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Showing 1 - 20 of 13864 items
By Thomas D. Clagett. 2018
The final 13 hours at the Alamo began around 5 o'clock on the afternoon of March 5, 1836. Colonel William…
Barrett Travis drew a line in the dirt and asked all those who would stay and fight to cross it. Destinies played out that night for four people. Susannah Dickinson, a woman of surprising gumption. Young James Taylor who came to the Alamo to free Texas from the tyrannical rule of General Santa Anna. "Moses" Rose who refused to cross Travis's line because he "wasn't prepared to die." Colonel Juan Morales, ordered to assault Crockett and his men at the south palisade, believed attacking the fort was foolhardy. But his real disgust was for Santa Anna, a man who allowed whims to dictate his decisions. 2018.By Deborah Burrows. 2019
Young Maisie Halliday has escaped the grinding poverty of the northern town where she was born to live in the…
glittering world of professional dancing. At the outbreak of the Second World War, she volunteers as an ambulance driver, finding joy both in helping the wounded during the Blitz and also in her friends among the other drivers in the Bloomsbury Auxiliary Ambulance Depot. Maisie is at the Cafe de Paris nightclub when it is bombed. In the chaos, she attempts to help an injured man, and by this charitable act she becomes mixed up in what may well be a murder. A series of incidents, all connected to a handsome, arrogant American, throw Maisie's life into a dangerous spin. Is anything what it seems in wartime? With one serious misjudgement, Maisie risks losing everything she holds dear. 2019.By Eric Walters, Kathy Kacer. 2019
A violin and a middle-school musical unleash a dark family secret in this moving story by an award-winning author duo.…
For fans of The Devil's Arithmetic and Hana's Suitcase.It's 2002. In the aftermath of the twin towers -- and the death of her beloved grandmother -- Shirli Berman is intent on moving forward. The best singer in her junior high, she auditions for the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof, but is crushed to learn that she's been given the part of the old Jewish mother in the musical rather than the coveted part of the sister. But there is an upside: her "husband" is none other than Ben Morgan, the cutest and most popular boy in the school. Deciding to throw herself into the role, she rummages in her grandfather's attic for some props. There, she discovers an old violin in the corner -- strange, since her Zayde has never seemed to like music, never even going to any of her recitals. Showing it to her grandfather unleashes an anger in him she has never seen before, and while she is frightened of what it might mean, Shirli keeps trying to connect with her Zayde and discover the awful reason behind his anger. A long-kept family secret spills out, and Shirli learns the true power of music, both terrible and wonderful.By Deni Béchard. 2020
A time warp into the strange and painful life of men past, present, and future.The second time Andrew sees his…
half-brother, Hugh, is at their father's funeral. Andrew has little interest in the father with whom he grew up, but Hugh, who looks like a country-rock star, is fascinated by the life and writings of the reclusive man he hardly knew. When Hugh finds a book in his father's study, a mysterious work by Rafael Estrada, he is certain that it holds the key to his identity.A Song from Faraway takes readers from 19th-century Prince Edward Island to modern-day Iraq. An Irish-Acadian soldier carries his fiddle and folksong across the battlefields of the First World War. An orphan-turned-assassin pursues his target across the deserts of Mexico and Texas, using a novel as evidence for his location. Relationships are forged and broken, wars are fought, and trauma is handed down from father to son.With whispers of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, A Song from Faraway pieces together "the stories that we tell about ourselves" in a picaresque novel of uncommon beauty and ferocity.By Marie Cadieux. 2016
Martin est un adolescent normal vivant à Dieppe. Mais la guerre fait rage et son pays, la France, est occupé…
par les Nazis. La cohabitation est difficile et les conditions de vie, précaires. Logé chez Madame Agnès, une vieille dame débrouillarde et dégourdie, Martin sera entraîné malgré lui dans le terrible second conflit mondial et fera une rencontre qui bouleversera sa vie…By Kim Thúy. 2021
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE Kim Thúy's Em is a virtuosic novel of profound power and sensitivity, and…
an enduring affirmation of the greatest act of resistance: love.In the midst of war, an ordinary miracle: an abandoned baby tenderly cared for by a young boy living on the streets of Saigon. The boy is Louis, the child of a long-gone American soldier. Louis calls the baby em Hồng, em meaning "little sister," or "beloved." Even though her cradle is nothing more than a cardboard box, em Hồng's life holds every possibility. Through the linked destinies of a family of characters, the novel takes its inspiration from historical events, including Operation Babylift, which evacuated thousands of biracial orphans from Saigon in April 1975, and the remarkable growth of the nail salon industry, dominated by Vietnamese expatriates all over the world. From the rubber plantations of Indochina to the massacre at My Lai, Kim Thúy sifts through the layers of pain and trauma in stories we thought we knew, revealing transcendent moments of grace and the invincibility of the human spirit."Les gravats jonchent la rue et si Anneliese frappe ceux-ci du bout de ses pieds, des femmes continuent de ramasser…
