Online Library Catalogue

The 19th Century Yorkshire mill town of Hawksmoor forms the backdrop for this story of the love of two cousins in a family bitterly divided.

She was caught in a web of nerve-shattering intrigue ... Trying to escape an unhappy love affair, Pippa Korvak leaves Paris and comes to Cambermere Hall, her father's country house. But Cambermere does not prove to be the haven she had sought. Handsome journalist Stephen Lorant seems fiercely resolved to blacken the name of Pippa's father. And Pippa is equally determined to prove her father's innocence - though surrounded on every side by tragedy and danger. When mysterious 'accidents' begin to threaten Pippa's life, she becomes ever more anxious to uncover the shocking truth ...

Tempe Brennan has come to Montreal from Charlotte in early December to testify as an expert witness at a trail. As forensic anthropologist for the province of Quebec, that's part of her job. She should be going over her notes, but she's freezing her behind of instead, digging in the basement of a pizza parlour. Not fun. Not with all the rats. And the cold. And now, the skeletonised earthly remains of three young women. When did they die? How did they get there? Something doesn't make sense.

The Trader's Gift is the second novel in Anna Jacobs' wonderfully atmospheric new saga series 'The Traders', set in Europe, the Orient and Australia's Swan River Colony. Bram Deagan has a thriving trading business, a beautiful wife and a growing family. Since he has a gift for matchmaking and wishes to see his friends Dougal and Mitchell happily married too, he doesn't hesitate to suggest they find wives. In England, Eleanor Prescott has not forgotten the ship's captain who was a true friend to her. Dougal McBride told her to come to him if she was free. When her ailing husband dies, she wonders if she dare return to Western Australia. Will Dougal still want her after nearly a year? Mitchell Nash has asked his cousin in England whether he knows any suitable lady. Though what sort of woman would make such an arduous voyage to marry someone she's never met? For one widow, however, desperate to keep her young son from a cruel relative's clutches, Mitchell's invitation is a lifeline she will grasp with both hands. Both Eleanor and Jacinta bravely take a huge risk on the chance of happiness and set off for Australia. But for Jacinta at least, the troubles of her old life can't be easily left behind.

Resist everything, apart from temptation! A sumptuous and decadent tale from the international mega-seller -London, the 1950s, four girls realise that life doesn't always go according to plan. Scheming Emerald has always got what she wants. Now her sights are set on a royal match. But little does she know the consequences of ensnaring her man. The illegitimate daughter of a louche playboy and Chinese hooker, Rose always felt an outsider. But now she's gracing the pages of Vogue, her exotic beauty attracting much attention - not all if it wanted! Rebel Janey is determined to make it in the world of fashion. But her devil-may-care attitude introduces her to dangerous company. Studious Ella is ecstatic when she's sent to New York to hone her journalism skills. But miles away from everything she knows, is she following her heart? As each girl navigates a world full of pitfalls and heartache, will they finally get what they wish for? Feast your senses on this sumptuous and decadent treat for fans of Penny Vincenzi and Jilly Cooper.

For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple-join her brothers' band on the last leg of their summer tour and decide if she's finally ready for the limelight. Of course, she never imagined that stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupies, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose. Jake Slater never imagined that the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact that she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when, after betting Abby that she won't last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake's personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He's never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, and most importantly, make music with. As the week comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart country songstress and a rock 'n' roll bad boy actually have a future together?

In fear for their lives after the sudden death of their mother, Adeĺa and Klaŕa must flee Prague to find refuge with their uncle in Australia. Later, Adeĺa becomes a film director at a time when the local industry is starting to feel the competition from Hollywood. But even while success is imminent, the issues of family and an impossible love are never far away. And ultimately dreams of the silver screen must compete with the bonds of a lifetime... Silver Wattle confirms Belinda Alexandra as one of our foremost storytellers. Weaving fact into inspiring fiction with great flair and imagination, this is a novel as full of hope, glamour and heartbreak as the film industry itself.

After Gabrielle Newman throws her cheating husband out, Stu cares more about the money than the break-up, getting more than his fair share from their house sale. An unexpected bequest offers Gabrielle a new start and she tries to leave the past behind, heading north with Dan Monahan, the private investigator sent to find her. Meanwhile, Stu has got entangled with organized crime in Eastern Europe and is desperate to pay his gambling debts. Gabrielle needs Dan's help to protect herself and her inheritance. Then Stu tracks down his ex-wife and Gabrielle discovers just what the man she once loved is capable of, as her life is threatened. Can she and Dan find a way to stop Stu and his ruthless new friends?

A picture hides a thousand words . . . On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery. The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in rural Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harbouring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . . Seductive, exhilarating and suspenseful, The Muse is an unforgettable novel about aspiration and identity, love and obsession, authenticity and deception.

Michael Dunnagan was never supposed to sail on the Titanic, nor would he have survived if not for the courage of Owen Allen. Determined to carry out his promise to care for Owen’s relatives in America and his younger sister, Annie, in England, Michael works hard to strengthen the family’s New Jersey garden and landscaping business. Annie Allen doesn’t care what Michael promised Owen. She only knows that her brother is gone—like their mother and father—and the grief is enough to swallow her whole. As Annie struggles to navigate life without Owen, Michael reaches out to her through letters. In time, as Annie begins to lay aside her anger that Michael lived when Owen did not, a tentative friendship takes root and blossoms into something neither expected. Just as Michael saves enough money to bring Annie to America, WWI erupts in Europe. When Annie’s letters mysteriously stop, Michael risks everything to fulfill his promise—and find the woman he’s grown to love—before she’s lost forever.

