings and plotters. Prince Liri is the worst of all with his relentless obsession and ambition. Then there’s Jhaeros, the most arrogant, stuffy, insufferable elf she’s ever known. He’s the last male whose attention she expected to attract. Falling for him is a risk that could doom them both. It will take more than Aerith's skill with a bow and arrows to play the new game set out before her and save her loved ones. *** Humorous coming of age fantasy romance for mature audiences. Contains steamy adult scenes. If you enjoy royal intrigue, cunning, rivalries, humor, plot twists, and romance then portal over to the Royal Conquest Saga. Not every fairy tale ends with a prince.