Publisher: Diwan
Fountain of the Drowning is a multi-layered narrative set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when Egypt witnessed dramatic events, from the constructionof the Suez Canal to the British occuation, which brought about rapid modernaization and the Europeanization of social norms.
It's a journey that most deem an insane impossibility. Yet on October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt—daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol—fearlessly boards the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, Lydia is fiercely independent despite her youth. She's also accustomed to defying convention. Against her father's wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt—builder of the New Orleans—and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher. If Nicholas's untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will serve as a profitable packet ship between that city and Natchez, proving the power of steam as it travels up and down the Mississippi. Success in this venture would revolutionize travel and trade, open the west to expansion, and secure the Roosevelts' future. Lydia believes herself ready for all the dangers ahead—growing unrest among native people, disease or injury, and the turbulent Falls of the Ohio, a sixty-foot drop long believed impassable in such a large boat. But there are other challenges in store, impossible to predict as Lydia boards that fall day. Challenges which—if survived—will haunt and transform her, as surely as the journey will alter the course of a nation . . .Show book
"A Mummer's Wife" by George Moore is a stark portrayal of the theatrical world's underbelly in Victorian London. The novel follows Kate Ede, a young woman who marries a traveling actor, and delves into her struggles, desires, and the harsh realities of her life. Moore's narrative exposes the tension between public performance and private identity, exploring themes of love, infidelity, and societal expectations. With gritty realism, the novel offers a candid look at the sacrifices and compromises individuals make in pursuit of artistic and personal fulfillment in a society marked by hypocrisy and judgment.Show book
A letter from a sea captain, signed only with cryptic initials, directs an experienced sailor to built and outfit a ship, and to assemble a crew to sail on a dangerous adventure. The voyage starts towards a northerly destination with, as far as anyone knows, no captain aboard. After some time at sea, the captain finally appears and announces his identity, and his plan to sail to the North Pole. The crew faces dangers and hardship as they fight their way through the icy seas, while the captain drives them with single-minded focus to find a passage ever farther north. In his usual style, Verne includes lots of history and scientific explanations in the story. The Adventures of Captain Hatteras was first published in 1864 under the title Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras. At the time, the polar regions hadn't been fully explored; with the story set in 1861, it would be nearly fifty years before an explorer reached the pole.Show book
Now that he has made a name for himself and shown his courage in battle Sven Saxon Sword becomes not only a leader in battle but also a target for others when he fights. Beginning with the Battle of Svolder when hundreds of ships clashed in the sea, the novel takes us through the maelstrom of war. Sweyn Forkbeard has ambitions in the west where there is a weak Saxon king, Aethelred. Sven Saxon Sword and his foster father are part of the force which battles in Wessex, Cornwall and Kent. As they battle the clan grows and becomes more powerful. Sven Saxon Sword becomes a warrior of even greater renown and a leader of men.Show book
"The Mill on the Floss," published in 1860, is a novel by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans). It is a poignant portrayal of Victorian England and captures the complexities of family dynamics, societal expectations, and personal aspirations. The story centers on Maggie Tulliver, a passionate and intelligent woman struggling to satisfy her emotional needs in the rigid provincial community of St. Ogg's. Her relationship with her brother, Tom, and their conflicts with family and society form the crux of the narrative. The novel explores themes of gender norms, education, and the tension between individual desires and social conventions.Show book
In Tudor England, a dark mystery threatens a marriage. “Carr is a master at creating and sustaining suspense . . . a story that will draw you in” (Regan Romance Review). Linnet Pennlyon, proud daughter of a sea captain, finds herself in a vicious trap: Pregnancy has forced her to marry the cunning Squire Colum Casvellyn. Once their baby is born, she devotes herself to their son. Yet, little by little, against her will, Linnet finds herself drawn to her passionate, mercurial husband. Dark secrets lurk in their castle: The squire’s first wife died amid rumors of foul play. When a beautiful stranger washes up on the shore, Linnet suddenly finds she’s no longer in control of her family—or her life. It falls to Linnet’s daughter, Tamsyn, to uncover the truth about a long-ago night . . . and put to rest the rumors about her beloved mother. Her discovery sets in motion an unstoppable chain of events that will reverberate for decades to come.Show book
