Birds of Prey (Smith novel) Birds of Prey (Smith novel) Birds of Prey is a 1997 novel by Wilbur Smith set in the late 17th century. The novel was the first in the third sequence of the Courtney series of novels, and as of 2013 was chronologically the first in the entire series. Smith says the book established the characteristics of the family: "Right from "Birds of Prey"... the Courtneys were pirates, merchants, looking to seize the main chance. They were very much driven by monetary considerations. But with the Ballantynes it was much more empire, patriotism, glory – the soldierly virtues." In 1667 Holland
The Man Who Lived at the Ritz The Man Who Lived at the Ritz The Man Who Lived at the Ritz is a 1982 novel by A. E. Hotchner. It is the story of American painter Philip Weber, who lives at the Hôtel Ritz Paris during the German Occupation, and his friendships with notables such as Hermann Göring and Coco Chanel. The novel was adapted into a 1988 television miniseries starring Perry King. Anatole Broyard wrote for "The New York Times", "Toward the end ... the book turns into a thriller as well as a legitimate novel and a quasi-documentary portrait of Paris. Yet there's something about