A perfect combination of history, passion, imagination and scholarship, Yxta Maya Murray's The Conquest pulses with the intangible essence that separates the books we love from the few that forever imprint themselves in our minds. A restorer of rare books and manuscripts, Sara Gonzales lives in a solitary world filled with dusty broken books. A born reader, Sara is doing with her life just what she set out to do, even at the expense of true love. When Sara is assigned to restore a banned and scandal-filled sixteenth century book called The Conquest, she does not yet know that the story will consume her, intellectually and emotionally, causing her to reevaluate her own sense of history as well as to question the decisions that have brought her to where she now finds herself. Reputed to have been written by a notorious Spanish monk, The Conquest recounts the fantastic sexual adventures of an Aztec princess enslaved by Cortés after his conquest of what is now modern-day Mexico. Sent to Europe so that she may perform before the aristocracy, the princess soon becomes all the rage at court, an artist's muse, and a mortal danger to those who destroyed her world. Enthralled by the tale, Sara suspects that no monk wrote it, and she plunges into the mystery of the book's origin. As Sara swims through the archives of the famed Getty Museum, the book captures more than just her curiosity. It becomes a cultural allegory of her own existence. In her own life, Sara has not resolved the conflicts of her broken family. While her father refuses to remember the past, she cannot forget her mother's untimely death. Sara's painful history that threatens her romance with the man she's always loved. It is The Conquest that leads Sara to an understanding of what she values most. Filled with swashbuckling adventure and scholarly mystery, as well as a deep sense of our connection to history and its fallibility, The Conquest reminds us that books exist not only as doorways to other worlds, but also to help guide us toward discovering who we are and what we dare dream to one day become. A book for book lovers, The Conquest is Yxta Maya Murray’s finest and most ambitious novel yet.

The Conquest

Literature & Fiction

Maya Murray, Yxta

United States

Rayo

Sara Rosario GonzÁles is a restorer of rare books and manuscripts at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. When Sara restores a sixteenth-century manuscript about an Aztec princess enslaved by CortÉs and sent to Europe to entertain the pope and Emperor Charles V, she doesn't realize the power of the tale she's about to immerse herself into. The princess, we find, is determined to avenge the slaughter of her people, and Sara is determined to prove that the book, which caused scandal when first published, was written by the Aztec princess herself, and not the European monk reputed to have penned it. Entwined within Sara's fascination of the manuscript is Sara's own life: the frustration over her inability to commit to Karl, the man who has loved her since high school; the haunting wisdom of her departed mother; and the stability of a father who sees the world in a way Sara does not, both pragmatically and unyieldingly. The Conquest is a beautifully written novel that offers both hope that true love does exist and that history, in all its complexity, is what drives us all toward tomorrow.

Harper-perennial

Sara Rosario Gonzáles lleva una existencia relativamente tranquila, como restauradora de libros y manuscritos antiguos en el Getty Museum de Los Ángeles. Pero cuando se encuentra ante la tarea de restaurar un manuscrito del siglo XVI sobre una princesa azteca que fue esclavizada por Cortés y enviada a Europa para divertir al Papa y a Carlos V, no se da cuenta del poder que tiene la historia en la que está a punto de sumergirse. En el manuscrito, nos enteramos de que una vez llega a Europa, la princesa está empeñada en vengar la masacre de su pueblo. Sara, por su parte, busca comprobar que el libro -- cuya publicación causó gran escándalo -- fue en realidad escrito por la misma princesa azteca, y no por el monje europeo que es su presunto autor. La fascinación de Sara por el manuscrito se mezcla a los conflictos que debe afrontar en su propia vida. La frustración que le causa su incapacidad de comprometerse con Karl, el hombre que la ha amado desde la secundaria, el recuerdo de la sabiduría evocadora e inquietante de su madre difunta, y la aparente estabilidad de su padre, quien contrariamente a Sara, ve el mundo con pragmatismo y sin prejuicios. La Conquista es una novela única que nos da la esperanza de que el amor verdadero sí existe, y que la historia, en toda su complejidad, es la que nos impulsa hacia nuestro destino.

La Conquista: Una Novela (Spanish Edition)

The secret history of an empire The mythical power of a stone The quest to solve the legend of ... The Queen Jade
For centuries, explorers and scholars of the New World have been captivated by a legend involving the tragic life of a King, a Witch, and a giant blue jade stone whose beauty is intoxicating -- a stone whose possessor is said to be granted a life filled with power -- that stone is called the Queen Jade.
In 1998, Hurricane Mitch tears through Central and South America. A mine of blue jade the size of Rhode Island is uncovered in a Guatemalan mountain range known as Las Sierras de las Minas. For hundreds of years, blue jade relics have been found in the Americas, but the actual source of the precious stone has never been discovered -- until now. The revelation of the blue jade mine solves an archaeological mystery that has baffled scholars for centuries and gives hope to those who have staked their lives on finding the Queen Jade.
The novel unfolds on the eve of the hurricane and centers on Lola Sanchez and her archaeologist mother, Juana. Juana believes that she has discovered the key to unlocking the mystery of the Queen Jade and has gone into the jungle alone to find the stone -- the same week that Hurricane Mitch ravages the land. When her mother disappears in the storm, Lola sets out to find her and embarks on a course of action that will lead to the adventure of her life.

