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Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World by Mary Beard - Book Review

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Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World By Mary Beard Cover Image
$39.99
ISBN: 9780871404220
Availability: Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Liveright - October 24th, 2023

This is the perfect companion to SPQR. This book is about how the role of the Emperor and the concept of the Roman Empire developed and what it took to maintain it. Mary Beard has a way of writing that is enviable for any writer but especially history. Her work is neither dry nor formulaic ; in fact it is often wryly humorous and always insightful. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan


Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Lady Macbeth by Isabelle Schuler - Book Review

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Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Lady Macbeth By Isabelle Schuler Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780063317277
Availability: Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Harper Perennial - October 10th, 2023

This is a well done telling of the evil doings and machinations that lead up to the plot of the "Scottish Play" (Macbeth) .The protagonist, Gruoch, Lady Macbeth is a true Gaelic Princess. Isabelle Schuler is very creative in blending known history and poetic license yet staying true to Shakespeare's play.The result is a great swashbuckling good story. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan


Crooked Plow: A Novel (Verso Fiction) by Itamar Vieira Junior - Book Review

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Crooked Plow: A Novel (Verso Fiction) By Itamar Vieira Junior, Johnny Lorenz (Translated by) Cover Image
By Itamar Vieira Junior, Johnny Lorenz (Translated by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9781839766404
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: Verso Fiction - June 27th, 2023

This novel is full of surprises. It is a Brazilian literary metaphysical adventure story of twin sisters and their lives. A fantastical mystery ensues when the girls ( as small children) find a "jaguar" knife hidden under their grandmother's bed. This book is somewhere between Kurt Vonnegut and Gabriel Garcia Marquez- I loved it. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan


Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain by Amy Jeffs - Book Review

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Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain By Amy Jeffs Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781524882334
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: Andrews McMeel Publishing - August 22nd, 2023

This is simply a gorgeous book, Amy Jeffs has combined her expertise of British Mythology, History, Art History and Folklore and created a tome of marvelous narratives of British legends. Each story is individually illustrated with her own beautiful linocuts and the author's own interpretations. I love this book! ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan


Sparrow: A Novel by James Hynes - Book Review

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Sparrow: A Novel By James Hynes Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9781419771248
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: Harry N. Abrams - August 8th, 2023

Beautifully written, sometimes harrowing novel of a frontier city in Spain during the last years of the Roman Empire in the West. Sparrow is a slave- child in a brothel raised by the "Wolves", the women who work upstairs in the brothel and the cook. Vividly, Sparrow witnesses the changes of an Empire decaying from within the confines of the brothel and its gardens. The beauty of the writing reminded me of Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles. ~ Reviewed by Maeve Noonan


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