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  After the Funeral

  Agatha Christie

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  Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. 
  Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully abridged versions are shorter with the language targeted at learners of English. 
  After Richard Abernethie’s funeral, his will is read out to his family. His sister, Cora, shocks everyone by saying ‘He was murdered, wasn’t he?’ 
  When Cora is murdered in her bed the very next day, her 
  extraordinary remark suddenly seems very important. 
  Every member of the Abernethie family has something to gain 
  from both murders. Hercule Poirot arrives to solve the mystery.

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  The Heart of the Fire

  W. F. Harvey

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  William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) was an English writer of short stories, most notably in the mystery and horror genres.Born into a wealthy Quaker family in Yorkshire, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, and took a degree in medicine at Leeds. Ill health dogged him, however, and he devoted much of his recuperation to writing short stories. "The Heart of the Fire" is a queer tale. On the fireplace in the old coaching inn, The Moorcock, there is carved an old mysterious prophecy which casts an odd burden on the family... in that they dare not ever let the fire go out. One night a stranger appears at the door. He does not stay long and appears afraid of staying in the house after he has sat by the fire for a while. He mentions that he always sees his future in the embers. He sets off into the night, but after a few hours returns, injured, having been thrown from his horse. As the landlord sits with him by the fire, the stranger nods off to sleep. The landlord seems to hear a strange voice calling him from the flames and urging him to commit a terrible...awful... unconscionable crime. His action determines the events of the next seventy years.

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  The Poseidon Adventure

  Paul Gallico

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  The inspiration for the 2006 Warner Bros. film, Poseidon, Paul Gallico's The Poseidon Adventure is an intense and dramatic story about a gigantic ocean liner and its unimaginable final journey. 
  When a rogue wave capsizes the luxury cruise ship, a small group of survivors find themselves unlikely allies in a battle for their lives. As the unstable vessel rapidly fills with water each must draw on skills and strengths they didn't even know they possessed, fighting against time for their own survival and for each other. 
  Performed by Dylan Baker

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  Don Quixote

  Miguel de Cervantes

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  Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading romances of chivalry that he determines to become a knight errant and pursue bold adventures, accompanied by his squire, the cunning Sancho Panza. As they roam the world together, the aging Quixote's fancy leads them wildly astray. At the same time the relationship between the two men grows in fascinating subtlety. Often considered to be the first modern novel, Don Quixote is a wonderful burlesque of the popular literature its disordered protagonist is obsessed with.

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  Jeannot and Colin

  Voltaire

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  Voltaire was the nom de plume of François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), a well known writer, poet, satirist and wit whose ascerbic criticism of many institutions of the day once earned him a period of imprisonment in the Bastille.In this tale of Jeannot and Colin, Voltaire not only tells an instructive tale, warning of the dangers of sudden wealth and social climbing, but also directs his satirical comments at the vacuous and fickle nouveau riche of his day, the catholic church, private education, and society in general.Jeannot and Colin are childhood friends. Both come from working-class backgrounds in a rural part of France, but Jeannot's parents, on a trip to Paris, strike it lucky in business and within a short time become very wealthy. They purchase a title, send fine clothes to their son, and order him to Paris. Jeannot's head is turned by the sudden elevation in his status and he lords it over the humble Colin when he leaves.In Paris, there is a lengthy discussion as to how Jeannot should best be educated for his new role as a young marquis. After rejecting Latin, geography, astronomy, history, and various other possible subjects, they settle on teaching him to dance and hold forth as a wit at dinner parties. All seems to be going well, when one day the bailiffs arrive and repossess all the family's assets. Jeannot is about to learn some very harsh life-lessons.

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  A January Bride

  Deborah Raney

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  A year’s worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed.What will happen when novelist Madeleine Houser’s “pen pal” friendship with a lonely widower takes an unexpected turn?Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper—but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner—a man who's likely many years her senior—and who she’s never even met.Arthur Tyler is a college professor who lost his young wife to cancer. Together they ran the bed and breakfast where Art lives, but without his wife, the house is missing warmth and cheer. He jumps at the chance to have author Madeleine Houser use the space that was once filled with guests. He, too, begins to enjoy the daily exchanges with Maddie, but a series of misunderstandings lead him to believe she’s far from being a prospective date—even if he were ready to date again, which he’s not.When Maddie and Art finally meet and discover one another’s identity, sparks fly. Even so, they each have obstacles to overcome in order for this winter romance to blossom.“Having been the mother of the bride twice and the mother of the groom once, it’s fun planning a virtual wedding. Then again, writing A November Bride made me responsible for every aspect of the wedding, including making sure the couple made it all the way to the ‘I do’s!’” —Beth K. Vogt, author of A November Bride

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