What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you. Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention. Filled with inspiring birth stories and practical advice, this invaluable resource includes: • Reducing the pain of labor without drugs—and the miraculous roles touch and massage play • What really happens during labor • Orgasmic birth—making birth pleasurable • Episiotomy—is it really necessary? • Common methods of inducing labor—and which to avoid at all costs • Tips for maximizing your chances of an unmedicated labor and birth • How to avoid postpartum bleeding—and depression • The risks of anesthesia and cesareans—what your doctor doesn’t necessarily tell you • The best ways to work with doctors and/or birth care providers • How to create a safe, comfortable environment for birth in any setting, including a hospital • And much more Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth takes the fear out of childbirth by restoring women’s faith in their own natural power to give birth with more ease, less pain, and less medical intervention.

17 short stories from the book twenty-Five Ghost Stories and 13 shorts from the book Indian Ghost Stories - Summary by Kirk Ziegler.

Born in 1878, Thomas published his first book when he was 18. Having married while still at university, he supported his family by writing articles and books, some in the form of what we might call slow travel writing, compiled on walks throughout England and Wales. He came to poetry late, encouraged by Robert Frost, and wrote 144 poems between 1914, and 1917 when he was killed, two years after enlisting, and shortly after arriving in France. His poetic life coincided with WW1, and though not a war poet, his is the poetry of loss, of life as it would never be again. What is powerful to the English imagination is his depiction of the fragility of the English countryside. This is inseparable from his deep understanding of the longings and regrets of those who would die. Transience and mortality are at the heart of his work. This is true in one of the country’s favourite poems, to be found on this recording: Adlestrop. He is important to other poets in that, at his best, his poetry is quietly, sometimes coldly, conversational, with a slow beat that takes us with him as he thinks through from line to line, and wraps us in his vision of life and the natural world. (Summary by Judith Brennan)

"The death of a patriarch, unexpected inheritance of a second son, dark and stormy castle, faithful retainers, scary governess who never speaks, star-crossed lovers -- I could go on, but that would involve spoilers! All you'd want and expect from a Gothic romance. One more thing -- real men do cry!" (summary by sylviamb)

A rich playboy comes home from travels abroad and is bully-ragged by his eccentric aunt into finding meaning for his life. This he does by helping a school chum save his fiancée from the gallows and the playboy falls head over heels in love with the fiancée. A web of deception and lies is revealed and also a long list of who loves who filled with how much each is willing to accept. The colorful cast includes a south sea captain, a fortuneteller, and a colorful doctor who is an authority on the inhabitants and customs of Easter Island. Then, of course, there is the sacred herb!—Enjoy!!

In the heat of an Australian summer, Inspector Scobie Malone finds the body of an informer, Scungy Grime, floating face down in his family's swimming pool. Scobie is investigating Sydney's drug-dealing operation, and Grime's murder is a clear warning. Malone's family is put under police protection--a nightmare for Scobie, who had always been able to separate his professional obligations from his home life. But Scobie is determined not to be frightened off the case. Grime turns out to be only the first victim of an innovative killer who injects his victims with curare. The trail leads in many directions, from Grime's former boss, retired big-time criminal Jack Aldwych; to Aldwych's son, Junior; to Junior's unlikely girlfriend; and to the original target, Sydney's drug king, Danny Pelong, who is annoyed because a newcomer is muscling in on his patch. The case before Malone is baffling--until a vital clue appears and the case begins to unravel.

This Australian classic edition contains some of the most popular verses ever published in Australia. This substantial collection of the work of 'Banjo' Paterson includes the classic 'The Man From Snowy River', 'Old Pardon, the Son of Reprieve', 'Clancy of the Overflow', 'The Geebung Polo Club', and 'The Man From Ironbark.

May's second marriage to Colonel Herbert Brown-Lacey is a terrible mistake. Her children find the colonel's presence oppressive and leave home; Oliver to drift from one affair to another, and Elizabeth to follow him to London in search of love. Even Herbert's own daughter tries to escape from her father's sinister behaviour.

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. (Summary by Simon Evers)

A beautiful and unusual novel concerned with a playwright, his wife, a young man and the playwright's secretary. As the story shifts from London to NewYork and on to a Greek island via Athens, each character relates their different point of view. And the discoveries they make about themselves and each other are gradually revealed.

This is Stowe's second book, another one depicting the horrors of southern slavery, published 4 years after Uncle Tom's Cabin and 5 years before the commencement of the Civil War, when new territories wanting admittance into the US (Texas, Oklahoma, name the states), were vying to become slave states, threatening to spread the heinous system. While a work of fiction, the book successfully documents the horrors of the slave system, and depicts how some slaves escaped into the Dismal Swamp (a real place spreading over a million acres in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina), where they often lived for years hiding from their pursuers, often in community. Dred, one of Stowe's most unusual heroic characters, proclaims his mission as follows: ". . .the burden of the Lord is upon me . . . to show unto this people their iniquity, and be a sign unto this evil nation!'" The book depicts that slaves were not all passive victims, as so often portrayed, and had many white sympathizers, but all were caught in the grips of a legal system so stacked against them that nobody could overturn it without threats to life and limb. The book was welcomed by the anti-slavery movement in Europe as well as in America, and helped move the needle of sympathy to finally overthrowing the system. - Summary by Michele Fry

The actions of a mysterious new alien species with whom Starfleet has made an alliance, force Captain Picard to choose between his conscience and direct Starfleet orders. Following in the footsteps of the blockbuster movie, "First Contact", Captain Picard faces his greatest challenge in this pulse-pounding novelization of the third spectacular film featuring the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast.

