Book Review: “I Love the Bones of You” by Christopher Eccleston

I love the Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston. You already know that by my recent discussion about the Ninth Doctor. When I found out he wrote an autobiography focusing on his relationship with his father and his struggles with both anorexia and depression, I knew I had to buy a copy and read the book.

“I Love the Bones of You” is very much a tell-all sort of autobiography. Eccleston holds nothing back, beginning with his earliest childhood memories. The book is somewhat arranged topically and in quasi chronological order that actually works fairly fluidly – except in the final three or four chapters when it’s a bit confusing in terms of what happened relative to other events. It is certainly well written, a compliment I offer less often than people would like.

On the surface, Christopher’s life seems idyllic, especially his family life. Both his parents and his twin older brothers are loving and kind. No abuse in his family, though his father Ronnie does have a temper of sorts. Christopher emphasizes their working class status that colors almost everything in their lives. This is not the United States with its ideas of everyone being the same class (false of course – but that’s what Americans tend to believe): this is England. The England of Christopher’s time (and perhaps still true today) is very much stratified between the working class, the middle class, and the upper classes. Where you are born in that hierarchy dictates nearly everything in your life; Christopher Eccleston shows us exactly how he experienced it and how it affected each member of his family.

Christopher’s challenges with body image and eating are explored at length in often shocking detail. That he manage to survive and to do his work is very much surprising. In this he gets very honest about how the film industry works, especially towards food, eating, and body expectations. He holds nothing back and does not try to paint the film and television industry along rosy lines.

This candor persists when the subject switches to his struggles with depression. The narrative is straight forward, including the cause of his decision to seek in-patient treatment. In a pattern I recognize in my own autobiographical writings, Christopher is ruthlessly honest while still building a protective bubble of privacy. He gives you just enough details to see why he needed professional help – but no more. Skillful writing to accomplish what he does.

In the middle of this and about halfway through the book Christopher Eccleston turns to his professional life, giving us inside insights into films and television shows most of us know him for. Surprising to me because I watch the movie every December is how much he dislikes the movie “The Seeker: the Dark Also Rises” which is one of his most family-friendly films and made shortly after stepping down from Doctor Who. He covers most if not all of his major projects – what he liked, what he thinks of himself, and so forth. He’s very self critical in all of this.

Jude (1996)

The one project Christopher is not critical of is his 1996 film “Jude.” He devotes a full chapter to it entitled, “Strangled at Birth.” Jude sounds like a great film I would love to watch – until I read this chapter.

Earlier in the book Christopher tells us that shortly after finishing drama school he worked as a nude model for art classes. Okay, I knew that before I started this book. Actor straight out of college doing whatever he has to for rent money. Fine. He previewed that he did a lot a projects requiring him to take his clothes off. Fine. But it’s only in this chapter, “Strangled at Birth” where he gets graphic and I mean very graphic about it. I would not let a child read this chapter.

This is not your typical R rated film the way Americans define it. It is considerably more graphic than Americans tend to watch, which is disappointing because the essential plot about a working class man wanting to better himself through education is a wonderful and very noble story. Graphic sex, however, is not. Take out the sex stuff (which perhaps Mr. Eccleston would argue is important to the story — I don’t know since I’ve never seen the film and probably won’t in the near future) and I’m sure I would love “Jude” as much as he does.

Fortunately the chapter on “Jude” is the only one with particularly graphic content in it. There’s the ocassional swear word – the English are not as sweary as the folks in Scotland I know, but they do swear.

Logically, there’s a fair amount of Mancunian dialect and a lot of references to film, television, and footballers that most Americans probably have never heard of. These references do make the book a bit confusing at times. Chris assumes (rightly or wrongly) that these names are familiar. For me, they are not.

After Chris writes the usual career stuff, he returns to family. There are two short chapters recording what happened when he finally watched his season of Doctor Who with his son and daughter that are light and airy, a break from some of the darker material.

But inevitably the book returns to his father’s decline and 2012 death. This is a book focused on his relationship with his father, after all, a man whose life and character saturates and informs his own life, especially as he raises his son and daughter now.

The final cadence of the book is the eulogy that Chris gave at his father’s funeral. The ultimate salute to the man told him during his dementia, “I Love the Bones of You.”

If you love Christopher Eccleston’s work or simply want a great read exploring dementia, depression, and/or eating disorders, “I Love the Bones of You” is a must-read.

Four stars.

Isso não acabou! Trecho do capítulo quatro de Boudicca: a Rainha Breta dos Icenos .

Boudicca é a primeira biografia que escrevi. Verdadeira história da grande rainha Iceni, a biografia leva o relato de sua história pelo historiador romano Tácito e vai além, acrescentando o que sabemos da arqueologia. Profundamente religiosa, com fortes laços com os druidas de Ynys Mon (noroeste do País de Gales), Boudicca enfrentou os romanos quando ninguém mais o faria.

Nesta cena do final do capítulo quatro, Boudicca enfrenta as atrocidades romanas contra si mesma, sua família e seu povo com a coragem que torna seu nome e sua vida verdadeiramente imortais.

Certos de sua vitória e sem mais serem desafiados pelo povo, os soldados romanos entraram em cada casa, tomando tudo que eles considerassem valioso, rendendo qualquer um ainda vivo dentre a nobreza icena, e esmagando muitas das coisas que eles não podiam ou queriam levar. Com as tochas, eles atiçavam fogo sobre os telhados de palha, incendiando metade da vila.

Finalmente, eles prestaram atenção em Boudicca e suas filhas, ainda amarradas e amordaçadas,e sob controle de Marcus’, embora as três se esforçassem para se libertar. Marcus desdenhando de Boudicca, “O nosso governador me diz que uma vez você foi escrava dentre os Éduos – é verdade?”

“Eu sou a rainha dos Icenos, a escolhida de Cathubodva,” proclamou a rainha.

“Tanto fogo e ira,” percebeu Marcus. “Apenas um escravo sente tal ódio.”

“Ou uma mulher,” refutou Boudicca.

“Escrava, mulher, bárbara – qual é a diferença?  Você, Boudicca, é todas as três!”

“Há um ditado em meu povo, Centurião. Cuidado com a guerreira cuja causa é justa – mas se aterrorize com a mulher abandonada e pronta para a batalha. Pois a sua força é a maior de todas!”

“Verdade?” riu Marcus, fazendo um sinal para os dois soldados. Arrastando Alys e Morgan para onde todos as pudessem ver, os Romanos bateram até que caíssem, machucando-as e fazendo-as sangrar antes de arrebatá-las e estuprá-las.

Marcus riu e observou na raiva de Boudicca, “Com ciúme, escrava?”   

“Você convida a ira de todas as suas deusas e deuses. Chamam-nos bárbaros?  Estou sem palavras para a violência e a brutalidade do que têm feito a eles!”

“Fizemos? Acabei de começar.  Talvez eu deveria tornar você minha escravo pessoal para meus aposentos, hein?” considerou Marcus, cruelmente.  “Não… Acho que não. Um escravo adequado sabe o seu lugar. Eu tenho uma ideia melhor!” Com um movimento do pulso, ele acenou para Boudicca ser amarrada a um poste carbonizado, o que fora outrora a sua linda e luxuosa casa.  Forçando Alys e Morgan a assistir, ele pessoalmente açoitou a rainha com trinta chicotadas, esperando que ela gritasse de dor.

Orgulhosamente, Boudicca recusou-se a gritar.  Olhando para sua vítima e agora certo que também s submeteria a ele, Marcus pegou Alys e Morgan e as levou, junto com outros cativos, e saqueou, deixando Boudicca sozinha com os restos de seu reino.

Logo que os Romanos não eram mais vistos e não havia telespectadores, uma garotinha veio até Boudicca, portando uma faca, que utilizou para cortar as amarras de sua rainha, “Sua Alteza, o que devemos fazer?”

“Primeiro, nós temos que curar os nossos ferimentos. Veja alguém livre e forte o bastante para procurar panos de linho ou algodão limpos para podermos usar no auxílio aos feridos. Veja se os Romanos nos deixaram mel e grãos de aveia que possamos usar nos ferimentos. Logo que a gente parar os sangramentos e estabilizar os feridos, devemos verificar os nossos suprimentos de alimentos e garantir que todos hoje comam – especialmente os feridos. Estamos apenas tão fortes quanto os mais fracos. Agora é hora onde devemos todos nos unir,” ordenou Boudicca.

“Mas e quanto aos Romanos?  Nós não podemos deixá-los impunes com nosso povo assim.”

“Se pudermos libertá-los, faremos – mas não hoje. Nós não temos forças. Precisamos nos curar, recobrar as nossas forças. Depois, uma vez prontos, eu juro que nos vingaremos. Deixe os corvos de Cathubodva vir até nós, deixe que o seu poder nos encha!  Nós não estamos derrotados. Isto não é o fim!”

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Libri in italiano: descrizioni dei libri e link al dettaglio

L’italiano è una lingua bellissima. Come autore e storico, sono molto felice di aver lavorato con alcuni brillanti traduttori italiani, tra cui Maria C. Bivona Vexille, milanese, che ha anche tradotto la maggior parte dell’Edizione per studenti e docenti. Il tempo trascorso sia in Italia che in Inghilterra ti offre traduzioni della massima qualità che spero scoprirai mentre esplori i libri che seguono.

Addio, A672E92 Quintus

Fuggi da A672E92 Quintus prima che il Sole diventi nova!

Cosa faresti se sapessi che il mondo sta per finire?

Dopo che la scienza conferma l’imminente distruzione del pianeta A672E92 Quintus, tocca a una squadra di mediatori porre fine alle faide tra le due casate spaziali di Cashmarie e Xing-li. Se falliscono, ogni uomo, donna e bambino certamente moriranno.

Mentre infuria la guerra, due delegati assegnati ai rapporti di pace si riscoprono in una storia d’amore, che si tinge di soprannaturale in una relazione che li renderà leggendari, mentre si sforzano di salutare Quintus A672E92 e partono alla ricerca della loro nuova casa: il pianeta Beinan.

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Boudicca: La Regina Degli Iceni

Perché il corvo della Morrígan sta strillando? Solo i Britanni, amanti della vera libertà, lo sanno!

Nel 43 d.C. la conquista romana della Britannia sembra essere certa, finché un incontro casuale
tra Prasutagus, re degli Iceni, e una schiava fuggitiva di nobile stirpe della tribù gallica degli 
Edui cambia il destino delle Isole Britanniche per sempre.

Sollevatevi in nome della libertà con la vera storia di Boudicca: la regina degli Iceni e scoprite una delle storie più affascinante della storia.

Una biografia creativa dalla serie “Le Leggendarie Donne della Storia Mondiale”.

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Caterina di Valois

La principessa francese dimenticata il cui coraggio ha creato la dinastia Tudor.

La guerra l’ha fatta regina d’Inghilterra. Il suo amore per un uomo del Galles l’ha resa immortale.

Meglio conosciuta come la sposa di Agincourt di Enrico V nell’opera di Shakespeare “Enrico V “, Caterina de Valois fu una straordinaria donna dotata di fede, coraggio e convinzione in un’epoca di donne politicamente potenti.

Figlia più giovane di re Carlo VI di Francia, terrorizzata dalla sua malattia mentale, la principessa Caterina è sopravvissuta alle ingiurie della sua schizofrenia, ad una guerra civile in casa, e alla guerra di Re Enrico con la Francia fino a diventare una delle più affascinanti e coraggiose regine del Rinascimento inglese.

Un saggio biografico della serie Donne della Storia del Mondo. Comprendente un albero genealogico della Guerra delle Due Rose, una cronologia dettagliata, ricco di letture consigliate.

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Cleopatra VII: L’ultimo “faraone” d’Egitto

L’appassionante storia vera della regina più celebre d’Egitto! 

Cleopatra Tèa Filopàtore rifiuta di sottomettersi agli uomini, in un’epoca in cui la società patriarcale romana negava la piena cittadinanza anche alle sue figlie più illustri, e regna in Egitto, determinata a mantenerne l’indipendenza da Roma – ad ogni costo. Dipinta dai sostenitori di Gaio Giulio Cesare Ottaviano (il futuro Cesare Augusto) come una seduttrice senza scrupoli, Cleopatra VII dimostra al mondo di essere capace di tener testa ai tre uomini più potenti dell’epoca: Gaio Giulio Cesare, Marco Antonio e Ottaviano.

Dettagliate cronologia, letture consigliate e bibliografia sono incluse alla fine di questa appassionante storia.

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Eleonora d’Aquitania

Aliénor era la donna più desiderata nel Medioevo – e non solo a causa della sua bellezza. Figlia maggiore del duca Guglielmo X d’Aquitania, ne ereditò, a quindici anni, l’immenso patrimonio e nello stesso anno, venne incoronata regina dei Franchi.

Ma la bella duchessa non ebbe molta fortuna in amore, nonostante due matrimoni e dieci figli. I trovatori ne cantarono ampiamente la bellezza e la dilettarono con le gesta di re Artù ed i suoi cavalieri della tavola rotonda. Segnò il destino di due imperi emergenti e fece dell’Aquitania un fedele alleato dell’Inghilterra. La sua legenda perdura fino ai giorni nostri, questo libro racconta la sua emozionante storia.

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Elisabetta I Tudor: da principessa a Gloriana

“Senza alcuna prova, io vengo, per mano del vostro Consiglio, da voi condannata alla reclusione nella Torre, un luogo più adatto a un bugiardo traditore che a un suddito onesto. So di non meritarlo, tuttavia l’intero regno pare ormai convinto che ciò accadrà”, scrisse la pricipessa Elisabetta Tudor alla sorella regina Maria, mentre le guardie erano pronte a portarla alle prigioni della Torre di Londra.

La regina Elisabetta è forse la sovrana più leggendaria e famosa della storia inglese. Ma la conoscete davvero bene?

In questa bellissima biografia narrativa, esplorerete il percorso da “Lady Elisabetta” a “Gloriana” attraverso la sua relazione con Robert Dudley, una relazione molto più controversa di quanto si creda. Nella collisione tra politica e religione, Elisabetta trova rifugio nella musica, mentre decisioni difficili la aspettano e continue congiure minacciano il suo trono.

Accompagnate Elisabetta nel suo viaggio verso Gloriana per scoprire un lato di lei che non conoscevate.

Il libro contiene sei canzoni medievali ed elisabettiane, una cronologia dettagliata e un elenco di letture consigliate. Il libro è il proseguimento di “Maria Stuarda, Regina di Scozia”.

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Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, La principessa guerriera di Deheubarth

Nata nel 1097, presso il castello di Aberffraw, Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd ap Cynan era destinata a lasciare un segno indelebile nella storia gallese. Figlia di uno tra i più valorosi condottieri del regno di Gwynedd, la principessa divenne coraggiosa e piena di passione – al pari dei suoi fratelli maggiori.

A sedici anni, incontra il principe Gruffydd ap Rhys, l’amore della sua vita e tormentato erede di Rhys ap Tewdur del regno di Deheubarth. Come marito e moglie, combatterono per liberare il Galles meridionale, sfidando I conquistatori normanni e dimostrando il coraggio ed il valore dei gallesi, un coraggio che perdura ancor’oggi nel cuore di ogni uomo, donna e bambino del Galles.

In coda al testo è possibile trovare una dettagliata cronologia che copre circa quattro secoli di storia medievale del Galles e dell’Inghilterra.

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Hildegard von Bingen

Armata di penna e calamaio, riscrisse la storia del cristianesimo medievale.

Hildegard von Bingen non era destinata a passare alla storia. Decima figlia di uno del vassalli del conte von Sponheim, era stata donata dai genitori al monastero di Disibodenberg in segno di gratitudine a Dio, ma soprattutto perché, a causa delle sue visioni, sarebbe stato difficile darla in sposa ad un buon partito.  

Quando succedette a Jutta von Sponheim nel ruolo di Magistra e priora di Disibodenberg, mantenere il segreto riguardo alle sue visioni divenne impossibile. Quanto accadde in seguito, sconvolse non solo la vita monastica per le donne del suo ordine, ma l’intera storia mondiale.  

Scopri la storia della scrittrice più prolifica del Medioevo, la leggendaria Hildegard von Bingen.

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Imperatrice Wu Zetian

La donna più odiata nella storia della Cina!

Viaggia indietro nel tempo di più di mille anni e incontra la prima e unica imperatrice donna della Cina. Nata come Wu Zhao e nominata col titolo reale di “Zetian” poche settimane prima della sua morte nel 705 DC, era la figlia non voluta del Cancelliere Wu Shihuo — troppo intelligente, troppo acculturata, e troppo concentrata politicamente per farne una buona moglie secondo le interpretazioni dell’epoca dei Dialoghi di Confucio. 

C’è da meravigliarsi che ancora oggi rimanga la donna più odiata di tutta la storia cinese e una delle sue più controverse? 

Esplora la vita dell’Imperatrice Wu e scopri perchè il mondo è un posto completamente diverso perché ha osato ciò che nessuna donna in Cina prima o da allora ha mai sognato.

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Ipazia di Alessandria

Mentre il mondo occidentale cadeva nell’oscurità, lei ebbe il coraggio di difendere la Luce.

Nata nel 355 d.C, dopo il regno di Costantino, Ipazia di Alessandria visse il declino dell’Impero Romano, in un mondo in cui l’obbedienza alle autorità religiose era più importante della scienza e dove la ragione e la logica erano viste come una minaccia per il nuovo ordine mondiale. Era il mondo precedente al Medioevo, un mondo impegnato a decidere il rapporto tra scienza e religione, libertà e ortodossia, tolleranza e odio.

Per più di 40 anni Ipazia visse al confine tra gli anni bui e la luce della filosofia classica, delle arti e delle scienze. Sebbene nessuno dei suoi libri sia sopravvissuto ai feroci roghi del fanatismo religioso, Ipazia rimane una delle scienziate più importanti di tutti i tempi.

Questa è la sua affascinante storia.

Include bibliografia, cronologia dettagliata e coordinate di latitudine e longitudine delle principali città dell’Impero romano per consentire al lettore di esplorare le meraviglie celesti con Ipazia.

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Katharina von Bora 

La vita leggendaria di Katharina von Bora Luther!

Nata nel 1499, Katharina venne dapprima inviata presso il convento di Brehna, per poi trasferirsi al convento di Nimbschen, dove prese i voti all’etá di sedici anni, pensando vi sarebbe rimasta fino alla fine dei suoi giorni.

