Classic fiction: literary and general

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Book SynopsisEdward Waverly enjoyed a privileged upbringing, despite his family’s drama. Coming of age during a political uprising, Edward’s time is split between his father and his uncle, who each have opposing political views, which causes a rift in the family. His uncle is a traditional British subject that wishes to overthrow the government so that Charles Edward Stuart is restored to power, commonly known as a Jacobite. However, Edward’s father is a Hanoverian, a citizen who supports the current government. Raised between the two, Edward himself has flippant views. In fact, he is more interested in chasing women than his studies or politics. For this reason, Edward’s aunt decides to send him to the army. Serving as a Hanoverian soldier, Edward takes his training about as seriously as he took his studies, but as his regiment travels around Scottland, Edward is taken by the beauty of the nation and its culture, especially falling for a young woman named Flora. Though Edward quickly becomes enamored by Flora, he soon realizes that their romance is ill-fated, as he is a Hanoverian soldier, and Flora is a dedicated Jacobite. While Edward challenges his own political views for love, more chaos unfolds, including war, uprisings, and accusations of treason. First published anonymously in 1814, Waverley rose to almost immediate fame, praised for its authenticity and comedy. Already famous as a poet, Sir Walter Scott eventually admitted that this extraordinary historical novel was among his first attempts to publish his prose fiction. With themes of war and tolerance and beautiful prose, Waverley depicts a young soldier’s struggle with love and beliefs as he travels across Scottland. Featuring stunning detail, the landscape and culture of 18th century Scottland is beautifully represented as is the fascinating history of the Jacobite uprising of 1745. This edition of Waverley by Sir Walter Scott now features an eye-catching cover design and is printed in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition of Waverley crafts an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences while restoring the original mastery of Sir Walter Scott’s literature.

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Book SynopsisThe House by the Church-Yard (1863) is a novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. An important source for James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, The House by the Church-Yard is a hybrid of the mystery and historical genres of fiction. With its complex use of side plots and extensive frame narrative, the novel is central to Le Fanu’s legacy as an innovator whose literary works inspired Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. During a routine interment at a churchyard in the historic village of Chapelizod, a grave is disturbed revealing a skull buried a century earlier. Upon examination, a gruesome discovery is made—not only does the skull show signs of severe head trauma, it contains a hole from an emergency trepanning procedure. Stirred by the discovery, an old man named Charles de Cresseron pieces together the story of a time the village had nearly forgotten. In the eighteenth century, a coffin was secretly buried in the churchyard, with no defining characteristics except for the initials “R.D.” As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that this burial is somehow related to a series of mysterious events—a love triangle between a general’s daughter, a local official, and a man who has taken residence in a home rumored to be haunted; the suicide of a disgraced prisoner; and a rivalry between a deeply indebted doctor and the agent of a local lord whose home has been infiltrated by a dubious imposter. As these plots swirl and converge, The House by the Church-Yard emerges as a masterpiece of suspense, a thriller that delights its reader just as much as it demands their attention. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s The House by the Church-Yard is a classic of Irish literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Book SynopsisThe Sin of Father Mouret (1875) is a novel by French author Émile Zola. The fifth of twenty volumes of Zola’s monumental Les Rougon-Macquart series is an epic story of family, politics, class, and history that traces the disparate paths of several French citizens raised by the same mother. Spanning the entirety of the French Second Empire, Zola provides a sweeping portrait of change that refuses to shy away from controversy and truth as it gets to the heart of heredity and human nature. Serge Mouret is a pious, if not overzealous young man. For his first assignment after taking his religious orders, he is appointed parish priest of the impoverished village of Artauds. Unable to attract villagers to his sermons, he pontificates to an empty, dilapidated church, determined to explore and expose the innermost spaces of his soul. Unconcerned with worldly affairs, he grows increasingly neurotic, eventually suffering a debilitating breakdown. Unable to care for himself, Father Mouret is taken into the care of Doctor Pascal Rougon, a distant relative. At his suggestion, Mouret is sent to Le Paradou, a rundown estate, where he is to live out his life in peace and near-solitude. There, he befriends Albine, a young girl who seems to have grown up alone at Le Paradou, and who dotes on her ailing housemate. As time goes by, he begins to fall in love with her, and their friendship develops into an innocent, blissful romance. The Sin of Father Mouret is a story of family and fate, a thrilling and detailed novel that continues a series rich enough for its author to explore in twenty total volumes. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Émile Zola’s The Sin of Father Mouret is a classic work of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Book SynopsisIn its first modern translation, a novel-cum-memoir of a Frenchman’s erotic awakening in Italy by a preeminent writer of the Romantic period In 1812 Alphonse de Lamartine, a young man of means, traveled through southern Italy, where, during a sojourn in Naples, he fell in love with a young woman who worked in a cigar factory—and whose death after he returned to France would haunt him throughout his writing life. Graziella, Lamartine called this lost girl in his poetry and memoirs—and also in Graziella, a novel that closely follows the story of his own romance.“When I was eighteen,” the narrator begins, as if penning his memoir, “my family entrusted me to the care of a relative whose business affairs called her to Tuscany.” The tale that unfolds, of the young man’s amorous experiences amid the natural grandeur and subtle splendors of the Italian countryside, is one of the finest works of fiction in the French Romantic tradition, a bildungsroman that is also a melancholy portrait of the artist as a young man discovering the muse who would both inspire and elude him.Remarkable for its contemplative prose, its dreamy passions and seductive drawing of the Italian landscape, and its place in the Romantic canon, Graziella is a timeless portrait of love, chronicling the remorse and the misguided ideals of youth that find their expression, if not their amends, in art.Trade Review"In a new translation and with contextual notes and an introduction by MacKenzie, Lamartine's story comes to us afresh." —Kirkus ReviewsTable of ContentsTranslator’s IntroductionRaymond N. MackenzieGraziellaChronologyAppendix from Lamartine’s Mémoires inédits, 1790–1815Translator’s Notes

