The Calamitous Queen


Book Description

Over a million copies of Ian Irvine’s fantasy novels sold. It’s not easy to be a hero when your bum is the size of an airship and you’re bobbing around the ceiling, mocked by angry dwarves. Queen Emajicka is marching on Grimmery with an army of a million Fey. Can things possibly get worse? Yes, they can, for Ike is all alone. His best friend, Mellie, is away, attempting to pull off the perfect crime. Lord Monty is at war with his reattached head. The beautiful sprite Mothooliel wants to steal Ike’s eyeballs, and Grogire the firewyrm plans to kill him in the most disgusting way. Can Pook and Ike free the Collected children? Will Ike discover the secret of the Gate Guardians and clear his parents’ names in time to save Grimmery? Or will Spleen and Nuckl finally feast on Ike’s innards? Brace yourselves for a wild ride. Reviews of Grim and Grimmer “The funniest horror story you’ll read in a long while – Ian Irvine is a master of fantasy and this is the best yet.” Good Reading “An extraordinary fantasy world. Fast and furious and very funny.” Reading Time “A fun adventure for upper-primary readers. Recommended.” Bookseller and Publisher “The Grasping Goblin takes the two reluctant heroes on a very wild ride. A grand adventure.” Aussiereviews.com “I gasped and laughed my way through these three books.” Dee White, Kid’s Book Capers. “A wonderful tale. Delightfully dark and delicious.” Jacq Ellem, hittheroadjacq.com “The fun explodes off every page.” Richard Harland, multi-award winning author of Worldshaker. “Fantasy genius Ian Irvine manages to create a world which is believable, thrilling and funny all rolled into one.” Aussiereviews.com on The Headless Highwayman













The Queen


Book Description

The captivating biography of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, written by the world's best-known royal biographer, Andrew Morton.










Queens and Mistresses of Renaissance France


Book Description

DIV This book tells the history of the French Renaissance through the lives of its most prominent queens and mistresses, beginning with Agnès Sorel, the first officially recognized royal mistress in 1444; including Anne of Brittany, Catherine de Medici, Anne Pisseleu, Diane de Poitiers, and Marguerite de Valois, among others; and concluding with Gabrielle d’Estrées, Henry IV’s powerful mistress during the 1590s. Wellman shows that women in both roles—queen and mistress—enjoyed great influence over French politics and culture, not to mention over the powerful men with whom they were involved. The book also addresses the enduring mythology surrounding these women, relating captivating tales that uncover much about Renaissance modes of argument, symbols, and values, as well as our own modern preoccupations. /div