The Maiden And The Unicorn

The Maiden and the Unicornis the winner of the 1999 Romantic Book of the Year Award fromRomance Writers of Australiaand was nominated for the Romance Writers of America's Best 1st Novel andRomantic TimesBest Historical Novel awards. In this lavish epic, Isolde Martyn enriches history with an exquisite love story, vividly bringing to life a medieval world of deadly intrigue and passion, in which one woman has the power to alter the fate of a nation--if she doesn't lose her heart. The year is 1470 and the legendary Wars of the Roses threatens to tear England apart. In the middle of the conflict is a most unlikely heroine. For Margery, the beautiful and spirited ward of Warwick the Kingmaker, freedom is the only prize worth having. But it is a prize that could cost her her life. Sent to France on a mission for King Edward IV, she finds herself the target of a man who may be one of the king's most dangerous enemies. Sir Richard Huddleston is bold, enigmatic, and devastatingly handsome. He is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Margery to be his wife. But what else does he want? Margery suspects that Richard has abandoned the king and the house of York and is conspiring with the rebel queen and the traitorous house of Lancaster. Caught between her role as a spy and a fierce passion that neither she nor Richard can deny, Margery finds her heart exposed to the ultimate danger: falling in love. Yet she cannot admit her real mission to Richard. For if she stays true to her noble cause, she'll save many men...and lose the one that matters most.

For Margery, the choice between 'spy' or 'wife', is really no choice at all. When King Edward IV offers her an irresistible challenge – to act as his secret courier to France – Margery is more than willing to risk her life for the King and escape marriage to Sir Richard Huddleston, the man who kidnapped her to further his political career. Yet upon arriving in France, Margery is shocked to discover that Richard is the man her powerful protector, Warwick the Kingmaker, has decreed she will marry. As Warwick forms a despicable alliance with King Edward's foes, Margery finds herself ensnared in a vicious web of political intrigue. Torn between loyalty to Edward and a dangerous attraction to her enigmatic, traitor husband, Margery's mission becomes a race against time to outwit her enemies and, above all, Richard. This unforgettable tale of power, passion, and intrigue is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory, Diana Gabaldon and Alison Weir. "A wonderfully interwoven tapestry of a book" – Bestselling novelist Barbara Erskine Winner of the Romance Writers of America Rita Award for Best First Novel 2000 and the Romance Writers of Australia Romantic Book of the Year Award in 1999.

Giles Questing, an undergraduate student at the University of Oxford, finds his life taking an unexpected turn after the suspicious death of a PhD student, a death the police believe to be suicide. He determines to solve the mystery by following a trail of artworks that depict a unicorn. Travelling to museums and galleries, he gradually discovers the truth about whether the student has taken his own life or been murdered, and who – if anyone – is guilty. His quest immerses him in the world of the unicorn in medieval and Renaissance art, and introduces him to the present-day obsession with the unicorn in the media, advertising, and social networks. All this enables him to crack the code of the unicorn that has been buried in the tradition of the Christian church for many years, and to answer the questions he has about a death that deeply affects him personally and that finally threatens his own life.

This Bulletin examines the fascinating stories behind the only known sets of unicorn tapestries in the world—one at The Met Cloisters and another at the Musée de Cluny, Paris. The thirteen tapestries that compose the two sets—six at the Cluny and seven at The Met—remain shrouded in mystery, with their origins and original owners still unknown. Considering the iconography of these two collections together and drawing from primary sources, this Bulletin aims to reach a better understanding of these masterworks and their mythical subject that has captured the public imagination for centuries.

Is there no rest for the travel worn and weary? Not if you’re Nathaniel Fludd, the world’s youngest beastologist-in-training! All Nate really wants is to track down his missing parents, but when a unicorn falls mysteriously ill, Nate’s Aunt Phil makes it clear where a beastologist’s duty lies: to the beasts. And if taking care of the world’s beasts isn’t difficult enough, Nate and Aunt Phil must also keep them safe from the villainous Obediah Fludd, who intends to do them harm. With all this taking up every last bit of his energy and time, will Nate ever find the parents he is so absolutely convinced are alive?