The College of St Anselm - The College of St Anselm, #1

As the Nineteenth Century dawns in Europe, the University Humanitas guards an incredible secret.  In each generation, throughout the world, a handful of people are born who grow to maturity but never grow old.  These individuals continue to increase in strength, quickness and intelligence over time.  They are not, unfortunately without discord.  A faction within the university, the College of Dresden, has taken to heart the theories of Thomas Malthus and fears that Man will overpopulate the earth to the point of human catastrophe.
 They seek to control and reduce the population of those who age and have found the perfect tool to achieve this end; a young soldier named Bonaparte.  In Paris, the College of Saint Anselm, led by the benign and ancient Father Jean, seeks to thwart Dresden's dreams of death, tyranny and destruction.  Our tale begins in the year eighteen-one as Saint Anselm's agents prevent the suicide of the composer Domenico Cimorosa, who has retained his youth while everyone he loved has passed away.
 Cimorosa is given a new identity and joins the fellows of Saint Anselm, including the mysterious Comtesse de Beauchamps, as they travel Europe and North Africa in their search for the identity of Dresden's ageless 'General, ' the man who holds a nefarious influence over Napoleon.  Once his identity is discovered they begin the long difficult struggle to break Dresden's power and restore peace to the Continent.
Beginning with one fantastic premise, The College of Saint Anselm is a historical thriller filled with duels, pirates, famous battles, reluctant heroes and courageous damsels in distress. At another level, it is a story of people facing loss and their struggle to adapt to ever changing environments as they seek to find some meaning to a life of eternal youth.