This is a marvelous volume, full of love for her Lord, love for her family, and for her fellow man.

I am preparing to give copies of this book to two people, which is the heartiest recommendation I can think to make.

I am sorry to report that Dr. Achtemeier passed away recently. My wife and I have been blessed to hear her husband, Dr. Paul Achtemeier, teach on the New Testament several times. I would have loved to hear her speak.

Highly recommended.

In this brief but full autobiography, Elizabeth Achtemeier brings us full circle from her Oklahoma childhood, her theological education in New York and Germany, her years as wife and mother, and her unplanned vocation in teaching homiletics at a time when women were just beginning to enter the pulpit. Her prose is sharp, witty, but gentle too. Throughout this book, her theme is God's hand on her life, in joys and frustrations.

I especially enjoyed reading how she and her husband met and how their scholarship has complimented, rather than competed against, one another. I also think it is so important for retiring scholars to write such personal accounts, sharing with those who have admired their intellectual prose the humanity from which it stems. It is clear God is "not done" with her yet, noe with any who seek His voice.

Recent English royal biographies, perhaps following the success of Fraser's "Mary Queen of Scots," remain fixated on the Tudor era, Elizabeth I in particular, with less frequent mention of Mary Tudor or Mary Stuart, and/or perhaps Henry's wives. The romance of the Stuart queens, however, didn't end with Mary Queen of Scots - it reached its apogee with her grandchild, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. Married to the hapless Frederick, Elector Palatine, in 1619 she and her young family were brought to Prague as the newly elected (and Protestant) King and Queen following the deposition (defenestration, to be exact) of the previous Catholic regime. In power for little more than a few weeks, they were chased back into Germany after the disastrous Battle of the White Mountain, following which Elizabeth languished in exile in Holland for the best part of the next 40 years. Oran's 1930s bio is the standard work on Elizabeth - she pays particular attention to the life of a woman in the 17th century European court: hobbies, clothes, sports and the ubiquitous letter-writing. Elizabeth turned the damsel-in-distress cliche on its head, being a furious rider and outdoorswoman as well as a supple European politician and skilled linguist. Despite competition with the other women in the Stuart family (e.g., Charles I's and II's respective wives), it was Elizabeth's genes that won out - under the Act of Succession, every English monarch since 1713 has been required to prove an ancestral link to the Winter Queen. Classic biography and a useful bridge between Antonia Fraser's four Stuart books (Mary/James I/Gunpowder Plot/Royal Charles) and C.V. Wedgwood's numerous 17th century histories (e.g. Thirty Years War, Montrose).

Elizabeth, the daughter of King James VI of Scotland and I of England, was widely acclaimed as the most beautiful princess in Europe. Her hand was sought by many, but James selected the Protestant prince of a small German state, Frederick of the Palatine, to counterbalance the intended match of his eldest son with the Catholic royal daughter of either France or Spain. It would prove to be a true love match, as well as a political disaster.

This history follows the eventful life and tumultous times of Elizabeth of Bohemia, known as the Winter Queen for the brief duration of her husband's reign. The research is solid, the writing scholarly yet engagingly annecdotal. The narrative is particularly strong: settings are described with unusual care and color, and telling bits of cultural detail help evoke a sense of time and place.

The relationships between Elizabeth and her many family members are vividly drawn. Most poignant among these were her strong sibling attachment to her oldest brother Henry, her passionate but disappointing marriage to the moody Frederick, and the sense of betrayal she must have suffered when her father all but abandoned her. She survived war and endured exile -- not only from Bohemia and her husband's hereditary Palatine, but also from England. Neither James nor his successor Charles I acknowledged her as a queen, or permitted her to return to England.

Students of history might be interested in Elizabeth's descendents, which, in 1938, included the ruling sovereigns of Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Roumania, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Italy. By any measure, this is an impressive family saga!

this is a fantastic novel. all the characters--from elizabeth to robert dudley to lettice knollys--seems so real. plaidy has a magic touch.

Written in the first person, the novel makes us feel as though we know what Elizabeth Tudor felt & thought. Her historical fame is not glorified; her substantial faults are not understated; but we see possible reasons for both. Above all, we are shown how her incredible scholarship and insecure youth combined, enabling her (and in a man's world) to bring England from bankruptcy & religious strife to its first age great enough to be named for one person: "Elizabethan."

Forget the improbability of Elizabeth I and William Cecil (Elizabeth's chief advisor) actually having the time and inclination to play detective, and surrender yourself to enjoying a historical mystery novel is packed with intrigue, suspense and wonderful historical detail, for "The Thorne Maze" is definitely not a treat to be missed!

It's the summer of 1564, and in order to escape the threat of the plague, Elizabeth has moved her court (which currently also includes Templar Sutton, a famed lawyer, and his half-Italian wife, Bettina; Mary Sidney, the Countess of Pembrooke and the queen's closest friend and Robert Dudley, a gentleman that Elizabeth is drawn to even if she doesn't totally trust him) to Hampton. Of course there a variety of entertainments to amuse and pass the time, but when Elizabeth uses the cover of a masque to slip out in order to meet Dudley, little does she expect to be attacked either. Fortunately, the arrival of Bettina Sutton on the scene stops the attacker from completing his attack. Elizabeth quickly summons her Privy Plot Council in order to ferret out the would-be murderer. But are they looking for a 'plain' murderer who had mistaken the queen for someone else, or are they in the middle of yet another treasonous plot? Before long, Elizabeth and investigators are in the middle of another perplexing mystery, and one that yields some unexpected suspects...

