Other books that might interest you

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  Mansfield Park

  Jane Austen

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  "Mansfield Park" is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1814. It centers on Fanny Price, a young woman from a poor family who is sent to live with her wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park. Unlike other Austen heroines, Fanny is shy and reserved, and she struggles with the ethical and social dilemmas presented to her. As she navigates love, betrayal, and moral complexity within the confines of upper-class society, Fanny grows into her own person. The novel delves into themes of social class, morality, and the complexities of human relationships.

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  Legacy: A Justice Belstrang...

  John Pilkington

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  England 
   
   
  1616 
   
   
  Robert Belstrang, ex-magistrate bored with country life, comes to London to investigate the strange disappearance of Thomas Jessop, son of a poor Catholic neighbour. He locates the youth in Bedlam asylum, silent and starving himself. When he tries to free Jessop, he is warned off the case by a politic lawyer, Anstis. Soon after, Belstrang finds himself drugged, robbed and falsely imprisoned. 
   
   
  Once released Belstrang persists in his investigation, but he is thwarted at every turn: unseen forces are at work who seemingly want Thomas Jessop to die. When Belstrang confronts Anstis, even he turns up dead. 
   
   
  The trail grows murkier by the hour, drawing Belstrang into the fear-ridden Catholic underworld - until he uncovers a plan with its roots in the Gunpowder Plot of more than a decade ago. Young Thomas, an embittered papist, was being used in a desperate scheme to mark the anniversary of the Plot. The scheme failed – and now the conspirators seem eager to cover up the whole business. 
   
   
  But Belstrang’s a stubborn man. With the help of ex-soldier Daniel Oldrigg, he sticks doggedly to his purpose - and stumbles on the real causes of the Anniversary Plot, which stem from the very heart of a corrupt government. 
   
   
  Belstrang must uncover the truth, or die trying. 
   
   
  ‘A page-turning crime novel from a master of the genre and period.’ Richard Foreman

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  Ryūnosuke Akutagawa - A Short...

  Ryunosuke Akutagawa

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  Ryūnosuke Niihara was born in Kyōbashi, Tokyo in Japan on the 1st March 1892.  Sadly, his mother suffered severe mental illness after his birth and so, at only eight months old, he was sent to be raised by his maternal uncle and aunt, from whom he received the Akutagawa family name.  
   
  He was fascinated by classical Chinese literature from his early years and began writing after entering what was then the Tokyo Imperial University in 1913 to study English Literature.   
   
  The following year Akutagawa and his friends revived the literary journal ‘New Currents of Thought’ which published their own works and translations of such icons as W B Yeats and Anatole France. 
   
  Akutagawa published "Rashōmon" in 1915 and whilst it was disliked by his friends everyone else knew better.  As other short stories followed so did his growing literary reputation as the father of the Japanese short story. 
   
  Much of his work reinterpreted former classical works and incidents and this, melded with his strong dislike of naturalism, produced a writer of rare and genuine quality.  His character palette featured strong and domineering women, mainly based on his mother and the aunt who helped raise him. 
   
  In 1921, he spent four months in China as a reporter.  Whilst there his health was compromised by several illnesses and both his physical and mental health spiralled downwards.  He began to suffer from hallucinations and dreaded that he might have inherited his mother’s mental disorders.  
   
  Although he survived one suicide attempt Ryūnosuke Akutagawa died on the 24th July 1927 in Tokyo from an overdose of Veronal, a barbiturate.  He was 35. 
   
  1 - Ryunosuke Akutagawa - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  2 - In A Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa 
  3 - Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa 
  4 - The Cold by Ryunosuke Akutagawa 
  5 - The Mine Cart by Ryunosuke Akutagawa 
  6 - The Socialist by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

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  Flowers from Ashes

  M. Rae

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  In the unforgiving shadow of Victorian England, a young girl's spirit is the only light that remains. New Years Eve 1899. While London celebrates the turn of the century, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzie" Banfield unknowingly spends her last night with her family as a whole. On the first dawn of 1900, Lizzie's world has shattered: her mother is dead, and the siblings she promised to protect are at the mercy of their estranged, wealthy, Great Aunt Martha. Deemed ruined by her mother's poverty and desperation, Lizzie is torn away from her brother and sister. She is exiled to Milbourne Manor, a grim reformatory in the windswept north, designed to break the spirits of "wayward" girls. Under the iron rule of the cruel Matilda Smith, Lizzie is stripped of her name and dignity, forced to scrub floors until her hands bleed, and is told she is destined for the same gutter as her mother. But amidst the cruelty of the Manor, Lizzie discovers she is not alone. She finds an unexpected ally in Clara, the matron's compassionate younger sister, and forms a deep protective bond with Nellie, a fellow outcast whose silence hides a devastating secret. from dark cellars of punishment to the heartbreak of tragic loss, Lizzie must cling to a single, dangerous hope that one day she will escape, defy the fate written for her, and find her way back to the family she loves. Flowers from Ashes is a heart-wrenching yet triumphant tale of sisterhood, resilience, and the enduring power of love to bloom in the darkest places.

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  Taboo

  Elizabeth Gage

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  Plunge into the glamour, fame, dark secrets, and sordid lives of three high rollers living in Hollywood's gilded age. Kate Hamilton uses her hard-boiled pride and sensual beauty to hide her shameful past. Eve Sinclair is a child superstar who has carefully choreographed her climb to the top, coolly using anything or anyone to secure her rise. Finally, there's Joseph Knight, a writer and self-established Hollywood prodigy, whose predatory passion wreaks havoc in both women's lives. Expertly weaving intrigue and deception, Taboo is a thoroughly engrossing tale about bright Hollywood comets who blaze and fall to earth.

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  The Accidental Suffragist

  Galia Gichon

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  It's 1912, and protagonist Helen Fox is a factory worker living in New York's tenements. When tragedy strikes in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Helen is seduced by the Suffragist cause and is soon immersed, working alongside famous activists. 
   
   
   
  As Helen's involvement with the cause deepens, she encounters myriad sources of tension that test her perseverance: estrangement from her husband, who is blindsided by his wife's sudden activism; ostracization by neighbors; unease at working side by side with wealthier suffragettes; and worry about her children as she leaves them to picket the White House in Washington. 
   
   
   
  The narrative spans World War One and concludes with the triumph of 1919. In a time when the obstacles for women, from any background, were insurmountable, Helen discovers her voice as an independent woman and dreams of equality in a male-dominated society.

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