The Queen Jade: A Novel

Children's Books

There is a legend of the New World that has endured for centuries: the strange, tragic tale of a King, a Witch . . . and a blue gem of intoxicating beauty said to grant extraordinary power to whoever possesses it. Archaeologist Juana Sanchez, convinced that she's discovered the key to unlocking the mystery of the fabled Queen Jade, ventures into the Central American jungle alonejust ahead of the relentless pounding fury of Hurricane Mitch. When the terrible storm is over, Juana is gone, and an ancient, long-buried jade mine has been uncovered in the mountains of Guatemala, giving new hope to all obsessed seekers of the legendary stone. But it is a different obsession that plunges Juana's daughterscholar and bookseller Lola Sanchezinto the remarkable adventure of a lifetime. For only by following the Queen Jade's perilous, cursed trail can Lola hope to find her vanished mother . . . if it isn't already too late.

The Queen Jade: A New World Novel of Adventure (Red Lion)

Harper Paperbacks

La Reina Jade―una piedra preciosa de gran belleza y que, se decía, otorgaba poder a quien la poseyera―era solo una leyenda maya que durante siglos había cautivado a exploradores y sabios que pisaban el Nuevo Mundo, como Beatriz de la Cueva, gobernadora de aquellas tierras en el siglo XVI, o el naturalista y viajero Alexander von Humboldt. Lola conoce bien el poder de seducción de este mito. Buscar la preciada gema azul ha sido la obsesión de su madre, una arqueóloga especialista en la cultura maya, y todo apunta a que su precipitado viaje a Guatemala, ahora devastada por el huracán Match, se debió a que finalmente logró descifrar el misterio de su paradero. Lo último que Lola sabe de su madre es que se adentró en la selva y desapareció. Si quiere encontrarla, deberá seguir sus pasos y descodificar las pistas ocultas en cartas, relatos antiguos y oscuros jeroglíficos, con la esperanza de que la conduzcan hasta la Reina Jade. Una perfecta combinación de aventura y misterio histórico, La Reina Jade cautivará la atención de sus lectores y los dejará embelesados hasta el final.

La Reina Jade: Novela (Spanish Edition) (Red Lion)

Education & Reference

One look at the centuries-old document she receives from a mysterious stranger is all it takes to plunge Lola Sanchez—a brilliant bibliophile and owner of the Red Lion bookshop—into the adventure of an already adventurous lifetime. The ancient writings tell of a stolen fortune in Montezuma's gold—and of the thief's transformation from conquistatore to alchemist . . . to werewolf. Riches beyond imagining possibly await the stalwart globe-trotter who can solve the intricate riddles hidden in the artifact's crumbling pages. But a deadly curse is buried there as well. On a dangerous quest through the dark shadows of history, Lola and her dashing companion, Eric, will have to unravel the twisted strands of her own family's fantastical past—and stay a step ahead of the villainous treasure hunters who would eagerly kill for the secrets she possesses and the Aztec gold she seeks.

The King's Gold: An Old World Novel of Adventure (Red Lion)

&ldquo;A romp like this, of course, is only as good as its characters and Murray draws ehavily on the lively cast she introduced in The Queen Jade...Murray does a pretty nifty job of pulling it all together at the end....&rdquo;

Kings Gold, The

Una hechizante historia de tesoros perdidos y peligros ineludibles―el segundo libro en una Serie Red Lion sobresaliente Todo lo que necesita Lola Sánchez―bibliófila brillante y dueña de la librería Red Lion―para lanzarse a la aventura de una ya aventurada vida, es una mirada a los documentos centenarios que recibe de un misterioso desconocido. Los antiguos escritos hablan del robo de una fortuna en oro de Montezuma―y de la transformación del ladrón de conquistador en alquimista . . . en hombre lobo. Al valiente trotamundos que pueda resolver los complicados acertijos ocultos en las páginas desmenuzadas del artefacto, posiblemente le aguardan tesoros más allá de la imaginación. Pero también se esconde una maldición mortal entre las páginas. En una peligrosa búsqueda a través de las oscuras sombras de la historia, Lola y su apuesto acompañante, Eric, deberán desenmarañar los hilos retorcidos del pasado familiar fantástico de Lola―y mantenerse un paso delante de los malvados cazadores de fortuna que no dudarán en matar por los secretos que posee Lola y por el oro azteca que ella busca.

El oro del rey: Novela (Spanish Edition) (Red Lion)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Maya Murray, Yxta. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Maya Murray, Yxta

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Maya Murray, Yxta. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Conquest

The Conquest

La Conquista: Una Novela (Spanish Edition)

The Queen Jade: A Novel

The Queen Jade: A New World Novel of Adventure (Red Lion)

La Reina Jade: Novela (Spanish Edition) (Red Lion)

The King's Gold: An Old World Novel of Adventure (Red Lion)

Kings Gold, The

El oro del rey: Novela (Spanish Edition) (Red Lion)