Tuttavia, Dio aveva in serbo per lei un altro piano.

alla vigilia della Pasqua del 1523, insieme ad altre undici consorelle, fuggí, in direzione di Wittenberg, una tappa che doveva essere provvisoria, fino a quando non avrebbe trovato una fissa dimora. Quel che accadde dopo, cambió il mondo per la piccola famiglia, un mondo pieno di musiche originali il tedesco.

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L’Arban e la Saman

Cosa rischieresti per amore?

Corre l’anno 1211 d.C. Cinque anni dopo essere stato dichiarato “khan”, Chinggis Khan e le sue orde di invasori si stanno diffondendo rapidamene su tutta la pianura della Cina settendrionale, proprio nel cuore del nűzhen. Il loro obiettivo: la conquista del potente impero Jìn.

Tra i guerrieri mandati a Liaoning c’è un ufficiale di basso rango (un arban) di nome Mongke Nichan, un uomo spirituale alla ricerca della sua anima gemella al fine di compiere una profezia attesa a lungo dal suo cuore.

Ma trovare la sua metà e convincerla ad accettarlo sono due cose completamente diverse in questa storia d’amore ambientata nel periodo di guerra che ti porterà nel cuore stesso del misticismo asiatico e nella parte più intima dei ranghi della possente Orda Mongola.

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La società patriarcale americana

L’esperienza americana dal punto di vista delle donne.

La società patriarcale americana descrive cosa significa vivere in America per le donne. Sette tematiche relative al patriarcato in America vengono successivamente approfondite nella seconda parte del libro.

• Le tematiche affrontate sono:
• Il patriarcato nel mondo del lavoro
• La padrona di casa come l’ideale della donna americana
• La società patriarcale e l’istruzione
• Il mansplaining
• Violenza domestica e cultura dello stupro
• Società patriarcale e denaro
• Società patriarcale e aborto

Un’indagine onesta della storia e cultura americana per come è stata e viene vissuta dalle donne che sicuramente farà riflettere parecchio e fornirà svariati ed interessanti spunti di discussione.

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Le Terre Avvelenate

Andava tutto bene per la città meridionale di Nan-li — finché una misteriosa pestilenza affligge la città con terrore e agonia. Doverosa di scoprirne le cause, la Badessa Lady Cara è in corsa contro il tempo per trovare una cura solo per poi essere coinvolta nelle pericolose teorie di complotto che potrebbero costarle la vita e quella di miliardi di generazioni a venire.

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L’imperatrice Matilde d’Inghilterra

La ruggente leonessa d’Inghilterra!

Con la sua discendenza reale normanna, sassone e scozzese Matilde, nata nel 1102 da re Enrico d’Inghilterra e dalla regina Matilde di Scozia, era destinata a unificare un’Inghilterra ancora divisa dalla conquista di suo nonno, avvenuta nel 1066. Quando il naufragio della Nave Bianca nel 1120 la rese l’unica figlia vivente dei suoi genitori, Matilde divenne improvvisamente erede del trono inglese in un era in cui la successione era ancora decisa dai witan sassoni anziché dalla volontà del sovrano.

Scoprite la storia della prima donna che ha rivendicato il trono Inglese!

Include l’albero genealogico di Matilde, una cronologia dettagliata e letture consigliate per approfondire gli studi.

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Margherita del Wessex: Madre, santa e regina di Scozia 

Il secolo XI non era il momento migliore per un discendente diretto di re Etelredo lo Sconsigliato e della sua prima moglie Æfgifu di York. Nata in Ungheria, a seguito del fallito tentato omicidio di suo padre, Edoardo l’Esiliato, ordinato da re Canuto III, Margherita verrà inaspettatamente catapultata in Inghilterra, quando il suo prozio, re Edoardo il Confessore, apprenderà che Edoardo l’Esiliato è riuscito a sfuggire al tentato omicidio ordinato dal suo predecessore.

Dopo alcuni anni, le sorti di Margherita e la sua famiglia vedranno un altro inaspettato colpo di scena, da ostaggi politici sotto i normanni, grazie ad una rocambolesca fuga, si ritroveranno ospiti di re King Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh Ceann Mhor a Dunfermline, capitale del regno di Alba.

Con l’arrivo di Margherita, la Scozia non sarà mai più la stessa.

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Maria Stuarda regina di Scozia: il regno dimenticato

La regina Maria Stuarda è stata una delle donne più amate e controverse della storia scozzese. Nipote di re Giacomo IV e di sua moglie Margherita Tudor, la posizione di Maria quale erede apparente al trono inglese e la violenza della Riforma scozzese fanno da sfondo a una delle vite più drammatiche e incomprese del 16° secolo.

Maria regina di Scozia racconta la vera storia di Maria, concentrandosi principalmente sul suo regno, celebrando la sua vita più che la sua morte e dimostrandoci come Maria fosse una donna che precorreva i suoi tempi.

Una biografia della serie “Le leggendarie donne della storia mondiale”.

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Mi Preparo per la Mia Prima Calopsitta

Mi Preparo per la Mia Prima Calopsitta è una guida per te e per i tuoi figli che ti aiuterà a capire come prepararti a portare a casa la tua prima calopsitta.

Diversamente dalla maggior parte dei libri sulle calopsitte, questo non cerca di coprire tutto, ma rimane focalizzato su ciò di cui hai bisogno per essere pronto alla tua nuova vita con il tuo uccello.
 

Ricco di storie personali e di foto, imparerai a conoscere com’è la vita con le calopsitte da tutti gli anni che ho vissuto con loro amandoli. Un libro divertente per chi ama gli animali!
 

Gli argomenti trattati includono:
— Calopsitte come cacatua
— Gabbie principali
— Gabbie da trasporto/ospedaliere (comprese le gabbie per i voli nazionali e internazionali)
— Spazi di gioco 
— Cibo
— Giocattoli
— Posatoi 
— Ciotole per il cibo 
— Comunicare con una calopsitta nuova o timida 
— Prevenzione della psittacosi (la malattia principale che si trasmette tra umani e uccelli)
— Giochi per giocare con il tuo nuovo uccello

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Povertà americana

In questa provocatoria analisi storica ed economica, Laurel A. Rockefeller affronta il tema della povertà, spiegando cosa significhi essere poveri negli Stati Uniti e confrontando quest’esperienza con le modalità attraverso cui gli alleati economicamente più evoluti e più stretti dell’America (Canada, Germania, Francia e Regno Unito) si prendono cura dei loro poveri. Dalle condizioni degli alloggi popolari, alla fame ed alla psicologia dei poveri, la Rockefeller va dritta al nocciolo della questione e provvede efficaci soluzioni a tutti i suoi lettori, soluzioni che dovrebbero essere abbracciate da ogni fascia sociale per assicurare il futuro dell’America e garantire un’America sicura ai nostri posteri.

Parte prima: saggi che esplorano cinque aspetti della povertà in America: mancanza d’empatia, condiscendenza verso la povertà, derisione dei poveri, alloggi popolari e cultura dello stupro.

Parte seconda: analisi che fornisce soluzioni su come affrontare i precedenti aspetti della povertà, al di là dei limiti d’età.

Parte terza: uno sguardo della situazione dei poveri e le politiche in atto per fronteggiare il problema in Germania, Francia, Canada e Regno Unito. Analisi comparativa con questi alleati degli USA e l’impatto della povertà sulle politiche estere e la sicurezza nazionale.

Le fonti sono tratte da: American Express, Forbes, CNN Money, The New York Times, Feeding America, The Shriver Report, Herald Scotland, BBC News, The Joseph Roundtree Foundation, The Huffington Post, e The Toronto Star.

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Sua Eminenza Rossa, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu

Sacerdote. Amante. Statista.

Il Cardinale Armand-Jean du Plessis, duca di Richelieu, è uno dei personaggi politici più famosi di tutti i tempi. Ritratto come cattivo nel celebre romanzo di Dumas “I tre moschettieri”, fu in realtà un servitore fedele del suo sovrano e della sua nazione. Un uomo guidato dalla logica e dalla ragione, trasformò il nostro modo di pensare alle nazioni e alla nazionalità. Secolarizzò le guerre tra nazioni, patrocinò le arti per il bene pubblico, fondò il primo giornale di Francia e rese la Francia la nazione moderna che tutt’oggi conosciamo.

“Sua Eminenza Rossa”, ricco di musica e balli dell’epoca, nonché di romanticismo e passione, ci trasporta alla vivace corte di re Luigi XIII.

Il romanzo contiene otto canzoni d’epoca, preghiere, una cronologia dettagliata e una bibliografia informativa.

Vincitore del premio Godiva Book Award 2019.

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Boeken van Laurel A. Rockefeller in het Nederlands

Nederlands is een prachtige taal. Vaak verward met Duits, is het een aparte taal en de moedertaal van enkele minder bekende maar toch zeer invloedrijke vrouwen uit de geschiedenis. Hier zijn de biografieën van Laurel A. Rockefeller beschikbaar in het Nederlands.

Keizerin Wu Zetian

De meest gehate vrouw in de Chinese geschiedenis!

Reis meer dan duizend jaar terug in de tijd en ontmoet de eerste en enige keizerin van China. Ze werd geboren als Wu Zhao, de ongewenste dochter van Kanselier Wu Shihuo – te intelligent, te opgevoed, en teveel gezet op politiek om een goede echtgenote te zijn volgens de heersende opvattingen van van Bloemlezingen van Confucius. Slechts enkele weken voor haar dood in 705 GJ ontving ze de heersers tiltel “Zetian”.
 

Is het een wonder dat ze tot op de dag van vandaag de meest gehate vrouw blijft in de hele Chinese geschiedenis en één van de meest controversiële?
 

Verken het leven van Keizerin Wu en ontdek waarom de wereld een complete andere plek is omdat zij iets aandurfde waarvan geen enkele vrouw in China voorheen of nadien ooit had gedroomd.

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Koningin Elizabeth Tudor: Reis naar Gloriana

Königin Elizabeth Tudor ist auch heute noch als „Gloriana“ bekannt. Ein Name, der auf den Sieg ihrer kleinen Flotte wendiger Schiffe über die 131 Galleonen der spanischen Armada im Ärmelkanal am 6. August 1588 zurückgeht. 

Aber wie ist dies geschehen und warum wird die späte Regierungsphase Elizabeths als „goldenes Zeitalter“ bezeichnet? 

In diesem wunderschönen biographischen Sachbuch lernen Sie Elizabeth so persönlich kennen wie nie zuvor. 

Ob Sie Fan der Tudor-Dynastie sind, oder dies Ihre erste Entdeckungsreise in die englische Geschichte ist, Sie werden einen wertvollen Einblick in den Geist der vielleicht legendärsten Frau der Weltgeschichte bekommen – erzählt durch die Augen ihrer berühmten, oder auch berüchtigten, Beziehung zu Robert Dudley. Dieses Buch führt die Geschichte von Mary, Königin der Schotten, (erkundet in Buch 3) mit Königin Marys Gerichtsverhandlung und den daraus resultierenden Auswirkungen auf Elizabeth fort.

Enthält sechs mittelalterliche und elisabethanische Lieder, eine detaillierte Zeitleiste und eine ausführliche Liste mit Leseempfehlungen.

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Maria, koningin van Schotland: De vergeten regeringsperiode

Koningin Maria Stuart was een van de meest geliefde en controversiële vrouwen uit de Schotse geschiedenis. Ze was de kleindochter van koning James IV en zijn vrouw Margaret Tudor. Haar status als rechtmatige erfgename van de troon van koningin Elizabeth van Engeland, gepaard met het geweld van de Schotse reformatie, vormt de basis voor een van de meest dramatische en niet-begrepen levens van de 16e eeuw.

Maria, koningin van Schotland vertelt het waargebeurde verhaal over Maria. Het richt zich op haar regering als koningin van Schotland, waarbij er meer aandacht is voor haar leven dan voor haar dood, en toont waarom ze werkelijk een vrouw was die haar tijd vooruit was.

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Livres en français : descriptions de livres et liens de vente au détail

J’adore le français. J’aurais aimé que tous mes livres soient en français – en version imprimée et audio. Le français est la plus belle langue du monde. Voici tous les livres traduits en français jusqu’à présent, ainsi que des liens vers Apple, Amazon et Everand et des descriptions pour chacun.

Aliénor d’Aquitaine: Édition Élèves & Enseignants

Jeune fille, Aliénor était le parti le plus recherché de toute la Chrétienté… et pas seulement à cause de sa beauté. Fille aînée du duc Guillaume X d’Aquitaine, elle avait hérité de son immense duché à l’âge de 15 ans et fut couronnée reine des Francs la même année.

Mais l’amour ne fut pas au rendez-vous pour cette magnifique duchesse, malgré deux mariages et dix enfants. Pourtant les troubadours chantèrent ses louanges, composèrent pour elle les premières chansons d’amour courtois, et c’est en son honneur que furent déclamées pour la première fois les légendes du roi Arthur et des chevaliers de la table ronde. Aliénor façonna deux empires naissants et fit de l’Aquitaine l’alliée de l’Angleterre la plus fiable sur le continent.

Aliénor d’Aquitaine fut une légende à son époque, elle l’est encore à la nôtre. Voici son histoire.

L’édition Élèves & Enseignants contient un guide d’étude après chaque chapitre.

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Au Revoir A672E92 Quintus

La planète A672E92 Quintus tombe en ruines. Alors que l’astre A672E92 prend de l’expansion à l’approche de la fin de son existence, menaçant d’envelopper la planète et tout ce qui y vit, les habitants s’entre-déchirent dans des conflits armés.

La tâche revient à deux invraisemblables délégués de ramener la paix entre les clans et de préparer leur peuple à l’inévitable : l’évacuation d’A672E92 Quintus et la migration de ses habitants vers les étoiles.

Une nouvelle de la série La Noblesse de Beinan.

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Boudicca: La reine des Icènes de Bretagne

Pourquoi le corbeau de Morrígan pleure-il ? Seuls les Bretons ayant à coeur la liberté le savent !

En 43 de notre ère, la conquête de la Bretagne par les Romains semble quasiment certaine – jusqu’à la rencontre fortuite du Roi des Icènes, Prasatagus, et d’une esclave en fuite appartenant à la lignée royale de la tribu gauloise des Éduens, change le destin des Iles Britanniques pour toujours. 

Levez-vous pour la liberté avec la véritable histoire de Boudicca : la reine des Icènes de Bretagne et découvrez un des destins les plus inspirants de l’Histoire !

Une biographie romancée des femmes légendaires de l’Histoire du monde.

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Catherine de Valois: Princess de France, Matriarche des Tudors

La princesse française oubliée dont le courage lança la dynastie des Tudors.

La guerre la fit reine d’Angleterre. Son amour pour un Gallois la rendit immortelle.

Mieux connue comme la fiancée d’Azincourt d’Henri V, de la pièce « Henri V » de Shakespeare, Catherine de Valois était une femme de foi, courage et conviction extraordinaire dans un âge de femmes puissantes politiquement.

La plus jeune fille du roi Charles VI de France terrorisé par sa maladie mentale, Catherine de Valois survécut les ravages de sa schizophrénie, une guerre civile dans son pays, et la guerre d’Henri V contre la France pour devenir une des reines les plus courageuses et fascinantes de la Renaissance.

Une biographie narrative de la série des Femmes Légendaires de l’Histoire du Monde. Comprend un arbre généalogique de la Guerre des Deux Roses, une chronologie détaillée et une liste de lecture suggérée / bibliographie détaillée.

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Chansons de la cour de Beinan

Les chansons et les poèmes de la série de science fiction des Nobles de Beinan réunis en une seule collection. Inclut les poèmes des Contes Perdus.

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L’impératrice Wu Zetian

La femme la plus haïe de l’histoire de la Chine ! 

Voyagez plus de mille ans en arrière dans le temps et rencontrez la première et unique femme empereur de la Chine. Née Wu Zhao et attribuée le titre de règne « Zetian » quelques semaines seulement avant sa mort en 705 CE, elle était la fille indésirable du chancelier Wu Shihuo — trop intelligente, trop éduquée et trop intéressée par la politique pour être une bonne épouse, selon les interprétations contemporaines des Entretiens de Confucius. 

Est-il surprenant que jusqu’à ce jour elle demeure la femme la plus haïe de toute l’histoire de la Chine et une de ses plus controversées ? 

Explorez la vie de l’impératrice Wu et découvrez pourquoi le monde est un endroit bien plus différent parce qu’elle a osé faire ce qu’aucune femme en Chine, avant et depuis, n’a jamais rêvé de faire.

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Marie, reine d’Écosse : le règne oublié

La reine Marie Stuart était une des femmes les plus aimées et les plus controversées de l’histoire de l’Ecosse. Petite-fille du roi Jacques IV et de sa femme Marguerite Tudor, le statut de la reine Marie en tant qu’héritière présomptive du trône, ajouté à la violence de la reforme écossaise, créa la prémisse pour une des vies les plus dramatiques et les moins comprises du 16e siècle.

Marie, reine d’Ecosse raconte la véritable histoire de Marie, se concentrant principalement sur son règne en tant que reine d’Ecosse, célébrant sa vie plus que sa mort et nous montrant pourquoi elle était vraiment une femme en avance sur son temps.

Une biographie narrative de la série des Femmes Légendaire de l’Histoire du Monde.

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Préparer l’Arrivée de Ma Première Calopsitte

Préparer l’Arrivée de ma Première Calopsitte est un guide pour vous et vos enfants, afin de vous aider à vous préparer à accueillir votre première calopsitte. 

Contrairement à la plupart des livres sur les calopsittes, celui-ci n’essaie pas de tout aborder, mais se concentre sur ce dont vous avez besoin pour être prêt pour votre nouvelle vie avec votre oiseau. 

Rempli d’histoires personnelles et de photos, vous allez apprendre ce qu’est la vie avec les calopsittes, suite à mes nombreuses années à vivre avec eux et à les aimer. Un livre amusant pour tous ceux qui aiment les animaux ! 

Les sujets abordés incluent :  
— les calopsittes sont des cacatoès 
— les cages principales 
— les cages hôpital et de transport 
— les espaces de jeux 
— la nourriture 
— les jouets 
— les perchoirs 
— la nourriture 
— la communication avec une nouvelle calopsitte ou une calopsitte timide 
— la prévention de l’ornithose (la principale maladie qui se transmet entre humains et oiseaux) 
— les jeux à faire avec votre nouvel oiseau 

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Erzählbiografien auf Deutsch: Buchbeschreibungen und Einzelhandelslinks

In den Vereinigten Staaten wird Deutsch oft als eine Sprache außer Acht gelassen, die von den Millionen Amerikanern, die deutsche Vorfahren haben, abgesehen von ihrer Herkunftssprache, stammt, darunter auch ich.

