The Doublet Affair

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 074348908X
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Doublet Affair written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-11-07 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ursula knows it can be treacherous easing herself into the petty foibles at court, but now, having once saved the Virgin Queen from political disaster, she faces an even greater challenge. Some of Ursula's old acquaintances may be plotting to overthrow Elizabeth in favor of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the re-establishment of the Catholic faith. Ardent, some would say fanatical, believers will stop at nothing--smuggling, counterfeiting, civil war, perhaps murder--to further their cause. One of Elizabeth's spies is already dead and the clues to his death point in a troubling direction. Most disturbing to Ursula is whether her old friends Ann and Leonard Mason could be mixed up in a treasonous plot against the Queen--there have been rumors that all is not as it should be with the Masons. Secretary of state Sir William Cecil needs his own spy in the Mason home and Ursula is the obvious choice.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439139474
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Doublet Affair written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ursula Blanchard is "audacious, intensely loyal, and beguiling," said Publishers Weekly of Fiona Buckley's historical sleuth in her mystery series debut. Now, the young, widowed lady-in-waiting is back, once again defending her mistress, Queen Elizabeth I -- this time from a plot to overthrow the Queen and usurp her throne, a task that will test Ursula's sharp wits and investigative skills to the limits. Torn between her duties and her personal life, Ursula has asked permission from the Queen to leave the court for a time. But Queen Elizabeth will only grant that request if Ursula will first assist Sir William Cecil in his investigation of a troubling plot against Elizabeth -- one that could place her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne of England. Ursula's role will test her sharp eyes and cunning wiles. Already, one of Cecil's most trusted spies is dead. As Ursula follows directions and joins the household of her old friends Ann and Leonard Mason -- now under suspicion of involvement in this Catholic plot -- Ursula knows her own life may depend on her abilities to discover the truth in a dangerous web of deceit.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0671015311
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.12/5 ( download)

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Download or read book To Shield the Queen written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1998-10 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ursula Blanchard, a widowed young mother and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, finds herself at the center of a plot that could disgrace and threaten the life of Her Majesty. Reprint.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439139148
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Siren Queen written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year is 1569. Ursula Blanchard, illegitimate half sister to Queen Elizabeth I and sometime spy on the Queen's behalf, is happily married to wealthy Hugh Stannard and living quietly in the country. Ursula's thoughts are on domestic matters as she watches her daughter, Meg, grow up. Meg will soon be fourteen, so perhaps it is time to think of a betrothal. When an invitation to visit arrives from the powerful Duke of Norfolk, Ursula and Hugh welcome the chance for Meg to meet an apparently worthy young man of the Duke's household, Edmund Dean. Is he a possible husband for Meg? It's love at first sight, at least on Meg's part. Young Dean seems to admire Meg as well, and he's even more impressed with her promised dowry. Ursula, though, has her doubts. Does she see something cruel in the man's eyes? Soon, more weighty matters demand Ursula's attention. Two men are dead under mysterious circumstances, and there may be a new plot to put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne. A letter written in cipher may contain the information Ursula needs -- but can she decode the letter in time to save the half sister and Queen she loves? And what shattering personal discovery will the letter reveal? Surrounded by treachery, Ursula wonders whom she can trust. Is the great Duke of Norfolk himself part of the plot against Queen Elizabeth? And what about the young man who would marry Meg? With richly drawn characters and riveting historical accuracy, The Siren Queen sweeps us into a suspenseful and passionate re-creation of one of the most tumultuous and colorful eras of English history.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0743489098
Total Pages : 355 pages
Book Rating : 4.96/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Queen's Ransom written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-05-06 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ursula Blanchard, lady-in-waiting to the new Queen Elizabeth I, is sent by her liege to France with a letter for the Queen Mother that could prevent war between rival Protestant and Catholic factions.

