Pacaritambo

ACHILLES: A Novel
by Elizabeth Cook. Condition: NEW 2002 Picador small hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first thus, first printing. Content: This forceful re-creation of the life of Achilles sacrifices nothing to modernity: gods mate violently with mortals, ghosts feast on sheep's blood, and Achilles rages and slays, unburdened by psychology. At the same time, this brief, intense novel is unmistakably modern in intent, turning a war epic into a meditation on the limits of human perfectibility. [1 copy available]
$ 4.75 + shipping.

ARREST SITTING BULL & A CREEK CALLED WOUNDED KNEE (Historical Fiction)
by Douglas C. Jones. Condition and Content: Arrest Sitting Bull: UNREAD 1978 Charles Scribner's hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Light tanning to white cover edges but none to interior pages. In 1890, at the camps of the Teton Sioux, frenzied braves perform the Ghost Dance. The aged, venerated Sitting Bull is their leader in this, their last, most desperate attempt to oust the white man from their land. Panic-stricken white ranchers and farmers call upon the Indian Agent to maintain the peace he has patiently established. Relations have improved between the two races under his careful supervision — but will officials in the East let the trouble be settled peaceably? Or will their soldiers march in to enforce the power of the mighty against the vanquished? A Creek Called Wounded Knee: Gently pre-read 1978 Charles Scribner's hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Remainder. Custer is dead. Sitting Bull is dead. And the famous 7th Cavalry is on the march. Then came the Ghost Dance, a spiritual call of Indian resistance, that spread like a dry fire among the Lakota Sioux. When the army commanders sent the murderous orders through, it became a matter of Sioux defiance to oppose them. Although the tragic outcome was clear, not a man changed his mind. Both books are great historical fiction - well-researched. Questions welcome. [1 set available]
$ 9.89 + $ 4.19 media shipping

THE BLOOD COUNTESS: A Novel
by Andrei Godrescu. Condition: Gently pre-read, if at all, 1995 Simon & Schuster hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing. Tiny edgewear bottom DJ edge. Content: A folk belief that on bitter cold nights the stars come down to mate with wolves. An adolescent boy, sexually aroused by an "iron maiden" torture device. The smell of paprika and boiled chicken served with Tokay wine. These and other vivid images of Hungary in the 16th century, and Hungary today, swirl together amid scenes of luxury and barbarity and talk of Martin Luther's Christianity and post-Communist ideals in this gloriously gruesome novel inspired by the life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory. They say she killed 650 virgin girls in order to rejuvenate herself with their blood. Reviewer: "This reminds me something of an uncensored Grimm's Fairy Tales, though far more graphic in nature (and without all the bothersome morality). No disgusting, bloody, pornographic detail was spared. More historical facts would have been nice, but let's face it: if Elizabeth Bathory wasn't such a disturbed and sadistic killer, no one would have ever bothered to research her life at all. The supporting characters (From Countess Bathory's time, at least) are truly fascnating and seem well researched. Her uncle, George Thurzo for instance, the magistrate who invented or improved upon several torture devices, can only be of the line of Thurzos at Emperor Sigmund's court during the mid-1400's. Here mentor, the Friar Silvestri, is equally interesting, though many of his exploits are obviously exagerated from hearsay." [1 copy available]
$ 6.79 + shipping.

CAESAR DIES (Time-Lost Series)
by Talbot Mundy. Frank Brunner cover art. Condition: UNREAD 1973 Centaur Press paperback, no printing given. Pale foxing fore edges. Interior clean & tight - no tanning. Content: A novel of ancient Antioch and Rome in the days of the warrior-emperor, Commodus - whose fanatical whims and paranoid dreads are a threat to every citizen. [1 copy available]
$ 6.29 + shipping.

CHANG AND ENG (Historical Fiction/Biographical Novel)
by Darin Strauss. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 2000 Dutton Trade Paperback, 8th printing. Diagonal shelf wear diagonal crease bottom front cover. Light rubbings front cover. Interior perfect. Content: Chang and Eng Bunker were born in the early 1800s in a rainy village on the shores of the Mekong Delta. Achieving instant fame as the "Siamese double boy," they toured freak shows throughout China, Europe, and North America. Eventually they settled in North Carolina (of all places), married a pair of sisters, and fathered 21 children between them. This fictionalized version of their story is narrated by the stronger, more circumspect twin, Eng, who must continually urge Chang to restrain his tears, his burning sexual desires, and his fear of the King of Siam (who has promised to "kill the double-child, the bad omen"). From the beginning, Strauss masterfully delineates the brothers' differences. Yet it's the porous nature of their relationship that will fascinate readers even more. The twins, after all, must always sleep face to face, connected by a fleshy band and the knowledge of their shared monstrosity. The fact that they are neither "he" nor "we" allows the author myriad opportunities for wordplay and psychological riddles. Does Chang love his brother, or does he love himself? When he hates his brother, is it only a piece of himself he is hating? Might the connecting band be its own entity, a pet that the brothers must tend to and feed? The novel's agile prose is like a smooth, strong current, pulling the twins away from their awkward lives. To his great credit, Strauss spends very little time dwelling on Chang and Eng as monsters, and their freak-show existence surfaces only in short, painful flashbacks--a jeering interlude that the narrator would sooner forget. And Eng's voice is a compelling one, full of quips, insecurities, and jealousy. Indeed, at some moments he seems like a standard-issue Renaissance man, reading Shakespeare in the afternoon, dreaming about pretty women, recounting his extensive travels. Yet the tragic fact remains: no matter how many countries this cosmopolitan visits, he will never have a room to himself. [1 copy available]
$ 2.29 + shipping.

The COURT MARTIAL OF ROBERT E. LEE (A Novel) (Historical Fiction)
by Duglas Savage. Condition: Very good 1995 Warner Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear top cover and rubbing on the front hinge; pale spine crease. Interior tight & clean. Content: An intriguing blend of fact and fiction, this engrossing novel explores the question: What if the Confederacy called Robert E. Lee to account for his tragic failure at Gettysburg? Using a court-martial trial as the novel's centerpiece, Savage weaves an intimate portrait of Lee as a man free of the myths of history. [1 copy available]
$ 3.29 + shipping.

