The House on the Strand

The House on the Strand

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2013-12-17

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0316252999

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as a guinea pig for a new drug that Magnus has discovered in his scientific research. When Dick samples Magnus's potion, he finds himself doing the impossible: traveling through time while staying in place, thrown all the way back into Medieval Cornwall. The concoction wear off after several hours, but its effects are intoxicating and Dick cannot resist his newfound powers. As his journeys increase, Dick begins to resent the days he must spend in the modern world, longing ever more fervently to get back into his world of centuries before, and the home of the beautiful Lady Isolda... "The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier."-New York Times


Book Synopsis The House on the Strand by : Daphne du Maurier

Download or read book The House on the Strand written by Daphne du Maurier and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dick Young is lent a house in Cornwall by his friend Professor Magnus Lane. During his stay he agrees to serve as a guinea pig for a new drug that Magnus has discovered in his scientific research. When Dick samples Magnus's potion, he finds himself doing the impossible: traveling through time while staying in place, thrown all the way back into Medieval Cornwall. The concoction wear off after several hours, but its effects are intoxicating and Dick cannot resist his newfound powers. As his journeys increase, Dick begins to resent the days he must spend in the modern world, longing ever more fervently to get back into his world of centuries before, and the home of the beautiful Lady Isolda... "The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier."-New York Times


Age of Assassins

Age of Assassins

Author: RJ Barker

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 2017-08-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0316466530

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A young apprentice to an assassin becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that could destroy a kingdom in a brilliant epic fantasy debut by David Gemmell Award-nominated author RJ Barker To catch an assassin, use an assassin... Girton Club-foot has no family, a crippled leg, and is apprenticed to the best assassin in the land. He's learning the art of taking lives, but his latest mission tasks him with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder. In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies, Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire kingdom. Praise for The Wounded Kingdom: "Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun."―Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant "Often poignant and always intriguing, Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller."―Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wild "The most interesting treatment of the fantasy assassin trope in a while, and an involving narrative in its own right."―RT Book Reviews The Wounded Kingdom Age of Assassins Blood of Assassins King of Assassins For more from RJ Barker, check out: The Tide Child Trilogy The Bone Ships Call of the Bone Ships


Book Synopsis Age of Assassins by : RJ Barker

Download or read book Age of Assassins written by RJ Barker and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young apprentice to an assassin becomes embroiled in a conspiracy that could destroy a kingdom in a brilliant epic fantasy debut by David Gemmell Award-nominated author RJ Barker To catch an assassin, use an assassin... Girton Club-foot has no family, a crippled leg, and is apprenticed to the best assassin in the land. He's learning the art of taking lives, but his latest mission tasks him with a far more difficult challenge: to save a life. Someone is trying to kill the heir to the throne, and it is up to Girton to uncover the traitor and prevent the prince's murder. In a kingdom on the brink of civil war and a castle thick with lies, Girton finds friends he never expected, responsibilities he never wanted, and a conspiracy that could destroy an entire kingdom. Praise for The Wounded Kingdom: "Dead gods, dread magic, and a lead that feels like a breath of fresh air. Great fun."―Peter Newman, author of The Vagrant "Often poignant and always intriguing, Age of Assassins reveals its mysteries with the style of a magic show and the artful grace of a gifted storyteller."―Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wild "The most interesting treatment of the fantasy assassin trope in a while, and an involving narrative in its own right."―RT Book Reviews The Wounded Kingdom Age of Assassins Blood of Assassins King of Assassins For more from RJ Barker, check out: The Tide Child Trilogy The Bone Ships Call of the Bone Ships


The Strand Prophecy

The Strand Prophecy

Author: J. B. B. Winner

Publisher: Howler Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0979054850

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An adventure novel about a dark superhero, whose past has obligated him to become the protector of the innocent.


Book Synopsis The Strand Prophecy by : J. B. B. Winner

Download or read book The Strand Prophecy written by J. B. B. Winner and published by Howler Publishing. This book was released on 2007 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An adventure novel about a dark superhero, whose past has obligated him to become the protector of the innocent.


