Helen Plum Library

The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabeled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comedic and supply a happy ending. The play has been...

A chronicle of the passions, intrigues, and scandals of the Romanov dynasty includes accounts of such topics as Peter the Great's torture of his own son and Catherine the Great's many young lovers

"Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen--the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria--took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during...

"The king of Yusan must die. The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon. He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined & or sold. And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness, from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks...

"With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oaks guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. Its just a question of whom he will doom."-- Publisher's website--

"Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnet, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Cleopatra appears...

"Dark and violent, Macbeth is also the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare's tragedies. Indeed, for 250 years it was performed with grand operatic additions set to baroque music. In his introduction Nicholas Brooke relates the play's changing fortunes to changes within society and the theatre and investigates the sources of its enduring appeal. He examines its many layers of illusion and interprets its linguistic turns and echoes, arguing...

As seneschal to High King Cardan, Jude must fight to keep control of the Faerie throne while her younger brother, Oak, enjoys the childhood she never knew

Traces the arc of King David's journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage

Fie's Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin; when they're called to collect royal dead, she's hoping they'll find the payout of a lifetime. But Crown Prince Jasimir faked his death, and Fie's ready to cut his throat. He offers a wager that she can't refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he'll protect the Crows when he reigns. Hawk warrior Tavin, Jas's bodyguard, magically assumed the prince's appearance and...