Come and take them

Book III in the Leonidas Trilogy

Persia has crushed the Ionian revolt and is gathering a massive army to invade and punish mainland Greece, but in Sparta the dangers seem closer to home. The Eurypontid king Demaratus is accused of being a usurper, while the Agiad king Cleomenes is going dangerously mad. More and more Spartans turn to Leonidas, Cleomenes's half-brother and son-in-law, to provide leadership. But Leonidas is the younger of twins, and his brother Brotus has no intention of letting Leonidas lay claim to the Agiad throne without a fight.

This novel follows Leonidas and Gorgo as they steer Sparta through the dangerous waters of domestic strife and external threat, working together as a team to make Sparta the best it can be. But the forces that will destroy not only Leonidas but his Sparta are already gathering -- not just in Persepolis and Sardis, but in the hubris of a rising Athens and the bigotry and xenophobia of his fellow Spartans. The murder of two Persian ambassadors by an agitated Spartan Assembly sets in train the inevitable conflict between Sparta and Persia that will take Leonidas to Thermopylae -- and into history.

This is the third book in a trilogy of biographical novels about Leonidas and Gorgo. The first book, A Boy of the Agoge, described Leonidas's childhood in the Spartan public school. The second, A Peerless Peer, focused on his years as an ordinary citizen. This third book describes his rise to power, his reign, and his death.

The smaller of twins, born long after two elder brothers, Leonidas was considered an afterthought from birth -- even by his mother. Lucky not to be killed for being undersized, he was not raised as a prince like his eldest brother, Cleomenes, who was heir to the throne, but instead had to endure the harsh upbringing of ordinary Spartan youth. Barefoot, always a little hungry, and subject to harsh discipline, Leonidas had to prove himself worthy of Spartan citizenship. Struggling to survive without disgrace, he never expected that one day he would be king or chosen to command the combined Greek forces fighting a Persian invasion. But these were formative years that would one day make him the most famous Spartan of them all: the hero of Thermopylae.

This is the first book in a trilogy of biographical novels about Leonidas of Sparta. This first book describes his childhood in the infamous Spartan agoge. The second will focus on his years as an ordinary citizen, and the third will describe his reign and death.

About the Author

Helena P. Schrader holds a PhD in history from the University of Hamburg, which she earned with her groundbreaking biography of General Friedrich Olbricht, the mastermind behind the Valkyrie plot against Hitler. She has published four nonfiction works on modern history and has been published in academic journals including Sparta: Journal of Ancient Spartan and Greek History. Helena has done extensive research on ancient and archaic Sparta. She has combined her research with common sense and a deep understanding of human nature to create a refreshingly unorthodox portrayal of Spartan society in this biographical trilogy of Leonidas, as well as in her three previously published novels, The Olympic Charioteer, Are They Singing in Sparta? and Spartan Slave, Spartan Queen. Visit her website at www.helena-schrader.com or learn more about Sparta from her website Sparta Reconsidered at www.elysiumgates.com/ helena.

Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians will starve unless they receive food, medicine and more by air.
USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children's shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia....
Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an insightful, exciting and moving tale about how former enemies became friends in the face of Russian aggression -- and how close the Berlin Airlift came to failing under the assault of 'General Winter.'

In this, the second book of the Bridge to Tomorrow Series, the story of the Berlin Crisis continues where Cold Peace left off.

The Christian kingdom of Jerusalem is under siege. The charismatic Kurdish leader, Salah ad-Din, has succeeded in uniting Shiite Egypt with Sunnite Syria and has now declared jihad against the Christian kingdom. While King Baldwin IV struggles to defend his kingdom from the external threat despite the increasing ravages of leprosy, the struggle for the succession threatens to tear the kingdom apart from the inside. In the high-stakes game, one man stands out for his loyalty to the dying king, the kingdom, and Christianity itself. That man is Balian d'Ibelin. This is the second book in a three-part biographical novel about Balian d'Ibelin, who defended Jerusalem against Salah ad-Din in 1187. The first book in the series, Knight of Jerusalem, was a finalist for the 2014 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction and a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree.

