Publisher: Charles River Editors
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Irish writer and is considered to be a significant figure in how novels have evolved in Europe. Edgeworth’s novels are known for moral and social themes. This edition of Castle Rackrent includes a table of contents.
"I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific big-wigs to give me a shilling, I can, and I know I can, heave bricks into the middle of them."With The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler threw a subversive brick at the smug face of Victorian domesticity. Published in 1903, a year after Butler's death, the novel is a thinly disguised account of his own childhood and youth "in the bosom of a Christian family." With irony, wit, and sometimes rancor, he savaged contemporary values and beliefs, turning inside-out the conventional novel of a family's life through several generations.The Way of All Flesh tells the story of Ernest Pontifex and his struggles with Victorian mores, his restrictive, highly religious family, and Victorian society itself. Butler is remembered as one of the greatest of the anti-Victorians, whose ideas reflected accurately the new, more liberal society that was to come following the death of England's great Queen, and the beginning of a new era.Show book
Victor Canning’s light-hearted and cleverly plotted novella set on the beautiful French Riviera Young Paul Ashcroft has travelled to the beautiful French Riviera. His goal: to make a lot of money. His methods: more than questionable. Following his motto ‘the world owes me a living’, he steals and swindles – using what he needs for himself and passing on the rest to those less fortunate. After coming across the beautiful Villa Triton, he disguises himself as M. Durobat, a middle-aged Frenchman, to inspect the villa and to pawn the owner’s ornaments and paintings. At the local Casino, he becomes acquainted with the rich ladies of the resort. As he steals their jewellery, he blames the robberies on 'Gringo the Greek', a small crook he knew a long time ago. But just as Paul's schemes and tricks start to be fruitful and he falls in love with the intriguing Elise Benoit, the real Gringo the Greek appears on the scene, ready to take on the cunning thief who has been blaming him all this time… Praise for Victor Canning: ‘Quite delightful … with an atmosphere of quiet contentment and humour that cannot fail to charm’ Daily Telegraph ‘What counts for most in the story … is his mounting pleasure in vagabondage and the English scene’ The Times ‘A paean to the beauties of the English countryside and the lovable oddities of the English character’ New York Times ‘His delight at the beauties of the countryside and his mild astonishment at the strange ways of men are infectious’ Daily Telegraph ‘A swift-moving novel, joyous, happy and incurably optimistic’ Evening StandardShow book
In the shadow of World War II, in the heart of Yorkshire, Edward Smith, a diligent librarian, embarks on a unique cataloguing assignment at the secluded Hackthwaite Hall. The estate's owner, Dr. Lovegrove, a retired industrial chemist, reveals an unexpected obsession with the arcane art of alchemy, claiming to have conjured a supernatural creature of impossible powers.Smith's initial amusement and skepticism dissolve as eerie phenomena begin to haunt the hall's ancient walls, and he finds himself drawn into the alchemist's wild tales. In this nexus where science and the occult intertwine, Edward must unravel the enigmatic secrets of 'The Poisoned Rose' before he becomes the next victim of its poisonous thorns.'The Poisoned Rose' is a riveting supernatural mystery, set in the mid-1940s, brimming with unexpected twists and turns. Delve into the world of alchemy and the unexplained in this captivating novella that will keep you on the edge of your seat.Show book
Charles Kingsley (June 12 1819 - January 23 1875) was an English divine, university professor, historian, and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and north-east Hampshire. As a novelist, his chief power lay in his descriptive faculties, which are evident in this novel as he pictures the Egyptian desert and the ancient city Alexandria. Hypatia, 1st published in 1853, is set in 5th Century A.D. Egypt. It centers upon a young orphan monk from a desert monastery who feels called to continue his religious life in the city. He discovers a sister, who is a prostitute living with a band of Goths. Other characters include Hypatia, a lady philosopher based on a historical personage; Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria; Felix, the Roman prefect; a Jewish man who has lost his faith; and an elderly Jewish woman who is like a sorceress. St. Augustine of Hippo makes a brief appearance. (Summary from Wikipedia with additions by Karen Merline)Show book
"Years of resentment and a passionate romance throw a man into turmoil when he returns to the Scottish Highlands in this novel . . . intriguing until the end" ~ Kirkus Reviews "With two multilayered protagonists and a strong foundation laid for sequels, this eloquent mix of historical fiction and romance will appeal to fans of both genres." ~ BookLife Reviews Before his father offered to shelter Wylie's two sons, nothing could lure Wylie Macpherson back to Scotland. But after a bitter twenty-five-year exile, his homecoming proves even harder than anticipated. Instead of the scorn he expected, he's faced with the relief of a struggling village long awaiting his return. All Wylie wants is to retreat to his ship, yet the tug of his memories and responsibilities is difficult to ignore. Having lost one man to the sea, Anna Macrae is cynical of men chasing dreams across oceans when everything one could want—family, community, friends—can be found in the Highlands. Though preoccupied hiding her father's infirmity while managing his business in his stead, she can't help but notice Wylie's sons need a parent, and their father is too absorbed in his own grief and anger to notice. As she grows close to them, her traitorous heart begins to spin fantasies of a life not meant to be. Blindsided by a barrage of painful memories, Wylie pays little heed to the heat building between himself and Anna until he finds he can think of nothing else. Will he flee once again, or will he fight one more battle to claim the sweetest of prizes? A poignant story of love, loss, and coming home, A Thimbleful of Honor is set in the heart of Scotland's Highlands, twenty-five years after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.Show book
The author of The Gabinian Affair continues the memoir of a retired soldier who came of age in the Roman legions of Julius Caesar. “Not lyrical, but accurate, Insubrecus. All these stories and reports of Romans, Belgae, Krauts, and whatnot have become a knot I do not have time to unravel, so I’m just going to slice it open!” Caesar announced. “Tomorrow at dawn, this army marches on the Aeduan capital . . . we march on Bibracte!” With these words, Gaius Julius Caesar sent his army on what most of his officers considered a suicide mission with the Helvetians and their German allies across their line of retreat and the army trapped against the impregnable walls of Bibracte, the fortress-capital of their treacherous Gallic allies, the Aedui. The Helvetian Affair recounts retired Roman soldier Gaius Marius Insubrecus’ coming of age as a Roman soldier in the legionary camps outside the city of Aquileia, and serving his patron, Caesar, as he conducts a lightening campaign to prevent the fierce and ruthless attempt by the Helvetii to conquer Celtic Gaul and threaten the Roman province. The narrative recreates a colorful and culturally complex portrait of ancient northern Italy and the Rhone valley, as Romans, Celts and Germans struggle for supremacy in the hills and dark forests of western Gaul.Show book