Rich and sophisticated Arthur Tracy returns to Tracy Park after several years abroad confused and mentally unstable. Initially claiming that Gretchen accompanied him on the boat and train back he then expects her to arrive at any moment. Meanwhile a child is found at the side of a woman frozen to death in the Tramp House nearby. Arthur's brother Frank believes he knows the child's identity but keeps it a secret fearing that his elaborate lifestyle could be in jeopardy. This is a heartwarming story with just the right mix of suspense and romance. - Summary by Celine Major

A group of young adults away on a nutting expedition is delayed in a hospitable home by a sudden rainstorm. After the storm, Marjorie insists that she must get home that night, albeit late, out of respect and care for her mother. Others want to extend the fun and stay away overnight. Ralph, the driver of their wagon and unspoken beau of Marjorie, is swayed by the teasing ridicule of Estelle to refuse to take them home that night. Unknown to the party, unexpected opportunities occur at Ralph's and Estelle's homes that same night, and their delay and subsequent actions profoundly affect the course of all three of their lives. (Summary by TriciaG)

Sequel to "Making Fate". We continue the story of Marjorie Edmonds and those who surround her: Mr. Maxwell, her mother's boarder; Ralph and Estelle Bramlett, with Ralph's impulsiveness and Estelle's selfishness; Hannah Bramlett, who is helping keep a young man from drunkenness; and others. Each one has life choices to make and the consequences to face, but all are being over-ruled by a loving and sovereign God. (Summary by TriciaG)

Maybe--tomorrow tells the story of the introverted and forlorn Gaylord LeClarie coming to terms with the world around him and who he is. Gaylord must navigate everything from sex, his own sexuality and his own gender identity. friendship, Love and self-acceptance in a sometimes hostile world... - Summary by Curt Troutwine

An early example of the female private detective, Jennette Lee’s Millicent Newberry made her first appearance in The Green Jacket in 1917. Miss Newberry brings her own unique perspective to her cases, only accepting those where she has a say in what happens to the guilty party. She is rarely without her knitting, using it as a technique to put clients and suspects alike at ease, while also knitting her notes on the case into the pattern! In The Green Jacket, Millie goes undercover to solve a case involving a stolen emerald necklace that, despite the efforts of other detectives, including her former boss, Tom Corbett, has never been recovered. (Summary by J. M. Smallheer)

With the Rector Peter Harris and his family back from Africa, the villagers of Turnham Malpas heave a huge sigh of relief - everything is back to normal. But Peter has other ideas, as he decides to return to Africa - although he leaves behind one very troubled family.

A classic collection of stories featuring some of the funniest episodes in the life of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, his resourceful butler - in which Bertie's terrifying Aunt Agatha stalks the pages, seeking whom she may devour, while Bertie's friend Bingo Little falls in love with seven different girls in succession. And Bertie, with Jeeves's help, hopes to evade the clutches of the terrifying Honoria Glossop.

In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is 18-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a 21-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family's farm as forced labour. And there is 26-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred - who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna's and Callum's love, as well as their friendship with Manfred - assuming any of them survive.

Accurate and revealing portrait of the Flemings' marriage, over a 24 year period. Antonia is elegant, but subdued by fear ; Conrad is brilliant but bloody-minded.

When Jamie and Kirsty move into their first home together, they are full of optimism. The future, in which they plan to get married and start a family, is bright. The other residents of their building seem friendly too, including the Newtons, a married couple who welcome them to the building with open arms. But then strange things start to happen. Dead rats are left on their doorstep. They hear disturbing noises, and much worse, in the night. After Jamie's best friend is injured in a horrific accident, Jamie and Kirsty find themselves targeted by a campaign of terror. As they are driven to the edge of despair, Jamie vows to fight back-but he has no idea what he is really up against. The Magpies is a gripping psychological thriller in which the monsters are not vampires or demons but the people who live next door. It is a nightmare that could happen to anyone.

One terrible act plunges the world into an instant nuclear crisis, and, with the American president accused of incompetence, Jack Ryan calls on FBI head Dan Murray to help him avert disaster.

Follows ninety-two-year-old Anna Madrigal, the legendary transgender landlady of 28 Barbary Lane, as she joins her former tenant Brian on a road trip to Nevada where she attends to unfinished business she has long avoided.

Stone Barrington receives a rather unexpected phone call from Arrington Calder, the ex-girlfriend with whom he has a son. Arrington's much older husband, the actor Vance Calder, has just died, leaving her a fortune in Centurion Studios stock. Arrington has plans for the money and asks Stone to represent her in the sale of the company. But when he arrives at her home in Bel-Air to finalize the deal, things take a nasty turn.

