The Drop of the Dice

Carlotta Main & Damaris Main

As England erupts in violent Jacobite upheaval, two half-sisters - one of surpassing beauty and untamed spirit; the other plain, shy and dutiful - vie for the love of a man and the life of a child.

When the lovely and willful Carlotta, on her way to the home of her suitor Benjie Stevens, is abducted by the dashing Jacobite leader Lord Hessenfield and forced to share his bed, she doesn't dream that the shameful coupling will spiral into mutual passion. But Hessenfield must flee to France, and Carlotta finds herself pregnant with his child. Desperate to save face and future, she marries Benjie and resolves to live happily ever after - until she returns home to find her half-sister Damaris in love with Matt Pilkington, son of the neighboring estate owner. Never one to deny her desires, Carlotta plunges into a torrid affair with Matt, a betrayal that sends the trusting Damaris into a nearly fatal illness, a easting disease from which only Carlotta's child, the enchanting Clarissa, can save her.

With Damaris restored to health and a quiet if empty life, and Carlotta reunited in France with her true love, Hessenfield, it seems that each sister has realized her destiny - until a desperate letter from Paris reveals the terrible price Carlotta has paid for her happiness and begs Damaris to save the child Clarissa from a similar fate.

Angelet Hanson

The tale is long and complicated, but attention is held as Angelet, daughter of Annora and Rolf of Midsummer's Eve, begins to enter adulthood. One incident marks her indelibly. At the superstition-laden pool of St. Branok in Cornwall, she is saved from a rapist by Ben, a young family connection on a visit from Australia. When she and Ben dispose of the attacker's body in the pool, their bond is strengthened. Ben returns to Australia in pursuit of gold; Angelet debuts in London and marries a charming scapegrace, a gambler who will eventually take her to Australia in pursuit of a fortune. There the stage is set for Angelet, by now a widow, and Ben, a putative widower.

In an England riddled by political and religious strife. Priscilla Eversleigh fights the man who ravaged her, who is attempting to possess her daughter, and who separates her through a dark secret they share from the man she truly loves.

During the turbulent period of the "Popish plots," fourteen-year-old Priscilla Eversleigh lives untouched in the haven of Eversleigh, the family estate, with her illegitimate sister, Christabel. But this bastion of innocence is about to fall. Danger and romance push their way to her doorstep. Harriet Main and her son Leigh, two trusted family friends, return from the war zone. Yet another refugee stumbles into their midst --- this time it is Jocelyn Frinton, a young man haunted by a pursuer. Priscilla and her friends hide Jocelyn and a furtive romance blossoms, which is cut short when Jocelyn is captured and beheaded. Priscilla discovers she will bear his child.

Harriet whisks Priscilla and Christabel to Venice to save the family name from disgrace of an illegitimate child and plots to pass the baby off as her own. A daughter, Carlotta, is born and the family returns to Eversleigh, but not before Priscilla is abducted by the cruel and lecherous Beaumont Granville. Granville's villainy plagues Priscilla and her loved ones through many tormented years until she at last gains the final victory.

Zipporah Clavering

When Zipporah Ransome set out for Eversleigh Court, her family's ancestral home, she was a sensible, predictable person. Married to a man she had known since childhood, Zipporah was satisfied with her quiet life, happy to put behind her the legacy of scandal that had long stained her heritage. Only in answer to an old man's desperate plea did she journey to a house rife with memories, with malice - even, perhaps, with danger.

But when she departed Eversleigh, Zipporah was a different woman. Caught in a widening web of menace and manipulation, she was forced to rise to the challenge of those working against her. And something more had changed for Zipporah: she had fallen in love with a handsome stranger she might never see again, but whose presence would dominate her future and her fortunes more powerfully than she could ever have imagined.

Raised in the grand chateau of Tourville, lovely young Claudine, with her widowed mother, had fled the solitude of the French countryside as revolution torched it, sparking flames that would forever alter the landscape, their destiny, and the face of history itself.

Warmly ensconced and safe from harm in her mother's ancestral English home, Claudine discovers a new kind of danger; turning ripe and sensuous overnight, she is torn between the love of her new stepbrothers - David, steady, scholarly, the perfect husband ... if not the lover of her dreams; and Jonathon, so passionate, so willing to dare, far from the perfect husband, but as her first and foremost love, unsurpassed. Theirs is an amorous triangle that will burn bright through the years when England and all Europe struggle in a tyrant's grasp, till a moment on a rocky beach when one of the two men Claudine adores falls victim to a power beyond destiny.

Annora Cadorson

Set against the wild and rocky shores of nineteenth century Cornwall and the primitive outback of Australia, Midsummer's Eve is the story of Annora Cadorson, a young and innocent girl whose love and happiness are threatened by tragedy and disillusion.

The daughter of Sir Jake Cadorson, lord of one of England's oldest manors, Annora is raised in the warmth of a close-knit family who ardently encourage her to marry the dashing Rolf Hanson, man of her childhood dreams.

