Helena P. Schrader Libri

Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.Persia has crushed the Ionian revolt and is gathering a massive army to invade and punish mainland Greece, but in Sparta the dangers seem closer to home. The Eurypontid King Demaratus is accused of being a usurper, while the Agiad King Cleomenes is going dangerously mad. More and more Spartans turn to Leonidas, Cleomenes’ half-brother and son-in-law, to provide leadership. But Leonidas is the younger of twins, and his brother Brotus has no intention of letting Leonidas lay claim to the Agiad throne without a fight. This novel follows Leonidas and his wife Gorgo as they steer Sparta through the dangerous waters of domestic strife and external threat, working together as a team to make Sparta the best it can be. But the forces that will destroy not only Leonidas but the Sparta he loves are already gathering – not just in Susa and Sardis, but in the hubris of a rising Athens and the bigotry and xenophobia of his fellow Spartans. The murder of two Persian ambassadors by an agitated Spartan Assembly sets in train the inevitable conflict between Sparta and Persia that will take Leonidas to Thermopylae ― and into history.

For the first time ever, this book offers a much-needed comprehensive and introductory overview of the tumultuous era of the Crusades. číst celé

Balian, the landless son of a local baron, goes to Jerusalem to seek his fortune. Instead, he finds himself trapped into serving the young prince suffering from leprosy, an apparent sentence to obscurity and death. But the unexpected death of King Amalric makes the leper boy King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, and Balian’s prospects begin to improve. The Byzantine princess Maria Comnena is just thirteen years old when she arrives in the Kingdom of Jerusalem at her great uncle’s orders to cement the alliance between the two Christian kingdoms in the East. The child wife of a man almost three times her own age, she is despite her excellent education and intelligence little more than a pretty doll in the eyes of her husband. When she fails to produce a male heir for the desperate king, her marriage becomes a gilded prison. Until suddenly the king is dead and Maria finds herself a wealthy widow at just twenty years of age. Meanwhile, the charismatic Kurdish leader Saladin has united the forces of Islam and vowed to drive the Christians into the sea. While King Baldwin IV—and Balian—struggle to save the Holy Land for Christendom by whatever means they can, the internal rivalries of Templars and Hospitallers, the advocates of offense and defense, and the bitter rivalries of barons threaten to tear the kingdom apart.

Set against the backdrop of ancient Sparta during the Second Messenian War, the narrative follows two women, one deemed beautiful and the other ugly, who are captured and enslaved in a raid. Their contrasting responses to their enslavement reveal their resilience and strength, as they navigate their new lives and the relationships they forge with other women in Sparta. The story explores themes of beauty, survival, and the bonds formed in adversity.

Set against the backdrop of a tumultuous Cyprus, the story follows John d'Ibelin, the son of Balian, as he navigates the challenges of being a squire amidst rebellion. With Greek insurgents threatening to dismantle Richard the Lionheart's legacy, John must survive his apprenticeship and prepare for a future where he will confront the most powerful monarch. The narrative explores themes of loyalty, legacy, and the struggle for power in a land torn by conflict.

Find out more about the twelfth and thirteenth-century women inhabitants of Outremer.