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Book SynopsisThe first new translation of Balzac’s 1847 novel Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes in half a century, fully annotated and with an extensive introduction In Lost Souls, Honoré de Balzac’s brilliant evocation of nineteenth-century Paris, we enter a world of glittering wealth and grinding poverty, teeming with strivers, poseurs, and pleasure seekers along with those who struggle merely to survive. Between the heights of Parisian society and the criminal world lurking underneath, fate is about to catch up with Lucien de Rubempré, last seen in Lost Illusions, as his literary aspirations, his love for the courtesan Esther van Gobseck, and his scheme to marry the wealthy Clotilde become entangled in the cunning and ultimately disastrous ambitions of the Abbé Herrera, a villain for the ages. An extraordinary volume in Balzac’s vast Human Comedy (in which he endeavored to capture all of society), Lost Souls appears here in its first new English translation in half a century. Keenly attuned to the acerbic charm and subtleties of Balzac’s prose, this edition also includes an introduction presenting thorough biographical, literary, and historical context, as well as extensive notes throughout the text—an invaluable resource for today’s readers as they navigate Balzac’s copious allusions to classical and contemporaneous politics and literature.Trade Review"Beautifully written."—Book Post"Between Lost Illusions and Lost Souls, in two hefty, handsome paperbacks—with scholarly trimmings to help, not impede a reader—we now have both of the novels (technically all seven novels in a trilogy followed by a tetralogy… published between 1837 and 1847 in not entirely chronological order… because Balzac?) tracing the fate of Lucien de Rubempre, in print as though they belong together, on your to-be-read lists and your shelves. They are a remarkable itinerary."—LitHub"Here’s a gift to the world literature in English that keeps on giving: Raymond Mackenzie keeps making fine translations of Balzac’s huge, great novels and the University of Minnesota Press keeps publishing them in the same handsome format: after Lost Illusions, Lost Souls. They have given us convincing, eminently readable versions of Balzac. "—David Ball, METAMORPHOSES

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Book SynopsisA masterpiece of nineteenth-century literature in a fresh translation that fully captures the language, psychology, and social reach of Stendhal’s original Fueled with a combustible mix of ambition, naivete, and Napoleonic ideals, Julien Sorel sets his sights on the heights of French society. But for the son of a provincial carpenter in post-Napoleonic France, the prospects for advancement are vanishingly narrow, the chances for glory rarer yet. After securing a toehold as a tutor to a wealthy family, Julien proceeds through a series of misadventures, illicit affairs, and lucky reversals to breach the ranks of French aristocracy—only to be undone by treasonous schemes, cynical romantic calculations, and an unexpectedly genuine and ultimately disastrous passion.Shocking at the time of its original publication, startling in its relevance today, Stendhal’s masterpiece is a scorching social satire, a remarkably detailed portrait of a fraught moment in history and, as perhaps the first psychological novel, a brilliant precursor to modern literature at once comical and tragic, cerebral and passionate. This new translation faithfully reproduces the nimble wit, emotional depth, and social acuity of Stendhal’s text. Distinguished translator Raymond N. MacKenzie includes an extensive introduction to Stendhal’s world and time, as well as copious annotations that explain allusions and terms for the modern reader.Trade Review "Despite being written and set in the 19th century, Red and Black has all the hallmarks of a modern novel. Stendhal enjoys recounting his young protagonist’s adventures, and that enjoyment is contagious. Raymond Mackenzie makes good use of his Translator’s Introduction and the copious end-notes to explain historical details, point out Stendhal’s propensity to invent and falsely attribute chapter epigraphs, and educate the reader on the nuances of language. "—On the Seawall "An elegant stylist and thoughtful critic, MacKenzie has an excellent ear for what makes Stendhal’s dry-as-extra-brut-champagne style so effective as a deglazing liquid."—Rain Taxi Table of ContentsContentsTranslator’s Introduction. Chronicling the Nineteenth Century: Stendhal, Politics, and the NovelRaymond N. MacKenzieRed and BlackPublisher’s NoteBook IBook IINotes

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Book SynopsisThe second volume in the Nobel Prize–winning writer’s epic of medieval Norway, finely capturing Undset’s fluid, natural style in a new English translation, the first in nearly a century As Norway moves into the fourteenth century, the kingdom continues to be racked by political turmoil and bloody family vendettas that serve as the backdrop for Sigrid Undset’s masterful story about Olav Audunssøn and Ingunn Steinfinnsdatter. Betrothed as children and raised as foster siblings, their unbridled love for each other sets in motion a series of dire events—with a legacy of betrayal, murder, and disgrace that will echo for generations. In Providence, the second of Olav Audunssøn’s four volumes, Olav settles in at his ancestral estate of Hestviken and soon brings Ingunn home as his wife. Both hope to put their troubles behind them as they start a new life together, but the crimes and shameful secrets of the past have a long reach and a tenacious hold. The consequences of sin, suspicion, and familial obligations may prove a greater threat to the pair’s happiness than even their long years of separation.Set in a time when royalty and religion vie for power, and bloodlines and loyalties are effectively law, Providence summons a powerful picture of Northern life in the medieval era, as the Swedish Academy noted in awarding Undset the Nobel Prize. Conveying both the intimate drama of Olav and Ingunn’s marriage and the epic sweep of their story, it is at once a moving and vivid recreation of a vanished world tainted by bloodshed and haunted by sin and retribution. As with her classic Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset immersed herself in legal, religious, and historical writings to create in Olav Audunssøn an astoundingly authentic and compelling portrait of Norwegian life in the Middle Ages. And as in her translation of Kristin Lavransdatter, Tiina Nunnally does full justice to Undset’s fluid prose. Undset’s writing style is by turns straightforward and delicately lyrical, conveying the natural world, the complex culture, and the fraught emotional territory against which Olav’s story inexorably unfolds.Table of ContentsContentsTranslator’s NoteMap of Olav and Ingunn’s NorwayGenealogy and KinshipOlav Audunssøn’s HappinessHoly Days and Canonical HoursNotes

