Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What's New Wednesday: A Look at Next Weeks New Releases

~ For the Week of February 21st ~

Pub. Date: February 23, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 448pp

Synopsis: (From the Publisher)
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.

Giordano Bruno was a monk, poet, scientist, and magician on the run from the Roman Inquisition on charges of heresy for his belief that the Earth orbits the sun and that the universe is infinite. This alone could have got him burned at the stake, but he was also a student of occult philosophies and magic.

In S. J. Parris's gripping novel, Bruno's pursuit of this rare knowledge brings him to London, where he is unexpectedly recruited by Queen Elizabeth I and is sent undercover to Oxford University on the pretext of a royal visitation. Officially Bruno is to take part in a debate on the Copernican theory of the universe; unofficially, he is to find out whatever he can about a Catholic plot to overthrow the queen.

His mission is dramatically thrown off course by a series of...






Pub. Date: February 23, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 640pp












 Synopsis: (From the Publisher)
For the first time in decades, here, in a single volume, is a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer reveals the flesh-and-bone reality in all its wild excess.

In 1485, young Henry Tudor, whose claim to the throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, crossed the English Channel from France at the head of a ragtag little army and took the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four hundred years. Half a century later his son, Henry VIII, desperate to rid himself of his first wife in order to marry a second, launched a reign of terror aimed at taking powers no previous monarch had even dreamed of possessing. In the process he plunged his kingdom into generations of division and disorder, creating a legacy of blood and betrayal that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country.

The boy king Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before bringing to fruition his dream of a second English Reformation. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir. And finally came Elizabeth I, who devoted her life to creating an image of herself as Gloriana the Virgin Queen but, behind that mask, sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive.

The Tudors weaves together all the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, that reveal the Tudor era to be, in its enthralling, notorious truth, as momentous and as fascinating as the fictions audiences have come to love.








Pub. Date: February 23, 2010
Format: Paperback, 416pp







 

Synopsis: (From the Publisher)
In the summer of 1922, Robert Shannon, a Marine chaplain and a young American hero of the Great War, lands in Ireland. He still suffers from shell shock, and his mentor hopes that a journey Robert had always wanted to make—to find his family roots along the banks of the River Shannon—will restore his equilibrium and his vocation. But there is more to the story: On his return from the war, Robert had witnessed startling corruption in the Archdiocese of Boston. He has been sent to Ireland to secure his silence—permanently. As Robert faces the dangers of a strife-torn Ireland roiling in civil war, the nation’s myths and people, its beliefs and traditions, unfurl healingly before him. And the River Shannon gives comfort to the young man who is inspired by the words of his mentor: “Find your soul and you’ll live.”


7 comments:

Passages to the Past said...

The cover of Shannon is really pretty! I have his novel, Ireland but haven't gotten to it yet.

I actually received Heresy yesterday and wasn't expecting it, so it was extra exciting! I can't wait to read it!

Katy said...

Heresy is on my wishlist! It sounds interesting.

Dana said...

Hm, after all of the historical fiction revolving around the Tudors that I've read, reading a non-fiction account could be really interesting. I'm also intrigued by Shannon - I've always wanted to read more about Ireland.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I have an ARC of Heresy--looks good

Stephanie Thornton said...

Hmmm... I wonder how The Tudors will compare to Starkey's Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII. I'm kind of partial to that version.

Shweta said...

The cover of Heresy is soo good..All great picks

Darlene said...

Heresy sounds good and I really like the cover of Shannon.