Kelly Gardiner

A sparkling, witty and compelling novel based on the tragic rise and fall of the beautiful seventeenth century swordswoman and opera singer, Julie d'Aubigny (also known as La Maupin), a woman whose story is too remarkable to be true - and yet it is. Versailles, 1686: Julie d'Aubigny, a striking young girl taught to fence and fight in the court of the Sun King, is taken as mistress by the King's Master of Horse. tempestuous, swashbuckling and volatile, within two years she has run away with her fencing master, fallen in love with a nun and is hiding from the authorities, sentenced to be burnt at the stake. Within another year, she has become a beloved star at the famed Paris Opera. Her lovers include some of Europe's most powerful men and France's most beautiful women. Yet Julie is destined to die alone in a convent at the age of 33. Based on an extraordinary true story, this is an original, dazzling and witty novel - a compelling portrait of an unforgettable woman. 'I thought the book was utterly fascinating, dazzlingly original and inventive, and written with such wit and flair. the character of Julie is drawn so poignantly - what a woman!' Kate Forsyth 'An engaging and skilfully told tale of a singular character' Sydney Morning Herald 'The divine creature who plummets 'from the painted clouds' to center stage in Kelly Gardiner's gender-bending picaresque Goddess, is based on an actual historical character, Julie d'Aubigny. Scenes sparkle with period details and sensory impressions: all spectacle and shimmer, all gesture and pose, Baroque mask and mirror and role-play. Gardiner does this very well. And her goddess fascinates.' New York Times Book Review 'This is a wonderful story, made all the more gripping for being founded on truth. Gardiner undertakes to bring this ambiguous and outrageous woman back to life ... she succeeds with flair ... I wholeheartedly recommend this book as the most exquisitely-rendered historical novel I have read in years.' Historical Novel Society review

Goddess

Sixteen-year-old Isabella embarks on a chase across Europe to save her employer, an elderly printer, from certain death at the hand of the Spanish Inquisition's agents who have kidnapped him to keep him from printing his book.

Act of Faith

Sharmini Kumar

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective 

December 1940, London: Christopher Larkham finds an ancient Roman ring inscribed with a phoenix. As he takes shelter from the firestorm of the Blitz, the ring glows, and pushing open a door, he finds himself in 1666 and facing the Great Fire of London. Fire-and-brimstone preacher, Brother Blowbladder, and his men of the Righteous Temple have prayed for the ancient gods of fire to bring flames down upon London, a city of sin. Could Christopher be their messenger? Or was it the strange girl on the quay who drew him back in time? Why do the Righteous men wear the same phoenix symbol as the engraving on Christophers ring? The Fire Watcher trilogy follows Christopher and his new friends race to untangle the truth of the phoenix ring, and face the greatest fires in the citys history.

Brimstone

Fire Watcher #1

Versailles, 1686: Julie d'Aubigny, a striking young girl taught to fence and fight in the court of the Sun King, is taken as mistress by the King's Master of Horse. Tempestuous, swashbuckling and volatile, within two years she has run away with her fencing master, fallen in love with a nun and is hiding from the authorities, sentenced to be burnt at the stake. Within another year, she has become a beloved star at the famed Paris Opera. Her lovers include some of Europe's most powerful men and France's most beautiful women. Yet Julie is destined to die alone in a convent at the age of 33.

The German planes patrolled in hunting squads. They flew fast fighting craft, streaking across the sky in tight formation. The greatest of them was the Red Baron, the deadliest ace on the Front. He'd shot down twenty-one of our planes in a single month. And now we were in his firing line. The war in France rages in the skies, and support for the war in Australia turns cold. Alex flies high above the trenches of the Western Front, while a world away his sister Maggie finds herself in the midst of political upheaval. Somehow, both must find the courage to fight on.

1917

Australia's Great War

Sina V. Pfister

This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2015. How do humans conceive of, enact, embody, perform, control, commodify, proscribe and portray love and gender? How are our bodies, our identities, our beliefs, our representations of ourselves affected by love and gender – or perceptions of love and gender? What don’t we know? What don’t we talk about? Why? Have answers to all these questions changed over time? Across cultures? These and many other questions lie at the heart of this volume on the changing natures and intertwining of gender and love. Its contents encompass concepts of love within and of the self, in families and between specific family members, in sexual and intimate relationships, in spiritual practice, in communities, and seen through many different lenses and from a range of disciplines and approaches. Readers may be left with more questions than answers: we certainly hope so.

