Despised for his weakness and regarded by his family as little more than a stammering fool, the nobleman, Claudius quietly survives the intrigues, bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the imperial Roman dynasties. This book presents an account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome.

Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the cover of night.

Claudius has survived the murderous intrigues of his predecessors to become, reluctantly, Emperor of Rome. This book recounts his surprisingly successful reign: how he cultivates the loyalty of the army and the common people to repair the damage caused by Caligula; his relations with the Jewish King Herod Agrippa; and his invasion of Britain.

Tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known; of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect - a man divided in his soul; and of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame.

Presents the stories of Marius, wealthy but lowborn, and Sulla, penniless though aristocratic and debauched - men of vision whose ambitions will lay the foundations of the most awesome empire ever known.

Set sail for the read of your life ! Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback by Harper Perennial with stunning new jackets.

The first novel in the chronology of Vidal's epic CHRONICLES OF EMPIRE, embodying the passage of American history.

A sumptuous new look for Tracy Chevalier's bestselling novel.

* Reissued in a new look is this richly imagined historical novel that combines mystery, history, politics and passion in a story of gripping power, from the author of SACRED HEARTS

A follow-up to the bestseller Cryptonomicon , this book presents a cast of characters in a time of genius and discovery, men and women whose exploits defined the age of the High Baroque. It travels from the infant American colonies to the Tower of London, the glittering courts of Louis XIV, and all manner of places in between.

The second novel in the chronology of Vidal's epic CHRONICLES OF EMPIRE, embodying the passage of American history.

Gore Vidal's fictional recreation of the Roman Empire teetering on the crux of Christianity and ruled by an emperor who was an inveterate dabbler in arcane hocus-pocus, a prig, a bigot, and a dazzling and brilliant leader.

Salisbury, the landscape - as old as time itself - shapes the destinies of five families: the Wilsons and the Shockleys, locked in a cycle of revenge and rivalry for more than 400 years; the Masons, who pour their inspired love of stone into the creation of Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral; the Porters; and, the aristocratic Norman Godefrois.

Now for the first time in trade paperback, Michener's magnificent and spellbinding expedition through the history of the Holy Land, the source of Western religious and cultural heritage.

Describing family life set against the backdrop of war, this novel follows the fortunes of the Bolkonsky and Rostov families as Napoleon's armies sweep through Europe, invade Russia and end in Napoleon's defeat. It captures national events, private experiences of individuals, and the triangle of affection that binds the central characters.

In the year 1327, four children slip away from the cathedral city of Kingsbridge. In the forest they see two men killed. As adults, their lives will be braided together by love, greed and revenge. They will see prosperity and famine, plague and war. And they will live under the shadow of the unexplained killing they had witnessed.

Marius, the general who saved Rome from barbarian invasion and became consul an unprecedented six times, has fallen into decline. Sulla, his closest associate, has withdrawn himself from his commander's circle in preparation for his own bid for power. As a deadly enmity develops between the two men, Rome must fight its own battle for survival.

Tells the story of the climactic last seven years of Alexander the Great's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. The relationship between the beautiful young eunuch and the great general's sustains Alexander as he survives assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper.

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. All eighteen books are being re-issued in hardback by HarperCollins with stunning new jackets to coincide with a new film based on the adventures and to introduce these modern classics to a new generation.

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. All eighteen books are being re-issued in hardback by HarperCollins with stunning new jackets to coincide with a new film based on the adventures and to introduce these modern classics to a new generation.