THE DAUGHTER OF TIME (Historical Fiction)
by Josephine Tey. Condition: NEW 1988 Collier Books paperback edition, 11th printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: Josephine Tey is often referred to as the mystery writer for people who don't like mysteries. Her skills at character development and mood setting, and her tendency to focus on themes not usually touched upon by mystery writers, have earned her a vast and appreciative audience. In Daughter of Time, Tey focuses on the legend of Richard III, the evil hunchback of British history accused of murdering his young nephews. While at a London hospital recuperating from a fall, Inspector Alan Grant becomes fascinated by a portrait of King Richard. A student of human faces, Grant cannot believe that the man in the picture would kill his own nephews. With an American researcher's help, Grant delves into his country's history to discover just what kind of man Richard Plantagenet was and who really killed the little princes. "Did Josephine Tey, near the close of her authorial career, delve into some of the lost nooks and crannies of English history in an effort to recover "the real Richard?" [1 copy available]
$ 2.25 + shipping.

DEUS LO VOLT!: Chronicle of the Crusades (Historical Fiction)
by Evan S. Connell (Son of the Morning Star. Cover art by John Clare and Charles Best - Knights in Armor. Condition: NEW 2000 Counterpoint large Trade Paperback, 6th printing. Content: Arraying himself wholly in a medieval mindset for this difficult, ungainly but rewarding novel, Connell writes a massive, determinedly archaic history of the crusades from the point of view of a French knight. Jean Joinville, a participant in the disastrous second crusade under Louis IX, begins his chronicle with the first crusade, in 1095, and ends with the taking of Acre in 1290 by the forces of Ashraf Khalil, which effectively ended the mad attempt to make Palestine a Christian protectorate. In assuming Joinville's persona, Connell embraces both the man's style and his conceptual limits, giving the reader no handhold in the form of an introduction or explanatory notes. As presented by Connell, the medieval mind is a promiscuous mix of piety and brutality. By the knight's account, the first crusadeAwhich prompts pogroms against Jews in Germany, involves intricate treachery among the Christian hosts in Asia Minor and culminates in the horrific sack of JerusalemAis taken to express God's miraculous design. The second crusade pits Saladin against Richard the Lionhearted. Joinville's depiction of the English king captures his inconsistent character, while Saladin evokes some rare passages of nonpartisan admiration. The book ends with Joinville's account of captivity at the hands of infidels in Egypt, of being ransomed with Louis IX and of Louis's homecoming. Connell's antiquarian "forgery," which is in the line of novels like Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian, is a great feat of historic empathy. Or to quote Joinville: "What adventures they recounted left us agape as if we heard some ancient epic, or looked upon some tapestry of days half remembered." [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + shipping.

THE DRUID KING: A Novel
by Norman Spinrad. Condition: NEW 2003 Knopf hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, assumed first printing. Content: Science fiction author Spinrad switches genres, refashioning an intriguing legend into an epic piece of historical fiction. When Julius Caesar set his sights westward, determined to expand the Roman Empire into Gaul, only one man stood in his way: Vercingetorix. Dubbed the king of the Druids, Vercingetorix accomplished the seemingly impossible when he united the disparate tribes of Gaul into a fighting force determined to prevent the Romans from encroaching any further into Gallic territory. A crafty leader and a fearless warrior who, ironically, had been trained as a youth in the Roman army, he organized a brilliant resistance that briefly threatened the military prowess of Rome. In fact, much is made of the fact that Caesar had to enlist the aid of the Teutons, a Germanic tribe, in order to crush the Gallic rebellion. Spinrad breathes new life into a mythical figure, reimagining the adventures and the motivations of a larger-than-life superhero. Replete with action and intrigue, this fictional biography is distinguished by the attention paid to the details of the Celtic, Latin, and Germanic cultures. [1 copy available]
$ 7.59 + shipping.

DRUIDS
by Morgan Llywelyn. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1993 Ballantine-Ivy paperback, fist printing. Shelf wear diagonal crease top back cover corner. Content: As every Latin student knows, ancient Gaul was divided into three parts, all conquered by Caesar. Llywelyn tells of that conquest from the viewpoint of the defeated Gauls. Her story is told by the Druid Ainvar, whose"soul friend" Vercingetorix leads the Gauls in their doomed defense of freedom. Llywelyn is most successful in her evocation of Celtic culture and Druidic beliefs, based on harmony with nature. Once Caesar and Vercingetorix join battle, however, the story bogs down in endless marches, raids, and battles. The characters serve the needs of the plot admirably. Less successful than Llywelyn's earlier novels, this one is still likely to please those who enjoy meticulously crafted historical fiction. [1 copy available]
$ 2.49 + shipping.

THE DUBLIN SAGA: THE PRINCES OF IRELAND
by Edward Rutherford. Cover art by Tim O'Brien. Condition: NEW 2005 Ballantine huge (800 pages) Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny tiny edgewear. Content: This is a magnificent epic about love and war, family life and political intrigue in Ireland over the course of 17 centuries. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + shipping.

THE EGYPTIAN: A Novel
by Mika Waltari. . Condition: Good only, 1965 Pocket paperback, second printing. A binding error has caused the back one-third of the book to be "out-of-line" with the front two-thirds of the book. Moderate tanning. Content: Reviewer: "The book is set in the Amarna period of Ancient Egypt during the reigns of the pharaohs Amunhotep III, Akhenaten and Horemheb, covering the concluding years of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom (1386 - 1293 BC), an era in Egyptian history that was marked by significant religious and political upheaval. The Egyptian is Sinuhe, a physician of unknown birth origin who was wrapped and cradled in a reed boat floating down the Nile. As he narrates his life story, which transcended years of warfare, plague, and fierce battle between gods. On the outside The Egyptian delineates the history of Egypt through its inveterate religious devotion to many gods. At the core of the novel finds one man's lifelong journey through many countries, like Babylon, Crete, and Mitannia, to knowledge. Sinehu possessed such lonely idealism that motivated him to devote his life searching for something so intangible yet greater than he beyond his understanding did. He was not ready to merely worship the gods - in fact, he insisted on questioning traditions and thus marked him as an outsider of his own culture." There actually was a physician named Sinehu who left some of his life on papyrus - I have yet to find a book or site that details this true story, however. Perhaps the Author had knowledge of this artifact or had read it. The 1954 movie was directed by Michael Curtiz and starred Victor Mature, Jean Simmons, Michael Wilding, Gene Tierney, Peter Ustinov, and Edmund Purdom. This is one of my favorite old movie even though I think the acting is weak (everyone) and the screenplay is limp. But the novel is fabulous! [1 copy available]
$ 2.50 + shipping.

