Retells the Arthurian legend of Perceval, a foolish and impatient boy who realizes his dream of becoming a great knight, but meets with misfortune when he forgets to pray and serve God.
Medieval England
Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood
Comic-book writer, Tony Lee retells the heroic Robin Hood story, with an emphasis on the bandit’s childhood and Crusader experiences.
A Parcel of Patterns (Plus)
“A parcel of patterns brought the plague to Eyam. A parcel sent up from London to George Vicars, a journeyman tailor, who was lodging with Mrs. Cooper in a cottage by the west end of the churchyard.
So begins Mall Percival’s account of how her village of Eyam struggled against the plague. George Vicars dies on September 6, 1665, and by the end of October, twenty-five more townsfolk have been buried. As the deaths continue, the villagers, including Mall, begin to panic–helpless to fight off the disease. Uncertain as to how it is contracted and passed from one person to another, Mall forces herself to make a sacrifice that radically changes her life–she decides to stops seeing Thomas Torre, a man from another village, the man she hopes to marry. In June of 1966, at their minister’s urging, the entire village makes a pact to protect those who live in the surrounding countryside by staying within the boundaries of Eyam. Although Mall longs to see Thomas, she remains steadfast in her resolution, until one day Thomas runs into the center of Eyam, knowing that he will not be allowed to leave, yet fearing that Mall has died. Mall and Thomas marry, but their happiness is short-lived. Finally, in October of 1666, the pestilence subsides. Mall, overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, decides to write a chronicle of all she has witnessed in Eyam, hoping that it will set her free.
The Magician’s Apprentice (Adventures In Time)
In 1264, Jean of Toulouse, a young French student and friar accused of heresy by the Inquisition, is sent to Oxford to spy on the scholarly monk, Roger Bacon, who is suspected of being a heretic for his advanced scientific ideas.
Here Lies Arthur
Gwynna is just a girl who is forced to run when her village is attacked and burns to the ground. To her horror, she is discovered in the wood. But it is Myrddin the bard who has found her, a traveler and spinner of tales. He agrees to protect Gwynna if she will agree to be bound in service to him. Gwynna is frightened but intrigued-and says yes-for this Myrddin serves the young, rough, and powerful Arthur. In the course of their travels, Myrddin transforms Gwynna into the mysterious Lady of the Lake, a boy warrior, and a spy. It is part of a plot to transform Arthur from the leader of (con’t) (con’d from summary) a ragtag war band into King Arthur, the greatest hero of all time. If Gwynna and Myrrdin’s trickery is discovered, what will become of Gwynna? Worse, what will become of Arthur? Only the endless battling, the mighty belief of men, and the sheer cunning of one remarkable girl will tell.
The Silver Cup
It’s the year 1095, and fifteen-year-old Anna longs for a different life in her small German village. But as the seasons turn, the year proves anything but ordinary. Her beloved youngest cousin disappears, and another cousin, Martin, runs away to join a murderous army of renegade Crusaders. When Anna risks everything to rescue Leah, an orphaned Jewish girl whose only connection to her former life is a silver cup, the two girls forge a friendship that defies the intolerance of their time. Filling her story with fascinating period details, debut novelist Constance Leeds paints a rich, colorful picture of an eleventh-century life marked by courage, will, and most of all-hope.Winner of the 2008 IRA Children’s and Young Adult Book Award in the Intermediate Fiction Category.
Hunted
Brind, who was raised with Sir Edmund’s pack of hunting dogs, is the huntsman of Dowe Manor. Together with his best friend, the mastiff Glaive, and the rest of the pack, he protects Sir Edmund, Lady Beatrice, and their foster daughter, Aurélie. But suddenly a tragedy strikes, one that Brind cannot prevent. In a fit of grief, Sir Edmund throws Brind, Glaive, and Aurélie—and her puppy, Gabion—out of the manor. Everywhere they turn, the vicious and lethal Black Death closely follows, as though they are bringing it with them. Can they evade this invisible enemy, as well as the angry mobs, the rogue soldiers, and the other sinister figures now threatening them? Glaive and Gabion—born to hunt, not to be hunted—may be their only chance for survival. Plague-bringers or not, Brind and Aurélie will never stop fighting to keep themselves—and their small family—alive.