Victorian War

1879. The British Empire marches into Zululand, and disaster. Newly commissioned and untested, Second Lieutenant William Blackwood arrives from Monmouthshire to the wild frontier of South Africa, as Her Majesty’s forces prepare to crush the Zulu Kingdom. For Blackwood, it is meant to be the beginning of a proud military career: clean uniforms, sharp commands, and the steady march of empire. Instead, he finds confusion, chaos, and the first bitter lessons of war. Tasked with reinforcing a remote column of British and colonial troops, Blackwood is plunged into a campaign of dust-choked ...

Snow and gunfire announce the Siege of Sherpur. As winter closes in on Afghanistan, the British and Indian garrison withdraws into Sherpur Cantonment, a sprawling fortress beneath the frozen hills. What begins as uneasy occupation turns swiftly into encirclement. Afghan forces gather in vast numbers across the plain and on the surrounding heights, their fires burning closer each night, their attacks growing bolder with every passing hour. There is no single front and no respite. By day, skirmishers and artillery test the walls. By night, shadows creep through nullahs and ditches, steel ...

June 1879. The Zulu Kingdom stands defiant, and Lord Chelmsford’s redcoats march for its heart. The campaign nears its climax, and the British forces gather their strength for the final advance on Ulundi. After months of marching, building, and battle, Lieutenant William Blackwood and the Monmouthshire Fusiliers push east through the wild country of the White Mfolozi. Behind them lie the forts they have built and the comrades they have buried; ahead, the capital of the Zulu kingdom and the promise of victory hard-won. Ordered to join Lord Chelmsford’s main column in the drive toward ...

“You have not laid eyes on me in five years. Do not call me your wife.” The gossip columns claim that the Duchess of Kensington is pregnant. Which is outrageous, considering that she has not seen her husband in five years. Having already seen his first wife to the grave, Dominic does not wish to repeat the past. So, he must keep his distance from his new Duchess. Yet… despite his indifference, Dominic is enraged to hear the rumors. And he returns to London to demand her submission. Only to find her in utter disobedience… And even more irresistible than he remembered.

March 1879. Zululand burns, and the fate of the frontier will be decided on the blood-red heights of Kambula. Second Lieutenant William Blackwood, marches north with the Monmouthshire Fusiliers as Her Majesty’s forces prepare to strike a hammer blow against the enemy. Assigned to Colonel Evelyn Wood’s elite flying column on the untamed frontier, Blackwood is swept into a relentless campaign of raids, skirmishes, and mountain warfare. Here, loyalty is measured in blood, and every patrol could be a man’s last. From the shattered ridges of Hlobane to the storm-wracked heights of Kambula,...

Some battles are fought long after the war ends. Two years after losing her husband at Waterloo, Elizabeth Bennet has built a life of quiet dignity from the ashes of tragedy. She needs no one's pity and no one's charity—until a mysterious gentleman's act of kindness forces her to confront both her fierce independence and her growing loneliness. Fitzwilliam Darcy returned from Belgium haunted by survivor's guilt and searching for meaning in his continued existence. In Elizabeth and her young son, he finds purpose—but his desire to protect threatens to destroy the very thing he hopes to ...

Autumn 1879. The empire marches north. Lieutenant William Blackwood and the Monmouthshire Fusiliers return from Africa, only to be swept into another conflict as Afghanistan erupts in violence. The murder of the British mission in Kabul sends shockwaves through the Raj, forcing an immediate reaction. Major General Roberts is ordered to form a new field force, and Blackwood’s regiment is ordered to the frontier to force a passage into the mountains. From the furnace heat of Bombay to the thin air of the Shutargardan Pass, the advance is relentless. Roads crumble into mule tracks. Supply ...

When diplomatic efforts to introduce opium to the Chinese market failed, the British Parliament approved an alternative: war. There were two wars: one from 1839 to 1842, and another from 1856 to 1860. They are collectively known as the Opium Wars. The British, who were joined by French and supported by the Americans and Russians, clashed with Imperial China, which was ruled by the Qing dynasty.

Dive into the epic saga of England's monarchy with "Monarchs of England: A Journey Through Time," a comprehensive and captivating exploration of the kings and queens who have shaped the history of England from the Norman Conquest to the modern day. This detailed narrative brings to life the Norman Kings who laid the foundations of the English monarchy, the formidable Plantagenets who ruled during an era of unprecedented expansion and conflict, and the rival houses of Lancaster and York, whose struggles culminated in the Wars of the Roses. Witness the rise of the Tudor dynasty, known for its...

The New York Times bestselling novel that has been called “a tour de force” (Wall Street Journal), “unputdownable” (The Washington Post), “a delicious hothouse of a novel” (USA Today), “effortless” (The Economist), “seductive” (Vanity Fair) and “pitch perfect” (Salon)...