Aber Deutschland und die deutsche Geschichte sind tatsächlich von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Welt, mit Beiträgen, die weit über die Vorstellungskraft des typischen Amerikaners hinausgehen.

Deutsch ist eine von vier Sprachen, die bei Audible und anderen großen Hörbuchhändlern erhältlich sind.

Die folgenden Bücher wurden von Laurel A. Rockefeller geschrieben und stehen Ihnen in deutscher Sprache zur Verfügung.

Boudicca, Britanniens Königin der Icener

Warum schreit der Rabe der Morrigan? Nur Britannier mit Herzen für wahre Freiheit wissen es!

Im Jahre 43 n. Chr. scheint die römische Eroberung Britanniens nahezu gewiss – bis ein zufälliges Zusammentreffen von König Prasutagus der Icener und einer entflohenen Sklavin königlicher Herkunft vom Stamm der Aeduer in Gallien das Schicksal der britannischen Inseln für immer ändern.

Erheben Sie sich für die Freiheit mit der wahren Geschichte von Boudicca, Britanniens Königin der Icener, und entdecken Sie eine der berührendsten Erzählungen aller Zeiten!

Eine kreative, Non-Fiction Legendäre Frauen der Weltgeschichte-Biographie.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Catherine de Valois

Der Krieg machte sie zur Königin von England. Ihre Liebe zu einem Waliser machte sie unsterblich.

Catherine de Valois, am besten bekannt, als die Braut Henry des V. aus Shakespeares “Henry V.”, war eine außergewöhnliche Frau, voller Glauben, Mut und Überzeugung, in einem Zeitalter politisch mächtiger Frauen.

Als eine jüngere Tochter von König Charles VI. von Frankreich, der durch seine Geisteskrankheit gequält wurde, überlebte Prinzessin Catherine die verheerenden Auswirkungen seiner Schizophrenie, einen Bürgerkrieg im eigenen Land und den Krieg König Henry V. mit Frankreich und wurde eine der faszinierendsten und mutigsten Königinnen des Renaissanceenglands.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, Die Kriegerprinzessin von Deheubarth

Die heroische Ahnin von Königin Elizabeth Tudor! 

Prinzessin Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd ap Cynan, geboren 1097 in Aberffraw Castle, war immer zu Höherem bestimmt. Als Tochter eines von Gwynedds größten Kriegern wuchs sie stark und voller Leidenschaft auf – ihren älteren Brüdern mehr als ebenbürtig. 

Mit sechzehn änderte sich Gwenllians Leben grundlegend, als sie sich in Prinz Gruffydd ap Rhys, den belagerten Erben von Rhys ap Tewdur von Deheubarth, verliebte. Zusammen, als Mann und Frau, kämpften sie für das südliche Wales und regierten es. Sie stellten die normannische Eroberung von Wales infrage und stellten ein für alle Mal die Ehrenhaftigkeit und den Mut des walisischen Volkes unter Beweis. Ein Mut, der die Jahrhunderte überdauert und in dem Herzen eines jeden Walisers lebt, ob Mann, Frau oder Kind. 

Beinhaltet eine ausführliche Zeitleiste, die 400 Jahre an walisischer und englischer mittelalterlicher Geschichte abdeckt.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Hypatia von Alexandria

Als die westliche Welt in Dunkelheit versank, wagte sie, das Licht zu verteidigen.

Geboren im Jahr 355 der christlichen Zeitrechnung, im Nachhall von Konstantins Regierung, lebte Hypatia von Alexandria in einem zusammenbrechenden Römischen Reich. In einer Welt, in der der Gehorsam gegen religiöse Autoritäten über die Wissenschaft triumphierte, in der Logik und Verstand die neue Weltordnung bedrohten. Es war eine Welt an der Grenze zum düsteren Mittelalter, eine Welt, die über die Fragen Wissenschaft gegen Religion, Freiheit gegen Strenggläubigkeit, Toleranz gegen Hass entschied.

Über vierzig Jahre stand Hypatia zwischen dem dunklen Zeitalter und dem Licht der Philosophie, Künste und Wissenschaft. Auch wenn keines ihrer Werke die offensive Bücherverbrennung religiöser Fanatiker überdauert hat, so bleibt doch ihr Vermächtnis als eine der größten Gelehrten aller Zeiten.

Dies ist ihre faszinierende und wahre Geschichte.

Das Buch beinhaltet außerdem eine Bibliografie, eine detaillierte Zeitleiste und die Längen- und Breitengrade ausgewählter Städte des Römischen Reiches, sodass Sie die Wunder des Himmels gemeinsam mit Hypatia erkunden können.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Kaiserin Mathilde, Herrin der Engländer

Die brüllende Löwin von England!

Geboren 1102 als Tochter von König Henry von England und Königin Matilda von Schottland, war Matildas einzigartige Abstammung von normannischem, sächsischem und schottischem Adel dazu gedacht, das England zu einen, das immer noch durch den Eroberungszug ihres Großvaters im Jahr 1066 geteilt war. Als das Schiffsunglück von 1120 sie zum einzigen überlebenden Kind ihrer Eltern machte, wurde Matilda plötzlich zur Erbin des englischen Throns, in einer Zeit, in der der Witan – und nicht der Wille des Königs – über die Thronfolge entschied.

Entdecken Sie die wahre Geschichte der ersten Frau, die aus eigenem Geburtsrecht ihren Anspruch auf den Thron geltend machte, und lassen Sie sich inspirieren!

Enthält auch Matildas Stammbaum, eine detaillierte Zeitleiste sowie Leseempfehlungen, sodass Sie weitere Möglichkeiten haben, sich weiterzubilden.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Kaiserin Wu Zetian

Die meistgehasste Frau der chinesischen Geschichte!

Lassen Sie sich auf eine Zeitreise ein, mehr als tausend Jahre in die Vergangenheit, und treffen Sie die erste und einzige regierende Kaiserin Chinas. Geboren als Wu Zhao erhielt sie den Herrschertitel „Zetian“ erst Wochen vor ihrem Tod im Jahre 705 vor unserer Zeitrechnung. Sie war die unerwünschte Tochter des Finanzministers Wu Shihuo – zu intelligent, zu gebildet und zu politisch versiert, um eine gute Ehefrau abzugeben; zumindest laut den zeitgenössischen Analekten des Konfuzius.

Kann es somit verwundern, dass sie bis zum heutigen Tag die meistgehasste und umstrittenste Frau der chinesischen Geschichte ist?

Erkunden Sie das Leben von Kaiserin Wu und entdecken Sie, warum die Welt heute eine ganz andere ist: Weil sie zu tun wagte, was weder vor noch nach ihr einer anderen Chinesin auch nur im Traum einfiel.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Kleopatra VII. Ägyptens letzte Pharaonin

Die aufregende und wahre Geschichte von Ägyptens bekanntester Königin!

Kleopatra Theo Philopator weigerte sich, zu tun, was man ihr sagte. In einem Zeitalter, in dem das Patriarchat selbst den hochrangigen Frauen Roms das volle Bürgerrecht verwehrte, regierte Kleopatra ihr Ägypten mit der Entschlossenheit, das Land unabhängig und frei von römischer Kontrolle zu behalten – um jeden Preis. Wenngleich Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (der spätere Caesar Augustus) und seine politischen Verbündeten sie als bloße Verführerin dämonisierten, bewies Kleopatra VII., dass sie den drei mächtigsten Männern der römischen Welt ebenbürtig war: Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Antonius und Octavian Caesar.

Enthält eine detaillierte Zeitleiste, Leseempfehlungen/Bibliografie und ein besonderes Easter Egg für Science-Fiction-Fans.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Königin Elizabeth Tudor. Der Weg zu Gloriana 

Königin Elizabeth Tudor ist auch heute noch als „Gloriana“ bekannt. Ein Name, der auf den Sieg ihrer kleinen Flotte wendiger Schiffe über die 131 Galleonen der spanischen Armada im Ärmelkanal am 6. August 1588 zurückgeht. 

Aber wie ist dies geschehen und warum wird die späte Regierungsphase Elizabeths als „goldenes Zeitalter“ bezeichnet? 

In diesem wunderschönen biographischen Sachbuch lernen Sie Elizabeth so persönlich kennen wie nie zuvor. 

Ob Sie Fan der Tudor-Dynastie sind, oder dies Ihre erste Entdeckungsreise in die englische Geschichte ist, Sie werden einen wertvollen Einblick in den Geist der vielleicht legendärsten Frau der Weltgeschichte bekommen – erzählt durch die Augen ihrer berühmten, oder auch berüchtigten, Beziehung zu Robert Dudley. Dieses Buch führt die Geschichte von Mary, Königin der Schotten, (erkundet in Buch 3) mit Königin Marys Gerichtsverhandlung und den daraus resultierenden Auswirkungen auf Elizabeth fort.

Enthält sechs mittelalterliche und elisabethanische Lieder, eine detaillierte Zeitleiste und eine ausführliche Liste mit Leseempfehlungen.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Mary Königin der Schotten

Königin Mary Stuart war eine der beliebtesten und kontroversesten Frauen in der schottischen Geschichte. Als Enkelin von König James IV. und seiner Frau Margaret Tudor, legte Marys Status als rechtmäßige Erbin des englischen Throns, in Kombination mit der Gewalttätigkeit der schottischen Reformation, den Grundstein für eines der dramatischsten und am wenigsten verstandenen Leben des 16. Jahrhunderts.

Mary Königin der Schotten, erzählt ihre wahre Geschichte und legt dabei sein Hauptaugenmerk auf ihre Herrschaft als Königin von Schottland. Indem es mehr ihr Leben als ihren Tod in den Fokus rückt, zeigt es uns allen, warum sie wahrlich ihrer Zeit voraus war.

Eine frei geschriebene nicht fiktionale Biografie aus der Reihe Legendäre Frauen der Weltgeschichte.

Enthält vier historische Lieder.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Seine rote Eminenz Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu

Priester. Geliebter. Staatsmann.

Kardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, ist einer der berühmtesten – oder berüchtigtsten – Politiker aller Zeiten. Er wurde im bekannten Dumas-Roman „Die drei Musketiere“ zum Bösewicht gemacht, der echte Mann war ein engagierter, dem König und dem Land treuer Staatsdiener. Er war ein Mann der Logik und Vernunft, der unser Denken über Nationen und Nationalität veränderte. Er säkularisierte Kriege zwischen Ländern, förderte die Künste um des öffentlichen Wohls willen, begründete die erste Zeitung Frankreichs und erschuf Frankreich als das moderne Land, das wir heute kennen.

Angefüllt mit Musik der Epoche, Tanz und viel Romantik, versetzt Sie „Seine rote Eminenz“ zurück an den Hof von König Louis XIII., mit all seiner pulsierenden Lebendigkeit und Farbe.

Enthält acht zeitgenössische Lieder sowie Gebete, eine detaillierte Zeitleiste und eine umfangreiche Bibliografie, damit Sie noch mehr lernen können.

Dieses Buch finden Sie bei Apple, Amazon und Everand

Siehe auch Hörbücher auf #Deutsch

Serious about Series: Retail Links to your favorite series by Laurel A. Rockefeller

If you love to read or love to write for that matter, you know that book series are all the rage. But how do you find all the books in the series you love?

Many, but not all retailers, collect or at least tag books that come from the same series. In my experience these pages are often incomplete – which is why this blog includes all the books from each series in specific posts so dedicated. But what if you don’t want to scroll through all of that here? Easy: browse this post and you will find links to each retailer’s page for each series. Know of any pages I haven’t found (yet)? Comment with those links and I will check them out!

The Peers of Beinan series

genres: science fiction, paranormal romance, social scifi,

Explore a civilization in peril as blood feuds, political corruption, and tyranny seek to rip apart Beinarian society. Strongly influenced by Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series, Gene Roddenbury’s “Star Trek,” Glen Larson’s “Battlestar Galactica,” JRR Tolkien, and Dorothy “DC” Fontana, The Peers of Beinan takes you to a far away galaxy that feels just like home. Social issues explored include climate change, pollution, abortion, terrorism, domestic violence, and many more.

Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords

The Legendary Women of World History

genres: non-fiction history, narrative history, historical fiction, biography, women’s history

Begun in response to a lack of basic historical literacy in western Pennsylvania, the Legendary Women of World History seeks to improve history literacy for readers of all ages. With more than 75% available in audio format, many titles are accessible to children as young as four years old (use parental discretion in deciding age appropriateness). The series spans antiquity through the early 17th century. Most books are translated into multiple languages including Welsh, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian.

Amazon, Audible (minus newer releases Mary Queen of the Scots and Margaret of Wessex), Smashwords, Kobo.

Legendary Women of World History Textbooks

genres: history, narrative history, textbook, social studies, world history, ancient history, women’s history

The Legendary Women of World History Textbooks presents the same core content as the original Legendary Women of World History biographies – but with the addition of study questions after every chapter. These questions are exactly the same sort of questions that were presented in my textbooks in junior high and high school and are designed to promote both home school and public school learning, and augment existing curriculae.

In audio format, only two textbook editions are available: Hypatia of Alexandria Student-Teacher in English and Aliénor d’Aquitaine (Eleanor of Aquitaine in French edition). For reasons unknown, Audible is not offering Alienor, but you can find it on Apple Audiobooks. On Alienor, the student questions appear at the end of the book.

Find the Legendary Women of World History Textbooks series pages at Amazon and Smashwords.

Life with Cockatiels

genres: pet birds, pet guides, cockatiels, budgerigars, parrots, biographies, nature, science

More than any other books, the Life with Cockatiels is the most personal. Grounded in over 40 years of daily experience living with parrots, these books share what works, what doesn’t, and how to achieve a long, happy, and healthy life with your birds. The series starts with “Preparing for My First Cockatiel” which breaks down exactly what you need to buy to prepare your home for what cockatiels need, along with scientific data helping you understand who and what cockatiels are. “Preparing for My Senior Cockatiel” centers on nutrition and changes that come as your bird ages and develops age-related challenges like sight loss, along with practical suggestions on how to make needed adjustments. “Mithril and Me” is a biography for all my birds starting with my first bird, Luke, whom I bought in the third grade, through all my budgerigars and cockatiels from the early 1980s to its publication date in 2021.

All of these are filled with photos, including personal snapshots, to help guide you into a long, happy life with your birds.

Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, Audible

Life in America

genres: American history, modern history, American Revolution, Early Republic, political science, women’s history, patriarchy, women’s rights, poverty

The Life in America series is all things American history. Beginning with the flash fiction “A New Start In the Niobrara for Mr. and Mrs. O’Malley,” the series steps outside of Laurel A. Rockefeller’s medieval history comfort zone. American Poverty and American Patriarchy are topically arranged, beginning with essays whose problems are then addressed in part two of each book with analysis and data from such sources as Forbes, Inc., Feeding America, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Bureau of Justice. The history of patriarchy and the resulting women’s rights movements are explored in depth with many surprises when it comes to women’s legal rights (including reproductive rights and abortion) in the United States. In Founding Mothers the lives of twelve women from diverse backgrounds are explored – both the famous and the largely forgotten. Music enters the series with Founding Mothers in a special appendix showcasing songs popular in colonial America and the Early Republic. Hear those songs sung in the audio edition.

Amazon, Smashwords

Notable Books Not in any series

Two of my books are not in series: the award-winning “His Red Eminence, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu,” and “The Arban and the Saman.” Both are historical in nature. Eminence is narrative history just like the Legendary Women of World History whereas Arban/Saman is a straight historical romance with some supernatural elements to it. Find links to these on this blog.

Find books and audiobooks by Laurel A. Rockefeller at your favorite retailer.

Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, Apple Audiobooks, Chirp, Everand, Barnes/Noble, Books A Million, BookBub, Good Reads, and YouTube.

Find books by Laurel A. Rockefeller on the series pages on this blog:

Peers of Beinan

Legendary Women of World History

Legendary Women of World History Textbooks

Legendary Women of World History and Peers of Beinan Dramas

Life in America

Life with Cockatiels

Audiobooks by Laurel A. Rockefeller

News from Spain. Excerpt from Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Play in Four Acts

Alienor d’Aquitaine is one of the most famous women in medieval history. The well-educated daughter of Duke William IX of Aquitaine, her father’s death made her the most eligible heiress in medieval Europe.

In this scene Eleanor learns of her father’s death.

Act I, Scene I

1137. April. Fields outside of Bordeaux, Aquitaine. ELEANOR is hunting with FALCONER near a beautiful lake. BIRD SONG chirps, quacks, and otherwise fills our ears melodiously.  Eleanor feeds her peregrine, Belle, from her gauntlet.

FALCONER

That’s a huge meal you are letting her have right now. She won’t want to take down another bird if you let her have so much at once.

ELEANOR

I don’t need another kill this morning. Besides, she hasn’t hunted since we left Poitiers and been forced to eat the mice we brought along for her. She deserves an extra-large meal this morning. This is our first opportunity to hunt since we arrived.

FALCONER

 I noticed Petronilla decided not to join us.

ELEANOR

Petronilla does not like outdoor pursuits.  Then again, she has no responsibilities to the duchy as I do. I take much more after my father. I love falconry, hunting, and riding in addition to the more indoor and womanly pursuits taught to noble women like dancing, spinning, weaving, and needlework. My father being a wise man, I’m also very well-schooled in household management and finance so that when he or, in time, my husband, is away the family estates will not suffer for lack of a proper administrator. Men may claim superiority to women in all things, but at the end of the day when men are off to war or pilgrimage or some other errand they think beneath the abilities of women it is the woman of the house who maintains each household, great or small, so that there is always money for the essentials of life.

FALCONER

 Like Belle’s food for the long journey here.

Eleanor puts Belle’s hood over her head and tightens it gently.

ELEANOR

Exactly like that.

HERALD ENTERS stage right and rushes to Eleanor.

HERALD

My lady, come quickly!

ELEANOR

What news?

HERALD

 Your father is dead, my lady. A bout of dysentery or poison has killed him. On his deathbed he made King Louis VI le Gros guardian over both your person and your inheritance.

ELEANOR

 Under what terms?

HERALD

 I do not know all the details, Your Grace. Except that you have inherited your father’s title, along with all of his lands and most of his money, all of it to be controlled by King Louis until he finds a suitable husband to transfer it permanently to.

