It is autumn. The year is 880, two years after King Alfreds famous victory over the great heathen army at Edington, which had been led by Jarl Guthrum.Until the formal peace treaty is ratified, there remains an uneasy peace between what remains of Mercia and the Saxon Christian kingdom of Wessex and the northeastern part of Mercia and East Anglia, now known as the Danelaw. It is ruled by Guthrum who, on becoming a Christian, is now known as King thelstan.Constant raiding an...

A revealing and original discussion of John Donne's workJohn Donne's voice can seem deceptively modern, yet his work demands contextual reading within early modern culture. The Life of the Author: John Donne presents Donne’s life and work as closely integrated, offering searching analysis of poetry and prose without reducing them to autobiography. Written by Emeritus Professor Tom Cain, a distinguished editor of seventeenth-century texts, this study reinte...

A society matron’s life is threatened after she engineers the theft of her own priceless jewelry to pay off a gambling debt. Only a debonair connoisseur of crime can save her and recover her gems—for a price.

A war is being fought between two powerful forces for control of planet earth. It has been raging on and off, for well over two thousand years. And as the centuries have past, neither side has been able to gain an outright victory.Dominant for the last two thousand years, have been the forces of the Dark Ones, and their human allies and slaves. Their objective is to exploit without any limit or regard, the natural resources of the planet. And to the Dark Ones, every living thing on...

For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a unique emblem in world sport. They represent the best of the best from the four Home Nations, coming together every four years under a united badge to take on the rugby greats of the Southern Hemisphere. Lions tours embody a revered legacy that is steeped in tradition yet maintains a vibrant standing in the modern era. The Lions badge is a symbol of the ethics, values and the romance at the heart of Test match rugby. Every four ye...

The Stoker Award–winning author of the acclaimed, eclectic anthology The New Dead returns with 21st Century Dead and an all-new lineup of authors from every corner of the fiction world, shining a dark light on our fascination with tales of death and resurrection—and with zombies! The stellar stories in this volume include a tale set in the world of Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse, the first published fiction by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, and a...

Richie McCaw, Rugby World Cup winning captain and the New Zealand All Black's most capped player of all time, is unquestionably the greatest player of his generation. He is arguably the most talented player of all time.In his bestselling autobiography, McCaw talks with brutal honesty about the roots of his family life that defined his character and how it gave him the strength to emerge from the lowest moment in his career to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, and become the most successful ...

The revealing autobiography of New Zealand rugby legend Jerome Kaino. As the Rugby World Cup approaches, All Black legend and World Cup champion Jerome Kaino reflects on what it takes to be the best. At just 21 years old Jerome Kaino was touted as the next big thing in world rugby. In his first year of professional rugby, he made spectacular debuts for Auckland, the Blues and the All Blacks. It was a dream beginning for this quiet Samoan kid from South Auckland. But just ...

Brendon McCullum is known as an explosive wicketkeeper, then batsman, who went on to captain the New Zealand cricket team to glory. The holder of many records, "Baz" is known for speaking his mind. He talks about growing up loving sport more than anything, getting better and better at cricket (although he was a good enough rugby player to keep Dan Carter out of the South Island Schoolboy rugby team), and his uncertain transition to international cricketer. In this explosive autobiography h...

Jonny Wilkinson's career has crossed three decades and four World Cups. He has accumulated phenomenal achievements, world points records, an impressive list of broken body parts, and a drop goal that will be remembered for ever. But the peculiar calmness with which he played the game masked a very different reality. In JONNY, he reveals the extraordinary psychology that he had to tame in order to be able to dominate his sport. For most of his life, he was driven by a quest for perfection a...

He was rugby?s first truly international celebrity and he remains one of the game?s greatest heroes. A decade after the publication of his blockbuster autobiography, Jonah Lomu opens up like never before about life after the All Blacks. In this deeply moving, sometimes explosive update to Jonah: My Story, the big man talks candidly of his life and his loves, of reconciliation and betrayal, and of the tragic illness that has been the one constant in his life since he first thundered on to t...

Scott Quinnell's book is called The Hardest Test. It is the story of how he became a successful rugby player, in spite of having to fight against learning difficulties at school. When he retired in 2005 he continued his battle with dyslexia in order to change both his and his children's lives for ever.Rugby player Scott Quinnell played for the Llanelli Scarlets and played for his country, Wales, fifty-two times. He was also a British lion. He reached the very top of his sport befor...