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree abandoned Wall Street to its bankruptcies and bailouts for a far more rewarding life fixing up an 1823 Federal-style house in Eastport, Maine. But Jake discovers that no matter what your address, the most terrifying crimes always hit closest to home.

"Would it be a serious breach of etiquette to run out on my own wedding?" is the question Becky Steele asks herself. Becky stares in disbelief at the meringue dress for which she has drunk only skimmed water for four weeks to fit into. Why can't Becky commit to Julian, human rights lawyer, and her Knight in Shining Armani? Yes, Julian's the right man, but has she had enough wrong ones.

When forensic pathologist Dr Anya Crichton finds a dead child in a toy box and a room covered in blood the answer is like nothing she has come across before. The post mortem reveals that the girl died from a deadly bacterial infection brought on by food poisoning. But does that mean there isn’t a murderer? Anya was only meant to be in Tasmania for a conference and to visit her mother, but when more people fall sick, including her father’s cousin, Anya becomes intimately involved in the case. At the same time, her mother, with whom Anya has always had a difficult relationship ever since her little sister Miriam went missing thirty years ago, is acting strangely, talking about conspiracies and exhibiting classic signs of dementia. As Anya deals with her increasingly paranoid, intractable mother, she is also racing to discover the source of the fatal bacterial infection before more people die. But Anya’s investigations into the close-knit Tasmanian agricultural community where the contaminated food originated soon put her in grave danger as someone tries to kill her. As the deaths pile up, Anya’s search leads her to an old murder case, and soon it becomes clear that her own family is closer to danger than ever before. But will Anya be able to discover the truth behind the poisoning and unmask the killer in time to save them, and herself?

In "The Emperor's Soul," a Forger named Shai can copy and re-create any item by using magic to rewrite its history. After being condemned to death for attempting to steal the emperor's scepter, Shai is given one final chance. She'll be allowed to live if she can create a new soul for the emperor, who hovers near death.

The countryside outside of Los Angeles is a paradise on Earth: nature gives bounty on the land, the animals are majestic, the oaks breathe and the natural pools and ponds are all you would want on a summer's day. And if you are a Pennington or an Evans, life is simple and complete. However, every paradise has a serpent. For Rancho Ganado, that comes in the shape of Bootlegging, Drugs and Murder. All the vice of nearby Hollywood manifest themselves in the picturesque landscape, throwing the lives of these families into turmoil. - Summary by Joseph DeNoia

A glitzy, fast paced Parisian drama depicting life at the world's first department store, revealing its many innovative marketing concepts, fashion, glamour, lust, greed, courage, deception, human foibles, and the vision and financial risk-taking that led to a world transformation in shopping -- one that set all the little shop keepers on their heads. All this is contrasted by our heroine Denise, a young sales woman who struggles through financial hardship, back-stabbing friendships, and incredible temptations with a quiet courage that helps her rise to the top. As she passes through fire and emerges from it unscathed, we get Zola's masterful depiction of social upheaval and feminine resistance to evil. In 2012 the BBC used the novel as the basis for an eight-part television series set in northern England titled The Paradise. A second season followed in 2013. The novel was also was adapted into a play, The Ladies' Delight, for BBC Radio 4, premiering in September 2010. (Summary by Michele Fry). Original French title: Au Bonheur des Dames

Whispering Smith, like most of Frank Spearman's western novels (and some non-fiction as well) are set in the world of railroads, in the late 1800's. The main character, Gordon Smith, is a railroad detective; he first appears in this novel, then later in others. This novel was popular enough to be made into film eight times (four being silent) and into a TV series. In this novel, Smith finds that the culprit of the railroad mishaps he is investigating is a close friend, Murray Sinclair. That plot may seem overworked, but Spearman makes it nuanced enough for it to be quite interesting; two interwoven romances are included. The strongest feature of Spearman's novels is probably his beautiful descriptions of the American western landscapes. His character descriptions and plots also hold up well against the other writers of westerns of the early 1900's. (Summary by Bob Rollins)

In the poem "Enoch Arden," Tennyson's epic narrative of the enduring power of love in the face of insurmountable odds, is found a classic example of the determination of the human spirit to triumph in circumstances that address the true meaning of the power of love itself. Wanting only the very best for his impoverished wife and family, seaman Enoch Arden undertakes precarious work which leaves him marooned and presumed lost at sea. On his return home Enoch finds his family well and prospering but his wife remarried. Faced with a love for his family deeper than the oceans he sailed, Enoch must decide whether to intrude into this idyllic scene of domestic happiness or meet old age and death alone and in obscurity. - Summary by Bruce Kachuk

Wealthy businessman Rex Fortescue is found dead with rye grain in his pocket. Inspector Neele, in charge of investigating the spate of murders, consults with Miss Marple, who has an interesting and surprising theory to offer. She senses the murderer is dispatching his victims on the basis of the children's nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'.

In New York City in 2059, someone is pursuing missing gems from a decades-old heist ... someone who's willing to kill for them. Sharp-witted and sexy, NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is used to travelling in the shadowy corners outside the law. And in a future where crime meets cutting-edge technology, she will attempt to track down the diamonds once and for all - and stop the danger and death that have surrounded them for years. (Originally published in "Remember When").

