Daedalus Books

Throughout her life, Stephanie von Hohenlohe (1891-1972) was notorious as a secret go-between and even a professional blackmailer. Although she was the illegitimate daughter of a Jewish woman from Prague and a Jewish moneylender, Stephanie always claimed to be of pure Aryan descent. A shameless social climber, she acquired her title by marriage to an Austrian nobleman. Thanks to her remarkable gifts for networking and negotiation, she was employed as a society columnist by Lord Rothermere, with whom she had been having a long-standing affair. She gained access to the German Reich Chancellery in Berlin and got to know Adolf Hitler personally. Conveniently overlooking her Jewish origins, Hitler began to employ her on secret diplomatic missions. She reached the peak of her success when Hitler awarded her the Golden Insignia of the Nazi Party and gave her a castle in Austria. By this time Hitler's adjutant, Fritz Wiedemann, had been her lover for several years. However, when this liaison was discovered by the Fuhrer, Wiedemann was dispatched to the USA in a junior diplomatic post, and Stephanie followed him. In 1941 she was on the point of being expelled from the US as a German spy, but managed to avoid this by starting an affair with the head of the US immigration authority. After the war she returned to Germany and, without missing a beat, began an extraordinary new career in the Axel Springer media empire and on Henri Nannen's Stern magazine.

An historical treatise on the popular and government reaction to the possibility of a fifth column threat preceding the second world war, and the implications for American politics and public perception through the latter half of the twentieth century.

In this collection of three Arthurian tales, Merlin the magician watches over young Arthur as he rises to become king of England. But enemies threaten Arthur. Will the good king triumph over the dark forces in his path and bring peace and justice to the world? Full color.

This is the new thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Kurt Wallander mysteries.

Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of 'traditional build', is well-known to millions across the world through the best-selling No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Those who have been following her exploits in five previously published novels will soon be able to savour the next instalment, in which, as usual, circumstances are never as straightforward as they seem and events take a more than unexpected turn. Precious Ramotswe, is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made to her by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a large silver Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky.

Ever since that tragic night when her mother and guardian were murdered, thirteen-year-old Sarah has been living on her own and searching for the knight who was responsible. Her quest for revenge leads to an even greater adventure when she witnesses Queen Guinevere being kidnapped. Soon Sarah finds herself accompanying Sir Gawain and Squire Terence on a remarkable journey to rescue the Queen. In their travels they meet, among others, a mystery knight traveling incognito in a dung cart, a faery who becomes Sarah's first friend in a long time, a reclusive monk who plans to spend the rest of his life building a tomb for Sir Lancelot, and a princess who might have a little more gumption than she appears to. As the plot thickens, Sarah finds out more about the people she's met and befriended, as well as about herself. She begins to learn the true consequences of vengeance and what it really means to be a princess.

In this alternate history, Pulitzer Prize winner Roth considers what it would be like for his Newark family — and for a million such families all over the country — during the menacing years of a Charles Lindbergh presidency, when American citizens who happened to be Jews would have every reason to expect the worst.

When ideas fail, words come in handy. But sometimes you can't find the right word, and what you want to say can't be found in the dictionary. English has its limitations, but the expression you're searching for may exist in another language. In Other Words is a unique collection of well-known and absolutely obscure untranslatables — linguistic gems that convey a feeling or notion with satisfying precision yet resist simple translation. This quirky lexicon of hard-to-translate words gives the reader a new way to look at the world and how words relate to us. The words are arranged by region or country of origin, and a brief introduction to each section--each done by a respected translator — gives insight into the culture of the people as well as the language. Each of these singular words is cleverly and thoroughly defined, with interesting details and references throughout. The search for that elusive mot juste may be over.

The Master of Ballantrae features some of Robert Louis Stevenson's best writing. The tale opens in the old Scottish castle of Durrisdeer, the ancestral home of the Durrie clan, and then moves to India, France, and the American Adirondacks. The Master of Ballantrae draws readers into a fast-paced adventure that encompasses sea voyages and encounters with pirates. Unabridged republication of a standard edition.