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Book SynopsisA fresh and vivid translation of Flaubert’s influential bildungsroman Gustave Flaubert conceived Sentimental Education, his final complete novel, as the history of his own generation, one that failed to fulfill the promise of the Revolution of 1848. Published a few months before the start of the 1870 Franco–Prussian War, it offers both a sweeping panorama of French society over three decades and an intimate bildungsroman of a young man from a small town who arrives in Paris when protests against the monarchy are increasing. The novel’s protagonist, Frédéric Moreau, alternates between aimlessness and ambition as he searches for a meaningful life through love affairs and republican politics. Flaubert’s narrative includes scenes of high drama, as scattered protests across Paris swell into revolution, and quiet moments of self-aware romanticism, crafting a story that possesses the sweep and scope of a historical novel combined with deep emotion and scandalous intimacy. Suffused with tragedy and the poignancy of lost chances and wasted lives, Sentimental Education is sharpened by satirical observations of what Flaubert condemned as the Second Empire’s endemic hypocrisy and willful blindness. This vibrant, new translation by Raymond N. MacKenzie includes an extensive critical introduction and annotations to help the modern reader appreciate Flaubert’s achievement. Sentimental Education intertwines the personal, the intimate, and the subjective with the political, social, and cultural, embedding Frédéric’s story in the larger arc of what Flaubert saw as France’s decline into mediocrity and imbecility in its politics and manners.

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Book SynopsisCelebrate Christmas in true Wonderland style with this special festive edition of Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There.With a foiled festive cover and a Christmas letter from Lewis Carroll as a foreword, this limited edition gift book is the perfect gift for Alice fans, and a must-have for every collector's bookshelf.In a collectable, keepsake size, ideal as a stocking-filler, this unique edition contains Lewis Carroll's complete, original text and iconic illustrations from Sir John Tenniel throughout. Alice's extraordinary adventures are brought to life as caught up in the great looking-glass chess game, she sets off to claim her crown, meeting unforgettable characters along the way, such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Humpty Dumpty.Published by Macmillan Children's Books, the original Alice publisher.

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Book Synopsis'One of the greatest and silliest stories ever told' Greg James'A brilliant writer. Extraordinary' Philip PullmanPoor Pongo Twistleton must endure his sixty-year-old Uncle Fred once a year. But this year, mischievous Uncle Fred has gone too far.While Pongo is busy trying to impress his future father-in-law Sir Aylmer Bostock, Uncle Fred asks him to steal the man's priceless bust and replace it with a creation made by none other than his once-fiancée, Sally Painter. It is a scheme that is doomed to fail, but why should that deter Uncle Fred, or, for that matter, the unshakeable Sally? But when it does, Uncle Fred has several more tricks up his inestimable sleeve and Pongo will have to play more than the good nephew. Will Uncle Fred have his way? Will Pongo end up with the right wife? And is a pot of raspberry jam ever truly safe from invaders?A caper of irrepressible joy and wit, Uncle Dynamite is a Wodehouse classic and one of the finest comedy novels ever written.Trade ReviewThe gold standard of English wit … There is not, and never will be, anything to touch him Christopher Hitchens—Christopher HitchensIt's dangerous to use the word genius to describe a writer, but I'll risk it with him John Humphrys—John HumphrysNot only the funniest English novelist who ever wrote but one of our finest stylists—Susan Hill

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Book Synopsis**An Oprah Magazine Most Anticipated Historical Novel of 2021****A Buzzfeed 'Book You're Going to Love in 2021'**'With stunningly lyrical writing, Greeley elevates Austen-inspired fiction onto a whole new plane.' - Natalie Jenner, author of The Jane Austen SocietyAs a fussy baby, Anne was prescribed laudanum to quiet her and has been given the opium-heavy syrup ever since, on account of her continuing ill health. While Lady Catherine is outraged when Darcy chooses not to marry her daughter, Anne barely even notices. But little by little, she comes to see that what she has always been told is an affliction of nature might in fact be one of nurture - and one, therefore, that she can beat. She finally throws away her laudanum and seeks refuge at the London home of her cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Suddenly wide awake to the world but utterly unprepared, Anne must forge a new identity among those who have never seen the real her - including herself. With its wit, sensuality and compassion, The Heiress is a sparklingly rebellious novel that takes a shadowy figure from the background of beloved classic Pride & Prejudice and throws her into the light.'Haunting. The Heiress has all the hallmarks of nineteenth-century Gothic, which doesn't shy away from "modern" ills, such as the opiate crisis, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and homophobia. Highly recommended.' - Finola Austin, author of Bronte's MistressTrade ReviewMolly Greeley is one of the best young writers working today - the sheer beauty of her prose has few rivals. In reimagining the character of Anne de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice, Greeley takes us inside a troubled, resilient and poetic mind and gives us a heroine to both sympathise with and root for. With stunningly lyrical writing, Greeley elevates Austen-inspired fiction - and psychological fiction in general - onto a whole new plane. * Natalie Jenner, author of THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY *Haunting. In The Heiress, Molly Greeley shines a light on the darkness cloaking Anne de Bourgh, Lady Catherine's sickly daughter and Mr. Darcy's intended. The result is a novel with all the hallmarks of nineteenth-century Gothic, which doesn't shy away from "modern" ills, such as the opiate crisis, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and homophobia. Highly recommended.' * Finola Austin, author of Bronte's Mistress *This inventive novel will delight Pride & Prejudice fans, and win over readers who are sceptical of Austen reimaginings * Booklist - Starred Review *An entertaining elaboration to satisfy generations of readers who have wondered and theorized about Anne. In perfectly Austenesque style, Greeley reveals the backstory of the Rosings Park heiress and just what made her so sickly, so interesting and so complicated . . . Keen observations about society and strong supporting characters make TheHeiress a perfectly joyful read. * Book Page *

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Elizabeth Bennet has politely declined your friend request and asks that you do not slide into her DMs again. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, will probably be verified on social media. The characters of Pride and Prejudice are navigating the same struggles on unfamiliar channels - social media channels, to be precise. When authors Claire McGowan and Sarah Day imagined how 'Pride and Prejudice on Social Media' might look, retelling the story through mocked-up social media posts, their post instantly went viral. Have you ever wondered what Austen's most famous couple might be like if it played out online? Well, here is the story in full . . .Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy . . .

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Book Synopsis'How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories'Sharon Cameron in her preface to The Kreutzer Sonata and Other StoriesThis second volume of Tolstoy's shorter fiction, selected by the critic Sharon Cameron, contains 'Family Happiness', 'The Devil' and 'The Kreutzer Sonata', three of Tolstoy's unhappy-marriage stories as well as 'Father Sergius', a story of a loss of identity in ambitious pursuit of holy virtue and 'Master and Man'. Tolstoy's antidotes to delusion, fear, jealousy and even madness have an ethical thread pulled through the fabric of different themes and genres.This riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English.

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Book Synopsis'How truth thickens and deepens when it migrates from didactic fable to the raw experience of a visceral awakening is one of the thrills of Tolstoy's stories'Sharon Cameron in her preface to Hadji Murad and Other StoriesThis, the third volume of Tolstoy's shorter fiction concentrates on his later stories, including one of his greatest, 'Hadji Murad'. In the stark form of homily that shapes these later works, life considered as one's own has no rational meaning. From the chain of events that follows in the wake of two schoolboys' deception in 'The Forged Coupon' to the disillusionment of the narrator in 'After the Ball' we see, in Virginia Woolf's observation, that Tolstoy puts at the centre of his writingone 'who gathers into himself all experience, turns the world round between his fingers, and never ceases to ask, even as he enjoys it, what is the meaning of it'.The riverrun edition reissues the translation of Louise and Aylmer Maude, whose influential versions of Tolstoy first brought his work to a wide readership in English.

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Book SynopsisFrom World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award winner Michael Moorcock comes the final installment of the Elric of Melnibone series, brought to vivid new life with stunning illustrations.In one of the most well-known and well-loved fantasy epics of the 20th century, Elric is the brooding, albino emperor of the dying Kingdom of Melnibone. After coming into an unnatural, devastating power that felled his enemy Yrkoon and destroyed an entire city, Elric is haunted by the many deaths he caused and sets out on a quest for redemption and renewed purpose. The White Wolf is the final volume in Michael Moorcock’s incredible series, which created fantasy archetypes that have echoed through the genre for generations. Originally published in the 1970s, this book is brought to vivid new life with stunning illustrations from magnificent artists in the fantasy field.

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Book SynopsisFrom bestselling author Debbie Herbert comes a chilling, fast-paced story about family tragedy and confronting what terrifies us most. In the eighteen years since her father went to prison for killing her mother and brother, Della Stallings has battled a crippling phobia. Her fear only grows when her father’s released. She still believes he killed her family, but the police don’t have enough evidence to arrest him again. When new grisly murders occur—each bearing the telltale signs that seem to implicate her father—Della begins to wonder if the real murderer is still out there. Could her father have been framed? To find the truth, Della must face her greatest fears and doubts—not only to find justice for her family but to ensure her own survival.

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer’s elusive and haunted past. Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove’s death, Eve has maintained Dove’s charitable foundation—and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove’s darkest secret: murder… Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made. Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove’s friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?Trade Review“Carpenter’s refreshingly modern gothic tale offers great fun.” —Publishers Weekly “An exciting, gothic-tinged quest sure to delight fans of women-driven mysteries.” —Kirkus Reviews “The bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer’s elusive and haunted past. Read it in one sitting!” —Frolic “Prepare to be up late with this one; Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is simply riveting. This is the kind of book where the past has a pulse—and teeth. It’s a page-turner for sure, with well-drawn, complicated characters whose choices linger long after the last page is turned.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever “Emily Carpenter is the reigning queen of Southern Gothic, and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a triumph. Moody, suspenseful, and gorgeously written, this novel takes readers into the seedy, sometimes savage world of Depression-era religious revivals, where believers make easy prey and grifters cloak themselves in the Word. Carpenter’s latest is a riveting tale of class, sex, spirituality, and the heavy burden of family history that lingers long after the final pages. I loved it.” —Julia Dahl, author of Invisible City “Stretching from the 1930s to present day, Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a wild romp through the deep South and the hearts of two women connected by blood, lies, and mystery. Emily Carpenter’s newest novel will hold you in its chilling grip from the eerie beginning to the stop-you-in-your-tracks ending. Carpenter fans will love this one!” —Lauren K. Denton, USA Today bestselling author “A historical murder mystery, lost memories, and priceless, hidden relics: Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is an atmospheric, unputdownable Southern Gothic masterpiece. Carpenter’s masterful narrative bounces between young Ruth in 1930s Alabama, her exciting escape from the mental institution that was her childhood home and prison, and her granddaughter searching for hidden truths after her death. This was a well-plotted mystery full of family secrets and Southern atmosphere, and I absolutely could not put it down.” —Wendy Heard, author of The Kill Club “Stories don’t stop because we turn our backs on them but only an author as gifted and elegant as Emily Carpenter is able to call them back from the shadows. In the wistfully insightful Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, Carpenter returns to her rich Southern Gothic roots to deliver a tour de force that is both a return to and a reckoning for her beloved Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. Beautiful, mesmerizing, and saturated with suspense.” —Amber Cowie, author of Loss Lake “This captivating story is a perfect blend of historical fiction and southern gothic. Carpenter deftly weaves past and present story lines, filling both with dramatic tension, atmospheric settings and characters that leap off of the page. I recommend it highly!” —Jane Healey, bestselling author of The Beantown Girls