ESTER'S CHILD [SIGNED COPY] (Historical Fiction)
by Jean Sasson. Great B&W illustrations by Janice Phelps. Cover art by Robert Hunt. Condition: UNREAD 2001 Windsor hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second edition, second printing. Short "repaired" cut bottom front DJ panel. Interior perfect. Content: A sprawling novel of historical intrigue that spans the years from 1938 to 1983 in Europe and the Middle East. The families of Moses Stein, a devout Jew from Poland; of Benjamin Gale, a secular, assimilated Jew from France; Freidrich Kleist, a German SS officer; and George Antoun, a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon become entwined through an amazing set of circumstances. Readers are introduced to the families in 1948. In Jerusalem a second son is born to Ester, daughter of Moses Stein, and Joseph Gale. The child is kidnapped. In Haifa, George and Mary Antoun, Palestinian refugees, learn that their family has been killed in an Israeli attack, and in East Berlin, Freidrich Kleist is haunted by a dream of his involvement in the death of Jews in Warsaw. The prologue gives readers tantalizing clues to the identity of Ester's child and clarifies the history of the four families and the ways in which World War II and the establishment of the state of Israel have affected them. How the fate of the families binds them in lasting relationships is described in an exciting narrative of suspense, intrigue, and romance. Each chapter is preceded by a clarifying historical account of the events, a helpful listing of the many individuals included in the story, and attractive black-and-white illustrations. Teens will find the plot involving and feel compassion for the characters, most of whom are unwilling and tragic victims of political extremes and human misunderstanding. The story ends on a note of hope and renewal. [1 copy available]
$ 12.29 + shipping.

THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG: A True Life Nobel (Biographical Novel)
by Norman Mailer. Pulitzer Prize Winner. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1980 Warner Books huge paperback (1024 pages), second printing. Shelf wear diagonal crease (you know - where the jerk just jams the book back on the shelf where there's no room for it) bottom front cover corner. Interior clean & tight with light tanning to pge edges. Content: This is a work of unprecedented force. It is the true story of Gary Gilmore, who in 1977 became the first person executed in the United States since the reinstitution of the death penalty. Gilmore, a violent yet articulate man who chose not to fight his death-penalty sentence, touched off a national debate about capital punishment. He allowed Norman Mailer and researcher Lawrence Schiller complete access to his story. Mailer took the material and produced an immense book with a dry, unwavering voice and meticulous attention to detail on Gilmore's life--particularly his relationship with Nicole Baker, whom Gilmore claims to have killed. What unfolds is a powerful drama, a distorted love affair, and a chilling look into the mind of a murderer in his countdown with a firing squad. The great 1982 TV movie was directed by Lawrence Schiller and starred Tommy Lee Jones, Rosanna Arquette, Christine Lahti, Eli Wallach, Pat Corley, and a cameo by Mailer. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + shipping.

FLASHMAN AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
by George MacDonald Fraser. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD ex-library book (a rarity), 1995 Alfred Knopf hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first American edition. Has all library markings and band bottom front mylar jacket. Interior clean & tight. Content: Roving British Army colonel Sir Harry Flashman, roisterous scoundrel and witty cynic, was a reluctant hero in exploits ranging from the Crimean War to China's Taiping Rebellion in nine previous volumes of Fraser's Flashman Papers. In this latest installment, a mesmerizing mix of high adventure, outrageous humor and audacious drama, the cowardly Flashman is kidnapped in Cape Town, South Africa, and sails to Baltimore before being conscripted into abolitionist John Brown's doomed, bloody 1859 raid on a federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Va. U.S. government agents enlist Flashman as a spy to dissuade or forcibly prevent Brown from carrying out the raid, fearing that it might trigger civil war. Meanwhile, a band of hooded white supremacists abduct Flashman and order him to abet John Brown's attack, which they believe will unite the South and divide the North. Combining wild imagination, sardonic commentary on American mores and meticulous historical research, Fraser tells a masterful historical tale and presents a magnificent portrait of John Brown as a fearless, autocratic, murderous iron-willed zealot-"a fanatic, yes; a man driven by one burning idea... but never a madman." Questions encouraged. [1 copy available]
$ 5.29 + shipping.

FLASHMAN AND THE DRAGON
by George MacDonald Fraser. B&W maps. Condition: Gently pre-read 1987 Plume Trade Paperback, 7th printing. Pale spine crease, small diagonal crease bottom front cover tip. Interior clean & tight. Content: The delightful cad Flashman stalks again, now through China's 19th-century Taiping Rebellion, in this eighth and perhaps most sparkling volume of his "memoirs." Though a little longer in the tooth, Colonel Flashman, V.C., has lost none of his dash, cunning, amorous propensity or cowardice. His adventures begin when he accompanies a consignment of "opium" (actually guns) to Canton on behalf of a British missionary. Thereafter, as Ambassador Elgin's chief intelligence officer, he gets into a succession of dire scrapes which include being attacked by pirates and falling into the hands first of the ferocious but disciplined Taipings, then of the equally ferocious but decadent Manchu imperialists. At one point he comes within a hair's breadth of having his poltroonery exposed; at other points he finds himself the sexual partner of a Chinese Amazon and, more plaything than partner, of the formidable Imperial Concubine Yi, later empress, to whose treacherous court intrigues he becomes privy. He winds up witnessing Elgin's destruction of Peking's Summer Palace, an act of vengeance described with horrifying vividness. There's a deal of shrewd observation in Flashman, and a deal of solid history in his flamboyant memoirs, factors that add weight to their dazzle. Questions encouraged. [1 copy available]
$ 5.29 + shipping.

THE FOOL'S TALE
by Nicole Galland. B&W maps. Condition: UNREAD 2005 William Morrow-HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), stated first edition, first printing. Content: It is Wales, in the year 1198, and King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, better known to his people as Noble, is fighting to keep his kingdom from falling to the English. To create an alliance, Noble weds Isabel Mortimer, the niece of the English baron Roger Mortimer, who years earlier killed Noble's father. Isabel has no easy time of it as Noble flaunts his mistresses in her face and allows Gwirion, Noble's oldest friend, to ridicule her without reproach. Gwirion, of unknown birth, holds the highest honor in Noble's court but has no real power. His sole purpose is to amuse the king, who gives him the affectionate title of "fool." But as threats of war from the English consume Noble, Gwirion and Isabel come to a truce, and their new relationship may also threaten Noble's crown. Galland's first novel is an entertaining saga adeptly weaving together political intrigue and deceit, love that both unifies and divides, loyalty that teeters on treason, and the desire for freedom, which comes with a hefty price. [1 copy available]
$ 5.50 + shipping.

