by Rafael Sabatini

This book is a collection of narratives about historical events. Included are: 'The Absolution;' 'The False Demetrius;' 'The Hermosa Fembra;' 'The Pastry-Cook of Madrigal;' 'The End of the Very Galant;' 'The Barren Wooing;' 'Sir Judas;' 'His Insolence of Buckingham;' 'The Path of Exile;' 'The Tragedy of Herrenhausen;' 'The Tyrannicide;' 'The Honor of Varano;' 'The Lust of Conquest;' and 'The Pasquinade.' From the author's preface: 'As in the case of the narratives that made up the first volume, I set out again with the same ambitious aim of adhering scrupulously in every instance to actual, recorded facts; and once again I find it desirable at the outset to reveal how far the achievement may have fallen short of the admitted aim . . .