Peggy McCracken offers a feminist historicist reading of Guenevere, Iseut, and other adulterous queens of Old French literature, and situates romance narratives about queens and their lovers within the broader cultural debate about the institution of queenship in twelfth- and thirteenth-century France. Moving among a wide selection of narratives that recount the stories of queens and their lovers, McCracken explores the ways adultery is appropriated into the political structure of romance. McCracken examines the symbolic meanings and uses of the queen's body in both romance and the historical institutions of monarchy and points toward the ways medieval romance contributed to the evolving definition of royal sovereignty as exclusively male.

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the extraordinary author of the international bestselling sensation The Alchemist comes a provocative novel that explores the question of what it means to live life fully and happily. "A compelling tale of existential angst, marital betrayal and sexual sin.” —The Chicago Tribune I want to change. I need to change. I'm gradually losing touch with myself. Adultery, the novel by Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes, searches for the balance between life's routine and the desire for something new. “Propulsive.... A compelling tale of existential angst, marital betrayal and sexual sin.” —The Chicago Tribune

Sherry Thomas is one of the hottest new voices in historical romance, garnering the highest praise from today’s bestselling writers (“Entrancing.” —Mary Balogh; “Ravishingly sinful, intelligent and addictive.” —Eloisa James). Now Sherry delivers this powerful story of a remarkable woman and the love she thought she’d never find—with the man she thought she’d lost forever.… Their marriage lasted only slightly longer than the honeymoon—to no one’s surprise, not even Bryony Asquith’s. A man as talented, handsome, and sought after by society as Leo Marsden couldn't possibly want to spend his entire life with a woman who rebelled against propriety by becoming a doctor. Why, then, three years after their annulment and half a world away, does he track her down at her clinic in the remotest corner of India? Leo has no reason to think Bryony could ever forgive him for the way he treated her, but he won’t rest until he’s delivered an urgent message from her sister—and fulfilled his duty by escorting her safely back to England. But as they risk their lives for each other on the journey home, will the biggest danger be the treacherous war around them—or their rekindling passion?

Freddie Sullivan, having failed to persuade his cousin Julia to marry him, goes to Bath in desperate search of a rich wife so that he can pay off his debts. Clara Danforth, plain and wheelchair-bound, seems the ideal choice, and Freddie sets about wooing her with his good looks, flattery, and considerable charm. Clara is not deceived for a moment, but she encourages him anyway as for once she wants to possess something beautiful in her life. The path to love between these two after they marry is a rocky one. Freddie struggles to overcome his gambling addiction and his shame over the deception he perpetrated against Clara, and she struggles to overcome her physical handicaps and low self-esteem. Can Freddie ever be forgiven? Can he ever forgive himself? Can Clara ever trust his fragile love?

Sadie Hunt isn't perfect-but her husband is. Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just...stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be. Lonely in her marriage. When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves in to the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. Their secrets should keep them apart, not ignite a blistering affair. But while Sadie's marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter. Her husband doesn't want her anymore. The man next door would give up everything to have her. "Slip of the Tongue is a standalone forbidden romance. Please note it contains adultery themes that may be triggers for some people."

Intimate Photos Of Hotwife Sparks Controversy! In was always going to happen. When their only child had left home for college, Peter and Annette knew the time was ripe to spice up the bedroom life. And a holiday in Washington with Annette dropping her towel, and standing stark naked in front of the pizza guy was the perfect way to start their new life. The naughty escapade piqued their kinky side and it wasn't long before Peter wanted to explore his fantasies further. The couple begin to post very intimate pictures of a masked stunning housewife online, taking extra measures to protect their identities. But when the explicit images begin garnering unexpected attention in the local community and with their friends. ……. …...a stunned husband and blushing wife soon find their real identities exposed. The couple soon find the heat in the bedroom reaching levels they had never imagined with the introduction of a third party! A scorching hot 29,000 word romance featuring wife-sharing, a couple sharing intimate images of a hotwife online and a couple exploring the ultimate threeway and more. Sign up to Karly’s mailing list to download the free Epilogues to The Hotwife Adventure and Hotwife Training!

~Mischa~ I made a conscious decision to cheat on my husband. Now, before you judge me, hear my story. Hear how much I'm like you, how similar my thoughts are to your own. Yes, I'm a horrible person. Yes, I've done horrible things. Yes, I don't deserve forgiveness. Yes, bad things happened because of my actions. But I'm willing to bet I've done things that maybe, just maybe, you have thought of doing. Maybe, just maybe, you're not as innocent as you'd like to think. Or maybe I'm not so guilty ... Full Length Standalone Novel, 85,000+ words

Geoffrey, the new Viscount Astor, needs a wife. Since he sets no great store by love and romance, he decides it would be eminently sensible to offer marriage to one of the three daughters of his predecessor. He has never met any of them and has no preference. He leaves the choice to them and their mother. Arabella, the middle daughter, volunteers to make the sacrifice and marry the earl since her older, far more lovely, sister is already in love with someone else. She prays that he will be an older man of few attractions, for she sees herself as plain and uninteresting. She is dismayed to discover that Geoffrey is, in fact, young, handsome, and fashionable. She vows to be a dutiful, obedient wife and to devote her life to making him comfortable. Arabella's plan seems to be working nicely for both Geoffrey and herself—until, that is, she discovers something about him that shocks her to the core. It is an offense she considers quite unforgivable. And when Arabella makes up her mind about something, she is not easily persuaded to change it. Geoffrey is finally shaken out of his complacency to the discovery that his wife means far more to him than he had realized. But how is he to win her back when she flatly refuses to be wheedled out of her outrage?

Everyone in society knows that the marriage of Lord and Lady Hammond is an unhappy one. Everyone knows they have barely spoken to one another in over nine years. But what no-one in society knows are the reasons why ... Lady Viola Courtland was a romantic and impulsive young girl when she fell instantly in love with the handsome and dashing Viscount Hammond. Unbeknownst to Viola, John Hammond had already given his heart to the only woman he would ever love—his cousin's wife—but he was in dire financial straits and desperately needed to marry a wealthy heiress. In Viola, he thought he had found the perfect woman—beautiful and rich with a sweet nature. But Viola was neither practical nor sensible when it came to marriage, for she fully expected her husband to love her and was determined to settle for nothing less. Soon, however, John's secret was unwittingly revealed, but by then they were married and it was too late. Until one day, John finally came to his senses and prayed it wasn't too late to win back the love of his very own wife.

With her gift for “surprising emotional honesty…[and] an impressive ability to get inside the heads of [her characters],”* Tess Stimson grips readers with this internationally bestselling novel of six lovers, two marriages, one affair—and what happens when a lifetime of secrets begins to unravel. Ella Stuart is a pediatrician with a fulfilling career and a marriage any woman would envy. William Ashfield is a devoted husband, a good father, and a successful businessman. Beth Ashfield married the love of her life and loves him still, but the light inside her is going out and she has one last chance to rekindle it. And Cate, Beth and William’s brilliant but troubled teenage daughter, is trying to negotiate the rough waters between adolescence and womanhood. But when tragedy strikes, the repercussions spiral through all of their lives—and in an instant, nothing will ever be the same. Now Ella, William, Beth, and Cate will discover that trying to have it all might be keeping them from the very thing they each want most…. With sharp wit and moving honesty, Tess Stimson has written a brazenly unsentimental yet deeply felt novel of hearts gone astray that somehow keep the faith—even when everyone seems to be cheating. *Publishers Weekly