“On the day the drafted men march away, Ruth MacDonald catches John Cameron's eye and waves to him. In the excitement of the moment they both forget the social barriers that lie between them and only remember they were schoolmates as children. From this a friendship develops that has far-reaching results. To Ruth, spoiled daughter of the rich, comes a new conception of life, of war, of love. To John comes tests of fire before he finds himself. Here is the absorbing romance of two people who searched through the devious paths of a warring world for fulfillment and happiness.” - Dust Jacket, 1919 Edition. Note: Chapter numbering skips XI, like the original chapter numbering in the first edition.
In this novel, Chesnutt described the hopelessness of Reconstruction in a post-Civil War South that was bent on reestablishing the former status quo and rebuilding itself as a region of the United States where new forms of "slavery" would replace the old. This novel illustrated how race hatred and the impotence of a reluctant Federal Government trumped the rule of law, ultimately setting the stage for the rise of institutions such as Jim Crow, lynching, chain gangs and work farms--all established with the intent of disenfranchising African Americans.
A modern American family move into a traditionally drafty and very haunted English mansion. So far so good but anyone knowing Wilde can expect twists and turns to make it interesting. In this cast the crusty old ghost has a tough time convincing the family he exists and then in frightening them. This is extremely frustrating of course to him and as the protagonist of the story, takes matters (and non-matters) into his hands to deal with the upstart and irreverent new tenants. (phil chenevert)
The story moves from Anne and Gilbert to their six children, and their new neighbours, the children of the new Presbyterian minister.
In Philadelphia, Frank Cowperwood, whose father is a banker, makes his first money by buying cheap soaps on the market and selling it back with profit to a grocer. Later, he gets a job in Henry Waterman & Company, and leaves it for Tighe & Company. He also marries an affluent widow, in spite of his young age. Over the years, he starts embezzling municipal funds. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire redounds to a stock market crash, prompting him to be bankrupt and exposed. Although he attempts to browbeat his way out of being sentenced to jail by intimidating Mr Stener, politicians from the Republican Party use their influence to use him as a scapegoat for their own corrupt practices. Meanwhile, he has an affair with Aileen Butler, a young girl, subsequent to losing faith in his wife. She vows to wait for him after his jail sentence. Her father, Mr Butler dies; she grows apart from her family. Frank divorces his wife. Sometime after being released, he invests in stocks subsequent to the Panic of 1873, and becomes a millionaire again. He decides to move out of Philadelphia and start a new life in the West.
Virginia Woolf’s third novel lacks a conventional narrative style and some say even a plot. It follows Jacob from his childhood, through his education at Cambridge and finally to his death in World War I. The prose repeatedly shifts its point of view and the reader is challenged to find connections between the narrative fragments. Largely from the comments of others we come to know the sequence and some moments of Jacob’s life but we never fully learn who Jacob is. The literary experimentation in Jacob’s Room is used even more successfully in Woolf’s later novels.
Fifty-year-old John Gadsby is alarmed by the decline of his hometown, Branton Hills, and rallies the city's young people to form an "Organization of Youth" to build civic spirit and improve living standards. Gadsby and his youthful army, despite some opposition, transform Branton Hills from a stagnant municipality into a bustling, thriving city. The story begins around 1906 and continues through World War I, Prohibition, and President Warren G. Harding's administration.
"Gadsby" is a lipogram - a whole novel of some 50.000 words without a single instance of the letter E. When it first appeared in 1939 it was hardly noticed by the general public, but a modern reviewer called it "probably the most ambitious work ever attempted in this genre". Hardcopies of the book are extremely rare and sell for thousands of dollars.
This short novel’s titular characters are brothers. An old family friend dies, leaving without explanation his entire fortune to Jean, the younger brother. Pierre, the protagonist, is puzzled, jealous, and increasingly bitter. A bequest, a secret, a major decision. This, Maupassant’s fourth novel, is considered by many to be his finest. (Lee Smalley)
In rural England during the time of war, a rash of unsolved murders spawns conspiracy theories, paranoia, and fear as they search for a culprit, an explanation, and an end to the terror.
