Franck Ferrand

Un roi, François Ier, qui songe plus à ses amours et à ses chasses qu'à l'avenir de la France. Une régente, Louise de Savoie, qui tient fermement les rênes et manœuvre en coulisses contre le rêve italien de son fils. Une future reine, Marguerite, qui aime trop son frère et voudrait diriger les consciences... Le cousin connétable, Charles de Bourbon, dont on murmure qu'il pactise avec l'Empire de Charles-Quint et l'Angleterre d'Henry VIII ! Blois, Saint-Germain, Lyon, mais aussi Milan, Madrid... Deux frères, jeunes écuyers jetés dans la grande Histoire et dans une aventure qui bouleversera leur existence. Un roi prisonnier. Des enfants disparus dans d'étranges circonstances. D'autres, de sang royal, pris en otages. Des passions amoureuses, des trahisons, des revirements, des exécutions. Un amour interdit. Un autre incestueux. Et Diane de Poitiers, dont l'énigmatique ascendant saura gagner le cœur d'un roi... pour instituer la " Cour des Dames ". La Régente noire est le premier opus de La Cour des Dames, une série consacrée aux intrigues de la première Renaissance. Un temps épique et fastueux où s'affirme, sous les règnes de François Ier et Henri II, le pouvoir de quelques femmes d'exception.

La régente noire

Le bal des ifs 

" Le présent ouvrage va me faire des ennemis, écrit l'auteur, m'attirer la condescendance des mandarins et peut-être, me créer des ennuis. On ne s'attaque pas impunément à certains bastions... Cependant j'assume les inconvénients de cette entreprise, et d'autant plus volontiers que j'ai le sentiment, en bravant quelques interdits, d'ouvrer à l'avancée de la seule cause qui vaille pour un homme dont l'existence est vouée à l'histoire événementielle : le lent progrès - l'inexorable progrès - de la vérité. "

L'histoire interdite

Jacques Garcia is one of the most fashionable interior designers in France today. Parisians flock to the tables of the exclusive Hotel Costes he designed near the place Vendome, and the famous tea room Laduree on the Champs Elysees to dine and be seen in his elegant and atmospheric fin-de-siecle salons. Garcia counts among his private clients royalty, actors, politicians and businessmen from New York to Beirut, but he is just as much at home refurbishing museums (musee Carnavalet, musee de la Vie Romantique) and palace hotels and casinos in Deauville or Baden-Baden. Neoclassicism, orientalism and Empire Revival are his decorative landmarks. In deliberate opposition to the post-modern spaces designed by wunderkind Philippe Starck in the early 90s, Garcia is passionate about the past, but his is not a dry historicism. He is a master at mixing texture, pattern and color. His re-created rooms seem to bear the traces of generations, but are in fact the product of his inspired and irreverent imagination and attention to detail. The magnificent, ongoing restauration and decoration of his Normandy chateau, Champs de Bataille, attracts visitors from the world over and is a monument to his art and creativity. Stunningly illustrated, this sumptuous volume will appeal to anyone interested in interior decoration and provides a privileged look into the exclusive world of French elegance and style.

Decorating in the French Style

Jacques Garcia

Hugh Johnson

Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés: Médoc and Sauternes bring readers inside each of the 88 world-famous domaines--including the whites of the Sauternes region--and include detailed tasting notes of the great vintages along with an address book. Including tasting notes from vintages dating as far back as 1798 to the most recent harvest, this book covers the Grands Crus Classés of the Médoc and Sauternes, including the regions fine white wines.

Wine Châteaux of the Médoc and Sauternes

Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés 1855

A historical tour of the most prestigious chateaux in the world's most popular wine-making region, Bordeaux Style brings the reader into the intimate interiors and tasting rooms of the chateaux. From gleaming black-and-white floor tiles to the graceful shadows cast by stone arches, from luxurious residences to musky wine cellars, these stunning photographs offer a taste of the rich culture behind these grand wines. In collaboration with Bordeaux's elite Conseil des Grands Crus Classés, this book is published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the prestigious Grands Crus Classés wine classification system, created by Napoleon III for the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris. The original chateaux, selected for their excellence in wine making, included 61 from the Médoc region. The quality of their wines has stood the test of time remarkably well; and while many vineyards have changed hands-some several times over-the classification is still by and large a guarantee of excellent quality.

A History of the Grands Crus Classes since 1855

Bordeaux Chateaux

Stephane Bern

Cawdor, one of Scotlands most magnificent estates is the focus of Highland Living . Reflecting both the rusticity of the locale and the elegance of the castles grounds and interiors, inspiration and visual delights await as the door is opened to the castles gardens, kitchens and private apartments. Coupling impressive antiques with cosy creature comforts, Angelika Cawdor has created a charming decor of discerning Scottish style within this historic house. Accompanied by exquisite colour photography, the book opens with a history of Cawdor Castle, from its beginnings in the late 14th century and tales of Macbeth, to the present day in which the estate spans 18,000 acres of forest, grazing land and wildlife management, an exquisite kitchen garden, modern organic gardens, a glorious cutting garden and, of course, the manor with its attractive tapestries and furnishings. Cawdor tartans and Highland colour tones add to the perspective of what life is like on a working estate in Scotland and make this book a page-turner of vibrant images, information and insight. This book includes a section on the recipes of Cawdor Castle shows off Scottish culinary traditions porridge, salmon, and haggis, as well as modern recipes for other traditional delights partridge, roast rhubarb and apple crumble, and ginger beer, to name a few. The book is completed by an address book of the best places to visit, restaurants and lodges, and shopping for everything from chocolates to organic vegetables. It is a sumptuous book devoted to a special part of Inverness, Highland Living will be cherished by anyone who adores the traditions of Scotland and Scottish life.

Franck Ferrand

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