The Bronze Eagle is a romantic historical novel which takes place during the return of Napoleon and his attempt to reestablish his Empire. The main character is a rich English businessman, who falls in love with an aristocratic young woman, with lots of pitfalls and challenges.
This book collects seven short stories by some of England's best turn-of-the-(last)-century's writers. The collection begins with the humor of J. M. Barrie, of Peter Pan fame. A later and equally humorous story is by Israel Zangwill, also widely known for his exposures of social and economic problems. The immensely popular Marie Corelli’s contribution is the last, and among the most moving. (NB: Though a less prominent writer than some represented here, Corelli was so popular that her literary sales exceeded those of Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G. Wells and Rudyard Kipling – combined.) In short, these writers offer great variety as to style, tone and topic, ranging from breezy tales to poignant proofs of the kindness and grace that can underlie the deepest tragedies. But while diverse, these writers have in common that they clearly know and clearly express genuine emotional truth. They hold our attention by conveying their stories honestly. They have no need for the tricks and devices of melodrama, shallow emotionalism, or shocking plot twists. This accomplishment – this evidence of high literary quality – is all the more impressive in historical and social context. They lived in a time of widespread suffering. Yet even as most of these writers begin by drawing our attention to terrible and extensive suffering (and go on by holding it there), they end by keeping our attention in writing clearly and convincingly about important things they really know - leaving us moved, convinced, and a little richer for the experience.
The Surgeon's Daughter is an historical novel, originally part of the Chronicles of the Canongate stories, later published on its own, in 1827.
A story about the Irish, just before the onset of the famine of 1847, with all the color and dialogue of a man who lived it.
The Fifth Queen trilogy is a series of connected historical novels by English novelist Ford Madox Ford. It consists of three novels, The Fifth Queen; And How She Came to Court (1906), Privy Seal (1907) and The Fifth Queen Crowned (1908), which present a highly fictionalized account of Katharine Howard's marriage to King Henry VIII.
He was a painter, a poet, a novelist. He lived during the Hungarian revolution and his love of freedom meant his life was often in peril. She was his first love, this girl with the eyes like the sea. She was at heart noble, good and loving. What an excellent lady might have been made out of this woman, if she had only met with a husband who, in the most ordinary acceptance of the word, had been a good fellow, as is really the case with about nine men out of every ten. But she always managed to draw the unlucky tenth out of the urn of destiny. And so she spurned his true love in favor of a high-flying dandy. He went on to pursue a life of politics and she to follow her capricious heart. But yet, throughout her life, she kept returning to him and to the end, of all men, she loved him perhaps best of all. (Eyes Like the Sea won the Hungarian Academy of Sciences prize for literature in 1890.)
Jim Kjelgaard has long wanted to tell the story of the gallant dogs who have gone out with the monks of St. Bernard Hospice to rescue travelers lost in the deep snows of the Swiss mountain passes. Unable to find the facts, he decided to reconstruct the tale as he feels it might have been. The result is this very moving story of a simple mountain boy and his devoted dog.Franz Halle felt he was worthless because he could not manage book learning, but his schoolmaster and the village pastor knew that the boy had a priceless knowledge all his own. The kindly priest secured work for Franz at near-by St. Bernard Hospice, helping a gentle giant of a man who made it possible for him to keep his beloved Alpine mastiff, Caesar, although the huge animal refused to earn his keep, even by turning the spit. When the scarcity of food forced Caesar's reluctant banishment, Franz—who had joined the monks in their daily patrol of the dangerous passes—proved that where even he, with all his rare knowledge of the ways of the blizzards, might fail, a dog could detect a man buried under an avalanche! So Franz and his brave helper initiated the rescue work of the St. Bernard dogs that was to become famous throughout the world.
A collection of British aristocrats, soldiers, gentlemen and ladies gather at the Province House inn, as the American imperial possessions crumble around them.
Beau Brocade is a historical fiction set in England in the early 1700's. The hero Beau is a wanted highwayman, who takes from the rich to help the poor.