“Watson, there is not a moment to lose. If you care to join the chase, pack your bag at once!” Likewise, enthusiasts of the greatest detective will not want to miss this opportunity to join Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in a whirlwind of exciting new adventures… A daring thief penetrates the defenses of the Tower of London in search of a secret treasure. A profligate young actor is accused of murdering his exemplary sibling. From the safe of a prominent London banker, a priceless heirloom is stolen. Upon a high cliff, a ghostly assassin commits an impossible murder. A kingpin of ...

Three books from the best-selling series of new Sherlock Holmes stories all in one volume. The Adventure of Mata Hari’s Harem: An immediate sequel to His Last Bow. After Holmes and Watson foil Van Bork's treason plot, he is recruited by the British government for another espionage assignment. He will be sent to Europe to discover the secret plans of the Germans for conquering Europe. Holmes agrees, but insists on naming his helper. He chooses Mata Hari, the most famous of all double agents. Together they travel through France, the Netherlands, and Germany. Holmes deduces. Mata Hari ...

Joseph Chamberlain was one of the most forceful British politicians never to become Prime Minister. He began as the great civic reformer of Birmingham, a radical mayor who believed that public power could transform urban life. Gas, water, streets, schools, sanitation, and municipal pride were not small administrative matters to him. They were proof that government could act, improve, and command. But Chamberlain did not remain only a municipal reformer. He carried the same restless energy into national politics, where he became one of the leading radical Liberals of his age. Then came ...

This volume contains all 22 of the fictional ghost stories previously published by H.E. Bulstrode between 2016 and 2022, although it omits his occult fiction. Drawing heavily upon British folklore, legend and history, these stories tap into a deep and shadowy past which seeps, sometimes erupts, into the present, whether that ‘present’ should be eleventh-century England, or today. These are ghost stories with a twist written in the ‘classic’ vein, which is to say that they contain not so much gore as a sense of the uncanny, often steeped in antiquarianism. Others possess a distinctly...

My only true love is gone. I only wish he knew how much I loved him. Arabella Marchmont was destroyed when she found out that Jacob died in the war. It was her fault he was there in the first place. She just couldn’t take him seriously when he proposed, and before she could rectify her mistake he was already gone. The agonizing wait for him to return began, but tragedy struck leaving Arabella to only wonder what could have been. Jacob was gone from this world, and life had to move on. A long time later, when the Earl of Winchester proposes, everyone understood that it was time, finally ...

The war to end the slave trade has only just begun. When his brother is brutally murdered in the lawless streets of Freetown, Henry "Harry" Crawford abandons his old life and joins the Royal Marines, burning with vengeance. Sent to the savage West African coast, Harry hunts the slavers who still cram human beings into stinking holds and race to outrun the Royal Navy. In a desperate boarding action he charges straight into a deadly ambush, facing musket fire, betrayal and a cannon loaded with death. There, chained in the blood-soaked darkness, he meets Kofi, a fierce African warrior who has ...

An espionage thriller that has been called the first great spy novel, it has sustained its popularity, being embraced by each new generation. The first in a series of five novels it features the spy Richard Hannay, an action hero with a stiff upper lip who gets caught up in a dangerous race against a plot by German spies to destroy the British war effort. When Richard Hannay offers sanctuary to an American agent seeking his help in stopping a political assassination, he takes the first step on a trail of peril and espionage.

Deborah would gladly spend her life saving others. It could be though that the one she wants to save the most is one that is beyond her reach. Through the war, Deborah found her purpose. With the abbey she was raised in opened up to the wounded, she found no shortage of need for her calming smile, quick mind, and skill at tending to the sick and injured. She couldn’t imagine that with the war winding down, her life wouldn’t just continue in the abbey as she gets ready to take her vows and become a nun. Before this happens though, someone from the wealthy Duke of Harksbury’s estate ...

Enemies. On the run. Enemies until..."What if I never see you again?" Union Captain John Howe escaped a living hell when he tunneled his way out of a Confederate prison, but his ordeal was far from over. Now he was saddled with his own prisoner, the sad, stubborn Amanda Douglas, on a journey that would change them forever. Even her previous spartan existence had not prepared Amanda for the dangerous trek she was now making--entirely against her will. Could a privileged Yankee son and a poor, proud Rebel girl keep their love safe from the rest of the world?

Sherlock Holmes and his alternate world companions are staging a coup against the Gears Worlds Empire! And it’s going to turn everything around for the invasion, but also for Holmes, With an unexpected twist of events when he meets the Goddess of Gears, And for her as well. And back on Sherlock’s home world, Steampunk continues to stir the Pot with his bold and rather brash ways of solving cases. On both worlds, things are going to change in big ways for both Sherlock Holmes and the duplicate Holmes, Steampunk Holmes, in A smashing conclusion to the four-book series!