After the Glorious Revolution, a not so glorious age of lawlessness befell England. Crime ran rampant, and highwaymen, thieves, and prostitutes ruled the land. Execution by hanging often punished the smallest infractions, and rip-roaring stories of fearless criminals proliferated, giving birth to a new medium: the newspaper. In 1724, housebreaker Jack Sheppard—a “pocket Hercules,” his small frame packed with muscle—finally met the hangman. Street singers sang ballads about the Cockney burglar because no prison could hold him. Each more astonishing than the last, his final jailbreak took him through six successive locked rooms, after which he shimmied down two blankets from the prison roof to the street below. Just before Sheppard swung, he gave an account of his life to a writer in the crowd. Daniel Defoe stood in the shadow of the day’s literati—Swift, Pope, Gay—and had done hard time himself for sedition and bankruptcy. He saw how prison corrupted the poor. They came out thieves, but he came out a journalist. Six months later, the author of Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders covered another death at the hanging tree. Jonathan Wild looked every bit the brute—body covered in scars from dagger, sword, and gun, bald head patched with silver plates from a fractured skull—and he had all but invented the double-cross. He cultivated young thieves, profited from their work, then turned them in for his reward—and their execution. But one man refused to play his game. Sheppard didn’t take orders from this self-proclaimed “thief-taker general,” nor would he hawk his loot through Wild’s fences. The two-faced bounty hunter took it personally and helped bring the young burglar’s life to an end. But when Wild’s charade came to light, he quickly became the most despised man in the land. When he was hanged for his own crimes, the mob wasn’t rooting for Wild as it had for Sheppard. Instead, they hurled stones, rotten food, and even dead animals at him. Defoe once again got the scoop, and tabloid journalism as we know it had begun.

A mage's apprentice... Unnatural magic of devastating power... A clash that will change the world. SAGA OF THE GOD-TOUCHED MAGE: Volume 1-Volume 4: Herein lies the first four novellas of an eight-part sword and sorcery serial that follows a mage apprentice, Garrick, as he's provided power that is much greater than he can understand. Written in a dark, gritty style that is part Michael Moorcock, part Indiana Jones, the true depth of Garrick's situation unfolds into a fast-paced adventure full of heart, plot twists, and political intrigue between magical orders, governments, and god-like powers that cross the Thousand Worlds of All Existence. “A riveting tale of magic, death, destiny, and power.” - David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson Author of the Thieftaker Chronicles "Fast-paced, elegant, and brutal. Impossible to put down." – Amy Sterling Casil Nebula Nominated Author of Female Science Fiction Writer The works contained in this set are: Volume 1: GLAMOUR OF THE GOD-TOUCHED Garrick receives his terrifying gift and discovers the forces behind it. The lessons he learns and how he deals with them threaten the very nature of who he is. Volume 2: TRAIL OF THE TOREAN While learning to live with his treacherous new magic, Garrick faces ancient and powerful forces, encounters the beautiful leader of a sect of freedom-minded mages, and finds himself in the crossfire of a magewar. He discovers exactly how deep his connection to the god-like planewalkers might be, and finds that the future of magic across Adruin hangs in the balance. Volume 3: TARGET OF THE ORDERS The orders have begun their war, and Garrick may be the only mage who can keep them from victory. To survive, he will have to control the dark magic inside him and suffer the twisted politics of the god-like planewalker using him for his own purpose. When Garrick discovers the depths of the planewalker’s designs, he realizes there is more at stake than simply controlling the plane. Volume 4: GATHERING OF THE GOD-TOUCHED Tired of running, Garrick faces his destiny in a direct contest with the orders’ god-touched mages. Darien, the son of Dorfort’s commander, and Sunathri, the leader of a faction of independent mages, lend their blades in support. Along the way, Garrick discovers the plane’s ultimate destiny may well lie in places far more exotic than anyone could expect.

A mage's apprentice. Sorcerers on the hunt. Unnatural magic of devastating power. Garrick is a mage’s apprentice, soon to be a full-fledged sorcerer. The course of his life is clear—he will be an apprentice, a mage, and then a superior. But a tragic accident finds him wielding a god-like power over life and death, and as rumors of mage war grow stronger around him, he learns his future is not fated to be as simple as he dreamed. Glamour of the God-Touched follows Garrick as he discovers the forces behind his new magic. The lessons he learns and how he deals with them will threaten the very nature of who he is. “A riveting tale of magic, death, destiny, and power.” - David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson Author of the Thieftaker Chronicles

Join us for a feast! Step into a roadside diner run by witches. Attend a banquet with aliens who are as crass as they are brutal. Eat oysters on the half shell with a pair of conjurers, or scratch out a meal with warring pilots marooned on a desolate planet. Pity the ghost who must cook her way to freedom, and mourn with the warrior who seeks a final delicacy for his lost love. Search the far reaches of space for sustenance or descend into a hellscape of culinary horrors. In this volume, food is the star! Fantasy and science fiction authors Paige L. Christie, Diana A. Hart, A.L. Tompkins, Esther Friesner, Derrick Boden, Andy Duncan, Chaz Brenchley, Howard Andrew Jones, Mike Jack Stoumbos, R.S. Belcher, Mia Moss, Gini Koch, D.B. Jackson, Jason Palmatier, and Gabriela Santiago have prepared a GALACTIC STEW that will entice and tantalize, nourish the imagination, and sate the most ravenous of literary appetites. But beware! These dishes are not what they seem...

