Imperial Requiem


Book Description

Augusta Victoria, Mary, Alexandra, and Zita were four women who were born to rule. In Imperial Requiem, Justin C. Vovk narrates the epic story of four women who were married to the reigning monarchs of Europe's last empires during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Using a diverse array of primary and secondary sources, letters, diary entries, and interviews with descendants, Vovk provides an in-depth look into the lives of four extraordinary women who stayed faithfully at their husbands' sides throughout the cataclysm of the First World War and the tumultuous years that followed. At the centers of these four great monarchies were Augusta Victoria, Germany's revered empress whose unwavering commitment to her bombastic husband made her a national icon; Mary, whose Cinderella story and immense personal strength made her the soul of the British monarchy through some of its greatest crises; Alexandra, the ill-fated tsarina who helped topple the Russian monarchy through her ineffective rule; and Zita, the resolute empress of Austria whose story of loss and exile captivated the world's attention for seven decades. Imperial Requiem shares the fascinating story of four princesses who married for love, graced imperial thrones, and watched as their beloved worlds were torn apart by war, revolution, heartache, and loss.







Patristic Studies


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In Destiny's Hands


Book Description

Justin Vovks In Destinys Hands is the heartbreaking story of five children of Austrias iconic empress, Maria Theresa, who watched as their royal worlds were ripped apart by tragedy and epic misfortunes. These are the stories of Joseph, whose disastrous reign forced Austria to the brink of civil war; Amalia, the brazen and scandalous duchess who married a boy-prince and died exiled and forgotten; Leopold, Maria Theresas unassuming second son, who was the envy of Europe until his tumultuous reign was cut tragically short; Maria Carolina, the very Austrian queen of Naples, who ended her days fighting Napoleon with her dying breath; and Marie Antoinette, the legendary teenage bride, who was hated and reviled as Queen of France and met her ultimate fate on the guillotine, a testimony to her mothers vain ambition. Painstakingly researched and masterfully crafted, In Destinys Hands brings to vivid life the world of the eighteenth century like never before. Readers will find many fascinating details in Vovks In Destinys Hands. Vovk has shed light on these individuals and provided a much needed new work on Maria Theresas progeny. Julia P. Gelardi, author of the critically acclaimed Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria and In Triumphs Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters, and the Price They Paid For Glory Be prepared for heart break, smiles, and most of all, a roller coaster of enlightenment you will not be able to it down. David Antunes, M.A., author of Napoleons Way: How One Little Man Changed the World




The Lives and Deaths of the Princesses of Hesse


Book Description

A gripping family saga and a portrait of a world in turmoil The Princesses of Hesse were Queen Victoria's grandchildren. After the sudden death of her daughter Alice, Queen Victoria took an obsessive interest in the marriage prospects of the four girls she left behind. Very little went according to plan. Fortunately, Queen Victoria did not live to see her direst fears for the girls spouses being realised. She died in January 1901, just before her beloved Hesse granddaughters became caught up in the maelstrom of early 20th century Europe. The youngest sister, Alix, married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; she was assassinated, along with the rest of her family, in a cellar in Ekaterinburg. The second, Ella, married the Russian Grand Duke Serge. After he was assassinated, she became a nun, only to be assassinated by the Bolsheviks twenty-four hours after Alix in 1918. The third, Irene, married the Kaiser's brother, Prince Henry, and was entangled in the 1918 German uprisings. The eldest sister, Princess Victoria, married Prince Louis Battenberg, and became the mother of Lord Louis Mountbatten and grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Their lives were all dramatic, and this group biography shows how they interacted as sisters, forever jostling for status and relaying the politics and intrigues that surrounded them. Drawing on hundreds of previously unseen letters from the sisters as well as from their grandmother Queen Victoria, The Princesses of Hesse takes us on a sweeping journey across the tumultuous landscape of the turn of the century - from the dramas of the Russian Court to the Russian Revolution, and through both World Wars in which they often found themselves on opposing sides. Both intimate and epic in scope, Frances Welch's biography sheds new light on the four sisters' lives, illuminating a remarkable period of history in the process.




Requiem Infernal


Book Description

Great new novel featuring the battle sisters of the Adepta Sororitas. On a distant world, an obscure order of the Adepta Sororitas study their founder's visions. They live in solitude… which is about to be broken as danger approaches. The Adepta Sororitas of the Last Candle have stood vigil over their sanctuary world for centuries, striving to decipher their founder's tormented visions. Outsiders are unwelcome, yet still they come. Decimated by an encounter with a lethal xenos entity, the survivors of an elite Astra Militarum company have journeyed to the Candleworld in search of healing, escorted by a woman who is no stranger there – Sister Hospitaller Asenath Hyades, who turned her back on the order decades ago. As the seekers near the sect's bastion, malign forces begin to stir among the planet's storm-wracked spires, but the most insidious shadows lie in their own souls.




The Battleship Yamato


Book Description

This richly detailed tribute to the legendary Yamato is now back in print by popular demand. Equipped with the largest guns and heaviest armor and having the greatest displacement of any ship ever built, the Yamato proved to be a formidable opponent to the U.S. Pacific Fleet in World War II. This classic in the Anatomy of the Ship series contains a full description of the design and construction of the battleship including wartime modifications, and a career history. This is followed by a substantial pictorial section with rare onboard views of Yamato and her sister ship, a comprehensive portfolio of more than 600 perspective and three-view drawings, and 30 photographs. Such a handsome and thorough work is guaranteed to impress modelmakers, ship enthusiasts, and naval historians.




The Voice of the Poor


Book Description

Based on a series of lectures given in India in the spring of 1982.