Author : Arturo Perez-Reverte
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 0297855840
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Man In The Yellow Doublet written by Arturo Perez-Reverte and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2009-03-12 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Captain Alatriste returns in a swashbuckling tale of intrigue, romance and regicide. Captain Alatriste's affair with the beautiful actress Maria de Castro is rankling not only his long-term mistress but also the King of Spain. With loyal companion Inigo distracted by the affections of Angelica, Alatriste becomes embroiled in a series of tussles outside his lover's house. Ambushed by arch-nemesis Malatesta, a skirmish ensues that leads to the death of Maria's other lover - the monarch himself. But behind this tale of sexual jealousy lurks a darker truth. As it becomes clear that both Alatriste and Inigo have been cunningly honey trapped - and that the dead man was an impostor. With a puppet king waiting dutifully in the wings, Alatriste must use all his cunning and swordsmanly guile to prevent the murder of the real king - and his implication in a crime for which he has been perfectly framed.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451604092
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Queen of Ambition written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of To Ruin a Queen comes a “riveting social history in an exciting mystery setting” (Booklist, starred review) featuring Ursula Blanchard, lady-in-waiting and secret agent to Queen Elizabeth. Ursula Blanchard, loyal lady of the Queen's Presence Chamber and gifted sleuth, is at home amid the glittering complexities of the royal court. Now, Ursula has a new part to play in the service of her Queen—a role that exposes her to hidden dangers in the famed university town of Cambridge. Assigned as a harbinger for the Queen's upcoming Summer Progress to Cambridge, Ursula is placed in charge of not only Her Majesty's comfort, but also her safety. For Ursula, that means undertaking employment in a pie shop to investigate rumored political perils behind a swashbuckling student play conceived at the University to entertain the Queen. Even in such a bastion of Protestant power and scholarly pursuits as Cambridge, protecting the Queen is not purely academic. When a handsome young student's all-too-conveniently timed death rouses her suspicions, Ursula applies her superior powers of observation to untangling a mystifying jumble of oddities, coincidences, secrets, and ciphers that surround her...and discovers ominous signs of treason.

Author : Jasper Fforde
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101158514
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Eyre Affair written by Jasper Fforde and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-02-25 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Thursday Next, literary detective without equal, fear or boyfriend Jasper Fforde’s beloved New York Times bestselling novel introduces literary detective Thursday Next and her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England—from the author of The Constant Rabbit Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

Author : Fiona Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0684862689
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book To Ruin a Queen written by Fiona Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2000 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Elizabethan "secret agent" Ursula Blanchard is re-united with her husband, she learns that her daughter has disappeared and investigates, uncovering a sinister plot to dethrone her queen in the process. 17,500 first printing.

