It's no wonder Machiavelli's account of Cesare Borgia in The Prince became one of the best-selling books in the 1980s business community. It's full of practical hints on how to stab your adversary in the back while staring him in the face. The surprise is how many educated readers still believe that Lucrezia Borgia was the unrivaled monster of her age. That misconception is one of the myths Marion Johnson shatters in her excellent account of a 15th...

"A sense of duty sends Bran Tremayne to Cornwall to confront his heritage of British nobility. Abandoned at birth, Bran wants nothing to do with the embittered remains of his family. But as a special agent for the Home Office, he senses trouble brewing along the coast. And he can't turn away from the vulnerable woman he encounters in the Cornish countryside. Merryn's amnesia makes her past a mystery to them both, but with her life in danger, the only...

"Left unable to walk by a childhood illness, Lady Jennifer, sister of the Duke of Wilby, has grown up to make a happy place for herself in society. Outgoing and cheerful, she has many friends and enjoys the pleasures of high society--even if she cannot dance at balls or stroll in Hyde Park. She is blessed with a large, loving, and protective family. But she secretly dreams of marriage and children, and of walking--and dancing. When Ben Ellis comes...

"Julie Anne Long reinvents the historical romance for modern readers, delivering intense, passionate characters and high adventure. Her writing glows." -Amanda Quick "You will love the Pennyroyal Green series." -Julia Quinn Rapidly rising romance star Julie Anne Long is making an indelible mark with her smart, sensual, richly emotional love stories, especially her unforgettable Pennyroyal Green novels. The fourth delectable Pennyroyal Green affair,...

Clare Curzon turns aside temporarily from Inspector Mike Yeadings and crime in today's Thames Valley to bring us to Edwardian England. In this tale of bygone evil and present-day deceit, Curzon demonstrates that she is as adept as delivering a page-turner in a different time period as she is in spinning a tale of crime in present-day Wales. This is a story about two titled women, Lady Isabelle Delmayne and Eugenie, Countess Crowthrowne, who share...

"London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiance in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London's loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means--and rather independent ways--Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the...

When eighteen-year-old magical dressmaker Niamh is commissioned for a royal wedding, she finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

A duchess in time saves a noble line ... In theory, the Duke of Candover is the most eligible peer in the realm. But in truth, he has a deep aversion to the merest hint of marriage, not to mention two botched engagements which have marked his jaded soul. Now, after a debauched bachelor party that causes public outcry, the Prince Regent is demanding that it's Candover's turn to be brought to heel. And Prinny secretly believes that Isabelle Tremont,...

"A Cinderella fairytale reimagining" -- "My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen--as the rumors insisted--in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn't meekly help my "evil" stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the...

"England, 1926. When esteemed detective, Lord Edgington, and his novice grandson, Christopher, plan a trip to the beautiful Forest of Dean, they hope for nothing more than a relaxing weekend with old friends. But what they discover among the dark halls and secret passageways of Clearwell Castle is centuries-old injustice and a rivalry that has ripped the area apart. After two apparently unconnected villagers are murdered, Lord Edgington must pick...