Becky is back in her third Shopaholic adventure, a hilarious tale of mothers and daughters, mothers and sons, and one blushing bride who can't say no to saying «I do.» Life has been good for Becky Bloomwood — she's become the top personal shopper at Barneys; she and Luke are living happily in Manhattan's West Village; and her new neighbor is a fashion designer. When Luke proposes, bridal registries dance in Becky's head. The problem is, Becky's overjoyed mother has been waiting forever to host a backyard wedding, with the bride resplendent in Mum's frilly old gown, while Luke's high-society mother is insisting on a glamorous, all-expenses-paid affair at the Plaza.

The Golden Bowl, Henry James' last completed novel, is a story of the union of European class and American money. American millionaire and widower Adam Verver lives with his daughter Maggie in Europe, where they spend their time collecting object d'art and enjoying each other's company. Maggie becomes engaged to the aristocratic but penniless Amerigo, ignorant of the fact that Amerigo had previously had an affair with her best friend Charlotte. Through the continuing machinations of Fanny Assingham, Maggie's father marries Charlotte, and the stage is set for the ensuing drama to unfold. With Maggie and her father spending a great deal of time together after both are married, it is not long before the spouses have rekindled their previous affair. It is the ugliness of deceit that wounds more than the adultery itself, and as the plot proceeds, we watch as the various characters gradually suspect, then become convinced of the truth.

May, Christine, Heed, Junior, Vida — even L: all women obsessed with Bill Cosey. The wealthy owner of the famous Cosey’s Hotel and Resort, he shapes their yearnings for father, husband, lover, guardian, and friend, yearnings that dominate the lives of these women long after his death. Yet while he is either the void in, or the center of, their stories, he himself is driven by secret forces — a troubled past and a spellbinding woman named Celestial. This audacious exploration into the nature of love — its appetite, its sublime possession, its dread — is rich in characters, striking scenes, and a profound understanding of how alive the past can be. A major addition to the canon of one of the world’s literary masters.

This exhibition of 64 exquisite drawings and watercolors is comprised of works by Victorian artists, primarily from England, and examines methods and motivations behind drawings and paintings of this era. Victorian Visions reflects the wide range of styles found in this collection. Some of the pieces are careful portraits of recognizable individuals, while others are fleeting sensory images or idealized impressions of people and landscapes. The exhibition includes a unique combination of works that were completed for sale, and studies for larger oil paintings. Artists in this exhibition include Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Sir William Morris, William Burges, Dante Gabriel Rosetti, and Sir Edward Poynter. Victorian Visions has been shown in Cardiff (Wales) and Finlands Helsinki City Art Museum.

Georgian and Regency architecture spans the years from 1714 until 1830, a period that bequeathed a rich heritage of buildings to the British landscape. From great country houses and churches to the formal city squares of Edinburgh and the graceful crescents of Bath, Georgian structures are distinguished by the elegance and harmony of their design. Georgian and Regency Architecture contains over two hundred illustrations, a chapter on the development of the concept of town planning, and biographical details of the outstanding architects of the time — from Adam and Hawkesmoor to Palladio and Wyatville. This title is part of a trilogy of books published by Chaucer press, lavishly portraying three hundred years of architecture, from the Georgian and Regency period through the Victorian and Edwardian era to the modern day.

From the biggest notions of carefully styled rooms to the smallest comforts and delights of accessorizing a home with your favorite things, Inside Log Homes offers suggestions, understanding, and inspiration regarding the intensely personal and expressive world of log-cabin living. Author Cindy Thiede peeks through doors into hundreds of uniquely styled and personally appointed spaces. Sometimes comfortably familiar, other times surprising and unexpected, each room may plant the seed of possibility for your own emerging vision of home and hearth. Cindy Thiede has spent twenty years photographing and writing about log-home architecture in the United States. Additional titles by Ms. Thiede include Hands-On Log Homes: Cabins Built on Dreams, The Log Home Book: Design, Past and Present, American Log Homes.

Kenzie and Gennaro are private investigators in the blue-collar neighborhoods and ghettos of South Boston-they know it as only natives can. Working out of an old church belfry, Kenzie and Gennaro take on a seemingly simple assignment for a prominent politician: to uncover the whereabouts of Jenna Angeline, a black cleaning woman who has allegedly stolen confidential state documents. Finding Jenna, however, is easy compared to staying alive once they've got her. The investigation escalates, implicating members of Jenna's family and rival gang leaders while uncovering extortion, assassination, and child prostitution extending from bombed-out ghetto streets to the highest levels of government. A Drink Before the War, the first in Lehane's acclaimed series with Boston detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, is a remarkable debut that is at once a pulsating crime thriller and a mirror of our world, one in which the worst human horrors are found closest to home, and the most vicious obscenities are committed in the name of love.

