Adult - Royal Reads (Fiction and Non-Fiction)

CIA operative John Wells goes undercover in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to find conspirators bent on tearing down the monarchy of King Abdullah. If the conspirators prevail, it will mean more than just the fall of a monarch--it may be the start of a final conflagration between America and the full force of Islam itself.

A novel based on long-standing rumors that Elizabeth I had given birth to an illegitimate child follows young Elinor de Lacy--the purported daughter of Elizabeth and her married guardian, Thomas Seymour--who is sent to become a lady-in-waiting to the queen.

In A.D. 77, Marcus Didius Falco, agent to the Emperor Vespasian, investigates the mysterious death of the head librarian of the world-famous library of Alexandria, bringing him into immediate conflict with the darker side of academic life.

A tale inspired by the life of Jane Seymour follows her dedicated service as a Maid of Honor to Catherine of Aragon until a scheming Anne Boleyn throws the court into turmoil, a situation that culminates in Jane's dangerous relationship with Henry VIII.

Married to a man twice her age, quickly widowed, and a mother at only fourteen, Margaret Beaufort is determined to turn her lonely life into a triumph. She sets her heart on putting her son on the throne of England regardless of the cost to herself, England, and even her son. Disregarding rival heirs and the overwhelming power of the York dynasty, she names him Henry, like the king; sends him into exile; and pledges him in marriage to her enemy Elizabeth...

An eccentric young woman's love for a wild white stallion tempts her into using an ancient magic that overshadows her subsequent life and leads to her affair with the charismatic Louis XIV.

Desperate to resurrect Antony after his suicide, Cleopatra strikes a bargain with Sekhmet, goddess of death and destruction. Cleopatra is transformed into a vampire, an immortal shapeshifter of superhuman strength--and yearning for revenge as much as she craves human blood.

"In The Aeneid, Virgil's hero fights to claim the king's daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word in the poem. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes the reader to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills."--From amazon.com.