Divided into three main sections, "The Ancient World", "The Middle Ages" and "Regency and Gaslight", The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits includes: · The Thief versus Rhampsinitus by Herodotus - probably the earliest detective story ever written. · The Locked Tomb Mystery, set in ancient Egypt, by Elizabeth Peters. · A new story by John Maddox Roberts featuring the young Roman detective Decius Metellus. · Robert van Gulik's ingenious He Came With the Rain featuring Judge Dee, a real-life character who lived inseventh-century China. · A new story by Peter Tremayne, set in seventh-century Ireland and featuring Sister Fidelma. · Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael story The Price of Light. · Paul Harding's The Confession of Brother Athelstan. · A classic locked-room mystery featuring Lillian de la Torre's popular detective Sam Johnson. · A story by Michael Harrison featuring August Dupin, the detective created by Edgar Allan Poe and the inspiration behind Sherlock Holmes. · John Dickson Carr's acclaimed The Gentleman from Paris. ...and many more!

There have been more prisons in London than in any other European city. Of these, Newgate was the largest, most notorious and worst. Built during the twelfth century, it became a legendary place - the inspiration of more poems, plays and novels than any other building in London. It was a place of cruelty and wretchedness, at various times holding Dick Turpin, Titus Oates, Daniel Defoe, Jack Sheppard and Casanova. Because prisons were privately run, any time spent in prison had to be paid for by the prisoner. Housing varied from a private cell with a cleaning woman and a visiting prostitute, to simply lying on the floor with no cover. Those who died inside - and only a quarter of prisoners survived until their execution day - had to stay in Newgate as a rotting corpse until relatives found the money for the body to be released. Stephen Halliday tells the story of Newgate's origins, the criminals it held, the punishments meted out and its rebuilding and reform. This is a compelling slice of London's social and criminal history.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 300,000 people or more became slaves there in all but name. Urchins were swept up from London's streets to labour in the tobacco fields, brothels were raided to provide 'breeders' for Virginia and hopeful migrants were duped into signing as indentured servants, unaware they would become chattels who could be bought, sold and gambled away. Drawing on letters, diaries, and court and government archives, the authors demonstrate that the brutalities associated with black slavery alone were perpetrated on whites throughout British rule. The trade ended with American independence but the British still tried to sell convicts in their former colonies, which prompted one of the most audacious plots in Anglo-American history. This is a saga of exploitation and cruelty spanning 170 years that has been submerged under the overwhelming memory of black slavery. White Cargo brings the brutal, uncomfortable story to the surface.

The story of Jonathan Wild and Jack Sheppard and the criminal underworld of early eighteenth-century London which they inhabited. Illustrated with period engravings by Hogarth and others.

A mage's apprentice...Unnatural magic of devastating power...A clash that will change the world.SAGA OF THE GOD-TOUCHED MAGE: Volume 1-Volume 4:Herein lies the first four novellas of an eight-part sword and sorcery serial that follows a mage apprentice, Garrick, as he's provided power that is much greater than he can understand. Written in a dark, gritty style that is part Michael Moorcock, part Indiana Jones, the true depth of Garrick's situation unfolds into a fast-paced adventure full of heart, plot twists, and political intrigue between magical orders, governments, and god-like powers that cross the Thousand Worlds of All Existence.“A riveting tale of magic, death, destiny, and power.”- David B. Coe/D.B. JacksonAuthor of the Thieftaker Chronicles"Fast-paced, elegant, and brutal. Impossible to put down."– Amy Sterling CasilNebula Nominated Author of Female Science Fiction Writer