GOAT SONG (Historical Fiction)
by Frank Yerby. Condition: Good+, 1969 Dell paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear with binder's glue strings down spine. Interior clean & tight but tanning. Content: Born to a Spartan General and his beautiful wife; who maintains that her son was truly sired by the God Dionysus, Ariston discovers his true parentage, and his first love, only to lose them to cruel fates. Surviving these loses, Ariston is then sold into slavery, taken to Athens, and given over to a brothel to have his 'favors' sold time and again. Here in his life he develops a deep, loving friendship with Orchomenus; who remains a constant figure in his life for many years to come. Ariston and Orchomenus' friendship is reminiscent of many others that I have read of from the time period; in terms of the depth of the love between two men, and how once their lives were tied together by their great affection for one another, the bond was difficult, if not impossible, to break. Once Ariston is freed from his service to the brothel,and adopted by a wealthy figure in Athens; his life takes a more favorable turn. Ariston; through virture of his unparallelled looks or kindly nature, draws many friends and loves to him. Danaeus; Autolykos; Chryseius; all people who will play important roles in his life. Excellent and well-researched. The book is sweeping in its scope; and epic in its storytelling capability. [1 copy available]
$ 3.29 + shipping.

GRANT OF KINGDOM
by Harvey Fergusson. Intro by William Pilkington. Condition: Good + 1975 Univ. of NM Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Binder's glue string down spine and small edgewear bottom cover/interior tight but there are several pages with underlining. Content: Historical fiction of the fabled and fabulous Maxwell Land Grant of New Mexico which hosted everyone from the Spanish to the Apache to Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. The history of the Maxwell family is one of the most interesting in Southwest history. [1 copy available]
$ 6.89 + shipping

HARBORS AND HIGH SEAS: An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey-Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian
by Dean King with John B. Hattendorf. B&W maps by William Clipson and Adam Merton Cooper. B&W era drawings, as well. Condition: UNREAD Henry Holt soft cover, first edition, first printing. Content: One of the great pleasures for fans of O'Brian's immensely popular novels is following their heroes, Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, to exotic locales around the world. Now the author of the highly successful O'Brian lexicon A Sea of Words offers fans the ultimate geographic guide, containing maps created exclusively for the book which identify all the routes, ports of call, battles, crossings, and storms relevant to the story. 65 maps; 20 illustrations. Questions welcome [1 copy available]
$ 8.29 + shipping.

HILL COUNTRY
by Janice Woods Windle. Beautiful cover painting by Sally Minter. Condition: UNREAD 1998 Longstreet hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first printing. Content: The author of True Women uses her grandmother's unfinished autobiography to depict the resilience and gritty determination of a Texas prairie woman. In the late 1870s, when Laura Woods is seven, her mother fights off a marauding Apache party and Laura gets her first, intriguing glimpse of "white Indian" Herman Lehmann, who was kidnapped and raised in the tribe. When Laura is a teenager, she falls in love with Herman, but the affair is secret and fleeting, and Laura takes a place in society by marrying Peter Woods, the scion of a prominent family. Laura hopes that Peter will make a career in government, an ambition that she craves herself. But it is her friend Rebekah Baines Johnson who will become the wife of a congressman and mother of a president, and Laura realizes she must work behind the scenes if she is ever to put her family on the map. While raising her brood of seven children, she campaigns for Teddy Roosevelt, lobbies for the suffragette cause and seemingly touches nearly every event in Texas history. Though the dramatic events of Laura's life are more colorful than many a made-up saga. Laura Woods's story is a reminder that, regardless of their absence from ballots and voting booths, women played an essential part in shaping the country's history. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 19.75 + shipping.

THE HOUSE OF WAR (Historical Fiction)
by Catherine Gavin. Condition: UNREAD 1979 Pocket paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear with moderate tanning to page edges. Content: A brilliant military genius fighting to save his homeland, Kemal Ataturk is also a seductively magnetic man with an entourage of dark-eyed Turkish concubines. Yet is is an American, Evelyn Barrett, married to an unfaithful husband, who captures his heart. [1 copy available]
$ 5.29 + shipping.

THE KID'S LAST NIGHT AND OTHER STORIS OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST (Historical Fiction) (SIGNED BY AUTHOR)
by James Steven Peters. Condition: SIGNED BY AUTHOR/ UNREAD c. 1988 possibly self-published soft cover, no printing given. Content: Other Stories: Bad Manners (about Texas Bill Anderson); Vengeance of Burt Wilkinson; A Saturday Hanging (George Woods); Obituary For a Sheriff (Mason Bowman); and El Bandito (Peter Taisch). Entertaining! Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + shipping.

LIGHT A DISTANT FIRE
by Lucia St. Clair Robson (Ride the Wind). Beautiful wrap-around cover art by Judith York. Condition: UNREAD 1988 Ballantine Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear with light tanning to page edges. Content: Robson powerfully recreates the mid-19th century Seminole Indian Wars and the life of Osceola, who courageously led his people against an unjust U.S. government. Robson draws the reader into her story gradually with a portrait of Osceola's youth and family, which includes a couple of wives and daughters and a feisty grandmother named Fighting in a Line. The characters are authentic and substantial, and the plot, though loosely woven and slow moving at times, supplies the requisite love, struggle, danger and betrayal. The novel picks up speed when Robson introduces Lt. John Goode, a young West Point graduate. She deftly builds a relationship between Goode and Osceola, demonstrating Goode's initial perception of the Indians as savages, his growing admiration for them and his falling in love with and marrying a Seminole woman. By volunteering for Indian raids, the Lieutenant manages to steer the militiamen away from Osceola and his family. Goode's divided loyalties ultimately bring tragedy to Osceola, but the personal bond triumphs over political enmity. Robson's clear sympathy for the Seminole Indians does not prevent her from creating fictional portraits that illuminate the complexities on both sides. [2 copies available]
$ 8.89 + shipping.