The House on Vesper Sands

The House on Vesper Sands

Author: Paraic O'Donnell

Publisher: Tin House Books

Published: 2021-01-12

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 195114225X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Named a Library Reads Pick, Apple Books' Best Book, Powells’ Pick, Amazon Fiction & Literature's “Best of the Month," The Millions' Top Ten Book of the Month, and one of CrimeReads' and Oprah Daily's Best Historical Novels of 2021 "Funny, eerie, tender, haunting and unsettling, smokily atmospheric, and fantastically enjoyable." ?Helen Macdonald, author of Vesper Flights London, 1893: high up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances? On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters—despite her employer’s preference that she stick to a women’s society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands. By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, The House on Vesper Sands offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.


Book Synopsis The House on Vesper Sands by : Paraic O'Donnell

Download or read book The House on Vesper Sands written by Paraic O'Donnell and published by Tin House Books. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a Library Reads Pick, Apple Books' Best Book, Powells’ Pick, Amazon Fiction & Literature's “Best of the Month," The Millions' Top Ten Book of the Month, and one of CrimeReads' and Oprah Daily's Best Historical Novels of 2021 "Funny, eerie, tender, haunting and unsettling, smokily atmospheric, and fantastically enjoyable." ?Helen Macdonald, author of Vesper Flights London, 1893: high up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O’Donnell’s Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow, but burning with questions: why does the seamstress jump from the window? Why is a cryptic message stitched into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances? On the case is Inspector Cutter, a detective as sharp and committed to his work as he is wryly hilarious. Gideon Bliss, a Cambridge dropout in love with one of the missing girls, stumbles into a role as Cutter’s sidekick. And clever young journalist Octavia Hillingdon sees the case as a chance to tell a story that matters—despite her employer’s preference that she stick to a women’s society column. As Inspector Cutter peels back the mystery layer by layer, he leads them all, at last, to the secrets that lie hidden at the house on Vesper Sands. By turns smart, surprising, and impossible to put down, The House on Vesper Sands offers a glimpse into the strange undertow of late nineteenth-century London and the secrets we all hold inside us.


The House of Closed Doors

The House of Closed Doors

Author: Jane Steen

Publisher: Aspidistra Press

Published: 2012-10-08

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0985715014

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Heedless. Stubborn. Disgraced. Small town Illinois, 1870: "My stepfather was not particularly fond of me to begin with, and now that he'd found out about the baby, he was foaming at the mouth" Desperate to avoid marriage, Nell Lillington refuses to divulge the name of her child's father and accepts her stepfather's decision that the baby be born at a Poor Farm and discreetly adopted. Until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out. Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and rethinks her decision to abandon her own child to fate. But even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby she may have no safe place to run to.


Book Synopsis The House of Closed Doors by : Jane Steen

Download or read book The House of Closed Doors written by Jane Steen and published by Aspidistra Press. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heedless. Stubborn. Disgraced. Small town Illinois, 1870: "My stepfather was not particularly fond of me to begin with, and now that he'd found out about the baby, he was foaming at the mouth" Desperate to avoid marriage, Nell Lillington refuses to divulge the name of her child's father and accepts her stepfather's decision that the baby be born at a Poor Farm and discreetly adopted. Until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out. Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and rethinks her decision to abandon her own child to fate. But even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby she may have no safe place to run to.


The Savage Instinct

The Savage Instinct

Author: Marjorie DeLuca

Publisher: Inkshares

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1947848682

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"DeLuca keeps readers guessing. Minette Walters fans will be pleased." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace and Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, this taut psychological thriller offers a delicious take on deviant and defiant Victorian women in a time when marriage itself was its own prison. England, 1873. Clara Blackstone has just been released after one year in a private asylum for the insane. Clara has two goals: to reunite with her husband, Henry, and to never—ever—return to the asylum. As she enters Durham, Clara finds her carriage surrounded by a mob gathered to witness the imprisonment of Mary Ann Cotton—England’s first female serial killer—accused of poisoning nearly twenty people, including her husbands and children. Clara soon finds the oppressive confinement of her marriage no less terrifying than the white-tiled walls of Hoxton. And as she grows increasingly suspicious of Henry’s intentions, her fascination with Cotton grows. Soon, Cotton is not just a notorious figure from the headlines, but an unlikely confidante, mentor—and perhaps accomplice—in Clara’s struggle to protect her money, her freedom, and her life.


