The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc by Nancy Goldstone

Maid and the Queen:
The Secret History of  Joan of Arc
Viking
On Sale: April 2, 2012
Biography / History 

Praise for The Maid and the Queen

“With compelling storytelling, Goldstone colorfully weaves together the tales of these two women [Yolande of Aragon and Joan of Arc] —one rich, one poor; one educated, one illiterate; one worldly, one simple—whose powerful personalities and deep allegiance to France helped shape the country’s future.”—Publishers Weekly

“Goldstone’s vivid retelling of Joan’s astounding victories and her capture and martyrdom by the English is as gripping as ever . . . [A] knowledgeable and accessible account of a turning point in French history.”—Kirkus

“[Nancy’s] entertaining narrative will intrigue general readers interested in the Middle Ages, Joan of Arc (whose 600th birthday is this year), or biographies of royal figures or women in history.”—Library Journal

“Goldstone adds an enlightening new chapter to a legendary saga and rescues another unjustly neglected woman from the dust pile of conventional history.” —Booklist

 About The Maid and the Queen 

Starting with her marvelous Four Queens, Goldstone has taken the stories of long-forgotten but remarkable women and created spellbinding, informative histories. Now, in this mesmerizing account, THE MAID AND THE QUEEN, she takes one of the Middle Age’s most fascinating woman, Joan of Arc, and shows that behind every great woman there is—what else?—another great woman. In riveting detail, Goldstone shares the untold story of the extraordinary queen who championed Joan of Arc.

Politically astute, ambitious and beautiful, Yolande of Aragon, Queen of Sicily, was the most powerful woman of the Middle Ages; without her there may well not have been a Joan of Arc. Trained by her parents and her formidable mother-in-law, Marie of Blois, Yolande took matters into her own hands to help save France. THE MAID AND THE QUEEN shows how she tirelessly plotted to hold together the oft-divided party attempting to defeat the English and Burgundians.

About Nancy Goldstone

Nancy Goldstone is the author of Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe and The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily. She has also co-authored five books with her husband Lawrence Goldstone. She can be found at http://nancygoldstone.com/.

More Information
Press release for download
Interview alert for download
A Q&A with Nancy Goldstone for download
Cover image for download

The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home by Arlie Hochschild

The Second Shift: Working Families and the Revolution at Home
Arlie Hochschild
Penguin Paperback
On Sale: January 31, 2012

Revised with a New Afterword

“The best discussion I have read on what must be the quintessential domestic bind of our time.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“No book analyzes the human impact of the work-family track for both sexes more perceptively or thoroughly than this important, provocative study of the dynamics of two-career couples.”
—Newsday

“A fascinating read that makes us think twice about how much the Women’s Movement still has to accomplish.”
—Parenting

THE SECOND SHIFT: Working Families and the Revolution at Home by Arlie Hochschild with Anne Machung remains as important and relevant today as it did when it was first published in 1989.

As the majority of women entered the workforce, sociologist and Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild was one of the first to talk about what really happens in dual-career households. Many people were amazed to find that women still did the majority of childcare and housework even though they also worked outside the home.

Now, in this updated edition of THE SECOND SHIFT with a new afterword from the author, we discover how much things have, or have not, changed for women today.

For More Information
Press Release for download
Cover Image for download

The Girls of Murder City

The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry
Penguin Paperback / On Sale: July 26, 2011

“The Girls of Murder City spans several categories—true-crime, comedy, social history. It turns out that behind ‘Chicago’ there was a sexy, swaggering, historical tale in no need of a soundtrack. Liked the movie. Loved the book.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“For true crime buffs, history fans or anyone interested in the roaring 1920s, this one’s a sure-fire hit.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“[A] well-researched, fast-paced story behind the story.”
—Booklist

“Entertaining…wised up…savvy, flamboyant social history”
—Publishers Weekly

“Perry takes a sturdy foundation of murder, sex and Chicago’s scandal-happy newspapers and builds a nonfiction marvel. His bouncy, exuberant prose perfectly complements the theatricality of the proceedings, and he deftly maneuvers away from the main story without ever losing momentum . . . The Girls of Murder City not only illustrates the origins of a new media monster, but reminds us that we’ve
never been that innocent.”
—BookPage

“Recaptures a moment in which the Victorian feminine ideal was (and wasn’t) giving way to the “churning change” of the flapper lifestyle — and ebulliently elucidates the emergence of the criminal as celebrity. It’s this summer’s “not guilty” pleasure.”
—NPR, Books We Like

From Al Capone to Leopold and Loeb, the history of Prohibition-era Chicago violence is the stuff of legend. But what of the fairer sex? On the bookshelf beside SIN IN THE SECOND CITY and THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Douglas Perry has recreated the glamour, intensity, and notoriety of this iconic time and place in The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago. Fueled by rich period detail, a narrative voice that perfectly channels the pulse of Jazz Age Chicago, and a cast of characters that seem destined for the stage, Perry has written a crackling history that simultaneously presents the freewheeling spirit of the age and its sober repercussions.

Why did you write The Girls of Murder City?
Douglas Perry: Because no one else had. When I first saw Chicago: The Musical, back in the late ’90s, I read in the playbill that Maurine Watkins had based the original play on actual murder trials she covered for the Chicago Tribune in 1924. I expected to be able to find a book about the real events but none existed. This surprised me because the real story is so amazing. It has beautiful women, wanton sex, cold-blooded murder, all-consuming corruption, devastating heartbreak. Even Al Capone and Leopold and Loeb make appearances.