What made this novel so very enjoyable for me to read was the manner in which the authour managed to keep the level of suspense relatively high. The pacing was truly brilliant. There were enough red herring suspects together with some rather nifty plot twists -- enough anyway to keep to me engrossed. And, best of all, there was also enough historical and biographical detail to make the book interesting and fascinating. All in all, "The Thorne Maze" proved to be a truly worthwhile read. And although I'm not a Tudor fan and that I rather wished that Karen Harper had been a tad more critical of Elizabeth I, I have to admit that "The Thorne Maze" was a truly good mystery novel and that the entire series is worth becoming addicted to.

With plague in London, Queen Elizabeth I and her retinue move to Hampton Court one of her favorite residences. There is a maze on the property that everyone admires especially Sir William Cecil's mentor Templar Sutton. One night after a play is performed; the queen sneaks away to the opening of the maze where she has arranged to meet her admirer Robert Dudley. Before that rendezvous can take place, someone lays hands on the queen, a treasonous offense touching the monarch, but worse still tries to strangle her highness before escaping into the maze.

When the maze is searched, nobody is there and Robert tells her he received a note stating she changed their meeting place to the stables. Determined to get to the bottom of this she reconvenes the Privy Plot Council consisting of trusted servants and Sir Cecil. When Templar Sutton is found in the maze, the obvious victim of a murderer, Elizabeth is determined to find the killer. When the plague moves towards Hampton Court, the queen and her court retires to Hatfield Manor where she intends to bait a killer with a trap he can't resist.

THE THORNE MAZE gives an insightful look into the mindset of Queen Elizabeth I during the sixth year during of her reign. History comes alive in this book as historical personages act true to character in their relationship to their queen. The mystery is interestingly plotted with so many suspects that readers will have a jolly good time trying to figure out the identity of the villain. Karen Harper is the grandmistress of the Elizabethan mystery.

Harriet Klausner

This book was recommeded to me by a friend. I am glad that I took the time to read it. It was quite enjoyable. Most books have loose ends. This book has nothing hanging, to make you wonder wat happened to a certain character. It was a real page turner. I couldn't put it down, I had to know what happened next.

The following was sent to me before the book was ever even queried for publication:

"...As a general comment, your book is extremely well written. I was more than a little surprised that (name left out) knew anyone with such literary talent. It was a pleasant surprise.

You are obviously a very observant individual with a wonderful eye for detail. Your descriptions have an almost photographic quality--they can be read and re-read much as one would browse a family album which captured a great deal of one's youth. Your images are vivid--they provoke thought and trigger memories.

Your cast of characters is diverse and interesting. Their number is more than adequate to variegate the story yet not so large that a reader would become confused. You provide enough depth to fairly represent their individual natures. This makes the reader feel there's sufficient material to gain accurate personal insight into the players.

Pacing is very good. The story flows along at a fast enough rate to sustain interest but not so fast as to lose the reader. The rate you've chosen is perfect for creating and sustaining the mysterious mood you were after.

Great dialogue. It is what moves the story along so well. Too often writers overdo the exposition and make their stories sound preachy. While your book has its preachy moments they are offset by the quantity of pertinent dialogue. This is an especially good trait of your writing.

Excellent vocabulary and use thereof. You exhibit a strong mastery of the language.

In summary, you've got something that should sell and you ought to try to move it as soon as you can. I think you may well have a winner here.

Bob Wojtyna

P.S. This assessment assumes, of course, that the reader buys into the premise of angelic existences. I myself do not. However, it is your good fortune that the vast majority of the world's readers do ascribe to these entities. That may well translate into very rewarding sales.

It's difficult to find good Orthodox reading material for kids...so this find was a delight. Though it supposed to be for older readers, my two year old adores this book. The illustrations are beautiful and the story teaches about life in an Orthodox monastery in a simple, gentle manner. All of my kids godsisters are getting one for Christmas this year!

If you have a keen interest in the Elizabethan era, this little book is a must have. (My copy came as a special order from Amazon.co.uk)

The exquisite description of Elizabeth's tiny devotion book from which the prayers were taken is worth the price alone. Read all about the little gold and ruby encrusted volume in the forward by Rev. Canon J. P. Hodges.

Or, find treasures of a less earthly nature in the prayers written by the Queen in her own hand. These prayers were written in English, French, Italian, Latin and Greek. Not to worry, all the prayers have been translated into English by Rev. Adam Fox, so that all may read and reflect on this most interesting side of the life and times of Elizabeth I.

I read this incredible novel over ten years ago. It has left an impression upon me by the way it brought history to life. There is a great deal of plot, mystery and romance to satisfy a reader with a great appetite for books. It is essencially a great Rennaisance tapestry, rich with extrordinary content.

Community Action At Work: TAP's Thirty-Year War On Poverty is a sobering look at the brutal battle against ruthless economic forces and low standards of living, as waged by the organization Total Action Against Poverty (TAP), which is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. TAP has endeavored to educate children, feed the homeless, leverage millions of dollars of economic assistance, initiated economic development, and much more to improve the quality of life for countless at-risk people. Community Action At Work is the detailed story of TAP, documenting their 30-year growth under the guidance of Cabell Brand, a businessman from Salem who was not content to earn money just for himself - he actively persuaded local governments to take advantage of federal anti-poverty legislation as early as 1965. Recommended as more than a fascinating history, but also as a model and guide for other charities that seek to actively combat the roots of poverty.

This book shocked me. In buying it I had envisioned receiving an "okay" book. I was so wrong. This book is incredible. I found myself highlighting/making notes/and never letting the book close. This book helps the actor who really, really needs help. It sounds odd, but this book can make you an incredible actor. True, it can't start you in Hollywood! However it provides insight on how to be a great actor, no matter if Hollywood becons. Buy the book, you won't be disappointed! I promise