A nightmare journey from bustling glamorous New York City to the murky streets of Prague. Isabel and Marcus Raines are the perfect couple. She is a well-known novelist: he is a brilliant high-tech game inventor. They've been married for five years and still enjoy a marriage filled with romance. But one morning, Marcus disappears. Isabel dials his mobile phone for hours, but when she finally receives a call in return, it's more disturbing than she could have imagined, only the sound of a man screaming pitifully. The police are no use. It could have been a television show, they tell her. Grown men just don't disappear. The next morning, Isabel races to Marcus's office to confront his partners and learn the truth about her husband. But soon after she arrives, the FBI raid the office and knock her unconscious. When she awakens in a hospital, she learns that everyone else in the office is dead. Isabel finally returns to her apartment to find that it has been completely ransacked. Her money - all their money - is missing from their accounts. But the final blow comes when she learns from the police that Marcus Raines is in fact a dead man. He has been using somebody's identity for years. Isabel was married to someone she never knew. And now the chase is on, because Isabel will not rest until she finds the truth.

Sabotage accidentally takes Earth's first manned interplanetary expedition to the Moon, where a sublunar adventure ensues, involving two intelligent species and a good deal of fighting as well as romance. The perceptive reader will perceive the author's peculiar notions concerning the behavior of volcanos, an offense against scientific fact that is hard to pardon in a writer of science fiction, but if it can be overlooked, the variety of incident and the fast pace of the action, full of surprises, amply repay the reader's generous indulgence. (Summary by Thomas A. Copeland)

For most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn't decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who over analysed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realises is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure. As he recollects the events that led to his father's demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries-- about his infamous outlaw uncle Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin's constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It's a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafes of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a rollicking roller coaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.

George Gibbs wrote this romance set in the 17th century during the reigns of Charles II in England and Louis XIV in France, about the colonization of the New World and the struggles between French and Spanish colonists in Florida.

Ottessa Moshfegh reads her story "An Honest Woman," from the October 24th, 2016, issue of the magazine. Moshfegh is the author of two novels, "McGlue" and "Eileen," and the forthcoming story collection, “Homesick for Another World.” This is her second story in the magazine.

Eccentric and wealthy New York widow Ursula Pell loves playing cruel jokes on her guests, particularly on her niece and nephew who are destined to inherit the millions in gems left to her by her late husband. Therefore when she is found brutally murdered in a locked room the morning after a dinner party, her niece Iris -- the most recent victim of Ursula's humiliating pranks -- is first suspected, until all the clues point to her nephew. Where did she stash the gemstones and the much mentioned diamond pin promised Iris? Enter Fleming Stone, famous detective who hopefully can prove the innocence of the nephew, the true value of the diamond pin and discover WHO killed Mrs. Pell. - Summary by Celine Major

Thomas McGuane reads his story from the September 23, 2019, issue of the magazine. McGuane has published fourteen books of fiction, including the story collections "Gallatin Canyon," "Crow Fair," and "Cloudbursts," which came out last year.

George Saunders reads Isaac Babel's short story "You Must Know Everything" and discusses it with The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman.

Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half-pay without a command until his friend, occasional intelligence agent Stephen Maturin, arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a Commodore's pennant. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains - one a pleasure-seeking dilettante, the other liable to provoke the crew to mutiny. This tale is as beautifully written and as gripping as any in the series; it also stands on its own as a superlative work of fiction.

Clara and Robert Hatrell lead an ideal life with their young daughter Daisy in a beautiful old fashioned cottage on the banks of the Thames. When his son Cyril goes away to school their friend and neighbor Ambrose Arden who is a notable scholar offers to tutor Daisy. Some time later Robert carrying a large amount in banknotes is found stabbed to death in a London rooming house supposedly lured there by the mention of someone called Toinette. The murderer is not found and the money trail implicates a Frenchwoman exchanging the notes in Cannes, Nice and Paris. As the story progresses we are taken to Paris where new characters are introduced. Will one of them lead us to the actual villain??? - Summary by Celine Major

Notorious pirates who are the scourge of the seven seas, and on land; ghost stories which scare voyagers in the jungles and the ice caps; two ships located in a fatal fight volleying broadsides as if their life depends upon it (which it does); and mysteries on land and the ocean… Sir Arthur Conan Doyle takes you on a journey with 12 tales as unique and mysterious from one another as were ever collected about those pirates we have come to love…and fear. With enough imagination, cunning and murder to entertain everyone from a salty dog to Ahab’s wife. (Summary by Joseph DeNoia)

When an experimental nuclear submarine is hijacked in broad daylight, only Admiral Jake Grafton stands between the deadly cargo and its intended target: Washington D.C. Hundreds of people have gathered to watch the launching of the USS America, our newest and most sophisticated nuclear submarine. Then, the unthinkable happens: armed men emerge from the tugboat that is leading her to sea, board the submarine and man her controls. Half of the men onboard are slaughtered and half are put out to sea. Before nearby destroyers can react, the sub disappears. Admiral Jake Grafton is resting at his Delaware beach house when he is asked to find out who has stolen his submarine and why. He learns that a rogue CIA group, originally trained to steal Russian technology during the Cold War, may be behind the operation. And soon it becomes clear that, whatever their purpose, they mean business: within hours a missile launched from the submarine destroys the top floor of the White House and a second missile fells an airliner carrying 283 passengers. Now the race is on to find out where the submarine is, who is behind the nightmare scenario and-most critically-how to stop it.

