Bøger af Amy Mantravadi

It is 1524 and Europe is in flames. The Church is fracturing, revolution is brewing, and society is changing rapidly. Three authors who shaped this new world with their pens-- Martin Luther, Desiderius Erasmus, and Philipp Melanchthon-- will now be shaped by it in turn. When the pope and King Henry VIII of England pressure Erasmus to take a public stand against Luther, both authors will be forced to wrestle with literal and figurative demons. Erasmus is haunted by his illegitimate birth and an instance of same-sex attraction that left him feeling ashamed. Luther struggles with the rejection of the Church and his own father. Melanchthon, Luther's associate and a long-time admirer of Erasmus, is increasingly caught in the middle, forced to choose between two men he venerates or be torn asunder. The three men's lives and fears are woven together as events spiral out of their collective control. As the story wraps up, all three men are reminded of their mortality in ways that heighten their fears and reveal their priorities. This is a book about the things that terrify us, the battles we wage, and the hope that gives us strength.

England is in chaos. The heir to the throne is dead. The king's only remaining legitimate child is Empress Maud, who is hundreds of miles away tending to her sick husband. Once a royal afterthought, Maud has suddenly become the most important woman in Europe.Her father, King Henry I of England, wishes to use her as his pawn once again, but Maud dreams of a different future in which she controls her own destiny. Through heartbreak, conflicts, and great physical danger, she relies on the friends she has made to help her overcome immense obstacles. But will she ever win the respect of both her father and her kingdom? More importantly, will she gain the child she so desperately craves?

The history books remember her as Empress Mathilda, but her path to sovereignty began when she was just a girl named Maud. Engaged, estranged, and crowned by the age of twelve, this is her story . . . As the firstborn legitimate child of King Henry I of England, Princess Maud is faced with the fiercest crisis of her eight-year-old life when she learns that she will be sent to Germany to marry the Holy Roman Emperor. To make matters worse, her husband-to-be is in the midst of a disagreement with the Pope, and the threat of civil war continuously rages. Thrust into the middle of the greatest political controversy in Europe, Maud must learn to navigate the turbulent political waters while also managing her own transition from girl to woman. Students of history will know the ending: Maud will successfully become Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Queen of Germany, Queen of Italy, and the sole legitimate heir to the English throne. But The Girl Empress invites readers to join Maud on the journey of a lifetime, experiencing the depths of her hopes and dreams, her anxieties and strengths, her successes and failures. The history books haven't done her justice.

Darkness has descended over England. The reign of the usurper has brought it low, piling injustice upon injustice. This is the world Empress Maud sees and into which she enters, setting foot upon the sacred soil of England to overthrow King Stephen and regain the royal inheritance of her sons. It will be no easy task. The barons are keen to pursue their own advantage, playing one claimant to the throne off the other. Maud finds it necessary to ally with figures who offend her own moral principles, and she increasingly struggles to trust anyone...even those closest to her. A new ally - or perhaps an adversary - in the form of Bishop Henry of Winchester forces Maud to draw upon all her political knowledge to win the loyalty of the Church, but exercising power proves to be even more devilish than gaining it. At every turn, she is scorned by figures great and small on account of her sex, and the demons of her past continue to haunt her as she longs for freedom but finds herself always in chains. Controlling her own emotions will prove as difficult as controlling the kingdom. Set against the backdrop of the most tumultuous years of The Anarchy, this is the story of a woman whom destiny called to fight for the future of England. She will endure hunger and insults, the misfortunes of war and the scourge of fire as she struggles to discover who she truly is and what she is to England. This is a story of civil war and ultimately of a love so powerful that it would endure for all eternity.