At an age when he should, by rights, be embarking on a well-deserved and comfortable retirement, Captain Whalley, a sailor of the old school — and even, in a small way, a pioneer of the eastern maritime trade — finds himself forced by circumstance and his own sense of honour to bind himself to a three year contract of employment as captain of a tramp steamer whose owner is the steamer's own engineer, and a mean and surly gambling addict to boot. Even this challenging situation, however, soon proves to be the least of Captain Whalley's difficulties.
Botchan is the story of a young math teacher from Tokyo whose first assignment takes him to a middle school in the country side. His arrival there is not very lucky: The pupils are bound to test his perseverance and cheerily comment every one of his perceived missteps. In the teacher's room, he soon finds himself in the middle of an intrigue between the jovial "Porcupine" and the fat "Hubbard Squash" on one side, and the effeminate "Red Shirt" and his follower "Clown" on the other. Will Botchan choose the right side in the end?
Botchan - with morality as the main theme - is one of the most popular novels in Japan. Soseki Natsume bases the story on his own experiences as teacher in Matsuyama, his first assignment away from Tokyo.
Fleeing from an aggressive suitor, Hazel Radcliffe becomes hopelessly lost in the Arizona desert. Exhausted, she falls unconscious from her pony. Soon she is found by John Brownleigh, a handsome missionary who lives nearby. As he cares for her, a strong and true love grows between them. She was raised in luxury, he was raised to serve God. They part knowing very little about each other except for the love they feel. Back home among her family and friends, Hazel makes an important decision. She will do all she can to change, but can she do so before it's too late? Follow her journey of coming closer to the Lord and finding true love in an unlikely place.
The story of Selina DeJong and her son Dirk, whom she affectionately calls So Big. After the death of her husband, Selina raises So Big on her own while managing her deceased husband's farm in Illinois. When So Big grows up, he moves to Chicago, where he finds himself drawn to the fast-money stock-broker lifestyle of the 1920s. So Big is conflicted: he wants to live in the world of speculation and finance, but he's aware that his mother (and his love interest, an artist) are disappointed that he hasn't lived up to the hard-working, hardscrabble values instilled by his mother.
“I thought it was you I saw coming up the hill,” she said, stretching out her hand.
He stopped and shook it; the touch of his big, firm fingers made her tremble. His hand was massive and hard as if it were hewn of stone. She looked up at him and smiled.
“Isn’t it cold?” she said. It is terrible to be desirous of saying all sorts of passionate things, while convention debars you from any but the most commonplace. (Excerpts from chapter 1.)
Gilbert Patten, writing under the pen name of Burt L. Standish, wrote innumerable novels that were very popular in their time. His Frank Merriwell stories were later adapted for radio and these, too, were very popular. Frank is the All-American boy---scholar, athlete, gentleman---and always displays quick thinking and fairness in all that he does.
The world’s most confident, most chaos-creating eleven year old boy is at it again in these fourteen glorious and funny 1924 short stories.
Dawson published over thirty books, the one best remembered today probably being the animal adventure story Finn the Wolfhound (1908)…. His own dog Tynagh and her son Gareth, who was described as the largest and finest specimen of his breed to date, served as the models for Tara and Finn in Finn the Wolfhound (1908). This is probably Dawson’s best-remembered and certainly his most frequently reprinted work: Finn, a champion Irish Wolfhound, is taken from England to Australia where he undergoes a series of adventures, being exhibited as a wild animal in a circus and escaping to live in the outback before eventually finding his old master and saving his life.
The hero is Mr Priam Farll, a painter of considerable ability. He is, however, extremely shy – so shy that when his valet, Henry Leek, dies suddenly, the doctor believes the dead man to be Priam Farll and the live man the valet. The artist does not try to disabuse him. After the funeral (in Westminster Abbey), Priam Farll marries a widow and lives a happy life until the loss of his wife’s money means he has to take up painting again. A connoisseur of art recognises his style but thinks the paintings are by an imposter. He makes a fortune by buying his works through a small dealer and selling them in America as genuine. Meanwhile Priam Farll refuses through his obstinate shyness to prove his own identity.
The book follows the lives of Hilary, the narrator, and three of his friends whom he met at Cambridge. One soon dies - another (Adrian) writes a hugely successful novel and marries Doria. Jaffery is a larger than life character who falls in love with Doria at first sight. Also in the story are Liosha, a fiery Albanian widow rescued from a life of servitude partly by Jaffery’s intervention, and Barbara, the steadfast wife of Hilary.Their lives change and the story develops as Adrian struggles to write his second novel.
Val had come to Montana to marry a cowboy named Manley, envisioning a life of wedded bliss, freedom, and was anticipating happiness in her adopted part of the country. She would soon learn that the winters could be cruel and lonesome for a woman living on a ranch which was situated miles from the nearest neighbor. She would learn that her husband spent most of his time drinking. And she would learn that everybody has their own methods of dealing with the harshness and loneliness of the land she has come to call home. Val is determined to re-invent her notions about men and women, her new duties in life, and life as it existed in the relatively new West. At every turn, her will and her strength are tested. Would she find the strength within herself to overcome the hardships, or would she succumb to the reality of her surroundings?
A mysterious man arrives in London and, in a freak accident, gets electrocuted on an underground train and loses his memory. A young lady called Sally Nightingale feels responsible, and brings him home to her mother. But in a strange twist of fate it transpires that her mother is the man's ex wife, whom he left twenty years earlier in unhappy circumstances. The old attraction is there, but what will happen if and when his memory returns? A highly melodramatic plot, but with a deft comic touch, a host of vibrant characters, and a large dash of romance.
De Morgan is best known as a designer. One of the pioneers of the arts and crafts movement, he was a lifelong friend of William Morris and designed tiles and ceramics for Morris & Co for many years. But during his lifetime he also found considerable success as a writer. Over a century later his novels provide the reader with a picture - as intricately designed and lavishly colourful as his ceramics - of an England which, in a few short years after their publication, was to be changed forever by the First World War. With a style that at times is reminiscent of Thackeray or Dickens, De Morgan is a writer with a distinctive voice, wry wit, and - if 'Somehow Good' is any indicator - a truly sentimental heart.
The Dream Doctor is a compilation of detective stories featuring Professor Craig Kennedy, a Sherlock-like character who uses his scientific acumen to solve mysteries. A newspaper reporter, Walter Jameson, works with him to get to the bottom of things. The Craig Kennedy stories appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine in the early 1900s.
This is a story of the effect of industrialization on a small town and its people, around the beginning of the 20th Century. The lead character is Hugh McVey—a shy, lazy, fairly ignorant, dreamy young man. Most of the story takes place in the little town of Bidwell, Ohio, where Hugh gets a job as a telegraph operator. He does discover he has a talent with calculations and drawings that enable him to become an inventor. In time he will become a millionaire. The story has many characters, and shows the negative effects on each of them, as the factories come to their town. The pioneering, agrarian spirit of each is slowly transformed; greed is the primary driver. Hugh sees this transformation but does not understand it. Several of the townspeople take advantage of him; his inventions of farm machinery are stolen. Only Clara Butterworth seems to bring some sanity; she marries Hugh, and they are happy for a time. As the novel approaches an end, however, there seem to be no bright spots. Labor fights, terrible graft, terrible crime, even murder come to Bidwell. The author paints a negative picture of a loss of innocence, as the nation becomes industrialized. Written in 1920, Sherwood Anderson could have seen only a small fraction of the changes to come. The magnitude, good and bad, would no doubt astound him. (Note: The novel is divided into “books”; however, there is no Book 5 between Book 4 and 6; hence I have so narrated it.)