THE LONG SHIPS (Movie Edition)
by Frans G. Bengtsson. Translated from the Swedish by Michael Meyer. Movie cover art. B&W maps. Condition: Good+, 1964 Signet paperback, second printing, movie edition. Tiny edge wear with spine crease and tanning to interior pages. Content: The exuberant classic of Viking adventurers chronicles the expolits of Red Orm and his seafaring Danes. It is a tale of daring raids and roisterous celebrations - a boisterous saga of color, action, plunder - and romance. The 1964 movie was directed by Jack Cardiff and starred Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Russ Tamblyn, Rossana Schiaffino, Lionel Jeffries, and Oscar Homolka. [1 copy available]
$ 8.50 + shipping

LION OF IRELAND (Historical Fiction)
by Morgan Llywelyn. Wrap-around cover art by Gregory Manchess. Condition: Gently pre-read, if at all, 1996 TOR paperback, third printing. Tiny edge wear with seveal small rubbings back cover. Interior clean & tight. Content: Probably one of the most popular historical fiction books ever written. King, warrior, and lover Brian Boru was stronger, braver, and wiser than all other men-the greatest king Ireland has ever known. Out of the mists of the country's most violent age, he merged to lead his people to the peak of their golden era. His women were as remarkable as his adventures: Fiona, the druidess with mystical powers; Deirdre, beautiful victim of a Norse invader's brutal lust; Gormlaith, six-foot, read-haired goddess of sensuality. Set against the barbaric splendors of the tenth century, this is a story rich in truth and legend in which friends become deadly enemies, bedrooms turn into battlefields, and dreams of glory are finally fulfilled. Morgan Llywelyn has written one of the greatest novels of Irish history. [1 copy available]
$ 2.50 + shipping.

THE LIVING: A Novel (Historical Mystery)
by Annie Dillard. Cover is an era photograph from the Whatcom Museum. . Decorated end pages. Condition: Good+, 1992 HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no edition given. Wear to bottom board edges and to DJ corners. An older book that has been pre-read. Content: Pulitzer Prize-winner Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) turns her hand to fiction with this historical novel of the American Northwest in the late 19th century. Focusing on the settlement at Whatcom on Bellingham Bay (near Puget Sound), Dillard offers a compelling portrait of frontier life. The novel has a large and richly varied cast of characters, from the engaging frontiersman Clare Fishburn and Eastern socialite-turned-pioneer Minta Honer to the disturbed and violent Beal Obenchain and kleptomaniac Pearl Sharp. The Living is unflinching in its delineations of pioneer life at its worst and best--racism and brutality on the one hand and optimism and charity in adversity on the other. Dillard's view of "the living" in its many senses is a fine novel. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 2.59 + shipping.

THE MAID OF THE WHITE HANDS (Tristan & Isolde series, Book 2) (Historical Fiction)
by Rosalind Miles. Cover art by David Bowers. Condition: NEW 2003 Three Rivers Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear to top front cover corner tip. Otherwise, perfect. Content: Isolde’s day has come. In Ireland her mother, the Queen, lies dying. The throne of the Emerald Isle, one of the last strongholds of the Goddess, awaits her. But while Ireland is her destiny, Isolde is already Queen of Cornwall, trapped in a loveless marriage to the mean-spirited King Mark. Her true love is his nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse, who has never married, remaining faithful to Isolde. However, there is a rival Isolde - a princess of France - a healer called "Blanche Mains," for her white hands and healing touch. She, too, has a love interest in Tristan. When he is wounded in battle, King Mark sends him to France to be healed since he suspects a liason between his Isolde and Tristan. However, Tristan dies in France. There ends the traditional medieval story of Tristan and Isolde - with betrayal, death, and grief. But the original Irish legend ends differently, and so does this book, with magic and drama as only Rosalind Miles can write it. Another wonderful series from Miles. [1 copy available]
$ 9.59 + shipping.

A MAPMAKER'S DREAM: The Meditations of Fra Mauro, Cartographer to the Court of Venice (Historical Fiction)
by James Cowan. Condition: NEW 1997 Warner Books small softcover, first printing. Content: Cowan's fantasy of a Venetian cartographer owes a large and obvious debt to Borges, with its speculations on geography as a construct of the human consciousness, its erudite references, and its tales of explorations into an imaginary world. Through the purported journals of Fra Mauro, a cloistered monk who actually lived during the 15th century and who, in Cowan's novel, has resolved to create a map of the world without ever leaving his cell, we learn of a race of men with one foot the size of an umbrella, about the Vatican emissary to the Mongol court, and about the devil worshippers of the land called Mosul. Over the course of the book, Fra Mauro creates a world of his own, composed less of geographical knowledge than of meditation, folklore, and books. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + shipping.

MURDER MOST ROYAL (Historical Fiction)
by Jean Plaidy (aka Victoria Holt, Eleanor Hibbert, & Philippa Carr). Cover painting by Warren Chang. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1993 Book of the Month Club hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket). Although unread, there is a gift inscription on the loose endpage and due to poor storage, there is a bit of "looseness" to the binding - not bad, but there. Content: This is the story of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard - 2 of Henry VIII's wives. One powerful king. Two tragic queens. In the court of Henry VIII, it was dangerous for a woman to catch the king’s eye. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins. Both were beautiful women, though very different in temperament. They each learned that Henry’s passion was all-consuming–and fickle. Sophisticated Anne Boleyn, raised in the decadent court of France, was in love with another man when King Henry claimed her as his own. Being his mistress gave her a position of power; being his queen put her life in jeopardy. Her younger cousin, Catherine Howard, was only fifteen when she was swept into the circle of King Henry. Her innocence attracted him, but a past mistake was destined to haunt her. Painted in the rich colors of Tudor England, this book is a page-turning journey into the lives of two of the wives of the tempestuous Henry VIII. [1 copy available]
$ 12.59 + shipping.