George Smiley had liked the man and now the man was dead. Suicide. But why? An anonymous letter had alleged that Foreign Office man Samuel Fennan had been a member of the Communist Party as a student before the war. Nothing very unusual for his generation. Smiley had made it clear that the investigation, little more than a routine security check, was over and that the file on Fennan could be closed. Next day, Fennan was dead with a note by his body saying his career was finished and he couldn’t go on. Smiley is baffled. Refusing to believe that Fennan shot himself soon after making a cup of cocoa and asking the exchange to telephone him in the morning, Smiley decides to investigate, only to uncover a murderous conspiracy with its roots in his own secret wartime past.

This re-issue features the original stories and articles re-edited, plus two brand new Les Norton short stories and a feature article, 'Bowling for Bukowski', which is about the last three years of turmoil in the author's life. Original edition published in 1996 under the title Rider on the Storm and Other Bits of Barrett. Contents: Rider on the storm -- The wasted horizon -- The party of the first part -- Diamond Les -- Ming the merciless -- The baker's dozen -- Amy outhouse -- Gorgeous George -- So, you want to be in movies? -- The empty stomach -- So, you want to be a (righter) writer? -- I was a judge in a wet T-shirt contest -- Whining and dining -- Bowling for Bukowski.

Published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin brought the abolitionists' message to the public conscience. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln greeted Stowe in 1863 as "the little lady who made this big war." Eliza Harris, a slave whose child is to be sold, escapes her beloved home on the Shelby plantation in Kentucky and heads North, eluding the hired slave catchers. Aided by the Underground Railroad, Quakers, and others opposed to the Fugitive Slave Act, Eliza, her son, and her husband George run toward Canada. As the Harrises flee to freedom, another slave, Uncle Tom, is sent "down the river" for sale. Too loyal to abuse his master's trust, too Christian to rebel, Tom wrenches himself from his family. Befriending a white child, Evangeline St. Clare, Tom is purchased by her father and taken to their home in New Orleans. Although Evangeline's father finally resolves to free his slaves, his sudden death alters their fates, sending Tom farther downriver to Simon Legree's plantation, and the whips of Legree's overseers.

Akhil Sharma reads his story “A Life of Adventure and Delight,” from the May 16, 2016, issue of the magazine. Sharma is the author of two novels, “An Obedient Father” and ”Family Life.” He has been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 1997.

Colin Barrett reads his story “Anhedonia, Here I Come,” from the April 18, 2016, issue of the magazine. Barrett is the author of the story collection “Young Skins,” which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Guardian First Book Award in 2014. He has been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 2015.

T. Coraghessan Boyle reads his story "Are We Not Men?," from the November 7, 2016, issue of the magazine. Boyle is the author of sixteen novels, including "The Harder They Come" and "The Terranauts," which came out last month. He has published more than two dozen stories in The New Yorker.

Thomas Pierce reads his story "Chairman Spaceman," from the January 16, 2017, issue of the magazine. Pierce's story collection, "Hall of Small Mammals," came out in 2015. His first novel, "The Afterlives," will be published later this year.

The Exciting adventures of a beautiful Texan debutante - She was raised in New York City high society and attended the best schools - When her mother died she felt the urge to go out west to join her father, whom she never knew, on their massive ranch - What followed were river boat journeys, steamboat gamblers, desperadoes, con artists, Mexican military and Indian attacks. She rode out west under the protection of the Texan Rangers and US military only to discover the ultimate deception when she reached the ranch!

From the ashes of the Empire has risen another threat to the galaxy's freedom: the ruthless First Order. Fortunately new heroes emerge to take up arms against the First Order: Rey, the orphan strong in the Force; Finn, the ex-stormtrooper who stands against his former masters; and Poe Dameron, the fearless X-wing pilot, have been drawn together to fight side-by-side with General Leia Organa and the Resistance. But the First Order's Supreme Leader Snoke and his merciless enforcer Kylo Ren are adversaries with superior numbers and devastating firepower at their command. The champions of light may finally be facing their extinction. Their only hope rests with a lost legend: Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.

"Are you willing to settle for an ordinary life? Or do you think you were meant for something better? Something special?" One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence, for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness and obscurity. "You will forever be a child of two worlds, capable of choosing your own destiny. The only question you face is, which path will you chose?" The other grew up on the jagged cliffs of the harsh Vulcan desert, fighting for acceptance, for a way to reconcile the logic he was taught with the emotions he felt. In the far reaches of the galaxy, a machine of war bursts into existence in a place and time it was never meant to be. On a mission of retribution for the destruction of his planet, its half-mad captain seeks the death of every intelligent being, and the annihilation of every civilized world. Kirk and Spock, two completely different and unyielding personalities, must find a way to lead the only crew, aboard the only ship, that can stop him. "The wait is over."

Alexandra Kleeman reads her story “Choking Victim,” from the May 2, 2016, issue of the magazine. Kleeman is the author of the novel “You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine,” which was published in 2015. This is her first story in The New Yorker.

Kevin Barry reads his story "Deer Season," from the October 10, 2016, issue of the magazine. Kevin Barry is the author of two story collections, and two novels, including last years "Beatlebone." He's been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 2010.

