The long-awaited sequel to the global bestseller Leonardo’s Swans, brings to life the brutal rivalry between two of history’s most fascinating women.
Three Sisters. One War. A Harrowing Escape. Before the Sexual Revolution, reality TV, and social media, there lived the Gabors, a family of beguiling glamour icons with a global following.
Against the glittering courts of Renaissance Italy, two extraordinary sisters compete for love, power, and immortality as Leonardo da Vinci transforms their rivalry into art.
Two extraordinary women separated by centuries become entwined in the creation and desecration of the Parthenon Marbles, revealing the passion, ambition, and sacrifice behind one of history’s greatest cultural controversies.
Mina Harker reclaims her story and power in a lush, erotic reimagining of Dracula, where forbidden desire awakens memories of a love that has pursued her across centuries.
The spellbinding story of brilliant, young Princess Cleopatra, who survives exile, betrayal, and dynastic bloodshed to become the most powerful woman of the ancient world.
At the height of her power, Queen Cleopatra fights to preserve her throne, her children, and her dream of empire against the gathering might of Rome.
In an empire where clothing can seduce, surveil, and kill, a celebrated designer must decide how much she will risk to unravel the world she helped create.
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“Essex’s work overflows with war, sex, political intrigue and the fruits of her assiduous research.”
Publishers Weekly
“Karen Essex has a gift for humanizing the so-called bad girls of history, and she does it again in Run, Darling, the fascinating, untold story of the glamorous Gabor harrowing sisters’ escape during WWII”
Stephanie Dray, NYT Bestselling author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette
& co-author of A Founding Mother
“Run, Darling is a splashy soap opera romp of a good time, with surprisingly serious themes of sisterhood, family, and the danger of being a woman who knows her own mind.”
Kate Quinn, NYT Bestselling author of The Rose Code,
The Briar Club, The Diamond Eye
“Kleopatra is keenly researched and brimming with exotic, erotic detail. Essex’s style is as seductive as her subject.”
Dallas Morning News
“Pharaoh, the stunning sequel to Kleopatra completes the story of one of the most celebrated, audacious, and admired women the world has ever known.”
Library Journal
“Stealing Athena firmly entrenches Karen Essex as one of the top historical novel writers of our time.”
Bookreporter.com
“Brilliant. Sweeping. Breath-taking. Dracula in Love, Essex’s journey into the social expectations of Victorian women through the telling of the Dracula story is genius.”
Book Banter
“Leonardo’s Swans is historical fiction at its finest.”
St. Petersburg Times
“Renaissance Rivals is a riveting sequel to Leonardo’s Swans, featuring two of history’s most powerful and alluring women.”
Laura Lane McNeal, Bestselling author of Dollbaby
“Karen Essex has performed a mesmerizing feat. Kleopatra is both deeply informed and irresistibly sexy.”
Bruce Feiler, NYT Bestselling author of Walking the Bible & A Time to Gather
“In Leonardo’s Swans, acclaimed author Karen Essex spins a wild yarn about sexual politics and the struggle for immortality.”
Harper’s Bazaar (“Hot Reads” pick)