Author - Christopher Nicole

Author Christopher Nicole has a plethora of titles out encompassing various stages in history (210 books if you can believe it). If you look for him on Amazon, there are eleven pages worth of books to select from. However, here are a few that caught my eye, mainly due to my interest in history and notable women in history:

The Lion Queen

Who: Queen Tamar / Tamara / Thamar of Georgia (Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mepe, afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources)

Synopsis: Today Georgia is a small country existing in the shadow of Russia, but only 900 years ago the Georgians controlled an empire that stretched from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean to the Caspian. This was the work of Queen Tamara, who, inheriting the throne at the age of twenty-five as King of the Georgians – there was no word for queen in the Georgian language – led her armies sword in hand. Accurately depicting a savage age, when life was cheap virtue non-existent, this is not for the faint-hearted, but it is also the tale of a remarkable relationship, and an undying love.

Lord of the Golden Fan

Who: Will Adams (an English navigator who, in 1600, was the first of his nation to reach Japan during a five-ship expedition for the Dutch East India Company. As a key advisor to the shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, he has been recognised as one of the most influential foreigners in Japan during this period)

Synopsis: Leaving Elizabethan Kent in search of adventure, Will Adams took a voyage through Indonesia. Sailing as pilot of five small trading ships on a twenty-one months' voyage to the fabled Spice Islands of Java and Sumatra, Will survived disaster to reach seventeenth-century Japan. Not only was he the first Englishman to set foot in Japan, but he also became the lifelong protégé and friend of the reigning Shogun, Iyeyasu.  By his prowess and wise counsel, Will also opened the way to Japan's first contacts with the learning and culture of the West. 

Ottoman

Who: Sir John Hawkwood (not to be confused with the enigmatic English soldier and condottiero - mercenary - of the same name who was prominent in England, France and Italy a half century earlier)

Synopsis: English master-gunner John Hawkwood uproots his family from their native land and journeys to this fabled city. With the city under threat by the Ottoman Turks, the Byzantine emperor is in desperate need of men like Hawkwood and the knowledge of cannon and gunpowder he brings.  For a time, the Hawkwoods enjoy status and privilege in return for John’s superior abilities as an artillerist. 

But all good things must come to an end. When tragedy strikes, even the close relationship John shares with the emperor cannot absolve the family of their sins, and with little more than the clothes on their backs, the Hawkwoods flee Constantinople. 

Captured by the savage Turks, John Hawkwood swiftly changes his allegiance, and once more applies his considerable skills…this time serving the conquerors in their victorious surge across eastern Europe and Mediterranean shores.  No man lives forever, but the Hawkwood line never dies. 

Over a span of nearly one hundred and fifty years, the Hawkwoods must employ every ounce of political cunning they possess to survive the swirling intrigues and bloody massacres that dominate the world in which they live.  Beyond the gleaming wealth and the veneer of power lie grim spectres of betrayal and sudden death, the threat of ravishment and torture lurking behind the gilded pillars of their palaces and harems.  And when the time comes to choose between Ottoman and Hawkwood, no one can say what the future might bring…

Queen of Destiny

Who: Adelaide of Burgundy (Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Otto the Great; she was regent of the Holy Roman Empire as the guardian of her grandson in 991-995)

Synopsis: Adelaide, Queen of Burgundy and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, was one of the most beautiful and courageous women in history. She is renowned as the most prominent European woman of the 10th century and Christopher Nicole brings you the amazing story of her life, her struggles and her conquests.

Queen of Lions

Who: Margaret of Anjou (Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471 - this was the period in history known as The Wars of the Roses).

Synopsis: When the beautiful Margaret of Anjou marries King Henry VI of England, she is a virgin who longs for love, power, wealth, and a son.  After arriving in England she learns that her deeply religious and delicate husband is unwilling to satisfy her desires and there seems to be no hope of producing an heir.  He is not the powerful man she had imagined and she is shocked to learn he does not hunt, is not properly trained in the art of battle and has no interest in entertaining guests. Though her husband cannot quench her desires, there are others at court who can … 

Under her banner of the dangerous, passionate red rose, Margaret draws men to her, to fight and die for her, never losing her fierce ambition, never satisfied with less than all.  And as the Wars of the Roses looms, she rides among her troops, rallying her ‘lions’ to the glorious cause.

Queen of the Night

Who: Joanna I, Queen of Naples (countess of Provence and queen of Naples (1343–82) she defended her claim as well as that of the house of Anjou to the throne of Naples, only to lose it to Charles of Durazzo (Charles III of Naples). Beautiful and intelligent, she was also a patron of the poets and scholars of her time)

Synopsis: The year is 1338,11yo Richilde’s family is brutally murdered by pirates whilst her life is spared, she is subjected to unimaginable terror. The young English girl is sold, educated and groomed for the purposes of becoming a playmate and servant to the Duchess of Calabria, Joanna, the heir to the throne of Naples.  

Joanna is betrothed to Prince Andrew of Hungary, younger brother to the future King but unbeknown to both girls, Joanna’s foster mother, Donna, begins to hatch a manipulative plan.  In a bid to capture the kingdom for herself, Donna conspires against Joanna and aware of her desires, exposes the future queen to passions that would live on forever…

Stripping Joanna’s innocence under the pretence of educating her, Donna initiates a stream of sadistic events which will lead to the young Queen’s downfall.  In their struggle for survival, both Joanna and Richilde endure countless attempts on their lives … but, amidst it all, their strength to survive rallies on … as does their friendship …

Eleanor of Aquitaine and The Queen of Love

Who: Eleanor of Aquitaine (Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of France, Queen of England, mother of Kings of England)

Sysnopsis: Book one deals with Eleanor's earlier life as a young woman and her first marriage to Louis VII of France, whilst the second deals with her marriage to Henry II and the remainder of her tumultuous life.

Dawn of a legend and Twilight of a Goddess

Who: Jane Digby, Lady Ellenborough (an English aristocrat, famed for her remarkable love life and lifestyle. She had four husbands and many lovers, and died in Damascus, Syria, as the wife of Arab Sheikh Medjuel el Mezrab, who was 20 years her junior.)

Synopsis Book 1: Jane Elizabeth Digby was born into one of the wealthiest families in nineteenth century England. By the age of seventeen, she became known as Aurora, the Light of Dawn, such was her beauty, and received the attentions of many a rich bachelor.  Her eventual marriage to Lord Ellenborough promised much but proved something of a disappointment when he turned out to be a prude in the bedroom. And so, Jane began to seek her pleasure elsewhere, conducting a string of scandalous affairs that would send shock waves through society.

Synopsis Book 2: It is 1835, and Jane Elizabeth Digby finds herself living in Bavaria having remarried the Baron von Venningen following an affair. But this is a marriage of convenience, for she has become the principal mistress of the German King. However, Jane, now approaching thirty, is becoming bored with her situation, and when she meets a glamorous Greek Count, she abandons everything to elope with him.

This is the beginning of a tumultuous career of love and adventure. Armed with her pistols, natural grace and wit, not to mention a body that turns heads, she jumps from one steamy affair to another, travelling from Athens into the bandit-ridden mountains of Albania, and the deserts of Syria, where, after a lifelong quest for love, she will become a living legend.

Queen of Glory

Who: Lakshmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi (Queen of the princely state of Jhansi in North India, she was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and became a symbol of resistance to the British Raj for Indian nationalists.)

Synopsis: As the Indian Mutiny takes hold, one woman will establish her place in history for ever . . . ""India"," 1857." Aged just twenty-one, Lakshmi Bai, otherwise known as Manu, the widowed and recently deposed Rani of Jhansi, finds herself embroiled in the developing Indian Mutiny. Torn between leading Jhansi into battle or following the advice of her close friend and confidante, Emma Hammond, a tragic succession of events is triggered as the Mutiny comes to a head and Manu faces her destiny: one which will see her crowned as India s queen of glory. 

Full bibliography here @ Wikipedia