How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (père) completed in 1844. It is one of the author\'s most popular works, along with The Three Musketeers. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. It begins just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after his exile). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book, an adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. It centres around a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty. In addition, it is a story that involves romance, loyalty, betrayal, and selfishness, shown throughout the story as characters slowly reveal their true inner nature. The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, "The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western civilization\'s literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah\'s flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood."

Truth or dare...When Lacey Garrity finds her groom in flagrante delicto in the reception hall closet with her bridesmaid, she's saved by her best friend's older brother--childhood tormentor, crush, and boxing bad boy Galen Thomas. Galen's solution to her problem is both exciting and dangerous. What better way to forget the mess of her life than go on her honeymoon with a hot guy who can't promise anything beyond today?...or TKO?Galen had been counting on Lacey's wedding to put her out of reach--and out of his mind--once and for all, but their steamy Puerto Rican escape is testing all his boundaries. Now that Lacey's embracing her inner bad girl, Galen is tempted to throw in the towel and claim her for himself. But with the biggest fight of his career on the line and an important business merger threatening to derail Lacey's resolve, their romance might be down for the count before it even begins.               Other books in the Dare Me series:Down and DirtyDown the AisleDown on Her Knees

The Count of Monte-Cristo was inspired by an anecdote from the Parisian police archives, a pearl of a story, Dumas called it, 'A rough, shapeless pearl, of no value, waiting for its jeweller'. Edmond Dantè's betrayal, his incarceration in the fortress-prison of If, his search for Abbé Faria's hidden treasure, and his reappearance, now fabulously rich, as the brooding, Byronic and vengeful Count of Monte-Cristo - these are the bare outlines of a book which Thackeray, for one, found impossible to put down. Dumas set his magnificent novel of L'action et l'amour in nineteenth-century metropolitan Paris with interludes in Marseilles and Rome. In it he gave free rein to the sensational - hashish-smoking, vampirism and sex - and to his interest in travel, classical myth, the orient, human psychology and disguises. The Count of Monte-Cristo (1844-46) is one of the great popular novels of all time, and a landmark in the development of modern popular fiction.

The Count\'s Millions by Emile Gaboriau

Count Orlok from the black and white film Nosferatu is putting on a play to represent what vampires are really like.Count Orlok, the famous vampire in the silent film Nosferatu, has had it with modern interpretation of what it means to be a vampire. So, he's putting on a play, HIS play, to show people how it really was. He has his own cast, crew, and even has incorporated music and dancing routines. However, there are problems. The biggest one being him. His ego is only outmatched by his thirst, and the two major problems is his perfectionist attitude and how he can't help himself from eating the crew. Will he be able to finish the play its opening night? Will he get everyone to understand that vampires are old, creepy, and scary? Will he manage to not trip over his own feet during the doctors scene? Who can tell these things? They are up to Fate!

"Reading the The Sultan of Monte Cristo is like meeting old friends who have not changed over time, a sense of pure delight. This book is a must read for all Alexander Dumas fans and also those who have a craving for complex plots and fabulous characterization.Though one can find Dumas' characters in this book, there are many new characters." Sporty Neha's review"For so many years, passionate fans of The Count of Monte Cristo have suffered a loss upon finishing Alexandre Dumas' last words. It is a grieving of sorts that has long been unmitigable... until now. The mysterious Holy Ghost Writer has penned "The Sultan of Monte Cristo" as a direct continuance of the story readers have long struggled against leaving behind. The adventure-laden journeys of Edmond Dantes continues in (Dumas') newly-honed role as investigative reporter who publishes his (original) book as part of (this) story. New life is breathed into those characters we all knew and loved (or loved to hate) in the original Count of Monte Cristo tale (what can now, finally, be referred to as Book 1). Haydee, the infamous Villeforts, and even Countess G are lifted from the stalemate of our beloved story and given new life, and readers will also be introduced to a host of colorful new characters (like the memorable Raymee) whose lives, loves, and circumstance flow comprehensively and effortlessly through the entire narrative. Amazingly, the prose so closely matches the mood, tone, pacing, and richness of environment of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo that this feels like the natural continuance of those lives. The sequel manages to introduce such a microscopic view into the full-flesh world our colorful characters engage in that readers can't help being sucked in. We cannot help but run breathlessly alongside them throughout the journey, to imagine the consequences between their words, to ponder on their insights and their woe-filled courses of action. We stand next to Mercedes as she lives and breathes; we get that rare glimpse into the future of the characters that Alexandre Dumas himself surely intended. Through well-defined and multilayered plotlines, the story's laser-point pacing, and rich character building, this work lends the quagmire of adventures, missteps, and danger-filled mysteries a guarantee of unforeseen, adventurous turns and cathartic "a-ha" insights. The Holy Ghost Writer seems a literary time-traveller: the swiftness with which he carries us straight into the 1800s is mind-boggling and a rare feat even in the best historical fiction writing. Excellent novel, and highly recommended!" Peanut's review.

Count Francesco da Luca doesn't like being made a fool of. When his bride fled the marriage bed, he vowed she'd pay the debt she owed him--their wedding night!But Alicia Cross is no longer the trembling, naive innocent he married--and she won't be pushed around by the masterful count. His runaway bride is proving to be more of a challenge than he anticipated--until he discovers she's still a virgin. The wedding night Francesco wanted is his for the taking!