Set in an English-Scottish border village during the waning days of the Napoleonic era, this adventure story introduces us to Jock Calder, whose quiet way of life is shattered when a mysterious stranger steps ashore near his home. The stranger changes forever the lives of Jock, his cousin Edie, and his best friend Jim, sending the young men into the jaws of the final battle to defeat The Great Shadow that threatens to devour the whole of Europe. Don't look for Sherlock Holmes in this well-written tale, but do expect a wonderful glimpse of life at the end of the Napoleonic era, including an exciting rendition of The Battle of Waterloo.
David Elginbrod was George MacDonald's first real success, a novel of Scottish country life. Published in 1862, it was dedicated to the memory of Lady Noel Byron.
"The Sword of Antietam" tells a complete story, but it is one in the chain of Civil War romances, begun in "The Guns of Bull Run" and continued through "The Guns of Shiloh" and "The Scouts of Stonewall." The young Northern hero, Dick Mason, and his friends are in the forefront of the tale.
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, CBE (1884 – 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among those who encouraged him were the authors Henry James and Arnold Bennett. His skill at scene-setting, vivid plots, and high profile as a lecturer brought him a large readership in the United Kingdom and North America. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s, but has been largely neglected since his death.... One of Walpole's major novels of the early post-war period was The Cathedral, which unlike much of his fiction was not dashed off but worked on across four years, beginning in 1918. The story of an arrogant 19th-century archdeacon in conflict with other clergy and laity was certain to bring comparisons with Trollope's Barchester Towers (The Manchester Guardian?'s review was headed "Polchester Towers"), but unlike the earlier work, The Cathedral is wholly uncomic.... The reviewer Ivor Brown commented that Walpole had earlier charmed many with his cheerful tales of Mayfair, but that in this novel he showed a greater side to his art: "This is a book with little happiness about it, but its stark strength is undeniable. The Cathedral is realism, profound in its philosophy and delicate in its thread." The Illustrated London News said, "No former novelist has seized quite so powerfully upon the cathedral fabric and made it a living character in the drama, an obsessing individuality at once benign and forbidding. ...The Cathedral is a great book." The Jubilee which plays an important part in the story is the national celebration in 1897 of Queen Victoria's sixty years on the throne. Summary by Wikipedia and david wales
A tragic but very captivating tale of a monk in the 17th century. There were actually two authors: Ambrose Bierce and Adolph de Castro.
Under Wellington's Command is the sequel to With Moore at Corunna. The book picks up where the last book left off when Portugal is freed from the French in 1809. Terence O'Connor is still in command of the Minho regiment of Portuguese, and serves with distinction on detached duty in harassing the French and gaining information. His command being on the edge the allied army, is constantly engaged in skirmishes and in the great battles of the Peninsular War.
The first volume in the Civil War series, following the adventures of Harry Kenton, who leaves his home in Kentucky. He travels through dangerous territory to South Carolina on a secret mission on the eve of the Civil War.
(From Chapter 4) "They will not fire! They dare not!" cried Shepard in a tense, strained whisper. As the last word left his lips there was a heavy crash. A tongue of fire leaped from one of the batteries, followed by a gush of smoke, and a round shot whistled over the Star of the West. A tremendous shout came from the crowd, then it was silent, while that tongue of flame leaped a second time from the mouth of a cannon. Harry saw the water spring up, a spire of white foam, near the steamer, and a moment later a third shot clipped the water close by. He did not know whether the gunners were firing directly at the vessel or merely meant to warn her that she came nearer at her peril, but in any event, the effect was the same. South Carolina with her cannon was warning a foreign ship, the ship of an enemy, to keep away. The Star of the West slowed down and stopped. Then another shout, more tremendous than ever, a shout of triumph, came from the crowd, but Harry felt a chill strike to his heart. Young St. Clair, too, was silent and Harry saw a shadow on his face. He looked for Shepard, but he was gone and the boy had not heard him go. "It is all over," said St. Clair, with the certainty of prophecy. "The cannon have spoken and it is war."
Mrs. Warren's Daughter is a continuation, in novel form, of George Bernard Shaw's controversial play, Mrs. Warren's Profession. In the play, Vivie Warren, an emancipated young woman recently graduated from University, disavows her mother Kitty when she learns that Kitty's fortune comes from an ownership share in an international string of brothels, and that Kitty herself was once a prostitute. This novel, written by a world renowned botanist, explorer, and colonial administrator, follows Vivie's personal and political adventures through her involvement in the Suffragist movement and the years leading up to and during World War I.
