Behind the Tapestry is the compelling true story told from behind convent walls, of one woman's struggles to "make peace" with a mysterious chronic illness and her unfulfilled dream of being a Catholic nun. Maryanne was a 29 year old graphic designer working towards a lifelong desire to someday move to Hollywood and become an Academy Award winning art director. But an unexpected invitation to a Catholic prayer meeting would forever change Maryanne's life showing her desires she didn't know she possessed. After being abruptly fired from her job and spending a lot of time in prayer, Maryanne embarked on a journey to discover God's will for her life. This quest eventually led her to the Catholic Convent and the realization that all she's ever really wanted was to devote herself to Jesus. Entering Religious Life was all that Maryanne thought about for more than a year but there was a problem. She found herself plagued by a mysterious condition that caused widespread, chronic pain. However, in spite of this pain, Maryanne joined a group of Franciscan Sisters in 1999. Her life in the Convent was filled with many questions, struggles, challenges and a whole lot of physical pain. Then when already strained relationships with her superiors became even more fractured with the lines of communication practically severed, Sister Maryanne was forced to make a heart-wrenching decision. One that would not only impact her life but the lives of those around her. Should she remain in the Convent and go on to take final vows or leave her Religious Life behind and take care of herself instead?

Odo of Conteville, the younger half-brother of William the Conqueror, was ordained Bishop of Bayeux while still in his teens. A larger than life character, he is best known for commissioning the Bayeaux Tapestry, in which he makes a dashing appearance at the height of the Battle of Hastings. He also played a pivotal role in the planning and implementation of the Conquest of England, after which, as Earl of Kent, he was second only to William in wealth and power.The popular impression of Odo is of a not so loveable rogue, who typified the worst excesses of the Norman conquerors. He was the first Chief Justice of England and on occasion also acted as regent when the king was in Normandy. After defrauding both Crown and Church, however, Odo was disgraced and his plans to raise an unauthorised army for a campaign in Italy, possibly in order to gain the papacy, saw him imprisoned for five years. He was released by the dying William in 1087, but soon rebelled against the new king, his nephew William Rufus.Yet Odo was far from being a loutish philistine. The bishop recognised the value of education and the arts and amongst his less well-known activities was his generous patronage of both. Trevor Rowley’s book is the first full-length biography of Odo, which seeks to redress this balance and to make Bishop Odo’s extraordinary life-story known.TREVOR ROWLEY was Deputy Director of Continuing Education at the University of Oxford for fifteen years. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He has written numerous books, including The Normans and The Welsh Borderland (THP). He lives in Oxfordshire.

Hidden Tapestry reveals the unforgettable story of Flemish American artist Jan Yoors—childhood vagabond, wartime Resistance fighter, and polyamorous New York bohemian. At the peak of his fame in the 1970s, Yoors’s photographs and vast tapestries inspired a dedicated following in his adopted Manhattan and earned him international acclaim. Though his intimate friends guessed the rough outline of his colorful life, Hidden Tapestry is first to detail his astonishing secrets. At twelve, Jan’s life took an extraordinary and unexpected turn when, lured by stories of Gypsies, he wandered off with a group of Roma and continued to live on-and-off with them and with his own family for several years. As an adult in German-occupied France, Yoors joined the Resistance and persuaded his adoptive Roma family to fight alongside him. Defying repeated arrests and torture by the Gestapo, he worked first as a saboteur and later escorted Allied soldiers trapped behind German lines across the Pyrenees to freedom. After the war, he married childhood friend Annabert van Wettum and embarked on his career as an artist. When a friend of Annabert’s, Marianne Citroen, modeled for Yoors, the two began an affair, which led the three to form a polyamorous family that would last for the rest of their lives. Moving to New York, the trio became part of the bohemian life of Greenwich Village in the 1950s. Told in arresting detail by Debra Dean, best-selling author of The Madonnas of Leningrad, Yoors’s story is a luminous and inspiring account of resilience, resourcefulness, and love.

The definitive and fully illustrated guide to the Bayeux Tapestry. The full history of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the story of the tapestry itself. Most people know that the Bayeux Tapestry depicts the moment when the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold Godwinson, was defeated at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 by his Norman adversary William the Conqueror. However, there is much more to this historic treasure than merely illustrating the outcome of this famous battle. Full of intrigue and violence, the tapestry depicts everything from eleventh-century political and social life—including the political machinations on both sides of the English Channel in the years leading up to the Norman Conquest—to the clash of swords and stamp of hooves on the battle field. Drawing on the latest historical and scientific research, authors David Musgrove and Michael Lewis have written the definitive book on the Bayeux Tapestry, taking readers through its narrative, detailing the life of the tapestry in the centuries that followed its creation, explaining how it got its name, and even offering a new possibility that neither Harold nor William were the true intended king of England. Featuring stunning, full- color photographs throughout, The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry explores the complete tale behind this medieval treasure that continues to amaze nearly one thousand years after its creation.

For more than 900 years the Bayeux Tapestry has preserved one of history's greatest dramas: the Norman Conquest of England, culminating in the death of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Historians have held for centuries that the majestic tapestry trumpets the glory of William the Conqueror and the victorious Normans. But is this true? In 1066, a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Andrew Bridgeford reveals a very different story that reinterprets and recasts the most decisive year in English history. Reading the tapestry as if it were a written text, Bridgeford discovers a wealth of new information subversively and ingeniously encoded in the threads, which appears to undermine the Norman point of view while presenting a secret tale undetected for centuries-an account of the final years of Anglo-Saxon England quite different from the Norman version. Bridgeford brings alive the turbulent 11th century in western Europe, a world of ambitious warrior bishops, court dwarfs, ruthless knights, and powerful women. 1066 offers readers a rare surprise-a book that reconsiders a long-accepted masterpiece, and sheds new light on a pivotal chapter of English history.

Rowan has lost the war, and while the Academy works to rebuild, outside its protected walls everything has changed. Astaroth, using the Book of Thoth, has created a world where demons rule, chaos reigns, and humans toil like slaves . . . and worse. Outraged by Rowan's seeming complacency with the new order and reeling from personal tragedy, Max McDaniels sets out on his own for escape, for information, and for revenge. In his travels, he will be forced to become many things: prisoner, gladiator, assassin. But can he become the one thing mankind needs most—a hero? The Tapestry series continues to weave threads of fantasy, mythology, science fiction, and mystery into a wholly original adventure with appeal to fans of everything from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings to The X-Men. Genre-blending and fully illustrated, The Tapestry novels have caught the attention of middle-grade and young-adult readers alike.