In this multi-award-winning, bestselling novel, Margaret Atwood has created a stunning Orwellian vision of the near future. This is the story of Offred, one of the unfortunate “Handmaids” under the new social order who have only one purpose: to breed. In Gilead, where women are prohibited from holding jobs, reading, and forming friendships, Offred’s persistent memories of life in the “time before” and her will to survive are acts of rebellion. Provocative, startling, prophetic, and with Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit, and acute perceptive powers in full force, *The Handmaid’s Tale* is at once a mordant satire and a dire warning.

A jealous Egyptian queen.A lascivious Galilean governor.How can one servant girl possibly make a difference? An orphan since birth, Lydia lives in the palace at the demand of Cleopatra and her royal child, the son of Julius Caesar.But Lydia's beauty is becoming a liability to the aging queen, and the visiting Herod's undisguised interest in Lydia only makes matters worse.When Lydia's mentor is murdered, the handmaid inherits a daunting task.An ancient set of sealed scrolls, the secret writings of the prophet Daniel, must be returned to Jerusalem–before those who killed her mentor destroy the scrolls as well. Lydia joins Herod the Great's retinue and soon becomes absorbed in the machinations of his Jerusalem palace. But dark forces, older than Jerusalem itself, are at work.And Lydia has no idea of the true nature of her destiny.

In this wonderful novel about love and trust, hope and belief, Elizabeth Berg, the bestselling author of We Are All Welcome Here and The Year of Pleasures, transports us to Nazareth in biblical times to reimagine the events of the classic Christmas story. We see Mary–young, strong, and inquisitive–as she first meets Joseph, a serious-minded young carpenter who is steadfastly devoted to the religious traditions of their people. The two become betrothed, but are soon faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Aided by a great and abiding love, they endure challenges to their relationship as well as threats to their lives as they come to terms with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the birth of their child, Jesus. For Mary, the pregnancy is a divine miracle and a privilege. For Joseph, it is an ongoing test not only of his courage but of his faith–in his wife as well as in his God. Exquisitely written and imbued with the truthful emotions and richness of detail that have earned Elizabeth Berg a devoted readership, The Handmaid and the Carpenter explores lives touched profoundly by miracles large and small. This powerful and moving novel is destined to become a classic. From the Hardcover edition.

In a bold political move, Sir Branford claims a handmaid as his bride instead of the expected princess in an attempt to spark a war. Poor Alexandra knows little of how to behave as the wife of a future king and knows nothing of the man who is suddenly her husband. Alexandra knows she is being used as a pawn and must do her best to avoid scheming noblewomen and the scorned princess, accept her position as her husband ascends to the throne, and overcome her fears of the man with whom she now shares a bed. Sir Branford is determined to have it all – the kingdom, a wife of his choosing, and the revenge he seeks for the death of his father. He doesn’t expect the naïve handmaid to become more important than he ever could have foreseen.

From the servant halls of Cleopatra's Egyptian palace to the courts of Herod the Great, Lydia will serve two queens to see prophecy fulfilled. Alexandria, Egypt 39 BCOrphaned at birth, Lydia was raised as a servant in Cleopatra's palace, working hard to please while keeping everyone at arm's length. She's been rejected and left with a broken heart too many times in her short life.But then her dying mentor entrusts her with secret writings of the prophet Daniel and charges her to deliver this vital information to those watching for the promised King of Israel. Lydia must leave the nearest thing she's had to family and flee to Jerusalem. Once in the Holy City, she attaches herself to the newly appointed king, Herod the Great, as handmaid to Queen Mariamme.Trapped among the scheming women of Herod's political family—his sister, his wife, and their mothers—and forced to serve in the palace to protect her treasure, Lydia must...

All the young outcast wanted was security in a world that destroyed her family and left her despised and rejected. Can the simple farmgirl find a new family through voluntary enslavement to the duke's household? Not if the prejudiced and conniving duchess has her way!

The Handmaid's shameful affair with the dashing but unscrupulous Captain of the Guard leads indirectly to her own undoing, as she soon finds herself accused by the people of Camelot of being a witch! Horrified at the terrible fate which might befall her, she is ultimately saved by the shrewd cleverness of the only man in the kingdom who can sway King Arthur: none other than Merlin the Magician. Sent to the castle's terrifying dungeon instead of being handed over to the evil Monks from The Inquisition, she now must find a way to survive and escape—even if the chances of doing so are all but hopeless. For she is now at the mercy of the terrifying creature who dwells within the hellish depths of Camelot's secret underworld...a world that exists in the caverns and caves below the castle.

Book 32 in the bestselling House of Winslow series. Wealthy Rena Matthews feels called to take the gospel to the South Sea islanders. She gathers volunteers to go with her—all from the upper strata of society. When rough-looking Travis Winslow volunteers, Rena wants to refuse him, but her father insists she take him along. They set out in her father's yacht, but a storm drives them hundreds of miles off course and into a reef on a deserted island. Will they ever make it to the mission &supl;eld? Or will God bring the mission &supl;eld to them?