A reference book chock-full of sidebars, quotes, and short interviews, this illustrated guide to Middle-earth and beyond will be an indispensable addition to any Tolkien collection.

A collection of some of the best, wittiest and most unusual excerpts from 16th- and 17th-century writing. Shakespeare's England brings to life the variety, the energy and the harsh reality of England at this time. Providing a portrait of the age, it includes extracts from a wide variety of writers, taken from books, plays, poems, letters, diaries and pamphlets by and about Shakespeare's contemporaries. These include: William Harrison and Fynes Moryson (providing descriptions of England), Nicholas Breton (on country life), Isabella Whitney and Thomas Dekker (on London life), Nashe (on struggling writers), Stubbes (with a Puritan view of Elizabethan enjoyments), Harsnet and Burton (on witches and spirits), John Donne (meditations on prayer and death), King James I (on tobacco) and Shakespeare himself.

Ornamental type is one of the core tools at graphic designers' disposal: being practical and decorative at the same time, it is the essential resource for enhancing text. Apart from being pleasing to the eye, decorated type can focus attention where needed, making text more easy to read.

William Shakespeare grew up in a small town in England during the Elizabethan era. As a young man his father's business suffered financial difficulties, and Shakespeare was unable to continue his Latin studies and was forced to help his father support his brother and sister. After he married and had three children he worked hard to support his extended family. Feeling unfulfilled, he decided to seek his fortune in London. In this beautifully illustrated book, learn how Shakespeare persevered through plagues, limited education, and family tragedy to become one of the most revered playwrights and poets in history, whose works continue to entertain audiences more than 400 years after his birth.

For over a hundred years England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. France was a large, unwieldy kingdom, England was small and poor, but for the most part she dominated the war, sacking towns and castles and winning battles — including such glorious victories as Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, but then the English run of success began to fail, and in four short years she lost Normandy and finally her last stronghold in Guyenne. The protagonists of the Hundred Year War are among the most colourful in European history: for the English, Edward III, the Black Prince and Henry V, later immortalized by Shakespeare; for the French, the splendid but inept John II, who died a prisoner in London, Charles V, who very nearly overcame England and the enigmatic Charles VII, who did at last drive the English out. Desmond Seward's account traces the changes that led to France's final victory and brings to life all the intrigue and colour of the last chivalric combats as they gave way to a more brutal modern warfare.

On Mars, the harsh climate could make any colonist turn to drugs to escape a dead-end existence — especially when the drug is Can-D, which translates its users into the idyllic world of a Barbie-esque character named Perky Pat. When the mysterious Palmer Eldritch arrives with a new drug called Chew-Z, he offers a more addictive experience, one that might bring the user closer to God. But in a world where everyone is tripping, no promises can be taken at face value. This 1965 book is one of Philip K. Dick's enduring classics, at once a deep character study, a dark mystery, and a tightrope walk along the edge of reality and illusion. A visionary, Hugo Award — winning author, Philip K. Dick was inducted posthumously into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. His stories have been made into such blockbuster films as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report, and he was the first science fiction writer to be included in the Library of America series.

Universally admired for his fables and contes (tales), Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) epitomised France's Great Century with his elegant style, emotional profundity and ready wit. This selection by award-winning poet Marie Ponsot is arguably the finest translation ever achieved. La Fontaine's menagerie of foxes, lions, wolves, donkeys, rats and other animals are handled with a naturalness and unaffected elegance that have escaped almost every other translation.

Fought under the cover of elaborate deceptions and ruthless lies, the deadly intelligence operations of World War II produced victories and defeats that were often as important as any reached on the battlefield. A behind-the-scenes history of the war, this book offers an exciting picture of the whole range of clandestine activities the various forms of intelligence espionage and sabotage, subversion and counter-espionage — the entire secret war conducted apart from conventional warfare. The major exploits of the O.S.S., M.I.5, Abwehr, and the Deuxieme Bureau are described in colorful detail by an author considered one of the foremost civilian experts on intelligence during the war. Ladislas Farago's account of Allied and Axis spymasters at work offers compelling reading about real traitors and heroes in cloak-and-dagger-dom.