The year is 1641, and England lurches toward civil war. King Charles I claims Divine Right to rule autocratically, so Parliament vengefully arrests his friend Lord Strafford. While the trial goes on, while Queen Henrietta plots with the court poets to seize the Tower of London, while Princess Mary rebels against wedding the Prince of Orange, while London riots, Lord Heath brings his daughter Oriel to court and directs her to make the Princess amenable to the marriage. Oriel, elfin, judgmental, willful and offensively candid (as her friend and neighbor Evan tells her) declines to obey. ("I don't know if she'll be happy!") She finds Court offensive-as they find her. Having alienated the queen and poets by pointing out that their plots are foolish, and the courtiers (including her promised husband) by scorning their hypocrisy, she makes friends with the commoners in the courtyard below: servants, thieves, artisans and whores, who call themselves Yardbirds. The crises of Strafford's conviction and the royal wedding coincide with the kidnapping of Oriel for reasons of combined politics and vengeance. King, queen and courtiers shrug: the outrageous Oriel is no loss. It's the Yardbirds and Evan who unite to find and rescue her.

Born in Seattle, graduated from Reed College. Twelve books published 1954-71 by top publishers. Brilliant reviews on all: even by London Times! Co-authored Listen and Learn with Phonics. Lived in England 64 to 87, busy with writing, British Mensa, cats, judo (3rd Dan Black Belt) and gardens. Returned to America, living now in Santa Rosa. In 02, Image Cascade republished 7 of my fi rst titles. New titles, Ivory Cat, Missing Queen, Haunted Schoolhouse, The Outrageous Oriel, Loyal and the Dragon, Castle Adamant, Delicate Pioneer, The Wayward Princess, and The Angry Earth. Ailurophile, meaning cat-lover, comes from the Greek ailuros, meaning tail-waver. (Just picture it! The fi rst-ever cat enters Greece, gently waving a friendly tail aloft. Every fi nger points excitedly. Oh, look! Ailuros!) This is the tale of an ailurophile and her collection of cats and friends in England and America, told partly in letters. Shy kindly Fred and the English catteries. Soul-mate Jenny with her pure-bred Siamese Black Paw Gang who cleaned up at cat shows all over Europe. Sallys cats would have died fi rst. She joined a cat rescue group and collected an assortment of her own, called the Cataclysm. Their letters describe champions and moggies, local doings and loco cats, contretemps, calicoes and cat shows, all with style, observation, and wit.

King Tutankhamon is dead. The possibly-divine ivory cat Nefru is still (perhaps) putting a paw into royal Egyptian affairs. Lord Ay wants a royal wife-Tut's widow, actually-to give him the blood-right to the throne. She flees marriage with him and finds long-lost relatives. Princesses Baketamon and Meri have both longed to be Queen of Egypt-but both find sand in that honey. General Horemheb (described as being like 'desert red, rectangles and a lion') has sent Ranofer to find a lady once known as Twitterwit. Four competitive Hunting Parties from Thebes are searching for some long-missing princesses. Chief of Police Mahu knows where they all are, but won't tell. His son Ranofer, who fears he'll never fit his father's sandals-and fears Horemheb even more-doesn't want to know. Besotted and delusional Ahmose knows, but his incoherence just further confuses all four Hunting Parties-who were already at cross-purposes. A garrulous washerman thinks he knows everything. The kitten Katti sometimes gives what might possibly be divine messages from Nefru (or Bastet?). The massive cat Ab-ram, still always getting tripped over in doorways, still innocently certain of his welcome, changes history for all of them.

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James Hill saw the theft of the British Crown Jewels live on CNN during high school French class, and had the uneasy suspicion that his father's secret project in the backyard shed was more than he'd been pretending. Could Dad have invented teleportation? Henry Melton presents a different kind of family adventure -- especially for those who think they can run the world better than the politicians!

In ancient Greece, one of the twelve labours of Heracles was to bring back a golden apple from the Garden of Hesperides. To archaeologist Oriel Anderson, joining a team of Greek divers on the island of Helios seems like the golden apple of her dreams. Yet the dream becomes a nightmare when she meets the devilish owner of the island, Damian Lekkas. In shocked recognition, she is flooded with the memory of a romantic night in a stranger's arms, six summers ago. A very different man stands before her now, and Oriel senses that the sardonic Greek autocrat is hell-bent on playing a cat and mouse game with her. As they cross swords and passions mount, Oriel is aware that malevolent eyes watch her from the shadows. Dark rumours are whispered about the Lekkas family. What dangers lie in Helios, a bewitching land where ancient rituals are still enacted to appease the gods, young men risk their lives in the treacherous depths of the Ionian Sea, and the volatile earth can erupt at any moment? Will Oriel find the hidden treasures she seeks? Or will Damian's tragic past catch up with them, threatening to engulf them both?

A desperate alliance. A struggle for survival. And a marriage of convenience with an epic twist of fate come together in Jeffe Kennedy's The Fiery Crown. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, the lush romantic fantasy world of the Forgotten Empires series will sweep you away. WILL THEIR LOVE STAND THE TEST OF TIME Queen Euthalia has reigned over her island kingdom of Calanthe with determination, grace, and her magical, undying orchid ring. After she defied an empire to wed Conrí, the former Crown Prince of Oriel—a man of disgraced origins with vengeance in his heart—Lia expected the wizard’s prophecy to come true: Claim the hand that wears the ring and the empire falls. But Lia’s dangerous bid to save her realm doesn’t lead to immediate victory. Instead, destiny hurls her and Conrí towards a future neither could predict... OR TEAR THEIR WHOLE WORLD APART? Con has never healed after the death of his family and destruction of his kingdom—he’s been carefully plotting his revenge against his greatest enemy, Emperor Anure, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. When Lia’s spies gather intelligence suggesting that Anure is planning an attack against Calanthe, Con faces an agonizing choice: Can he sacrifice Lia and all she holds dear to destroy the empire? Or does his true loyalty exist in the arms of his beguiling, passionate wife—’til death do they part? The Forgotten Empire series is: “Captivating...engrossing.” —Romance Reviews Today “Sensual fantasy romance you won’t want to miss!”—Amanda Bouchet, USA Today bestselling author of The Kingmaker Chronicles “Action-packed...sexy...highly recommend.”—Harlequin Junkie (Top Pick)

Contains the 4th session of the 28th Parliament through the 1st session of the 48th Parliament.