Victoria Books

Jared wasn't particularly interested in a good looking woman, all he needed was a housekeeper...not that he would pass up a bed partner. Coming up out of a hangover, the sombre [yet handsome?] rancher got a bit of a shock when he saw Glenna and she revealed her bruises.

Glenna was willing to learn what it took to live on the Kansas prairie if only she could provide the promised home for her blind sister, Mary. But her foiled attempts with her widow's disguise to gain money to support her sister raised many doubts in Jareds' mind. What was she up to??

Little by little the generous gestures by Glenna began to make a small impression on Jared. Just don't ask about "Janie".
Glenna's conclusion was that Jared had loved Janie very much.
Glenna took immediately to Lyden...the twenty month old son of Jared.

I loved meeting Jared's brother, Joseph and his wife, Cally. And their eight children, 17 year old John, 16 year old Charity, then 15 year old twins, Matthew and Mark [they picked them up in Topeka on their way to the ranch] then there is 14 year old, Luke who is quiet and musical, like his mother.
[grin] Jared figured that his brother must have needed a rest because the next set of twins are 10 year old, Peter and Paul. [chuckle, chuckle] then six years later, little 4 year old Annie is born, "she is a sweetheart" according to Jared and she wants to marry Uncle Jared when she grows up. Oh, yes, and Cally is expecting again. Whee! what a great family.

Joseph is 36 and Jared is 33 [boy, does he have a way to go - sibling competition, you know] Of course Glenna is only 24.

Glenna, being from Chicago [Jared's nickname for her was "city-girl"]just about had histerics when a rattlesnake appeared up from the floorboards and was heading for the baby. One of the many reasons why Jared kept telling Glenna that it was too dangerous for a blind child to live on the ranch. But Glenna kept trying to think up adjustments to make the ranch livable for Mary.

Oh, yes - it did take a while for Glenna to let her handsome husband into her bed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - thoroughly enjoyable - excellent read and keeps you interest.

I was pleasantly suprised when I picked up the re-issue of this book in the American Hero series(Kansas). I do not usually read to many historicals, but I quickly became involved in the story of Jared and Glenna. Jared who runs an add in the Chicago paper for a wife who is suitable for prairie life. He makes it quite clear that he is not capable of love and his "wife" would simply be nothing more than a hired hand who was also responsible for raising his son. Glenna, answers the ad in the hopes of getting her and her little sister out of an abusive situation. This story did not have any weak moments and because it is not as long as your typical historical novel, reading it in one sitting was easily done. This is a story I would go back to again and again.

Summer vacation with a ghost-story telling Grandpa is always filled with thrills and chills. But this year in Gimli, Manitoba, twins Michael and Angela and their cousin, Sarah, find the summer nights and sights prove more frightening than ever. Not long after Grandpa tells a spooky myth about an Icelandic ghost called a Draugr, the trio encounters something ghastly in the woods. Can ghosts really come back from the dead to cure their unrest? Sarah, Michael and Angela don't want to wait around to find out. And, just as the pieces to the mystery start to fit, Grandpa tries to send them back home to the United States. Before they leave Gimli, however, a dog turns dead and Grandpa suddenly disappears. Determined to get to the bottom of the strange happenings, Angie leads the others on a wild goose chase--that may just turn into a ghost chase. "You do have the Grettir's blood." I didn't know exactly what she was talk about, but I nodded as if I understood. Althea looked at me up and down..."Perhaps I've underestimated you. All of you. Maybe it would have been better if I told you the truth from the beginning." She paused for another second. "Alright," she said. "I'll tell you everything I know, and you can deal with the nightmares and the possibilities--it's a deal. But first each of you must give me your version of what happened. And don't leave out the smallest detail." Again we spoke about seeing the little boy in the forest and about how he had disappeared... Draugr is a wonderful book for young teens of either sex---a quick, but engaging read, with compelling chapter openings and cliffhanging endings. Arthur Slade has woven just enough fright into the story to keep the reader sitting on the edge of their chair, yet anxiously turning the pages. With Slade's newest book, The Loki Wolf, soon to be released by Orca, readers won't have long to wait for their next "shivers."

Lynne Remick, Reviewer

As an elementary teacher I found this book to be a great motivator for my Grade Six students. I found the content to be very enticing for this age level without the "gore" that is present in other books of this genre. Slade does an excellent job of filling all chapters with suspense and encouraging the reader to forge on into the story. An excellent classroom resource to excite readers and a wonderful read.

