"'...not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle'- Leo Tolstoy. Striking a balance between philosophical discussion and compelling story-telling, War and Peace transcends the restrictions that Tolstoy perceived in the conventional novel. Set in Russia during the Napoleonic era, this epic novel follows the fortunes of five aristocratic Russian families over the course of the French invasion. Tolstoy's timeless portrayal...

"The classic first novel of the epic Aubrey/Maturin series, widely considered "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times). Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship HMS Sophie. Meanwhile-after a heated first encounter that nearly comes to a duel-Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck physician, Stephen Maturin, strike up an...

Flavian, Viscount Ponsonby, was devastated by his fiancée's desertion after his return home. Now the woman who broke his heart is back--and everyone is eager to revive their engagement. Except Flavian, who, in a panic, runs straight into the arms of a most sensible yet enchanting young woman. Agnes Keeping has never been in love--and never wishes to be. But then she meets the charismatic Flavian, and suddenly Agnes falls so foolishly and so deeply...

The Barnes & Noble Review: Was she a sexual predator, political meddler, wastrel, and traitor? Or was she a scapegoat for a corrupt and bankrupt nation, who went with superb dignity to the guillotine, the victim of a vindictive judicial murder? The tragic life of Marie Antoinette, rich in conflicting detail, remains a biographer's challenge, and Antonia Fraser's richly human yet evenhanded account is a reader's delight. In 1770, Marie Antoinette,...

British ship's captain Will Laurence has created an international incident by snatching a dragon's egg meant as a gift from the Chinese emperor to Napoleon. Facing hanging for his unwitting role, Laurence is now trying to return the hatched dragon to the Far East, unaware that he may be facing even worse troubles if he manages to reach the Chinese court.

Following the dramatic romance of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte intended Shirley to be a 'salutary' change. Set in Yorkshire during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, the novel articulates the social realities of economic hardship, the Luddite riots, dissatisfaction with the government and an inadequate Church. In the foreground of these concerns, a mill-owner, Robert Moore, in pursuit of financial security, ignores the suffering of his workers to such...

An illustrated account chronicles in detail events ranging from Napoleon's escape from Elba through Waterloo's three major battlefield events.

Tragedy has struck His Majesty's Aerial Corps, as an epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the dragons' ranks. Only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected and must stand as the only means of airborne defense against France's ever bolder sorties. As Bonaparte's dragons harrow Britain's ships, Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, take wing to Africa in search of a cure for the deadly contagion.

"Naomi Novik's beloved series returns, with Capt. Will Laurence and his fighting dragon Temeraire once again taking to the air against the broadsides of Napoleon's forces and the friendly--and sometimes not-so-friendly--fire of British soldiers and politicians who continue to suspect them of divided loyalties, if not outright treason. For Laurence and Temeraire, put out to pasture in Australia, it seems their part in the war has come to an end just...

Convicted of treason despite their heroic defense against Napoleon's invasion of England, Temeraire the dragon and his friend and rider, Capt. Will Laurence, are transported to the prison colony in Australia. They carry with them three dragon eggs intended to help establish a covert in the colony.