Elif Batuman reads her story “Constructed Worlds,” from the January 23, 2017, issue of the magazine. Batuman is the author of “The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them.” “Constructed Worlds” is adapted from her forthcoming first novel, “The Idiot,” which will be published in March.

Margaret Atwood joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss "Corrie," by Alice Munro, from a 2010 issue of the magazine. Atwood is the author of numerous collections of poetry, stories, and novels, including "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Blind Assassin," which won the Booker Prize in 2000, and "Stone Mattress." A winner of the Franz Kafka Prize and the Governor General's Award, among others, she will publish "The Testaments," a sequel to "The Handmaid's Tale," in September.

Nell Freudenberger discusses Grace Paley's short story "Somewhere Else" with The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. The podcast includes a reading of the story by Barbara Rosenblatt. "Somewhere Else" was published in The New Yorker on October 23, 1978.

Antonya Nelson reads Mavis Gallant's short story "When We Were Nearly Young" and discusses Gallant with The New Yorker's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman.

It's nearly Mia's fifteenth birthday. A time when a princess should be getting ready for the big night, the senior prom, escorted by her boyfriend Michael. But Michael has neglected to invite her. And just as Mia cooks up a plan to change Michael's mind, disaster strikes.

It's the start of a new school term - and trouble's already brewing for one disaster-prone princess. On top of Mrs Martinez daring to suggest that Mia's 'not ready' for Advanced Creative Writing, Grandmere is being booted out of the Plaza during renovations. Can any other hotel in the world live up to Grandmere's standards? As if! But Mia's problems fade to nothing when she hears the most terrible news of all. Michael has been accepted on a year-long computer science course... in Japan! Can Mia's perfect prince really love her if he can go away for a year? Or is being halfway around the world just what Michael needs right now.

Thomas has inherited a magical box from his dead grandmother, which provides entry into a mysterious garden where her ghost warns him she was poisoned. For once she belonged to an arcane guild whose members each cultivated a garden and mastered the arts of poison, perfume and medicine. The remaining guild members jostle for power as one by one, they are murdered. Can Thomas solve the mystery before he in turn is threatened?

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who recently committed suicide. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Bewildered and heartbroken, Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah's voice as his guide. On the journey, he becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns more about himself than he ever dreamed.

The galaxy is at war. Although the Rebel Alliance has won a few battles against the Empire, hope is fading. The Empire is about to finish building the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever seen-the Death Star. The rebels' only chance to defeat it now lies in the unlikely hands of a princess, a scoundrel, and a farm boy.

It's nearly Mia's fifteenth birthday. A time when a princess should be getting ready for the big night, the senior prom, escorted by her boyfriend Michael. But Michael has neglected to invite her. And just as Mia cooks up a plan to change Michael's mind, disaster strikes.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. But Xan is in fact a good witch who rescues the children. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's 13th birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge - with dangerous consequences....

A book of poems grouped by subject by various authors, some well known, some not. Lots of fun poems to listen to at bedtime!

A wonderful children's classic - a collection of moral stories told by animals in the woods. The wittily written stories explore various issues in a fun way.

While visiting their friend, Florence, at her home in Mexico, Jo Ann and Peggy noticed a barred window which has no opening into any of the rooms of an ancient adobe house. Curious to find out what it is, the girls tried to investigate but no one seems eager to help them. Undaunted, the girls made plans to get there only to encounter dangers and find a thrilling discovery. - Summary by Mary Escano

A Breathtaking Collection of Stories and Photographs. Terry Underwood captures the essence and colour of life on her beloved Outback station in a breathtaking collection of her own photographs and stories. This beautiful book brings alive the experience of Riveren: the people, the animals, the mighty landscape; the dust, the heat and the life-giving Wet. It is a stunning souvenir for all those who fell in love with Terry's home on reading 'In The Middle Of Nowhere' and for those about to fall under its spell.

A fundamental work for understanding Nietzsche. "There is not enough love and goodness in the world to permit giving any of it away to imaginary beings." Friedrich Nietzsche viewed science as key to undercutting traditional metaphysics. In Human, All Too Human, the philosopher describes science as a crucial step in the emergence of free spirits who will be the avant-garde of culture.

A weather expert with an established reputation and a good narrative style sketches the storm by accounting for its many phases from the calm of the vortex to the legal squabbles in Washington that marked the setting up of our present Weather Bureau Service - Extensive in scope, the many chapters deal with the hurricane in all its forms. There is an inquiry into its causes and the mystery of air behaviour that still remains. There are historical hurricanes and the reports that have come down to us from the 16th century. Other topics include a thorough going over of the weatherman's techniques from on-shore stations to the perilous observation flights into the hurricanes themselves; and classifications of different kinds of hurricanes as well as some of the famous ones- Carol, Hazel etc. All in all, a veritable vortex of facts that should pull the reader in for a refreshing dousing he won't forget.

