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Prolific novelist Stuart Harley has published many books, but wealth and popular acclaim have continued to elude him. In an attempt to help him secure his fortune, Harley's publisher recommends that he write stories with more appeal to female audiences. Harley agrees and begins to work, but he soon finds that his plucky heroine—one Marguerite Andrews—has developed a mind of her own and is not overly keen on going along with his plans.
...2) Jane Talbot
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Excerpt from Jane Talbot "I am very far from being a wise girl. So conscience whispers me, and, though vanity is eager to refute the charge, I must acknowledge that she is seldom successful. Conscience tells me it is folly, it is guilt, to wrap up my existence in one frail mortal; to employ all my thoughts, to lavish all my affections, upon one object; to dote upon a human being, who, as such, must be the heir of many frailties, and whom I know to...
3) The Provost
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The Provost is an ironic look at the career of a small town merchant and politician. Set in Irvine, Scotland, it follows the life of James Pawkie, the Provost of the title. Starting as a humble apprentice, he progresses to owning his own shop and eventually acquiring a large portion of Irvine. Simultaneously, he begins involvement in local politics with a seat on the town council. Eventually, he is elevated to the supreme position of local power,...
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After Cali realizes that her natural hair doesn't listen to a thing she says, she decides to take her older sister's approach to treat her hair like a friend with kindness, love, and care.
This uplifting story shines an unfiltered light on the frustration that many children with ethnic hair have and provides a positive, whimsical spin on embracing and celebrating hair. The sibling relationship between Cali and her older sister Naomi demonstrates...
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In the turbulent reign of King Henry VII, Peter Brome finds himself with a soldier's blood on his hands -- blood the Spanish ambassador's men demand be repaid. Poor and fatherless, Peter delivered the killing blow in self-defence -- and because of his helpless love for Margaret -- dark-eyed daughter of John Castell, the kindly and wealthy merchant who has overseen his upbringing. Now another pursues fair Margaret -- the powerful Marquis d'Aguilar...
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The Broken Road is a 1907 novel of adventure and romance by A. E. W. Mason, set in India during the period of British rule. It first appeared in serial form in The Cornhill Magazine. As a result of the book's publication, the British Government abolished a regulation that had prevented soldiers of the British Indian Army, no matter how valorous, from being eligible to receive the Victoria Cross.
7) Fanshawe
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While he had written many short stories before, "Fanshawe" was Nathaniel Hawthorne's first attempt at writing a novel. The novel is based on his experiences at Bowdoin College in the early 1820s and Hawthorne published the novel himself anonymously in 1828. A commercial failure, Nathaniel Hawthorne's contempt for his first novel can be seen in his efforts to destroy every copy of it. All unsold copies were burned and later all copies that were sold...
8) The Clarion
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Excerpt: "Pain. Pain. Pain. The primal curse, the dominant tragedy of life. Who among you, dear friends, but has felt it? You men, slowly torn upon the rack of rheumatism; you women, with the hidden agony gnawing at your breast" (his roving regard was swift, like a hawk, to mark down the sudden, involuntary quiver of a faded slattern under one of the torches); "all you who have known burning nights and pallid mornings, I offer you r-r-r-release!"
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The World's Desire (1890) is a fantasy novel about the hero Odysseus. He return home after his second, previously untold journey, to find his home devastated. He then sets out on his last journey, during which he encounters Helen of Troy, to whom the title refers. His journey takes him to Egypt, where he witnesses the 'magician' Moses, and his power over the pharaoh.
10) Gossamer
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George A. Birmingham was the pen name of James Owen Hannay (16 July 1865 - 2 February 1950), Irish clergyman and prolific novelist. Excerpt from the book: [...]some reason very few Englishmen undertake. "If the man's a millionaire," I said, "he won't care to dine with us-and he's probably a Jew-not that I've any particular prejudice against Jews." "He's not a Jew," said Gorman. "He's an Englishman. At least he's as English as any man with a name like...
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The Newcomes is Thackeray's most essentially 'Victorian' novel, generous in its proportions, sharp in its criticism of the moral convolutions of the age, and encyclopaedic in its reference. Set in the 1830s and 1840s, a period of rapid change and of political and economic development, the novel considers the fortunes and misfortunes of a 'most respectable' extended middle-class family. The action moves from London to Brighton, from England to France,...
13) Tea-Table Talk
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Tea-table Talk is an imaginary conversation between the writer and a number of un-named characters at the afternoon tea table. The Woman of the World, the Old Maid, the Girton Girl, the Philosopher and the Minor Poet wax lyrical on subjects like marriage, art, society and politics.
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William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair (1847), a panoramic portrait of English society. Thackeray began as a satirist and parodist, with a sneaking fondness for roguish upstarts like Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, Barry Lyndon in Barry Lyndon (1844) and Catherine in Catherine (1839). In his earliest works, writing under such pseudonyms as Charles...
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This pioneering work constitutes a classic modern study of the mystical experience. Author Richard Maurice Bucke, a distinguished progressive psychiatrist, explores the phenomenon of transcendent realization, or illumination. Bucke draws upon his firsthand experience of a life-altering insight to explore the theory of cosmic consciousness, an advance in mental evolution with the potential to raise existence to a higher plane. As valuable today as...
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Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire's novel Zadig, or The Book of Fate skillfully weaves the story of its ancient Babylonian philosopher. Not trying for adherence to history, Voltaire's story is full of thinly veiled references to the social and political issues his own time. This appropriately philosophical work holds up human life as being led by destiny beyond our control. The moral transformations that take place within Zadig tell of
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Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac is an engaging epistolary novel that provides a profound exploration of two women's lives in early 19th-century France. The book unfolds through intimate letters exchanged between two close friends - Louise de Chaulieu and Renée de Maucombe. Through their correspondence, Balzac deftly explores their transition from the confines of the convent school to the complexities of adulthood, marriage, and society....
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Excerpt: "It was high noon of a perfect summer's day. Beneath green sunblind's, upon the terrace overlooking the lawns, Paul Mario, having finished his lunch, lay back against the cushions of a white deck chair and studied the prospect. Sloping turf, rose-gay paths, and lichened brick steps, hollowed with age, zigzagging leisurely down to the fir avenue, carried the eye onward again to where the river wound its way through verdant banks toward the...
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Sir Guy Morville lives his Christian values in everything he does, in order to overcome his inherited temper and willfulness. He comes under the guardianship of the Edmonstone family, and as he works his way into their lives and hearts he also stirs the jealousy of their cousin. His absolute dedication to doing and being everything good bring about tragedy and the transformation of all those around him.
20) The Marriages
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(Excerpt): "When she knocked at his door late in the evening he was regularly not in his room. It was known in the house how much he was worried; he was horribly nervous about his ordeal. It was to begin on the 23rd of June, and his father was as worried as himself. The wedding had been arranged in relation to this...."