I'll admit I haven't gotten any of these this past week, but I didn't have enough time or will power to put them in the last one. So here are some I actually got the week before last =)
I got the first two from Arleigh (thank you!!) at Historical-fiction.com ~ some oldies, but goodies:
The India Fan by Victoria Holt
"Drusilla Delaney, the daughter of an impoverished minister, becomes fascinated with the wealthy Framling family--especially with the son and daughter, the mysterious Fabian, and the beautiful, impetuous Lavinia. Through them, she finds herself the unlikely heir to an extraordinary bejeweled fan made of peacock feathers. But though priceless and dazzling to behold, the fan bears a curse that promises ill fortune--and even death--to whoever possesses it...."
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer
" A sham betrothal: No sooner does Kitty arrive in London then the race for her hand begins, but between confirmed rakes and bumbling affections, Kitty needs a daring scheme ..."
From Mom for Christmas:
The Rich Are Different (1977) by Susan Howatch (*she's already borrowed it!)"This is a story of an ambitious and beautiful woman who is looking for a millionaire and a ruthless tycoon who is looking for a mistress. It stretches from the quiet Norfolk countryside across the ocean to the New York of the roaring 20s."
From Paperbackswap:
I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
“My name is Lisa di Antonio Gherardini Giocondo, though to acquaintances, I am known simply as Madonna Lisa. My story begins not with my birth but a murder, committed the year before I was born…”
Florence, April 1478: The handsome Giuliano de’ Medici is brutally assassinated in Florence’s magnificent Duomo. The shock of the murder ripples throughout the great city, from the most renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to a wealthy wool merchant and his extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Madonna Lisa. More than a decade later, Florence falls under the dark spell of the preacher Savonarola, a fanatic who burns paintings and books as easily as he sends men to their deaths. Lisa, now grown into an alluring woman, captures the heart of Giuliano’s nephew and namesake. But when Guiliano, her love, meets a tragic end, Lisa must gather all her courage and cunning to untangle a sinister web of illicit love, treachery, and dangerous secrets that threatens her life. Set against the drama of 15th Century Florence, I, Mona Lisa is painted in many layers of fact and fiction, with each intricately drawn twist told through the captivating voice of Mona Lisa herself."
From Swaptree:
Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country (Guenevere Novels) by Rosalind Miles
"Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told -- until nowRaised in the tranquil beauty of the Summer Country, Princess Guenevere has led a charmed and contented life -- until the sudden, violent death of her mother, Queen Maire, leaves the Summer Country teetering on the brink of anarchy. Only the miraculous arrival of Arthur, heir to the Pendragon dynasty, allows Guenevere to claim her mother's throne. Smitten by the bold, sensuous princess, Arthur offers to marry her and unite their territories, allowing her to continue to reign in her own right. Their love match creates the largest and most powerful kingdom in the Isles. Yet even the glories of Camelot are not safe from the shadows of evil and revenge. Arthur is reunited with his long-lost half-sisters, Morgause and Morgan, princesses torn from their mother and their ancestral right by Arthur's father, the brutal and unscrupulous King Uther. Both daughters will avenge their suffering, but it is Morgan who strikes the deadliest blows, using her enchantments to destroy all Guenevere holds dear and to force Arthur to betray his Queen.
In the chaos that follows, Arthur dispatches a new knight to Guenevere, the young French prince Lancelot, never knowing that Lancelot's passion for the Queen, and hers for him, may be the love that spells ruin for Camelot."
From Sourcebooks to review:
The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer (reissue December 2009)
"In an age of slippery politics, Robin and Prudence Tremaine, the children of the notorious and brilliant Viscount of Barham, find themselves on the wrong side of the Jacobite rebellion. The Viscount sends his offspring on the road to London, each masquerading as the opposite sex.
In her guise as a young gentleman, Prudence attracts a mentor in Sir Anthony Fanshawe, who soon uncovers her true identity and becomes an accomplice in their escape. Robin and Prudence rescue the lovely Letitia from an unwanted elopement, and Robin, disguised as a lady, becomes her confidante. The plot unwinds with a great deal of adventurous doings—sword fights, narrow escapes, blackmail, and highwaymen—until Robin must reveal his true identity and woo Letitia in earnest. But when she finds out the truth, will she accept an adventurer for a husband? Or will his masquerade be Robin's undoing?"
.JPG)