Giulia has been an orphan all her life. Raised in Florence's famous Ospedale degli Innocenti, her probing questions and insubordinate behavior made her an unwelcome presence, and at the age of fifteen, she was given an awful choice: become a nun, or be married off to a man she didn't love. She chose neither, and after refusing an elderly suitor, Guilia escaped onto the streets of Florence. Now, after spending two years as a successful pickpocket, an old man catches her about to make off with his purse, and rather than having her carted off to prison he offers her a business proposition. The man claims to be a cabalist, a student of Jewish mysticism and ritual magic, who works for the most powerful families in Florence. But his identity is secret—he is known only as "the Magician of Florence"—and he is in need of an assistant. She accepts the job and begins smuggling his talismans throughout the city. But the talismans are not what they seem, and...

After the death of his half brother, Stefan, at the hands of Vlad Tsepesh--also known as Dracula--and after the destruction of his vampire father, Arkady, also at the hands of Vlad, Abraham van Helsing has traveled the world slaying many vampires. With every vampire he destroys, Bram becomes stronger and Vlad weaker, and soon Bram hopes he will be able to finally kill the fearsome vampire who has kept the Tsepesh family enslaved through a centuries-old blood ritual.But a desperate Vlad and his vampire great-niece, Zsuzanna, summon help from the most powerful, brutal, and beautiful vampire of all--Countess Elizabeth of Bathory. Bram learns of their plot to destroy him, and makes his own move to strike out at Vlad before Vlad can put him to death. He teams up with a courageous band of humans as he hunts Vlad--including Mina Harker and John Seward--and they finally succeed in killing the head of the Tsepesh clan, just as Bram Stoker foretold in Dracula. But the terror does not end with the death of Vlad, for there is another force that drives Vlad, Zsuzanna, Elizabeth and all the vampires, an ancient entity more evil than anything Bram has ever encountered: the Lord of the Vampires. And for Bram to defeat this dark lord, he must once again risk losing his very soul, to save not only his family, but humanity as well.In her final book in The Diaries of the Family Dracul trilogy, Jeanne Kalogridis brilliantly melds her own fascinating story of the Tsepesh family with that of Bram Stoker's classic, Dracula. Told in diary form like the first two books and Stoker's own chilling tale, LORD OF THE VAMPIRES reveals the dark, startling truths behind the original Dracula.From Publishers WeeklyThis final volume in the trilogy of The Diaries of the Family Dracul merges the histories of Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula in a prequel to, and retelling of, the Stoker classic, seeking to fill some of the gaps left by the original. This novel begins with Vlad's journal entries about wartorn Bucharest in 1476, but it swiftly moves to the more familiar territory of Transylvania and London in 1893. There, it follows the starving Count, his vampiric niece, Zsuzsanna, her servant, Dunya, and their undead cousin, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, as they lure mortals, such as Jonathan Harker, into the castle to feed on them. Meanwhile, the noted vampire slayer Abraham Van Helsing awaits Dracula's arrival in London. Using powerful paraphernalia (garlic, crosses, holy water, etc.), he attempts to save Luch and Mina from the undead's evil embrace while trying to foil the family curse and decipher the angelic Arminius's motives. Kalogridis has a firm command of atmosphere, language and character. After the opening chapter, the Count is seen mainly as a shadowy figure integral to, though not illuminated by, the novel's plot, but the spunky Zsuzsanna and ravaged Van Helsing manage to carry the book handily between them. With its descriptions of iron maidens and flaming pokers it would be hard to call this a kinder, gentler, vampire novel, but Kalogridis reconciles the forces of light and darkness in a manner likely to please fans of justice and the genre. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalThink of Kalogridis's series as an embellishment of Stoker's Dracula. While the first two parts (Covenant with the Vampire, LJ 10/1/94, and Children of the Vampire, Delacorte, 1995) were prequels, this volume runs concurrently with the famous novel. Here, Dracula prepares to leave his castle, but he has enemies within. Two other immortals also walk these dark halls, his cousin Zsuzsanna and Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a woman more vile in nature than the count. Together, these women plot his destruction. Meanwhile, using occult powers he has obtained, Van Helsing continues his hunt for Dracula and his spawn. Other characters, such as Mina and Jonathan Harker, Dr. Seward, and Lucy Westenra, also make appearances but not necessarily in the same way as in Stoker's classic. Kalogridis presents a fine mixture of sinister atmosphere, horror, and eroticism. For most public libraries.?Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Bowie, Md.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Painting Mona Lisa" offers an explanation behind the mysteries surrounding da Vinci's famous portrait – why did Leonardo keep the "Mona Lisa" with him until his death? It is April 26, 1478. Lorenzo De Medici, the head of the powerful Florentine Medici family is attacked. He survives, but his younger brother, Giuliano, dies beneath multiple dagger blows. Ten years later, a young Lisa Gherardini listens to her mother retell the story of Giuliano's death, sharing her mother's passion for the arts, and even attending some of the Medici gatherings. But, her father – a follower of the fanatical Dominican monk Fra Girolamo Savonarola – scorns the wicked paganism of the Medicis. Lisa becomes the lover of Lorenzo's son, Giuliano the younger, just as the French king arrives to banish the Medicis from Florence, beginning the reign of the fire-and-brimstone preacher. As they flee, she is forced to marry Francesco, a pious but cruel man. Florence's citizens rise up and hang Savonarola. But even after the friar's execution, the Medici remain banned. Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa's portrait. Having tasted Borgia politics, Leonardo is now acting as the Medici family's agent in Florence. He aims to discover the leaders of the Savonarola underground – working to reinstate their strict theocracy, but also intends to find the man involved in the 1478 murder of Giuliano de Medici the elder. Confessing his love for Lorenzo's brother to Lisa, he tells her that she has reignited the flame in his heart, for his lover's murderer was her the man she though was her father, not one of the conspirators, but a furious husband seeking revenge on his wife's lover. Lisa he helps Leonardo report her father's and husband's to the authorities and together they flee Francesco's revenge and travel to Rome and her half-brothers. Along the way, Lisa and Leonardo make love! Lisa yearns for another child, and Leonardo desperately longs to have his dead lover's child.

The Medici Queen traces the evolution of Catherine de Medici – the great-granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent – from an unloved, timid orphan to France's most cunning monarch, often blamed for the horrific 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. From childhood, Catherine is troubled by bloody visions of her adopted country's evil future, a future she struggles to prevent by practical and occult means. Three times she consults with the astrologer Nostradamus in an effort to learn how to prevent the coming scourge. But when she is unable to give her husband heirs to the French throne, she resorts to the darkest magic possible in order to conceive – only to discover, in the end, that her most beloved child, King Henri III, will be the author of the bloodshed she so fears unless she risks her life and kingdom to destroy him. The Medici Queen is the tale of a country torn apart by religious strife and the savage internecine wars of the royal Valois, Bourbon and Guise dynasties.

From Jeanne Kalogridis, the bestselling author of The Borgia Bride and The Scarlet Contessa, comes a tale of love, loss and treachery set during the perilous days of the Spanish Inquisition1481 Seville: The Inquisition makes its first appearance in Spain.  Its target: conversos, Christians of Jewish descent—specifically those who practice Judaism secretly in their homes. The penalty for “crypto-Judaism”: Burning at the stake.Marisol Garcia, a young conversa, is hurriedly wed to Gabriel, a civil lawyer working for the Inquisition, in hopes that he will protect her. But she still yearns for the childhood love who abandoned her four years earlier, and she’s shocked when he reappears suddenly at her wedding.When her father is arrested and tortured, Marisol finds herself caught between her love for him and her desire to save the lives of her people. After becoming a favorite of the ruthless Queen Isabella, Marisol discovers a dangerous secret about her former lover, Antonio, and finds herself trapped in a life-threatening web of intrigue. As the Inquisition’s snares tighten around her, Marisol’s love for Antonio and loyalty to her Jewish family is tested as never before…The Inquisitor’s Wife reveals the real motivation behind the Inquisition, a frank glance at a “saintly” queen, and the struggles of a maligned people against crushing forces.Review"Dark and majestic . . . Kalogridis deftly illuminates the complexities of the era, while exploring ageless themes of love, loyalty, betrayal and sacrifice. A suspenseful story and a sympathetic heroine make the reader’s heart both pound and break—remarkable!" —Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of *The Kommandant's GirlPraise for The Borgia Bride:“From sexual passion to mortal danger, the dramatic shift of real historical events will keep the reader turning the pages.” —Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl on The Borgia Bride“Entertaining.” —USA Today on The Borgia Bride*About the AuthorJEANNE KALOGRIDIS lives in California, where she shares a house with two dogs. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Borgia Bride, and numerous other dark fantasy and historical novels.