Young and free-spirited, Luciana longed to escape the superficial glitter of London and embrace the romance of Venice as her mother had done twenty years before. Now, like an irresistible enchantment, the Great City of Canals beckoned the tall, raven-haired beauty, who seemed to know she must follow in her mother's footsteps to discover her own heart's desire. As a bold adventuress, Luciana arrived in strife-torn Italy embarked on a secret mission. Searching for the mysterious Tonetti, fleeing sinister General Eisenhoph, she had no sooner arrived than she was enmeshed in a web of intrigue and danger - danger that stirred her heart and marked her destiny with the reckless daring that made her the Demon Count's daughter.

In Someone Killed His Boyfriend, David Stukas introduced the most fabulously unlikely trio of gay sleuths this side of Provincetown. Now, Michael and Robert and their lesbian sidekick, Monette, are in the vichyssoise again when Robert's romance with a count goes from fabulous to flatline. . .It ain't easy being green—especially if you're Robert Willsop, a boy from Michigan searching for love in the Prada-filled, Chilean sea bass-eating world of gay New York. While his best friend Michael is perfectly content to detail every bit of his latest hot-wax demo over a plate of fifty-dollar pasta, poverty-stricken Robert longs for a good, old-fashioned romance. So when a chance meeting with the gorgeous, fabulously wealthy Count Siegfried Von Schmidt leads to a whirlwind romance and a marriage proposal, Robert waves goodbye to his dumpy studio apartment and dives in with heart, soul and a brand-new Rolex wristwatch.Instead of being gloriously happy for him—and...

The Count of Samerand is the final authority on crime, so much so that inspector James Wright of Scotland Yard has felt it necessary to bring eccentric count in on many a case. It is through these dealings and their unique meeting that the good inspector has to rely and even admire the count. In his later years he picks up his pen to defend this unique man, when the count is no longer able to.It is April 5, 1864, when the Count of Samerand busy in his experiments is commissioned by his good friend inspector James Wright in the murder of Robert Melbourne, a wealthy landowner from the states who has been found murdered by the house staff. The case should be a simple one for one so versed in crime, but circumstances are not what they seem to be, and the murderer has disappeared from a room that is barred from all sides. Will the count with all his worldly knowledge find the killer or has he met his match?

Bailey and Quinn are back for one last action-filled adventure!A corrupt police chief is on the loose, and it falls to Bailey and Quinn to put an end to him before he finds some way to weaponize the spreading rabies virus, create yet another batch of potent gorgon dust, and otherwise wreck Bailey’s happily ever after.With a pair of orphaned gorgon whelps to care for, more animals she can shake a stick at, and her husband’s determination to make the world a perfect place for her, Bailey has her hands full. To protect everyone she loves, she must embrace her dubious role as the Calamity Queen and rain hell down on those who stand in her way.The Flame Game is on.Warning: this novel contains two fire-breathing unicorns on a napalm bender, action, adventure, chaos, mayhem, humor, and bodies. Proceed with caution.

What happens when a man turns into a monster? The Lord Count Drakulya is Paul Doherty's second novel exploring the life of the man behind the legend. Perfect for fans of C.J Sansom and Ellis Peters. Prince Dracula, or more accurately, Drakulya, was a real person who struggled to control the small Balkan kingdom of Wallachia amidst the cruelty and corruption of I5th-century Europe. Through the eyes of his Greek friend, Rhodros, we see Drakulya, a Renaissance prince, become a despot and wreak a horrifying revenge on his opponents. When Drakulya launches all-out war against his hated enemy, the Ottoman Turks, Rhodros is drawn deeper into the nightmare. His attempts at escape are overtaken by events which sweep Drakulya to a chilling climax and the birth of one of Europe's most terrifying legends... What readers are saying about Paul Doherty:'Paul Doherty's books are a joy to read '' The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of [Paul Doherty's] books''Mr. Doherty's research is only topped by his imagination '

The Count’s Castaway (Pirates of Britannia Series)

Drinking and driving may be deadly in more ways than one...When a woman's disappearance ticks off all the same boxes as two unsolved murders, Miami homicide detective Kelly Marsh is convinced there's about to be a third. If she's right and the killer sticks to their previous MO, she only has three days before Jenna Kelter's decapitated head will show up somewhere in the city. With no time to waste, Kelly reaches out to the one person she knows can help: her former mentor and family friend Jack Harper, who just happens to lead a team with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit.BAU special agent and profiler Brandon Fisher easily sees the similarities between Detective Marsh's missing person case and the two cold cases: all three victims served time for DUI vehicular homicide and disappeared three days after being released from prison. But is that enough to assume Kelter has been abducted by a serial killer? Brandon's not so sure and fears his boss may...

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From the world-famous creator of "Perry Mason," Erle Stanley Gardner comes another baffling case for the Cool & Lam detective agencyErle Stanley Gardner was not just the creator of PERRY MASON – at the time of his death, he was the best-selling American author of all time, with hundreds of millions of books in print, including the 29 cases of the brash, irresistible detective team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Gardner was also one of the most ingenious plot-spinners in the field, coming up with stunning twists and reveals... and THE COUNT OF 9 is Gardner at his twistiest.Hired to protect the treasures of a globe-trotting adventurer, Bertha and Donald confront an impossible crime: how could anything be smuggled out of a dinner party – least of all a 6-foot-long blowgun – when the guests were X-rayed coming and going? But that's nothing compared to the crime they face next:AN IMPOSSIBLE MURDER

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

The Demon Count In a world of grandeur but also nightmarish evils, his dangerous passion drew her to him . . . As soon as she arrives in Venice, golden-haired Charlotte Morrow is pursued by the city's most dashing and celebrated men. Young and reckless, the orphaned English ward of a mysterious guardian expects a life of parties and adventure. Instead she finds herself little better than a bird in a gilded cage at Edentide, her guardian's immense palazzo on the Grand Canal. A "Ghoul of Venice" is terrorizing the city, draining beautiful young women of their blood. To Charlotte's horror, her handsome, brooding guardian, whom she secretly calls the Demon Count, is considered a prime suspect. Every night in his mansion is a spine-tingling battle between passion and fear, as he draws her to him with irresistible desires and dark cravings. Is he protecting her from the Ghoul, or savoring the prospect of her seduction and murder?

In her most ambitious novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard takes on the story of a family from the hopeful early days of young marriage to parenthood, divorce, and its costly aftermath—to illuminate how the mistakes of parents are passed down through generations to fester, or to be healed. After falling in love in the last years of the 1970s, Eleanor and Cam follow their dream of raising three children on a New Hampshire farm. Theirs is a seemingly idyllic life of summer softball games and Labor Day cookouts, snow days and skating on the pond. But when a tragic accident permanently injures the family's youngest child, Eleanor blames Cam. Her inability to forgive him leads to a devastating betrayal: an affair with the family babysitter that brings about the end of their marriage. Over the decades that follow, the five members of this fractured family—and the many others who make up their world—make...

"I don't care if you are a man, let me court you." Rock's whole life is shaken when a werewolf shows up at her shop in the middle of the night...asking for more than just clothes! This is a paranormal romantic comedy about a young count (who's actually a werewolf) passionately wooing a tailor living in the slums (who's actually a woman disguising herself as a man to survive)! Can two people who live double lives find love and acceptance with each other?

Anthony Hope Mr. Anthony Hope is finding out his enviable position. Do what he will, he has the power to please most people. Whatever be his moods, and whatever the quality of his performance, he is never awkward, and elegance of form in any literary matter popularly interesting is so uncommon that gratitude and admiration are widespread and intense in proportion. Now that he is finding this out, it is not surprising that he should take advantage of it, and give pleasure to his numerous admirers as frequently and with as little trouble to himself as possible. It is impertinent to pry into the state of Mr. Hope\'s soul to see if it is growing demoralised by easy triumphs, but it is quite justifiable to say that a little more effort than is to be found in this book is wanted to keep to the estimate which some sincere but discreet admirers have formed of his powers. The stories here are entertaining, and the youth of fourteen who should disapprove of them would do so from mere dulness. But there are features in it that would lead one to believe they were not written for lads in their early teens. Yet it is not exactly a book for men and women, to whom the tales, excellent in imagining as many of them are, must be spoilt by the artificiality of the mechanism, and the conventionality of all the motives, feelings, and expressions, of the human

Proposals and Mysteries! When a fellow tailor goes missing from the slums, Rock elicits Count Ebel's help to find him, but what they discover along the way are dangers involving the Werewolf Brotherhood and crazy relatives that threaten to tear them apart. Can the new couple solve the mystery and return to happier days?

Highlighting the triumphs and tragedies Jimmy Korderas experienced, this entertaining biography focuses on his 20-year career as a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) referee. For the first time, Korderas talks about the harrowing experience of being in the ring during Owen Hart's accident and about the horrific effects of the Chris Benoit tragedy—the most difficult moments of his life in wrestling. The book also includes untold stories from both inside and outside the ring, highlighting the bonds Korderas formed with WWE superstars such as Eddie Guerrero, Edge, John Cena, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Christian, and Chris Jericho. A fun read from a man who, rather than having an ax to grind, wants to inspire wrestling fans and prove that dreams do come true.

November, 1935. Harry Kvist walks out the gates of Langholmen jail into another biting Stockholm winter. He has nothing to his name but a fiercely burning hope: that he can begin a new life with the lover he met in his cell. That he can leave behind his old existence of gutter brawls, bruised fists and broken bones. That he can finally go straight.But the city has other ideas. Nazis are spreading their poison on the freezing streets, and one of Kvist's oldest friends has been murdered. Before he can leave Stockholm's underworld for good, he must track down the killer. As Kvist uncovers a trail of blood leading to the highest echelons of Swedish society, the former boxer finds himself in a fight to the death with his most dangerous opponent yet.

"It's the surrender. It's all about the surrender." Paige Fielding has waited ten years for Giancarlo Alessi to walk back into her life. But the man she was once forced to betray isn't interested in asking questions, or hearing apologies... Shocked to discover Paige working as his mother's PA, Giancarlo sees his thirst for vengeance reignite. So he lures her to Tuscany, where she will bow to his every pleasurable command. But the lines between payback and passion quickly blur. And when Giancarlo discovers Paige is pregnant he must ask himself: Is it really revenge he so desperately craves--or her?

Miranda still loves her estranged husband, Count Dante Severini, and she would do anything to be with him and their son. But Dante clearly hates her—treating her like an unfaithful gold digger...Much as it pains him to do so, Dante has had no choice but to believe the evidence against his wife. He had wanted nothing more to do with Miranda—but their son has been missing his mother. So he issues her a dramatic command: Miranda must come to live with him in his Italian palazzo. In exchange for a life of unparalleled luxury she must pretend that they are happily married...that she is his loving, willing wife....

One of the finest historical fiction writers in the world - Ben Kane

After the bloody trials of Alexandria, Sir William Gold is readying for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to ease the burden on his soul. He hopes, too, that the Holy City might allow his relationship with Emile, cousin of the Green Count of Savoy, to develop.

But the Roman Emperor of Constantinople has been taken hostage by an unknown enemy, and the Green Count is vital to the rescue effort. It is up to Sir William to secure his support, but he soon finds that his past, and his relationship with Emile, might have repercussions he had not foreseen...

Suddenly thrust onto the stage of international politics, Sir William finds himself tangled in a web of plots, intrigue and murder. He must hold true to his chivalric principles, and to his knights, if he is to save the Emperor and survive to tell the tale.

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Set in decadent third-century C.E. Rome, Yarbro's 19th volume in her majestic fantasy series (after 2005's Dark of the Sun) is one of her finest yet to feature heroic vampire Saint-Germain, here known as Ragoczy Germainus Sanct-Franciscus. Despite his wealth, discretion and careful observance of the social niceties, Sanct-Franciscus must be careful as a foreigner. All his precautions, however, can't prevent an official from placing a spy in his household and targeting him for tax evasion and worse. Even as Sanct-Franciscus shelters and aids an abused courtesan, doctors a dying noblewoman and befriends her virginal daughter, he must contend with a fanatical young follower of one of the many religions of the day, Christianity. Sensuous scenes are lush with language ("her sumptuous body still quivering in apolaustic abandon") rather than the explicitly erotic. Meticulous attention to historic detail and vivid writing bring an ancient era to life. Unlike most generic vampiric novels that can be quaffed in a quick if entertaining gulp, this book should be savored like a fine wine. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistThe new Saint-Germain yarn unfolds in the Decadence--the second-century period of Roman boy-emperor Heliogabalus' reign. Saint-Germain comes to Rome as, ostensibly, a learned, wealthy merchant. His riches attract a particularly corrupt tax collector, and when he attempts to help an ailing noblewoman, he is accused of corrupting her daughter, whose zealous Christian-convert brother threatens to destroy Saint-Germain with fire. All accounts are settled before the vampire leaves Rome. Yarbro's interpretation of the period is extremely plausible, ensuring that this installment of the long, long series appeals equally to vampire, history, and romance fans. Frieda MurrayCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In The Long Count, the first book of JM Gulvin's masterful new crime series, we meet Ranger John Quarrie as he is called to the scene of an apparent suicide by a fellow war veteran. Although the local police want the case shut down, John Q is convinced that events aren't quite so straightforward. When his hunch is backed up by the man's son, Isaac - just back from Vietnam, and convinced his father was murdered - they start to look into a series of other violent incidents in the area, including a recent fire at the local Trinity Asylum and the disappearance of Isaac's twin brother, Ishmael. In a desperate race against time, John Q has to try and unravel the dark secrets at the heart of this family and get to the truth before the count is up...Dripping with atmosphere and a sense of time and place, The Long Count is a page-turner and a psychological puzzle - for fans of Shutter Island and True Detective.

From Publishers WeeklyIn Yarbro's rewarding 18th Saint-Germain novel (after 2004's Dark of the Sun), religious conflict makes life dangerous for almost everyone in 1530 Europe, but publishing is a particularly hazardous undertaking. The agents of the doge are spying on Conte di Santo-Germano (as he's known in Venezia), due to his foreignness and role as a publisher. When the count travels from Italy to the Spanish Netherlands to protect his interests there, he leaves behind his lover, Pier-Ariana Salier, a talented musician and composer, confident that his vast wealth will provide for her; however, an embezzler, a clever spy who discovers Saint-Germain's true nature, has other ideas. Subtle intrigue plus details of daily life, publishing and music will keep fans turning the pages. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Rewarding. Subtle intrigue plus details of daily life, publishing and music will keep fans turning the pages."--_Publishers Weekly_ on States of Grace "Among the best vampire tales around. Saint-Germain is no ordinary bloodsucker, and his adventures across history are compelling Yarbro's impeccable research brings Reformation Europe vividly to life.Yarbro skillfully builds plot and character through the interpretations of minor characters, both friends and enemies. Fans of historical fiction and vampire tales alike should be enthralled."--_Romantic Times BookClub Magazine_ Top Pick, 4 ½ stars on _States of Grace_

To repay an old debt... Deliciously handsome Count Vittorio Martelli's promise to repay his late father's debt leads him to penniless and unemployed Jackie Benton. So to start with, he offers her a prestigious job in Rome working for him! He'll take her as his fiancée! Jackie cannot believe her luck when an Italian stranger hands her a lifeline out of the blue. But when she gets there she discovers Vittorio also needs a convenient fiancée...and feisty, hardworking Jackie is the perfect candidate!

Struggling chef Gwen flew to France to fulfill her dreams—she'd rather work herself into the ground than return to her smothering family. But all her determination can't help her resist the intense gaze of Count Etienne Moreau.... After an explosive night, Etienne wants to keep Gwen by his side, and in his bed—she's the perfect antidote to cold-blooded business deals. But proud Gwen is outraged. In Etienne's world money might buy him anything, but this girl is not for sale!

Her whole life she's wanted to work alongside the legendary Sarah-Mae Hopton. She planned everything perfectly to ensure she was favorite to get the position of assistant editor.She wants nothing and no one to stop her achieving her dream. Not even the sexy man who's vying for the same position.Watch Jennifer Gayle from the first day she walks into the huge building, to the love she's found, the disappointments and joys she's encountered on her journey to The Word Count.