ces morceaux de bâtiments. En compagnie de son frère Peter, elle cherche un endroit où ils pourront recevoir de la nourriture, mais se retrouve plutôt dans une pièce où toutes sortes de livres sont exposés. Comme la salle ferme ses portes pour la nuit, ils y retournent le lendemain afin d'entendre l'histoire lue par une dame. Cette dernière leur présente également d'autres récits qui rappellent aux enfants leur propre réalité, comme celui du taureau Ferdinand, qui refuse de suivre les ordres, alors que leur père a été tué pour avoir résisté. Redécouvrant les rêves qui se sont envolés depuis le début de la guerre, Annaliese et Peter songent à contribuer aux efforts de leur ville pour retrouver leur vie d'avant."--[SDMBy Gordon Korman. 2020
A story of telling truth from lies - and finding out what being a hero really means.There are two things…
Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a true-blue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero's welcome upon his return to America.Now it's decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war - from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there's more to the story than what he's heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather's heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor.By Jacques Goldstyn. 2018
Jules et Jim sont inséparables. Depuis leur enfance, ils forment un duo complice. Quand la Grande Guerre éclate, Jules et…
Jim s'engagent dans l'armée. Devenus frères d'armes, ils combattent avec courage et puisent leurs forces dans leur amitié.By Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. 2000
Obsession, infatuation, and sexual deviance fill this controversial psychodrama Titillating and taboo, Venus in Furs tells the story of one…
nineteenth-century gentleman of means, Severin von Kusiemski, and his voracious lover, Wanda von Dunajew. Severin falls so deeply in love with his mistress that he asks the bemused paramour to enslave him. Severin gets his wish: The beautiful Wanda, who has “a real talent for despotism,” takes to her role with unsettling aplomb. Days pass, and as she debases and brutalizes Severin, Wanda transforms into the whip-cracking dominatrix of his dreams. But even while Severin settles into his fantasy, events are unfolding that threaten to disrupt the power balance. This classic tale of sexual domination is as thrilling today as it was when it was originally published more than a century ago. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By Margery Williams. 2005
Margery Williams’s magical nursery tale of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real Christmas morning, the room filled…
with the hustle and bustle of preparation, a rabbit stitched of velveteen sits perched on top of the little boy’s stocking. Those first two hours are the best of the young rabbit’s life: filled with hugs and play. But like most children, the boy is fickle and easily distracted—after Christmas morning, the Velveteen Rabbit is forgotten. Shy and intimidated by the new mechanical toys who sneer at him for being simple, the sawdust-filled rabbit sits quietly at the top of the toy closet, aching to be loved the way he was that wonderful Christmas morning. He’s soon taken in by the wise old Skin Horse, who sets him straight on the way to become real. It’s not about expensive mechanisms or shiny paint jobs. No, becoming real is all about the unadulterated love of a child. The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless story about the importance of love, honesty, and friendship. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By William Makepeace Thackeray.
This classic story of two nineteenth-century social climbers is the basis for countless films and TV series, and one of…
the UK’s “Best-Loved Novels.” Before the Real Housewives, there were Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. Ruthless and cunning, Becky may have been born in a lower class, but now that she’s graduated from school, she’s ready to climb up to a better life—and do whatever it takes to get there. Her friend Emmy, however, is the opposite. She may have mastered music, dancing, and embroidery like any young woman of her class, but she utterly lacks a backbone. Together these friends navigate the perils of Regency society as they search for love and happiness. Social battles are waged against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and when the smoke finally clears, there’s no telling who will come out victorious. A satirical masterpiece, Vanity Fair was #14 on The Guardian’s list of the 100 Best Novels and #122 in the BBC’s “Big Read” poll for the UK’s best-loved novel. It has inspired numerous adaptations, from early silent films to a 2004 movie by Mira Nair starring Reese Witherspoon as Becky.By John William Polidori. 1990
This classic vampire story has inspired generations of authors, from Bram Stoker to Charlaine Harris. A young English gentleman of…
means, Aubrey is immediately intrigued by Lord Ruthven, the mysterious newcomer among society’s elite. His unknown origin and curious behavior tantalizes Aubrey’s imagination. But the young man soon discovers a sinister character hidden behind his new friend’s glamorous facade. When the two are set upon by bandits while traveling together in Europe, Ruthven is fatally injured. Before drawing his last breath, he makes the odd request that Aubrey keep his death and crimes secret for a year and a day. But when Ruthven resurfaces in London—making overtures toward Aubrey’s sister—Aubrey realizes this immortal fiend is a vampyre. John William Polidori’s The Vampyre is both a classic tale of gothic horror and the progenitor of the modern romantic vampire myth that has been fodder for artists ranging from Anne Rice to Alan Ball to Francis Ford Coppola. Originally published in 1819, many decades before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and misattributed to Polidori’s friend Lord Byron, The Vampyre has kept readers up at night for nearly two hundred years. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By J. Sheridan Le Fanu.