Odo Valsecca, a promising nobleman, inherits a dukedom at a young age and, over the course of his young life, must quickly learn the politics of royalty as he deals with other nobles, the church, the free-thinking movement, and, of course, his subjects, the peasants. Will he be able to rise to power in time, or will he quickly buckle under the pressures of the Italian court during the seventeenth century? Published in 1902, The Valley of Decision is Edith Wharton's first full length novel.
The conclusion of Pater's historico-philosophical novel about a young Roman nobleman's search for purpose and meaning. Set in the time of Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the book traces its title character's encounters with the stoicism of Aurelius, Eastern philosophical and religious movements, and Christianity as they reacted with Marius's own innate Epicureanism. In exploring these issues, Pater focuses on themes of adult development, as he notes the impact of Marius's childhood experiences as they inform his adult thinking; the value of the aesthetic life (a favorite idea of Pater's); and the appeal of religion.In addition, the work is stylistically distinct for its attempt to use classical historical and philosophical texts to support and enrich a fictional narrative.(DrPGould with help from Wikipedia)
William Ashe, an up and coming politician, impulsively marries Kitty, a young, flighty and strange girl who, far from supporting her husband in his career, instead does exactly as she pleases. The book follows the course of their marriage to a rather unexpected conclusion.
This is final volume of the Mabinogion. As with the other volumes, these Arthurian tales are translated from Welsh manuscripts and largely represent an earlier and more pagan period.
The Able McLaughlins won the Pulitzer Prize for a novel in 1924 in Margaret Wilson's debut work. Aptly described as "Little House on the Prairie - but for adults" the novel follows a group of Scottish families who pioneer the Iowa prairie in the 1860’s. The main storyline concerns Wully, the eldest McLaughlin son, who returns home from the Civil War to find that his sweetheart, Chirstie, has experienced an unspeakable tragedy that will profoundly affect the couple's lives. Their story is one of shame and honor, secrets and guilt, fear and loathing, revenge and forgiveness. But perhaps the stars of the novel are the strong older women such as Wully’s mother, Isobel, whose love and matriarchal strength keeps the family together as well as Chirstie’s stepmother, Barbara, who finds ways to make her good-for-nothing husband keep his promises. Interlaced with the plots are richly detailed descriptions of frontier prairie life, the love that families share, and the relationships within the Scottish immigrant community. (Warren Kati)
Dulcibel is a young, pretty and kind-hearted fictional character charged with Witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch trials. During this time there is a group of "afflicted girls" who accuse Dulcibel and many others of Witchcraft, and during their trials show "undoubtable" proof that these people really are Witches. Will Master Raymond, Dulcibel's lover, be able to to secure Dulcibel's release from jail? Or will Dulcibel's fate be the gallows like so many other accused Witches of her time?
The Northern Army has just be handed a great defeat at Bull Run and is headed back to Washington, DC. How will the North answer this defeat? Follow our hero, Dick Mason, into the Western campaign to find out.
This is the second book in the Civil War Series by Joseph A. Altsheler.
This collection of Frank Norris' stories was published after his death in 1902. These stories range in topic from the machinations of the commodities market in Chicago in "A Deal in Wheat" to a desperate race for love in "The Riding of Felipe." "A Deal in Wheat" contains the kernel of Norris' last novel The Pit.
This is a tale of the son of a Scottish officer, who gets arrested for helping a Jacobite agent. Set during the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland in 1755, the boy escapes and makes it to France and shares some adventures with Prince Charlie.
The Army of Northern Virginia, still victorious after three hard years of fighting, capitalize on their victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and a young Harry Kenton, is an eyewitness to the Confederate invasion of the north, culminating in the epic three-day struggle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where Robert E. Lee puts into place a strategy that will end the war, or shatter his army.