'These tales are memories of several months spent as a special correspondent attached to the forces of the American Navy on foreign service. Many of the little stories are personal experiences, though some are "written up" from the records and others set down after interviews. In writing them, I have not sought the laurels of an official historian, but been content to chronicle the interesting incidents of the daily life as well as the achievements and heroisms of the friends who keep the highways of the sea.' - Henry B. Beston

Ralph Keeler failed as a novelist, but this autobiography reflects a life well-lived with humor and adventure - Ralph Keeler wrote the Vagabond Adventures which he had lived. He had been, as he claimed, “a cruel uncle’s ward” in his early orphan-hood, and while yet almost a child he had run away from home, to fulfil his heart’s desire of becoming a clog-dancer in a troupe of negro minstrels. But it was first his fate to be cabin-boy and bootblack on a lake steamboat, and meet with many squalid adventures, scarcely to be matched outside of a Spanish picaresque novel. When he did become a dancer (and even a danseuse) of the sort he aspired to be, the fruition of his hopes was so little what he imagined that he was very willing to leave the Floating Palace on the Mississippi in which his troupe voyaged and exhibited, and enter the college of the Jesuit Fathers at Cape Girardeau in Missouri. He had a philosophy which he liked to impress with a vivid touch on his listener’s shoulder: “Put your finger on the present moment and enjoy it. It’s the only one you’ve got, or ever will have.” Keeler was in the same literary circle as satirist Bret Harte, novelist Charles Warren Stoddard, editor Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and essayist William Dean Howells. He so impressed Mark Twain that Twain wrote an essay about him called "Ralph Keeler". In 1873, on his way to Cuba, he reportedly was thrown overboard by a Spanish loyalist who objected to his backing of the revolutionary, anti-Spanish movement.

Though little is known about its author, this is considered the first vegan cookbook ever written. At the time of its composition, the Vegetarian Society and other advocates of vegetarian diets were engaged in a debate about the inclusion of dairy and eggs in one's regime. This text declares, from the title to the footnotes, that the best diet is free from all animal products. The arguments span historical, physical, ethical, aesthetic, and economic considerations and conclude with practical advice that stands the test of time. An essential text for those interested in vegetarianism and animal rights. - Summary by Ben Adams

A collection of a series of lectures delivered while Glover was in India setting the life of Jesus into its historical context and seeing what lessons might be drawn from it. - Summary by Paul Mazumdar

This volume picks up the story of the British Empire at the point where the American colonies have become the United States of America with their triumph over General Cornwallis and the British army at Yorktown in 1781. Here are the origins of the modern nations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and of the ways in which British influence has affected nations such as India, Sri Lanka, and China. Here are the stories of Captain James Cook, Mungo Park, Warren Hastings, Sir Stamford Raffles and David Livingstone.

"'Cattle Kings' ye call us, then we are Kings in grass castles that may be blown away upon a puff of wind..." - Patrick Durack, 1878. When Patrick Durack left Ireland for Australia in 1853, he was to found a dynasty of pioneers, and build an empire of cattle-land across the great stretches of Australia. His grand-daughter, Mary Durack, with a profound sense of family history, has rebuilt the saga of the Duracks, a saga that is the story of Australia itself, huge, pioneering, and tremendous in concept.

Underhill’s definition of mysticism, her exploration of the stages of spiritual progress along the mystical path, and her argument about the practical application of mysticism for ordinary people. (Summary by Carla Arnell)

When FDR, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin gathered outside the Crimean city of Yalta in February 1945, they had Hitler's armies on the run, and victory was just a matter of time. Their mission was to forge the decisions that would shape the postwar world, and above all to divide up Europe between Soviet and Western influence. These men had been fighting side by side for nearly four years but the cracks in their alliance were emerging; even before the Second World War ended, another conflict was beginning. While the Berlin airlift and the Iron Curtain would not arrive for three years, by August 1945 the West and the Soviet Union were firmly on the path to a Cold War.

Fanny relates the experiences of a 19th century missionary as she and her young husband proselytize throughout Europe in search of converts to the new Mormon faith. Her religious zeal is sorely tested upon receipt of news from America revealing that their religion has adopted the practice of polygamy as the means to exaltation. The couple is summoned to Utah only to find themselves firmly ensconced in Brigham Young's inner circle and called upon to practice plural marriage or risk a fall from family, friends, and faith. - Summary by Danielle Cartwright

Following the horrors of the Second World War, culminating in the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and the onset of the Cold War, came the beginnings of popular culture: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and the Mini.

It was in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, that England became a Protestant nation. Her reign saw the flowering of the Renaissance in England, the growth of trading, slaving and piracy as well as the tragic story of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth united England as never before but it was her successor, King James VI ov Scotland, who became the first ruler of Great Britain as it was called for the first time. James's son, Charles I, decided he could rule without benefit Parliament; and then religion, Scotland and Ireland began to lead towards bitter Civil War which would bring the irresistible rise of Oliver Cromwell and eventually end with the removal not just of the King, but of monarchy itself.

France's attempts to export its 1789 revolution led to war all over Europe and beyond, raising the likes of Nelson and Wellington to the status of national hero as they led the resistance to the ambitions of Napoleon Bonaparte. Their greatest triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo have justifiably become major landmarks in British history. For much of this time the political leader of Britain was the second William Pitt, Pitt the Younger, who had been only twenty four years old when he became prime minister for the first time. It was Pitt who invented income tax as a democratic means of paying for the French wars and who had also to cope with another rebellion in Ireland (which this time led to union with Great Britain), with another war against Britain's former American colonies and with the problem of a king whose sanity was serious question.

This is a young person's biography of Abigail Adams that will appeal to readers of all ages. In the author's own words, "I am not writing a history; far from it. I am merely throwing on the screen, in the fashion of today, a few scenes to make a background for my little pen-picture-play. " - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi