One of Venice’s famous courtesans, Valentina, beautiful, cultured, deadly, seduces and kills men the Council of Ten orders her to, but when she’s ordered to kill a fellow assassin--and the man she loves, she must uncover the Council of Ten’s dark agenda, with the help of her fellow courtesans, to save him.

Few historians immersed themselves in their topics like bestselling, noted author Ernle Bradford. Specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics, Bradford was an enthusiastic sailor himself and spent almost thirty years sailing the Mediterranean, where many of his acclaimed books are set. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, finishing as the first lieutenant of a destroyer, and afterward worked as an editor and correspondent...

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, many thousands of Protestants fled religious persecution in France and the Low Countries. They became one of the most influential immigrant communities in the countries where they settled, and many families in modern-day Britain will find a Huguenot connection in their past. Kathy Chaters authoritative handbook offers an accessible introduction to Huguenot history and to the many sources that researchers...

"A narrative of the causes, course, and consequences of the Spanish Conquest, incorporating the perspectives of many Native groups, Black slaves, and the conquistadors, timed with the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Five hundred years ago, a flotilla landed on the coast of Yucatán under the command of the Spanish conquistador Hérnan Cortés. While the official goal of the expedition was to explore and to expand...

Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex Rebellion against her, speculates whether or not it was really Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who wrote Shakespeare's plays.