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of Cold Waters comes a brooding thriller about a woman who must decide if safeguarding her family is worth burying a truth that will haunt her forever. Thirteen years ago, Jori Trahan’s boyfriend vanished without a trace. Now, after moving back home to Alabama to care for her ailing grandmother and autistic brother, she comes face-to-face with the deadly mystery behind his disappearance. Jori has a rare form of synesthesia, meaning she can “hear” colors; to her, tones of voice are as unique as fingerprints. With the help of this ability and a sympathetic cop, Jori comes dangerously close to uncovering the truth. But those responsible will go to any length—including murder—to keep their dark secrets buried. Soon, it seems that no one in the sleepy bayou town is safe, and after Jori’s brother is kidnapped, she knows she must drop the investigation or risk losing her family. But when protecting them means letting an evil deed go unpunished, putting family first may be the last thing she’ll ever do.Trade ReviewNot One of Us is the Fresh Fiction Fresh Pick for February 22, 2021 “Herbert steadily multiplies acts of violence and betrayal as she knits [a] new crime closer and closer together with [an] old. More tellingly, she gradually deepens both heroines’ horror at discovering just how low the people who disparage outsiders and newcomers as ‘not one of us’ are willing to go to preserve their privilege.” —Kirkus Reviews “Those with a taste for Southern gothic will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly “The past breaks open with a bang.” —Fresh Fiction “Secrets, betrayal, murder—Debbie Herbert weaves a multi-layered tale of small-town intrigue with unique and unforgettable characters. Don’t miss Not One of Us!” —Debra Webb, Amazon Charts and USA Today bestselling author “What a pleasure it was to surrender to Not One of Us, chock full of thick, humid atmosphere and authentic, vivid characters, and let it pull me into its deep-South trance of unsolved murders, dirty cops, and a family torn apart by guilt, and their own desperate need for each other. Engima is a town you’re going to want to visit over and over again. This book’s an absolute knockout.” —Emily Carpenter, bestselling author of Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters “Intensely satisfying, Not One of Us is a deftly woven tale rich with southern secrets and lies that will keep you hooked late into the night.” —Eliza Maxwell, bestselling author of The Unremembered Girl “An eerie, atmospheric psychological thriller that’s fast-paced, darkly twisted, and satisfyingly saturated with family secrets. Not One of Us is everything I want in a Debbie Herbert southern gothic.” —Eve Silver, award-winning author of the Dark Gothic series “Compulsive and addictive. An atmospheric and gripping tale that kept me turning pages well into the night.” —Charlotte Byrd, bestselling romantic suspense author of over a million books sold

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Book SynopsisA sleight of hand. A trick up the sleeve. A call for the dead. It’s all part of the game in this twisty tale by the bestselling author of After Alice Fell. New Hampshire, 1877. Maud Price was once a celebrated child medium, a true believer in lifting the veil between the living and the dead. Now penniless, her guiding spirits gone, the so-called “Maid of Light” is desperate to regain her reputation—but doing so means putting her faith in deceiving others. Clementine Watkins, known in spiritualist circles for her bag of tricks and utmost discretion, creates the sort of theatrics that can fill Maud’s parlor again, and with each misdirection, Maud’s fame is restored. But her guilt is a heavy burden. And the ruse has become a risk. Others are plotting to expose the fraud, and Clem can’t allow anyone—even Maud—to jeopardize the fortune the hoax has made her. When the deception hints at a possible murder, Maud realizes how dangerous a game she’s playing. But to return to the light from which she’s strayed, she must first survive the darkness created by Clem’s smoke and mirrors.Trade Review“Kim Taylor Blakemore’s The Deception captures the fascinating world of nineteenth-century mediums in this story of intrigue, deceit, and the otherworldly. Historical fiction lovers will delight in the wonderfully captured details and the mystical elements at the center of this novel. A must-read!” —Lydia Kang, author of The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding “Delightfully wry as it is unsettling, The Deception had me turning pages at a blistering pace. Blakemore bewitches with her shrewd, incisive look at the Spiritualist movement and two down-on-their-luck heroines bound in an unlikely partnership. Teeming with intrigue, seething jealousies, and theatrical atmosphere. Absolutely impossible to put down!” —Paulette Kennedy, author of Parting the Veil and The Witch of Tin Mountain “A sinuous tale of deception amidst the fascinating backdrop of post-Civil War Spiritualism, The Deception seethes from the very first sentence all the way through to its riveting conclusion. Blakemore, a modern day Brontë, gleams in dark, moldering, claustrophobic places.” —Robert Gwaltney, award-winning author of The Cicada Tree “Suspense, romance, spirits, both living and dead—The Deception has it all, as well as a loving recreation of late nineteenth century New England. Kim Taylor Blakemore has created the kind of spooky, riveting story readers of this genre will love. The Deception delivers all the thrills and chills of a great séance, in a world where ghosts walk the earth, and the truly evil spirits may just be the ones in your own house.” —Carole Lawrence, author of Cleopatra’s Dagger “With a magician’s brilliant sleight of hand, Kim Taylor Blakemore weaves an intricate plot that is at once playful, moody, sinister, and deliciously clever. The Deception crackles with intrigue and richly detailed historical atmosphere.” —Liza Nash Taylor, author of In All Good Faith

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Book SynopsisAn Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller. From USA Today bestselling author Debbie Herbert comes a thrilling story of murder and madness set in the darkest corner of Alabama. Everyone thinks fourteen-year-old Violet is a murderer. After a summer-night swim with her best friend, Ainsley, Violet is found confused, wandering in the forest—and Ainsley’s never seen again. But without a body, murder charges won’t stick, so Violet is sent away. After more than a decade in a psychiatric ward, Violet returns to her broken-down hometown of Normal, Alabama, to claim her dead mother’s inheritance and help her overworked sister care for their unstable, alcoholic father. Violet, still haunted by that night eleven years ago, endures horrific flashbacks and twisted hallucinations while townsfolk spit accusations—and for all she knows, they’re right. As the summer heats up, details of Ainsley’s fate appear like a beast’s wild eyes, watching in the darkness, and grim revelations about Violet’s family threaten to devour her. Already on the edge of madness, Violet must fight to keep her sanity long enough for the terrible truth to burst from the cold, dark waters.

