Guido, jeune Florentin de dix-huit ans, voit sa famille et ses amis massacrés par les soldats de l'empereur Charles-Quint lors du Sac de Rome, en mai 1527. Réfugié au château Saint-Ange, auprès de son oncle, le cardinal Orlando, ami du Pape Clément VII, il fuira vers Venise, où de nouveaux drames l'attendent. Au coeur d'un monde de violence et de passions, où Catholiques et Luthériens s'entredéchirent, Guido doit affronter seul les ennemis qui le traquent, mais n'est-il pas lui-même son pire ennemi ? Animé d'une impitoyable volonté de vengeance, entre la haine et le désespoir, il confie à son manuscrit ses "secrets inavouables". Le Seigneur de l'aube retrace - sous forme de mémoires - l'itinéraire intérieur de ce "jeune homme de l'ombre au destin trop lourd".

D'Artagnan ! Un héros universel dont le panache et la gloire font toujours rêver. Mais derrière le personnage de fiction se cache un homme qui a vraiment existé. Charles de Batz de Castelmore, comte d'Artagnan. Authentique cadet de Gascogne, il a passé plus de quarante années au service des rois Louis XIII et Louis XIV. Membre de la première compagnie des mousquetaires à cheval de la garde du roi, qu'il a commandée pendant près de vingt ans, il a été chargé des missions les plus délicates de son temps. Officier d'élite, il est le seul des capitaines-lieutenants de la fameuse compagnie mort au combat.À travers des documents inédits, notamment sa correspondance, les témoignages de ses contemporains, l'inventaire de ses biens... le lecteur découvre la vie de ce célèbre gentilhomme du XVIIe siècle. Une vie qui, à elle seule, raconte plusieurs décennies du Grand Siècle. Odile Bordaz est historienne et docteur en histoire de l'art. Conservateur du patrimoine, elle a été successivement responsable des musées du Gers, administrateur pour le Centre des monuments nationaux, de la basilique royale de Saint-Denis et de la Chapelle expiatoire, du château de Vincennes, puis conservateur aux Archives nationales. Conseillère historique pour des films sur d'Artagnan et son époque, présidente de la commission historique et culturelle de la Route européenne d'Artagnan, elle est l'auteur de nombreux ouvrages, notamment une importante trilogie sur d'Artagnan et les mousquetaires du roi.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I had always laughed at the idea of the supernatural, but as I walked through my garden, I felt a cold, damp presence brush past me. I screamed and ran into the house. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the Muslim call to prayer. #2 The muezzin's cry floated through the morning mist across cobblestone lanes in Wah, Pakistan. I remembered the eerie experience in the garden the night before, and quickly turned to morning routines that were comforting just because they were so ordinary. #3 I had been married to General Khalid Sheikh, the Pakistan Minister of Interior, for six years. I had been a hostess for diplomats and industrialists from all over the world. But when Khalid left me, I fled the sophisticated life to seek refuge in the quiet peace of my family's ancestral property near the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. #4 I was secluded in my garden, restoring it, when I received a visit from my grandson Mahmud. I had agreed to adopt him, and he was living with me now. I was very close with my three grandchildren.

`Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania' was written by American author Bayard Taylor. After marrying a wealthy woman, young Joseph discovers a deep and powerful love for his friend Philip. Confused by his feelings and unhappy with his manipulative wife, Joseph's love for Philip grows stronger. Considered to be the `first gay novel' in America, the book discusses the friends' special attachment and their romantic but not sexual relationship. Noted for its enigmatic treatment of homosexuality, critics were divided over their interpretation of the novel with many arguing it was a political argument for gay relationships while others thought it an idealization of male spirituality. A great read for fans of E. M. Forster's novel 'Maurice' and 'Brokeback Mountain' by Annie Proulx. Bayard Taylor (1825-1878) was an American poet, author, literary critic and diplomat. Widely travelled, he was known primarily for his travelogues, which were popular in the UK and the United States. Visiting California at the height of the gold rush, Taylor published a hugely successful travel book called `El Dorado; or Adventures in the Path of Empire' (1850). His other works include `Views Afoot, or Europe seen with Knapsack and Staff' (1846), `A Journey to Central Africa; or Life and Landscapes from Egypt' and `A Visit to India, China and Japan in the Year 1853' (1855). Taylor is also credited with writing the `first gay novel' in America, with his 1870 novel `Joseph and His Friend: A Story of Pennsylvania.' His later work included Poems of the Orient (1855) and his famous translation of `Faust' (1870-71).