Showing titles in Biographical Fiction

Berlin, 1919: Als Hans die junge Stiefmutter seines Schulfreunds Hellmut Quandt kennenlernt, ahnt er nicht, welche Rolle Magda in seinem Leben spielen wird – für ihn persönlich, aber auch Jahre später als fanatische Nationalsozialistin und Vorzeigemutter des Dritten Reichs. Noch ist die Weimarer Republik im Aufbruch und Hans hoffnungslos in Hellmut verliebt. Doch nach einem Unglücksfall beginnen Hans und Magda eine Affäre, von der sie sich Trost und Vorteile versprechen: Sie will aus ihrer Ehe ausbrechen, er seine Homosexualität verbergen.

Die wahre Geschichte eines Pflegekindes auf einem Bergbauernhof. Mitfühlend und Mut machend erzählt Spiegel-Bestseller-Autorin Hera Lind in ihrem Tatsachenroman Im Namen der Barmherzigkeit das Schicksal von Steffi, die Furchtbares durchgemacht hat. Aber zum Schweigen hat sie sich nicht bringen lassen. Im Namen der Barmherzigkeit nimmt die steirische Bauernfamilie Kellerknecht jedes Jahr ein Pflegekind auf. So kommt die knapp dreijährige Steffi in den Siebzigerjahren auf den abgelegenen Bauernhof.

Caribbean, 1720. Two extraordinary women are on the run—from their pasts, from the British Navy and the threat of execution and from the destiny that fate has written for them. Plantation owner's daughter, runaway wife, pirate—Anne Bonny has forged her own story in a man's world. But when she is involved in the capture of a British merchant ship, she is amazed to find another woman amongst the crew, with a history as unconventional as her own. Dressed as a boy from childhood, Mary Read has been a soldier, a sailor, a widow—but never a woman in charge of her own destiny.

Amsterdam, 1640. Un homme est excommunié de la communauté juive portugaise pour avoir remis en question les Saintes Ecritures. Le jeune Bento de Espinosa assiste à la scène et l'épisode fait germer en lui un doute. Et si tout ce qui est écrit dans la Bible était faux ? Le soupçon va lancer Bento dans la plus grande quête intellectuelle qui soit. Qui a écrit les textes sacrés ? Qui est vraiment Dieu ? Qu'est-ce que la nature ? Toutes ces questions sont extrêmement dangereuses et le jeune Spinosa va bientôt en payer le prix. Juifs et chrétiens l'accusent d'hérésie et commencer à le persécuter.

Based on the life of Mary Magdalene, Magdala beautifully pieces together the hidden remnants from the past and masterfully weaves them into a fascinating tale about faith, love, and our connection with the Divine. Magdala transports listeners 2,000 years into the past as it follows Mary Magdalene on her journey from innocence to cherished healer, sacred confidante, wife, and mother.

28. dubna 1947 vyplul z Peruánského Callaa balzový vor se šesti muži a papouškem. Jeho kapitánem byl tehdy třiatřicetiletý Thor Heyerdahl a jejich cílem byla Polynésie. Thor Heyerdahl patří k nejznámějším objevitelům všech dob. Jeho pozoruhodný život a výpravy představují nevyčerpatelný pramen inspirace. Nikdo mu nevěřil, ve vědeckém světě se mu smáli. Jak by mohli Inkové doplout z Peru do Polynésie a osídlit ji? A jak se jim to podařilo, když neměli plavidla, která by byla schopná tu dálku překonat.

A woman's life, erupting with brilliance and promise, is fissured by betrayal and the pressures of duty. What had once seemed a pastoral family idyll has become a trap, and she struggles between being the wife and mother she is bound to be and wanting to do and be so much more. The woman in question is Sylvia Plath in the final year of her life. As Plath's marriage to Ted Hughes unravels through the heady days of their first summer in Devon together, Sylvia turns increasingly to writing to express her pain and loss, yet also her resilience and power.

Following seventy thousand years of undisturbed slumber, the vessel of a planetary empire that had followed its own predetermined path to destruction eons earlier had finally reawakened, bringing with her the potential to change everything. Embodying all that was benevolent and beautiful from innumerable long-forgotten cultures, this lifeform in suspended animation also possessed the power necessary to prevent her gifts from being corrupted by those who will eternally thirst for dominion over others.

"Najbogatszy człowiek w Babilonie" autorstwa George'a S. Clasona to jeden z najbardziej znanych i cenionych poradników finansowych na świecie. Książka składa się z wielu opowieści o mieszkańcach starożytnego Babilonu, którzy borykając się z różnymi problemami, po wdrożeniu do swojego życia odpowiednich zasad gospodarowania pieniędzmi pokonywali napotkane trudności.