ELEANOR

Messages between Bordeaux and Paris will take at least two weeks. I suggest we all return to the archbishop’s mansion. There is much to do and I cannot accomplish it from here.

(END OF SCENE)

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The Death of Princes. Excerpt from Empress Matilda of England: a Play in Five Acts

Empress Matilda of England was one of the most influential of the Angevins in medieval England. Yet few Americans have heard of her. Sent from London to live in the Kaiser’s court in Germany, she grew up in Mainz and fell in love with her intended, Kaiser Heinrich V.

In this scene from the play, Matilda spends one last moment with the Kaiser she grew to love.

ACT III, SCENE III

1125 23 May. Utrecht, Friesland. Kaiser Heinrich’s apartment. KAISER HEINRICH lays in bed attended by MATILDA ENGLAND who sits in a chair close to him.

KAISER HEINRICH

Come here, Matilda. I will get better, Liebling. This is not the end of our journey together, though I fear I may never give you children.

MATILDA ENGLAND

 I do not care about children!

KAISER HEINRICH

 Yes you do, if not for your own sake than for the security of my throne—and yours.

MATILDA ENGLAND

Mine? Who I am without you, Liebling?

KAISER HEINRICH

 Someone much greater, Liebling. I was a good Kaiser—but the people loved you and with good reason. Whatever success I had came from God and from you. You were my rock, my salvation, the steady hand that helped me persevere across all the challenges of my life. You who were the daughter of the neglected wife of your father, valued almost entirely because you are thrice royal. You are the greatest of your family, Matilda.

MATILDA ENGLAND

 Greater than my grandmother, Saint Margaret? Surely you speak blasphemy!

KAISER HEINRICH

(laughing weakly)

If it is blasphemy to recognize you for the treasure you are, then so be it. Considering my battles with Rome it can hardly be out of character!

MATILDA ENGLAND

(laughing)

Ja! What is one more insult against the papacy?

KAISER HEINRICH

(pulling her close and kissing her tenderly)

I would make love to you right now except I do not feel strong enough.  Can you forgive that?

MATILDA ENGLAND

(fighting back tears)

Always! Ich liebe dich, Heinrich.

KAISER HEINRICH

 Ich liebe dich, Matilda.

(Matilda weeps hysterically)

Do not cry, Liebling!  Please, do not cry.  I need to sleep a little more, that is all.

MATILDA ENGLAND

Then sleep, my love. May God grant you peace.

MATILDA ENGLAND EXITS. FADE OUT as KAISER HEINRICH DIES. CHURCH BELLS RING SLOWLY IN MOURNING. After ten chimes lights come up slowly over MATILDA ENGLAND dressed from head to toe in mourning white. The bells continue to chime five more times as Matilda speaks, then stop abruptly.

MATILDA ENGLAND

My husband is dead. The husband I did not want but came to love is dead. For eleven years I stood by him, helped him, and guided him with my wisdom and insight as if I were a priestess of old, before the Romans came and with them their patriarchal Church. After fifteen years I barely remember the empire of my father.  My tongue is thickly German. My English and my French are stilted. The German peoples are my peoples. From Löwen to Süpplingenburg to Berlin, Cologne, Mainz, Friesland, and beyond. They are my people and I am their Kaiserin. They love me and I love them.  But is it enough?  Here in the empire we have something similar to the Witan of England. We call it the Kurfürstenkollegium and its members are called Kurfürsten—Electors you might call them. Like the Witan, the Kurfürstenkollegium decides who rules the empire after the death of each Kaiser or sovereign Kaiserin.

Oh that the Kurfürstenkollegium would choose me to succeed my husband! Please God, let them choose me! I must succeed my Heinrich! Otherwise I surely must leave the only home I know and return to England. I do not want to return to England and yet I am certain my father King Henry will summon me back to London, a simple pawn in one of his political games, games that brought him to the throne two years before my birth. I must not be his pawn.  I must stay myself. But who am I? Princess? Pawn? Widow? Imperatrix. Imperatrix romanorum. Yes! I was crowned in Rome. Imperatrix romanorum. The Kurfürsten may vote for someone else. But no one, neither pope nor prince or baron or king can take that one thing that is mine:  I am imperatrix. They can force me to yield my power to a new Kaiser, but they can never take away my coronation as imperatrix.

(END OF SCENE)

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Eleanor Marries Henry Plantagenet. Excerpt from Eleanor of Aquitaine: a Play in Four Acts

Alienor d’Aquitaine is one of the most famous women in medieval history. The well-educated daughter of Duke William IX of Aquitaine, her father’s death made her the most eligible heiress in medieval Europe.

In this scene, Eleanor weds Prince Henry Plantagenet, son of Empress Matilda of England and her second husband, Geoffrey Plantagenet.

Act III, Scene III

1152, 18^th May. Bordeaux, Aquitaine. Cathédrale-Primatiale Saint-André. ELEANOR and HENRY PLANTAGENET stand in front of ARCHBISHOP as COURTIERS watch. BECKET stands beside Henry as his best man.

ELEANOR

I, Aliénor, duchesse d’Aquitaine, take thee, Henri Plantagenet, duc de Normandie et comte d’Anjou et du Maine, to be my wedded husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honour you all the days of my life.

HENRY PLANTAGENET

I, Henri Plantagenet, duc de Normandie et comte d’Anjou et du Maine take thee Aliénor, duchesse d’Aquitaine, to be my wedded wife. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honour you all the days of my life.

(Henry places a jewelled ring on Eleanor’s hand)

With this ring, I thee wed. All my worldly goods, I thee endow. All that I have, I give to thee, Aliénor, duchesse d’Aquitaine.

ARCHBISHOP

What God has joined together, let no man tear asunder.

(making the sign of the cross)

In nómine Patris et Fílii et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

ALL

A-men.

ARCHBISHOP

My lord Plantagenet, you may now kiss your bride!

Henry Plantagenet kisses Eleanor.

BECKET/COURTIERS

(Ad lib cheers)

Hooray!

Félicitations!

Vive le duc et la duchesse !

HENRY PLANTAGENET and ELEANOR acknowledge the cheers with smiles and bows as they EXIT downstage left.

(END OF SCENE)

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This is not over! Excerpt from chapter four of Boudicca: Britain’s Queen of the Iceni

March, 2014. As women’s history month commenced and I famously queried those around me, asking them to name 10 women from history – which they failed to do, I responded to my anger and frustration by writing. The book: Boudicca: Britain’s Queen of the Iceni. Little did I guess that month that I was creating a new career for myself as a biographical historian. Ten years after initial publication, Boudicca remains a reader favorite and my most popular title in digital, paperback, and audio formats. Translated into many languages, you can listen to it in English, French, Spanish, and German.

The following scene is the famous “this is not over” scene from chapter four and the one featured in the audio excerpt on Audible.

Half an hour later, the red blood of the defeated defenders mingled with the blue war paint on their bodies. Among the wounded survivors was Prasutagus’ younger sister, Princess Maëlle.  Too hurt to keep fighting, a centurion bound her and dragged her.  Boudicca looked into the centurion’s lustful eyes, his intent to make her a slave of his bed chamber obvious to her after her own enslavement.  This was a fate far worse than death, Boudicca knew, yet also a traditional fate the Romans gave to nobles from conquered tribes.

Certain of their victory and with no further challenges from the people, the Roman soldiers went into each home, taking everything they could of value to them, seizing anyone still alive among Iceni nobility, and smashing much of what they could not or did not wish to take.  Lighting torches, they threw fire onto the thatched roofs, sending half of the village into flame.

Finally, they turned their attention to Boudicca and her daughters, still bound and gagged and under Marcus’ control, though all three struggled to free themselves.  Marcus sneered at Boudicca, “Our governor tells me you were once a slave amongst the Aedui – is it true?”

“I am queen of the Iceni, the chosen vessel of Cathubodva,” proclaimed the queen.

“Such fire and hatred,” noticed Marcus. “Only a slave feels such hatred.”

“Or a woman,” countered Boudicca.

“Slave, woman, barbarian – what is the difference?  You, Boudicca, are all three!”

“There is a saying among my people, Centurion.  Be careful of the warrior whose cause is just – but be terrified of the woman scorned and battle ready.  For her strength is greatest of all!”

“Really?” laughed Marcus, signaling at two soldiers.  Dragging out Alys and Morgan to where all could see, the Romans beat them to the ground, bruising and bloodying them before ravishing them and destroying their virtue.

Marcus laughed as he observed Boudicca’s anger, “Jealous, slave?”

“You invite the wrath of all our goddesses and gods.  Barbarians you call us?  There is no word for the violence and brutality you’ve done to them!”

“Done?  I’ve just begun.  Perhaps I should make you my personal slave for my bed chamber, eh?” considered Marcus cruelly.  “No … I think not.  A proper slave knows her place.  I have a better idea!” With a flick of his wrist, he motioned for Boudicca to be tied to a charred post to what was once Boudicca’s beautiful and luxurious home.  Forcing both Alys and Morgan to watch, he personally flogged the queen with thirty lashes of his whip, expecting her to scream with pain.

Proudly, Boudicca refused to scream.  Looking at his victim and now certain she too was now beaten into submission, Marcus picked up Alys and Morgan and took them along with the other captives and plunder, leaving Boudicca alone with the remains of her kingdom.

As soon as the Romans were out of sight and hearing range, a little girl came up to Boudicca with a knife which she used to cut her queen’s bonds, “Your highness, what shall we do?”

“First, we must bind up our wounds.  Get whoever is left and strong enough to search the village for clean linen or wool we can use to help the injured.  See if the Romans left us with honey and with any ground oats which we can use on the wounds.  Once we stop the bleeding and stabilize the hurt we must check our food supplies and ensure everyone eats today – especially the injured.  We are only as strong as our weakest person.  Now is the time we must all come together,” commanded Boudicca.

“But what about the Romans?  We cannot let them get away with our people like that?”

“If we can free them, we will – but not today.  We do not have the strength.  We must heal, recover our strength.  Then, once we are ready, I swear we will fight back.  Let the ravens of Cathubodva come now to us, let her power fill us!  We are not defeated.  This is not over!”

News from London. Excerpt from Mary Queen of the Scots: a Play in Three Acts

The death of King Edward VI of England was a pivotal moment for both the Tudor dynasty in England and the Stewart/Stuart dynasty in Scotland. In this scene from “Mary Queen of the Scots: A Play in Three Acts” Queen Mary learns of the death of her English cousin. The song in this scene is a famous Scottish song from 1545 written and sung in Auld Scots.

Act I, Scene I

1553. Louvre Palace, Paris. Queen Mary’s private apartment. YOUNG MARY sits and plays her lute near a window overlooking the courtyard.

YOUNG MARY

(singing in Scottish as she plays along on her lute)

DEPAIRTE, DEPAIRTE, ALLACE I MOST DEPAIRTE. FROM HIR THAT HES MY HAIRT WITH HAIRT FULL SOIR; AGAIN’S MY IN DEID AND CAN FIND NO REMEID, I WAIT THE PAN’S OF DEID CAN DO NO MOIR.

FRANÇOIS ENTERS stage left excitedly.

FRANÇOIS

 Marie!  Marie! News from London!

YOUNG MARY

Quelles nouvelles?

FRANÇOIS

 Your cousin, King Edward the Sixth!

YOUNG MARY

What about him?

FRANÇOIS

 He’s dead!  He died of consumption three weeks ago.

YOUNG MARY

(crossing herself)

Poor lad!

FRANÇOIS

There is more, ma chérie.  Your cousin Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of your great aunt Mary and the duke of Suffolk Charles Brandon, she is now imprisoned in the Tower of London!

YOUNG MARY

For what crime?

FRANÇOIS

The king tried to override his father’s last will and testament by making her queen instead of Queen Mary.  For nine days she ruled as Queen Jane before the queen and her sister the Lady Elizabeth entered London to claim the throne officially.  As soon as Queen Mary arrived, all support for Queen Jane disappeared.

YOUNG MARY

The people have spoken!  Let us pray that through the wisdom of Queen Mary we might see England restored to the true religion.”

FRANÇOIS

(crossing himself)

In nómine Patris et Fílii et Spíritus Sancti. Amen.

YOUNG MARY

Amen.

(END OF SCENE)

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Livros em português: descrições e links de varejo

Se você mora nos Estados Unidos, provavelmente não ouve muito o português falado, muito menos escrito. Mas o português é uma língua bonita e decididamente diferente do espanhol, do italiano e do francês. Os livros a seguir são escritos por Laurel A. Rockefeller e estão disponíveis para você em português.

Adeus, A672E92 Quintus

O que você faria se soubesse que o seu mundo está chegando ao fim? Após a ciência ter confirmado a iminente aniquilação do planeta A672E92 Quintus, uma equipe diplomática fica encarregada de controlar a rivalidade cega das duas casas aptas para a jornada espacial, a Cashmarie e a Xing-li. Se falharem, certamente cada homem, mulher e criança perecerá. Como a disputa entre as casas permanece, são designados dois representantes para liderar o tratado de paz, aí surge o romance com um toque extrassensorial, e torna-se lendária a luta para se despedir do A672E92 Quintus e descobrir o seu novo lar: o planeta Beinan.

Encontre este livro na Apple, Amazon e Everand

Boudicca, a Rainha Bretã dos Icenos

Por que o corvo dos Morrígan chora? Apenas os Bretões cujo coração anseia pela verdadeira liberdade sabem! 

Em 43 a. C. a conquista da Bretanha pelos Romanos é quase certa — até que um encontro casual entre o Rei Prasutagus dos Icenos e uma escrava fugitiva da realeza, descendente da tribo dos Éduos da Gália muda o destino das ilhas britânicas para sempre. 

Levante-se para a liberdade com a estória verdadeira de Boudicca: a Rainha Bretã dos Icenos e descubra uma das mais inspiradoras estórias da história! 

Uma narração biográfica sobre Mulheres Legendárias da História Mundial.

Encontre este livro na Apple, Amazon e Everand

Catherine de Valois Princesa Francesa, Matriarca dos Tudor

A guerra a tornou Rainha da Inglaterra. O seu amor por um galês a tornou imortal.

Mais conhecida como a noiva de Agincourt, de Henry V, da peça shakespeariana “Henry V,” Catherine de Valois foi uma extraordinária mulher fervorosa, corajosa, e convicta, em uma era de mulheres politicamente poderosas.

Uma filha mais nova do Rei Charles VI da França, aterrorizada pela sua enfermidade mental, Princesa Catherine sobreviveu às devastações da esquizofrenia dele, a uma guerra civil em seu país, e à guerra do Rei Henry contra a França, para se tornar uma das rainhas mais fascinantes e corajosas da Inglaterra renascentista.

Uma biografia narrativa de Mulheres Lendárias da História Mundial.

Inclui uma árvore genealógica Guerra das Rosas, detalhada cronologia, e uma lista detalhada de sugestões de leitura/bibliografia.

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Cleópatra VII: A última governante do Egito

A emocionante história da rainha mais famosa do Egito!

Cleópatra Tea Filópator se recusava a fazer o que lhe era ordenado. Em uma período em que o patriarcado negava cidadania completa até mesmo às mulheres da elite romana, Cleópatra governou seu Egito determinada a mantê-lo independente e livre do controle romano — independentemente do preço. Demonizada como uma simples sedutora por Caio Júlio César Otaviano (o futuro César Augusto) e seus aliados políticos, Cleópatra VII provou ser igual aos três homens mais poderosos do mundo romano: Caio Júlio César, Marco Antônio e Otaviano César.

Inclui uma linha do tempo detalhada, uma lista de leituras sugeridas/bibliografia e um easter egg especial para os fãs de ficção científica.

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Gwenllian Ferch Gruffydd. A Princesa Guerreira de Deheubarth

A Heroica antepassada Galesa da rainha Elizabeth Tudor!

Nascida em 1097 no castelo de Aberffraw, a princesa Gwenllian Ferch Gruffydd ap Cynan sempre foi destinada a grandes coisas. Como filha de um dos maiores guerreiros de Gwynedd, ela cresceu forte e apaixonada – mais do que uma partida para seus irmãos mais velhos.

A seus dezesseis anos, a vida de Gwenllian mudou para sempre quando ela se apaixonou por Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys, o herdeiro de Rhys ap Tewdur, de Deheubarth. Juntos, marido e mulher lutaram e governaram o sul do País de Gales, desafiando a Conquista Normanda do País de Gales e provando de uma vez por todas a nobreza e coragem do povo galês, uma coragem que dura ao longo dos séculos e vive no coração de todo homem galês, mulher e criança.

Inclui uma extensa linha de tempo cobrindo mais de 400 anos de história medieval galesa e inglesa.

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Hipátia de Alexandria

Quando o mundo ocidental caiu na escuridão, ela ousou defender a luz.

Nascida em 355 EC, após o reinado de Constantino, Hipátia de Alexandria viveu em um império romano em colapso, um mundo onde a obediência às autoridades religiosas superava a ciência, onde razão e lógica ameaçavam a nova ordem mundial. Era um mundo à beira da Idade das Trevas, um mundo decidindo a questão da ciência versos religião, versos liberdade ortodoxia, versos de tolerância ódio.

Por mais de 40 anos, Hipátia ficou entre a idade das trevas e a luz da filosofia clássica, das artes e das ciências. Embora nenhum de seus livros tenha sobrevivido às agressivas queimadas de livros de fanáticos religiosos, seu legado continua sendo o de um dos maiores cientistas de todos os tempos.

Esta é a sua história verdadeira e fascinante.

Inclui bibliografia, um cronograma detalhado e coordenadas de latitude e longitude para as principais cidades do Império Romano, para que você possa explorar as maravilhas dos céus com Hypatia.

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Imperatriz Matilde da Inglaterra

A leoa destemida da Inglaterra!

Nascida em 1102 para o rei Henry da Inglaterra e para a rainha Matilde da Escócia, a ancestralidade normanda, saxã e escocesa de Matilde estava destinada a unificar a Inglaterra ainda dividida pela conquista do avô em 1066. Quando o Desastre do Barco Branco, em 1120, fez dela a única filha sobrevivente de seus pais, Matilde de repente se tornou herdeira do trono inglês em uma época em que o velho Witan saxão, e não o testamento do rei, ainda decidia a sucessão.

Descubra a verdadeira história da primeira mulher a reivindicar o trono inglês por direito próprio e inspire-se!