THE NAVIGATOR OF NEW YORK
by Wayne Johnston. Condition: Gently pre-read 2002 Doubleday hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket) first edition, first printing. Content: The race to get to the North Pole frames a young explorer's effort to unearth his family history in Johnston's latest, a captivating narrative that delves into both the noble and the seedier aspects of the human need to discover and explore. Devlin Stead is the orphaned protagonist raised by his aunt and uncle in Newfoundland after his physician father dies in a polar expedition under the aegis of Robert Edwin Peary and Dr. Frederick Cook. The boy's sheltered existence is shattered when he receives a series of letters from Cook that reveal the explorer-who had committed an indiscretion with Devlin's mother-to be the boy's real father. Cook invites Devlin to New York, where he takes him under his wing and makes him his assistant. Their strange relationship culminates when father and son journey to Greenland to rescue the stubborn Peary, who has become stranded while trying to reach the pole and refuses to give up and return. Devlin then becomes deeply involved in Cook's effort to beat Peary to the pole, participating in Cook's infamous 1908 attempt that was decried as a hoax. A fascinating story. [1 copy available]
$ 3.29 + shipping.

THE OLD GRINGO: A Novel
by Carlos Fuentes. Condition: UNREAD 1997 Noonday Press Trade Paperback, first printing. Light edgewear. Interior perfect. Content: Ambrose Bierce, the celebrated American writer, soldier, and journalist, mysteriously disappeared in Mexico during its civil war in the early years of this century [20th century], [Oddly enough, Bierce was so disliked, that it took years for people to realize that he had not returned from his last trip to Mexico.] In this brilliant novel, Fuentes imagines the fate of Bierce among Pancho Villa's troops, and portrays the tragic encounter of two cultures in the passsionate triangular relationship that develops between Bierce, a young American woman, and Tomas Arroyo, one of Villa's generals. The 1989 movie was directed by Luis Puenzo and starred Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits, Patricio Contreras, Jenny Gago, and José Olivares. [1 copy available]
$ 4.29 + shipping.

ONE TOO MANY TIMES (Historical Fantasy)
by Diana Rubino. Condition: NEW 2001 Domhan Books Trade Paperback, Review Copy. Tiny edgewear. Content: When the usual psychic can't make it to act as medium for the annual seance to summon the slain King Richard's spirit, Annie Spooner steps in. She's the longest standing member of the Richard III Society. A scholar, she's published several books about him. Rather than summoning a ghost, however, the seance has the unexpected result of the real Richard's arrival. Actually, an amulet given by his brother brings him to the twenty-first century when his life is endangered. With no way back to his own time, Richard settles into exploring his new world, from peanuts at the market to borrowed designer jeans that don't fit. Soon the Grand Wizbar sends his brothers, Ned and George, followed later by Elizabeth as she pursues Ned in a quest to fulfill true love. Richard soon learns of the filming of his story. Of course he steps in, first to correct history, but soon to rewrite it. He lands the part of himself, along with his brothers in appropriate roles. Combined with poltergeist activity, and women who shape each of three time traveling men's destinies, the result is a fabulous romp. Past, present and future fuse in a hysterically inaccurate timeline that will keep readers in stitches. This revisionist history combines wizardry, windows 2000 and wondrous impossibility in a marvelous original manner. [1 copy available]
$ 11.29 + shipping.

POPE JOAN
by Lawrence Durrell (Translated & Adapted from the Book By Emmanuel Royidis). Cover art by Marc Rosenthal. Condition: NEW 1984 Tusk/Overlook Trade Paperback edition, 4th printing. Content: "Pope Joan" or "Papissa Joanna" was originally written and published in 1886 by the Greek author Emmanuel Royidis. The book tells the story of Pope John VIII, the purported female Pope who ruled Christendom for a period of two years, five months and four days in the middle of the ninth century. "Pope Joan" is a comic masterpiece of irreverence towards the medieval Church and the accepted pieties of its revisionist historians. Indeed, insofar as Royidis continued to propagate the legend of Pope Joan, to claim that the work contained only "facts and events proved beyond discussion", the text itself ingeniously combines history and legend, as well as brilliant wit, to subvert claims of authority. As Lawrence Durrell notes in his Preface to his brilliant English translation and adaptation, "the authorities of the Orthodox Church were horrified by what seemed to them to be the impious irony of its author-and no less by the gallery of maggot-ridden church fathers which he described so lovingly." Not suprisingly, Royidis was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church and his book was banned in Greece. [1 copy available]
$ 6.29 + shipping.

PRIESTESS OF AVALON (Historical Fiction/Fantasy)
by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson. Condition: NEW 2001 ROC paperback, first pritning. Beautiful wrap-around cover art but no credit is given. Content: In A.D. 296, young British princess Helena goes to the Isle of Avalon to learn the path of the goddess. Helena grows in spirit and wisdom, awaiting the day when her initiation prophecy will become real and she'll meet the man of her dreams. He turns out to be Flavius Constantius Chlorus, fated to become the Roman emperor. Her aunt, High Priestess Ganeda, aims to wed a more biddable girl to the Roman power structure, but when Constantius chooses Helena, Ganeda exiles her from Avalon. Helena gives birth to Constantius's son, Constantine, and counsels her lover through the intrigues of a vast and dangerously unbalanced empire. Separated by civil demands from her family, Helena seeks the answers her troubled soul demands during a pilgrimage through the Holy Lands. The message that all religions call on the same higher power should go over well with fans of Mists. Paxson's own skill at bringing historical characters and places to vivid life enriches Helena's story. [1 copy available]
$ 5.29 + $ 3. 19 media shipping.

RAGTIME (Historical Fiction)
by E. L. Doctorow. Condition: UNREAD but not perfect, 1975 Random House hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), second printing. Although unread, this is still an older book with slight "dulling" (not fading) of the brown boards. The DJ has edgewear. Overall, I would still rate this as a very good copy of a great book. No price on the DJ - not clipped - just not there. Content: There is no simple or concise way to describe the storyline of "Ragtime, " E.L. Doctorow's best known work. This is a celebrated novel that combines the syncopation of ragtime and the literary sensibilities of a writer intrigued by history as literary device. Set primarily in Westchester County's New Rochelle but also in New York City and, briefly, Massachusetts, the novel follows the stories of real and fictional characters as they move from innocence to disillusionment, from peace time to the beginnings of racial conflict and World War I. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + shipping.