Past and Present: Perspectives on Gender and Love

THE SULTAN'S EYES is the sequel to ACT OF FAITH. the year is 1648 and life in Venice is serene for Isabella Hawkins and her friends Willem, Al-Qasim and Signora Contarini. together they publish fine books like the controversial encyclopaedia, the Sum of All Knowledge. When a new Inquisitor declares war on free speech however, they are forced to flee across the seas to the wondrous capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, which is ruled by the infamous Sultanate of the Women. Old friends and new, including the boy Sultan and his sister, welcome them to the world's greatest city. But Isabella is soon entangled in poisonous palace intrigues, while her friends secretly play perilous games of their own. the fascinating and page-turning sequel to Act of Faith, which was shortlisted for the 2012 NSW Premier's Literary awards, the 2012 Gold Inky awards and highly commended in the 2012 Barbara Jefferis Awards. Praise for Act of Faith: the novel is expansive and impressive, and with Gardiners eloquent words and literary flair she acts as fictional tour-guide breathing life into these cobblestoned walkways and Ghetto communities... a divine story, dripping in history and delivering a wonderful message of freedom, loyalty and bravery. the Alpha Reader Highly recommended... It is fast paced and the intriguing and well researched detail of life on the Continent in the 17th Century will be enjoyed by readers.' ReadPlus

The Sultan's Eyes

Vigil

December 1940, London: Christopher Larkham finds an ancient Roman ring inscribed with a phoenix. As he takes shelter from the firestorm of the Blitz, the ring glows, and pushing open a door, he finds himself in 1666 and facing the Great Fire of London. Fire-and-brimstone preacher, Brother Blowbladder, and his men of the Righteous Temple have prayed for the ancient gods of fire to bring flames down upon London, a city of sin. Could Christopher be their messenger? Or was it the strange girl on the quay who drew him back in time? Why do the Righteous men wear the same phoenix symbol as the engraving on Christopher's ring?

August 1944. The war is finally turning against Hitler, but he has one last secret weapon: flying bombs, sent to destroy the City of London. But Christopher only cares about solving the riddle of the phoenix ring. He journeys back to its source: early Roman Londinium, now surrounded on all sides by the armies of the British queen, Boudica. With help from a slave girl, Fortunata, Christopher learns the secrets of the ancient Roman fire-watchers, the Vigiles: but unknown to him, a sinister figure from 1666 has followed him through time. The chase takes Christopher and Fortunata through the battle for Londinium, then across the centuries, to a rebuilt 17th century London where Christopher and his friends finally untangle the truth.

Fire Watcher #3: Vigil

May 1941. The Blitz is reaching its fiery climax. Christopher tries to go back to 1066; to find his new friends and learn more about the power of his phoenix ring. Instead, he finds himself in a smaller, older river port town known as Lundenwic, where the Anglo-Saxon community faces an invasion by the dreaded Vikings. Christopher must discover why the ring has brought him here, and how to get back to his own time. But then Viking ships appear on the Thames, and their warriors threaten to burn the city and conquer the whole of England.

Phoenix

After a carefree pirate existence, Lily, now reunited with her parents, is having trouble coping with life ashore. So she's overjoyed to see the motley crew from the Mermaid, who, believing her to be dead, have come to return her belongings, including the precious horde of pearls, to her mother. their surprise at finding Lily alive is only topped by their discovery that man they knew as Hussein Reis is Lily's father.James Swann receives word from the Admiralty that he is needed to fight the French on Malta. taking the Mermaid, its crew, Lily and the rest of the Swann family (still feuding), he sails to Malta to help its people rid the islands of the invaders.their mission, to find a way through the secret tunnels under the fortress of Valletta to rescue the Maltese hostages kept there, is betrayed by a trusted friend, and Lily's constant fights with her father threaten to undermine the whole operation.But worse is in store as Lily and her brother Lucas are chased through a wild storm at sea by their old enemy, Captain Diablo ...Ages 9-12

Kelly Gardiner

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