Lady Grace Rowe, the dowager Countess of Colbourne, is ready to indulge in an affair. Still in the late blush of youth and after a loveless marriage to a man old enough to be her grandfather, she believes that is the least she deserves. She also believes that the dowager Duchess of Winterset’s 'Night of a Thousand Stars' ball at Highburn Castle during the Christmas season is the place to conduct such an affair–if only she knew who she wished to conduct it with!Lord Marcel Blanchard, Count Aris, is half French, half English and not the sort of man given to brief affairs. Lonely and searching for a place to call home, Marc isn’t certain that he wants a wife, but he does know he desires something more permanent than one night in a lady’s bed.When Grace and Marc meet in a shadow hallway with Highburn Castle, sparks fly between then. She wants an affair. He doesn’t know what he wants. The only thing they are both certain of is that they want each other. Is there a future for them outside of the magical Christmas castle or is one night together all they will ever have?This novella, which is a companion piece to the 'Tales From Seldon Park' series, is written in the modern, Regency romance style for a slightly hotter and sexier read. It may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

Product DescriptionThis enduringly popular tale of love and revenge in the post-Napoleonic era follows Edmond Dantes as he prepares to captain his own ship and marry his beloved Mercedes. But on his wedding day, he is betrayed by spiteful enemies and arrested on trumped-up charges. Condemned to lifelong imprisonment, he befriends Faria, a priest and fellow inmate with an escape plan. When Faria dies, Edmond escapes alone. Free at last, and incredibly wealthy, Edmond enters society posing as the Count of Monte Cristo to reclaim his lost love and enact a terrible vengeance on his accusers. Language NotesText: English (translation)Original Language: French

A spellbinding historical novel about a woman who befriends Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and is drawn into their world of intrigue, from the author of Margot. On June 19, 1953, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed for conspiring to commit espionage. The day Ethel was first arrested in 1950, she left her two young sons with a neighbor, and she never came home to them again. Brilliantly melding fact and fiction, Jillian Cantor reimagines the life of that neighbor, and the life of Ethel and Julius, an ordinary-seeming Jewish couple who became the only Americans put to death for spying during the Cold War. A few years earlier, in 1947, Millie Stein moves with her husband, Ed, and their toddler son, David, into an apartment on the eleventh floor in Knickerbocker Village on New York's Lower East Side. Her new neighbors are the Rosenbergs. Struggling to care for David, who doesn't speak, and isolated from other "normal" families, Millie meets Jake, a psychologist...

From Publishers WeeklyYarbro's 17th entry in her historical-horror series (_Path of the Eclipse_, etc.) adroitly uses the ever-metaphoric vampire to portray the human dimensions of a cataclysm that changed the course of history. Vampire Saint-Germain and his faithful companion, Roger, who go under the names Zangi-Ragozh and Ro-shei in this solid installment, are merchants in sixth-century A.D. Yang-Chau, as Shanghai was called during this period. Forced by political necessity to journey westward to Chang'an (aka Xian) during winter, the pair soon realize that this is a winter like no other. Never in his more than 3,500 years of existence has the well-traveled vampire experienced anything similar—a sun with "no warmth or strength," strange yellow snowfall and an "invisible cloud" distorting the sky. Unbeknownst to most of the world, an eruption of the volcano Krakatau (aka Krakatoa) is to blame. Agricultural and economic disruption result, illness spreads, social unrest and collapse follow. The Dark Ages begin. Faced with a multitude of hardships, Saint-Germain determines to travel across Asia to his native soil in the Carpathian Mountains. The romantic and supernatural play second fiddle to history in this well-told story that deals with the meaning of being human. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Will entertain lovers of all genres. Fascinating."_--Midwest Book Review_ on M_idnight Harvest_