Una historia que se lee como se ve una buena película. Sus secciones de acción y reacción cautivan al lector, haciendo que acelere su lectura y no la quiera soltar hasta el final. Con esta novela, logramos identificarnos con los protagosnistas, héroes y villanos por igual; reírmos y llorar juntos; compartir sus logros y sentir por sus fracasos. Se desarrolla en el Chile cambiante post Pinochet, pero no cae en la postulación política. Es una excelente muestra de la nueva literatura latinoamericana, la que se aleja del ya trillado realismo mágico que tanto ha dado que hablar y leer durante las más recientes décadas. Es audaz, juvenil, sensual, renovadora, entretenida y diferente. Muy merecedora del Premio Planeta 2003.

Excelente propuesta para explorar el incipiente erotismo narrativo latinoamericano, además de una buena situación vivencial y anecdótica. Divertido, muy recomendable.

Jean Plaidy, known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, continues her "Queens of England" series of books with this, her sixth volume. It is the Spanish text edition of "In the Shadow of the Crown", a well written and engrossing work of historical fiction written as a first person narrative by Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Queen Katherine. Mary would eventually become Queen of England in her own right and leave a legacy whereby her subjects would remember her as "Bloody Mary".

As the only child of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, the future seemed rosy for the Princess Mary. She lived a fairytale life until her father, obsessed with begetting a male heir, fell for the charms of Anne Boleyn. From that moment on, life would never be the same for Mary. Her world was torn asunder, as her father became someone whom she did not recognize. His cruelties to her and her mother, Katherine, would leave an indelible mark on her life. Divorcing her mother to marry the notorious Anne Boleyn and splitting from the Catholic Church of Rome, Henry would set England on a course that would change history. It would also serve to reinforce Mary's Catholicism, the faith of her pious, long suffering mother.

Upon the death of her father, Mary would, along with her half sister Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, become a pawn in the political intrigues of the day in which religion would become a focal issue. When Mary became Queen after the premature death of her sickly half brother, Edward VI, son of her father, Henry, and his hapless third wife, Jane Seymour, she tried to make England return to the Catholic Church of Rome. Under the guidance of some of her advisors, she would make horrific examples of those who would fail to embrace what she viewed as the true faith, a policy that would not endear her to her subjects. This, unfortunately, would be her legacy and would, ultimately, shape the future religious identity of England.

This is an absorbing story of one woman's struggle to survive the vicissitudes of life, the feckless love of her father, the King, the political intrigues of her day, the threat of imprisonment and death, and a loveless and childless marriage to Phillip of Spain. It is the story of a woman whose road to the throne was paved with many obstacles, and her ultimate acquisition of the crown would confer little happiness upon her. It is a spellbinding account of a life lived entirely in the shadow of the crown.

Jean Plaidy, known to her legion of fans as Victoria Holt, continues her "Queens of England" series of books with this, her sixth volume. It is the Spanish text edition of "In the Shadow of the Crown", a well written and engrossing work of historical fiction written as a first person narrative by Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Queen Katherine. Mary would eventually become Queen of England in her own right and leave a legacy whereby her subjects would remember her as "Bloody Mary".

As the only child of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, the future seemed rosy for the Princess Mary. She lived a fairytale life until her father, obsessed with begetting a male heir, fell for the charms of Anne Boleyn. From that moment on, life would never be the same for Mary. Her world was torn asunder, as her father became someone whom she did not recognize. His cruelties to her and her mother, Katherine, would leave an indelible mark on her life. Divorcing her mother to marry the notorious Anne Boleyn and splitting from the Catholic Church of Rome, Henry would set England on a course that would change history. It would also serve to reinforce Mary's Catholicism, the faith of her pious, long suffering mother.

Upon the death of her father, Mary would, along with her half sister Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, become a pawn in the political intrigues of the day in which religion would become a focal issue. When Mary became Queen after the premature death of her sickly half brother, Edward VI, son of her father, Henry, and his hapless third wife, Jane Seymour, she tried to make England return to the Catholic Church of Rome. Under the guidance of some of her advisors, she would make horrific examples of those who would fail to embrace what she viewed as the true faith, a policy that would not endear her to her subjects. This, unfortunately, would be her legacy and would, ultimately, shape the future religious identity of England.

This is an absorbing story of one woman's struggle to survive the vicissitudes of life, the feckless love of her father, the King, the political intrigues of her day, the threat of imprisonment and death, and a loveless and childless marriage to Phillip of Spain. It is the story of a woman whose road to the throne was paved with many obstacles, and her ultimate acquisition of the crown would confer little happiness upon her. It is a spellbinding account of a life lived entirely in the shadow of the crown.

Our schools can take note from these reasonable and fictitious experiences. Excellent book if we want to consider the use of portfolio in the scholastic centers. The directions Web that provides the book are very interesting and enriching. Very useful for directors of center, training unit commanders and ordered of course. Very interesting for all professors whom it loves to have a global vision of the implementation of portfolio in the schools centers.
Jordi Guim

The Example School Portfolio brings the School Portfolio alive. Now I know how our School Portfolio should look.

The Example School Portfolio clearly shows the benefit of using data in school improvement. It is a wonderful tool to have as we improve our school system.

