Books with title The Castle of Cheer

“Pötzsch paints picturesque landscapes, whether it’s damp, dark castles, the stink of a medieval tannery, or whirlpool-plagued Rhine River rapids . . . Combine Princess Bride with Germanic history circa 1500, add a dash of Lord of the Rings, and there’s a week of good fun.” — Kirkus Reviews In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry due to his low birth status. In the midst of war, Agnes’s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead her and Mathis to run away from their home in Trifels Castle and into the midst of the tumultuous Peasants’ War, cast into an adventure that will lead them to shocking revelations about themselves and the future of the emerging German states. “The war scenes are grimly realistic, and the narration gripping . . . The author makes the fantastical elements work by harnessing them to the grim reality of the Peasants’ War, setting his far-fetched romance in an utterly convincing world of economic hardship, social strife and religious and political uncertainty.” — Wall Street Journal

Three German women are haunted by the past and their secrets in the devastating aftermath of WWII. A mesmerising story of resistance, forgiveness and the complexity of the human heart. A resistance widow. A silent co-conspirator. The only one who survived. Bavaria, Germany. June, 1945. The Third Reich has crumbled. The Russians are coming. Can Marianne von Lingenfels and the women in her care survive and build their ravaged world anew? Marianne - widow of a resistor to the Nazi regime - returns to the grand, crumbling castle where she once played host to all of German high society. She assembles a makeshift family from the ruins of her husband's movement, rescuing her dearest friend's widow, Benita, from sexual slavery to the Russian army, and Ania from a work camp for political prisoners. She is certain their shared past will bind them together. But as Benita begins a clandestine relationship and Ania struggles to conceal her role in the Nazi regime, Marianne learns that her clear-cut, highly principled world view has no place in these new, frightening and emotionally charged days. All three women must grapple with the realities they now face, and the consequences of decisions each made in the darkest of times.... Deeply moving and compelling, The Women of the Castle is a heart-wrenching and hopeful tale of secrets and survival, a reckoning and the astonishing power of forgiveness.

Ignored by his dad, bullied by the teachers at his posh school, and picked on by the gang of kids who roam the stairways of his tower block home, Roland Wright thinks he has it pretty bad. Then, a broken lift hurls him into a strange kingdom where fantasy and reality meet, and Roland finds that his nightmare has only just begun. Who can Roland trust in this bizarre new world? The obsequious caretaker with his rattling keys and cryptic advice? The enchanting Lady who just wants to care for him? The King of the Castle himself? Roland soon realises that he will need to have all his wits about him if he wants to escape the mysterious Castle.... A brand new novelisation, based on the eerie 1977 children's TV classic starring Talfryn Thomas, Fulton Mackay and Milton Johns. Bob Baker, co-writer of three Oscar and BAFTA winning Wallace & Gromit films, creator of K9, and writer of numerous Doctor Who episodes. A stalwart of HTV, Bob has worked with Sir Laurence Olivier, Leonard Rossiter, Ron Moody, Toyah Willcox and Trevor Eve. Among his many TV credits, Bob wrote a number of episodes of Doctor Who with co-writer Dave Martin, several episodes of Bergerac starring John Nettles and the smash hit children's show Into the Labyrinth; Bob also script-edited the popular crime series Shoestring.

“Pötzsch paints picturesque landscapes, whether it’s damp, dark castles, the stink of a medieval tannery, or whirlpool-plagued Rhine River rapids . . . Combine Princess Bride with Germanic history circa 1500, add a dash of Lord of the Rings, and there’s a week of good fun.” — Kirkus Reviews In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend whom she can never marry due to his low birth status. In the midst of war, Agnes’s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead her and Mathis to run away from their home in Trifels Castle and into the midst of the tumultuous Peasants’ War, cast into an adventure that will lead them to shocking revelations about themselves and the future of the emerging German states. “The war scenes are grimly realistic, and the narration gripping . . . The author makes the fantastical elements work by harnessing them to the grim reality of the Peasants’ War, setting his far-fetched romance in an utterly convincing world of economic hardship, social strife and religious and political uncertainty.” — Wall Street Journal

