Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

The Road to Compiegne (French Revolution Series)

The Road to Compiegne (French Revolution Series)

by Jean Plaidy

The story, told in alternating time narratives, begins in 1831 when Sally is aproximately sixty years old and is visited by a census taker called Nathan Langdon. With encouragement, Sally recounts her past to him. A past that begins when she passes into the ownership of her half-sister Martha Wyles who marries Thomas Jefferson. After Martha dies, Jefferson goes to Paris where he is joined by his two daughters.... (more)

The Greatest Knight

by Elizabeth Chadwick

Based on fact, this is the story of William Marshal, the greatest knight of the Middle Ages. Unsurpassed in the tourneys, he adeptly manoeuvres his way through the colourful, dangerous world of Angevin politics to become one of the most powerful magnates of the realm and eventually regent of England. From minor beginnings and a narrow escape from death in childhood, William Marshal steadily rises through... (more)

Buddha: a Beginner's Guide

by Deepak Chopra

Bestselling author Deepak Chopra brings the Buddha back to life in this gripping novel of the young prince who abandoned his inheritance to discover his true calling. This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today. A young man in line for the throne is trapped in his father's kingdom and yearns for the outside world. Betrayed by... (more)

Flaunting, Extravagant Queen (French Revolution Series)

Flaunting, Extravagant Queen (French Revolution Series)

by Jean Plaidy

The Starry Messenger (Pitt Poetry Series)

The Starry Messenger (Pitt Poetry Series)

by George Keithley

The poems in The Starry Messenger explore the many facets of Galileo Galilei's life and times-his troubled childhood, his appetites and love affairs, his early scientific discoveries, his famed exploration of the heavens, his house arrest, his blindness. Emphasizing Galileo's independent nature and his affection for his mistress and daughter, George Keithley provides one of the most personal portraits of the... (more)

Brief Gaudy Hour

by Margaret Campbell Barnes

The enigmatic Anne Boleyn comes to life in this charming, brilliant portrayal by acclaimed British novelist Margaret Campbell Barnes. The infamous love of King Henry VIII and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn undertook a rocky journey from innocent courtier to powerful Queen of England. A meticulous researcher, Margaret Campbell Barnes immerses readers in this intrigue and in the lush, glittery world... (more)

BRITAIN'S ROYAL FAMILIES: THE COMPLETE GENEALOGY.

BRITAIN'S ROYAL FAMILIES: THE COMPLETE GENEALOGY.

by Alison Weir

A unique book on Britain’s royal families by this well established popular historian. Britain’s Royal Families is a unique reference book providing, for the first time in one volume, complete genealogical details of all members of the royal houses of England, Scotland and Great Britain from 800AD to the present. Drawing on countless authorities, both ancient and modern, Alison Weir explores the royal family tree... (more)

Lascivious Bodies

by Julie Peakman

From Florentine lesbian nuns to French cattle buggers Lascivious Bodies examines all sorts of sex, in all sorts of places, with all sorts of people. Drawing upon vivid firsthand material and private letters, Julie Peakman explores heterosexual behaviour, male and female homosexuality and more curious or abnormal activities, such as foot-fetishism, flagellation, necrophilia and cross-dressing. Lascivious Bodies is... (more)

Saints: A Visual Guide

by Edward Mornin

If you have ever looked at a religious painting, a statue or a stained glass window, and wondered who that person is, then this book is for you. Taking 130 of the most popular and widely represented saints (from the archangels and the Apostles to Saint Bernadette and Padre Pio), the authors provide brief accounts of each saint's achievements (real or legendary) and details of their conventional attributes -... (more)

Louis the Well Beloved

by Jean Plaidy

Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped

Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped

by Tony Perrottet

When Tony Perrottet heard that Napoleon's "baguette" had been stolen by his disgruntled doctor a few days after the Emperor's death, he rushed out to New Jersey. Why? Because that's where an eccentric American collector who had purchased Napoleon's member at a Parisian auction now kept the actual relic in an old suitcase under his bed. The story of Napoleon's privates triggered Perrottet's quest to research... (more)

America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation

America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation

by Kenneth C. Davis

Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History , presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance. ... (more)

Mistress Shakespeare

by Karen Harper

A delicious and intriguing historical novel about the woman who was William Shakespeare’s secret wife— by New York Times –bestselling author, Karen Harper. In Mistress Shakespeare , Elizabethan beauty Anne Whateley reveals intimate details of her dangerous, daring life and her great love, William Shakespeare. As historical records show, Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton is betrothed to Will just days before he... (more)

mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits (Mental Floss Presents)

mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits (Mental Floss Presents)

by Mangesh Hattikudur, Will Pearson, Elizabeth Hunt

Think of anything bad, from art heists to Genghis Kahn, and it's likely to be included in this wickedly smart and humorous guide to the seedy underbelly of basically everything. The brainiac team at "mental_floss", creators of the hit magazine and last year's Condensed Knowledge , have scoured the darkest, dirtiest corners of history and the globe to gather this ultimate collection of the bad stuff you're not... (more)

The Invention of Everything Else

by Samantha Hunt

From the moment Louisa first catches sight of the strange man who occupies a forbidden room on the thirty-third floor, she is determined to befriend him.Unbeknownst to Louisa, he is Nikola Tesla—inventor of AC electricity and wireless communication—and he is living out his last days at the Hotel New Yorker.Winning his attention through a shared love of pigeons, she eventually uncovers the story of Tesla’s life as... (more)

The Missing

Found (The Missing)

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you." Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling... (more)

Notre Dame de Paris -- 1482, in French

by Victor Hugo

The original French version of the epic tale of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, set in Paris in 1482. Wikipedia reports: "The enormous popularity of the book in France spurred the nascent historical preservation movement in that country and strongly encouraged Gothic revival architecture. Ultimately it led to major renovations at Notre-Dame in the 19th century led by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Much of the cathedral's present... (more)

Stealing Athena: A Novel

by Karen Essex

The author of the bestselling Leonardo’s Swans traverses the centuries into the hearts of two extraordinary women to reveal the passions, ambitions, and controversies surrounding the Elgin Marbles. The Elgin Marbles have been displayed in the British Museum for nearly two hundred years, and for just as long they have been the center of a raging controversy. In Stealing Athena, Karen Essex chronicles the... (more)

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Browse Subjects: historical figures

Top Books

by Jean Plaidy

by Clifford Brewer

by Barbara Chase-Riboud

by Elizabeth Chadwick

by Deepak Chopra

by Jean Plaidy

by George Keithley

by Margaret Campbell Barnes

by Alison Weir

by Julie Peakman

by Edward Mornin

by Jean Plaidy

by Tony Perrottet

by Kenneth C. Davis

by Karen Harper

by Mangesh Hattikudur, Will Pearson, Elizabeth Hunt

by Samantha Hunt

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

by Victor Hugo

by Karen Essex