Wildest among the fisher-folk may be accounted the Chinese shrimp-catchers. It is the habit of the shrimp to crawl along the bottom in vast armies till it reaches fresh water, when it turns about and crawls back again to the salt. And where the tide ebbs and flows, the Chinese sink great bag-nets to the bottom, with gaping mouths, into which the shrimp crawls and from which it is transferred to the boiling-pot. This in itself would not be bad, were it not for the small mesh of the nets, so small that the tiniest fishes, little new-hatched things not a quarter of an inch long, cannot pass through. The beautiful beaches of Points Pedro and Pablo, where are the shrimp-catchers villages, are made fearful by the stench from myriads of decaying fish, and against this wasteful destruction it has ever been the duty of the fish patrol to act. These stories are set in the waterways around San Francisco Bay and involve the fish patrol with a variety of characters of different ethnicity and cultural backgrounds. ( Description from the opening of "White and Yellow" by Jack London, with addition by Don W. Jenkins)
Parnassus on Wheels is about a fictional traveling book-selling business. The original owner of the business, Roger Mifflin, sells it to 39-year-old Helen McGill, who is tired of taking care of her ailing older brother, Andrew.
Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, a writer who was born in 1870 to a reasonably well-off family which later fell on hard times. The author's family lived in various Victorian towns and from the age of 13 to 17 Richardson attended boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, Victoria. It's this experience that feeds directly into The Getting of Wisdom. Laura Tweedle Rambotham, the main character, is the eldest child of a country family. She is a clever and highly imaginative child, given to inventing romantic stories for the entertainment of her younger siblings, and an avid reader. She is also both proud and sensitive and her mother finds her difficult to handle. Her mother is the widow of a barrister who supports her family in genteel poverty on her earnings from embroidery. At the age of twelve Laura is sent off to boarding school in Melbourne. Her experiences at school shock and humiliate the unworldly Laura. The girls at the school are generally from rather wealthy families and those, like Laura, who come from less fortunate backgrounds learn very early not to divulge their circumstances for fear of ridicule. From time to time Laura lets little snippets of information about her family slip out, and she suffers for it.
Within these pages find passages from the "lost diaries" of a wide range of people: royal, regular, famous, infamous, historical, and fictional.
The novel Maria Chapdelaine portrays life in rural Quebec at the beginning of the 20th century. Published first in French in 1913, it is a famous example of the genre known as "novels of the land" ("romans du terroir"). These stories sought to reinforce and preserve the cultural, linguistic, and religious heritage of French Canada — a heritage at risk because of French Canada's historical situation as a conquered enclave inside English North America.Maria is a young woman whose family works the farm they have cleared from the harsh Quebec forest — "a land that has no pity." As young men seek her hand in marriage, she must clarify her own identity, struggling not only with the problem of selecting from among her suitors, but also with her relationship to the land and to her heritage.The author Louis Hémon had immigrated from France just two years before writing this novel, and worked on a farm in the Lac Saint-Jean region where the story is set. Hémon died accidentally before seeing his novel in print.
Yes, it's been a couple of years since I quit the ring. . . . I slid into a quiet corner for a month or so, and then I dropped into the only thing I knew how to do, trainin' comers to go against the champs. It ain't like pullin' down your sixty per cent of the gate receipts, but there's worse payin' jobs.
Course, there's times when I finds myself up against it. It was durin' one of them squeezes, not so long ago, that I gets mixed up with Leonidas Dodge, and all that foolishness. Ah, it wa'n't anything worth wastin' breath over. You would? Honest? Well, it won't take long, I guess.
Thirteen short stories by a popular writer of the early 20th century (not to be confused with an earlier book Blazed Trail). White's books were popular at a time when America was losing its vanishing wilderness. He was a keen observer of the beauties of nature and human nature, yet could render them in a plain-spoken style. Based on his own experience, whether writing camping journals or Westerns, he included pithy and fun details about cabin-building, canoeing, logging, gold-hunting, and guns and fishing and hunting. He also interviewed people who had been involved in the fur trade, the California gold rush and other pioneers which provided him with details that give his novels verisimilitude. He salted in humor and sympathy for colorful characters such as canny Indian guides and "greenhorn" campers who carried too much gear.
Simon de Gex, a wealthy and successful MP, is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to use his last few months using his wealth and influence to do good. In particular, he determines to guide his protégé and friend, Dale, away from an unfortunate relationship with Lola Brandt, a lady with an unsuitably colourful background.
The book follows what happens to Simon in his quest – and also what further happens when an operation unexpectedly restores his health.
This is the third book of the Pixie O’Shaughnessy trilogy. In a story of love lost and found, Pixie matures from an inexperienced young lass into a wise woman.
The adventures of two young men, which may or may not have to do with the supernatural.
A divorced playboy hosts a dinner party complete with a stand in wife to placate his aunt who financially supports him. When his chef is hospitalized with smallpox symptoms, the fun begins. Throw in an ex-wife, a mystery, and a little romance and you have a comedy of side splitting proportions. - Summary by Sharon Kilmer
The Eyes of the World was the Best Selling Book for 1914 according to Publisher's Weekly. The novel explores what Harold Bell Wright views as the false world of artists, writers, critics, and their wealthy patrons. Two of the main characters are the famous author, Conrad LaGrange and Aaron King, an aspiring artist. LaGrange regretfully describes his writings as “filthy stories in good English” and feels he has sold his soul to become successful. While in California, recovering from a physical breakdown, he befriends Aaron King whose mother he knew when he was a boy. Lagrange serves as counselor to the young man, for he knows the pitfalls of success from his own experience.
Marcus Ordeyne is a middle aged bachelor schoolmaster who has inherited both money and a title and thus is able to lead a life of leisure. One day, he encounters a young girl in a London park who has escaped from a Turkish harem and has come to London for an arranged marriage; however, her rescuer has unexpectedly died, leaving her destitute. Not knowing what else to do, Sir Marcus takes her to his home – with unexpected consequences.
As the New York Times said in 1903, this lesser-known work by Jerome K. Jerome does not display "the wit of Congreve or even the glittering sort Mr. Jerome employs in some of his other books."
It takes the form of imaginary conversations 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. Frequently they appear to prefer the sound of their own voice to that of others.
Although I couldn't agree with the NY Times that it is the Baedeker guide to conversation, it is certainly an eye-opening glimpse into this now almost extinct art. The participants are already bemoaning the lack of invigorating conversation in society: "Conversation has become a chorus; or, as a writer wittily expressed it, the pursuit of the obvious to no conclusion."
The year is 1919 and peace has sprung upon the world after the unspeakable carnage of World War I. The place is Hortons, a building of expensive flats on Duke Street just off Piccadilly, London. Social structures are disintegrating, expectations are not being met, people are confused, life is different. Each story is about a person who lives or works at Hortons, all struggling to adjust to life as it has radically changed. Twelve short stories, published in 1921, by the early twentieth century very popular English writer, Hugh Walpole.
The Valley of the Squinting Shadows was the author's first novel and proved controversial. In it, he tells a realistic tale of life in a small Irish town as he saw it, rather than the romanticized version told by others, or how the locals wished to be seen. Mrs. Brennan, the local dressmaker, has opinions. Her son is off studying to become a priest, which elevates him -- and thus her -- in her opinion. Mr. Brennan is forgiven all his transgressions, on account of being father to the son. Mrs. Brennan is less tolerant of those not related to her and her acerbic tongue is well-known throughout the village. Imagine the villagers' satisfaction when young John Brennan doesn't quite follow the path anticipated by his mother!
Dick Armstrong is an enterprising young man who works his way out of a slave-labor situation to become a successful businessman at only age 17. He shows through cool, reasonable understanding of business, an honest man can make something of himself if he takes advantage of the opportunities given him.
Joel Shore, newly appointed captain of the whaling ship Nathan Ross following his brother's apparent demise as captain of the same ship, elects to make his first cruise as captain to the very location where his brother had last been seen - the Gilbert Islands, in order to try to learn more about what happened to his brother. The focus of this tale is of that voyage halfway around the globe and the adventures which he and his crew encounter.