Inclui a árvore genealógica da família de Matilde, uma linha do tempo detalhada e uma lista de sugestões de leituras para que você possa continuar aprendendo.

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Imperatriz Wǔ Zétiān

A mulher mais odiada da história chinesa!

Viaje no tempo mais de mil anos e conheça o primeiro e único imperador do sexo feminino da China. Nascido Wǔ Zhào e dado o título reinado “Zétiān” apenas algumas semanas antes de sua morte em 705 dC, ela era a filha indesejada do chanceler Wǔ Shihuo – muito brilhante, muito instruída e muito politicamente focada para fazer uma boa esposa de acordo com interpretações contemporâneas dos Analectos de Confúcio.

Ela pode ser de admirar que até hoje ela continua a ser a mulher mais odiada em toda a história chinesa e um dos seus mais controversos?

Explore a vida da imperatriz Wǔ e descubra por que o mundo é um lugar muito diferente, porque ela ousou o que nenhuma mulher na China antes ou desde sempre sonhou.

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Margarida de Wessex

O século 11 foi uma época perigosa para os descendentes diretos do Rei Æthelred II Despreparado e de sua primeira rainha, Æfgifu of York. Nascida na Hungria depois da tentativa falha do Rei Canuto III de assassinar o seu pai, Eduardo, o Exilado, Margarida teve a vida virada de cabeça para baixo pela descoberta do Rei Eduardo, o Confessor, de que o seu pai continuava vivo — e com a consequente reconvocação de sua família à Inglaterra.

Agora, uma refém política mantida viva apenas enquanto serve aos interesses de homens poderosos, Margarida e sua família encontram no convite do Rei Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh Ceann à sua corte em Dunfermline, Alba, a resposta há muito esperada para as suas preces.

A Escócia jamais seria a mesma outra vez.

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Maria, a Rainha dos Escoceses, O Reino Esquecido

A Rainha Maria Stuart foi uma das mulheres mais amadas e controversas da história da Escócia. Neta do Rei Jaime IV e sua esposa Margaret Tudor, o status da Rainha Maria como herdeira-parente do trono da Rainha Isabel na Inglaterra, assim como a violência da Reforma Escocesa preparou o palco para uma das vidas mais dramáticas e mal compreendidas do século XVI.

Maria, a Rainha dos Escoceses conta a verdadeira história de Maria, concentrando-se principalmente em seu reinado como rainha da Escócia, celebrando sua vida mais do que sua morte e mostrando-nos porque ela era verdadeiramente uma mulher à frente de seu tempo.

Apresenta uma linha do tempo detalhada, uma lista de orações latinas com suas traduções para o Português e as letras de todas as quatro canções do período apresentadas no livro, incluindo “Depairte, Depairte” (1545) escrita em língua Ânglica Escocesa.

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Mithril e Eu: Uma história de amor

Mithril e Eu é a verdadeira história do vínculo especial que se forma entre humanos e pássaros. Começando com seu primeiro pássaro, um budgerigar (periquito) chamado Luke e, ao longo das décadas, Laurel A. Rockefeller leva você a uma jornada especial como só ela pode, aprendendo e crescendo como pessoa ao longo do caminho e amando cada pássaro que entra em sua vida.  Sincero, afetuoso e honesto, “Mithril e Eu” vai aquecer seu coração, fazer você chorar e inspirá-lo ao longo do caminho.

Repleto de fotos pessoais de quarenta anos de vida com pássaros. Perfeito para o amante de animais em sua vida.

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O território envenenado e a consorte curandeira

A Senhora Abadessa Cara encontra-se no meio de uma conspiração real quando viaja para a cidade sulista de Nan-li para investigar um misterioso surto de cânceres que assola a cidade.

Quando o tirânico Rei Gareth usa seu poder para impedi-la de descobrir a verdade, Cara encontra-se encurralada entre o amor e suas lealdades neste romance sombrio, que antecede “Os Fantasmas do Passado”.

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Organização para a Minha Primeira Caturra

Apresente o mundo maravilhoso das caturras aos seus filhos

Organização para a minha primeira Caturra, é um guia para si e para os seus filhos, para ajudar a saber o que é necessário para levar para casa a sua primeira caturra.

Ao contrário da maioria de livros que existem sobre caturras, este não tentam encobrir nada e foca-se em explicar o que necessita para estar preparado para a sua nova vida com o seu pássaro.

Completo com histórias na primeira pessoa e fotografias, vai ficar a saber como é a vida a amar caturras, há muitos anos. Um livro divertido quem adora animais!

Temas:
– Caturras sendo cacatuas
– Gaiolas principais
– Gaiolas de viagem e hospitalares (incluindo gaiolas para viagens áreas internas e internacionais)
– Espaços de lazer 
– Comida
– Brinquedos
– Poleiros
– Dispensadores de comida 
– Comunicar com uma caturra nova e tímida
– Prevenção de psitacose

– Jogos para o seu novo pássaro 

SEGUNDA EDIÇÃO

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Rainha Elizabeth Tudor, Tornando-se Gloriana

A Rainha Elizabeth Tudor ainda é conhecida hoje como “Gloriana”, por conta de sua pequena frota de navios ágeis que derrotou a Armada Espanhola, que possuía 131 galeões, no Canal da Mancha em 6 de agosto de 1588.

Mas como isso aconteceu, e por que a tardia Era Elisabetana ficou conhecida como “A Era do Ouro”?

Nesta bela e criativa narrativa biográfica, você conhecerá Elizabeth como nunca antes.

Se você é fã da Dinastia Tudor ou se esta é sua primeira vez explorando a história inglesa, você ganhará conhecimentos valiosos sobre a mente da, talvez, mulher mais lendária da história mundial, contada pelos olhos de seu famoso—ou infame—relacionamento com Robert Dudley. A história continua com Mary, rainha dos escoceses (explorada no terceiro volume) e seu julgamento e impacto em Elizabeth.

Contém seis músicas medievais e elisabetanas, uma linha do tempo detalhada, e uma longa lista de leituras sugeridas.

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Sua Eminência Escarlate, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu

Sacerdote. Amante. Político.

Da autora da série de biografias best-seller “Mulheres Lendárias da História do Mundo” …

O cardeal Armand-Jean du Plessis, duque de Richelieu, é um dos políticos mais famosos – ou infames de todos os tempos. Tornado um vilão no popular romance de Dumas, “Os Três Mosqueteiros”, o homem de verdade era um servidor público dedicado, leal ao rei e ao país. Um homem de lógica e razão, ele transformou a maneira como pensamos sobre nações e nacionalidade. Ele secularizou as guerras entre países, patrocinou as artes em prol do bem público, fundou o primeiro jornal na França e criou a França como o país moderno que conhecemos hoje.

Cheio de música de época, dança e muito romance, “Sua Eminência Escarlate” transporta você de volta à corte do rei Luís XIII em todas as suas cores vibrantes e vivas.

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Território Envenenado

GANÂNCIA CORPORATIVA. CORRUPÇÃO. PRAGA.
A cidade sulista Nanli ia bem até uma misteriosa praga infestar a cidade com medo e pavor.
Cumprindo o seu dever de descobrir a causa, a Lady Abadessa Cara corre contra o tempo para encontrar uma cura quando se vê diante de uma conspiração perigosa que põe em risco a sua vida e a das gerações futuras.

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Hörbücher auf Deutsch: Buchbeschreibungen und Einzelhandelslinks

Hörbücher sind meine Leidenschaft. Seit 2014 habe ich viel in Hörbuchproduktionen in den vier verfügbaren Sprachen investiert: Englisch, Spanisch, Französisch und Deutsch. Obwohl viele meiner Blog-Beiträge Links zu Audioausgaben enthalten, ist es manchmal nützlich, einen einzelnen Beitrag zu Hörbüchern zu lesen, der sich auf Einzelhandelslinks konzentriert. Wenn Sie auf der Suche nach Ihrem nächsten tollen Hörstück sind, scrollen Sie gerne durch diesen Beitrag.

Boudicca: Britanniens Königin der Icener.

Warum schreit der Rabe der Morrigan? Nur Britannier mit Herzen für wahre Freiheit wissen es!

Im Jahre 43 n. Chr. scheint die römische Eroberung Britanniens nahezu gewiss – bis ein zufälliges Zusammentreffen von König Prasutagus der Icener und einer entflohenen Sklavin königlicher Herkunft vom Stamm der Aeduer in Gallien das Schicksal der britannischen Inseln für immer ändern.

Erheben Sie sich für die Freiheit mit der wahren Geschichte von Boudicca, Britanniens Königin der Icener, und entdecken Sie eine der berührendsten Erzählungen aller Zeiten!

Eine kreative, Non-Fiction Legendäre Frauen der Weltgeschichte-Biographie.

Dieses Hörbuch finden Sie bei Apple und Audible.

Catherine de Valois

Der Krieg machte sie zur Königin von England. Ihre Liebe zu einem Waliser machte sie unsterblich.

Catherine de Valois, am besten bekannt, als die Braut Henry des V. aus Shakespeares “Henry V.”, war eine außergewöhnliche Frau, voller Glauben, Mut und Überzeugung, in einem Zeitalter politisch mächtiger Frauen.

Als eine jüngere Tochter von König Charles VI. von Frankreich, der durch seine Geisteskrankheit gequält wurde, überlebte Prinzessin Catherine die verheerenden Auswirkungen seiner Schizophrenie, einen Bürgerkrieg im eigenen Land und den Krieg König Henry V. mit Frankreich und wurde eine der faszinierendsten und mutigsten Königinnen des Renaissanceenglands.

Dieses Hörbuch finden Sie bei Apple und Audible.

Kaiserin Mathilde, Herrin der Engländer

Die brüllende Löwin von England!

Geboren 1102 als Tochter von König Henry von England und Königin Matilda von Schottland, war Matildas einzigartige Abstammung von normannischem, sächsischem und schottischem Adel dazu gedacht, das England zu einen, das immer noch durch den Eroberungszug ihres Großvaters im Jahr 1066 geteilt war. Als das Schiffsunglück von 1120 sie zum einzigen überlebenden Kind ihrer Eltern machte, wurde Matilda plötzlich zur Erbin des englischen Throns, in einer Zeit, in der der Witan – und nicht der Wille des Königs – über die Thronfolge entschied.

Entdecken Sie die wahre Geschichte der ersten Frau, die aus eigenem Geburtsrecht ihren Anspruch auf den Thron geltend machte, und lassen Sie sich inspirieren!

Dieses Hörbuch finden Sie bei Apple und Audible.

Kaiserin Wu Zetian

Die meistgehasste Frau der chinesischen Geschichte!

Lassen Sie sich auf eine Zeitreise ein, mehr als tausend Jahre in die Vergangenheit, und treffen Sie die erste und einzige regierende Kaiserin Chinas. Geboren als Wu Zhao erhielt sie den Herrschertitel „Zetian“ erst Wochen vor ihrem Tod im Jahre 705 vor unserer Zeitrechnung. Sie war die unerwünschte Tochter des Finanzministers Wu Shihuo – zu intelligent, zu gebildet und zu politisch versiert, um eine gute Ehefrau abzugeben; zumindest laut den zeitgenössischen Analekten des Konfuzius.

Kann es somit verwundern, dass sie bis zum heutigen Tag die meistgehasste und umstrittenste Frau der chinesischen Geschichte ist?

Erkunden Sie das Leben von Kaiserin Wu und entdecken Sie, warum die Welt heute eine ganz andere ist: Weil sie zu tun wagte, was weder vor noch nach ihr einer anderen Chinesin auch nur im Traum einfiel.

Dieses Hörbuch finden Sie bei Apple und Audible.

Königin Elizabeth Tudor. Der Weg zu Gloriana

Königin Elizabeth Tudor ist auch heute noch als „Gloriana“ bekannt. Ein Name, der auf den Sieg ihrer kleinen Flotte wendiger Schiffe über die 131 Galleonen der spanischen Armada im Ärmelkanal am 6. August 1588 zurückgeht. 

Aber wie ist dies geschehen und warum wird die späte Regierungsphase Elizabeths als „goldenes Zeitalter“ bezeichnet? 

In diesem wunderschönen biographischen Sachbuch lernen Sie Elizabeth so persönlich kennen wie nie zuvor. 

Ob Sie Fan der Tudor-Dynastie sind, oder dies Ihre erste Entdeckungsreise in die englische Geschichte ist, Sie werden einen wertvollen Einblick in den Geist der vielleicht legendärsten Frau der Weltgeschichte bekommen – erzählt durch die Augen ihrer berühmten, oder auch berüchtigten, Beziehung zu Robert Dudley. Dieses Buch führt die Geschichte von Mary, Königin der Schotten, (erkundet in Buch 3) mit Königin Marys Gerichtsverhandlung und den daraus resultierenden Auswirkungen auf Elizabeth fort.

Dieses Hörbuch finden Sie bei Apple und Audible.

Verwandte Blogbeiträge

Audiolibros en Espanol

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Where to Find Audiobooks by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Livres audio en français : descriptions de livres et liens de vente au détail

Les livres audio sont ma passion. Depuis 2014, j’ai investi massivement dans la production de livres audio dans les quatre langues disponibles : anglais, espagnol, français et allemand.

Bien que bon nombre de mes articles de blog incluent des liens applicables aux éditions audio, il est parfois utile d’explorer un seul article dédié aux livres audio qui se concentre sur les liens de vente au détail. Si vous recherchez votre prochaine bonne écoute, n’hésitez pas à faire défiler cet article.

Dans les versions les plus récentes (de septembre 2022 à aujourd’hui), vous trouverez au moins quatre liens de vente au détail pour chaque livre.

Aliénor d’Aquitaine: Édition Élèves & Enseignants

Jeune fille, Aliénor était le parti le plus recherché de toute la Chrétienté… et pas seulement à cause de sa beauté. Fille aînée du duc Guillaume X d’Aquitaine, elle avait hérité de son immense duché à l’âge de 15 ans et fut couronnée reine des Francs la même année.

Mais l’amour ne fut pas au rendez-vous pour cette magnifique duchesse, malgré deux mariages et dix enfants. Pourtant les troubadours chantèrent ses louanges, composèrent pour elle les premières chansons d’amour courtois, et c’est en son honneur que furent déclamées pour la première fois les légendes du roi Arthur et des chevaliers de la table ronde. Aliénor façonna deux empires naissants et fit de l’Aquitaine l’alliée de l’Angleterre la plus fiable sur le continent.

Aliénor d’Aquitaine fut une légende à son époque, elle l’est encore à la nôtre. Voici son histoire.

L’édition Élèves & Enseignants contient un guide d’étude après chaque chapitre.

Retrouvez ce livre chez Spotify, Apple, LibroFm, Kobo, Hoopla, Barnes/Noble, et beaucoup plus!

Au Revoir A672E92 Quintus

La planète A672E92 Quintus tombe en ruines. Alors que l’astre A672E92 prend de l’expansion à l’approche de la fin de son existence, menaçant d’envelopper la planète et tout ce qui y vit, les habitants s’entre-déchirent dans des conflits armés.

La tâche revient à deux invraisemblables délégués de ramener la paix entre les clans et de préparer leur peuple à l’inévitable : l’évacuation d’A672E92 Quintus et la migration de ses habitants vers les étoiles.

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Boudicca: La reine des Icènes de Bretagne

Pourquoi le corbeau de Morrígan pleure-il ? Seuls les Bretons ayant à coeur la liberté le savent !

En 43 de notre ère, la conquête de la Bretagne par les Romains semble quasiment certaine – jusqu’à la rencontre fortuite du Roi des Icènes, Prasatagus, et d’une esclave en fuite appartenant à la lignée royale de la tribu gauloise des Éduens, change le destin des Iles Britanniques pour toujours. 

Levez-vous pour la liberté avec la véritable histoire de Boudicca : la reine des Icènes de Bretagne et découvrez un des destins les plus inspirants de l’Histoire !

Une biographie romancée des femmes légendaires de l’Histoire du monde.

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Catherine de Valois: Princess de France, Matriarche des Tudors

La princesse française oubliée dont le courage lança la dynastie des Tudors.

La guerre la fit reine d’Angleterre. Son amour pour un Gallois la rendit immortelle.

Mieux connue comme la fiancée d’Azincourt d’Henri V, de la pièce « Henri V » de Shakespeare, Catherine de Valois était une femme de foi, courage et conviction extraordinaire dans un âge de femmes puissantes politiquement.

La plus jeune fille du roi Charles VI de France terrorisé par sa maladie mentale, Catherine de Valois survécut les ravages de sa schizophrénie, une guerre civile dans son pays, et la guerre d’Henri V contre la France pour devenir une des reines les plus courageuses et fascinantes de la Renaissance.

Une biographie narrative de la série des Femmes Légendaires de l’Histoire du Monde. 

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L’impératrice Wu Zetian

La femme la plus haïe de l’histoire de la Chine ! 

Voyagez plus de mille ans en arrière dans le temps et rencontrez la première et unique femme empereur de la Chine. Née Wu Zhao et attribuée le titre de règne « Zetian » quelques semaines seulement avant sa mort en 705 CE, elle était la fille indésirable du chancelier Wu Shihuo — trop intelligente, trop éduquée et trop intéressée par la politique pour être une bonne épouse, selon les interprétations contemporaines des Entretiens de Confucius. 

Est-il surprenant que jusqu’à ce jour elle demeure la femme la plus haïe de toute l’histoire de la Chine et une de ses plus controversées ? 

Explorez la vie de l’impératrice Wu et découvrez pourquoi le monde est un endroit bien plus différent parce qu’elle a osé faire ce qu’aucune femme en Chine, avant et depuis, n’a jamais rêvé de faire.

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Audiolibros en Espanol

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Cause for Murder: Hypatia Defends the Jews

In 2017 I wrote this paper as part of my work on “Hypatia of Alexandria.” After all this time I do not recall if I published it as a guest post on another blog or simply wrote it and forgot about it. Either way, I think this is a solid research paper deserving your attention. Enjoy

by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Written September 28th, 2017

15^th of March, 415 CE. In front of the Caesareum the greatest philosopher, astronomer, and teacher of the late Roman Empire is skinned alive and torn to pieces in a scene of gruesome murder. All of this is done on behalf of the new Patriarch of Alexandria, a man named Cyril, nephew of the great Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria. Cyril had every motive for murder. Not only was Hypatia beautiful enough to tempt any man into sin (even at the age of sixty), but she dared the unthinkable for a woman:  she was political!