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Book SynopsisIn the isolated estate she’s found the perfect getaway. But there’s no escaping the past in this chilling novel from the bestselling author of The Unremembered Girl. Filmmaker Tessa Shepherd helped free a man she believed was wrongly imprisoned for murder. When he kills again, Tessa’s life is upended. She’s reeling with guilt, her reputation destroyed. Worse, Tessa’s mother has unexpectedly passed away, and her sister, Margot, turns on her after tensions from their past escalate. Hounded by a bullying press, Tessa needs an escape. That’s when she learns of a strange inheritance bequeathed by her mother: a derelict and isolated estate known as Fallbrook. It seems like the perfect refuge. A crumbling monument to a gruesome history, the mansion has been abandoned by all but two elderly sisters retained as caretakers. They are also guardians of all its mysteries. As the house starts revealing its dark secrets, Tessa must face her fears and right the wrongs of her past to save herself and her relationship with Margot. But nothing and no one at Fallbrook are what they seem.Trade Review“Suspense fans will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisCandide, the illegitimate nephew of a German baron and student of eternal optimist Pangloss, is living a simple and sheltered life in “the best of all possible worlds.” But when Candide falls in love with the wrong woman, his uncle’s young daughter, he is exiled from the baron’s castle and suffers great tragedy and catastrophe, which leaves him disillusioned and questioning the goodness of the universe. Penned in just three days—and published in secret because of its blasphemous and seditious nature—Voltaire’s legendary satire deftly skewers religious, romantic, and political naïveté with an acerbic and ribald wit that delights to this day. Revised edition: Previously published as Candide, this edition of Candide (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

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Book SynopsisCombining romance with the darker side of human nature, this novel opens with the hanging of an ex-World War I soldier for involuntary murder. The element of violence blends with a love story involving the late soldier's sister, who seeks to possess the life of her brother's closest friend, John Hughes. Hughes then finds himself drawn into the circle affected by the hanging, contemplating murdering the sister himself. Capturing the terror of a war abroad as it penetrates the tranquility of a small town, this tale illustrates how a man's death can haunt those who endure his execution.

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Book SynopsisA story of a boy and his dog and their adventures, which will appeal to the many children who are dog lovers. It is also a sensitive story of love and loss, and of making a new life for oneself. Although it was first published seventy years ago, only a few details (such as clothing) really indicate that it is not a contemporary story. Luke is not yet 12 when his father dies of a heart attack, leaving him an orphan. Small for his age and something of a loner, he moves from the city to the country to live with his aunt and uncle. He is naturally homesick and grieving the loss of his father. His well-meaning and kindly aunt and uncle do their best for him; but his only real friend and comfort becomes Dan, the farm's elderly, one-eyed collie. Practical Uncle Henry considers Dan useless now that he is too old to be a watch-dog and decides that Dan should be "put down." Luke, whose sense of dignity and loyalty transcend the practical, frantically tries to save Dan's life, providing for heart-racing suspense as he makes his stand against the expedient world of adults.Trade Review“A single vision encompasses these people in all their self-contradictions, betrayals, nobility, bewilderment… every pattern leads out into a larger atmosphere of mercy and wonder.” —Margaret Avison “The story poses in opposition disinterested love and practical use and teaches how ‘love’ must be flawed by ‘use,’ and how love must be preserved in a world set to destroy it.” —Commonwealth"Literature I highly recommend it for middle school children, but I would recommend parents read it too, so they can talk about it with the young readers, can explain how things once were with people and pets - and sometimes still are." —Library Thing

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Book Synopsis“The female novelist of the nineteenth century may have frequently encountered opposition and interference from the male literary establishment, but the female short story writer, working in a genre that was seen as less serious and less profitable, found her work to be actively encouraged.” ― from the Introduction.During the nineteenth century women writers finally began to be as popular―and as respected―as their male counterparts. We are all familiar with the novels of Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and the Bröntes. Less familiar is the short fiction of the period; yet a great many nineteenth-century stories by women―both famous and obscure―retain in full measure their power to fascinate and to entertain. For this anthology Glennis Stephenson brings together stories by both British and North American writers; by such established luminaries as Shelley, Gaskell and Kate Chopin; and by lesser-known writers such as the Anglo-Indian writer Flora Steel, the Afro-American Alice Dunbar Nelson and the Canadian Annie Howells Frèchette. The result is an anthology that will be as interesting to the general reader as it will be useful to the student. Stephenson provides background information on all authors, together with a general introduction.Table of ContentsIntroductionLouisa May Alcott / A Whisper in the DarkMary Elizabeth Braddon / Good Lady DucayneKate Chopin / The StormIsabella Valancy Crawford / ExtraditedElla D’Arcy / The Pleasure-PilgrimRebecca Harding Davis / AnneAlice Dunbar-Nelson / Sister JosephaGeorge Egerton / Gone UnderAnnie Howells Frechette / A Widow in the WildernessMary Wilkins Freeman / A New England NunElizabeth Gaskell / Lizzie LeighElizabeth Gaskell / The Old Nurse’s StoryCharlotte Perkins Gilman / The Yellow WallpaperSarah Orne Jewett / A White HeronVernon Lee / DioneaL.M. Montgomery / The Red RoomMargaret Oliphant / A Story of a Wedding TourMary Shelley / The ParvenueHarriet Prescott Spofford / CircumstanceFlora Annie Steel / Mussumât Kirpo’s DollConstance Fenimore Woolson / FelipaFurther Reading