For More Information:
Press Release
Cover Image for Download (Paperback edition)
Q&A with Douglas Perry

Planning Ahead: Summer and Fall 2011

Here’s a list of books I’m working on this coming Summer and Fall. Limited galleys are available where noted. As review copies become available each title will have its own page. Please follow Books on Tap on Facebook for updates. If you would like to be included on the review copy list, please email me at Gabrielle.Gantz [at] us.penguingroup.com.

August
Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry
Penguin Paperback Reprint / On Sale: July 26, 2011
Press Release
Cover Image
Q&A with Douglas
Author’s Website

Now You See It:  How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn by Cathy N. Davidson
Viking / On Sale: August 18, 2011
Penguin Group page
Author’s Website

Real State of America Atlas: Mapping the Myths and Truths of the United States by Cynthia Enloe and Joni Seager
Penguin Paperback Original / On Sale: July 26, 2011
Review Copies Now Available
Book’s page

The Magician King by Lev Grossman
Second book in the Magicians series
Viking / On Sale: August 9, 2011
Penguin Group page
Cover Image
If you need a copy of the first book, The Magicians, please contact me

September
The Postmortal by Drew Magary
Penguin Paperback Original / On Sale: August 30, 2011
Physical advance copies now available. Limited availability through Netgalley.
Press Release
Cover Image
Author on Twitter

A Man of Parts: A Novel of H. G. Wells by David Lodge
Viking / On Sale: September 19, 2011
Limited advance copies available
Penguin Group page
David Lodge on H.G. Wells (Guardian UK)
David Lodge’s top H.G. Wells books (Guardian UK)
Cover Image
H.G. Wells books available from Penguin Classics

Campus Trilogy: Changing Places / Small World / Nice Work
by David Lodge
Penguin / On Sale: September 27, 2011

A collection of three works by David Lodge
Press Release
Cover Image 

October
Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine
Penguin Paperback Original / On Sale: September 27, 2011
Penguin Group page
Cover Image 

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker Viking / On Sale: October 4, 2011
Now available on Netgalley with limited approval. Booksellers, librarians, and long lead magazine reviewers only until Wednesday, Aug. 24th.
Penguin Group page
Author’s website
Steven Pinker at TED on the myth of violence (opens with sound)

December
Charles Dickens: A Life by Jane Smiley
Penguin Lives Paperback / On Sale: November 29, 2011
Penguin Group page (hardcover edition)

James Joyce: A Life by Edna O’Brien
Penguin Lives Paperback / On Sale: November 29, 2011
Details to come

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I by Margaret George
Viking / On-Sale: April 5, 2011

Praise for ELIZABETH I

“This is Margaret George’s best novel yet, and a true masterpiece.  Her Elizabethis unforgettable.”
—Sharon Kay Penman

“This is one of the best historical novels I have read in ages, a stunning tour de force. It conveys a vivid and authentic sense of Elizabeth Tudor and her world. Extensively researched with the highest integrity, and deeply engaging, it sets a new benchmark for the genre. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
—Alison Weir

“George’s mastery of period detail and her sure navigation through the rocky shoals of Elizabethan politics mean this lengthy novel never flags.”
—Booklist (starred)

“Like her heroine, George possesses an eye for beauty and a knack for detail, creating a vibrant story that, for nearly 700 pages, enables readers to experience firsthand Elizabeth’s decisions, triumphs, and losses. Rather than turn Elizabeth I into a romantic heroine, George painstakingly reveals a monarch who defined an era.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Nicely bloody and byzantine.”
—Kirkus

“The epitome of a well-researched book. . . . This novel is by far the most human look at Elizabeth[and] an absolute must read for ElizabethI fans.”
—Dallas Examiner

“This is a magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner. . . . Margaret George dazzles.”
—GoodReads (Movers & Shakers feature)

 “Illuminating. . . . An up-close-and-personal view of Elizabeth’s inner life and private circle: at court, in parliament, and as commander-in-chief of the world’s greatest empire.”

—Book Reporter

“A richly fleshed out story [and] a tantalizing glimpse into what Elizabeth may have been like.”
—San Jose Examiner

“By carefully blending the rich historical detail that is available with her own equally rich imagination, George presents a fascinating portrait of a smart, brave and politically savvy leader who was nevertheless also human and emotional”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram

About the Book:
More than 400 years after the death of Elizabeth I, the last and longest-reigning of the Tudor monarchs, the dynasty continues to fascinate us, living on in Hollywood blockbusters like “The Other Boleyn Girl,” television series like Showtime’s “The Tudors” and books like Hilary Mantel’s award-winning Wolf Hall. ELIZABETH I (Viking; ISBN: 9780670022533; On-sale Date: April 5, 2011; Pages: 688; Price: $30), by Margaret George, one of our premier writers of historical fiction, is one of the few works to explore England’s most famous queen at the height of her powers, picking up where other books leave off—just as the Spanish Armada is about to invade. In truth, the Armada was the beginning of a great era, not its finale.

About Margaret George:
Margaret George is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Autobiography of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scotland & the Isles, The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Mary, Called Magdalene, and Helen of Troy. She travels widely to research her novels

For More Information:
Press Release
Cover Image
Author’s Website