But then comes Midsummer's Eve. The haunting events of that terrible night shatter Annora's illusions about Rolf and cause her to distrust men. She escapes to London, where fashionable society is celebrating the accession of Queen Victoria. There she meets Joe Cresswell, whose father is vying with Annora's uncle for an important Parliamentary seat. But her romance with Joe is dashed when scandal erupts between the two politically ambitious men who have brought them together.

With her family, Annora sails to Australia, where she is further shaken by their cruel and unexpected deaths. Henceforth she must confront alone the animosity and unexpected rivalries that pursue her home to her beloved Cornwall. By overcoming these trials and hardships, Annora follows the path toward womanhood and regains at last the love she had lost but had always held so dear.

Rebecca Mandeville

The story of The Changeling is told by Angelet's daughter, Rebecca, who was born in Benedict Lansdon's house in an Australian gold-mining township. Before Rebecca was born, her father had died saving another man's life. She had always looked up to him as a great hero and when she heard that her mother was to marry Benedict Lansdon, she was deeply shocked.

The prolific British author of historical romances (The Pool of St. Branok) continues her lavishly entwined narrative of the families connected to Benedict Lansdon, now a recently bereaved widower, absentee father and wealthy seeker of a Parliament seat. Narrated by Benedict's aggrieved stepdaughter, Rebecca, this complex tale of love and betrayal concerns a three-cornered sibling relationship involving Rebecca, her half-sister, Belinda and Lucie, a country waif informally adopted by Benedict. Aware that her father blames her for her mother's death in childbirth, Belinda takes refuge in michievous behavior. Placid Lucie, however, fits in well with the family, though her lineage is suspect and clouded with mysterious events at St. Branok's pool. Although Belinda seems the most obvious "changeling," Carr sustains an air of doubt and intrigue. The ambience of the Cornish countryside and of Victorian London permeate this piquantly Gothic family saga.

Lucie Lansdon

Mysterious and romantic sequel to 'The Changeling', continuing the Cornwall saga. When Lucie Lansdon's father is assassinated in front of his London home, young Lucie is the only witness. Her testimony leads to the arrest, conviction and hanging of an Irish terrorist. But the trauma follows her throughout her life when another disaster - the death of her fiance occurs. She then marries a kind man and they set up house together with his sister. But strange things begin to happen and she begins to believe her life is in danger.

Роман Михаила Шишкина “Венерин волос” был удостоен сразу трех престижных литературных премий: “Большая книга”, “Национальный бестселлер” и имени И.Бунина. По его мотивам поставлен спектакль “Самое важное” в театре-студии Петра Фоменко. Известный прозаик, живущий последние годы в Швейцарии, еще раз доказал, что “высокая проза” нужна читателю.

“Венерин волос – это травка-муравка, в мимолетном городе Риме – сорняк, а в России – комнатное растение, которое без человеческого тепла не выживает… Я писал этот роман в Швейцарии, во Франции, в Риме. Он очень русский, но одновременно выходит за границы русского мира, не помещается в них…” (Михаил Шишкин).

Брошенная мужем, отвергнутая общими друзьями, Вика оказалась совершенно неприспособленной к жизни: никчемная дамочка, мужнина жена, и то бывшая… Отчаявшись, она даже решилась подобрать с помойки бомжа: отмыть, одеть и сделать из него себе защитника… Жажда реванша приводит ее в фирму, отписанную супругом при разводе, где Вика взялась директорствовать, плохо понимая, во что она ввязалась. Угодив в самую гущу опасных и жестоких бизнес-игр, Вика поздно осознала – счет в них идет не только на деньги, но и на жизнь, на ее жизнь. Труп кошки с загадочным кулоном в ее квартире, затем труп незнакомой девушки в ее постели, – это предупреждения! Но о чем?! От кого?! Чтобы не стать третьим трупом, Вика должна срочно понять, что происходит вокруг нее! Однако ее коллеги темнят, а «прирученный» бомж исчезает. Никого нет рядом, некому ей помочь… Кроме частного детектива Алексея Кисанова.

Rebecca Mandeville

The story of The Changeling is told by Angelet's daughter, Rebecca, who was born in Benedict Lansdon's house in an Australian gold-mining township. Before Rebecca was born, her father had died saving another man's life. She had always looked up to him as a great hero and when she heard that her mother was to marry Benedict Lansdon, she was deeply shocked.

The prolific British author of historical romances (The Pool of St. Branok) continues her lavishly entwined narrative of the families connected to Benedict Lansdon, now a recently bereaved widower, absentee father and wealthy seeker of a Parliament seat. Narrated by Benedict's aggrieved stepdaughter, Rebecca, this complex tale of love and betrayal concerns a three-cornered sibling relationship involving Rebecca, her half-sister, Belinda and Lucie, a country waif informally adopted by Benedict. Aware that her father blames her for her mother's death in childbirth, Belinda takes refuge in michievous behavior. Placid Lucie, however, fits in well with the family, though her lineage is suspect and clouded with mysterious events at St. Branok's pool. Although Belinda seems the most obvious "changeling," Carr sustains an air of doubt and intrigue. The ambience of the Cornish countryside and of Victorian London permeate this piquantly Gothic family saga.