Judith Merkle Riley

In 1355, Margaret of Ashbury depends on renegade friar Brother Gregory to record her life story and her experience of a state of Mystic Union, and he is forced to accept the state of grace of this "mere woman." Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

A Margaret of Ashbury Novel

A Vision of Light

A novel of historical intrigue, witchcraft, and romance at the court of Louis XIV introduces the clairvoyant Genevie+a6ve and the head warlock La Voisin. By the author of A Vision of Light. Reprint.

The Oracle Glass

Nostradamus, a ruthless queen, and a young poetess fight for their lives in 1556 Paris in this "dazzling mix of history, romance, and the occult" ("Kirkus Reviews"). Voted one of the best books of the year by "Library Journal".

The Master of All Desires

When Henry VIII arranges a marriage between his sister and the aging French king, widowed painter Susanna Dallet joins the entourage of the princess-bride, unwittingly carrying a perilous secret that will embroil her in the dark intrigues of the French court. Reprint.

The Serpent Garden

Kristalna kugla

The first book in the series, this bestselling novel introduces Margaret of Ashbury, a fourteenth-century Englishwoman with mystical abilities Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in fourteenth-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness. Married off at the age of fourteen to a merchant reputed to be the Devil himself, Margaret was left for dead during the Black Plague. Incredibly, she survived, was apprenticed to an herbalist, and became a midwife. But most astonishing of all, Margaret has experienced a Mystic Union—a Vision of Light that endows her with the miraculous gift of healing. Because of this ability, Margaret has become suddenly different—to her tradition-bound parents, to the bishop’s court that tries her for heresy, and ultimately to the man who falls in love with her.

1556. Exaspérée par l'emprise qu'exerce Diane de Poitiers sur le roi Henri II, la reine Catherine de Médicis met tout en œuvre pour évincer la maîtresse royale. Elle fait même appel à la magie. En vain. Ses astrologues, les frères Ruggieri, lui conseillent d'utiliser la tête momifiée du mage Ménandre, encore appelé le " Maître de tous les désirs ", car il exauce tous ceux que son possesseur formule. S'approprier cette tête magique devient alors le but de la reine. A la même époque, la jeune Sibylle, tout juste sortie du couvent, est destinée par ses parents à épouser un homme qu'elle n'aime pas. Lorsque celui-ci vient un soir pour la ravir, elle repousse l'échelle qui le porte et croit l'avoir tué. Prenant la fuite, elle décide de se rendre chez sa tante à Orléans. Aux portes de la ville, un homme lui remet un sac de sel qu'il ne peut faire entrer lui-même dans la cité. Mais, lorsque le petit singe de compagnie de sa tante brise le sceau du coffret que contient le sac, c'est tout autre chose qui apparaît aux yeux horrifiés de Sibylle. Un certain Nostradamus, rencontré sur le chemin qui la menait à Orléans, lui avait bien prédit que son destin serait intimement lié à celui de la France... Judith Merkle Riley, auteur de La Jeune Fille aux oracles et du Jardin des maléfices (Presses de la Cité, 1996 et 1997), entraîne le lecteur au cœur du seizième siècle, mêlant à la perfection le document historique et le pur roman.

Le maître des désirs

In 1356, Margaret of Ashbury marries the scholarly Gregory de Vilers, and when he is taken prisoner by the French and held for ransom, she and two friends--an herbalist and an alchemist--embark on a dangerous quest to rescue him, despite the apathy of his miserly family, in the sequel to A Vision of Light. Reader's Guide included. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

In Pursuit of the Green Lion

Eine Frau folgt Gottes Plan: Margaret von Ashbury und ihre Vision England, 1355. Die Hebamme und Heilerin Margaret von Ashbury will ein Buch über ihr Leben schreiben - ein äußerst ungewöhnliches Vorhaben für eine Frau im Mittelalter. Als Analphabetin sucht sie sich einen Schreiber: Bruder Gregory, der Frauen für naturgegeben dumm hält und dies auch gerne kundtut - aber dringend Geld braucht. Doch was Margaret zu erzählen hat, berührt den Mönch: Ihr Glaube, Humor und ein Hang zu Pragmatismus haben ihr geholfen, die Große Pest und die Hexenverfolgung zu überleben. Und vor allem: Sie schreibt dieses Buch, weil Gott es ihr aufgetragen hat. Trotz seiner anfänglichen Ablehnung beginnt Bruder Gregory sich zu fragen: Ist es möglich, dass Gott, dessen Stimme er bislang vergeblich zu hören versucht, zu dieser Frau spricht? Humorvoll, authentisch und fesselnd geschrieben: Dieser historische Roman bildet den Auftakt der beliebten Trilogie über die fiktive Heldin Margaret von Ashbury und ihr faszinierendes Leben im Spätmittelalter. Von Judith Merkle Riley, Autorin des Bestsellers "Die Hexe von Paris". Die Margaret-von-Ashbury-Trilogie: Die Stimme. * Die Vision. * Die Zauberquelle. eBooks von beHEARTBEAT - Herzklopfen garantiert.

Die Stimme

Returning to England after rescuing her husband, Gregory, from his French captors, Margaret turns to old friend Brother Malechi to help her save her young daughter from an unwanted marriage brokered by Gregory's meddling father, a situation complicated when warring factions rouse an ancient being that dwells in a spring at the heart of a disputed forest. Original. 20,000 first printing.

The Water Devil

The final adventure in the beloved and bestselling Margaret of Ashbury trilogy, which began with A Vision of Light and In Pursuit of the Green Lion. Margaret of Ashbury is ready to settle down; the medieval healer is looking forward to an uneventful life in the country. And, indeed, life with her true love and a brood of rambunctious children is nearly perfect—except for her husband Gregory’s ever-meddling family. Finding himself deep in debt once again, Gregory’s father has plotted to sell Margaret’s daughter off in marriage to save his woodlands from a greedy abbot. In a panic, Margaret turns to her old friend Brother Malachi to help save her daughter by whatever means necessary. The tension within the feuding family rouses an ancient being that dwells in a spring at the center of the disputed woodland. The watery creature has its own plans, and its eye is on Margaret’s infant son. Favorite characters return, the stakes are high, and the air is thick with intrigue and danger. Written with the historical accuracy, supernatural plot twists, and humor that Riley’s readers have grown to love, The Water Devil is a high-spirited adventure that brings Margaret’s odyssey to a satisfying conclusion.

Judith Merkle Riley

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