Here is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero who inspired such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.The real-life protagonist of The Black Count, General Alex Dumas, is a man almost unknown today yet with a story that is strikingly familiar, because his son, the novelist Alexandre Dumas, used it to create some of the best loved heroes of literature.Yet, hidden behind these swashbuckling adventures was an even more incredible secret: the real hero was the son of a black slave -- who rose higher in the white world than any man of his race would before our own time. Born in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), Alex Dumas was briefly sold into bondage but made his way to Paris where he was schooled as a sword-fighting member of the French aristocracy. Enlisting as a private, he rose to command armies at the height of the Revolution, in an audacious campaign across Europe and the Middle East – until he met an implacable enemy he could not defeat.The Black Count is simultaneously a riveting adventure story, a lushly textured evocation of 18th-century France, and a window into the modern world’s first multi-racial society. But it is also a heartbreaking story of the enduring bonds of love between a father and son.  From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com ReviewAmazon Best Books of the Month, September 2012: Generations have been enthralled by Alexandre Dumas' characters, especially the wronged hero in The Count of Monte Cristo and the daring swordsmen in The Three Musketeers. Yet few realize that these memorable characters were inspired by Dumas' father, General Alex Dumas, the son of a French count and a black Haitian slave. Tom Reiss brings the elder Dumas alive with previously unpublished correspondence and meticulous research, providing the context necessary to understand how exceptional his life as a mulatto general in a slave-owning empire truly was. From single-handedly holding a bridge in the Alps against 20 enemies to spending years held captive in a fortress, Alex Dumas is a fascinating character that not even his son's vivid imagination could have dreamed up. --Malissa KentAn Essay by Author Tom ReissI've always loved exploring history. It's like an uncharted hemisphere, and when you look at it closely, it has a tendency to change everything about your own time. I'm also drawn to outsiders, people who have swum against the tide. I often feel like a kind of detective hired to go find people who have been lost to history, and discover why they were lost. Whodunnit?In this case, I found solid evidence that, of all people, Napoleon did it: he buried the memory of this great man – Gen. Alexandre Dumas, the son of a black slave who led more than 50,000 men at the height of the French Revolution and then stood up to the megalomaniacal Corsican in the deserts of Egypt. (The "famous" Alexandre Dumas is the general's son – the author of The Three Musketeers.) Letters and eyewitness accounts show that Napoleon came to hate Dumas not only for his stubborn defense of principle but for his swagger and stature – over six feet tall and handsome as a matinee idol – and for the fact that he was a black man idolized by the white French army. (I found that Napoleon's destruction of Dumas coincided with his destruction of one of the greatest accomplishments of the French Revolution – racial equality – a legacy he also did his best to bury.)I first came across Gen. Dumas's life in the memoir of his son Alexandre, the novelist. And what a life! Alex Dumas, as he preferred to be known, was born in Saint Domingue, later Haiti, the son of a black slave and a good-for-nothing French aristocrat who came to the islands to make a quick killing and instead barely survived. In fact, to get back to France in order to claim an inheritance, he actually "pawned" his black son into slavery, but then he bought him out, brought him to Paris, and enrolled him in the royal fencing academy, and then the story begins to get interesting.What really stuck with me from reading the memoir was the love that shows through from the son, the writer, for his father, the soldier. I could never forget the novelist describing the day his father died. His mother met him on the stairs in their house, lugging his father's gun over his shoulders, and asked him what he was doing. Little Alexandre replied: "I'm going to heaven to kill God – for killing daddy." When he grew up, he took a greater sort of revenge, infusing his father's life and spirit into fictional characters like Edmond Dantes and D'Artagnan, with shades of Porthos, too. But the image of the angry child stuck with me and drove me onward to discover every scrap of evidence I could about his forgotten father.And recovering the life of the real man behind these stories was the ultimate historical prospecting journey for me: I learned about Maltese knights and Mameluke warriors, the tricks of 18th-century spycraft and glacier warfare, torchlight duels in the trenches and portable guillotines on the front; I got to know about how Commedia del Arte influenced Voodoo and how a Jacobin sultan influenced the Star-Spangled Banner, about chocolate cures for poisoning and the still brisk trade in Napoleonic hair clippings. I discovered the amazing forgotten civil rights movement of the 18th century – and its unraveling – though the most amazing thing about this story of a black man in a white world was how little race stood in his way: how Alex Dumas's future father-in-law never once questioned his daughter marrying a man of color but only asked that he get promoted to sergeant first (later he lovingly referred to his son-in-law simply as "the General").Finally, the memoir set me not only on a historical adventure but on an adventure in the present day that was straight out of a Dumas novel. I began by visiting the gray town in northeast France where the general died – where I found a dead museum secretary, a locked safe, and a host of unlikely, inspiring characters to make my journey a far from lonely one.Review“Fascinating…a richly imaginative biography.” --New York Times Book Review“Vibrant…Sometimes the best stories are true.  This is one of them.”--Ebony“Impressively thorough…Reiss moves the story on at an entertaining pace…fascinating.”--Wall Street Journal“A story that has everything…The Black Count has its own moving narrative thread, made compelling by Reiss’s impassioned absorption with the general’s fate.”--The Literary Review“From pike-wielding mobs to prisoners locked in a fortress tower, The Black Count* is as action-packed as The Count of Monte Cristo. Unlike Dumas’s famous adventure novel, however, Reiss’s incredible tale is true.”  – Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic“Tom Reiss has literally drilled into locked safes to create this masterpiece…. His portrait of a man who was arguably our modern age’s greatest unknown soldier is remarkable.”  – James Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys “A masterful biography, richly detailed, highly researched, and completely absorbing. The Black Count* is a triumph.”  – Amanda Foreman, New York Times bestselling author of A World on Fire and Georgiana “It’s hard to imagine a more colorful or engaging subject than the man who inspired The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. In the wonderful hands of Tom Reiss, Alex Dumas comes to vivid life, illuminating far-flung corners of history and culture. This is a terrific book.”  – Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston “The Black Count is a dazzling achievement. I learned something new virtually on every page. No one who reads this magnificent biography will be able to read The Count of Monte Cristo or any history of slavery in the New World in the same way again.”  – Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard University “Rousing and thought-provoking, The Black Count is an adventure like no other.* I marveled at every twist and turn of this remarkable true story, brought to life with the charm and personal touch that has become the trademark of Tom Reiss.”  – Laurence Bergreen, New York Times bestselling author of Columbus and Over the Edge of the World“A riveting, beautifully written and well-researched story of the seemingly impossible. It could never have happened in the United States, and with great skill, Reiss shows how the moment that produced Alex Dumas was lost with the rise of nineteenth-century racism.”  – *Annette Gordon-Reed, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for The Hemingses of Monticello “In the early 1800s, General Alex Dumas was purposefully disappeared by his enemies, and for too long his story has remained silenced. The Black Count vividly vindicates the great general, restoring him to his rightful place at the center of the Age of Revolution. Carrying us from the plantations of the Caribbean to Paris, the Alps, and Egypt, Reiss tells an engrossing tale of a life of social struggle, adventure, and courage—and of the frustrations and joys of a researcher on the trail of a forgotten truth.”  – Laurent Dubois, author of Haiti: The Aftershocks of History “A tale worthy of Dumas himself—of impossible odds, shrinking before the irresistible forces of daring, ingenuity and in-your-face talent.”  – Ted Widmer, author of Ark of the Liberties “The real-life history of General Alex Dumas is as poignant and swashbuckling a tale as any his novelist son could have dreamed. Tom Reiss has the dramatist’s sense of setting and scene, the reporter’s persistence, and the historian’s eye for truth. Would that the imprisoned Count of Monte Cristo had a copy of this book!”  – Darrin M. McMahon, author of Enemies of the Enlightenment and Happiness: A History“Tom Reiss can do it all: gather startling research and write inspired prose; find life’s great stories and then tell them with real brilliance. In The Black Count the master journalist-storyteller opens the door to the truth behind one of literature’s most exciting stories, and opens it wide enough to show the delicate beauty of the lives within.”  – Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author of Half a Life  “Tom Reiss tells this amazing story, largely unknown today, with verve, style, and a nonpareil command of detail.”  – Luc Sante, author of Low Life, Evidence, and The Factory of Facts “The Black Count is a complex work of political and social history gallantly masquerading as a fantastic adventure story. As he did in The Orientalist, Tom Reiss has traveled far to stalk a forgotten legend, and has recovered for us a vivid, dramatic tale that delights, moves, and inspires.”  – Gideon Lewis-Kraus, author of A Sense of Direction “The Black Count is totally thrilling—a fascinating, beautifully written, and deeply researched biography that brings to life one of history’s great forgotten characters: the swashbuckling, flamboyant, and romantic mulatto count whose true life belongs in a Hollywood movie or Alexandre Dumas story.”  – Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The Biography and Young Stalin“Tom Reiss tells the incredible story of Alex Dumas with the same excitement about uncovering history that he brought to The Orientalist.”  – Nina Burleigh, New York Times bestselling author of Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt “We believe we know the glories of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. We believe we understand the horror of slavery and the oppression of Africans. But what is the relationship between the grand goal of liberation and the deep tragedy of racism? As Reiss shows us, answers can be found in the extraordinary life of a forgotten French hero of the great revolutionary campaigns—a hero who was black.”  – Timothy Snyder, author of Bloodlands and The Red Prince “Reiss combines the talent of a thorough English detective with the literary flair of a French novelist to produce a story that is as fresh as today’s headlines but as old as the Greek classics.”  – Jack Weatherford, New York Times bestselling author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World“Colorful and utterly captivating . . . This is history that is vibrant, gripping, and tragic.”  – William Dietrich, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Napoleon’s Pyramids and The Emerald Storm More Praise for Tom ReissTHE ORIENTALIST "A wondrous tale, beautifully told… mesmerizing, poignant and almost incredible."     – The New York Times“Spellbinding history… part detective yarn, part author biography, part travel saga… completely fascinating.”    The Dallas Morning News “Thrilling, novelistic and rich with the personal and political madness of early twentieth-century Europe.”    --Entertainment Weekly"An elaborate wonder-cabinet… as page–turningly compelling as any fiction."     –The Los Angeles Times  “Exhilarating… an endlessly inventive saga.”   --San Francisco Chronicle“A brainy, nimble, remarkable book.”   --Chicago TribuneFrom the Hardcover edition.

