Full Read and Download Reference eBook
The Countess Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of The Countess book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
Author : Catherine Coulter
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 401 pages
File Size : 18,39 MB
Release : 1999-10-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1101209208
Catherine Coulter's revamped first novel—a gothic regency romance. The #1 New York Times bestselling author's very first novel, rewritten as a Gothic. A woman who makes the wrong choice for a husband may not live to marry the man of her dreams...
Author : Rebecca Johns
Publisher : Crown
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 19,14 MB
Release : 2011-09-27
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0307588467
Was the “Blood Countess” history’s first and perhaps worst female serial killer? Or did her accusers create a violent fiction in order to remove this beautiful, intelligent, ambitious foe from the male-dominated world of Hungarian politics? In 1611, Countess Erzsébet Báthory, a powerful Hungarian noblewoman, stood helpless as masons walled her inside her castle tower, dooming her to spend her final years in solitary confinement. Her crime: the gruesome murders of dozens of female servants, mostly young girls tortured to death for displeasing their ruthless mistress. Her opponents painted her as a bloodthirsty škrata—a witch—a portrayal that would expand to grotesque proportions through the centuries. In this riveting dramatization of Erzsébet Báthory’s life, the countess tells her story in her own words, writing to her only son—a final reckoning from his mother in an attempt to reveal the truth behind her downfall. Countess Báthory describes her upbringing in one of the most powerful noble houses in Hungary, recounting in loving detail her devotion to her parents and siblings as well as the heartbreak of losing her father at a young age. She soon discovers the price of being a woman in sixteenth-century Hungary as her mother arranges her marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy, a union made with the cold calculation of a financial transaction. Young Erzsébet knows she has no choice but to accept this marriage even as she laments its loveless nature and ultimately turns to the illicit affections of another man. Seemingly resigned to a marriage of convenience and a life of surreptitious pleasure, the countess surprises even herself as she ignites a marital spark with Ferenc through the most unromantic of acts: the violent punishment of an insolent female servant. The event shows Ferenc that his wife is no trophy but a strong, determined woman more than capable of managing their vast estates during Ferenc’s extensive military campaigns against the Turks. Her naked assertion of power accomplishes what her famed beauty could not: capturing the love of her husband. The countess embraces this new role of loving wife and mother, doing everything she can to expand her husband’s power and secure her family’s future. But a darker side surfaces as Countess Báthory’s demand for virtue, obedience, and, above all, respect from her servants takes a sinister turn. What emerges is not only a disturbing, unflinching portrait of the deeds that gave Báthory the moniker “Blood Countess,” but an intimate look at the woman who became a monster.
Author : Lynsay Sands
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 37,49 MB
Release : 2011-01-25
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 0062041665
“You can’t help but fall in love with Lynsay Sands!” —Christina Dodd New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lynsay Sands trades in highland kilts for lush ballrooms and high-waisted gowns in The Countess, the first in a brand new, sexy, laugh-out-loud funny Regency romance series. Fans of Julie Garwood, Jill Barnett, and Teresa Medeiros will adore The Countess, and sympathize with her hilarious attempts to cover up the untimely demise of her despicable husband, even as the late earl’s twin brother sets her heart aflutter. The much adored creator of the popular Argeneau vampire family paranormal romance novels, the incomparable Lynsay is equally adept at historical romance—as this wonderful Regency romp so emphatically demonstrates!
Author : Luann De Lesseps
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 22,97 MB
Release : 2009
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781592404681
Provides advice on etiquette and modern social graces, covering the art of being oneself in any situation, ways to make other people comfortable, and the art of seduction.
Author : Lana Popovic
Publisher : Abrams
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 31,77 MB
Release : 2020-01-28
Category : Young Adult Fiction
ISBN : 1683356438
“A lush and bloody historical thriller” based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula, a Hungarian noblewoman turned serial killer.(Kirkus Reviews) In sixteenth-century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory. When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend, confident and lover. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess t”akes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too. “Popovic balances lush, romantic language with gruesome imagery in this tale of innocence lost. Readers will likely be inspired to do actual research into Lady Bathory’s murderous misdeeds.” —Booklist “Popovic also touches on how a patriarchal society can drive women to extremes without letting the truly terrifying Bathory, or Anna, off the hook for their own actions.” —Kirkus Reviews “Hand to fans of dark historical fiction and powerful female characters.” —School Library Journal
Author : Andrei Codrescu
Publisher : Open Road Media
Page : 342 pages
File Size : 13,76 MB
Release : 2015-07-21
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1504015266
A “brilliant” novel of Elizabeth Bathory, the notorious sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat who bathed in the blood of virgins (St. Petersburg Times). Turmoil reigns in post-Soviet Hungary when journalist Drake Bathory-Kereshtur returns from America to grapple with his family history. He’s haunted by the legacy of his ancestor, the notorious sixteenth-century Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who is said to have murdered more than 650 young virgins and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth. Interweaving past and present, The Blood Countess tells the stories of Elizabeth’s debauched and murderous reign and Drake’s fascination with the eternal clashes of faith and power, violence and beauty. Codrescu traces the captivating origins of the countess’s obsessions in tandem with the emerging political fervor of the reporter, building the narratives into an unforgettable, bloody crescendo. Taut and intense, The Blood Countess is a riveting novel that deftly straddles the genres of historical fiction, thriller, horror, and family drama.