RAMSES: THE SON OF LIGHT (Volume 1) [Historical Fiction]
by Christian Jacq. B&W maps & decorations. Condition: UNREAD 1997 Warner Books Trade Paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear. Shelfwear diagonal crease back cover. Interior perfect. Content: At 14, Ramses, second son of the Pharaoh Seti, must begin to pass a series of royal tests designed to build his mental and physical prowess - or break him. Is Seti planning to leave the world's most powerful empire to Ramses, and not his corrupt brother Shaanar? Before he knows it, the younger price is surrounded by enemies and turning to his friends: Moses, the brilliant young Hebrew; Setau, the snake charmer and mage; Ahmeni, the frail scholar; and Iset and Nefertari, the two beautiful somen Ramses loves. And so begins the journey of the hero the world has yet to know. [1 copy available]
$ 2.59 + shipping.

ROMAN WOMAN: Everyday Life in Hadrian's Britain (Historical Fiction)
by Lindsay Allason-Jones. Condition: Very Good + 2000 Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. (London) hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket). If this book has been read, it was very gently. No flaws & interior is very clean & tight. The DJ has small edgewear top edge. Content: Historical fiction of the highest order. Excellent historical detail. The year is AD 133 in Eboracum (York). The story is told by Senovara, a member of the Parisi tribe whose home and customs have been little changed by Roman rule, but Senovara is also the wife of Quintus, a veteran of the 6th Legion Victrix. How she meets the challenge of adjusting from tribal life to Roman life is the basis of the novel. [1 copy available]
$10.50 + shipping.

ROBERT THE BRUCE: THE STEPS TO THE EMPTY THRONE (Book 1 of the trilogy) (Historical Fiction)
by Nigel Tranter. Condition: Good+, 1972 Coronet (UK) paperback, third impression. Interior clean & tight, but there is a "ding" top cover at hinge with small edge wear-shelf wear. Content: The year is 1296 and Edward Plantagenet, King of England, is determined to hammer the rebellious Scots into submission. Bruce, despite internal clashes with that headstrong figure, William Wallace [Braveheart], and his fierce love for his antagonist's god-daughter, gives himself the task of uniting the Scots against the invaders from the South. And so begins this deadly game for national survival - with battle-scarred Scotland as the prize. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.50 + shipping.

THE ROSE, RED & WHITE (AKA The Rose Both Red & White)
by Betty King. Condition: Gently pre-read 1974 Pinnacle paperback, first printing. Pale spine & hinge crease with moderate tanning to page edges. Content: This is the story of Margaret Tudor and her role in the Wars of the Roses - the bloody struggle for the English Crown between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Margaret was the sister of England's Henry VIII. In her early teens she became the wife of james IV, King of Scotland. In the years to come Margaret would also be grandmother to the famed Mary, Queen of Scots. Here is a colorful, intimate portrait of a woman too lightly considered by historians. [1 copy available]
$ 2.50 + shipping.

A SEASON OF SWANS (The "Swan" Trilogy")
by Celeste De Blasis. Condition: UNREAD 1989 Bantam Books hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no edition given. This MAY be a BCE, but I am not sure. DJ has very light edgewear. Content: The third in the "Swan Trilogy", this final volume of a trilogy takes the Falconer family from California's Sonoma Valley to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 42.59 + $ 3.39 media shipping.

THE SECRET DIARY OF ANNE BOLEYN (Historical Fiction)
by Robin Maxwell. Cover painting by Cibot, Anne Boleyn at the Tower, shortly after her arrest. Condition: NEW 1998 Scribner Trade Paperback, 9th printing. Light remainder mark bottom edges. Content: This novel supposes that Anne Boleyn, second wife to King Henry VIII of England, kept a secret diary that was delivered to her daughter, Elizabeth, upon her succession to the throne. Elizabeth was only three when Anne was renounced by Henry, tried for treason, and sentenced to death. Now, despite her queenly schedule, juggling affairs of state and heart, Elizabeth finds time to read her mother's story avidly and learns lessons that will secure her reign. It is an intriguing premise that knowledge of Anne's sad fate leads Elizabeth resolutely to defy the customs of her time and ignore her advisers' counsel and her suitors' pleas to marry. Remaining single and healthy, Elizabeth rules long and well. Filled with fascinating descriptions of court life and references to historical figures and events. [1 copy available]
$ 4.75 + shipping.

THE SEVENTH MESA: A Novel (Historical /Metaphysical Fiction)
by Mary Summer Rain. Beautiful Carole Bourdo cover art. Condition: NEW 994 Hampton Roads Trade Paperback, presumed first edition. Content: Is there a hidden pyramid buried beneath a Southwest mesa? Is there a guarded chamber there that holds the sacred scrolls and tablets that reveal the answers to humanity's most puzzling mysteries throughout the ages? Even the answers to our enigmatic beginnings? Is it time for us to discover the answers? Have we gained enough wisdom to know what to do with such treasured knowledge? What ageless secrets do the Old Wise Ones really know? The Seventh Mesa is the first work of fiction by an author who has a large following as a writer in the metaphysical field and has now turned her splendid talents to a fictional story which also serves to frame her metaphysical insights. [1 copy available]
$ 10.89 + shipping.

STEPHANIE: The Snows of Sebastopol (Book 2 of the Stephanie series) (Historical Fiction/Romance)
by Marceline Gobineau. Translated from the French by Jocasta Innes. Condition: UNREAD 1976 Avon paperback, first printing. Pale shelfwear hinge crease with tiny edgewear. Interior clean & tight but tanning at edges. Content: Though she had enchanted the court of Napoleon III and held Paris in her sway, Stephanie cast it all aside to follow her dashing office Rene to the battlefields of the Crimea. In the face of scandal, she would stay by his side and serve him as a camp follower. [1 copy available]
$ 2.50 + shipping.

STRONGBOW: The Story of Richard and Aoife (Historical Fiction/Romance)
by Morgan Llywelyn. Cover art and B&W illustrations by Ciruelo Cabral. Condition: NEW 1997 TOR paperback edition, first printing. Content: A fictionalized biography based on true events in 12th-century England and Ireland, and told in alternating chapters by the principals, Richard de Clare--Strongbow--and Aoife. Both are children of warriors who have been stripped of their titles by hostile kings. Richard and Aoife's desires to regain what has been lost bring them together in a war for control of Ireland. The events of the tale are inherently compelling. Llywelyn has created a book that, as an introduction to little-known historical incidents and people, is valuable and interesting [1 copy available]
$ 21.49 + shipping.