Life has been a roller coaster for Gabriel ‘The Saint’ Vega. From surviving a hellish childhood, to reuniting with his lost brother, only to hit the struggle of helping him battle his drug addiction. Boxing saved Gabriel’s life, and just when his career hits the fast track, he finally finds love with Salem; at least for a short time. Social differences, obligations, and misguided good intentions tore Gabriel and Salem apart before they could ever really get started. Will Gabriel be able to save his brother from the whirlpool of addiction that threatens to drag him under? Is Salem capable of breaking away from the ropes that bind her to doing what’s expected rather than what and whom she desires? Can Gabriel convince Salem that their mutual feelings are worth fighting for, and that together, they will be able to go the distance?

Mills & Boon Blush series brings you moving, true-to-life romances Their lives would never be the same again* While Nikki's sister survived a horrible hit-and-run accident on a secluded mountain highway, the baby she was carrying for Nikki and her husband wasn't so lucky. Devastated, Nikki and Cody struggle to get past the loss of their last chance to have a child and save their strained marriage. If only Cody wasn't with the Deer Creek Police Department. If only he could give up his all-consuming vendetta to find the drunk responsible and make him pay.

Bracken Kelly is a hardass. An undercover narcotics detective who’s gotten in too deep with a biker crew and landed himself in big trouble with Internal Affairs. Posing as a boxer and uncovering the meth being run out of Reno’s toughest underground MMA fight club is the only way to clear his name, but he’ll need to convince a female featherweight with a smart mouth and a hotter body to let him train her, first. Huntley Wittaker left a lot behind when she moved to Reno—her family business, her overprotective brothers, her psychopathic ex-boyfriend and her Southern Belle persona. In Nevada, she can be whatever she wants to be. And what Huntley wants to be is a fighter. All she needs is the right trainer. The domineering brute of a biker who answers her ad isn’t it, but he’s all she’s got. Bracken has a job to do and this time, he plans on succeeding, even if that means getting sweaty with Huntley outside of the ring. But as he and Huntley grow closer and Bracken’s lies turn into truths, they’ll be faced with a different kind of fight—the one for each other.

