Fiction

When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an unlikely accomplice: Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming Hobbit dwelling in peaceful Hobbiton.

Along the way, the company faces trolls, goblins, giant spiders, and worse. But as they journey from the wonders of Rivendell to the terrors of Mirkwood and beyond, Bilbo will find that there is more to him than anyone--himself included--ever dreamed. Unexpected qualities of courage and cunning, and a love of adventure, propel Bilbo toward his great destiny . . . a destiny that waits in the dark caverns beneath the Misty Mountains, where a twisted creature known as Gollum jealously guards a precious magic ring.

This boxed set includes:
THE HOBBIT
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE TWO TOWERS
THE RETURN OF THE KING

Another of the popular historical novels by the distinguished de Wohl, telling the dramatic story of St. Benedict, the father of Western monasticism, who played such a major role in the Christianization and civilization of post-Roman Europe in the sixth century. De Wohl weaves an intricate tapestry of love, violence and piety to recount with historical accuracy the story of St. Benedict and the tempestuous era in which he lived.

Since there are no contemporary biographies of this major saint of history and the Church, de Wohl's inspired account is of significant importance on the subject of saint's lives for today's spiritual seekers. Having lived in an era of great immorality and vice, not unlike our world today, Benedict's story has a strong message for modern Christians who seek, as he did, to turn away from the wickedness of the world to find Christ in prayer, study and solitude.

Beginning with Dante's liberation from Hell, Purgatory relates his ascent, accompanied by Virgil, of the Mount of Purgatory - a mountain of nine levels, formed from rock forced upwards when God threw Satan into depths of the earth. As he travels through the first seven levels, Dante observes the sinners who are waiting for their release into Paradise, and through these encounters he is himself transformed into a stronger and better man. For it is only when he has learned from each of these levels that he can ascend to the gateway to Heaven: the Garden of Eden. The second part of one of the greatest epic poems, Purgatory is an enthralling Christian allegory of sin, redemption and ultimate enlightenment.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Follow a young Catholic cleric as his faith is laid bare through his reflections on his parishioners in the "Best Spiritual Book of the 20th Century" (USA Today).

In this classic Catholic novel, Bernanos movingly recounts the life of a young French country priest who grows to understand his provincial parish while learning spiritual humility himself. Awarded the Grand Prix for Literature by the Academie Francaise, The Diary of a Country Priest was adapted into an acclaimed film by Robert Bresson. "A book of the utmost sensitiveness and compassion...it is a work of deep, subtle and singularly encompassing art." - New York Times Book Review (front page).

Kit stared at his fellow questors. "Is this it?"

It started with small, seemingly insignificant wrinkles in time: A busy bridge suddenly disappears, spilling cars into the sea. A beast from another realm roams modern streets. Napoleon's army appears in 1930s Damascus ready for battle. But that's only the beginning as entire realities collide and collapse.

The questors are spread throughout the universe. Mina is stuck on a plain of solid ice, her only companion an angry cave lion named Baby. Tony and Gianni are monitoring the cataclysmic reversal of the cosmic expansion--but coming up short on answers. And Burleigh is languishing in a dreary underground dungeon--his only hope of survival the very man he tried to kill.

Kit and Cass are back in the Stone Age trying to reach the Spirit Well. But an enormous yew tree has grown over the portal, effectively cutting off any chance of return. Unless someone can find a solution--and fast--all Creation will be destroyed in the universal apocalypse known as The End of Everything.

In the final volume of the fantastic Bright Empires series, Stephen R. Lawhead brings the multi-stranded tale to a stunning and immensely satisfying conclusion.

Set in present day Manhattan, The Fool of New York City is the tale of two souls who are considered to be fools and idiots in the eyes of most people they encounter.

One is a literal giant, the other an amnesiac who believes he is the 17th century Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, hundreds of years old, aging more slowly than the rest of the human race. Billy the giant has also briefly suffered from amnesia years ago, and he understands the anguish of those who have lost their identity. He is an apparently simple person, a failed basketball player with an enormous good heart who takes Francisco under his wing after they meet through a seeming coincidence. Together they undertake a laborious search to discover Francisco's true past.