Cyril wanted absolute power.  It wasn’t enough that he was the most powerful man in what was becoming Eastern Orthodox Christianity. He needed secular power too! But the government was still Roman and a largely secular authority at that, despite Constantine making Christianity the official state religion just decades before.  Certainly, the government played no favourites among Alexandria’s three main factions:  Greeks, Jews, and Christians. But it did favour the wealthy and the intellectual elite which was heavily Greek and Jewish. Among the Greeks, none were more influential than Hypatia and her late father, Theon of Alexandria.

Hypatia’s place in Alexandria’s intellectual life made her natural allies to Jewish intellectuals, including the local rabbinate whom Cyril hated and rivalled against. Hypatia held no intellectual prejudices; she would learn from and teach anyone regardless of class, religion, or nationality. No book was forbidden to her nor unworthy of study, a lesson she mastered as she helped her father fulfil his duties as head librarian of Alexandria. Could it be any wonder she was the darling of those with a passion for learning?

To Cyril, such unfettered consumption of books was perilous. In his letter to the Colossians Saint Paul wrote, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” Cyril believed this passionately. Like his uncle before him, that verse guided his belief that not only was Christianity the only one true religion, but that everyone must either convert to Christianity or be killed. And not just any Christianity either.  Every Christian must adopt a very specific form of Christian orthodoxy or else be treated the same as Jews and Pagans.

In this orthodoxy, education of females was unconscionable, even if the Roman government did find educating Roman citizen girls important to maintaining an orderly society. Females were to be silent and obedient and defer in all things to men. On this Cyril felt the epistles of St. Paul were quite clear.

Hypatia therefore represented everything that Cyril hated and found intolerable. An educated woman. A philosopher. A scientist. A pagan. A friend to Jews. She read forbidden books and taught forbidden things. She was political and not just political, she was so respected by the Roman authorities that what she advised was usually done.  In every way Hypatia stood in the way of Cyril’s ambition. She was a threat to Christian life and had to die.

Shortly after Hypatia’s murder, her greatest ally in the Roman Empire, Orestes, governor of Egypt mysteriously disappeared.  Coincidence?

Learn more about Hypatia in “Hypatia of Alexandria” by Laurel A. Rockefeller.  Available at Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes/Noble, kobo, and a retailer near you. 

Audio edition available at Apple and Audible.

Libros en español: descripciones de libros y enlaces minoristas

Boudica, Reina Británica de los Icenos

¿Por qué está gritando el cuervo de Morrigan? ¡Sólo los británicos con corazón que aspiran a la verdadera libertad lo saben!

En el año 43 de nuestra era, la conquista romana de Britania parece casi segura, hasta que un encuentro casual entre el rey Prasutagus de los icenos y una esclava fugitiva descendiente de la tribu de los eduos en Galia cambia el destino de las islas británicas para siempre.

¡Se levantará por la libertad con la historia real de Boudica: Reina de los icenos de Gran Bretaña y descubrirá una de las historias más inspiradoras de la historia!

Una biografía no ficticia sobre mujeres legendarias de la historia mundial.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand.

Catalina de Valois. Princesa francesa, matriarca de los Tudor

La olvidada princesa francesa cuyo valor catapultó a la dinastía Tudor

La guerra hizo de ella la reina de Inglaterra. Su amor por un galés la hizo inmortal.

Mejor conocida como la novia de Agincourt de Enrique V en ‘Enrque V’ de Shakespeare, Catalina de Valois era una mujer extraordinaria de fe, valor y convicción en una época con mujeres políticamente poderosas.

Hija menor del rey Carlos VI de Francia, aterrorizada por su enfermedad mental, la princesa Catalina sobrevivió a los estragos de su esquizofrenia, una guerra civil en casa y la guerra del rey Enrique con Francia para convertirse en una de las reinas más fascinantes y valientes del Renacimiento.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Cleopatra VII: El ultimo faraón de Egipto

¡La emocionante historia real de la reina más famosa de Egipto!

Cleopatra Thea Philopator se negó a hacer lo que le dijeron. En una época en la que el patriarcado negaba la ciudadanía plena incluso a las mujeres romanas más elitistas, Cleopatra gobernaba su Egipto decidida a mantenerlo independiente y libre del control romano, a cualquier precio que fuera necesario. Demonizada como una simple seductora por Cayo Julio César Octavio (el futuro César Augusto) y sus aliados políticos, Cleopatra VII demostró ser igual a tres de los hombres más poderosos del mundo romano: Cayo Julio César, Marco Antonio y Octavio César.

Incluye una cronología detallada, una lista de lecturas y bibliografía sugeridas; así como un huevo de Pascua especial para los fanáticos de Doctor Who.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Emperatriz Matilda de Inglaterra

¡La leona rugiente de Inglaterra!

Nacida en 1102 del rey Enrique I de Inglaterra y la reina Matilda de Escocia, la herencia real única de Matilda, normanda, sajona y escocesa fue destinada a unificar a una Inglaterra todavía dividida por las conquistas de su abuelo en 1066. Cuando en 1120, el Desastre del Barco Blanco la hizo la única hija sobreviviente de sus padres y Matilda se volvió la heredera al trono inglés en un tiempo en el que el viejo Witan sajón y no la voluntad del rey decidían la sucesión.

Descubre la verdadera historia de la primera mujer en reclamar el trono de Inglaterra por su propio derecho e inspírate.

Incluye el árbol genealógico de Matilda, una línea del tiempo detallada y lecturas sugeridas para que puedas seguir aprendiendo.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Emperatriz Wǔ Zétiān

¡La mujer más odiada en la historia de China! Viaje en el tiempo más de mil años y conozca al primer y único emperador femenino de China. Nacida Wǔ Zhào, recibió el título de su reinado como “Zétiān” pocas semanas antes de su muerte en el año 705 de nuestra era. Fue la hija no deseada del Canciller Wǔ Shì Huo: demasiado brillante, demasiado educada, y demasiado políticamente centrada para fungir como una buena esposa según las contemporáneas interpretaciones de las Analectas de Confucio. ¿Puede ser de extrañar que al día de hoy ella sigue siendo la mujer más odiada en toda la historia de China y una de las más controvertidas? Explora la vida de la emperatriz Wǔ y descubre por qué el mundo es un lugar muy diferente ya que se atrevió a lo que ninguna mujer en China antes o desde entonces había soñado.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Gwenllian Ferch Gruffydd: la princesa guerrea de Deheubarth

¡La heroica antepasada galesa de la reina Isabel Tudor!

Nacida en 1097 en el castillo de Aberffraw, la princesa Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd ap Cynan siempre estuvo destinada a grandes cosas. Hija de uno de los guerreros más grandes de Gwynedd, creció siendo fuerte y apasionada, siendo incluso más que un reto para sus hermanos mayores.

A los dieciséis años, la vida de Gwenllian cambió para siempre cuando se enamoró del príncipe Gruffydd ap Rhys, el atribulado heredero de Rhys ap Tewdur de Deheubarth. Juntos, marido y mujer lucharon y reinaron el sur de Gales, desafiando a la conquista normanda de Gales y demostrando de una vez por todas la total nobleza y valor del pueblo galés, un valor que sobrevivió durante siglos y que vive en el corazón de cada hombre, mujer y niño galés.

Incluye una extensa cronología de más de 400 años de la historia medieval de Gales e Inglaterra.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Hipatia de Alejandría

Cuando el mundo occidental cayó en la oscuridad, ella se atrevió a defender la Luz.

Nacida en 355 d.C., tras el reinado de Constantino, Hipatia de Alejandría vivía en un Imperio Romano colapsado, un mundo donde la obediencia a las autoridades religiosas venció a la ciencia, donde la razón y la lógica amenazaban el nuevo orden mundial. Era un mundo al borde de la Edad Oscura, un mundo que decidía la cuestión de la ciencia contra la religión, libertad contra la ortodoxia, tolerancia contra el odio.

Durante más de 40 años, Hipatia estuvo entre las edades oscuras y la luz de la filosofía clásica, las artes y las ciencias. Aunque ninguno de sus libros sobrevivió a la agresiva quema de libros de los fanáticos religiosos, su legado sigue siendo el de una de los mejores científicos de todos los tiempos.

Esta es su fascinante historia real.

Incluye bibliografía, una línea de tiempo detallada y coordenadas de latitud y longitud para las principales ciudades del Imperio Romano para que pueda explorar las maravillas de los cielos con Hipatia.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

La gran crisis de sucesión

La última heredera posible de la dinastía Gurun tiene ante sí una difícil decisión: seguir los dictados de su corazón y casarse con el caballero que siempre la ha amado o casarse con un rival político ambicioso y cruel con la esperanza de asegurar el futuro de su familia.


¿Qué puede hacer una joven e inocente princesa?


El futuro del planeta Beinan está en peligro cuando la gran crisis de sucesión amenaza a todos los seres queridos de la princesa Anlei en esta romántica precuela de Fantasmas del pasado.

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La Reina Isabel Tudor, Viaje a Gloriana

“Se me ha ordenado por su consejo ir a la Torre, un lugar más apto para un falso traidor que para un súbdito verdadero, lo que, por lo que se, lo quiera o no, aún ante este reino lo soy”, escribió la Princesa Isabel Tudor en su carta de última hora a su hermana la Reina María mientras los guardias esperaban para transportarla a la Torre de Londres.

La reina Isabel es tal vez la soberana más legendaria y celebrada en la historia inglesa. Aún así, ¿crees que la conoces suficientemente bien?

En esta hermosa biografía narrativa, explorarás el camino de Isabel desde “Lady Isabel” hasta “Gloriana” a través de la lente de su relación con Robert Dudley, una relación mucho más contenciosa de lo que la mayoría de la gente cree. Política y religión colisionan, provocando que Isabel se tenga que consolar a sí misma con su música; y una decisión muy difícil se presenta ante ella mientras complots en su contra amenazan el trono.

Toma el viaje a Gloriana y descubre un lado de Isabel que no sabías que existía.

El libro incluye seis canciones medievales e Isabelinas, una línea de tiempo detallada, así como una extensa lista de lecturas sugeridas. Continúa “María reina de los escoceses”.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

María Estuardo, reina de Escocia: El reino olvidado

La reina María Estuardo fue una de las más amadas y controversiales mujeres en la historia de Escocia. Nieta del rey James IV y su esposa Margaret Tudor, con un estatus de heredera aparente al trono inglés junto con la violencia de la Reforma Protestante Escocesa dio lugar a una de las vidas más dramáticas y poco entendidas del siglo XVI.

Este libro cuenta la historia verdadera de María, enfocándose principalmente en su reinado como reina de Escocia, celebrando su vida más que su muerte y mostrándonos a todos nosotros porque era una mujer adelantada a su tiempo.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Margarita de Wessex

El siglo XI fue una época peligrosa para pertenecer a la línea ininterrumpida del rey Æthelred II el Indeciso y su primera reina, Æfgifu de York. Nacida en Hungría tras el intento fallido del rey Canuto III de asesinar a su padre, Eduardo el Exiliado, Margarita vio cómo su vida daba un vuelco cuando el rey Eduardo el Confesor descubrió que su padre había sobrevivido, y la consiguiente devolución de su familia a Inglaterra.

Convertida en un rehén político que sólo se mantenía vivo mientras sirviera a los intereses de los hombres poderosos, Margarita y su familia encontraron en la invitación del rey Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh Ceann Mhor a su corte en Dunfermline, en Alba, la respuesta largamente esperada a sus plegarias.

Escocia nunca volvería a ser la misma.

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Preparándome para mi primera cacatúa ninfa

«Preparándome para mi primera cacatúa ninfa» es una guía para ti y tus hijos, para ayudarles a saber cómo prepararse antes de traer a casa su primera cacatúa ninfa.

A diferencia de la mayoría de los libros acerca de ninfas, éste no trata de cubrirlo todo, pero se enfoca en lo que necesitas tener listo para iniciar tu nueva vida en compañía de tu ave.

Con este libro lleno de anécdotas e imágenes, conocerás la vida con cacatúas ninfa a través de mis muchos años en compañía de ellas. ¡Un libro divertido para cualquiera que ame a los animales!

Los temas abarcados incluyen:

•Las ninfas son cacatúas

•Jaulas primarias

•Jaulas de viaje y jaulas hospital (incluidas jaulas para vuelos domésticos e internacionales)

•Espacios de juego

•Comida

•Juguetes

•Perchas

•Recipientes de alimento

•Comunicación con una ninfa nueva o tímida

•Prevención de la psitacosis (la principal enfermedad transmitida entre humanos y aves)

•Juegos para jugar con tu nueva ave

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Su Roja Eminencia, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu

Sacerdote. Amante. Estadista.

El cardenal Armand-Jean du Plessis, duque de Richelieu, es uno de los políticos más famosos o infames de todos los tiempos. Hecho un villano en la popular novela de Dumas, “Los tres mosqueteros”, el verdadero hombre era un servidor público dedicado y leal al rey y al país. Un hombre de lógica y razón, transformó nuestra forma de pensar sobre las naciones y la nacionalidad. Secularizó las guerras entre países, patrocinó las artes por el bien público, fundó el primer periódico en Francia y creó a Francia como el país moderno que conocemos hoy.

Detrás de escena, du Plessis con frecuencia sufría de migrañas paralizantes y malaria. Oculto a la vista, pero siempre a su lado estaba Anne Rochefeuille, su querida amiga, enfermera y amante. Su igual intelectual, Anne trabajó incansablemente para capacitar a su cardenal para lograr la grandeza, su amor mutuo prohibido por la iglesia católica romana a la que sirvió Armand.

Lleno de música de época, baile y mucho romance, “Su Roja Eminencia” te transporta de regreso a la corte del rey Luis XIII en todo su color vibrante y vivo.

Ganador del Premio Libro Godiva 2019.

Encuentre este libro en Amazon, Apple, Everand

Audiolibros en español: descripciones de libros y enlaces minoristas

Los audiolibros son mi pasión. Desde 2014 he invertido mucho en producciones de audiolibros en los cuatro idiomas disponibles: inglés, español, francés y alemán.

Aunque muchas de las publicaciones de mi blog incluyen enlaces aplicables a ediciones de audio, a veces resulta útil explorar una sola publicación dedicada a audiolibros que se centre en enlaces minoristas. Si está buscando su próxima gran escucha, no dude en desplazarse por esta publicación.

Audiolibros disponibles en orden alfabético:

Boudica: Reina Británica de los Icenos

¿Por qué está gritando el cuervo de Morrigan? ¡Sólo los británicos con corazón que aspiran a la verdadera libertad lo saben!

En el año 43 de nuestra era, la conquista romana de Britania parece casi segura, hasta que un encuentro casual entre el rey Prasutagus de los icenos y una esclava fugitiva descendiente de la tribu de los eduos en Galia cambia el destino de las islas británicas para siempre.

¡Se levantará por la libertad con la historia real de Boudica: Reina de los icenos de Gran Bretaña y descubrirá una de las historias más inspiradoras de la historia!

Una biografía no ficticia sobre mujeres legendarias de la historia mundial.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

Catalina de Valois. Princesa francesa, matriarca de los Tudor

La olvidada princesa francesa cuyo valor catapultó a la dinastía Tudor

La guerra hizo de ella la reina de Inglaterra. Su amor por un galés la hizo inmortal.

Mejor conocida como la novia de Agincourt de Enrique V en ‘Enrque V’ de Shakespeare, Catalina de Valois era una mujer extraordinaria de fe, valor y convicción en una época con mujeres políticamente poderosas.

Hija menor del rey Carlos VI de Francia, aterrorizada por su enfermedad mental, la princesa Catalina sobrevivió a los estragos de su esquizofrenia, una guerra civil en casa y la guerra del rey Enrique con Francia para convertirse en una de las reinas más fascinantes y valientes del Renacimiento.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

Cleopatra VII: La última faraona de Egipto

¡La emocionante historia real de la reina más famosa de Egipto!

Cleopatra Thea Philopator se negó a hacer lo que le dijeron. En una época en la que el patriarcado negaba la ciudadanía plena incluso a las mujeres romanas más elitistas, Cleopatra gobernaba su Egipto decidida a mantenerlo independiente y libre del control romano, a cualquier precio que fuera necesario. Demonizada como una simple seductora por Cayo Julio César Octavio (el futuro César Augusto) y sus aliados políticos, Cleopatra VII demostró ser igual a tres de los hombres más poderosos del mundo romano: Cayo Julio César, Marco Antonio y Octavio César.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

Emperatriz Wǔ Zétiān

¡La mujer más odiada en la historia de China! Viaje en el tiempo más de mil años y conozca al primer y único emperador femenino de China. Nacida Wǔ Zhào, recibió el título de su reinado como “Zétiān” pocas semanas antes de su muerte en el año 705 de nuestra era. Fue la hija no deseada del Canciller Wǔ Shì Huo: demasiado brillante, demasiado educada, y demasiado políticamente centrada para fungir como una buena esposa según las contemporáneas interpretaciones de las Analectas de Confucio. ¿Puede ser de extrañar que al día de hoy ella sigue siendo la mujer más odiada en toda la historia de China y una de las más controvertidas? Explora la vida de la emperatriz Wǔ y descubre por qué el mundo es un lugar muy diferente ya que se atrevió a lo que ninguna mujer en China antes o desde entonces había soñado.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

Hipatia de Alejandría

Cuando el mundo occidental cayó en la oscuridad, ella se atrevió a defender la Luz.

Nacida en 355 d.C., tras el reinado de Constantino, Hipatia de Alejandría vivía en un Imperio Romano colapsado, un mundo donde la obediencia a las autoridades religiosas venció a la ciencia, donde la razón y la lógica amenazaban el nuevo orden mundial. Era un mundo al borde de la Edad Oscura, un mundo que decidía la cuestión de la ciencia contra la religión, libertad contra la ortodoxia, tolerancia contra el odio.

Durante más de 40 años, Hipatia estuvo entre las edades oscuras y la luz de la filosofía clásica, las artes y las ciencias. Aunque ninguno de sus libros sobrevivió a la agresiva quema de libros de los fanáticos religiosos, su legado sigue siendo el de una de los mejores científicos de todos los tiempos.

Esta es su fascinante historia real.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

María Estuardo, reina de Escocia: El reino olvidado

La reina María Estuardo fue una de las más amadas y controversiales mujeres en la historia de Escocia. Nieta del rey James IV y su esposa Margaret Tudor, con un estatus de heredera aparente al trono inglés junto con la violencia de la Reforma Protestante Escocesa dio lugar a una de las vidas más dramáticas y poco entendidas del siglo XVI.

