Chaucer's work begins at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, England, where a group of pilgrims have assembled on their way to Canterbury. Harry Bailly, the innkeeper, suggests a contest: whoever tells the best tale will win a supper when they reach Canterbury.

"A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior. What makes for the ideal woman? How should she look, love, and be? In this vibrant, high-spirited history, medievalist Eleanor Janega turns to the Middle Ages, the era that bridged the ancient world and modern society, to unfurl its suppositions about women and reveal what's shifted over time-and what hasn't. Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost...

Written in the middle of the 14th century as the Bubonic Plague decimated the population of Europe, "The Decameron" is a satirical and allegorical collection of stories by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio. Constructed as a series of "frame stories," or stories within a story, the narrative follows seven young women and three young men who take refuge in a secluded villa outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death. During ten evenings of their...

It's been a difficult year in Lissi Johansen's sixteenth-century Danish village. As Christmas approaches, she longs for holidays past when her parents visited their neighbors, distributing cookies and good wishes to all. She hopes to bake a single batch of her mama's Snowdrop Cookies and tuck a gift of magic wishes inside. But she will need help to make the miracle come true. Miller Ole Andersen is barely hanging on after the loss of his wife and

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A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Pick for Spring 2015

He'd defend her keep...

After proving himself on the field of battle, Ramon de Segrave is appointed to the Council of Barons by Richard the Lionheart. But instead of taking his most formidable warrior on his latest Crusade, the king assigns Ramon an even more dangerous task—woo and win the Lady of Thistle Keep.

If only she'd yield her heart

Isabel

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One of NPR's 50 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Decade: A fifteenth-century palace mapmaker must hide his powers in the time of the Inquisition . . .
Award-winning author G. Willow Wilson's debut novel Alif the Unseen was an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year and established her as a vital American Muslim literary voice. Now she delivers The Bird King, an epic journey set during the reign...

Award-winning author Michele Sinclair returns to the world of the medieval Scottish Highlands, the land of her fan-favorite McTiernay Clan filled with fierce warriors and vibrant women. In this intriguing tale, a battle-hardened soldier is bound to the McTiernay brothers by a loyalty as strong as blood. But no woman in all of Scotland has been able to lay claim to his heart . . .

UNBRIDLED PASSION
A commander in the McTiernay...

"Readers fascinated with the Romanovs and this tumultuous period in Russian history will be enthralled by this deliciously dark and memorable novel." -Publishers Weekly Inspired by real characters, this transporting historical fiction debut spins the fascinating story of two princesses in the Romanov court who practiced black magic, befriended the Tsarina, and invited Rasputin into their lives-forever changing the course of Russian history. As daughters...

Scottish Highlander Bram MacKinloch spent seven years in captivity, dreaming of revenge against his enemies and holding his beloved wife in his arms again. Nairna is stunned when she sees Bram again, for her husband is no longer the boy she fell in love with-instead, he's a powerful man with a hunger that kindles her wildest desires. She tries to comfort him from the brutal nightmares of his past, but more than all else, she fears what will happen...

The author of Seducing the Highlander introduces an "eminently swoonable hero . . . to keep [her] audience dreaming of kilts for weeks" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Not a McTiernay by blood, but a brother nonetheless, Hamish will choose honor over all, until his world is shaken by one impetuous kiss . . .

A Lasting Passion
Elite McTiernay guardsman Hamish MacBrieve is looking for a...