MIRA brings you three full length novels in one collection! Be swept off your feet with the Lester Family Collection—three fan-favorite Regencies by #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens. This box set includes: THE REASONS FOR MARRIAGE (A Lester Family Novel) By #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens Lenore Lester is perfectly content with her quiet country life, but the notoriously charming Jason, Duke of Eversleigh, is determined to loosen the hold she has on her heart. A LADY OF EXPECTATIONS (A Lester Family Novel) By #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens Jack Lester seeks the perfect bride—one who is attractive and kind but who also loves him in spite of his wealth. But when Sophie Winterton enters his life, believing he must marry into wealth to run his family's estate, how will he convince her that she is the woman he desires? AN UNWILLING CONQUEST (A Lester Family Novel) By #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens Self-proclaimed rake Harry Lester has no intention of being ensnared by the trap of marriage. But when he encounters Mrs. Lucinda Babbacombe, a beautiful, independent widow, he finds himself prisoner in the most passionate of traps. Read the Lester Family Trilogy by Stephanie Laurens: Book One: The Reasons for Marriage Book Two: A Lady of Expectations Book Three: An Unwilling Conquest

Jerome Everard expected to inherit his wayward uncle's estate. Instead, all has gone to a secret daughter. Only by disproving his young cousin's claim can Jerome regain his rightful property. But instead, he finds himself drawn to her lovely governess, Adele Walcott—a woman who holds the key to all of his uncle's secrets. Adele's fortune is gone, along with her marriage prospects. Now she is devoted to securing her charge's happiness. When she meets Jerome, she dares to dream of love again. But after learning his true motives, that love comes to a test. Can she forgive his past and reform his heart…to make it hers forever?

From the author of A Rogue’s Rescue comes another Classic Regency Romance novella celebrating the witty and romantic world first introduced by Jane Austen. With nowhere else to go, penniless Linnet Pelham is forced to take refuge with her sister in London, only to learn that her sister’s betrothal to Lord Cairngrove is the scandal of the ton. Never one to shy away from an unpleasant situation and convinced of the couple’s devotion, Linnet is determined to see them wed, if only she can persuade Cairngrove’s brother, Nic Barton. Nic, a notorious rogue who is all too aware of his dashing good looks, is dead set on preventing his brother’s marriage. Even as he schemes to frighten Linnet’s sister into walking away from the engagement, he sets his sights on seducing the lovely Linnet with whispered promises of lessons in love. But Linnet has a few lessons of her own to teach, and as the two match wits and spar over their siblings’ fate, the undeniable passion growing between them might force them both to learn the meaning of true love. This novella was originally published under the title “Love Lessons.”

Three complete novels set in Regency England follow the love entanglements of the three Lester siblings. In "The Reasons for Marriage", despite having no desire for marriage, Miss Lenore is pursued by a charming duke. In "A Lady of Expectations", Jack is having a difficult time finding a suitable debutante. In "An Unwilling Conquest", Harry's resistance to marriage doesn't stop him from desiring a beautiful widow.

When a bluestocking bent on ruining rogues and a devilish duke set on revenge attempt to derail each other’s plans, passion erupts into a love for the ages. After being left brokenhearted by a duplicitous rake, Lady Anne Adair no longer desires a husband—she wants justice. She’s traded in her foolish dream of happily-ever-after for the much more sensible one of thwarting the blackhearted lords who prey on innocent debutantes. But her first mission proves rather complicated when the dashing Duke of Kilmartin comes to the aid of her target. Simon Sedgewick, the newly titled Duke of Kilmartin, never thought he would return to England, let alone attend a ball full of simpering lords. But when his oldest friend’s reputation is being smeared and Simon discovers that the perpetrator is none other than his enemy’s granddaughter, his long-festering desire for vengeance flares to life. The moment Simon spies Miss Anne Adair across the glittering ballroom, he knows that the ravishing beauty is the perfect instrument for the retribution he thought lost to him. He does not know, however, that Anne has devised a scheme of her own. And soon, these two wary hearts will discover that the best laid plans are no match for love.