Essentially the book covers the life of Robert Elsmere, a boyishly intellectual clergyman. The first part covers his meeting with and eventual marriage to Catherine Leyburn. After a period as a country vicar, Robert’s meetings with the local squire, an intellectual atheist, lead to his having a crisis of faith. The pair move to London where Robert works with the poor and uneducated. The lives of the people closely associated with the pair are also covered.
The book is set against the late Victorian world and its reactions to Darwinism, Unitarianism and the rise of secularism and modernism. At the time, it was a runaway best seller and its attack on orthodox Christianity was fiercely debated by all, including Gladstone.
D-Day: 6 June 1944. The date of the invasion of the Normandy Coast of France by the Allies. This novel gives a different look at that invasion than most of us have ever seen. It tells of a young French boy, André Gagnon, and his exciting adventures as he helps the Maquis (the French Underground fighting the Germans), a shot down British airman, and the American soldiers in their successful attempt to liberate France from German occupation. An entertaining and informative family friendly tale.
The story begins in a grim feudal castle in Normandie. The times were troublous, and soon the king compelled Lady Margaret de Villeroy, with her children, to go to Paris as hostages. Guy Aylmer went with her.
Paris was turbulent. Soon the guild of the butchers, adopting white hoods as their uniform, seized the city, and besieged the house where our hero and his charges lived. After desperate fighting, the white hoods were beaten and our hero and his charges escaped from the city, and from France.
The story of the war in which the power of the great Mahratta confederacy was broken ended in the firm establishment of the British Empire the Indian Peninsula. When the struggle began, the Mahrattas were masters of no small portion of India; their territory comprising the whole country between Bombay and Delhi, and stretching down from Rajputana to Allahabad; while in the south they were lords of the district of Cuttack, thereby separating Madras from Calcutta. The jealousies of the great Mahratta leaders, Holkar and Scindia, who were constantly at war with each other, or with the Peishwa at Poona, divided and weakened the nation and allowed the British to conquer, although at the cost of much blood, to free a large portion of India from a race that was a scourge--faithless, intriguing and crafty; cruel, and reckless of life. Henty paints the Mahrattas as cowardly tyrants and deserving of their ultimate downfall.
The scene is Rome, 935 A.D. Thirty-year-old Tristan, dressed as a pilgrim, overhears a conversation between Basil, the Grand Chamberlain, and Il Gobbo, his assistant. After the two have left, Tristan continues to observe the revelry on the Eve of St. John. Suddenly a chariot containing a beautiful woman stops before him. They exchange words. He kisses her hand. Then she moves on, leaving him to ponder her beauty as he returns to the inn where he is staying. That night he has an enchanting and haunting dream of him together with another woman.
Morning makes more sense of the dream. He was in love with Hellayne, who sent him away to Rome so that he could do penance for the sin of love. This explains why he is now in Rome. The next morning, as he walks into the heart of Rome, what he observes is a city torn between the debauchery of a fallen classical greatness and the promise of a new Christian awakening.
This is the backdrop against which a city struggles to realize its greatness and a man struggles to realize his love for woman and for God. (Bill Boerst)
This historical novel is set in the 1100s in France and Jerusalem, following the First Crusade. Part of the story of Guy of Lusignan (a real historical character) is told through the eyes of his fictional sister, Elaine.
Guy travels to the Holy Land to reclaim it from the Saracens. Elaine follows afterward, finding upon arrival that her brother has fallen in love with Sybil, the sister of the leper king of Jerusalem. Queen Sybilla, a real historical character, is surrounded by political intrigue as she prepares to ascend the throne, which threatens her upcoming marriage to Guy of Lusignan.
The story, however, is not primarily about the history of the period, but about the spiritual journey of Elaine to repentance and saving faith in the era of the medieval Church. How will Elaine's frail peace of mind, which depends on earthly things, cope with the looming storms on the horizon?
More stories by Canadian Stephen Leacock. Some of these stories carry over characters introduced in Further Foolishness. Some stories are humourous; some are more thoughtful. It helps to be familiar with WWI-era European politics to catch much of the humour.