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Book SynopsisWilkie Collins is best known for his great mystery The Moonstone and The Woman in White—and for a life as sensational as are those novels. (The writer who famously advised other novelists to ‘make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em wait’ is now known to have kept entire households in different parts of England going simultaneously.) Yet Collins also wrote a succession of extraordinarily powerful novels of private life; of these The Evil Genius is among the finest.The story is motivated by the attraction between Herbert Linley and the woman he hires as governess for his child Kitty—the long suffering Sydney Westerfield. As one expects with Collins, the story is driven forward with deft assurance. Yet he also treats the theme of adultery and divorce in a manner quite unconventional for his time—and, remarkably, he manages to draw readers into a sympathetic understanding of both of the main female characters: the offending governess and the aggrieved wife.The Evil Genius was a very considerable success when first published; indeed, it brought Collins more financially than any of his other works. Over a century later its sinews retain the strength to speak powerfully to the reader; lively and intelligent, it is perhaps the finest of Collins’ later novels.Trade Review“Collins’ boldness in drawing sympathetic portraits of both the wife and ‘the other woman’ is astonishingly modern. The novel well deserves to be brought back into print.” — Catherine Peters, Oxford UniversityTable of ContentsIntroductionFootnotesA Note on the TextSelected BibliographyWilliam Wilkie Collins: A Brief ChronologyThe Evil GeniusAppendix: Contemporary DocumentsExplanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisDespite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society here is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love, of Sissy the circus girl with love to spare who is deserted and adopted into their family, and of the honest mill worker Stephen Blackpool and the bombastic mill owner Josiah Bounderby. The key contrasts created are finally less those between wealth and poverty, or capitalists and workers, than those between the head and the heart, between "Fact"—the cold, rationalistic approach to life that Dickens associates with utilitarianism—and "Fancy"—a warmth of the imagination and of the feelings, which values individuals above ideas.Concentrated and compressed in its narrative form, Hard Times is at once a fable, a novel of ideas, and a social novel that seeks to engage directly and analytically with political issues. The central conflicts raised in the text, between government's duty not to intervene to guarantee the liberty of the subject, and between quantitative and qualitative assessments of progress, remain unresolved today in the late or post industrial stages of liberal democracies.Trade ReviewGraham Law's edition of Hard Times is the most useful edition for teaching Dickens that I have seen. Its text is authoritative, and the range of contextual documents included gives readers an opportunity to situate the work in the discussions of industrialization and labor as they took place in nineteenth-century England." - Barry V. Qualls, Rutgers University"This beautifully produced edition combines a freshly written, informative introduction with helpful and well-judged notes. Particularly welcome is the wealth of documentary material and examples carefully chosen from other contemporary fiction, enabling readers to place Hard Times within its full Victorian context. This is an excellent edition—clear, authoritative and stimulating." - Kate Flint, University of OxfordTable of ContentsIntroductionAcknowledgementsA Note on the TextSelect BibliographyCharles Dickens: A Brief ChronologyHARD TIMES: FOR THESE TIMESAppendices: Contemporary DocumentsAppendix A: The Composition of the Novel Household Words Partners’ Agreement Announcements in Household Words Dickens’s Working Memoranda Mentions in Dickens’s Letters Appendix B: Contemporary Reviews of the Novel Athanaeum (12 August 1854) Examiner (9 September 1854) Gentleman’s Magazine (September 1854) British Quarterly Review (October 1854) Rambler (October 1854) South London Athanaeum and Institution Magazine (October 1854) Westminster Review (October 1854) Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (April 1855) Appendix C: On Industrialization: Commentary Thomas Carlyle “Signs of the Times,” Edinburgh Review (June 1829) Chartism (1839) Past and Present (1843) Andrew Ure, The Philosophy of Manufactures (1836) P. Gaskell, Artisans and Machinery (1836) J.S. Mill “Bentham,” London and Westminster Review (August 1838) Principles of Political Economy(1848) Arthur Helps, The Claims of Labour (1844) Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 (1845) Charles Dickens, “On Strike,” Household Words (11 February 1854) Henry Morley, “Ground in the Mill,” Household Words (22 April 1854) Harriet Martineau, The Factory Controversy: A Warning Against Meddling Legislation (1855) W.B. Hodgson, “On the Importance of the Study of Economic Science as a Branch of Education for all Classes,” Lectures in Education Delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1855) John Ruskin, “Unto This Last,” Cornhill Magazine (August 1860) Appendix D: On Industrialization: Fiction Harriet Martineau, A Manchester Strike (Illustrations of Political Economy No. 7) (1832) Frances Trollope, Life and Adventures of Michael Armstrong (1840) “Charlotte Elizabeth,” Helen Fleetwood (1841) Elizabeth Stone, William Langshawe, the Cotton Lord (1842) Benjamin Disraeli Coningsby (1844) (i) Coningsby (1844) (ii) Sybil (1845) Elizabeth Gaskell Mary Barton (1848) (i) Mary Barton (1848) (ii) North and South (1855) Charlotte Bronte, Shirley (1849) Charles Kingsley Yeast (1850) Alton Locke (1850) Fanny Mayne, Jane Rutherford, or The Miners’ Strike (1854) Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisBeset by jealousy over an admirer of his wife's, Lord Lodore has come with his daughter Ethel to the American wilderness; his wife Cornelia, meanwhile, has remained with her controlling mother in England. When he finally brings himself to attempt a return, Lodore is killed en route in a duel. Ethel does return to England, and the rest of the book tells the story of her marriage to the troubled and impoverished Villiers (whom she stands by through a variety of tribulations) and her long journey to a reconciliation with her mother.Lodore's scope of character and of idea is matched by its narrative range and variety of setting; the novel's highly dramatic story-line moves at different points to Italy, to Illinois, and to Niagara Falls. And in this edition, which includes a wealth of documents from the period, the reader is provided with a sense of the full context out of which Shelley's achievement emerged.Trade Review“Not the one book author that Frankenstein sometimes make her seem, Mary Shelley was a complex and committed social thinker whose novels reveal her deep concern with the impact of the emerging Victorian social dynamic upon the lives of women. While Lodore reflects Shelley's conviction of the importance to the new bourgeois family model of the ‘genuine affections of the human heart,' it shows us too, in the person of the remarkable Fanny Derham, the consequences for a free-thinking and independent woman who has learned ‘to be afraid of nothing.' Vargo's splendid edition resituates Shelley within the 1830s milieu of successful literary women like Landon and Hemans who understood their readers and their marked, and within a culture that was moving rapidly away from the exuberant Romanticism of only two decades earlier. With its illuminating critical introduction, and its extensive contextualizing appendices, this exceptional edition will alert readers anew to the complexity and sophistication of Shelley's mind and art.” - Stephen C. Behrendt, University of Nebraska"This volume marks yet another excellent addition to Broadview's expanding list of literary writings that have long been out of print." - Nineteenth-Century Literature"Vargo has provided a much-needed, comprehensive edition of the text." - University of Toronto QuarterlyTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionA Note on the TextMary Shelley: A Brief ChronologyLodoreAppendix A: Mary Shelley—Woman of Letters “The Bride of Modern Italy” (1824) From Review of The Loves of the Poets (1829) From Review of Cloudesley; A Tale (1830) From “Ugo Foscolo,” Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain, and Portugal (1837) Appendix B: Some Literary Contexts George Gordon, Lord Byron, from Lara (1814) The Tempest and Mary Wollstonecraft’s The Female Reader (1797) Thomas Campbell, from Gertrude of Wyoming (1809) Edward John Trelawny from Adventures of a Younger Son (1831) Appendix C: Illinois and Duelling Morris Birkbeck, from Letters from Illinois (1818) William Cobbett, from A Year’s Residence in America (1818-19) Frances Wright, from Views of Society and Manners in America (1821) William Godwin, from Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Third Edition (1798) James Fenimore Cooper, from Notions of the Americans (1828) Appendix D: Domesticity and Women’s Education Mary Wollstonecraft, from Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787) Mary Wollstonecraft, from Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) William Godwin, from The Enquirer (1797) Anna Jameson, from Characteristics of Women (1832) Sarah Stickney Ellis, from The Women of England (1839) Appendix E: Contemporary Reviews of Lodore From The Athenæum From The Examiner From Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country From Leigh Hunt’s London Journal From The Literary Gazette From New Monthly Magazine From The Sun Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn 1906, two years after the appearance of her best-known novel, The Imperialist, Duncan published its darker twin, an Anglo-Indian novel which returns to political themes but with a deeper and more clinical irony than in her previous work. Set in Authority is about illusions: the imperial illusions of those who rule and are ruled; the illusions of families about their members; the illusions of men and women about each other. The setting moves between the political drawing rooms of London and the English station at Pilaghur in the province of Ghoom, where the murder of a native by an English soldier changes the lives of a cast of ruthlessly observed characters.Duncan, who grew up in Ontario, led a remarkably varied life, working as a political correspondent (writing for the Washington Post, the Toronto Globe and the Montreal Star) and living in India for over twenty years. She is increasingly being regarded as deserving of a place among the first rank of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century novelists; the re-publication of Set in Authority will do nothing to dispel that view.Trade Review“This valuable edition locates Duncan’s novel about the Anglo-Indian community at the height of the British Empire in its socio-political, historical context—one that foregrounds Duncan’s frank and insightful evocation of the imperialist project in this and other novels.” — Sukeshi Kamra, Chair, English Dept., Okanagan University CollegeTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSet in AuthorityNotesAppendix I: ViceroysAppendix II: Contemporary Reviews of Set in AuthorityA Note on the TextVariants in the 1906 New York EditionSara Jeanette Duncan: A Brief Chronology