This is an extraordinarily useful reference book for readers of all levels. I go back to it for information all the time! The book is definitely worth the money, but I wish there were a paperback edition.

Deftly organized and edited by Xiao-Bin Ji (Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers University), Facts About China is an extensively packed, 751-page resource comprehensively covering the geography, climate, history, belief systems, economy, governmental institutions, chronology and more, regarding the People's Republic of China. An authoritative and "user friendly" reference offering up-to-date and relevant information (especially for prospective travelers and visitors), Facts About China is an impressive, seminal, and very highly recommended contribution to Chinese Studies reference collections.

Very easy to use and very helpful. Know the event but don't know the date? Just look it up in the index arranged alphabetically by issues/problems. Doing a project for a certain time period and don't know where to look? Check out the second half of the book with an index arranged chronologically (by date, from oldest to current). I definately recommend it for all you fast fact seekers, especially those who don't have much time to spare.

Capably edited by Ronald J. Formica (Managing Editor, New England Publishing Associates), Famous First Facts About The Environment is a highly specialized and thoroughly "user friendly", 573-page reference book. Half of the volume collects nearly 4,000 facts about environmental "firsts", from activist movements and geophysics, to zoos, aquariums, and museums. The second half is an in-depth index that allows the reader to quickly and easily look up the appropriate fact for just about any environmental subject matter. An exacting and thorough gathering of fascinating environmental facts, Famous First Facts About The Environment is an essential, core reference for school and community library Environmental Studies collections.

This is such a beautifully written book that I feel like a real dunce trying to review it, but here goes.

This book describes a womans life the way women really think, with sex described as snapshots of images, whiffs of smell and remembered small sounds. This way of describing sexual encounter really works well, it also works for describing other things from memory, especially for a character such as this: who drinks too much and may have ADHD. Well, OK, Martha is more complicated than a mere assigning of syndromes and learning disabilities can explain.

She is complicated and interesting; or, she is a shallow, promiscuous woman who comes to terms with her jealousy towards her sister (beautiful without make-up, who could stand this!).

The secondary characters are finely written and believable.

This book is entertaining and sexy, so if you have been reading Bridget Jones and the like, please know you will enjoy this as well. With any luck you will never go back to chick fiction after this read. The book is artfully written, so for God's sake buy this book and expose yourself to some proper literature with poetic descriptions of time, place and human interaction.

Ultimately I want to say "Far" is very smart, so readers don't have to be. LOL

I would love to be able to say I had written such a book.

"Far" is an exquisitely written novel about Martha, a 30-year-old Baltimore woman who refuses to conform to what most people think "normal" women should be like, and finds herself isolated form everyone as a result of it. Martha is perfectly content being completely self-sufficient. She has no desire to get married or have children, and instead becomes involved with Edward, a man who appears to accept Martha for who she is. However, when Martha begins to think that Edward may have other things in mind, she quickly relocates to a small southern town to manage a jewelry store. There, Martha has an affair with a married high-school guidance counselor and strikes up a rather odd friendship with her next-door-neighbor, Louise. When Martha discovers that her younger sister, Carly, has become involved with Edward, she eventually returns home in search of some sort of resolution.

The best thing about "Far" is author Victoria Lancelotta's beautiful prose. Her poetic language alone is a good enough reason to read this book, but the story itself is a haunting tale about love, loneliness, independence, and being a woman. This is a very unique and intriguing book that's unlike anything I've ever read before. It's a must-read for all women out there.

I completely agree with Sharon Owens' review of this book. It was my favorite book as a pre-teen. My family never had enough money to send me to summer camp, but I was able to go through this book. I really identified with the main character, 12-year-old Chris. I remember reading it over and over and enjoying it more each time. It inspired me to write some short stories of my own. I very highly recommend this book!

I remember reading this book about the age of 12 or 13. It is about 5 girls who spend the entire summer at sleep-away camp. Their adventures and life lessons really struck a note with me and I remember reading this book over and over again. I would love to find a copy again for myself to add to my collection of childhood favorites. I would also love to see it re-published so that young girls could again learn from the lessons in this book.

Forever and a Day is one of the most well thought and imaginative books i've read in a long time. Any one wanting to read something different and unusual will want give this a go!

I have read most of Victoria's time travel books & thought this would be the same. I was wrong, but I was glad I did read it. This is a story of reincarnation between to people who have never had a happy ending. A thousand years ago, Giff, in a previous life asked for a spell to make Linda love him. He was granted it but the scorcerer, after granting it saw Linda & wanted her for himself.

We have then Giff being killed before they made love. History repeated itself over & over again. That is until this lifetime. Mord is the evil entity who has cursed them, but this time Giff knows what to do to rid Mord from their lives...

But, can he do what her must & survive?...