An epic tale of murder, treachery, bravery, and love In 1524, in what is now Germany, hundreds of thousands of peasants revolted against the harsh treatment of their aristocratic overlords. Agnes is the daughter of one of these overlords, but she is not a typical sixteenth-century girl, refusing to wear dresses and spending more time with her pet falcon than potential suitors. There is only one suitor she is interested in: Mathis, a childhood friend who she can never marry due to his low birth status. But when a rogue knight attacks Agnes and Mathis shoots the knight to save her, the two are forced to go on the run together, into the midst of the raging Peasants’ War. Over the next two years, as Agnes and Mathis travel the countryside, they are each captured by and escape from various factions of the war, participate in massive battles, make new friends both noble and peasant, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Agnes’s falcon finds a mysterious ring, and Agnes begins having strange, but seemingly meaningful dreams. Dreams that lead the two lovers to revelations about their place in the world and in the emerging German states. With The Castle of Kings, Oliver Pötzsch has written a historical yarn that calls to mind Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and Bernard Cornwell’s Agincourt.

The castle was in ruin. Not just ruined but someone at some point had breached it causing it to use its own magic and seal the doors. Now all Aurora had to do was repair the monstrous castle, get inside, see what creature still lurked there and make sure the people of the town were safe. “I don’t think I have enough super glue to fix this sucker.” Trianam looked at her oddly but didn’t ask. They were either getting used to her oddities or ignoring them better. She wanted to think it was the latter. “What else did you find? Any waterways?” “Aye. There is one to the south too that looks like it might have fed this one long ago. Trees, small yet fill the path but it looks dry to me.” He kicked the dirt at his feet. “’Tis not going to grow much I think.” One more thing to add to her list. Aurora Kirkpatrick had fallen into a tapestry. And after several months of thinking she was dead she now came to realize that she was indeed the Champion, the only one that could save the world that was created for the magical people of this world. And try not to murder her king while she was at it. She went to him for help with the broken castle. “The castle is falling down are you aware of that? And I don’t have enough glue to put it together again.” He smiled at her. “You do not need glue but simply knowing how the pieces fit the whole. You’ll figure it out. If you don’t then I will make fun of your lack of efforts the next time we meet.” Then he disappeared. Yes, she was going to murder the king when she found him.

True nature is impossible to hide.In the sequel to The Forgotten Gemstone…As Xiinisi, Ule is a Sentinel-in-training, assigned to protect the world of Elish and keep watch over the demons that roam there. She settles into a comfortable covert existence at Sondshor Castle. where life couldn’t be better. As an Elishian, she’s happily married and has just been promoted to Adept Scribe. When a rare form of election is called by the people of Sondshor, promising to usher in an historic and exciting era,Ule is poisoned.Instructed by her Master to leave behind her established life and begin another, she resolves to figure out who murdered her and why, even when she is unexpectedly challenged by the next phase of her training.Ule must deathmorph into a form she’s never taken before.Uncomfortable in her new body, she re-immerses herself in the politically charged everyday life within Sondshor Castle and discovers that everyone she knows keeps some part of themselves hidden. Even more surprising, the castle grounds extend much farther than she ever realized, hiding a long forgotten treasure, and clues to the identity of a murderer.Join Ule as she investigates her own murder, and learns how true nature, no matter how well hidden, reveals itself eventually.

A book from Victoria Turnbull, a Waterstones Children’s Book Prize short-listed author-illustrator.George didn't want to waste the night moon bathing. He wanted to build a sand castle that would turn any monster green with envy! But when George meets the strangest creature he has ever seen, the night takes an unexpected turn. A starlit story of adventure, imagination, and friendship from the creator of The Sea Tiger.