This stunning novel tells the true story of the woman behind one of the world’s greatest artists, Vincent Van Gogh. In 1890, Vincent Van Gogh dies penniless, unknown, a man tortured by his own mind. Eleven years later his work is exhibited in Paris and his unparalleled talent finally recognised. The tireless efforts of one woman gave the world one of its greatest creative minds. But twenty-eight-year-old Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent’s sister-in-law and the keeper of his immense collection of paintings, sketches and letters, has, until now, been written out of history.

1917: When two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright from Cottingley, England, announce they have photographed fairies at the bottom of the garden, their parents are astonished. But when the great novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endorses the photographs' authenticity, the girls become a sensation, their discovery offering something to believe in amid a world ravaged by war.

"Lorsque la dernière plaque, la plus à droite, a été retirée, un nom est apparu, gravé à la pointe en lettres majuscules dans le crépi grège : ANDRÉ CHAIX. Le R d’André, à mieux regarder, est une grande minuscule. Lorsque l’on déjeune dans cette cour, au frais, à l’ombre du grand platane, on distingue à peine les lettres. Je doute que le crépi, qui s’est ici et là détaché de la pierre, ait été repris jamais. Je me suis habitué à ce nom sur le mur, et j’ai fini par l’oublier.” Charles Berling s’empare avec talent de ce récit poignant et lumineux, et révèle le destin tragique et fulgurant d’André Chaix, jeune résistant tué pendant l’Occupation.

Cousins Masha and Rachel Morgenstern board the luxury liner the SS Manhattan bound for New York, desperate to escape the concentration camps that claimed the rest of their family. America offers a safe haven, but to reach it they must survive a hazardous Atlantic crossing. Among their fellow passengers fleeing the war, each with their own conflicts, secrets, and surprises, are the composer Igor Stravinsky, making a new start after a decade of tragedy, and Rose Kennedy, determined to keep her four children from harm.

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute—unless she does as he says.

For three decades, until the day he collapsed in the Brazilian surf in 1979, Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death who performed horrific experiments on the prisoners of Auschwitz, floated through South America in linen suits, keeping two steps ahead of Mossad agents, international police, and the world's journalists.

The award-winning Augustine Institute Radio Theatre presents The Victory of Joan of Arc, the remarkable true story of a 15th-century French peasant girl who claimed she’d been sent by God to drive the English invaders out of France and place the true king on the throne. Featuring over 50 actors, cinematic sound and original score, listeners will fully experience Joan’s relentless bravery and determination against all obstacles to change the course of history.

Sebastien Ranes’s single mom and her feckless boyfriend can’t be bothered to take care of a stuttering 12-year-old. Banished to live with his grandmother on the far side of the country, the boy can barely understand a bus schedule when he gets dumped at the Greyhound station in Stockton, California. Given $35 and a one-way ticket to Altoona, Pennsylvania, Sebastien must cross the country - alone, without a clue how to fend for himself. Filled with youthful anger and naïveté, Sebastien heads out into the "Morning in America" of Ronald Reagan’s 1980s.

After winning his freedom in Rise of the Wolf, Robin - with his faithful lieutenant John Little at his side - now spends his days travelling around northern England dispensing King Edward II's justice. When a new band of outlaws appears in Barnsdale, Sheriff Henry de Faucumberg sends Robin and John to deal with them.

Wanted: Male, forty to fifty years of age. Must be free to travel with no family obligations for a one-year contract. Sense of adventure, ability to do field research required. Call Beth for an interview at: 888-555-6363. Would you answer this classified ad? Alex did, and it changed his life forever when he became A Man Called Friday. Join Alex, as Friday, as he travels around the country helping strangers at crossroads in their lives; in the process, he discovers how, by helping others, he helped himself.

Moskau, 1936. Die deutsche Kommunistin Charlotte ist der Verfolgung durch die Nationalsozialisten gerade noch entkommen. Im Spätsommer bricht sie mit ihrem Mann Wilhelm und der jungen Britin Jill auf zu einer mehrwöchigen Reise durch die neue Heimat Sowjetunion. Alle drei sind Mitarbeiter des Nachrichtendienstes der Komintern, wo Kommunisten aller Länder beschäftigt sind. Umso schwerer wiegt, dass unter den "Volksfeinden", denen gerade in Moskau der Prozess gemacht wird, einer ist, den Lotte besser kennt, als ihr lieb sein kann.

Sonja er en ener. Som ung kvinde i overklassen i 1930’erne er hendes liv stort set lagt til rette på forhånd, men hun har ikke tænkt sig at indrette sig efter konventionerne. Hun vil være kunstner. Mod sin mors vilje søger hun optagelse på en københavnsk kunstskole og tumler hovedkulds ind i avantgardens brus af utæmmet kreativitet, fornyelse og frisindede eksperimenter. Altings midtpunkt er den karismatiske og rebelske Richard Mortensen, og Sonja bliver forelsket. Men som kvindelig kunstner er det tæt på umuligt at blive hørt, og hun må tage et valg.

