A tale inspired by the life of Lady Jane Gray's younger sister, Katherine, interweaves the tragic story of her imprisonment in the Tower of London with the fates of three other innocent political prisoners including Kate Plantagenet and boy princes Edward and Richard.

Written by the court gentlewoman Sei Shonagon, ostensibly for her own amusement, The Pillow Book offers a fascinating exploration of life among the nobility at the height of the Heian period, describing the exquisite pleasures of a confined world in which poetry, love, fashion, and whim dominated, while harsh reality was kept firmly at a distance. Moving elegantly across a wide range of themes including nature, society, and her own flirtations, Sei...

Culture of Encounters documents the fascinating exchange between the Persian-speaking Islamic elite of the Mughal Empire and traditional Sanskrit scholars, which engendered a dynamic idea of Mughal rule essential to the empire's survival. This history begins with the invitation of Brahman and Jain intellectuals to King Akbar's court in the 1560s, then details the numerous Mughal-backed texts they and their Mughal interlocutors produced under emperors...

The eldest child of Rosamund Bolton and heiress to the Friarsgate manor, Philippa Meredith is devastated when she discovers that the man she sought to marry has rebuffed her. But it is this sudden change of fortune that sweeps the spirited beauty back to her place in the court of Queen Katherine of Aragon--and into the arms of Crispin St. Clair, the Earl of Witton. But when Philippa stumbles onto a plot to assassinate King Henry VIII, their very love...

The Janissary Tree, the first book in a new series, is set in a most extraordinary world and features a most extraordinary sleuth.It is 1836. Europe is modernizing, and the Ottoman Empire must follow suit. But just before the sultan announces sweeping changes, a wave of murders threatens the fragile balance of power in his court. Who is behind them? Only one intelligence agent can be trusted to find out: Yashim Togalu, a man both brilliant and near-invisible...

"Mistress Mary Shelton is Queen Elizabeth's favorite ward, enjoying every privilege the position affords. The queen loves Mary like a daughter, and, like any good mother, she wants her to make a powerful match. The most likely prospect: Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. But while Oxford seems to be everything the queen admires: clever, polished and wealthy, Mary knows him to be lecherous, cruel, and full of treachery. No matter how hard the queen tries...

Praise for The Court of the Last Tsar "Any book by Greg King is a book to be kept and savored. He has not only given us a fresh, clear-eyed, and often startling new look at the life of the last Romanovs, but also lived up to the promise of his title. He has shown us how the whole enterprise worked, from Tsar Nicholas to his lowest cook and chambermaid. This book is a great work of scholarship--and a wonderful read." --Peter Kurth, author of Tsar:...

"A unique witness to landmark moments in royal history, maid of honor at Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and a lady in waiting to Princess Margaret until her death in 2002, Anne's life has encompassed extraordinary drama and tragedy. In [this book], she [shares] many intimate royal stories from her time as Princess Margaret's closest confidante as well as her own battle for survival: her broken-off first engagement on the basis of her 'mad blood'; her...

Opening the precious gates of the capital is like being in a royal palace and enjoying the noble pastries of the emperor class. The so-called "court dim sum" refers to the dim sum made by the imperial dining room. These dim sums are divided into the north and the south due to the geographical division; the development period began in the Tang and Song dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, it was even more prosperous. Because the Qing Dynasty was in Beijing,...

The little-known story of two spirited sisters who flaunted every social convention of 17th century Europe in their determination to live independently.