皇帝の手術を無事に終えてから半月、季節も冬へと近づいていた。 術後の治療を上級医官に替わってもらったおかげで、 猫猫（マオマオ）の日常は忙しくも平常運転へと戻っていた。 そんなある日、老医官に届いた文を読んだ妤（ヨ）の顔色が変わった。 「怖いことになるかもしれない」。 その文には水膨れができた患者が増えていると書かれていたのだ。 嫌な予感がする猫猫だったが、その心配は当たってしまった。 「疱瘡（ほうそう）の発生」。 感染力、致死率が高く、顔や身体に痕が残りやすく恐れられている流行り病だ。 特効薬はなく、猫猫でも今から見つけることは不可能だろう。 感染が広まれば村一つが閉鎖することもあるという。 そんな絶望的な状況に一筋の光を放ったのは、 かつて疱瘡から快復した経験を持つ妤の一言だった。 「私が生き残ったのは、そのお医者さんのおかげです」。 疱瘡に詳しい民間の医者----猫猫が知るのは克用(コクヨウ)しかいなかった。 猫猫が時折、花街の薬屋に応援を依頼する、顔半分に疱瘡の痕がある美青年。 厄介な感染病の大流行に備えて医者はいくらいたっていい。 しかも疱瘡の知識と耐性があるならなおさらだ。 克用は医官たちの面接を経て採用され、妤と共に感染が広がりつつある 人口数百人の農村に派遣されることになった。 また、ある時、猫猫は壬氏（ジンシ）から皇太后の実家の当主の娘が、 とある人物に呪いをかけたのではないかとの相談を持ち掛けられる。 当主の娘とは妾の子であり、皇太后の姪にあたる病弱な梔子（ジーズー）。 その姪を助けてほしいという「皇太后からの頼み」により猫猫が調べを進めると、 梔子に毒が盛られていた疑いが出てくる。 そして、その背景には母親である妾の思いが透けて見えてくるのだった。 一方、疱瘡の感染拡大防止に奮闘していた妤から話を聞いていた猫猫に、 大きな疑問が浮かんだ。 「その疱瘡はどこから来たのか?」。 疱瘡の感染源を調べるうちに、猫猫たちは衝撃の事実にたどり着くのだが……。

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The million-copy selling start to the Roots of Chaos series. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

She can hop into any novel, she just can’t stay there. Come along with the book witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.Rainy March is a proud third-generation book witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps into and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes. Book witches live by a strict Real people belong in the real word; fictional characters belong in works of fiction…. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don’t even think about it.Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she’s ever caught with him again, she’ll be expelled from her book coven—and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there’s only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets.

An enchantingly warm and funny novel about family, love lost and found, discovering who you are, and how difficult it is to slay a vampire from the beloved national bestselling author of the TikTok sensation In the Company of Witches. Cassie Beckett’s life is anything but magical. With a wild younger sister, three unruly kids, and an absent husband, she’s really not looking forward to the witching month of October. At least the gorgeous, foggy Prince Edward Island is always quiet. That is, until the vampires arrive. As the creatures sink their teeth into Cassie’s tenuous grip on normalcy, she’s forced to come face-to-face with long–disregarded family secrets. The legacy gifts her with power, but also a lofty rid the island of vampires, or let them win. (Both options suck, in more ways than one.) Armed with her family, newfound friends, and a baby in a spectacularly garlicky onesie, Cassie must learn what it is to be a witch and how to fight for what she loves before time runs out. Because on Halloween night, the stakes will be higher than ever before...and it’s up to Cassie to finish what the witches that came generations before her started.

What Was Sex Like for a Medieval Woman?An inside look at sexual practices in the medieval world. Were medieval women slaves to their husband's desires, jealously secured in a chastity belt in his absence? Was sex a duty or could it be a pleasure? Did a woman have a say about her own female sexuality, her own body, and who did or didn't get up close and personal with it? No. And yes. It's complicated. Let's look behind closed doors. The intimate lives of medieval women were as complex as for modern woman. They loved and lost, hoped and schemed, were lifted up and cast down. They were hopeful and lovelorn. Some had it forced upon them, others made aphrodisiacs and dressed for success. Some were chaste and some were lusty. Having sex was complicated. Not having sex, was even more so. Inside The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women, a fascinating book about life during medieval times, you will discover tantalizing true stories about medieval women and a myriad of historical facts. Learn about: The experiences of women from all classes, including women who made history The dos and don'ts in the bedroom Sexy foods and how to have them All you need to know for your wedding night, and well as insider medical advice How to get pregnant (and how not to), and more Fans of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, Medieval Women and Terry Jonses's Medieval Lives will meet real women and hear their voices in The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women.

A groundbreaking work of feminist history and theory analyzing the complex relations between various forms of oppression. Ain't I a Woman examines the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the historic devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism within the recent women's movement, and black women's involvement with feminism.