“… a brilliant novel, great historical fiction. I couldn’t put it down.” Angela Best “A cleverly woven heart-warming story. Warning, it can make you giggle!” Chris Dangerfield “Great characters brought to life in full color. A real page turner.” Ernie Fisher From the scorching desert to the freezing Midwest… a man struggles against the elements, himself and those around him. Leading a motley crew of ‘experts’ deep into the Sahara, Count de Prorok is about to make a great discovery. The acclaim of the finding the missing tomb of an ancient queen will set him and his family up for life. But, when plotted against, the money dries up as quickly as the goodwill of his team, and in more ways than one, the Count appears to be stranded, and left to the elements. The COUNT OF THE SAHARA is the story, recounted by his young assistant, of Count Byron de Prorok, a little known gentleman explorer of Africa in the 1920s. If you enjoy great historical fiction with a captivating plot, superb characters and a light sprinkling of humor, this book is for you!**

By the author of the internationally bestselling biography The Orientalist, The Black Count brings to life one of history's great forgotten heroes: a man almost unknown today yet with a personal story that is strikingly familiar. His swashbuckling exploits appear in The Three Musketeers, and his triumphs and ultimate tragic fate inspired The Count of Monte Cristo. His name is Alex Dumas. Father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas, Alex has become, through his son's books, the model for a captivating modern protagonist: the wronged man in search of justice.Born to a black slave mother and a fugitive white French nobleman in Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), Alex Dumas was briefly sold into bondage but then made his way to Paris where he was schooled as a sword-fighting member of the French aristocracy. He was only 32 when he was given command of 53,000 men, the reward for series of triumphs that many regarded as impossible, and...

(15,000 words, female point of view. Adults only) Broke, stuck in a dead-end job and uncomfortable with her curvy body, New York waitress Holly thinks life can’t get any worse…until she accidentally whacks a customer with a tray, breaking his nose. But the customer, now unable to speak, is the personal translator of drop-dead gorgeous Erard, a billionaire French Count who speaks no English. When he discovers that Holly is fluent in French, he takes her with him as his interpreter. Thrown into a world of luxury and wealth, Holly learns that her new boss finds her curves delicious. But will he be able to convince her she’s perfect the way she is? And can she accept his brand of hedonistic, carefree lovemaking: no inhibitions, no fears…no condoms?

From Publishers WeeklyYarbro's long-running series featuring the millennia-old vampire Saint-Germain continues to mix rich historical detail and erudite eroticism, though the horror element has become nearly invisible. Known now as Rakoczy Ferancsi, Comes of Santu-Germaniu, Saint-Germain has been exiled from his ancient lands and now resides at the court of the melancholy Queen Kunigunde of Bohemia in 13th-century Prague. He is regarded with suspicion by the local church hierarchy and with intense personal interest by three ladies of the court: the scheming Rozsa of Borsod, the passionate teenager Imbolya of Heves (a particularly unlikely match for 3,200-year-old Saint-Germain), and the determined Iliska of Szousa. Though the intensity of the storytelling has lessened substantially over the course of the series, Yarbro's compelling prose and meticulously researched setting still combine effectively for a vivid historical tale that will please series fans. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From BooklistCount Saint-Germain is a vampire, though this is not the bloodthirsty vampire with which people are so familiar. Rather, the count does his best to live as humans do, and gets into as much, if not more, trouble than his mortal compatriots. This tale is set in the 1600s in Bohemia. The characters are richly described, and the way of life for the nobility and court are brought to life through the narration. Set in a location unfamiliar to most readers, the book's attention to details and development of characters make it a must-read. The fact that the main character is a vampire is really just a literary device to allow the author to explore a wide variety of time periods. Even if the reader has not enjoyed any other books in the Count Saint-Germain series, this one stands on its own merits, with very little to indicate that other stories of this character exist. For those who are interested in learning about times and periods outside of the typical English or French courts, this book will be a pleasure to read. --Rebecca Gerber

Angustias Walton is a beautiful girl that dresses like a crow; always wearing black or dressed in unflattering colors like a mourning widow. Even though she is only 18 years old, her old-fashioned hairstyle and hair tensely brushed to the point of pain makes her look like an old lady. Her entire life her mother has been telling her that she was born in sin and taught her an excessive love towards religion. At the same time, Angustias grew up in fear of the despicable passions that come from useless feelings like love. Because of it, she is afraid of this emotion and of anything caused by it. She doesn't want to get married but against her wishes, Angustias is sent by her uncles to London with the purpose of finding a husband. She accepts obediently despite her own desires. She leaves her hometown not knowing that she would find the source of her biggest sorrows and maybe... love. Isaac St. John is a promiscuous count from Beaufort. He is a man known as a misogynist that has had too many women in his life. Due to his reputation, he is no longer invited by mothers to social meetings. They don’t bother to introduce their daughters to him in the hopes of marriage anymore. On an ordinary day, while Isaac was visiting his friends home, the Marquess and Marchioness of Wilmington, Isaac meets a plain looking young lady dressed with terrible taste. On top of that, she has an unpleasant way of contradicting everything he says. They disliked each other from her first spoken word, but as time passes Isaac starts to see under her horrible appearance. He begins to have feelings for her without exactly knowing how. That is when difficulties for Isaac begin. Because of his growing interest concerning Miss Walton’s wellbeing, his life will change forever.

When Kate Foster decides to open a business at her family's cottage on the estate of a French chateau, she discovers that all the other properties on the estate have been sold to the millionaire Count Guy de Villeneuve.Guy is determined to prevent Kate from setting up her business on his land—until he realizes the intense physical chemistry that burns between them is impossible to resist. He will have his land and Kate as his mistress—whatever it takes!