Revised. by W.H. Ainsworth

A god-touched vigilante... Ultimate power... A battlefield of pure magic. SAGA OF THE GOD-TOUCHED MAGE: Volume 5-Volume 8: Herein lies the final four novellas of an eight-part sword and sorcery serial that follows a mage apprentice, Garrick, as he's provided power that is much greater than he can understand. Written in a dark, gritty style that is part Michael Moorcock, part Indiana Jones, the true depth of Garrick's situation unfolds into a fast-paced adventure full of heart, plot twists, and political intrigue between magical orders, governments, and god-like powers that cross the Thousand Worlds of All Existence. “A riveting tale of magic, death, destiny, and power.” - David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson Author of the Thieftaker Chronicles "Fast-paced, elegant, and brutal. Impossible to put down." – Amy Sterling Casil Nebula Nominated Author of Female Science Fiction Writer The works contained in this set are: Volume 5: PAWN OF THE PLANEWALKER While the Koradictine order hatches a breathtaking plan to reclaim their glory, the machinations of Garrick's god-like superior take him to Rastella, a cold and distant plane that is ruled by a man who has stolen control of the plane’s magic. Can Garrick return to his own plane in time to save those he loves? Volume 6: CHANGING OF THE GUARD The Koradictine order has kidnapped the boy Garrick had taken under wing. His vow to retrieve the boy takes him on a trail that leads through demonic underplanes and mystical time warps. Meanwhile, the Lectodinian order launches a winter offensive designed to gain control of magic across Adruin. Volume 7: LORD OF THE FREEBORN Dorfort evicts Garrick's Freeborn mages, so his first task is to find them a new home. The Freeborn are a flighty collection, though, filled with independent and opinionated members as well as those who are not above treachery to get their way. Unknown to Garrick, a renegade Koradictine mage who has her own ties to the planewalkers is making her last-gasp effort to remain in power--and this time Garrick himself is the target. Volume 8: LORDS OF EXISTENCE Garrick is marked for death by the Lords of Existence and retreats to a sanctuary deep inside the ruins of Arderveer. The Lectodinian order prepares to storm the plane. Garrick confronts his own humanity, leaders who refuse to see the truth, and the most powerful planewalkers themselves as he takes his fight all the way into All of Existence.

Cursed magic from the gods. A mysterious underground city. The first steps toward open war. Garrick is determined to be rid of a devastating magic that threatens to take over his life. Together with Darien—the son of a military man—he accepts a quest for a commission that promises enough to pay for the sorcery he'll need to break that magic's hold. Along the way he faces powerful forces as ancient as the plane itself, encounters the beautiful leader of a sect of freedom-minded, independent mages, and finds himself in the crossfire of a Lectodinian and Koradictine gambit against the most powerful Torean mage in the region. Trail of the Torean follows Garrick as he lives with his treacherous new magic, discovers exactly how deep his connection to the god-like planewalkers might be, and finds that the very future of magic across the entire plane of Adruin hangs in the balance. "Collins is a spellbinding storyteller." – David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson Author of the Thieftaker Chronicles

Treasure Neverland is about factual and fictional pirates. Swashbuckling eighteenth-century pirates were the ideal pirates of all time and tales of their exploits are still popular today. Most people have heard of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd even though they lived about three hundred years ago, but most have also heard of other pirates, such as Long John Silver and Captain Hook, even though these pirates never lived at all, except in literature. The differences between these two types of pirates - real and imaginary - are not quite as stark as we might think as the real, historical pirates are themselves somewhat legendary, somewhat fictional, belonging on the page and the stage rather than on the high seas. Based on extensive research of fascninating primary material, including testimonials, narratives, legal statements, colonial and mercantile records, Neil Rennie describes the ascertainable facts of real eighteenth-century pirate lives and then investigates how such facts were subsequently transformed artistically, by writers like Defoe and Stevenson, into realistic and fantastic fictions of various kinds: historical novels, popular melodramas, boyish adventures, Hollywood films. Rennie's aim is to watch, in other words, the long dissolve from Captain Kidd to Johnny Depp. There are surprisingly few scholarly studies of the factual pirates - properly analysing the basic manuscript sources and separating those documents from popular legends - and there are even fewer literary-historical studies of the whole crew of fictional pirates, although those imaginary pirates form a distinct and coherent literary tradition. Treasure Neverland is a study of this Scots-American literary tradition and also of the interrelations between the factual and fictional pirates - pirates who are intimately related, as the nineteenth-century writings about fictional pirates began with the eighteenth-century writings about supposedly real pirates. 'What I want is the best book about the Buccaneers', wrote Stevenson when he began Treasure Island in 1881. What he received, rightly, was indeed the best book: the sensational and unreliable History of the Pyrates (1724).

Almost as soon as it was built, London suffered the first of many acts of violent protest, when Boudica and her followers set fire to the city in AD 60. Ever since, the capital's streets have been a forum for popular insurrection. Covering nearly 2,000 years of political protest, this is a riveting alternative history of past and present conflict.

CRIME TIME is a collection of 20 riveting, page-turning historic true crime stories from 1724 to 1913 covering a host of monstrous American and English criminals, their crimes and their punishment. It includes stories of criminals— men, women and children, whose gruesome tales have been obscured by the passage of time.