Royal Books

Published in February 2010

Britain

Edward IV and the Wars of the Roses by David Santiuste. The most effective general of the Wars of the Roses, King Edward IV died in his bed, undefeated in battle. This book examines his military role and the war in which he played a vital part.

The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales edited by John Kenyon and Diane Williams. Papers from a 2007 conference on castles built in north Wales in the 13th century by King Edward I. Topics include royal accommodation, how households worked, and the castles' impact on Welsh princes.

Publishing, Politics, and Culture: The King's Printers in the Reign of James I and VI by Graham Rees and Maria Wakely. The King's Printing House monopolized the right to print the Bible and other works promoted by the king, leading to bitter rivalry among booksellers for the office of King's Printer.

The Wars of Edward III: Sources and Interpretations by Clifford J. Rogers. When Edward III came to the throne in 1327, England's military reputation had reached a low ebb. His first campaign was a complete failure, but 22 years later he was considered the most skilful warrior in the world. This book tells the story of his battles. (New paperback edition.)

Tudors

The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty by G. J. Meyer. Weaves together all the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes of the Tudor family.

Tudor Court Culture edited by Thomas Betteridge and Anna Riehl. Essays examine courtliness as a state of mind, a way of behaving, a language, and a symbol.

Henry VIII: The Tudor Tyrant by Richard Rex. Biography of the talented, athletic and temperamental king who changed the course of English history.

Anne of Cleves: Henry VIII's Discarded Bride by Elizabeth Norton. Biography. Henry VIII's fourth wife is often portrayed as stupid and comical. The real Anne was both intelligent and practical, which helped her to survive.

Catherine Parr by Elizabeth Norton. Biography of Henry VIII's sixth wife. Her life was one of duty, but she attempted to escape her destiny and find happiness for herself.

Europe

The Ides: Caesar's Murder and the War for Rome by Stephen Dando-Collins. Did Caesar bring death on himself by planning to make himself king of Rome? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? This book recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the vicious struggle for power between Antony and Octavian afterward, showing how the customs of the day affected the assassination -- and how the murder was almost avoided at the last moment.

Sophia, Electress of Hanover: The Remarkable Life of the Mother of George I by Josephine Duggan. Biography. Grand-daughter of Britain's James I, Sophia was a gifted writer. Josephine Duggan has translated her memoir and thousands of letters.

Asia

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford. How the daughters of Genghis Khan rescued his empire.

Beijing's Imperial Palace: The Illustrated Guide to the Architecture, History, and Splendor of the Forbidden City by Yang Zhigang. Designed to serve as an illustrated tour guide of the Imperial Palace.

Other

The Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art by Mehmet Ali Atac. Examines the meaning of the relief slabs that decorated the palaces of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Horemheb: The Forgotten Pharaoh by Charlotte Booth. Ruling Egypt after Tutankhamun, Horemheb returned the nation to wealth and power.

The Two Eyes of the Earth: Art and Ritual of Kingship Between Rome and Sasanian Iran by Matthew P. Canepa. Roman and Persian sovereigns shared an ideal of sacred kingship that fostered cross-cultural exchange despite their rivalry.

Fiction

The Ides of March by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It is March, 44 BC. Gaius Julius Caesar is exhausted and ill, and there are those who conspire against him. It seems nothing can save him, not even his loyal friend Publius Sextius, who is racing toward Rome to prevent his assassination; or his devoted wife, Calphurnia; or his lover Servilla.

Published in January 2010

Britain

The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir. Anne Boleyn's ascent from private gentlewoman to wife of King Henry VIII was astonishing, as was her swift downfall. This book examines in detail the motives and intrigues of those who helped to seal the queen's fate.

The Reign of Mary Tudor by J. A. Froude, introduction by Eamon Duffy. Victorian writer Froude was highly critical of Mary I, whose reign he viewed as something of a disaster. Eamon Duffy takes a different and controversial view, which he shares in the book's introduction.

Europe

Notorious Royal Marriages: A Juicy Journey Through Nine Centuries of Dynasty, Destiny, and Desire by Leslie Carroll. A "funny, raucous, and delightfully dirty" 900-year history of European royal marriages.

Peter the Great by Derek Wilson. Russian tsar Peter the Great (1672-1725) grew up amid violent court rivalries. He gained power at the age of 17 by ousting his half-sister Sophia. Peter was, of necessity, ruthless and tyrannical, but he modernized Russia and created a new Europe.

Ritual, Ceremony and the Changing Monarchy in France, 1350-1789 by Lawrence M. Bryant. Collection of articles exploring images of the French monarchy in ceremonies created by townspeople and officials.

Responses to Oliver Stone's Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies edited by Paul Cartledge and Fiona Rose Greenland. Scholars in Macedonian and Greek history, Persian culture, film studies, classical literature, and archaeology consider whether a film can be both entertaining and historically sound. Includes an afterword by Oliver Stone.

Other

A.D. 381: Heretics, Pagans, and the Dawn of the Monotheistic State by Robert Easton. In 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, decreed that all his subjects must believe in the Trinity, ending the diversity of beliefs in the empire and creating theological problems which remain unsolved.

Ctesias' History of Persia: Tales of the Orient by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and James Robson. Toward the end of the fifth century BC, Ctesias of Cnidus wrote his 23-book History of Persia. Ctesias lived and worked in the Persian court as a royal doctor, giving him access to gossip and scandal. His book is presented here in English translation for the first time with commentaries.

Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia by Steffen Hertog. How the elite rivalries and whims of the mid-20th century have shaped the modern Saudi state and fragmented it into uncoordinated fiefdoms.

The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos: Two Funerary Enclosures From the Reign of Aha by Laurel Bestock. This study documents the excavation of two temples and sets them within the framework of the rise of Egyptian kingship, examining royal mortuary practice around 3000 B.C.

Fiction

Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens by Kate Emerson. Pretty, flirtatious, and ambitious, Nan Bassett may be the only one who can reassure a suspicious King Henry VIII of her family's loyalty. But Nan is guarding a secret that could put her life in jeopardy.

The Queen's Governess by Karen Harper. Katherine Ashley, the daughter of a poor country squire, befriends Anne Boleyn and becomes governess to the future Queen Elizabeth I.

The Burning Land: A Novel by Bernard Cornwell. Fifth novel in Cornwell's series "The Saxon Tales" about the reign of King Alfred the Great. The first four books are The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, The Lords of the North, and Sword Song.

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat. London, 1838. Queen Victoria is crowned and receives an arsenal of bloodstained weaponry. But her thoughts are occupied by Prince Albert. Can she dedicate herself hunting demons when her heart belongs elsewhere?

The Boleyn Wife by Brandy Purdy. Novel about Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and the woman who helped destroy them both, Lady Rochford. (Originally published under the title "Veneagence Is Mine.")

Children's Books

Dictators and Tyrants: Stories of Ruthless Rulers by Michael Burgan, illustrated by Daniel Perez. Nonfiction for children ages 9 to 12.

The Emperor's Army: A Mathematical Adventure by Virginia Walton Pilegard, illustrated by Adrian Tans. Fiction. In ancient China, a scholar and his son learn about the terra-cotta army the emperor has made to guard his grave. For children ages 4 to 8.