The trail leads them to numerous adventures, into the shrouded realm of hidden memories, the ironies and complexities of human character and destiny, of catastrophic evil and of redemption. It is a journey into the mysterious dimensions of the mind. It is about trauma and remembrance in America.

Here is a skillful weaving of the story of St. Ignatius Loyola's conversion and pilgrimage with the colorful and dangerous history of Spain and Italy in the early sixteenth century. The life of the very human, very great Basque nobleman who founded the Jesuit Order, makes for one of de Wohl's finest novels.

Seriously wounded at the siege of Pamplona in 1521, Don Inigo de Loyola learned that to be a Knight of God was an infinitely greater honor (and infinitely more dangerous) than to be a Knight in the forces of the Emperor. Uli von der Flue, humorous, intelligent and courageous Swiss mercenary, was responsible for the canon shot which incapacitated the worldly and ambitious young nobleman, and Uli became deeply involved in Loyola's life. With Juanita, disguised as the boy Juan, Uli followed Loyola on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to protect him, but it was the saint who protected Uli and Juan. Through Uli's eyes we see the surge and violence of the turbulent period in Jerusalem, Spain and Rome.

Louis de Wohl has again created an exciting and spiritually inspiring novel for all readers of historical fiction.

"Jonathan Cahn has come up with an understanding of a pattern in the Scripture for God's judgment on ancient Israel being played out in the United States of America now. The Harbinger is the best explanation I've come across to understand the mystery of what's behind 9/11, the war in Iraq, the crash of Wall Street, and much more. This end-time revelation puts him in a new category!"
--Sid Roth Author and host of It's Supernatural and Messianic Vision

"The Harbinger

Is it possible...
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel nine specific warnings and omens of national destruction - These same nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for America's future and end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days... the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of the stock market collapse of 2008... the ancient prophecy that was proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true...and more. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller - IT'S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are factual but revealed through a riveting narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he tells of his encounters with the Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes another piece in a larger and larger puzzle, the ramifications of which are, even now, altering the course of America and the world.

One morning, attorney Dan Geary, seventy-seven years old, finds himself in the middle of a rolling, polychrome landscape. The greens are bold and bright. Birds sing in the distance. Tall grasses surge like a sea before the wind. He has never seen anything quite like it. But somehow--with the doctors and beeping monitors suddenly gone--he knows exactly where he is: the afterlife.

What a relief not to be floating on a cloud, playing a harp. Instead, a hiking pack full of gear sits on his back, and he feels the familiar itch to start walking toward the far-off mountains. But he finds there is no trail, no map, no signage, and no one else in sight. As gorgeous as the scenery is, Dan feels in his bones: this is Purgatory.

Growing up, he'd imagined Purgatory as a detention center for delinquent children. What a surprise to see its beauty, and to feel so much hope. Yet along the winding way, Dan starts recognizing his tangled, imperfect, often wasted life, and he wonders if he will ever be ready to meet God. With no clue how long his hike will take, he gradually learns--through memories and through encounters with other Heaven-bound hikers--how to desire the good, how to wait, and how to long for love.

With confessional honesty and a sense of humor, this book reimagines the purification of the afterlife as a tough journey saturated with faith, hope, and love--and with overwhelming beauty.

When young Waljan of the Wood is forced to move to a new home in the city, his first instinct is to resist everything about the change. However, it isn't long before his new circumstances put him on a collision course with the evil lurking in Mortinburg, as well as his own true identity . . . an identity that will only become clear if he can somehow discover what lies beyond a mysterious, unassailable wall just outside the city.

Newly translated into English for the first time, these four novellas from the acclaimed German writer Gertrud von le Fort are from her later works of historical fiction. Ominous and mysterious, these page-turning stories bring to life momentous chapters in from the past.

The Innocents, set in Germany after the Second World War, is a poignant family drama about the horrors of war, the suffering of the innocent, and the demands of justice.

The Ostracized Woman traces the fate of a Prussian family at the end of World War II to the heroic deed of an ancestor done centuries before.

The Last Meeting imagines the last encounter between Madame de La Valliére and Madame de Montespan, rival mistresses of King Louis XIV of France.

The Tower of Constancy leads the reader into the heart of the infamous French prison of the same name while exploring the role of conscience in the religious and philosophical conflicts of the eighteenth-century.