SUN DANCING: A Vision of Medieval Ireland (Life in a Medieval Irish Monastery And How Celtic Spirituality Influenced the World) (History & Historical Fiction)
by Geoffrey Moorhouse. Condition: NEW 1999 Harvest/Harcourt Brace Trade Paperback, first printing. Content: This is an unusual book. The first half is historical fiction - speculation on events in the monastery. The second half of the book, and the most interesting IMHO, is the actual history of monastery. Reviewer: "If you've ever stood on the rocks of Skellig Michael, or peered at them from safe ground across the tossing waves, you've thought to yourself, "only crazy people and seagulls would live there". You would be wrong - passionate maybe, maybe not crazy. This story of the monks on Skellig Michael, part history, part fiction, speaks of the loneliness and of being alone - which are not the same things - and the astonishing strength that can come from the most unexpected places when one person or a group of people who share a focus come together. Even the early pages that detail the types of ink used in the glorious illuminated manuscripts of Clanmacnoise draw you into this passion and this focus. It's an incredible story of life on a rock in the middle of nowhere that provided a continuous line of education and religion (like it or not) in a time beyond our imagination." [1 copy available]
$ 8.49 + shipping.

THRONE OF ISIS: A Novel of Cleopatra
by Judith Tarr. Donato "raised" cover art. Condition: UNREAD 1995 Forge paperback, first printing. Tiny edgewear with binder's thin glue string down spine. Interior perfect. Content: Antony and Cleopatra, whose dalliance spans a decade, meet in 41 B.C. and immediately merge passion with politics. Cleopatra wants land, Antony wants ships; both encounter complications. Antony is saddled with a vindictive wife and an ambitious co-ruler, Octavian, in Rome. Civil war looms. Although major characters remain one-dimensional (Antony, for example, is portrayed as merely a drunken lout), Cleopatra's prescient cousin, Dione, sparks the story with her exuberant personality and manages to present a unique perspective on background events. She is joined in her pessimistic reading of signs and portents by Roman augur Lucius Servilius, an engaging figure whose stiff Roman pride crumbles before Dione's charms, and the two visionaries embark on a sizzling romance. A controversial book: people either love or dislike it - I like it. [1 copy available]
$ 4.00 + shipping.

THE TRAITOR OF ST. GILES (Historical Mystery)
by Michael Jecks. Cover art by Danuta Mayer. Condition: NEW 2001 Headline (UK) paperback, no printing given. Two "things": small "ding" bottom back cover at hinge and missing title page due to binding error. Content: In this medieval romp, the ninth in the series, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, keeper of the king's peace in Crediton, and his old friend, Bailiff Simon Puttock, join the throngs gathering at Lord Hugh de Courtenay's castle in Tiverton to celebrate the midsummer feast of St. Giles. Trouble is afoot. Hugh Despenser, King Edward II's corrupt favorite, is attracting nobles to his ignoble cause and threatening civil war. Someone murders Sir Gilbert de Carlisle, Despenser's ambassador to Lord Hugh, while he's carrying a chest of gold to the king. The head and body of outlaw Philip Dyne are found nearby. Harlewin le Poter, coroner of Tiverton, announces that Dyne killed Sir Gilbert; two upright citizens then beheaded Dyne as he was trying to escape. Meanwhile, St. Giles Fair is in full swing. Its festivities provide a delightful picture of everyday life in the Middle Ages. Everything, from dress to living accommodations to common speech (especially the curses), rings true. This is a crowded tapestry of a book, peopled with well-developed villains of every stripe. [1 copy available]
$ 4.50 + shipping.

TROY: A Novel (Historical Fiction)
by Adele Geras. Erich Lessing cover art. Condition: NEW 2002 Harcourt, Inc. MMPB, 3rd printing. Tiny edgewear at corners & light wrinkling to top corner 1 page. Content: With exceptional grace and energy, Geras recreates the saga of the Trojan War by delving into the hearts and minds of the women of Troy. Suitable for Young Adults and up. [1 copy available]
$ 5.89 + shipping.

TWO FACES OF LOVE: Lust for Life and Immortal Wife (2 Novels) (Biographical Novels)
by Irving Stone. Condition: Gently pre-read c. 1950 Doubleday hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), Book Club Edition. "repaired" tear top front cover panel with moderate tanning to page edges. Content: Two of Irving Stone's best biographical novels: Lust for Life - the life of Vincent Van Gogh and Immortal Wife about Jesse Benton Fremont - the daughter of powerful Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of Charles Fremont. She made radical feminism seem warm & fuzzy. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 4.89 + shipping.

ULYSSES: A NOVEL (Biographical Novel) (SIGNED COPY)
by Robert Skinin. Condition: Gently pre-read 1994 St. Martin's Press hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), first edition, first printing. SIGNED BY AUTHOR ON loose end page. DJ shows small edgewear bottom spine. Content: Historical novelist Skimin (whose Chikara won the Ohiana Book Award in 1984) divides this uneven but generally successful life of Ulysses S. Grant into three parts: Grant's West Point beginnings and early forays in the Mexican War, which established him as a soldier to be reckoned with; his illustrious career as a Union general; his political career, including two terms as president. While the dialogue and characterizations of Grant's colleagues, wife and family are sometimes pedestrian, Skimin keeps events moving briskly and sketches background details of the developing strains in Grant's personality. Though he adds little to existing accounts of the Civil War years, his depiction is absorbing, and the Mexican material is valuable because of its relative obscurity. The narrative really comes alive in considering Grant's later decades, however; the tales of his difficulties during Reconstruction are replete with compelling historical detail, and the final chapters, dealing with the cancer-riddled Grant's attempts to finish his biography under the tutelage of Samuel Clemens, are heart-wrenching. [1 copy available]
$ 12.49 + shipping.

WARRIOR QUEEN: The Story of Boudica, Celtic Queen (Historical Fiction)
by Alan Gold. Cover art by Steve Stone. Condition: NEW 2005 NAL Trade Paperback, first printing. Remainder. Content: Meticulously researched and imaginatively wrought, this is the sweeping epic of a flame-haired woman who would dare to challenge the vicious might of the Roman Empire - and whose name would echo throughout history. In 43 A.D., Boudica became the queen of a Celtic tribe - and a Roman sympathizer. But after years of loyal service to the Empire, she would find herself brutally betrayed. With the conviction of a hero and the courage of a warrior, she united the Celts against their enemy. The fury of her unleashed vengeance threw the Roman forces into chaos, made her a goddess to her own people - and carried her into the history books as a true heroine of the British people. [1 copy available]
$ 4.55 + shipping.