Family secrets and sinister plots abound in this beautifully atmospheric Victorian gothic thriller from a celebrated Irish author. For Maud…
Ruthyn, life is lonely in a mansion with no family besides her melancholic father. But when Madame de la Rougierre is hired to be her governess, Maud finds herself in the clutches of a mysterious and malevolent woman. When her caregiver is eventually dismissed, Maud is relieved to have the woman out of her life. But it isn’t long before she encounters the madame again. With the passing of her father, Maud is sent to live with her Uncle Silas at Bartram-Haugh until she can inherit the family estate. Feeling increasingly trapped in her uncle’s home, Maud is shocked to learn that Madame de la Rougierre is at her uncle’s service. And when Madame is instructed to escort Maud to London, the young girl begins to see through the shadows of deceit: No one intends for her to leave Bartram-Haugh alive. J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s most famous novel, Uncle Silas is an eerie psychological thriller and has been translated into several languages as well as adapted for film. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By Winifred Holtby, Marion Shaw. 1954
When Sarah Burton returns to her hometown as headmistress she is full of ambition, determined to create a great school…
and to inspire her girls to take all they can from life. But in the aftermath of the First World War, the country is in depression and ideals are hard won. Lydia Holly, the scholarship girl from the shacks, is the most brilliant student Sarah has ever taught, but when her mother's health fails, her education must be sacrificed - there is nobody else to care for the children.Robert Carne of Maythorpe Hall stands for everything Sarah despises: his family has farmed the South Riding for generations, their position uncontested. Yet Sarah cannot help being drawn to this proud, haunted - and almost ruined - man.South Riding is a rich, panoramic novel, bringing vividly to life a rural community on the brink of change.By Elizabeth Taylor, Jonathan Keates, Jonathon Keates. 1976
A finely nuanced exploration of responsibility, snobbery and culture clash from one of the twentieth centrury's finest novelists.'How deeply I…
envy any reader coming to her for the first time!' Elizabeth Jane HowardWhen Amy's husband dies on holiday in Istanbul, she is supported by the kindly but rather slovenly Martha, a young American novelist who lives in London. Upon their return to England, Amy is ungratefully reluctant to maintain their friendship, but the skeins of their existence seem inextricably linked as grief gives way to resilience and again to tragedy. Reversals of fortune and a compelling cast of characters, including Ernie, ex-sailor turned housekeeper, and Amy's wonderfully precocious granddaughters, add spice to a novel that delights even as it unveils the most uncomfortable human emotions.By Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Russell Taylor. 1991
In a Summer Season is one of Elizabeth Taylor's finest novels in which, in a moving and powerful climax, she…
reveals love to be the thing it is: beautiful, often funny, and sometimes tragic.'You taste of rain', he said, kissing her. 'People say I married her for her money', he thought contentedly, and for the moment was full of the self-respect that loving her had given him.Kate Heron is a wealthy, charming widow who marries, much to the disapproval of friends and neighbours, a man ten years her junior: the attractive, feckless Dermot. Then comes the return of Kate's old friend Charles - intelligent, kind and now widowed, with his beautiful young daughter. Kate watches happily as their two families are drawn together, finding his presence reassuringly familiar, but slowly she becomes aware of subtle undercurrents that begin to disturb the calm surface of their friendship. Before long, even she cannot ignore the gathering storm . . .By Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Bailey. 1971
On a rainy Sunday in January, the recently widowed Mrs Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel where she will spend…
her remaining days. Her fellow residents are magnificently eccentric and endlessly curious, living off crumbs of affection and snippets of gossip. Together, upper lips stiffened, they fight off their twin enemies: boredom and the Grim Reaper. Then one day Mrs Palfrey strikes up an unlikely friendship with an impoverished young writer, Ludo, who sees her as inspiration for his novel.By Antonia White. 1981
With uncompromising clarity, in her careful, delicate prose, antonia White looks at the pains and joys of growing up, of…
falling in and out of love, the borderlands between love and loneliness, sanity and madness, belief and the loss of faith. First published in 1954, STRANGERS is here extended to include her autobiographical story, 'Surprise Visit'; together they present some of Antonia White's finest writing.By Elizabeth Taylor, Charlotte Mendelson. 1968
'You know,' Midge began, and paused. She was rather taken aback, and could not at once think of anything to…
say. 'Perhaps there's nothing so dangerous as having led a sheltered life.' Cressy has grown up in a world of women, presided over by her eccentric, artistic grandfather Harry Bretton. Rebelling against the wholesome, organic values of her home life, Cressy decides to leave home in search of more ephemeral pleasures. Taking a job in an antiques shop, she meets David, a self-satisfied journalist, also looking for means of fleeing the family nest. But as Cressy cannot fend for herself and David is securely tied to his mother's apron strings, this act of escape for both of them proves a powerful form of bondage.