17th century -- fiction

The setting is 17th-century Seville. This production of Barber is appropriately over-the-top; the costumes reflect, in a very concrete sense, the occupations of each character (Figaro in barber stripes, "Lindoro" the "student" with books attached all over his coat, Berta wearing various cleaning items in various places on her clothes), Rosina shatters a glass while singing her second-act aria (much to her delight, as she picks up a shard and shows it proudly to Almaviva prior to continuing), et cetera.

Seeing as how Barber is over-the-top in the first place, the way the cast and crew play with this production only makes it more delightful--it would be much worse if one were to take it seriously. Beverly Sills is an outstanding Rosina. This is a wonderful treat to view. A must see. Available in VHS format. Other Rossini operas in our CD collection include La Cenerentola, featuring Cecilia Bartoli, and L'Italiana in Algeri, featuring Teresa Berganza.

I swore not to tell this story while Newton was still alive.

1696, young Christopher Ellis is sent to the Tower of London, but not as a prisoner. Though Ellis is notoriously hotheaded and was caught fighting an illegal duel, he arrives at the Tower as assistant to the renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton is Warden of the Royal Mint, which resides within the Tower walls, and he has accepted an appointment from the King of England and Parliament to investigate and prosecute counterfeiters whose false coins threaten to bring down the shaky, war-weakened economy. Ellis may lack Newton’s scholarly mind, but he is quick with a pistol and proves himself to be an invaluable sidekick and devoted apprentice to Newton as they zealously pursue these criminals. While Newton and Ellis investigate a counterfeiting ring, they come upon a mysterious coded message on the body of a man killed in the Lion Tower, as well as alchemical symbols that indicate this was more than just a random murder.

A story set during the Spanish Inquisition follows the experiences of silk-grower's daughter, Francisca, whose obsessive love affair with a priest results in a witchcraft charge, and Princess Maria Luisa, who is attacked when she fails to conceive.

"An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India's most controversial empresses -- a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in Mehrunnisa's embattled love with Prince Salim, and in the bedazzling destiny of a woman -- a legend in her own time -- who was all but lost to history until now."

In spite of his initial uneasiness, infiltration proves to be an easy matter. But will the ultimate betrayal be so simple? With the influences of good and evil, faith and doubt, compassion and selfishness pulling him apart, to whom could he turn?
House of Winslow, Book 1.

The year is 1667; Sir Francis Courteney and his son Hal are on patrol in their fighting caravel off the Agulhas Cape of South Africa. They are lying in wait for one of the treasure-laden galleons of the Dutch East India Company returning from the Orient. So begins a quest for adventure and the spoils of war that sweeps them from the settlement of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to the Great Horn of Ethiopia far to the north--at a time when international maritime law permitted acts of piracy, rape, and murder otherwise punishable by death.