John d'Ibelin, son of the legendary Balian, will one day defy the most powerful monarch on earth. But first he must survive his apprenticeship as squire to a man determined to build a kingdom on an island ravaged by rebellion. The Greek insurgents have already driven the Knights Templar from the island, and now stand poised to destroy Richard the Lionheart's legacy to the Holy Land: a crusader foothold on the island of Cyprus.

Book I in the Award-Winning Jerusalem Trilogy

B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice

Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was like a king.

He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart.

He was a warrior and a diplomat both.

This is the first book of a three-part biography of the historical Balian d'Ibelin.

Standing up to dictators isn't easy - but sometimes it's necessary.

Berlin 1948. The economy is broken, the currency worthless, and the Russian bear is hungry. Next on the menu is Berlin. Here war heroes and war's victims are struggling to survive in a world where unemployment is widespread and the wartime Allies are at each other's throats. When a Russian fighter brings down a British passenger plane, the world teeters on the brink of World War Three. The defenders of freedom must work together to save Berlin from Soviet tyranny. The first battle of the Cold War is about to begin.

Based on historical events, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader brings to life the backstory of the West's bloodless victory against Russian aggression via the Berlin Airlift in Cold Peace, the first book in the Bridge to Tomorrow Series.

Cold Peace was the winner of an Independent Press Award 2025 in the category of Political Thriller, awarded Gold for Historical Fiction in the Feathered Quill Book Awards and for 20th Century Fiction by the Historical Fiction Company. It won a Maincrest Media Award for Military Fiction and a BRAG Medallion. In addition, Cold Peace was named Runner-up for Book of the Year 2023 by the Historical Fiction Company and was given Silver by Readers' Favorites in the category of Political Thriller.

From ruling queens to diplomats and spies, read all about the women who played an astonishing and indispensable role in shaping their unique society.

In the mild climate of the Mediterranean, a rare blossom once bloomed: a prosperous, urbanised society inhabited by various ethnic and religious groups living harmoniously together for nearly two-hundred years. At the apex of this society, ruled a feudal elite notorious for its wealth and love of luxury. It was composed of politically savvy, diplomatically adept, well-educated and multilingual men - and women.

These women played an astonishing and indispensable role in shaping the character of their unique society. They were ruling queens, independent barons, nuns and pilgrims. They were merchants and artisans, diplomats and spies. They were warriors defending besieged cities and the most pitiful victims of conflict as slaves after a defeat.

While many primary sources readily recorded specific and noteworthy actions taken by individual women, there is no comprehensive or systematic description of women's contribution to the life and society of Outremer. All we have are fragments of a mosaic badly damaged by time. Yet even these remnants have largely been neglected due to the prevailing emphasis on the era's military history.

The Powerful Women of Outremer redresses that imbalance. In a chronological narrative, women's contributions to the crusader states are highlighted. The book then explores women's societal role in thematic chapters. Finally, a series of short biographies shine a light on the lives of individual women. By piecing together the scattered remnants of the historical mosaic, The Powerful Women of Outremer offers readers a clearer understanding of the importance of women to the history of the Near East and a richer picture of the women themselves.

Messenia is in revolt, and the Messenians have been out-witting Sparta's crack troops. On the advice of Delphi, Sparta requests that Athens appoint a new Supreme Commander for Sparta's army. Athens intentionally selects an obscure schoolmaster unlikely to help Sparta win the war, Tyrtaios. Tyrtaios was born lame, has no military experience, and everything he has ever heard about Sparta makes it the last place on earth where he wishes to live.

