Blanche D'Alpuget

The Complete Biography

Bob Hawke

Based on exhaustive research and interviews, this record is a meticulous portrait of wily and brilliant Australian politician, Bob Hawke. Candid and detailed, this account underscores Hawke’s achievements, such as his victory over Labor leader Bill Hayden, his appointment as prime minister, and his involvement in the precarious game of international politics in the last days the Cold War. Rich with intrigue and drama, this reference also includes an in-depth analysis of how power is deployed and how elections are won in Australia.

The Prime Minister

Hawke

A Biography

Robert J. Hawke

A Black Blacklash [the Aboriginal Reaction to Articles by Michael Davenport, I.e. G. Gifford].

England, 1171. Thomas Becket is dead, beheaded at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. As news of his assassination spreads across the country and into Europe, Henry’s reputation as a just and mighty king begins to disintegrate. Eleanor, no longer loyal, nor in awe of her husband, instigates the revolt she has craved for years—with Henry’s three eldest sons as her allies against their father. Yearning to dethrone him and to gain power and liberty for herself, she beings to stir trouble at court. But when Henry discovers the plot, will Eleanor be strong enough to withstand his outrage? The punishment for treason is death. And what of the empire they have built together—can it survive when the royal family are at each other’s throats? The fourth book in the illustrious Birth of the Plantagenets series delves into the feud between the spouses Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, painting the portrait of an empire steeped in conflict, treachery, and wild gambling for power.

The Lioness Wakes

Blanche d'Alpuget's intimate and revealing meditation on longing examines the creative tension between writing and love. This moving tribute to her muse will surprise and touch readers.

On Longing

Geoffrey the Handsome, the virile and charming Duke of Normandy, seduces Queen Eleanor of France to spy for him in the struggle between Normandy and France and Normandy and England. Said to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, and very rich, Eleanor has not been able to give birth to an heir for France. Her liaison with Geoffrey could remedy that - or lead to her downfall and Geoffrey's death. But what begins with cool calculation becomes a passionate affair. Despite his love for Eleanor, however, Geoffrey has larger plans: to help his warrior son, Henry, seize the English throne from the uncle who usurped it from its rightful heir, Henry's mother. When Henry is forced to intervene to save the lives of his father and Eleanor, he falls foul of the French queen - and madly in love with her Byzantine maid. Should he become King of England, however, this dazzling foreign girl will never be acceptable as his queen. These two relationships, both forbidden, both perilous, are at the centre of a tale of consuming ambition, family vengeance and political intrigue set in the glorious flowering of troubadour culture, mysticism and learning that is 12th century France.

The Young Lion

Turtle Beach

A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby

Mediator

When On Lust was first published in 1993 it caused a media sensation but despite being accused of writing lies that a pillar of society had molested children, d'Alpuget refused to speak in her own defence. The essay ended in a mystery that she can now reveal. It remains a piece of work that continues to fascinate. On Longing caused a similar sensation, for different reasons. Both studies trace the timeless themes of the power and powerlessness inherent to lust, love, loss and death.

On Lust and Longing

The second book in the captivating Birth of the Plantagenets series brings the twelfth-century reign of Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine to vivid life, from bestselling author Blanche d’Alpuget. 1154. After years of manipulation and political cunning, young Henry II accedes to the throne of England, with the beautiful and indomitable Eleanor of Aquitaine by his side. But the kingdom he inherits is an impoverished shambles after the long, troubled reign of Stephen the Usurper. Together, the tempestuous royal couple use their charisma and shrewd diplomacy to restore England’s prestige and power, and ensure the future of their mighty dynasty. In order to replenish the English treasury, Henry appoints Thomas Becket, the unordained Archdeacon of Canterbury, as Chancellor. Becket is no ordinary man: born without rank, he is charming, quick-witted, a masterful intriguer and a lavish dresser with a genius for raising money. Beneath this lies a man seething with ambition, jealousy, treachery and desire. In a dance of scheming, vengeance and forbidden passions, during one of the most turbulent and compelling periods of English history, Henry, Eleanor and Becket fight for political power and control against forces seen and imagined – each with their own agenda, each determined to hide their own shameful secrets. ‘The character of Thomas Becket will rivet readers as they have not been riveted since Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell.’ Thomas Keneally, AO

The Lion Rampant

Animal rights activist Diana Pembridge is embroiled in a tangle of scientific corruption and sexual scandal when her friend, scientist Carolyn Williams, is found murdered.

White Eye

The third book in the compelling Birth of the Plantagenets series follows the battle for dominance between the Church and the Crown. England’s Archbishop of Canterbury is dying and with him the power of the Church. Seizing his chance, King Henry II is determined to enforce the rule of law that he has painstakingly established and bring the violent, corrupt and criminal clergy before his courts. The ever-scheming Thomas Becket uses his mastery of deceit, sycophancy and wit to undermine the King and the Plantagenet dynasty. Should Becket be elected as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, against the wishes of Queen Eleanor and Empress Matilda, he will be one step closer to becoming England’s strongman. A story of passion, jealousy, rebellion and downfall, The Lions’ Torment follows Henry, Eleanor and Becket in an era of power and vengeance that leads to one of the most scandalous and tragic murders in history.

The Lions' Torment

Danielle Green's reasons for returning to the city of her birth, Jerusalem, during the first Lebanon War are twofold: first, she is researching a screenplay that she hopes will make her rich; second, she is seeking a reunion with an autocratic Jewish father who has refused to acknowledge her existence for most of her life. After a separation of many years and many miles, she hopes he will be willing to reconcile with her. In the quest for her past, Danielle is reunited with a former teacher, an old woman of deep wisdom. She falls in love with an Israeli and is drawn into a web of terrorists and nationalists, soldiers and survivors. Yet the confusion, divisiveness and famed aggression of Israel is only the best-known part of an oft-repeated story. The country's progress, hindered as it is by centuries of religious, emotional and political turmoil, provides the backdrop to Danielle's personal journey of growth and self-respect. Alive with the splendour and pulse of Jerusalem itself, Winter in Jerusalem is a stunning story of a woman caught in the crossfire of her own past and the tangled drama of modern Israel. Winner of the inaugural Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book Award, Australasian division.

Blanche D'Alpuget

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