Book Synopsis The Savage Instinct by : Marjorie DeLuca

Download or read book The Savage Instinct written by Marjorie DeLuca and published by Inkshares. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "DeLuca keeps readers guessing. Minette Walters fans will be pleased." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace and Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, this taut psychological thriller offers a delicious take on deviant and defiant Victorian women in a time when marriage itself was its own prison. England, 1873. Clara Blackstone has just been released after one year in a private asylum for the insane. Clara has two goals: to reunite with her husband, Henry, and to never—ever—return to the asylum. As she enters Durham, Clara finds her carriage surrounded by a mob gathered to witness the imprisonment of Mary Ann Cotton—England’s first female serial killer—accused of poisoning nearly twenty people, including her husbands and children. Clara soon finds the oppressive confinement of her marriage no less terrifying than the white-tiled walls of Hoxton. And as she grows increasingly suspicious of Henry’s intentions, her fascination with Cotton grows. Soon, Cotton is not just a notorious figure from the headlines, but an unlikely confidante, mentor—and perhaps accomplice—in Clara’s struggle to protect her money, her freedom, and her life.


The House Between Tides

The House Between Tides

Author: Sarah Maine

Publisher: Cargo Publishing

Published: 2016-06-21

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1910449792

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A beautiful debut novel set in the Outer Hebrides, The House Between Tides strips back layers of the past to reveal a dark mystery. In the present day, Hetty Deveraux returns to the family home of Muirlan House on a remote Hebridean island estate following the untimely death of her parents. Torn between selling the house and turning it into a hotel, Hetty undertakes urgent repairs, accidentally uncovering human remains. Who has been lying beneath the floorboards for a century? Were they murdered? Through diaries and letters she finds, Hetty discovers that the house was occupied at the turn of the century by distant relative Beatrice Blake, a young aristocratic woman recently married to renowned naturalist and painter, Theodore Blake. With socialist and suffragist leanings Beatrice is soon in conflict with her autocratic new husband, who is distant, and wrapped up in Cameron, a young man from the island. As Beatrice is also drawn to Cameron, life for them becomes dangerous, sparking a chain of events that will change many lives, leaving Hetty to assemble the jigsaw of clues piece by piece one hundred years later, as she obsessively chases the truth. In The House Between Tides, author Sarah Maine uses her skills as a storyteller to create an utterly compelling historical mystery set in a haunting and beautifully evoked location. 'Last night, debut author Maine dreamed of a contemporary spin on classic Gothic tropes. Orphan Hetty Deveraux has inherited a crumbling, wind-battered mansion on a remote Muirland Island in western Scotland, "on the edge of the world." The day she arrives to inspect her new property, however, local assessor James Cameron has found a skeleton beneath the floorboards. Who is it, and how long has it been there? Abandoned since the war, the house was the refuge of Theo Blake, a Turner-esque painter-turned-mad recluse and a distant relative of Hetty's. At loose ends since the deaths of her parents, Hetty hopes restoring the house will serve as a new beginning. Meanwhile, in 1910, Theo Blake brings his new bride to Muirland House, whose landscapes have inspired some of his most famous paintings. Maine skillfully balances a Daphne du Maurier atmosphere with a Barbara Vine-like psychological mystery as she guides the reader back and forth on these storylines. The two narrative threads are united by the theme of conservation versus exploitation: Muirland is a habitat for several species of rare birds, threatened in the 1910 plot by Blake's determination to kill and mount them for his collection and in the 2010 story by Hetty's half-formed plans to transform Muirland House into a luxury hotel. Local man Cameron wants to see the island preserved as "a precious place, wild and unspoiled, a sanctuary for more than just the birds." The setting emerges as the strongest personality in this compelling story, evoking passion in the characters as fierce as the storms which always lurk on the horizon. A debut historical thriller which deftly blends classic suspense with modern themes.' Kirkus 'Muirlan Island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides provides the sensuous setting for British author Maine's impressive debut, which charts the parallel quests of two women a century apart. [...] Vivid descriptions of the island's landscape and weather enhance this beautifully crafted novel.' Publisher's Weekly 'There is an echo of Daphne du Maurier's Rebeca in Sarah Maine's appealing debut noel, when human remains are found beneath the floorboards of a derelict mansion on a Scottish island... a highly readable debut.' Independent 'A tremendous accomplishment. So assured, so well-judged, and with such an involving story to tell, this might be the author's fifth or sixth novel, not her first. A literary star is born!' Ronald Frame, author of The Lantern Bearers and Havisham


