Showing results by author "Martin Lake" in All Categories

She gave away her child to save his life. Another woman took him in, at risk to herself. Viviane Renaud is a young mother living on the French Riviera in the Second World War. Times are hard but she is not the sort to be dismayed by circumstances. One day her life changes forever. A young Jewish woman, fleeing from the authorities, begs her to take care of her four year old boy, David. Almost without thinking, Viviane agrees. Viviane’s life is never the same again. She fabricates a story to explain how David came to be with her and must tip-toe around the suspicions of her neighbours, her...

Después de ver a mi madre sucumbir a una misteriosa enfermedad, me prometí dos cosas: que encontraría la cura y que no volvería a la ciudad en la que la perdí. Cuatro años después, me admiten en la Universidad de Dracadia, una de las más antiguas y prestigiosas del país, aunque se rumorea que está plagada de las almas de los enfermos exiliados allí siglos atrás.

Nine-year-old Oscar Rosenfeld chases his runaway kitten, delighted to be outdoors after months of being cooped up in a small Viennese apartment. His parents and sister Miriam race after him in alarm. He immediately runs into two policemen who catch hold of him. But they have no intention of returning him safely to his family. Their faces contort in disgust and rage. For Oscar has Down’s Syndrome and as such is targeted by the Nazis for extermination. Oscar’s parents fight to save him, their father is killed and their mother is beaten to the ground. Her last words to Miriam are to take ...

Para sobrevivir, Maevyth se ve obligada a cruzar la frontera prohibida hacia un mundo de magia sombría y criaturas siniestras..., entre ellas, un asesino destinado a protegerla. Hay rumores sobre lo que acecha en el Bosque Voraz, el lugar al que los pecadores van a parar, bautizado así por los aldeanos porque jamás devuelve aquello que toma. Solo los locos o los desterrados se adentran entre sus árboles. Sin embargo, una tragedia fuerza a la joven Maevyth Bronwick a cruzar el arco de huesos que se oculta en su interior y acaba en un mundo oscuro y mágico, tan peligroso como seductor.

A life and death struggle for control of the skies Claire Lamb believes she is as good as any man and being a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force gives her the opportunity to prove it. Harry Smith joins the Royal Air Force because he wants to fly. Frank Trent, an American pilot, risks prison to join the fight against Nazi Germany. When Adolf Hitler invades Poland, he begins a conflict which eventually engulfs the whole world. Within eight months his army and air force conquer most of Europe. Only one adversary remains. Great Britain, led by Winston Churchill, refuses to surrender. Yet...

The end of World War Two brought peace to many but not to all. For some people, in a world gripped by resentment, paranoia and epidemics, the fruits of victory seem forever out of reach. Three women, scarred by war, struggle to remake their lives in the war’s long shadows. Rachael Klein gave her son David to save him from the Nazi death camps. Viviane Renaud took him in at terrible cost to herself and her family. Dorothy Pine risked her life to befriend the vulnerable family. Despite all odds, Rachael survives the death camps and returns to take David back. Yet she struggles to rebuild ...

Killers of kings, destroyers of kingdoms. A fast-moving story of the great Viking army. If you like Giles Kristian, Matthew Harffy and S.J.A. Turney, you’ll love this epic story of battle, treachery and conquest. Leif Ormson is a Skald, a story-teller, renowned for his witty tales. His brother, Sigurd is a black-smith, making knives, scythes, horse-shoes and magnificent weapons of war. One day, Ivar the Boneless, son of Ragnar Lothbrok, commands the brothers to make him a great sword. And he demands that they accompany his army to England. Leif and Sigurd are thrown into a maelstrom of ...

The Viking army is about to face its greatest challenge, the Kingdom of Wessex. King Æthelred and his brother Alfred are determined to wage war to the death. The Great Viking Army has conquered Northumbria and East Anglia. Two English kingdoms remain independent, Mercia and Wessex. The sons of Ragnar, leaders of the army, must decide which to attack next. Leif Ormson, once Skald to Ivar the Boneless, has now been made a jarl. He is a reluctant warrior and is grateful and relieved when he is given rich lands in which to live in peace and prosperity. But the Vikings’ relentless lust for ...

Should he be hanged or transported? The Artful Dodger is the best pick-pocket in England, a one-person crime wave. Although only a child, he seems certain to face the noose. But, to everyone’s surprise but his own, he escapes this fate and is transported to Australia. There he falls prey to Fred Crimp, a disfigured and vicious criminal who Dodger thinks vaguely familiar. His quick wits save him, and life begins to look better as he discovers there are easier ways to get rich than by picking pockets. But back in London, the peril becomes more deadly and his life at risk. In order to elude ...