A historical novel about the Salem Witch Trials. A fantastic illustrated historical novel by the prolific American author John R. Musick.From the author’s preface:
The "Witch of Salem" is designed to cover twenty years in the history of the United States, or from the year 1680 to 1700, including all the principal features of this period. Charles Stevens of Salem, with Cora Waters, the daughter of an indented slave, whose father was captured at the time of the overthrow of the Duke of Monmouth, are the principal characters. Samuel Parris, the chief actor in the Salem tragedy, is a serious study, and has been painted, after a careful research, according to the conception formed of him. No greater villain ever lived in any age. He had scarce a redeeming feature. His religion was hypocrisy, superstition, revenge and bigotry. His ambition led him to deeds of atrocity unsurpassed. Having drawn the information on which this story is founded from what seem the most reliable sources, and woven the story in a way which it is hoped will be pleasing and instructive, we send this volume forth to speak for itself.
In The Magnificent Adventure-Being the Story of the World's Greatest Exploration and the Romance of a Very Gallant Gentleman, by Emerson Hough, the author takes us back to the dawning years of the United States of America. To the time of the Louisiana purchase. At the time Thomas Jefferson awarded Meriwether Lewis the honor of leading an expedition west.Distraught, our hero suffers knowing the love of his life, Theodosia, is now a married woman. Forever tormented, he accepts the duty asked by his President.Preparing to depart on one of the greatest adventures in the history of modern man, Meriwether is challenged to cease by none other than the woman whom he loves so dearly. Secretly doing so on her father’s behalf, Theodosia pleads for Meriwether to end the great adventure before it even begins. Her father, Aaron Burr, the Vice President of the United States and his foreign conspirators must stop the expedition at all costs.The story follows the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Detailing the overwhelming adversity of the men involved in this great adventure. From launching their boats in Pittsburgh, to embedding the American flag on the turbulent beaches of the great State of Oregon.Lewis and Clark return in victory. Return to honor and fame. For completing such a daunting task they are both awarded appointment to high office in payment of their sacrifice.But, the melancholy of Meriwether Lewis continues. Now Governor of the Louisiana territory, Meriwether embarks on his final journey. A journey that ends in mystery…
John Richard Jefferies (1848-1887) wrote of country life, natural history, and agricultural practice at a time when the industrial revolution was bringing great change to long-settled patterns of English life. In this book, a work of fiction, he aims to tell us something of "the former state of things before it passes away entirely.”This is a gentle book with a keen eye for the beauty of the countryside, the uncultivated bonuses of plants and flowers; the antics of the birds and wild animals; and the agricultural practices, superstitions, and great generosity of the simple country folk who live on or about the Great Estate of the title.
The Pharaoh and the Priest (Polish: Faraon) is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Boleslaw Prus. It was the sole historical novel by an author who had earlier disapproved of historical novels on the ground that they inevitably distort history. Pharaoh has been described by Czeslaw Milosz as a "novel on mechanisms of state power and, as such, probably unique in world literature of the nineteenth century.... Prus, in selecting the reign of 'Pharaoh Ramses XIII' in the eleventh century BCE, sought a perspective that was detached from pressures of topicality and censorship. Pharaoh is set in the Egypt of 1087–85 BCE as that country experiences internal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of its Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. The young protagonist Ramses learns that those who would challenge the powers that be are vulnerable to co-option, seduction, subornation, defamation, intimidation and assassination. Perhaps the chief lesson, belatedly absorbed by Ramses as pharaoh, is the importance, to power, of knowledge. Prus' vision of the fall of an ancient civilization derives some of its power from the author's intimate awareness of the final demise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, a century before the completion of the novel.
A stuffy class-conscious gentleman's valet is transplanted to the rough uncivilized American northwest, where the rubes and social climbers are duly impressed with his manners and style. Will the American freedom rub off on the Englishman, or will the churlish Americans acquire some high-class polish? Witty social commentary a la P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster.
A novel in the Scarlet Pimpernel series that features Peter Blakeney, a descendant of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Peter's adventures take him to Hungary and much intrigue involving his good friend, Rosemary, Nazis, and spies ensue.