Book Synopsis The House Between Tides by : Sarah Maine

Download or read book The House Between Tides written by Sarah Maine and published by Cargo Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautiful debut novel set in the Outer Hebrides, The House Between Tides strips back layers of the past to reveal a dark mystery. In the present day, Hetty Deveraux returns to the family home of Muirlan House on a remote Hebridean island estate following the untimely death of her parents. Torn between selling the house and turning it into a hotel, Hetty undertakes urgent repairs, accidentally uncovering human remains. Who has been lying beneath the floorboards for a century? Were they murdered? Through diaries and letters she finds, Hetty discovers that the house was occupied at the turn of the century by distant relative Beatrice Blake, a young aristocratic woman recently married to renowned naturalist and painter, Theodore Blake. With socialist and suffragist leanings Beatrice is soon in conflict with her autocratic new husband, who is distant, and wrapped up in Cameron, a young man from the island. As Beatrice is also drawn to Cameron, life for them becomes dangerous, sparking a chain of events that will change many lives, leaving Hetty to assemble the jigsaw of clues piece by piece one hundred years later, as she obsessively chases the truth. In The House Between Tides, author Sarah Maine uses her skills as a storyteller to create an utterly compelling historical mystery set in a haunting and beautifully evoked location. 'Last night, debut author Maine dreamed of a contemporary spin on classic Gothic tropes. Orphan Hetty Deveraux has inherited a crumbling, wind-battered mansion on a remote Muirland Island in western Scotland, "on the edge of the world." The day she arrives to inspect her new property, however, local assessor James Cameron has found a skeleton beneath the floorboards. Who is it, and how long has it been there? Abandoned since the war, the house was the refuge of Theo Blake, a Turner-esque painter-turned-mad recluse and a distant relative of Hetty's. At loose ends since the deaths of her parents, Hetty hopes restoring the house will serve as a new beginning. Meanwhile, in 1910, Theo Blake brings his new bride to Muirland House, whose landscapes have inspired some of his most famous paintings. Maine skillfully balances a Daphne du Maurier atmosphere with a Barbara Vine-like psychological mystery as she guides the reader back and forth on these storylines. The two narrative threads are united by the theme of conservation versus exploitation: Muirland is a habitat for several species of rare birds, threatened in the 1910 plot by Blake's determination to kill and mount them for his collection and in the 2010 story by Hetty's half-formed plans to transform Muirland House into a luxury hotel. Local man Cameron wants to see the island preserved as "a precious place, wild and unspoiled, a sanctuary for more than just the birds." The setting emerges as the strongest personality in this compelling story, evoking passion in the characters as fierce as the storms which always lurk on the horizon. A debut historical thriller which deftly blends classic suspense with modern themes.' Kirkus 'Muirlan Island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides provides the sensuous setting for British author Maine's impressive debut, which charts the parallel quests of two women a century apart. [...] Vivid descriptions of the island's landscape and weather enhance this beautifully crafted novel.' Publisher's Weekly 'There is an echo of Daphne du Maurier's Rebeca in Sarah Maine's appealing debut noel, when human remains are found beneath the floorboards of a derelict mansion on a Scottish island... a highly readable debut.' Independent 'A tremendous accomplishment. So assured, so well-judged, and with such an involving story to tell, this might be the author's fifth or sixth novel, not her first. A literary star is born!' Ronald Frame, author of The Lantern Bearers and Havisham


Don't Look Now

Don't Look Now

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Publisher: Little, Brown

Published: 2013-12-17

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0316253642

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Daphne du Maurier is in a class by herself." --New York Times A married couple on holiday in Venice are caught up in a sinister series of events. A lonely schoolmaster is impelled to investigate a mysterious American couple. A young woman loses her cool when she confronts her father's old friend on a lonely island. A party of British pilgrims meet strange phenomena and possible disaster in the Holy Land. A scientist abandons his scruples while trying to tap the energy of the dying mind. Collecting five stories of mystery and slow, creeping horror, Daphne Du Maurier's Don't Look Now and Other Stories showcases her unique blend of sympathy and spinetingling suspense.