Author : John Stephens
Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
Page : 434 pages
File Size : 40,53 MB
Release : 2015-04-07
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 037589957X
The final book in the bestselling Books of Beginning trilogy that began with The Emerald Atlas, which the New York Times called “a new Narnia for the tween set.” The adventures of siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma come to a stunning conclusion when they must find the last Book of Beginning—the Book of Death—before the Dire Magnus does, for when all three books are united, their combined power will be unstoppable. Soon Emma is on a journey to places both worldly and otherworldly, confronting terrifying monsters and ghosts, and what is darkest within herself. As the fabric of time begins to fray, she becomes the final piece of an extraordinary puzzle. Only if she can master the powers of this most dangerous book will she, Kate, and Michael be able to save the world from the dramatic, deadly final confrontation between magical and ordinary people that the Dire Magnus has in store.
Author : Judith Lynne
Publisher : Judith Lynne
Page : 403 pages
File Size : 50,99 MB
Release : 2020-03-06
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1953984088
She needs a man's help to protect her secret identity. She doesn't need to fall in love. Can he help without drawing her into his own tangled web? London inventor Mr. Cullen is actually Miss Cassandra Cullen, happy hiding behind her letters. When some new customers want to meet face to face, she has to trust Dr. Burke, her favorite correspondent, to help keep her secrets. Trusting Oliver Burke might not be entirely wise. Dr. Burke occupies himself with women and gin, trying to forget his soul-crushing family and the nightmares of the war. He'd rather distance himself from polite society as much as possible. One too many indiscretions, and Cass' father insists: Marry. Now. Nothing less than an earl will do. He doesn't realize his mostly deaf daughter will turn for help to the one man she thinks she knows. Can a woman who's given up on love and a man who's given up on hope find a future together? The Countess Invention is about two people who have to believe in each other to find dizzying pleasure, devastating heartbreak... and forever love. "Sensational and riveting from the first word to the last. ... 10 out of 10." The BookLife Prize It's a historical Regency romance novel with steamy moments and sweet ones, of about 350 pages. It includes an admittedly bad attempt at cross-dressing and a woman who believes in pockets. It also includes a beautiful man who has made love to too many ladies and a Happily Ever After! All Judith Lynne books can stand alone, but old friends stay in touch and old questions are answered as the books progress. A complete timeline is available at judithlynne.com. — Judith Lynne's Regency romances are for modern lovers of classic romance, meticulously researched, with a family of characters as rich and diverse as Britain herself at the time. The Lords and Undefeated Ladies series is light, fun reading featuring characters with disabilities for whom their disability is not the drama. Fans of Mary Balogh and Grace Burrowes will love Judith Lynne. Dukes and thieves, bakers and baronets, inventors and artists and late-night adventurers — you'll meet them all.
Author : Carl Van Vechten
Publisher :
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 18,66 MB
Release : 2020-03-11
Category :
ISBN :
Mr. Van Vechten has hitherto, often and with justice, been compared to Mr. Aldous Huxley, by reason of the insouciant flippancy of his fiction. But now he has gone beyond Huxley through the production of a story which, without ever losing wit, dexterity, an instinct for civilized charm, yet presents full-length and solidly the portraits not only of the gay countess but of the lugubrious persons whom she is fated to meet, to court, to hurt so pitifully, so inevitably. There are, one hears, accounts these days in the public prints of a banker named Dawes, of a biochemist named Brother Charlie or possibly Charley. But now the fifty or sixty thousand amiable citizens among our hundred and ten million Nordics who do not feel fulfilled in Brother Charlie or Charley, nor even in Brother Charlie's brother, may find civilized delight in a real book-"The Tattooed Countess."--The Saturday Review, Volume 1
Author : Catherine Ostler
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 23,32 MB
Release : 2021-04-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1471172570
'A scintillating story superbly told... [Ostler] packs every paragraph with eye-opening detail' The Times 'A rollicking read... [Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto' Sunday Times 'Terrifically entertaining: if you liked Bridgerton, you’ll love this...and her research is impeccable' Evening Standard 'Fascinating. Magnificent. Sensitively told' Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five 'Catherine Ostler’s superb, gripping, decadent biography brings an extraordinary woman and a whole world blazingly to life' Simon Sebag Montefiore When the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence. A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by the Pope and Catherine the Great among others. As maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of the Hanoverian court and her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, and was a constant feature in penny prints and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her. Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale – that of Elizabeth’s fight to overcome personal tragedy and loss. Now, in this brilliantly told and evocative biography, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth’s story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society’s expectations of her. A woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.