Author : John C. Avise
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674020359
Total Pages : 289 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Genetic Gods written by John C. Avise and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They mastermind our lives, shaping our features, our health, and our behavior, even in the sacrosanct realms of love and sex, religion, aging, and death. Yet we are the ones who house, perpetuate, and give the promise of immortality to these biological agents, our genetic gods. The link between genes and gods is hardly arbitrary, as the distinguished evolutionary geneticist John Avise reveals in this compelling book. In clear, straightforward terms, Avise reviews recent discoveries in molecular biology, evolutionary genetics, and human genetic engineering, and discusses the relevance of these findings to issues of ultimate concern traditionally reserved for mythology, theology, and religious faith. The book explains how the genetic gods figure in our development--not just our metabolism and physiology, but even our emotional disposition, personality, ethical leanings, and, indeed, religiosity. Yet genes are physical rather than metaphysical entities. Having arisen via an amoral evolutionary process--natural selection--genes have no consciousness, no sentient code of conduct, no reflective concern about the consequences of their actions. It is Avise's contention that current genetic knowledge can inform our attempts to answer typically religious questions--about origins, fate, and meaning. The Genetic Gods challenges us to make the necessary connection between what we know, what we believe, and what we embody. Table of Contents: Preface Prologue 1. The Doctrines of Biological Science 2. Geneses 3. Genetic Maladies 4. Genetic Beneficence 5. Strategies of the Genes 6. Genetic Sovereignty 7. New Lords of Our Genes? 8. Meaning Epilogue Notes Glossary Index Reviews of this book: Our genes, [Avise] says, are responsible not only for how we got here and exist day to day, but also for the core of our being--our personalities and morals. It is our genetic make-up that allows for and formulates our religious belief systems, he argues. Avise does not eschew spirituality but seeks a more informed, less confrontational approach between science and the pulpit. --Science News Reviews of this book: For the general scientific reader, the book is an excellent distillation of a broad and increasingly important field, a course of causation that cannot be ignored. From advising expectant parents to getting innocent people off death row, genetics increasingly dominates our lives. The sections on genetics are expertly written, particularly for those readers without in-depth knowledge. The author explains slowly and carefully just how genetics operates, using multiple metaphors. His genetic discourse proceeds in a neighborly fashion, as one might tell stories while sitting in a rocking chair at a country store. He seems to be invigorated by genes and just can't wait to tell about them. --David W. Hodo, Journal of the American Medical Association Reviews of this book: As a whole, this book is quite informative and stimulating, and sections of it are beautifully written. Indeed, Professor Avise has a real gift for prose and scientific expositions, and I would suspect that he must be a formidable lecturer...At its core, [The Genetic Gods] is a survey, and a very nice one at that, of evolutionary genetics, the field of the author's major research interests. There is a strong sociobiological cast to the arguments, and the work and ideas of E. O. Wilson figure prominently. The presentation of evolutionary genetics is imbedded in a more general discussion of modern human and molecular genetics...However, this book is, most of all, a philosophical treatise that attempts, admittedly with the bias of a biologist, to examine the intersection of the fundamental premises of evolution and religion. Professor Avise has given us plenty to think about in this book [and]...it was a real pleasure to wrestle with the ideas he was presenting. I would suggest that other readers give it a try. --Charles J. Epstein, Trends in Genetics Reviews of this book: [Avise's] account of the role genes play in shaping the human condition is wholly involving, paying particular attention to issues of reproduction, aging and death. In addition to presenting ample biological information in a form accessible to the nonspecialist, Avise does a superb job of discussing many of the ethical implications that have arisen from our growing knowledge of human genetics. Just a few of the topics covered are genetic engineering, the patenting of life, genetic screening, abortion, human cloning, gene therapy and insurance-related controversies. --Publishers Weekly Reviews of this book: Avise explains thoroughly how evolution operates on a genetic level. His goal is to show that humans can look to this information as a way to answer fundamental questions of life instead of looking to traditional religious beliefs...Avise includes some very interesting discussions of ethical concerns related to genetic issues. --Eric D. Albright, Library Journal This is a splendid account of a subject that affects us all: the breathtaking increase in understanding of human genetics and the insight it provides into human evolution. John Avise speaks with authority of molecular evolutionary genetics and with affecting compassion of what it might mean. --Douglas J. Futuyma, State University of New York at Stony Brook The Genetic Gods is many things. It is a wonderful introduction to modern molecular biology, by a man who knows his subject backwards. It is a stimulating account of the ways in which genetics impinges on human nature--our thinking and our behavior. It is a remarkably level-headed and sympathetic account of the implications of our new findings for traditional and not-so-traditional issues in philosophy and religion. In an age of genetic counseling, cloning, construction of new life forms, the book is worth its weight in gold for this alone. But most of all, it is a huge amount of fun to read--you want to applaud or argue with the author on nigh every page. Highly recommended! --Michael Ruse, University of Guelph The Genetic Gods makes a valuable contribution to the on-going task of sorting out the implications of evolutionary biology and genetics for human self-understanding. Avise addresses, with authority and grace, the most consequential intellectual issues of our time. A challenging and insightful book. --Loyal Rue, Harvard University A wonderfully informative and engaging book. Avise offers a lucid, accessible primer on our genes, angelic and demonic, and examines religious and ethical issues, all too human, now confronted by genetic science. He makes a compelling case that anyone seeking to 'Know Thyself' should study the DNA molecular scriptures, our most ancient and universal legacy. --Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry