The story of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket (and the last six years of his life) is presented in an intelligent and interesting format by viewing these events through the eyes of twin boys, Simon and Edmund, who are (respectively) in the service of Thomas Becket and King Henry II ( Saint Thomas' friend-turned-enemy).
Citadel of God is set in Italy of the early 6th century. The Roman Empire is decaying. An Ostrogoth king, Theodoric, is marching in triumph to occupy Italy. A young boy, ward of the respected Roman scholar Boethius, rushes in to stab the barbarian conquerer with a stylus in defense of Old Rome and is rescued from death by a young scholar from Nursia who is called Benedictus.
The Laviniad is a truly unique work; the story is unique and the book itself is unique.
First the story: The author successfully writes in the style of the ancient epic in modern English, picking up the thread of the story of the Aeneid. The Laviniad takes up the tale of the Trojan settlement of Latium following the death of Aeneas. His son, Ascanius, assumes the leadership and almost immediatley must deal with the threat of Italians still hostile to the Trojan presence.
Set in Palestine in the days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., this is a beautiful and powerful story of a Greek family living in the city of Philadelphia. On one of his business journeys, their father, who is a merchant/businessman, rescues a man whom Roman soldiers had left in the desert to die. The merchant's three sons have diverse reactions to this stranger who becomes part of the household, but when the Father is killed by bandits on a later journey, it seems that this stranger without a memory may have a providential role in their future.
When Hylas, a slave, discovers the death of his master, a Roman senator, he realizes that he is in dire straits. The harsh laws of ancient Rome dictate that all household slaves be killed should a murder be discovered in that home. Hylas enlists the help of Camillus Rufus, a tribune, to help clear the slaves of the judge's inevitable verdict of 'guilty!'
Madeleine Takes Command is a story of heroism. Based on a true account in the winter 1692-93 in the wilderness of French Canada, fourteen-year-old Madeleine, along with her brothers, twelve-year-old Louis and ten-year-old Alexandre, hold down the fort against a raiding Iroquois party.
This is a somewhat unusual, but highly rewarding story of a half-wild woodsman (who "lived by the woods. He had no trade, he couldn't farm a lick or keep a store or run a tavern. All he knew to do was follow the bear and deer through the woods and sleep in caves and hollow trees.") and his eleven year old son Caje. Caje and his father travel through the wilderness - living off the land and escaping from unfriendly Indians. Although Caje would love to settle down in a real house among civilized people, his father is happier in the woods and frets about being "beholden to others".
This Bethlehem Budget Book contains two books in one softcover volume: Old Sam, Thoroughbred Trotter (copyright 1955) and Old Sam and the Horse Thieves (copyright 1967).
This story is told in the style of a journal written by a ten year old girl who travels by wagon train with her parents and her twelve year old brother from St. Joseph, Missouri to Fort Laramie (Wyoming) in 1860. The author relates a very detailed account of how life was lived on a highly organized wagon train (and some comparisons with one that was slopped together and suffered great difficulties from it). We also see the growth of character in the family (particularly the mother) who must accustome themselves to hard labor and ignoring their previous station in society.
"Virtue Conquers" is the theme of this charming, wholesome adventure story set in the Middle Ages, during the reign of Edward III of England. Eustace, the scholarly but valiant brother-in-law of Sir Reginald Lynwood, goes as his squire to Spain under the banner of the English sovereign. In his first battle, he loses his brother-in-law but gains a knight's spurs for his courage.