From the moment Michael met Rachel online more than a year ago, the two of them have been inseparable. The excitement of young love is something they experience every day. In their minds, everything is perfect. When Rachel decides she’d like to meet him, Michael’s dream comes true. He’s ecstatic and can’t wait to see her. He’ll finally get the chance to hold her in his arms. In the blink of an eye, his world is torn apart. Rachel’s unexpected abduction takes Michael by storm. It’s up to him to find her, but where does he start? Who can he trust?

It is December, 1648, and England faces one of the greatest crises in its history. Bands of renegade soldiers and broken men roam the countryside, looting, burning, and raping. In Parliament, former allies are torn apart after six years of bloody conflict. John Swynfen, a rising young MP and one of the leaders of the moderate party, is working for peace, but only if safeguards can be established to protect Parliament and control the powers of the king. Ranged against him and his friends are Oliver Cromwell and his son-in-law Henry Ireton, intent on seizing power by the sword.

The year is 1921. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband, Robert, a lawyer and war veteran, are living at Cassowary House on the Straits Settlement of Penang. When “Willie” Somerset Maugham, a famed writer and old friend of Robert’s, arrives for an extended visit with his secretary Gerald, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one. Maugham, one of the great novelists of his day, is beleaguered: Having long hidden his homosexuality, his unhappy and expensive marriage of convenience becomes unbearable after he loses his savings—and the freedom to travel with Gerald.

April, 1912: It's the perfect finale to a Grand Tour of Europe—sailing home on the largest, most luxurious ocean liner ever built. For the Fortune sisters, the voyage offers a chance to reflect on the treasures of the past they've seen and contemplate the futures that await them. For Alice, there's foreboding mixed with her excitement. A fortune teller in Egypt gave her a dire warning about traveling at sea. And the freedom she has enjoyed on her travels contrasts with her fiance's plans for her return—a cossetted existence she's no longer sure she wants.

It is the turn of the 18th century in Frankfurt, Germany, and young Gutle and Meir Amschel Rothschild struggle to establish themselves in the cramped, restricted Judengasse. But when Meir’s talents as a novice banker catch the attention of a German prince, Meir is afforded entrée into the European world of finance and nobility, and the Rothschilds’ lives are changed forever. As proud as Gutle is of her husband’s success, she is also cautious - very much aware of the fact that her husband’s rise is tied to his patrons’ willingness to “see past” his Jewishness.

An idealist in less-than-ideal times, Chisolm’s military orders have taken him to the Bunker, an underground fortress in West Germany where intelligence and war footing operations convene. Within the impenetrable concrete walls, he finds a complete lack of military protocol, a total disregard for the stakes of the game, and a life of soul-crushing absurdity. Under constant threat of Russian annihilation, those assigned to the Bunker grapple with the inescapable futility of their posting. Chisolm struggles to maintain his moral compass in the face of disturbing apathy and chaos.

July 1540: the shocking news of Cromwell's fall reaches the court of Margaret of Navarre, sister of Francis I of France and arguably the most cultured woman north of the Alps. She sends her courtier and poet, Nicolas Bourbon, an avid reformer with many friends in English court circles, to find out what is happening. What Bourbon discovers from members of Cromwell's family, his proteges and his enemies sets him on what becomes a hazardous quest for the real man behind all the competing versions on offer.

Set in Philly one year into Trump's presidency, Sean Thor Conroe's audacious, freewheeling debut follows our eponymous f--cboi, Sean, as he attempts to live meaningfully in a world that doesn't seem to need him. Reconciling past failed selves - cross-country walker, SoundCloud rapper, weed farmer - he now finds himself back in his college city, trying to write, doing stimulant-fuelled bike deliveries to eat. Unable to accept that his ex has dropped him, yet still engaged in all the same f--kery that led to her leaving in the first place.

1792. As a child, Mary Wollstonecraft longed to disappear during her father’s violent rages. Instead, she transforms herself into the radical author of the landmark volume A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she dares to propose that women are equal to men. From conservative England to the blood-drenched streets of revolutionary France, Mary refuses to bow to society’s conventions and instead supports herself with her pen until an illicit love affair challenges her every belief about romance and marriage.

The Great Plague has London in its grip. As the summer heat rises, red crosses mark the doors, wealthy citizens flee, and only the poor remain to face the march of death. Ambitious and attractive, Bess Bagwell is determined her carpenter husband, Will, should make a name for himself and schemes to meet Samuel Pepys, diarist, friend of the King and an important man in the Navy shipyards. But Pepys has his own motive for cultivating Bess, and it’s certainly not to benefit her husband. With pestilence rife in the city, all trade ceases.

Jane Parker never dreamed that her marriage into the Boleyn family would raise her star to such dizzying heights. Before long, she finds herself as trusted servant and confidante to her sister-in-law, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second queen. On a gorgeous spring day, that golden era is cut short by the swing of a sword. Jane is unmoored by the tragic death of her husband, George, and her loss sets her on a reckless path that leads to her own imprisonment in the Tower of London.