Caterina Sarti is the orphaned daughter of an Italian music master who has been brought up by the aristocratic Cheverel family. In love with the Cheverel heir, Anthony Wybrow, her hopes of marrying him are frustrated by the discovery that not only has Anthony merely been playing with her affections, but his family will never accept her as their equal. Mr. Gilfil, the faithful vicar, rescues Caterina from her despair, but not before she has been irrevocably damaged by her unkind treatment. A masterly evocation of tragic love, Mr. Gilfil's Love Story also reflects George Eliot's deep ambivalence towards the upper classes. "Elegant and expressive…this is the most original work of fiction George Eliot ever wrote." (David Lodge).
Born Mary Ann Evans, Victorian novelist George Eliot (1819–1880) is the author of a number of remarkable works, including the masterpiece Middlemarch. Views: 818
Let the overseas snogfest begin!
Georgia and Jas are off to Hamburger-a-gogo land! Georgia plans to track down Masimo, the Italian-American dreamboat, but after a long week in America, she only succeeds in learning importantish things -- like how to ride a bucking bronco. Will Georgia reel in the Italian dreamboat? Or is she destined to live forever all aloney on her owney? Views: 818
From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival — and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.
By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men. Views: 818
From Allan Gurganus, author of the beloved, bestselling Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All and winner of the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, here are eleven masterful works of short fiction. First seen in The New, Yorker, Harper's, the Paris Review, Granta, and elsewhere, they are darkly comic stories and novellas about love and money among American WASPs, that majority outnumbered, outflanked, and somewhat out of love with itself.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 818
In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.
Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.
Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.
With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time. Views: 818
KURT AUSTIN -- CLIVE CUSSLER'S NEW HERO FOR THE MILLENNIUM -- BATTLES TO STOP A BILLIONAIRE TYCOON FROM ACHIEVING WORLD DOMINATIONBLUE GOLDAn investigation into the sudden deaths of a pod of gray whales leads National Underwater & Marine Agency leader Kurt Austin to the Mexican coast, where someone tries to put him and his mini-sub permanently out of commission. Meanwhile, in South America's lush hills, a specially assigned NUMA team discovers a mysterious tribe, a mythical white goddess, and a murderous cadre of bio-pirates intent on stealing medicinal secrets worth millions.Soon, Austin and his crew realize they're working opposite ends of the same grand scheme and must race against time to save the world's freshwater supply from a twisted eco-extortionist. But every step toward salvation takes them deeper into a dense jungle of treachery, blackmail, and death. Views: 818
The fatal and desperate politics of Eastern Europe collide with the comparative innocence and complacency of suburban Australian life in this powerful and disturbing love story about two families and the madness that invades their lives.
Terry Delaney leads a relatively satisfying life as a security guard and as a passionate rugby player with a shot at pro-team success. But Terry's life is shaken beyond recognition when he falls obsessively in love with Danielle Kabbel, the daughter of his employer, Rudi Kabbel. Rudi, a half-mad/half-charming immigrant from Eastern Europe, suffers from visions of an impending apocalypse and from the demons of a tormented childhood.
The family madness runs deep, from the Kabbel family patriarch, Stanek, a Nazi collaborator who betrayed his wife to save his own neck, to Rudi's traumatic childhood in which he was a pawn between the Nazis and the Russians. It is into this maelstrom of devastating history and present day insanity that Terry is drawn--to his own desperate peril. Views: 818
A year had passed since Ben Holiday bought the Magic Kingdon from the wizard, Meeks. But unbeknownst to him, he has been the victim of a trap by Meeks, who has succeeded in stealing the Paladin and appropriating his face. Suddenly none of Ben's friends know him, but all of his enemies do. He must win it all back again--only this time on his own!
From the Paperback edition. Views: 818
Norah has been in the Syme household a few days before she learns of her close resemblance to her employer's niece, Marion Syme, who drowned several years ago. Is there something to be afraid of in the half-deserted house - or something more sinister, in the psyche of someone who lives there? Views: 818
It has been years since Elizabeth “Betts” McGee has returned to her once-adored Bulls Island in the Carolina Lowcountry—ages since tragic fate coupled with nasty rumors ended her engagement to fabulously wealthy Charleston golden boy J.D. Langley. Having successfully reinvented herself as a top New York banking executive, Betts is now heading up the most important project of her career. But it’ll transform the untouched island she loved in her youth into something unrecognizable. And it’s forcing her to return to the bosom of her estranged family, where she may not be welcomed with open arms—and uniting her with ex-flame J.D., who’s changed . . . but perhaps not enough.
"Bulls Island" is a satisfying tale of honor, chance, and star-crossed love, infused with Southern wit, grace, and charm from the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Christmas Pearl" and "The Land of Mango Sunsets." Views: 818
Poverty had drained him of all mercy, the great blast furnaces of the steel mills had burned all love and honor from his heart. Nothing was left but a hunger of wealth, a dream of power, and the terrible knowledge that only the ruthless could rise from the muck to live in the mansions of the mighty. Obsessed by this savage vision, he clawed his way from the slag pits to the peak of a mighty empire of steel. Men who opposed him were trampled, women who loved him were stripped of all decency and pride, left naked to his scornful lust. Except for one, whose strange, fierce love remained unconquerable, whose passion mocked him in every blazing triumph. Their wild, heart-rending combat runs like blood through the veins of this sweeping, magnificent story of America's growth, a story that only Taylor Caldwell could have written. Views: 818
One Against Armageddon
Charles Whitmann was a lonely man, a widower. Though he loved a woman, every code of honor and decency forbade him to speak of this love. Isolated as Charles was, he was the head of a great industry-and he had Jimmy, the son who meant more to him than life itself.
Now, suddenly, Charles Whittmann knew his world was doomed. He had been given a glimpse into the future, into the monstrous greed of corrupt and powerful men who were sweeping civilization toward war. He had to fight this evil alone...
Taylor Caldwell's blasting novel on the destructions of war and the doomed lives of innocents, echoes a potent message for today. Views: 818
The irrespressible Anastasia Krupnick returns for her sixth adventure in which she investigates career possibilities. Views: 817
Miracles happen all around us—even though we're seldom sufficiently awake to notice them. Sometimes we find our true self in a Mirror. Sometimes a stray bullet defines our future. At other times we wander for ages without being able to define our purpose. Yet, when we find it, reality fills us with Wonder.After a rough break up with the man he thought he'd spend his happily-ever-after with, Brad returns home to Wyoming to attend his high school reunion. He's still in touch with his best friend since childhood - only problem is that Jimmy doesn't know he's gay. Brad hates the idea of upsetting Jimmy, who has no family left and thinks of Brad as his brother. Plus, he's been lying to him all these years. How will Jimmy take the news, and will their friendship survive? Finding the man of his dreams in Sheridan is not on his radar, but a few surprises are in store for Brad. This light, comedic MM romance explores what it's like to come out in 2014. Views: 817
Thirteen-year-old Lockie Leonard is new in town and has nothing going for him except for the fact that he's a hot-shot surfer. He falls in love with the beautiful Vicki and, amazingly, she likes him too. Suddenly Lockie is famous and popular, but he still has a lot to learn about love. Views: 817