Este libro cuenta la historia verdadera de María, enfocándose principalmente en su reinado como reina de Escocia, celebrando su vida más que su muerte y mostrándonos a todos nosotros porque era una mujer adelantada a su tiempo.

Encuentre este audiolibro en Apple, Audible.

Publicaciones de blog relacionadas

Livres Audio en francais

Hörbücher auf Deutsch: Buchbeschreibungen und Einzelhandelslinks

Where to Find Audiobooks by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Malcolm Romances Margaret. Excerpt from “Margaret of Wessex: A Play in Four Acts”

The 11th century was a perilous time, especially for England’s last Saxon princess, Margaret of Wessex. After escaping England, Margaret and her family takes refuge at the court of King Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh in Dunfermline – better known in English as Malcolm III Canmore, king of the Scots. In this excerpt from the stage drama, Malcolm expresses his romantic interest in the beautiful Margaret for the very first time.

Dunfermline Palace today

Act III, Scene III

1068. Dunfermline Palace. Courtyard. Midnight. MALCOLM ALBA leans against the parapet on the outside wall and looks down into the courtyard. MARGARET WESSEX ENTERS and wanders around the courtyard. Malcolm notices her and climbs down the stone steps to her while she looks up at the night sky. The light around him is very dim, rendering him almost invisible until he speaks to Margaret.

MALCOLM ALBA

You can’t sleep either.

MARGARET WESSEX

(startled)

Your Majesty!

MALCOLM ALBA

 Máel Coluim. At least here you can call me that.  There are no guards, no court, no protocol to follow—or none I will tolerate right now. I’m just a man, a man who cannot sleep tonight.

MARGARET WESSEX

 One does not usually think of kings as normal men.

MALCOLM ALBA

 Odd for you to say so given you spent the last few years in King Edward the Confessor’s court and count your grandfather as king of England.

MARGARET WESSEX

 A man I never knew….

MALCOLM ALBA

 Regardless, you are granddaughter of a king; that his reign was brief matters not. You are royal, same as me.

MARGARET WESSEX

 Forgive me, Sire, I know very little about you—beyond your hospitality which is far more than I deserve.

MALCOLM ALBA

 More than you deserve? Why on earth would you think that?

MARGARET WESSEX

 I am but a woman and as a daughter of Eve, flawed to my core.

MALCOLM ALBA

(stepping up to her and kissing her)

Yes, you are a woman! A very beautiful woman, especially with your hair unbound and uncovered by your veils.

MARGARET WESSEX

 What do you want of me, Sire?

MALCOLM ALBA

 Your love.

MARGARET WESSEX

 So soon?

MALCOLM ALBA

(kissing her again)

 Yes.

MARGARET WESSEX

 Why me?

MALCOLM ALBA

 I don’t know. Perhaps I recognize something in your soul that makes it clear to me that you belong at my side as my bride. I know it doesn’t make sense given the brevity of our acquaintance and no doubt my son would be unhappy if he knew my feelings tonight.  But that is my instinct towards you, Margaret. If I dared, I would ask your brother’s permission to wed you.

MARGARET WESSEX

 If you dared? I thought warriors never hesitated in taking what they want.

MALCOLM ALBA

 This is different. When I killed MacBheatha mac Fhionnlaigh at the Battle of Lumphanan and then his stepson Lulach a year later, I was avenging my father and fulfilling my duties as heir to my father’s throne. I did what I did because I had to. War is like that. But this is different. This with you is much more personal. I would be a fool if I rushed into it without thinking first.

MARGARET WESSEX

 You call kissing me after only a few days as your guest not rushing?

MALCOLM ALBA

Relatively speaking. If we are to be fully honest with each other, I think I wanted to marry you the very instant I first laid my eyes upon you. It didn’t matter you were tired, hungry, a bit filthy from travel, and smelled like you spent time sleeping far too close to fish!

MARGARET WESSEX

Now I’m self-conscious.  Was I really such a mess when I arrived?

MALCOLM ALBA

 For a princess meeting a king for the first time, yes, but then you did come unannounced and I was eager to meet you.  I could have easily deferred our first audience until your rooms were ready and you’d bathed and changed into fresh clothes.

MARGARET WESSEX

 You were that curious about me?

MALCOLM ALBA

(kissing her)

I was, yes.

MARGARET WESSEX

 You seem to like to kiss me.

MALCOLM ALBA

 Do you mind?

MARGARET WESSEX

 Depends on what you expect to come of it tonight.

MALCOLM ALBA

No more than good dreams of me after you lay back down to sleep.

MARGARET WESSEX

 You are not expecting me to—

MALCOLM ALBA

No! Not that! Not that I would not like that. I am a widow and it’s been a long time since I had such things—but no! I prefer to only taste such delights when you are my queen. Nothing less.

MARGARET WESSEX

 Have you taken no mistresses in all this time?

MALCOLM ALBA

 I have remained completely chaste since Queen Ingibiorg’s death. Fornication may be the prerogative of kings, but it is still a sin and hardly the path to God’s favour. I have lain with but one woman since my wedding and that was with my wife and queen. God clearly approves: our son Donnchadh is strong and healthy. My only sorrow is that his mother died so soon after his birth.  He’s never known what it is to have a mother.

MARGARET WESSEX

 Donnchadh? Named after your father?

MALCOLM ALBA

 Yes! Seems appropriate, don’t you think?

MARGARET WESSEX

 Yes.

MALCOLM ALBA

 Please tell me you approve of me?

MARGARET WESSEX

I do. You are a good man, Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh.

MALCOLM ALBA

(kissing her)

Oidhche mhath! Good night. Think well of me!

(END OF SCENE)

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What is England? Excerpt from “Margaret of Wessex: A Play in Four Acts”

The Norman Conquest of England did not stop with the coronation of William I the Conqueror in December 1066. As first William I, then his sons William Rufus and Henry followed him on the English throne, war expanded outward from southeast England, eventually soaking all of England, Wales, and Alba (Scotland) in blood. In this prologue scene (second of two) set in 1125, King Henry’s only surviving legitimate daughter Matilda returns to the palace at the White Tower after the death of her husband, Kaiser Heinrich V, to find her estranged father and barely remembered country completely foreign to her.

The White Tower of London today

Prologue, Scene II

1125. Kaiserin Matilda’s apartment.  Tower of London. AGNES finishes moving Matilda’s clothes and shoes from their trunks and into wardrobe cupboards. KAISERIN MATILDA ENTERS stage right. Agnes immediately begins to undress Matilda.

AGNES

Did you have to defy him?

KAISERIN MATILDA

He treats me as his subject when I outrank him!” exclaimed Matilda. “What is England? A minor territory compared with our holdings in France. Normandy is the greater realm. At least in Normandy everyone speaks the same dialect of French.  This England has not a single form of the language that everyone within its realm speaks with the same words. Norman nobles speak Norman French; they don’t’ even try to speak the local language which is different depending on what city or shire you are in.  Do you think the English spoken in Manchester is the same as it is in London? In Lincoln? In York? In Bristol?

Maybe someday it will be, but right now it’s a simmering blend of languages representing every culture to set foot on these islands. Latin from the Romans added into the native Brythonic dialects. Angles in the old Iceni lands and in Northumbria. Jutes in Sussex. Saxons here in the southeast. And that’s before the Danes invaded England and the Norwegians invaded Orkney. Each of these speak different languages and dialects. Every plant, every animal has multiple names depending on local preferences. Yet my father expects me to be fluent in this odd language? Even when I was little, before I learned German in my Heinrich’s court, how far would that English have taken me?

AGNES

(pulling a bliaut over Matilda’s head)

I heard you speak English a couple times at court; your father’s messengers did not speak German when they came to you. If English is as confused as the Tower of Babel in the Bible, how was that even possible?

KAISERIN MATILDA

 The English you heard was the dialect House Wessex used in its courts. It’s not completely forgotten, at least not in the southeast.  But the further you travel north, away from Wessex and the southeast, the more the spoken language changes. Writing is a different matter. The Venerable Bede was born way up north in Durham in Northumbria yet we can all understand the English he used in his “Anglo-Saxon Chronical.”

AGNES

(finishing lacing up Matilda’s gown)

 Margaret of Wessex was your grandmother, wasn’t she?

KAISERIN MATILDA

 Yes.

AGNES

 I heard rumour she made quite the impact on the language in Scotland.

KAISERIN MATILDA

 She did! My mother Edith Matilda was the first princess of Alba—or Scotland if you prefer—to carry an English name instead of a Pictish or Gaelic name. My mother, along with her younger sister Mary, and all their brothers Edward, Edmund, Ǣthelred, Edgar, Alexander, and of course my uncle David, now King David, possess English names and speak some form of English in addition to Pict-Gaelic.

By contrast, my uncle Donnchadh mac Máel Coluim, whom the English call King Duncan the Second, was named in Pict-Gaelic. His mother was my grandfather’s first wife, Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, widow to Earl Thorfinn Sigurdsson of Orkney.

AGNES

 Are you related then to the earls of Orkney?

KAISERIN MATILDA

 Indirectly, but yes.

AGNES

 Sounds like a complicated story.

KAISERIN MATILDA

 Perhaps.

AGNES

 Will you tell it to me? Tell me about your grandparents in Scotland?

KAISERIN MATILDA

 I would be happy to.

(END OF SCENE)

(END OF PROLOGUE)

Love this scene? Buy the full play at a retailer near you including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes/Noble.

Related blog posts:

Betrothal of a Princess

Easter in Rome

Christmas at the White Tower of London

Where to Find Audiobooks by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Audiobooks are my passion. Since 2014 I have invested heavily in audiobook productions across all four available audiobook languages: English, Spanish, French, and German. From 2014 to mid 2022 these audiobooks were produced for exclusive publication on Amazon, Audible, and Apple retail sites. Since September 2022 audiobook productions have expanded to include Spotify, LibroFM, Chirp, Everand, Barnes/Noble, Audiobooks.com, Hoopla, Overdrive, and many more. Audible offers series pages for the Life with Cockatiels and for the Legendary Women of World History (excluding newer releases Mary Queen of the Scots and Margaret of Wessex).

Though many of my blog posts include applicable links to audio editions, sometimes it helps to browse a single post devoted to audiobooks focusing on retail links. If you are looking for your next great listen, feel free to scroll through this post. On the newest releases (September 2022 to present) you will find at least four retail links for each book. Odds are heavy there are dozens more retailers offering them too. If you don’t find a link to your favorite retailer, feel free to consult that retailer’s website or simply contact customer service! We all want you to find something great to listen to.

Available Audiobooks in Alphabetical Order:

A New Start in the Niobrara for Mr. and Mrs. O’Malley

Run time: 4 minutes

Take a train ride through 1880s Nebraska. Apple, Audible, Audiobooks, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify.

Genres: flash fiction, historical fiction, western

Aliénor d’Aquitaine

Run time: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Plus qu’une duchesse. Plus qu’une reine. Sa vie a transformé l’Europe médiévale d’une manière que nous ne pourrons jamais comprendre pleinement. Apple, Audiobooks, Everand, LibroFM, Hoopla, Spotify, Kobo/Walmart.

Genres: biography, medieval history

American Patriarchy

Run time: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Modeled after “American Poverty” in structure, American Patriarchy explores the challenges women face in American society. Cultural history is explored in this personal and thought-provoking micro-history. Apple, Audible, Everand, Hoopla, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify, Everand, Kobo/Walmart.

Genres: American history, modern history, social issues.

American Poverty

Run time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Occupy Wall Street, the Great Recession, and poverty in rural Pennsylvania all come together in historian Laurel A. Rockefeller’s historical analysis focusing on American History and politics. Apple, Audible.

Genres: American history, public policy, political science.

The Arban and the Saman

Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Experience the mystery, majesty, and mysticism of medieval China as the Mongol hordes conquer the world. Features music performed in English and Chinese by Laurel A. Rockefeller. Apple, Audible.

Genres: historical fiction, romance, paranormal romance.

Boudicca: Britain’s Queen of the Iceni

Run time: 50 minutes

She alone stood up to the might of Rome. English (Apple, Audible), French (Apple, Audible), Spanish (Apple, Audible), and German (Apple, Audible).

Genres: biography, Roman Britain, ancient history

Catherine de Valois: French Princess, Tudor Matriarch

Run time: 1 hour, 9 minutes

More than Henry V’s trophy wife, she overcame her father’s mental illness and Henry’s warmongering to become matriarch to House Lancaster and its emerging Tudor dynasty. Spanish edition features music performed by Laurel A. Rockefeller.

English (Apple, Audible), French (Apple, Audible), Spanish (Apple, Audible), and German (Apple, Audible).

Cleopatra VII: La última faraona de Egipto

Run time: 2 hours, 22 minutes

Calificada de puta y seductora, la verdadera Cleopatra VII fue una de las mentes más brillantes de su época y el único faraón ptolemaico que hablaba, leía y escribía en egipcio. Conoce a la verdadera mujer que creías conocer. Apple, Audible.

Genres: ancient history, biography

Empress Matilda of England

Run time: 2 hours, 28 minutes

The roaring lioness of England! Born the daughter of Henry I of England, Matilda was married off to Kaiser Heinrich V, a man 16 years her elder. But when the White Ship Disaster made her the sole surviving legitimate child of her parents, Matilda became more than Imperatrix Romanorum. She became the bridge between the Angevin and Plantagenet dynasties. Discover her true story in English (Apple, Audible) and German (Apple, Audible).

Genres: medieval history, biography

Empress Wu Zetian

Run time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

The most infamous ruler of the Tang dynasty, her reign still touches our lives today. English (Apple, Audible), French (Apple, Audible), Spanish (Apple, Audible), German (Apple, Audible)

Genres: biography, Chinese history, medieval history

The First King

Run time: 4 minutes.

The flash fiction story that became Good-bye A672E92 Quintus. Apple, Hoopla, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify, Google Play.

Genre: flash fiction, science fiction

Founding Mothers

Run time: 2 hours, 29 minutes

They forged two nations – but do you know their stories? Apple, Everand, Barnes/Noble, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify, kobo, Hoopla. Features early American music in a special appendix, including “Chester,” “We Gather Together,” “Hail Columbia,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Genres: American history, colonial American history, Jewish American history, Native American history.

Good-bye A672E92 Quintus

Run time: 52 minutes

Available in English (Apple/Audible) and French (Apple, Audible), Good-bye is the prequel to the Peers of Beinan series novels exploring the final yen-ars (Beinarian years) on the Beinarian home world: A672E92 Quintus. A romantic adventure story, the two greatest legends in Beinarian history meet and the foundations for life on Beinan are laid.

Genres: science fiction, romance,

Hildegard von Bingen

Run time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Narrated by Steven Vox, this musical biography explores the life of Hildegard von Bingen, the German mystic who transformed life for medieval German women. A renown visionary, healer, and musical composer, Hildegard could barely read or write and depended heavily on her secretary Brother Volmar. This is her remarkable life story. Apple, Audible.

Genres: biography, medieval history, early music

Hypatia of Alexandria

Run time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

When darkness came, she dared defend the light!

Born in 355 CE in the aftermath of Constantine’s reign, Hypatia of Alexandria lived in a collapsing Roman Empire, a world where obedience to religious authorities trumped science, where reason and logic threatened the new world order. It was a world on the edge of the Dark Ages, a world deciding the question of science verses religion, freedom verses orthodoxy, tolerance verses hate. Available in English (Apple, Audible), and Spanish (Apple, Audible).

Genres: biography, ancient history, women scientists, Greek scientists

Hypatia of Alexandria – Student/Teacher Edition

Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

The Hypatia of Alexandria audiobook – with the addition of study questions after every chapter. Apple, Audible

Genres: biography, ancient history, women scientists, Greek scientists

Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation

Run time: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Born in 1499, Katharina started her education at first the convent at Brehna, then continued it in Kloster Nimbschen where she took vows as a nun at the age of sixteen and expected to live the whole of her life. God, however, had other plans. On Easter Eve 1523 she escaped with eleven other nuns to Wittenberg, a move meant to be temporary until a more permanent home could be found for her. What happened next changed the world in this family story filled with music in the original German and expertly sung by Steven Vox. Apple, Audible

Genres: biography, Protestant Reformation, German history, church history

Margaret of Wessex: Mother, Saint, and Queen of Scots

Run time: 2 hours, 13 minutes

The 11th century was a dangerous time to be of the line unbroken of King Æthelred II Unread and his first queen, Æfgifu of York. Born in Hungary after King Canute III’s failed attempt to murder her father, Edward the Exile, Margaret found her life turned upside down by King Edward the Confessor’s discovery of her father’s survival — and the resulting recall of her family to England.

Now a political hostage only kept alive for as long as it served powerful men’s interests, Margaret and her family found King Máel Coluim mac Donnchadh Ceann Mhor (Malcolm III Canmore)’s invitation to his court in Dunfermline the long-awaited answer to her prayers.

Scotland would never be the same again.

Apple, Audible, Audiobooks, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify, Everand Hoopla.

Genres: biography, Scottish history, medieval history, Anglo-Saxons, Norman Conquest

Mary Queen of the Scots: the Forgotten Reign.

Run time: 1 hour, 14 minutes

Queen Mary Stuart was one of the most beloved and controversial women in Scottish history. The granddaughter of King James IV and his wife Margaret Tudor, Queen Mary’s status as heiress-apparent to Queen Elizabeth’s throne in England paired with the violence of the Scottish Reformation set the stage for one of the most dramatic and poorly understood lives of the 16th century.

Mary Queen of the Scots tells Mary’s true story, focusing primarily on her reign as queen of Scotland, celebrating her life more than her death and showing us all why she was truly a woman ahead of her time. Features period music including “Depairte, Depairte” in Auld Scots. English: Apple, Audible, Hoopla, LibroFM, Chirp, Spotify, Everand. Spanish: Apple, Audible

Genres: biography, Scottish history, early music

Mithril and Me: A Love Story

Run time: 2 hours, 21 minutes

Mithril and Me is the true story of the special bond that forms between human and bird. Beginning with her first bird, a budgerigar (parakeet) named Luke and across the decades since, Laurel A. Rockefeller takes you on a special journey as only she can, learning and growing as a person along the way and loving each bird that comes into her life. Perfect for the animal lover in your life. Apple, Audible

Genres: memoirs, biography, cockatiels, pet birds

The Poisoned Ground

Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes

A mysterious plague is spreading across Nan-li City. When Abbess Cara comes to investigate she discovers there is much more happening than simply the poisoned ground. Based on real conditions in western Pennsylvania. Apple, Audible

Genre: science fiction.

