Books with author dowswell-paul

When Lukas Declercq is orphaned, his uncle summons him to Prague, a refuge for Europe’s greatest alchemists and natural philosophers. Uncle Anselmus is court physician to Rudolph II, the reclusive and unstable emperor. He is also curator of Rudolph’s bizarre Cabinet of Curiosities, a series of vast rooms stuffed with wonders and scientific marvels. As Rudolph retreats further into his fantasy world, the threat of rebellion hangs in the air. Dorantes, a diplomat from Spain, comes with his daughter, Celestina, on a mission from Philip II to persuade Rudolph to give up his heretical ways. Soon Lukas discovers the terrible truth behind Dorantes’s mission. But sinister forces have plans for Lukas too, and before he can thwart the plot against the emperor, Lukas must gamble on Celestina’s loyalty in order to save his own life.

When Lukas Declercq is orphaned, his uncle summons him to Prague, a refuge for Europe's greatest alchemists and natural philosophers, offering to take him on as an apprentice. Uncle Anselmus is court physician to Rudolph II, the reclusive and unstable Emperor. He is also curator of Rudolph's bizarre Cabinet of Curiosities, a series of vast rooms stuffed with wonders and scientific marvels such as a nail from Noah's Ark, phoenix feathers and monstrous freaks of nature, which fascinate Lukas. As Rudolph retreats further into his fantasy world, the threat of rebellion hangs in the air. Dorantes, a diplomat from Spain, comes with his daughter, Celestina, on a mission from Philip II to persuade Rudolph to give up his heretical ways. But he discovers the court is full of diplomats who have been waiting months or years for an audience with the Emperor. Dorantes notices how some had wormed their way into the Emperor's favour by presenting him with fantastic gifts for his Cabinet, and sets about creating a device that he says will stop time. But it works only in the presence of the Emperor. Lukas knows the terrible truth behind Dorantes's mission. But sinister forces have plans for Lukas too, and before he can thwart the plot against the Emperor, Lukas must gamble on Celestina's loyalty in order to save his own life.

Gr. 5-8. These books in the well-designed Cold War set do an excellent job of explanation and context setting. Causes, as its name implies, explains what the cold war was and how it affected its participants. It begins with colliding ideologies of democracy and communism and shows how the cold war came out of the very hot World War II. Moving chronologically, the book covers all the important post-war events, the advance of communism, the Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine, and standoffs between the U.S and the USSR around the world. The book is excellent background for Cuban Missile and Vietnam, which both touch on some of the same material, but also focus on the hows and whys of the conflicts. End shows the dissolution of communism and the emergence of hopeful new nations. All the books do extremely well at introducing the chief players of the times, and how their personalities influenced events. Color and black-and-white photographs enliven the texts; maps and sidebars are in color, too. A time line and a glossary round out each volume in these solid and thought-provoking books.

This book looks at the curriculum history of World War I, through a series of poems from the time. Each poem covers a different topic such as daily wartime living, life in the trenches and attitudes towards patriotism and religion. The backgrounds to each poem and poet is given, together with an explanation of what each poem is about. Features poems by Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, W.B. Yeats, A.A. Milne, John Freeman, Rupert Brooke, August Stramm, J.C. Squire, Madeline Ida Bedford, Marc de Larreguy de Civrieux and Wilfrid Gibson.