Ellen Middleton had a happy childhood with her uncle and aunt. She grew up alongside her cousin Julia. Suddenly, something happened. Her life spiraled out of control. She married the wrong man. Her life is ruined and she is tormented by guilt over something she has done. A huge secret she holds and wishes to keep. A secret which, if revealed, would ruin her life forever.
Lady Georgiana Fullerton was one of the foremost Catholic novelists in England in the 19th century. This novel was praised by Edgar Allan Poe for its sharp and poignant style and wit.
A night editor at a New York paper escapes to the country to avoid a nervous breakdown. Providence lands him in the middle of a loving Quaker family in time to save them from being roasted by a lightning strike. Then what could be more natural than falling in love with a girl already engaged to someone else? Truly, it was a Day of Fate for him. "Some shallow story of deep love." (Shakespeare)
This short novel by Beatrice Harraden, who was known for her work as a suffragist, was a bestseller in its time. In it, teacher and activist Bernardine Holme takes up residence at a tuberculosis sanatorium after falling ill. There she meets Robert Allitsen, known to sanatorium residents as “the Disagreeable Man.” As their friendship grows, the mutual influence of each character’s outlook on life and illness comes to have a lasting effect on the two.
Rodolphe, who is really the Grand Duke of Gerolstein (a fictional kingdom of Germany) but is disguised as a Parisian worker. He can speak in argot, is extremely strong and a good fighter. However he shows great compassion for the lower classes, good judgment, and has a brilliant mind. He is at ease in all layers of society and so is able to understand their problems, and how the different social classes are linked. Summary by Michele Eaton
These ten superb short stories of Duncan Campbell Scott, published in 1896, portray humorous, farcical, and tragic aspects of life in the fictional Quebec village of Viger. Scott’s tales of the lives and vicissitudes of Viger’s inhabitants include an established milliner who is upset by the appearance of a younger, more popular rival; an innkeeper whose obsession with the Franco-Prussian War drives him mad; and a strange peddler with a carefully guarded secret that is accidentally revealed.
Duncan Campbell Scott was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1862. He entered the civil service in 1879 and remained until his retirement in 1932. Scott was an honored, skilled and popular poet, short-story writer, and essayist. He died in Ottawa in 1947.
Madelaine is the poor cousin of the aristocratic de Gramont family in France of the 1850’s. She is cherished by the beautiful young Bertha and secretly the beloved of the handsome Maurice, but she is barely tolerated by the haughty old countess. When her uncle’s scheming manages to cause a serious rift within the family, Madelaine finds she must rely on the skill of her “fairy fingers” and make her living as a seamstress. She winds up as the sought-after couturier “Mademoiselle Melanie” in Washington, D.C. and has an opportunity to help the now financially-imperiled de Gramonts.
’St. George and St. Michael’ is a little-known historical romance telling the story of a young couple who find themselves on opposing sides during the tumultuous years of the English Civil Wars. Volume 3 completes the series. Tensions are rising between king and parliament, the Church of England and the numerous independent puritans, and rumours abound that Charles I will soon declare open war on the dissident elements within his realm. Seventeen-year-old Dorothy Vaughan knows little of the brewing conflict, yet is sure that her loyalty must be with her king and her nation. When she challenges her childhood friend, Richard Heywood, to prove himself a man and so worthy of winning her hand in marriage by becoming involved in the larger events that surround them, he finds that his convictions – both political and spiritual – lie with his father’s and the puritans. Determined to do what he believes is right, Richard finds that he cannot shake his immovable conscience, even for the woman he loves.Though it is, for the most part, a realistic novel, ‘St. George and St. Michael’ is not without either the otherwordly atmosphere of the fantastic or the rich spiritual depth that characterizes so much of MacDonald’s writing.