"Those at the periphery of society often figure obsessively for those at its center, and never more so than with the rogues of early modern England. Whether as social fact or literary fiction-or both, simultaneously-the marginal rogue became ideologically central and has remained so for historians, cultural critics, and literary critics alike. In this collection, early modern rogues represent the range, diversity, and tensions within early modern scholarship, making this quite simply the best overview of their significance then and now." -Jonathan Dollimore, York University "Rogues and Early Modern English Culture is an up-to-date and suggestive collection on a subject that all scholars of the early modern period have encountered but few have studied in the range and depth represented here." -Lawrence Manley, Yale University "A model of cross-disciplinary exchange, Rogues and Early Modern English Culture foregrounds the figure of the rogue in a nexus of early modern cultural inscriptions that reveals the provocation a seemingly marginal figure offers to authorities and various forms of authoritative understanding, then and now. The new and recent work gathered here is an exciting contribution to early modern studies, for both scholars and students." -Alexandra W. Halasz, Dartmouth College Rogues and Early Modern English Culture is a definitive collection of critical essays on the literary and cultural impact of the early modern rogue. Under various names-rogues, vagrants, molls, doxies, vagabonds, cony-catchers, masterless men, caterpillars of the commonwealth-this group of marginal figures, poor men and women with no clear social place or identity, exploded onto the scene in sixteenth-century English history and culture. Early modern representations of the rogue or moll in pamphlets, plays, poems, ballads, historical records, and the infamous Tudor Poor Laws treated these characters as harbingers of emerging social, economic, and cultural changes. Images of the early modern rogue reflected historical developments but also created cultural icons for mobility, change, and social adaptation. The underclass rogue in many ways inverts the familiar image of the self-fashioned gentleman, traditionally seen as the literary focus and exemplar of the age, but the two characters have more in common than courtiers or humanists would have admitted. Both relied on linguistic prowess and social dexterity to manage their careers, whether exploiting the politics of privilege at court or surviving by their wits on urban streets. Deftly edited by Craig Dionne and Steve Mentz, this anthology features essays from prominent and emerging critics in the field of Renaissance studies and promises to attract considerable attention from a broad range of readers and scholars in literary studies and social history.

Rogue Prosecutors explains the origins, beliefs, playbook, funding, and real-life consequences of the “progressive prosecutor” movement—a group of newly elected prosecutors, their allies, and backers that refuse to prosecute crimes, hold criminals accountable, and seek justice for victims. Told through true crime stories from eight different cities, the authors explore how a radical movement funded and conceived by George Soros—and ostensibly designed to “reverse engineer” the criminal justice system as we know it—has succeeded in replacing law and order prosecutors with pro-criminal, anti-victim zealots. Weaving together extensive interviews with victims, law enforcement officers, lawyers, and judges, Rogue Prosecutors offers a searing portrait of the devastation caused by the policies of these hand-picked activists, how their hands-off approach to prosecution has encouraged lawlessness and eviscerated the relationship with law enforcement, and why minorities have suffered the most in cities with “progressive prosecutors.” In story after story, the authors underscore that justice and public safety require prosecutors to hold all criminals accountable, and that the best choice for district attorney is not necessarily based on partisan politics, but between those who believe in law and order and those who don’t.

This book investigates whether so-called rogue states – assumed antagonists of a Western-liberal world order – could also act as norm entrepreneurs by championing the genesis and evolution of global norms. The author explores this issue by analyzing the arms control policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A comparison with the prototypical norm entrepreneur Sweden and the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – a notorious norm-breaker – reveals interesting insights for norm research: Apparently, norm entrepreneurship manifests itself in different degrees and phases of the norm life cycle. The finding that Iran indeed acts as a norm entrepreneur in some cases also sheds light on those factors that might account for the success or failure of norm advocacy. Lastly, the book offers a new perspective on “rogue states”, by not only regarding them as irrational antagonists of the current world order, but also as legitimate participants in a discourse on what the ruling order should look like. This book will appeal to scholars interested in critical norm research in international relations. “This book offers cutting-edge norm research, highlighting how norm-breakers can function as norm-makers." Maria Rost Rublee, Associate Professor of International Relations, Monash University (Australia) “So-called ‘rogue states’ are typically understood as norm breakers, but Carmen Wunderlich makes a persuasive conceptual case backed by empirical research that we need to consider the extent to which they are in fact norm entrepreneurs in their own right. In an era characterized by much concern over the status of liberal norms, this is a very timely study.” Richard Price, Department of Political Science, The University of British Columbia (Canada) "At a time when the world order is under pressure, this cutting-edge analysis of how dissatisfied states challenge existing global norms illuminates a topic crucial to understanding contemporary international relations." Nina Tannenwald, Director, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University (Rhode Island USA)

This monograph discusses the definition of security sector reform (SSR) and its components. An examination of case studies of SSR in Haiti, Liberia, and Kosovo assess the value of these programs.

Canada has always been known as a good place to live: a tolderant, prosperous, stable country that treats its citizens fairly and protects the weakest in society. Yet during the past seven years, it has started to change into a harder, more mean-spirited place. What is going on? According to political scientist Christian Nadeau, this transformation is being engineered by Stephen Harper and the neo-con ideologues around him. The Conservatives have a clear agenda that they are implementing step by step. It is a well-planned and organized attack on justice and democracy as we have understood them to date. Nadeau looks at how Harper and the Tories are systematically dismantling political, social, and cultural institutions--and with them, traditions and values--that many Canadians hold dear. He analyzes the wide range of actions and decisions that reflect this program: proroguing Parliament, appointing right-leaning judges, promoting a law-and-order agenda, trying to gut the gun registry, preventing the collection of impartial data through the Census, and shutting down social programs. Rogue in Power is a compelling exploration of how Canada is being refashioned in broad daylight.