The Spartan officer Agesandros is horrified by the 'joke Athens has played on Sparta in appointing Tyrtaios Sparta's Supreme Polemarch. But as the son of a notorious brawler and drunk, who gained Spartan citizenship only after a radical reform of the Spartan Constitution, his voice counts for little. Furthermore, while Agesandros is obsessively ambitious, his sister is married to a helot and his nephew appears to have joined the rebellion against Sparta.

The widow Alethea, the daughter of a Spartan nobleman, took refuge in Athens during the 'Time of Troubles. She alone understands how Tyrtaios is suffering in Sparta. Yet when her growing sons fall foul of the authorities, she finds herself under increasing pressure to remarry, and Agesandros is the most obvious suitor.

A crusader in search of faith, a lame lady in search of revenge, and a king who would be saint. St. Louis' Knight takes you to the Holy Land in the 13th century, a world of crusaders, holy men and assassins.

Two cities at war - Two men with Olympic ambitions - And one slave - the finest charioteer in Greece Set in archaic Greece, and based on incidents recorded in Herodotus, this is the tale of a young man's journey from tragedy to triumph - and the story of the founding of the first non-aggression pact in recorded history: the Peloponnesian League. Award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader has again created a novel full of rich and realistic characters while providing readers a remarkable insight into Archaic Spartan society. Well-researched and intelligently interpolated from recorded facts, Schrader's Sparta is a refreshing change from the stereotypes encountered in much modern literature.

In ancient Sparta during the Second Messenian War, two women, one beautiful and one ugly, are captured and enslaved in the same raid. This is the story of how each responds to their new situation and the women they meet in Sparta.

Niobe's beauty is so great that it captures the attention of the Messenian leader, Aristomenes. He makes her a cherished concubine-until the Spartan Scourge of Messenia, Agesandros, captures Aristomenes' palace. Niobe suddenly finds herself a slave, and the spoils of the Spartan prince Anaxilas.

Unlike the beautiful and coveted Niobe, Mika is so disfigured by warts that her own uncles sold her into slavery. She becomes the spoils not of a prince but of Agesandros' squire, Leon, a slave himself. He sends her back to serve his master's wife, Alethea, in Sparta.

While Niobe provokes the hostility of the Spartan Queen; Mika encounters the kindness of Alethea, and her beautiful but spirited daughter, Kassia. Soon Anaxilas turns his affections from Niobe to Kassia, while Mika falls hopelessly in love with Leon, and Leon covets only the affection of Niobe.

This book picks up where Are They Singing in Sparta? left off, and although the novel revolves around unrequited love on all sides, it is really a reflection on what beauty is and how it affects human interactions-with a surprise ending.

Sparta at the start of the fifth century BC is in crisis. The Argives are attacking Sparta's vulnerable island of Kythera, but King Cleomenes is more interested in meddling in Athenian affairs. His co-monarch, King Demaratus, opposes Cleomenes' ambitions, and soon the kings are at each other's throats. Exploiting this internal conflict, Corinth launches a challenge to Spartan control of the Peloponnesian League, while across the Aegean Sea, the Greek cities of Ionia are in rebellion against Persia -- and pleading for Spartan aid.

King Cleomenes' youngest half-brother Leonidas has only just attained citizenship. He has no reason to expect that this revolt will shape his destiny. At twenty-one, Leonidas is just an ordinary ranker in the Spartan army, less interested in high politics than putting his private life in order. He needs to find reliable tenants to restore his ruined estate, and, most important, to find the right woman to be his bride.

Meanwhile, his niece Gorgo is growing up. Not particularly pretty, she is, nevertheless, precocious and courageous -- qualities that get her into trouble more than once. This is the story of both Leonidas and Gorgo in the years before Leonidas becomes king of Sparta and before the first Persian invasion of Greece sets Leonidas on the road to Thermopylae.

This is the second book in a trilogy of biographical novels about Leonidas and Gorgo. The first book, A Boy of the Agoge, described Leonidas's childhood in Sparta's infamous public school. This second book focuses on his years as an ordinary citizen, and the third will describe his reign and death.