Preparing For My First Cockatiel

Run time: 59 minutes

What is involved when you bring home a new cockatiel (or similar parrot). Helpful step by step guidance demystifies these beautiful and popular “pet” cockatoos. Explanations of everything you need to get your home ready. Apple, Audible

Genre: Non-fiction, pet guides, pet birds

Preparing For My Senior Cockatiel

Run time: 59 minutes

Congratulations! Your cockatiel is now reached or surpassed her tenth birthday. But as with any animal, her needs have changed with age. In this guide you discover ways to help your bird live for many more years. Extensive section on food. Apple, Audible.

Genre: Non-fiction, pet guides, pet birds

Queen Elizabeth Tudor: Journey to Gloriana

Run time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

In this beautiful narrative biography you explore Elizabeth’s path from “Lady Elizabeth” to “Gloriana” through the lens of her relationship with Robert Dudley, a relationship far more contentious than most people believe. Politics and religion collide, provoking Elizabeth to console herself with her music, and a hard decision lays before her as plots against her life threatens her throne. English (Apple, Audible). German (Apple, Audible)

Genres: biography, Tudor dynasty, early music

Songs of the Beinarian Court

Run time: 10 minutes

The songs and poetry of the Peers of Beinan series come together in one beautiful audiobook. Original music performed by Laurel A. Rockefeller. Apple, Audible

Genres: science fiction, music

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Snow Day for Queen Mary Stuart. Excerpt from “Mary Queen of the Scots: the Forgotten Reign.”

Welcome to winter, 2024! For many people in the United States, today is a snow day. Here in western Pennsylvania our weekend nor’easter is being followed up with more snow this morning and with heavy rain forecast for this evening. It’s the perfect occasion to share a snowy scene from “Mary Queen of the Scots: the Forgotten Reign.”

“All hail to the days that merit more praise than all the rest of the year. And welcome the nights that double delights as well for the poor as the peer! Good fortune attend each merry man’s friend. That doth but the best he may.  Forgetting old wrongs with carols and songs to drive the cold winter away!” sang Queen Mary as she played her lute in her private apartment in Holyrood.  Looking out the window she watched the snow dance from the sky to the ground.  Now spending her fourth winter in Scotland since her return Mary found herself thankful for the many tapestries on the walls, each of them designed to make the room warmer by insulating from the cold Edinburgh winter storms. 

Finally, at length Mary put down her lute and approached Mary Seton, “The snow is so beautiful right now and my heart is merry.  I am going outside for a walk and some exercise.  Please bring me my furs and my boots.”

Smiling Mary Seton went to the queen’s closet for the requested clothes, “Do you wish to go hunt?  Shall I send for the royal falconer?”

“No; I think I prefer to practice with my bow for a bit.  No need for a large retinue.  I only want some nice air and the peace to enjoy the snow.”

Thirty minutes later Queen Mary strode into the newly fallen snow.  Walking just twenty metres from the palace she observed archery targets already set up for her along with several quivers of arrows.  Stringing her bow expertly she notched her first arrow into the string and sighted it to the center of the nearest target just thirty paces away. With a thump the arrow leapt from her bow to land solidly just three inches from the centre of the target.  Picking up another arrow she aimed again.  This time it landed in the centre.

“May I join you?” asked John Knox coming up from behind her.

“You may,” affirmed Queen Mary as she sighted at a target placed forty paces away and shaped like a deer.

“Are you still resolved not to marry Robert Dudley?”

“Do you really think that offer was serious?  It is clear to me that Robert Dudley no more wants me than I him.  He loves Queen Elizabeth too much to ever leave her side.  As far as I am concerned, it is well and good that he should stay in Whitehall with her and leave my Scotland alone.”

“If not Dudley then, whose hand are you considering?” asked Knox as he aimed and fired at the target placed eighty paces away.  The arrow thudded into the ground three metres short of the target.

“I was considering Don Carlos of Spain.”

“You are not? He is after all one of the most eligible of men in all of Europe—and a Catholic.”

“He is ugly, ill-tempered, violent, and sickly.”

“Beggars cannot be choosers …”

“I am queen of Scotland; I am no beggar.”

“Can you think of anyone else sufficiently royal who is not already married?”

“My cousin Henry Stewart Lord Darnley might be a suitable match.  I hear he is quite handsome and tall like I am.  Perhaps more importantly, he is of the blood royal for both England and Scotland just as I am.”

“I have heard reports of him. Be careful your majesty; he might not be your type.”

“Send for him, John.  I will meet this Lord Darnley and see for myself.”

Enjoy more of this book at your favorite retailer and audiobook retailer. Including Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Kobo, Everand, and Barnes/Noble. Audio edition available at Audible, Apple, Spotify, Hoopla, LibroFm, Everand, Chirp, and a retailer and library near you.

Who were the Medieval Queens?

The Legendary Women of World History covers (to date) thirteen fascinating and historically influential women from antiquity through the turn of the 17th century (this will expand about 100 years in 2025 or 2026). These women represent the three main eras in European/Asian history covered by the Legendary Women of World History series: antiquity, European middle ages, and the Renaissance.

To date, four boxed sets group the first twelve books together. The only book not in one of these sets: book thirteen, “Eleanor of Aquitaine.”

The second of these boxed sets (chronologically) is entitled “Medieval Queens.” The volume collects together three books. These are: Empress Wu Zetian; Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd: the Warrior Princess of Deheubarth; and Empress Matilda of England.

But who were these women and why should you read their biographies? Let’s take a look at each one.

Empress Wu Zetian

Born in 624 CE, just over six years after the Sui dynasty fell and the Tang dynasty commenced, Empress Wu Zetian is one of the most famous women in all of Chinese history. Hated by wealthy and powerful contemporaries, she transformed Chinese society in ways we still feel today.

Much of what people associate with Chinese culture comes from Empress Wu’s wisdom and strong leadership. Unafraid to challenge powerful men and the nepotism of previous generations, Wu created the meritorious civil service exam system based on learning and scholarship that endured until the 20th century. Instead of government jobs requiring knowing and being in favor with someone already holding wealth and power, Wu’s exam system assigned jobs based on a series of test scores. The higher level the test, the higher level the job one could be considered for. These tests were available to anyone who paid the testing fee. Families pooled together money for scholarships. Education became the path to success. The son of a farmer could become advisor to the emperor himself if he studied hard and performed well on the tests.

That was just one many of her revolutionary innovations. Her life is even more interesting.

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd: the Warrior Princess of Deheubarth

Unless you really know your medieval European history – or you live in Wales – you probably have never heard of Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd or the kingdom/principality of Deheubarth. Often called the “Welsh Maid Marion” and the likely historical basis for the character in the Robin Hood stories, Gwenllian is considered the national heroine of Wales.

Born in 1097 in Aberffraw on the isle of Ynys Môn in Gwynedd, Gwenllian’s life reads as if it were ripped from the pages of a historical romance. She was just 16 when Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys of Deheubarth sought shelter in Aberffraw after evading the English and returning from exile in Ireland.

The two quickly fell in love – but were forbidden at first to marry by Gwenllian’s father, King Gruffydd ap Cynan. With Normans seeking to conquer and wipe out the Welsh kingdoms and principalities, the needs of war came first.

Eventually, love prevailed. Gwenllian left her Ynys Môn home to become co-sovereign of Deheubarth. The rest is history ….

Empress Matilda of England

Many people know that I rather enjoy cross-pollinating my biographies with historical persons from other biographies, primarily through the books’ prologues and epilogues. Bishop Armand-Jean du Plessis and Anne Rochefeuille from “His Red Eminence, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu introduce “Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation” through Martin Luther’s music. Boudicca gets mentioned in the prologue to “Empress Wu Zetian.”

And then there is Empress Matilda, granddaughter of Margaret of Wessex and kinswoman to Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd through Gruffydd ap Rhys’ sister Nest. In the Margaret of Wessex biography, Matilda introduces her story. In her own biography, Matilda continues Gwenllian’s legacy and shows us what happened in Wales after Gwenllian’s death.

But Matilda was so much more. Sent to Mainz as a child to marry Kaiser Heinrich V, a man nearly 16 years older than her, she gave to love her beloved German empire and its people. After his death to cancer, Matilda’s father Henry I of England recalled her to London and married her off to Geoffrey Plantagenet, a man she despised.

Many adventures followed, leaving Matilda one of the most pivotal women in medieval history. Yet true to the biases in our education system, few remember her nor know just how important she really was in shaping the world we know today.

Want to read more? Find Medieval Queens at your favorite retailer including Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble.

Individual books are also available!

Empress Wu Zetian. Available in many languages, including English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian. English: Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Everand, Barnes/Noble. Audio editions in English (Apple, Audible), French (Apple, Audible), German (Apple, Audible), and Spanish (Apple, Audible)

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd. Available in many languages, including Welsh. English editions: Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Everand, Barnes/Noble.

Empress Matilda of England. Available in your choice of English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian. English: Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, Everand, Barnes/Noble. Audio editions in English (Apple, Audible) and German (Apple, Audible)

Katharina’s First Christmas in Wittenberg. Excerpt from Katharina von Bora: A Play in Three Acts

Martin Luther is one of the most famous theologians in the western world. But how well do you know the story of his relationship with and courtship towards his wife Katharina von Bora?

In “Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation” and its stage adaptation, “Katharina von Bora: A Play in Three Acts” historian Laurel A. Rockefeller explores Katharina’s life, beginning with her escape from Kloster Nimbschen in April 1523.

In this scene, Katharina and her sister nuns from Kloster Nimbschen celebrate their first Christmas together with music, dancing, and maybe a little romancing!

Act I, Scene III

1523, December.  The house of Lucas Cranach. Ballroom. The ballroom is richly decorated for Christmas. NIMBSCHEN NUNS, LUCAS, BARBARA, AVA, PARTY GUESTS, MUSICIANS, MARTIN, and KATHARINA are enjoying the grand party filled with singing, dancing, and lots of food and drink. Katharina leads the singing of the mixed German/Latin language carol “In Dulci Jubilo,” gradually getting everyone to sing along with her and covering the entire stage in her dancing meanderings as she does so.

KATHARINA

(singing, dancing, and meandering)

IN DULCI JUBILO, NUN SINGET UND SEID FROH! UNSERS HERZENS WONNE LEIT IN PRAESEPIO, UND LEUCHTET ALS DIE SONNE MATRIS IN GREMIO, ALPHA ES ET O, ALPHA ES ET O!

KATHARINA motions for Ava and the other Nimbschen Nuns to join her on the next verse.

KATHARINA/AVA/ NIMBSCHEN NUNS

O JESU PARVULE, NACH DIR IST MIR SO WEH! TRÖST MIR MEIN GEMÜTE, O PUER OPTIME, DURCH ALLE DEINE GÜTE, O PRINCEPS GLORIAE. TRAHE ME POST TE, TRAHE ME POST TE!

Katharina reaches Martin Luther and beckons him to sing and dance.

KATHARINA

Come on, Martin! Time to sing! Get up out of that chair and be merry!  It’s Christmas!

MARTIN

(taking another sip of his lager)

I’m happy where I am.

KATHARINA

(pulling Martin out of his chair)

No you’re not!

KATHARINA/MARTIN/AVA/ NIMBSCHEN NUNS

(singing together)

UBI SUNT GAUDIA? NIRGEND MEHR DENN DA! DA DIE ENGEL SINGEN NOVA CANTICA, UND DIE SCHELLEN KLINGEN IN REGIS CURIA. EIA, WÄREN WIR DA, EIA, WÄREN WIR DA!

Party Guests applaud appreciatively.  Still uncomfortable, Martin Luther tries to escape.

MARTIN

(bowing politely to the ladies)

Danke, liebe Damen! Perhaps we will sing together again sometime.

KATHARINA

How about right now?

Ava von Schönfeld and the other Nimbschen Nuns disperse across the room in pursuit of food and drink. Martin watches Ava with intense yearning.

MARTIN

How about I return to my table and enjoy the feast Lucas and Barbara arranged for us all?

KATHARINA

(noticing Martin’s fixed gaze upon Ava)

Good idea!  I’ll join you!

(Katharina directs Martin Luther to a sideboard covered in food and helps herself to some favorites)

You know this is my first real Christmas party since my parts sent me to Brehna when I was five to start my education? Kloster Marienthron at Nimbschen monastery was even more austere. Cistercian reforms on what they consider the decadence of Benedictine monasteries. No doubt you’ve heard the arguments made by both orders justifying their style of monasticism.

MARTIN

(watches Ava von Schönfeld from afar as he picks up a plate and hands one to Katharina as well)

I have, yes. I was Augustinian—but you know that already.

Across the room Ava von Schönfeld kisses a man, then starts to dance with him,

KATHARINA

Ava von Schönfeld is engaged to be married, Martin. I received an invitation to her wedding.

MARTIN

(putting food on his plate)

 Oh.

KATHARINA

(putting food on her plate)

You really fancied her, didn’t you?

MARTIN

I don’t want to talk about it.

KATHARINA

 Surely I am a better friend than that, Martin. Or have you lost all respect for me?

MARTIN

No, no! Of course not. I just—I believe in the sacrament of marriage. But her choosing someone else is proof to me of one thing:  marriage is not for me. It’s not God’s will.  For you, yes, but not me.

KATHARINA

 What makes you so certain of that?

MARTIN

Look at me!  I’m a complete mess. I’m completely clueless about women. I have no clue how to get along with people. I’m a disobedient son who chose the church over the law when my father’s wishes were so explicit on the matter. No doubt the Devil’s work there. I’m often melancholy and very bad company most of the time.

KATHARINA

You are also brilliant, highly educated, and thoughtful. Few theologians in any century can match your keen analysis. You agitate because your ideas are often very original. The problem is once you start debating you often get so caught up in the emotional high you are getting that you can be a bit –what’s the word I’m looking for –unkind about it. You bully, resort to crude and very personal insults, and can be especially hurtful and vicious towards the person you are debating.  You become disagreeable. Not exactly the sort of thing that makes a man endearing.  Often, I’m afraid you lose the chance to bring people over to your side by being so nasty in how you word your ideas. You … fail to be diplomatic when the situation calls for kindness, gentleness, and diplomacy.

MARTIN

I know! I know! You are absolutely right. How can we know each other less than a year and you already know me so well?

KATHARINA

 I’m your friend, Martin.

MARTIN

 So you are. Would you like to dance with me?

KATHARINA

Yes.

(END OF SCENE)

(END OF ACT I)

Find Katharina von Bora: a Play in Three Acts at your favourite retailer, including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes/Noble. The original version of Katharina is also available at Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes/Noble.

Audio edition available at Apple and Audible features performances of all the songs in both the play and the biography.

Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora celebrate Christmas (1524)

Martin Luther is one of the most famous theologians of all time. But how well do you know his family life? In April 1523 Martin’s world was turned upside down (again), this time by the Easter escape of a dozen nuns from Kloster Nimbschen. Among them: Katharina von Bora.

In this scene from “Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation” Martin and Katharina celebrate their second Christmas together with a boisterous rendering of the medieval “The Boar’s Head Carol.”

Excerpt from Chapter Two: The Quest to Find a Husband

Christmas arrived bright and merrily. As they did the year before, Lucas and Barbara Cranach hosted a lavish Christmas party for their friends and family filled with music and dancing.

“The boar’s head in hand bring I, Bedeck’d with bays and rosemary. And I pray you, my masters, be merry. Quot estis in convivio. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino,” sang Katharina in front of a processional of servers from the kitchen with heavy platters of food. Just behind Katharina marched Georg Spalatin in a place of honor and carrying the boar’s head upon a silver platter and with an apple in its mouth.

Spalatin placed the boar’s head upon the centre of the high table ceremoniously as Lucas Cranach, Martin Luther, Nikolaus Von Amsdorf, and Philipp Melanchthon sang the second verse of the song together, “The boar’s head, as I understand, Is the rarest dish in all this land, Which thus bedeck’d with a gay garland. Let us servire cantico.”

Katharina von Bora and Barbara Cranach joined the men in singing the refrain, “Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino.”

“Our steward hath provided this In honor of the King of Bliss;” sang Martin Luther alone.

“Which, on this day to be served is In Reginensi atrio,” sang Katharina.

With a wave of his hand Lucas signalled everyone in the room to join Katharina and Martin on the final refrain, “Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes Domino.”  As the final note faded everyone at the party applauded loudly.

Martin and Katharina took turns making polite bows to acknowledge the applause. Taking her hand, Martin lead Katharina to a quieter part of the banqueting hall, “Frohe Weihnachten, Katie.”

“Frohe Weihnachten, Martin,” echoed Katharina. “I’m glad you sang with me.  I like singing with you.”

“How are you feeling?”

“About what?”

“Hieronymus Baumgartner. Is it finally and completely over now?”

“I have no money.  His parents are rich and demand a rich bride for him. What else can I do? I lost whatever resources I might have gained from my family the moment I took my vows to the Cistercian order. I am a bright, highly educated woman with a talent for music, theology, and mathematics. If I were a man, my skills would be lauded and I would be able to work and support myself instead of relying on the Cranaches’ good graces. I can’t even inherit if my parents wanted to give me some basic support after they are gone. Not like they would anyway.”

Martin grinned, “I know all about the disapproval of one’s parents. My father was furious when I dropped out of law school in favour of the Church. Nothing I do ever seems to please him.”

“Have you told him about our friendship?” asked Katharina.

“He wouldn’t understand. I’m not sure I understand either.  As a rule I prefer the company of men. But you, you are different. You’ve read my books and pamphlets and you actually understand them. Without a masters of arts let alone a doctorate in theology, you actually hold your own in discussions that would befuddle most men, my best students included. I do not claim to understand God’s mind in this matter—but I do know it’s not the Devil at work when it comes to our relationship.”

“No, no it’s not the Devil at work. Far from it, Martin.”

“Look at us!  It’s Christmas and we are back to intellectual pursuits!” guffawed Martin.

“Well who else am I going to talk about these things too?” justified Katharina.

“I have a better idea more certain to win our hosts’ approval. I hear a Landler starting up among the musicians… would you care to dance it with me?”

Katharina took his hands, “I would love to.”

Read more of Katharina von Bora: First Lady of the Reformation. Available at your favorite retailer, including Apple, Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes/Noble.

Audio edition available at Apple and Audible.