Book Synopsis Don't Look Now by : Daphne du Maurier

Download or read book Don't Look Now written by Daphne du Maurier and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2013-12-17 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Daphne du Maurier is in a class by herself." --New York Times A married couple on holiday in Venice are caught up in a sinister series of events. A lonely schoolmaster is impelled to investigate a mysterious American couple. A young woman loses her cool when she confronts her father's old friend on a lonely island. A party of British pilgrims meet strange phenomena and possible disaster in the Holy Land. A scientist abandons his scruples while trying to tap the energy of the dying mind. Collecting five stories of mystery and slow, creeping horror, Daphne Du Maurier's Don't Look Now and Other Stories showcases her unique blend of sympathy and spinetingling suspense.


Strange Tales from the Strand

Strange Tales from the Strand

Author: Jack Adrian

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780192829979

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Containing twenty-nine stories of the weird and uncanny, all originally published in the Strand, this collection is an enthralling mix of horror and the supernatural, unnatural disasters, madness, and revenge. We read of a germ that turned the world blind in Edgar Wallace's "The Black Grippe." In "A Sense of the Future," the world supply of oil gives out, cars become obsolete, and after three months we have returned to the days of horse-drawn carriages. In other tales, a camera takes pictures of the future, and a 1971 newspaper is pushed through a mail slot forty years earlier. With spine-tingling stories from the likes of Sapper, Graham Greene, D.H. Lawrence, and Arthur Conan Doyle, and a comic fantasy by H.G. Wells, as well as two tales from the children's writer E. Nesbit, Strange Tales from the Strand provides a rich collection for all lovers of the macabre.


Book Synopsis Strange Tales from the Strand by : Jack Adrian

Download or read book Strange Tales from the Strand written by Jack Adrian and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1992 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing twenty-nine stories of the weird and uncanny, all originally published in the Strand, this collection is an enthralling mix of horror and the supernatural, unnatural disasters, madness, and revenge. We read of a germ that turned the world blind in Edgar Wallace's "The Black Grippe." In "A Sense of the Future," the world supply of oil gives out, cars become obsolete, and after three months we have returned to the days of horse-drawn carriages. In other tales, a camera takes pictures of the future, and a 1971 newspaper is pushed through a mail slot forty years earlier. With spine-tingling stories from the likes of Sapper, Graham Greene, D.H. Lawrence, and Arthur Conan Doyle, and a comic fantasy by H.G. Wells, as well as two tales from the children's writer E. Nesbit, Strange Tales from the Strand provides a rich collection for all lovers of the macabre.


London's 'Golden Mile'

London's 'Golden Mile'

Author: Manolo Guerci

Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre

Published: 2021-10-22

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781913107239

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A reconstruction of the 'Strand palaces', where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to build and furnish new, secular cathedrals This book reconstructs the so-called "Strand palaces"--eleven great houses that once stood along the Strand in London. Between 1550 and 1650, this was the capital's "Golden Mile" home to a unique concentration of patrons and artists, and where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to establish themselves by building and furnishing new, secular cathedrals. Their inventive, eclectic, and yet carefully-crafted mix of vernacular and continental features not only shaped some of the greatest country houses of the day, but also the image of English power on the world stage. It also gave rise to a distinctly English style, which was to become the symbol of a unique architectural period. The product of almost two decades of research, and benefitting from close archival investigation, this book brings together an incredible array of unpublished sources that sheds new light on one of the most important chapters in London's architectural history, and on English architecture more broadly.


Book Synopsis London's 'Golden Mile' by : Manolo Guerci

Download or read book London's 'Golden Mile' written by Manolo Guerci and published by Paul Mellon Centre. This book was released on 2021-10-22 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reconstruction of the 'Strand palaces', where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to build and furnish new, secular cathedrals This book reconstructs the so-called "Strand palaces"--eleven great houses that once stood along the Strand in London. Between 1550 and 1650, this was the capital's "Golden Mile" home to a unique concentration of patrons and artists, and where England's early-modern and post-Reformation elites jostled to establish themselves by building and furnishing new, secular cathedrals. Their inventive, eclectic, and yet carefully-crafted mix of vernacular and continental features not only shaped some of the greatest country houses of the day, but also the image of English power on the world stage. It also gave rise to a distinctly English style, which was to become the symbol of a unique architectural period. The product of almost two decades of research, and benefitting from close archival investigation, this book brings together an incredible array of unpublished sources that sheds new light on one of the most important chapters in London's architectural history, and on English architecture more broadly.