The Great Viking army is on the move again. It rules the kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria yet its leaders know they must vanquish Mercia and Wessex. Leif Ormson wants only a life of peace, telling tales with his family and friends. Yet his quick wits are invaluable to the Viking kings and he is drawn reluctantly into their plans. Mercia is defeated and subdued. Finally, the Vikings turn their attention to the richest prize, Wessex. It is the most powerful kingdom and Alfred its king, the most dangerous of their foes. He has fought the hitherto invincible Vikings to a standstill and ...

England 1066. The Battle of Hastings is over. The Battle for England is about to begin. King Harold and most of England’s warriors lie dead on the battle-field and William, Duke of Normandy is marching towards London. Refusing to surrender, the English leaders turn to the one person they believe can unite the kingdom against the invaders. Edgar Atheling, the last surviving descendent of Alfred the Great, is proclaimed King of England. He is only thirteen years of age. Edgar leads an English army to meet William in battle. But when they see the strength of the Normans his advisers desert ...

As a Maid of Honor at the Court of King Henry VIII, beautiful Alice Petherton receives her share of admirers. But when the powerful, philandering Sir Richard Rich attempts to seduce her, she knows she cannot thwart his advances for long. She turns to the most powerful man in England for protection: the King himself. As beautiful as she is intelligent, Alice easily captures the King's interest. He takes her to bed on the day of his son Edward's birth.

I SING OF TROY Gods, fate, heroes, villains, love and betrayal. And one poet. Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint, Natalie Haynes, Hannah Lynn and Stephen Fry. The Trojan War has long been considered a legend; a fable written by Homer four centuries after the events he depicts. Yet the excavation of an ancient place in Crete yields a stunning discovery. Parchments buried for three thousand years reveal that the Trojan War was a real event and Homer a participant in the war. A reluctant participant but, nevertheless, an eyewitness to the blunders, heroism and deeds of men who...

FOR KING AND COUNTRY THE ORDER OF THE WHITE FEATHER In August 1914 Europe blundered into war. Alone of all the combatants, Great Britain did not have a large standing army. The Secretary of War, Lord Kitchener, sought to remedy this by launching a campaign appealing for half a million volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of eager young men answered this call. Most Britons felt immense pride at their action. Some people, however, chose not to focus upon these brave young men. Instead, they set their sights upon those who, for whatever reason, chose not to fight for King and Country. The Order ...

King Alfred was their lord and protector – until savagery shatters the bonds of love and loyalty. Twins Ulf and Inga have risen quickly in the service of King Alfred of Wessex. Ulf is a King’s-thegn, one of his trusted household warriors. Inga is servant and friend of the King’s eldest daughter Aethelflaed. The peace between Alfred and Guthrum, King of Danelaw East Anglia still holds. But when the Norse chieftain Hrólfr attacks Ulf’s village it unleashes a chain of events which will change forever the lives of Ulf, Inga and their friends. Ulf falls prey to powerful demons and loses...

Bernard and Agnes Montjoy keep an inn in Crusader Jerusalem. Their lives are about to be shattered. Guy, the new King of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, ignores the advice of wiser men and leads his army out of the city to do battle with the great warlord Saladin. Within days the Christian army is annihilated. Triumphant, Saladin leads his warriors towards Jerusalem, determined to win it back for his people. To defend the city there is only one nobleman, Balian of Ibelin, and four knights. In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men to lead the defence. Agnes begs Bernard not to ...

The wedding antics of Toad are told in this sequel with a measure of humour, particularly wit and farce, strongly reminiscent of Grahame's balance of humour in the original. Nigel McMorris, Chair, The Kenneth Grahame Society. In 2008 the Kenneth Grahame Society held a short story competition to write a short story in the style of The Wind in the Willows. Writers from around the world entered the competition. 'Mr Toad's Wedding' won first prize. It tells the story of how Mr Toad lost his heart and almost lost his friends because of it. Martin Lake writes about the original much-loved ...

Dreams and destiny in the land of the Great Goddess. Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint and Natalie Haynes. Four thousand years ago, Crete is a land of contrasts. The mountains are wild and forbidding and people live and toil there vulnerable to disaster and sudden death. Yet on the coast, a new world is arising. As a young woman in the high mountains, Talita knows nothing of the opulent and sophisticated civilisation developing in the cities of the coast. Yet when her uncle sells her and she is taken to the city of Mulia she seizes the chance of a new life. Mulia is famous...

Life goes along smoothly for so long. But then, a storm blows up and throws your life and you completely off balance. These short stories are about the calm before the storm. And after it.

Betrayed, defeated, defiant. Edgar Atheling has been betrayed by his allies and defeated in his attempt to win back the throne of England from William the Conqueror. The Normans hunted for him across the north of England, devastating the land in the process. He only just escaped to the sanctuary of the King of the Scots. Once there he is tempted to give up the fight. But there are still some in England who resist the Normans. Edgar decides to return home to lead the battle. He allies himself with the King of the Danes and Hereward the Wake and stakes all on a gamble to win back his ...