✨ A SMALL LITERARY MASTERPIECE ✨ Enter the fascinating world of Stefan Zweig's Chess Story, where obsession, isolation, and inner struggle are visualized on the most intellectual of battlefields: the chessboard. ✏ This edition with notes and foreword includes: ▶️ A new translation. ▶️ Notes to help you better understand the text. ▶️ A brief prologue that will give you the main keys. ✍️ Immerse yourself in a sharp and captivating narrative. Zweig masterfully handles the suspense and psychological construction of the characters, offering a story that, beyond a game, reflects human tensions and the resilience of the spirit.

An abandoned safe deposit box in a New York City bank is opened to reveal a bundle of old letters, photographs and priceless jewellery. Court clerk Jane Willoughby is charged with discovering more about the mystery of the box's owner, the late Marguerite Wallace Pearson di San Pignelli. Why did Marguerite never claim these most precious possessions? Who are her heirs? Are they still alive? After arranging for the jewellery to be valued, Jane and Christie's auctioneer Phillip Lawton are thrown together in a quest to find out more about Marguerite's story. But neither of them could imagine where the contents of the box could lead them . . . or how it will change their lives forever. An extraordinary, sweeping story from master storyteller Danielle Steel.

Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, sprang from an early passion for the derring-do and larger-than-life heroes of classic comic books. Now, once more mining the rich past, Chabon summons the rollicking spirit of legendary adventures–from The Arabian Nights to Alexandre Dumas to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories–in a wonderful new novel brimming with breathless action, raucous humor, cliff-hanging suspense, and a cast of colorful characters worthy of Scheherazade’s most tantalizing tales. They’re an odd pair, to be sure: pale, rail-thin, black-clad Zelikman, a moody, itinerant physician fond of jaunty headgear, and ex-soldier Amram, a gray-haired giant of a man as quick with a razor-tongued witticism as he is with a sharpened battle-ax. Brothers under the skin, comrades in arms, they make their rootless way through the Caucasus Mountains, circa A.D. 950, living as they please and surviving however they can–as blades and thieves for hire and as practiced bamboozlers, cheerfully separating the gullible from their money. No strangers to tight scrapes and close shaves, they’ve left many a fist shaking in their dust, tasted their share of enemy steel, and made good any number of hasty exits under hostile circumstances. None of which has necessarily prepared them to be dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire. Usurped by his brutal uncle, the callow and decidedly ill-tempered young royal burns to reclaim his rightful throne. But doing so will demand wicked cunning, outrageous daring, and foolhardy bravado . . . not to mention an army. Zelikman and Amram can at least supply the former. But are these gentlemen of the road prepared to become generals in a full-scale revolution? The only certainty is that getting there–along a path paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of–will be much more than half the fun.

This cloth-bound special edition of Danielle Steel's Legacy is enhanced with gold leaf, comes with a special slip case, and is signed by the author. This compelling, centuries-spanning novel brilliantly interweaves the lives of two women--a writer working in the heart of modern academia and a daring young Sioux Indian on an incredible journey in the eighteenth century. The result is an unforgettable story of courage in the face of the unknown. At the age of thirty-eight, Brigitte Nicholson has a job she likes, a man she loves, and a book on the women's suffrage movement that she will finish--someday. Someday is Brigitte's watchword. Someday she and Ted, a rising star in the field of archaeology, will clarify their relationship. Someday she will have children. Someday she will stop playing it so safe. Then, on a snowy day in Boston, Brigitte's life is jolted. Suddenly everything she counted on has changed and she finds herself questioning every choice she has made along the way. As she struggles to regain her balance and plot a new course, Brigitte agrees to help her mother on a family genealogy project. In Salt Lake City at the Family History Library, she makes a stunning discovery--reaching back to the French aristocracy. How did Brigitte's mysterious ancestor Wachiwi, a Dakota Sioux, travel from the Great Plains to the French court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette--and into the arms of a French marquis? How did she come to marry into Brigitte's family? What is the truth behind the tantalizing clues in the fragmented, centuries-old records? Following the threads of Wachiwi's life, Brigitte travels to South Dakota, then on to Paris, irresistibly drawn to this brave young woman who lived so long ago. And as she comes closer to solving the puzzle of Wachiwi's journey, her previously safe, quiet life becomes an adventure of its own. A chance meeting with a writer of historical fiction, a new opportunity, and a difficult choice put Brigitte at last in the forefront of her own story. With a complex and powerful family legacy coming to life around her, someday is no longer in the future. Instead, in Danielle Steel's mesmerizing new novel, someday is now.

Set in 18th century Naples, based on the lives of Sir William Hamilton, his celebrated wife Emma, and Lord Nelson, and peopled with many of the great figures of the day, this unconventional, bestselling historical romance from the National Book Award-winning author of In America touches on themes of sex and revolution, the fate of nature, art and the collector's obsessions, and, above all, love.

THE MEMORIES OF MIDNIGHT START HERE! Welcome to the dazzling and surprising novel of suspense from master storyteller Sidney Sheldon. In Paris...Washington...and a fabulous villa in Greece, an innocent American girl becomes a bewildered, horror-stricken pawn in a game of vengeance and betrayal. She is Catherine Douglas, a woman caught in a web of four lives intertwined by passion as her handsome husband pursues an incredibly beautiful film star...and as Constantin Demiris, a legendary Greek tycoon, tightens the strands that control them all.

Written with a trenchant, sardonic edge, The Group is a dazzlingly outspoken novel and a captivating look at the social history of America between two world wars. "Juicy, shocking, witty, and almost continually brilliant."--CosmopolitanAward-winning Mary McCarthy's most celebrated novel follows the lives of eight Vassar graduates, known simply to their classmates as “the group.” An eclectic mix of personalities and upbringings, they meet a week after graduation to watch Kay Strong get married. After the ceremony, the women begin their adult lives -- traveling to Europe, tackling the worlds of nursing and publishing, and finding love and heartbreak in the streets of New York City. Through the years, some of the friends grow apart and some become entangled in each other's affairs, but all vow not to become like their mothers and fathers. It is only when one of them passes away that they all come back together again to mourn the loss of a friend, a confidante, and most importantly, a member of the group.

The Peloponnesian War, one of history’s most pivotal conflicts, comes to vibrant life in this “unabashedly brilliant, epic, intelligent, and moving” ( Kirkus Reviews ) novel from the bestselling author of Gates of Fire. “Pressfield’s battlefield scenes rank with the most convincing ever written.”— USA Today Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens’ favorite son and the city’s greatest general. A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory. But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies. For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides—and ended up trusted by neither. Narrated from death row by Alcibiades’ bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War is an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation.

WINNER OF THE 2025 NOBEL PRIZE Now in paperback, the capstone to Krasznahorkai’s four-part masterwork, and winner of the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature Set in contemporary times, Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming tells the story of a Prince Myshkin–like figure, Baron Béla Wenckheim, who returns at the end of his life to his provincial Hungarian hometown. Having escaped from his many casino debts in Buenos Aires, where he was living in exile, he longs to be reunited with his high-school sweetheart Marika. Confusions abound, and what follows is an endless storm of gossip, con men, and local politicians, vividly evoking the small town’s alternately drab and absurd existence. All along, the Professor―a world-famous natural scientist who studies mosses and inhabits a bizarre Zen-like shack in a desolate area outside of town?offers long rants and disquisitions on his attempts to immunize himself from thought. Spectacular actions are staged as death and the abyss loom over the unsuspecting townfolk.

A #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Exodus and Trinity, Topaz is the classic Cold War thriller of high intrigue and international suspense set during the Cuban Missile Crisis. On the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Paris, 1962, Devereaux and Nordstrom uncover Soviet plans to ship nuclear arms. But when nobody acts after sharing his findings, Devereaux becomes the target of an assassination attempt and soon realizes the plot extends far beyond Cuba--and himself. A thrilling and well-paced novel filled with Cold War intrigue, Topaz features two agents on a journey around the world to save NATO and themselves.

A New York Times Bestseller From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the story of Francesca Bridgerton, in the sixth of her beloved Regency-set novels featuring the charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix. FRANCESCA'S STORY In every life there is a turning point. A moment so tremendous, so sharp and breathtaking, that one knows one's life will never be the same. For Michael Stirling, London's most infamous rake, that moment came the first time he laid eyes on Francesca Bridgerton. After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer--the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin. But that was then . . . Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love . . . until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets . . .

A New York Times Bestseller A sparkling anthology starring Lady Whistledown--the elusive Regency-era gossip columnist popularized in # 1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn's Bridgerton novels, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix. Lady Whistledown Tells All! Society is abuzz when the Season's most promising debutante is jilted by her intended--only to be swept away by the deceitful rogue's dashing older brother--in New York Times bestseller Julia Quinn's witty, charming, and heartfelt tale. When the scandalous actions of his beautiful fiancée are recorded in Lady Whistledown's column, a concerned groom-to-be rushes back to London to win his lady's heart once and forever, in Suzanne Enoch's enchanting romantic gem. Karen Hawkins captivates with an enduring story of a handsome rogue whose lifelong friendship--and his heart--are tested when the lovely lady in question sets her cap for someone else. A dazzling and delightful tale by Mia Ryan has a young woman cast out of her home by an insufferable yet charming marquis--who intends to take possession not only of the house . . . but its former occupant as well!

A New York Times Bestseller From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the story of Gregory Bridgerton, in the final installment of her beloved Regency-set novels featuring the charming, powerful Bridgerton family, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix. GREGORY'S STORY Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except ... She wasn't the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her best friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory! Except ... Lucy is engaged. And her uncle is not inclined to let her back out of the betrothal, even once Gregory comes to his senses and realizes that it is Lucy, with her sharp wit and sunny smile, who makes his heart sing. And now, on the way to the wedding, Gregory must risk everything to ensure that when it comes time to kiss the bride, he is the only man standing at the altar ...

Join the Bridgertons, and the rest of the ton, as they pore over (and gossip about) Lady Whistledown's latest musings. The elusive Regency-era gossip columnist -- popularized in # 1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn's Bridgerton novels, now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix - reveals society's most recent secrets in this second glittering anthology, following the New York Times bestseller, The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown. Who Stole Lady Neeley's Bracelet Was it the fortune hunter, the gambler, the servant, or the rogue All of London is abuzz with speculation, but it is clear that one of four couples is connected to the crime. --Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, May 1816 Julia Quinn enchants: A dashing fortune hunter is captivated by the Season's most desired debutante . . . and must prove he is out to steal the lady's heart, not her dowry. Suzanne Enoch tantalizes: An innocent miss who has spent her life scrupulously avoiding scandal is suddenly--and secretly--courted by London's most notorious rogue. Karen Hawkins seduces: A roving viscount comes home to rekindle the passionate fires of his marriage . . . only to discover that his beautiful, headstrong bride will not be so easily won. Mia Ryan delights: A lovely, free-spirited servant is dazzled by the romantic attentions of a charming earl . . . sparking a scandalous affair that could ruin them both. You'll hear it first from Lady Whistledown!

Meet Our Hero . . . Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth's sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past . . . and the key to his future. The problem is--it's written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word. Meet Our Heroine . . . All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there's something about her--something charming and vexing--that grabs him and won't quite let go . . . Meet Poor Mr. Mozart . . . Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual--and annually discordant--Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other . . . and that there is nothing as simple--or as complicated--as a single, perfect kiss.

When Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in 1492, what he discovered were the Taino Indians. Told from a young Taino boy's point of view, this is a story of how the boy tried to warn his people against welcoming the strangers, who seemed more interested in golden ornaments than friendship. Years later the boy, now an old man, looks back at the destruction of his people and their culture by the colonizers.

New York Times Bestseller "Nola is the most accomplished kicker of ass since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." --A. J. Finn Zig and Nola are back--in the hugely entertaining, highly anticipated follow-up to Brad Meltzer's #1 New York Times bestselling thriller The Escape Artist. What's the one secret no one knows about you? Archie Mint has a secret. He's led a charmed life--he's got a beautiful wife, two impressive kids, and a successful military career. But when he's killed while trying to stop a robbery in his own home, his family is shattered--and then shocked when the other shoe drops. Mint's been hiding criminal secrets none of them could have imagined. While working on Mint's body before his funeral, mortician "Zig" Zigarowski discovers something he was never meant to see. That telling detail leads him to Mint's former top secret military unit and his connection to artist Nola Brown. Two years ago, Nola saved Zig's life--so he knows better than most that she's as volatile and dangerous as a bolt of lightning. Following Nola's trail, he uncovers one of the U.S. government's most intensely guarded secrets--an undisclosed military facility that dates back to the Cold War and holds the key to something far more sinister: a hidden group willing to compromise the very safety and security of America itself. Trouble always finds her... She's the lightning rod.

The most haunting memoir of the twentieth century—written in exile, published after death, essential for our time. Stefan Zweig was born into the golden age of European civilization, a world that believed in progress, treasured culture above nationalism, and thought peace permanent. From his privileged position in Vienna—cultural capital of the Hapsburg Empire—he witnessed the last great flowering of cosmopolitan humanism. He knew Rilke and Freud, Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. He moved effortlessly between Paris, London, Berlin, and Rome. By the 1920s, he was one of the most translated authors in the world. Then, across three decades, he watched that entire civilization destroy itself. The World of Yesterday is Zweig's attempt to capture what was lost—the intellectual brilliance of pre-war Vienna, the madness of 1914's patriotic fever, the hyperinflation that destroyed Austria's middle class, the rise of Mussolini and Hitler, the nightmare of exile. Writing without access to his notes or library, relying purely on memory, Zweig creates something more valuable than conventional autobiography: a sustained meditation on civilization's fragility, written by a witness who understood exactly what was being destroyed and why it mattered. This is not simply historical testimony. It is warning and prophecy. Zweig describes how quickly democratic norms collapsed, how virulent antisemitism erupted in countries where Jews felt integrated, how cultural achievement proved defenseless against totalitarian barbarism. He chronicles the failure of intellectuals to resist, the transformation of neighbors into enemies, the speed with which cosmopolitan ideals gave way to tribal hatred. The memoir was completed in Brazil in February 1942, mailed to the publisher on February 21st. The next day, Zweig and his wife ended their lives. He could not survive the destruction of everything he valued. But he left us this book—eloquent, heartbroken, clear-eyed about both his generation's achievements and its catastrophic failures. For readers in our own uncertain era, The World of Yesterday speaks with uncomfortable urgency. The questions Zweig asks have become our questions. The dangers he witnessed have not disappeared. His testimony reminds us that civilization is never guaranteed—it must be defended, or it will be lost. A masterwork of witness and warning. The essential memoir of European catastrophe. Required reading for our age.

The second of a funny, fast-paced, Regency-set duet from Julia Quinn, the bestselling author of the global phenomenon Bridgerton When Elizabeth Hotchkiss stumbles upon a copy of How to Marry a Marquis in her employer's library, she's convinced someone is playing a cruel joke. With three younger siblings to support, she knows she has to marry for money, but who might have guessed how desperate she's become? Although . . . a guidebook to seduction might be just the thing she needs - and what harm could there be in taking a little peek? James Sidwell, the Marquis of Riverdale, has been summoned to rescue his aunt from a blackmailer, a task that requires him to pose as the new estate manager, and his primary suspect is his aunt's companion, Elizabeth. Intrigued by the alluring young woman with the curious little rulebook, he gallantly offers to help her find a husband . . . by practicing her wiles on him. But when practise becomes all too perfect, James decides that there is only one rule worth following - that Elizabeth marry her marquis. Find out why readers love Julia Quinn . . . 'A veritable treat' Daily Mail ' Light, pacy and full of feisty heroines ' Guardian on the Bridgerton series 'Julia Quinn's Bridgerton books take all of the classic tropes we know and love . . . and gives them a thoroughly modern twist . I can't focus on anything else' Stylist 'Quinn is a master of historical romance' Entertainment Weekly 'A smart, funny touch' Time Magazine 'Like an episode of Downton Abbey mixed with a great rom-com' iBooks Best Books of March 'Powered by a surfeit of dazzling wit and graced with a cast of unforgettable characters' Booklist ' A romance readers will not want to put down . . . Hooray Julia! ' Romance Reviews Today 'Quinn writes delightfully fast-paced, funny, sparkling and bright romance' Romantic Times 'The next best thing to Georgette Heyer' Gloss 'Julia Quinn is one of the best historical romance novelists of our time' Heroes and Heartbreakers 'Quinn excels in writing stories full of joy and delight , where laughter trembles on the edges' Happy Ever After 'Full of wit, charm and smouldering attraction . . . an unputdownable story that I think romance fans will treasure' Harlequin Junkie 'Quinn is incomparable! The latest addition to her beloved Bridgerton series is funny, charming, witty and wildly romantic' RT Book Reviews

"Taking its title from a group of stories that begin the book, Bream Gives Me Hiccups moves from contemporary L.A. to the dorm rooms of an American college to ancient Pompeii, throwing the reader into a universe of social misfits, reimagined scenes from history, and ridiculous overreactions. In one piece, a tense email exchange between a young man and his girlfriend is taken over by his sister, who is obsessed with the Bosnian genocide (The situation reminds me of a little historical blip called the Karađorđevo agreement); in another, a college freshman forced to live with a roommate is stunned when one of her ramen packets goes missing (she didn't have "one" of my ramens. She had a chicken ramen); in another piece, Alexander Graham Bell has teething problems with his invention (I've been calling Mabel all day, she doesn't pick up! Yes, of course I dialed the right number--2!)" --