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  The Duke's Secret Cinderella

  Eva Devon

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  Charlotte Browne could just kick herself. What on earth possessed her to tell the Duke of Rockford that she is a lady? But something about the duke’s handsomeness and kind intelligence makes Charlotte blurt out the teeniest, tiniest falsehood. Now it’s too late to admit she’s just plain Charlotte of no particular importance—with cinder-stained hands, a wretched stepfather, and no prospects for marriage. Rafe Dorchester, Duke of Rockford, has done what every self-respecting duke must do—avoid marriage at all costs. But the only thing stronger than the duke is his mother, and she lays down the highest ultimatum: he’ll need to find a duchess, immediately. Only, when he calls on a potential bride, he instead finds the pert, fresh-faced Lady Charlotte. Rafe was warned to never mix the business of marriage with pleasure, but when it comes to Lady Charlotte…oh, business would be a splendid pleasure. Except Charlotte knows that true life is nothing like the penny romances she reads. The duke can’t actually end up with a maid. When her vile stepbrother catches her coming from the gardens with the duke close on her heels, Charlotte knows just what he’ll do. And there’s only one way to save them all from scandal…

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  Hagar's Daughter A Story of...

  Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins

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  Hagar's Daughter was first published serially in "The Colored American Magazine" in 1901-1902 by Pauline E. Hopkins, a prominent African-American novelist, journalist, historian, and playwright. The book was described as "a powerful narrative of love and intrigue, founded on events which happened in the exciting times immediately following the assassination of President Lincoln: a story of the Republic in the power of Southern caste prejudice toward the Negro." (From the January, 1901, issue of "The Colored American Magazine")In another of her works, the author explained the nature and purpose of her literary efforts: "But, after all, it is the simple, homely tale, unassumingly told, which cements the bond of brotherhood among all classes and all complexions. Fiction is of great value to any people as a preserver of manners and customs—religious, political and social. It is a record of growth and development from generation to generation. No one will do this for us; we must ourselves develop the men and women who will faithfully portray the inmost thoughts and feelings of the Negro with all the fire and romance which lie dormant in our history, and, as yet, unrecognized by writers of the Anglo-Saxon race." (From the Preface, Contending Forces, 1900) (Summary by lubee930)

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  X Y Z - A Detective Story

  Anna Katharine Green

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  Sometimes in the course of his experience, a detective, while engaged in ferreting out the mystery of one crime, runs inadvertently upon the clue to another. But rarely has this been done in a manner more unexpected or with attendant circumstances of greater interest than in the instance I am now about to relate.For some time the penetration of certain Washington officials had been baffled by the clever devices of a gang of counterfeiters who had inundated the western portion of Massachusetts with spurious Treasury notes. Some of the best talent of the Secret Service had been expended upon the matter, but with no favorable result, when, one day, notice was received at Washington that a number of suspicious-looking letters, addressed to the simple initials, X. Y. Z., Brandon, Mass., were being daily forwarded through the mails of that region; and it being deemed possible that a clue had at last been offered to the mystery in hand, I was sent northward to investigate. (Excerpt from chapter 1)

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  Valhalla

  Alan Robert Clark

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  May of Teck, only daughter of a noble family fallen from grace, has been selected to marry the troublesome Prince Eddy, heir to the British throne. Submitting to the wishes of Queen Victoria and under pressure from her family, young May agrees. But just as a spark of love and devotion arises between the young couple, Prince Eddy dies of influenza. To her horror, May discovers she is to be married to the brother, Georgie, instead, a cold and domineering man. But what can she do? From the author of The Prince of Mirrors comes this gripping account of the life of Queen Mary, one of the most formidable queens of Britain.“Clark takes an iconic and forbidding figure and transforms her into a passionate, loving and damaged woman.” SIMON RUSSELL BEALE“This is a heart-breaking tale and no mistake. A beautiful and lyrical tale told with deft brilliance.” JOHN SESSIONS“Atmospheric and vividly imagined. Valhalla brings to life a woman who had otherwise seemed frozen in history; it's theme of royal duty still all too relevant.” MARGARET DRABBLE

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  Bullets and Silver

  Nik James

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  Colorado, July 1878. The nationally famous solar eclipse is almost upon the country, and a peak overlooking the fledgling town of Elkhorn is one of the centers of attention. In the midst of boisterous and chaotic frontier pre-celebrations, Caleb Marlowe?reluctantly deputized for the coming event?learns that local power broker Judge Horace Patterson is being targeted for assassination by agents of a financial magnate. Caleb's efforts to thwart the plan, however, are complicated when a ghost from his past shows up with the intention of blackmailing him. Elijah Starr, acting for a railroad robber baron, will use any ruthless method at his disposal to clear the way to control a planned rail line to be built through Elkhorn. Caleb is commissioned to bring Starr in to face justice after the assassination attempt, but he has his own burning agenda. Starr is his father, the man who abused and murdered his mother, and Caleb swears his mother's death will be avenged and justice will prevail... or he'll die trying.

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  Redburn His First Voyage

  Herman Melville

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  Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his bestknown works are MobyDick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. Although his reputation was not high at the time of his death, the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival, and MobyDick grew to be considered one of the great American novels. 
   
  Melville's growing literary ambition showed in MobyDick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The ConfidenceMan (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as United States customs inspector. 
   
  From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. BattlePieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a selfinflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.

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