The Ravenspurs have for generations resided quietly in prosperity and comfort at their seaside castle. But the clan is suddenly besieged with strange happenings which are dwindling the population of the family to only a few which remain, and those few find themselves in fear of becoming the very last of the powerful family if the cause of their untimely deaths and disappearances is not uncovered soon. It will take a great deal of detective work and a touch of travel to help unravel the mystery of the Ravenspurs. (Roger Melin)
This story is about three people, two men and a woman. Jimmy, selfish and deceitful, who has shamelessly lied to, cheated, and used his dear friend Dannie for years. His wife Mary, who loves another. And finally Dannie himself, the patient, kind, loving and thoughtful friend of both Jimmie and Mary. He would do anything for them, but what will he do when he find out Jimmy's terrible secret?
This wonderful book is full of feeling, love, sadness, and friendship. It will will make you smile, cry, and, at times, laugh. Don't miss this delightful story
Martin Overshaw and Corinna Hastings are leading dull and unproductive lives in Paris, having fled humdrum England. They fall in with Fortinbras, who calls himself a Marchand de Bonheur. He predicts a bright future for them and suggests they set out on a journey through France together. The book follows their adventure which turns out to be far more complicated than it might at first seem. They meet a variety of characters on the way and the looming threat of the First World War overshadows the second half of the book, which nonetheless ends happily for all concerned.
Arthur Vernon, member of the Athenian club and member of “society,” has a secret. His father has died and left him destitute, so he has begun a private investigation agency under the name “Nemo.” It would be disastrous if this were known among his associates at the club, and especially if his intended in-laws found out. But he is quite sure no one else knows, that is until his old college classmate, Constantine Maunders, visits him with a proposition he can’t refuse. Maunders knows all, and he wants to be made a partner in the agency, providing “Nemo” with black-mail worthy information on other people in society in return for a share of the financial rewards for their silence. Vernon is appalled, particularly as “Nemo” is engaged in solving a high profile blackmail case. These are the beginning of Vernons conundrums as the clues unfold.
Of all the stirring tales of this picturesque region of the Santa Catalinas, of all the romantic legends and traditions that have come down to us from its shadowy past, none is more filled with the essence of human life and love and hopes and dreams than is the tale of the Mine with the Iron Door.
This is a selection of short stories recounting, with gentle satire and tolerant good humour, the small town provincial life at the end of the nineteenth century, based around the six towns in the county of Staffordshire, England, known as the Potteries. Arnold Bennett chose to fictionalize these towns by changing their names and omitting one (Fenton) as he apparently felt that “Five Towns” was more euphonious than “Six Towns”. The real town names which are thinly disguised in the novel are: Hanley, Longton, Burslem and Tunstal, the fifth, Stoke became “Knype”.
Arnold Bennett (1867-1931) was born in Hanley, the eldest child of a pawnbroker who subsequently became a solicitor. Bennett’s father wished him to become a solicitor too, but he failed his university entrance examination and instead became a solicitor's clerk, at first in his father's office and, from 1889, in London.
He showed early promise as a writer winning a writing competition in a local newspaper as a boy. In London he began to see his writing published in popular magazines and he joined the staff of ‘Woman’ magazine in 1893.
His first novel to be published, A Man from the North, appeared in 1898 and its success allowed him to give up other work to concentrate on writing. His first short story (A Letter Home) was written in 1893 and appears in “Tales of the Five Towns”.
A naive young girl strikes out on her own and ends up leading a double life in this engaging tale of love lost and found. Summary by Judi Mason
The Civil War is upon the United States, and the town of Leauvite has sent away its young men, among them Peter Junior and Richard Kildene. When they leave, Betty Ballard is but a child, but by the time the war has ended, she has become something else entirely. Wounded, Peter Junior finds his time at Betty's father's studio, learning to become an artist, until one day he proposes to her after deciding to go to France. Of course, she agrees to wait for him. Meanwhile, Richard, who has decided to work on the railways, expects that when he gets back, that Betty will be waiting for him. With these complications, problems begin to arise...
Vicar and his two daughters move to a small, quiet country village and soon learn that their neighbor in the yellow house holds secrets that will changeeverything they thought to be real in their lives.