AD 60. Britannia is in turmoil. The rebel leader Boudica has tasted victory, against a force of tough veterans in Camulodunum. Alerted to the rapidly spreading uprising, Governor Suetonius leads his army towards Londinium with a mounted escort, led by Prefect Cato. Soon it’s terrifyingly clear that Britannia is slipping into chaos and panic. Cato and Suetonius are grimly aware that they are ill-prepared for a full-scale rebellion. In Londinium there is devastating news. Centurion Macro is unaccounted for after the massacre at Camulodunum. Has Cato’s comrade made his last stand? Facing disaster, Cato prepares his next move. Dare he hope that Macro has escaped the bloodthirsty rebels? For there is only one man Cato trusts by his side as he faces the military campaign of his life. And the future of the Empire in Britannia hangs in the balance.
AD 60. Britannia is in turmoil. The rebel leader Boudica has tasted victory, against a force of tough veterans in Camulodunum. Alerted to the rapidly spreading uprising, Governor Suetonius leads his army towards Londinium with a mounted escort, led by Prefect Cato. Soon it’s terrifyingly clear that Britannia is slipping into chaos and panic. Cato and Suetonius are grimly aware that they are ill-prepared for a full-scale rebellion. In Londinium there is devastating news. Centurion Macro is unaccounted for after the massacre at Camulodunum. Has Cato’s comrade made his last stand? Facing disaster, Cato prepares his next move. Dare he hope that Macro has escaped the bloodthirsty rebels? For there is only one man Cato trusts by his side as he faces the military campaign of his life. And the future of the Empire in Britannia hangs in the balance.
While centurions Macro and Cato are returning to Rome from a harrowing campaign against the Parthians, their transport ship is almost capsized by a tidal wave. They barely make it to the port of Matala in Crete where they are stunned to find a devastated town. An earthquake has struck the island, killing thousands. In the chaotic aftermath, large bands of the island’s slaves begin to revolt and local bandits, taking advantage of the rebellion, urge the Cretans to overthrow the Romans. With many of the island’s troops either killed or wounded during the earthquake, the governor of the province calls on Macro and Cato for help. Can they move swiftly enough to counter the rebellion?
The Earl of Tredair has had his fill of balls, routs, and silly misses, and he despairs of finding anyone out of the ordinary – that is, until he meets Miss Fanny Waverley. Most unique and intriguing, she and her two sisters are the adopted daughters of the reclusive bluestocking Madame Waverley. They have been raised as her disciples to spread the word of women’s rights. But, can they resist love? The beautiful Miss Fanny finds it quite hard to think of all men as cruel beasts – how can she, when now she finds herself longing to kiss one of the most hated of the species!
January, 1554. Light-fingered Jack Blackjack knows he’s not going to have a good day when he wakes with a sore head next to a dead body in a tavern’s yard. But when he discovers what’s in the dead man’s purse, his day is set to get much worse. The purse explains why the mysterious man with the broad-brimmed hat wants to catch him. But so does the Lord Chancellor, as does the enigmatic Henry. In fact, almost everyone seems to be after Jack Blackjack. If it weren’t for the rebel army marching on London determined to remove Queen Mary from her throne, Jack could leave the city. Instead he must try to work out who killed the man in the yard, and why.
Russia, 1910. Young Valentina Ivanova charms St Petersburg’s aristocracy with her classic Russian beauty and her talent as a pianist. But she scandalises society when she begins a romance with Jens Friis, a Danish engineer. He brings to her life a passion and an intimacy she has never known. Unbending in their opposition, her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count. Valentina struggles for independence and tries to protect her young sister from the tumult sweeping the city, as Russia is bound for rebellion. The Tsar, the Duma and the Bolsheviks are at each other’s throats and Valentina is forced to make a choice that changes her life forever…
When the residents of a Highland care home discover that the new owners are about to substantially put up the fees, they know that dramatic action is called for. But what can a group of senior citizens possibly do against a big organisation? For Dorothy, the situation is serious. If she can’t raise money, she’ll have to leave all her friends, just like dear Miss Ross. In protest, the residents barricade themselves into the lounge. However, their rebellion fails, so worldly-wise Joan suggests a most unusual way to cover the rise – a very naughty chat line for men who want to talk to older women ‘in a particular way’! As their lives take a series of unexpected turns, things get increasingly out of control…
AD 61 Brittania is in the hands of the Romans, but when the conquering army betray the dead King Prasutagus by defiling his daughters, his Queen, Boudicca, is determined to regain her land. Iceni slave Brea remembers little of the time before the Romans, and has grown used to their louche and indulgent customs. She diligently goes about her duties looking after the artless Aurelia, wife-to-be of the handsome war hero Marcellus, but her longing for freedom and her desire to find her lost father, are never far from her mind. Present Day When Hanna returns to Norfolk from years working abroad, the strange dreams of her adolescence return: indistinct figures in tunics, mighty soldiers in armour, gladiators, temples, an Iceni warrior woman leading her people. Gradually Hanna’s dreams begin to slip into the present as visions in the famous mists rolling across the fens, and as shocks of recognition when a new face moves to her childhood home. As Hanna realises that she has a connection with a tragedy that occurred many years before, so Brea has to understand that her fate is bound up with her Roman master. And as the drumbeat of rebellion gets ever closer Brea must make the fatal choice between love and loyalty while Hanna has to find a way to make peace with the past.
AD 61 Brittania is in the hands of the Romans, but when the conquering army betray the dead King Prasutagus by defiling his daughters, his Queen, Boudicca, is determined to regain her land. Iceni slave Brea remembers little of the time before the Romans, and has grown used to their louche and indulgent customs. She diligently goes about her duties looking after the artless Aurelia, wife-to-be of the handsome war hero Marcellus, but her longing for freedom and her desire to find her lost father, are never far from her mind. Present Day When Hanna returns to Norfolk from years working abroad, the strange dreams of her adolescence return: indistinct figures in tunics, mighty soldiers in armour, gladiators, temples, an Iceni warrior woman leading her people. Gradually Hanna’s dreams begin to slip into the present as visions in the famous mists rolling across the fens, and as shocks of recognition when a new face moves to her childhood home. As Hanna realises that she has a connection with a tragedy that occurred many years before, so Brea has to understand that her fate is bound up with her Roman master. And as the drumbeat of rebellion gets ever closer Brea must make the fatal choice between love and loyalty while Hanna has to find a way to make peace with the past.
AD 1215: The year of Magna Carta. King John is scheming to reclaim his ancestral lands in Europe, raising the money by bleeding dry peasants and nobles alike, not least the Earl of Locksley – the former outlaw Robin Hood – and his loyal man Sir Alan Dale. As rebellion brews, a plan is hatched that will bring the former outlaws and their families to the brink of catastrophe – a plan to kill the King. England explodes into bloody civil war and Alan and Robin must decide who to trust. And while Magna Carta might be the answer to their prayers for peace, first they will have to force the King to submit to the will of his people…