Between the former site of old Fort Dearborn and the present site of our newest Board of Trade there lies a restricted yet tumultuous territory through which, during the course of the last fifty years, the rushing streams of commerce have worn many a deep and rugged chasm. These great canons—conduits, in fact, for the leaping volume of an ever-increasing prosperity—cross each other with a sort of systematic rectangularity, and in deference to the practical directness of local requirements they are in general called simply—streets. Each of these canons is closed in by a long frontage of towering cliffs, and these soaring walls of brick and limestone and granite rise higher and higher with each succeeding year, according as the work of erosion at their bases goes onward—the work of that seething flood of carts, carriages, omnibuses, cabs, cars, messengers, shoppers, clerks, and capitalists, which surges with increasing violence for every passing day. Summary by HENRY B. FULLER
Marie Antoinette lives a happy life in a glittering court as Queen of France, but that soon changes as the revolution begins. Her son is Louis Charles, and his whole life changes with the death of his parents. But, that life is not what the people of France would expect.
Robert Barr (1849 - 1912) was a Scottish Journalist, editor, humorist and author. A Prince of Good Fellows was published in 1902, and is a series of Historical Fiction stories about the young James V, King of Scots (1512 – 1542). The chapters are full of humor and adventure and portrays a young King who is both wise and adventurous.
In the northern outreaches of the Canadian wilderness, it was understood that the Hudson Bay Company governed all trading, and one factor named Galen Albret took his position seriously. Free traders, or those who dared try to do their trading outside of the Company, found themselves having to face Galen Albret and his methods of dealing with them. One or two offenses he might tolerate, but for those who repeatedly refuse to acknowledge his warning out, he would send them on “La Longue Traverse” through the wilderness without supplies, and from which they seldom returned.
Ned Trent was one such free trader who defied both the Company and Galen Albret. The defining difference between Ned and the other free traders however, was his youth, energy, and good looks, which the Factor’s daughter did not fail to recognize. What follows the initial confrontations between Ned, Galen Albret, and his daughter Virginia makes for a thrilling tale of adventure, daring, survival, and romance.
Conjuror’s House was twice made into silent films titled “The Call of the North”, the first being Cecil B. DeMille’s first film in which he received solo directorial credit, and the second starring Noah Beery and Jack Holt (whose face was the basis for the face of Dick Tracy).
The story of a Quaker family's journey from Ohio to Nebraska beginning in 1856. They encounter a mystery which leaves them an orphan girl who will forever change their lives. Blizzard, the Civil War, and Indians and more Indians fill this great adventure which tests their faith and ingenuity while shaping their loves and futures
Minnie, who lives in the South, does not know she is a mulatto. She is sent to the North after her mother's death, and there she marries Louis, who is ironically also of mixed parentage. The story revolves around their discoveries and how they deal with their true identities. (N.B. There are some missing portions of the text.)
Rachel, a spirited young girl, has to choose between Francis Breton, her difficult cousin who has been disowned by the family, and Roddy Seddon, a conventional and rather boring but wealthy young man. She chooses Roddy but the marriage begins to collapse, and she meets Francis again.Looming over them is the spectre of the Duchess, Rachel’s grandmother, who rules the family and favours Roddy. Also in the mix is Lizzie Rand, secretary to Aunt Adela, who lives in the same house as Breton.
Set against the world of high society in London at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the book follows the characters as their lives are profoundly altered following a serious accident to one of them.
The daughter of a minister, Deborah Alcock wrote novels on a Christian theme. The Spanish Brothers is set in the sixteenth century and deals with Protestant martyrdom during the Spanish Inquisition. Follow the fortunes of brothers Juan and Carlos as they face the trials and pressures of remaining true to their faith despite hardship, imprisonment, torture and even the agonizing deaths of those dear to them.
Juan and Carlos Meñaya have longed to find their father ever since they were little. Their dream starts to get lost, though, as they grow up and go separate ways. Juan goes off to war and falls under the influence of a Huguenot prisoner while Carlos becomes a monk and begins to discover the Bible for himself.
The background of this collection of sketches and stories is the country through which flowed one of the most interesting of our western rivers before its destruction as a natural waterway.
This book is not a history. It is intended as an interpretation of the life along the river that the author has come in contact with during many years of familiarity with the region. Names of places and characters have been changed for the reason that, while effort has been made to adhere to artistic truth, literary liberties have been taken with facts when they have not seemed essential to the story.