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  The Birthday Boys - A Novel

  Beryl Bainbridge

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  The dramatic, fictionalized account of Robert Falcon Scott’s famed and fatal expedition to Antarctica by one of Britain’s best-loved authors.  Departing from Cardiff in 1910, the Terra Nova entered dark waters and headed south. On board were Petty Officer Edgar “Taff” Evans, Dr. Edward “Uncle Bill” Wilson, Capt. Robert Falcon “Con” Scott, Lt. Henry Robertson “Birdie” Bowers, and Capt. Lawrence Edward “Titus” Oates. Through an imaginative yet historically accurate retelling of the crew’s mission to become the first explorers to reach the South Pole—and with each of the book’s five chapters narrated from the unique perspective of one of these men—author Beryl Bainbridge imbues a tragic and thrilling adventure story with profound psychological, metaphysical, and emotional insight.   The first three chapters of The Birthday Boys—recounted by Evans, Wilson, and Scott, respectively—tell of the preparations and fundraising required for the journey, two stopovers in Madeira and South Trinidad Island, and the difficult conditions the expedition faces when they land on Antarctica. It is Wilson who first fears for the safety of the crew, when from atop the ship’s crow’s-nest he spies a fantastical half-man-half-bird creature flying above the sea. The doctor is certain this apparition is a harbinger of death. Troubles then ensue when Scott sets up a base camp at Cape Evans as well as several depots in the direction of the South Pole. The motor sledge breaks down almost immediately, several ponies are lost to the harsh elements, and it is revealed that a competing polar expedition led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen is already well ahead of Scott’s team.   In the final two chapters—told by Bowers and Oates—readers are taken on a dangerous but spectacular detour to a penguin rookery, where the men witness gorgeous auroras, build an igloo, gather eggs, and slaughter the arctic birds for their blubber. When a violent blizzard hits, it looks as if no one will make it out alive. But brotherly love in the face of all odds gives the men the power to survive, and the five heroes set off on their final march to the South Pole.   Though history has already revealed the catastrophic end of this tale, Bainbridge shows us the bravery, courage, and humanity essential to the adventure. Masterfully blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction, The Birthday Boys is a compelling historical biography that challenges readers to discover truths that can only be reached through the imagination.  This ebook features an illustrated biography of Beryl Bainbridge including rare images from the author’s estate.  

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  The Young Carthaginian

  G. A. Henty

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  Typically, Henty's heroes are boys of pluck in troubled times, and this is no different. Detailed research is embellished with a vivid imagination, especially in this novel set in the Punic wars, about which knowledge is limited: "...certainly we had but a hazy idea as to the merits of the struggle and knew but little of its events, for the Latin and Greek authors, which serve as the ordinary textbooks in schools, do not treat of the Punic wars. That it was a struggle for empire at first, and latterly one for existence on the part of Carthage, that Hannibal was a great and skilful general, that he defeated the Romans at Trebia, Lake Trasimenus, and Cannae, and all but took Rome, and that the Romans behaved with bad faith and great cruelty at the capture of Carthage, represents, I think, pretty nearly the sum total of our knowledge. " (from the preface)

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  The Devil's Crossing

  William W. Johnstone, J. A....

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  Wagon trains carrying immigrants along the Oregon Trail are falling prey to outlaws. Most families surrender their valuables and goods peacefully, but anybody brave enough to resist gets a bullet. The gang's latest victim was a wagon master who sought to protect his charges only to die in the dust. With the blood of good men being spilled and families being terrorized, Preacher and Jamie MacCallister volunteer to escort the next wagon train. 
   
   
    
  Preacher travels with the settlers while MacCallister trails along at a distance, scouting for trouble. Their odyssey across the unforgiving territory takes them through violent storms and into the sights of hostile Indians. Battered and weary, the travelers are no match for the blood-lusting, trigger-happy gang—and Preacher is unprepared to meet the one outlaw he never expected to see again . . .

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  Homeland - A Novel

  John Jakes

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  From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of North and South: The first in a saga about a German immigrant and his family’s rise in 20th-century America.  The tide of the twentieth century is rising upon the world, and on its crest rides the Crown family.   Young Pauli Kroner, freshly arrived in America from the streets of Berlin, makes his way to the mansion of his millionaire uncle in Chicago, looking to fulfill his dreams. His uncle, Joe Crown, is a self-made brewery tycoon who rules his domain with an iron hand—especially when it comes to his own family of defiantly rebellious children and a wife yearning for her own liberation.   In this new world, Pauli will rise as his own man and find his destiny in the early days of motion pictures. Surrounded by relations close and distant, proud and vengeful, each struggling to find themselves at the dawn of a new era, he will witness and experience the violence of the Pullman Strike, and find love in the arms of a woman who can never be his as he follows the march of history, intertwined with such figures as the audacious Theodore Roosevelt, the ruthless Thomas Edison, the fading western icon Buffalo Bill, and many more.   Named a New York Times Notable Book, Homeland is a “first-rate historical . . . chock-full of fascinating period detail, [Jakes’s] captivating story brings to life the sounds, smells and tastes of turn-of-the-century America in a manner comparable to Michener’s Hawaii and Doctorow’s Ragtime” (Publishers Weekly).  This ebook features an illustrated biography of John Jakes including rare images from the author’s personal collection.

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  Daggers of Gold

  Katherine Deauxville

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  A Saxon beauty and a courageous knight fall prey to forbidden passion, as the medieval saga that began in Blood Red Roses continues.  Romantic Times praises DAGGERS OF GOLD as “A magnificent love story...real history brought to life by a consummate storyteller.” Find out for yourself what makes this spellbinding sequel to the best-selling Blood Red Roses so hot! Ingrith is the grand-daughter of a formerly powerful Saxon noble who has fallen from the King’s grace and left his family in the position of slaves and serfs. Her fiery will and glossy silver tresses set her apart from other peasant girls, but she has no control over her destiny. She remains bound by the will of others due to her family’s ancient ties to the web of intrigue surrounding the royal family. Her beauty at full flower, she finds herself the unwilling captive of a swarthy knight setting out to prove his loyalty to the King. Ingrith is to be a gift to the King, his servant and whore, until he tires of her. She refuses to submit to such an outrageous violation. But the only way she can escape is with the help of her captor, who has his own debt of honor to pay, and whose gorgeous eyes send shivers down her spine. 

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  Smuggler's Gulch

  Paul Lederer

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  Lost in the Mexican desert, a cowboy stumbles upon a mysterious settlementThe cattle drive was Jake’s last chance. After promising a fortune to any man willing to make the long trek across the Mexican border, the ranch boss skipped out at journey’s end, leaving Jake Staggs friendless, broke, and far from home. Trudging across the desert, holes in his boots and his horse near death from thirst, Jake smells the unmistakable scent of fresh water. In a lonely gulch he finds lush grass, plenty to drink, and a cabin occupied only by an old man and a madwoman. It is a little piece of paradise—but he will be lucky to get out alive.The gulch is a hideout for a band of horse thieves, and now that Jake has been there, they won’t let him leave. He narrowly escapes, but not for long. Before he can go home, Jake must make one last trip into smuggler’s gulch.

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