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Book SynopsisBrown is often called the first American novelist. Originally published in 1799, Ormond was inspired by enlightenment philosophers and Gothic writers. The novel engages with many of the period’s popular debates about women’s education, marriage, and the morality of violence, while the plot revolves around the Gothic themes of seduction, murder, incest, impersonation, romance and disease. Set in post-revolutionary Philadelphia, Ormond examines the prospects of the struggling nation by tracing the experiences of Constantia, a young virtuous republican who struggles to survive when her father’s business is ruined by a confidence man, and her friends and neighbors are killed by a yellow fever epidemic.Trade Review“In her marvelous new edition of Ormond, Mary Chapman has given scholars, teachers and students of Charles Brockden Brown what they have longed for: an affordable paperback edition complete with a trenchant, historically-textured introduction to Brown’s least known, and most underrated major novel. Chapman’s exhaustive labour in both the classic and contemporary criticism of the early American novel, coupled with her thorough knowledge of the philosophical and political pamphlet literature of the early national period, afford the modern reader the very sort of ‘thick description’ so often lost in considering the work of America’s first ‘professional’ novelist.” ― Julia Stern, Northwestern UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionA Note on the TextCharles Brockden Brown: A Brief ChronologyOrmond; or, The Secret WitnessNotes on the AppendicesAppendix A: Judith Sargent Murray’s “On the Equality of the Sexes” (1790)Appendix B: From John Robison’s Proofs of a Conspiracy Against All the Religions and Governments of Europe, Carried on in the Secret Meetings of Free Masons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies (1798)Appendix C: Selections from Jedidiah Morse’s “A Sermon Exhibiting the Present Dangers, and Consequent Duties of the Citizens of the United States” (1799)Works Cited and Recommended Reading

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Book SynopsisGeorge Gissing’s The Odd Women dramatizes key issues relating to class and gender in late-Victorian culture: the changing relationship between the sexes, the social impact of ‘odd’ or ‘redundant’ women, the cultural impact of ‘the new woman,’ and the opportunities for and conditions of employment in the expanding service sector of the economy. At the heart of these issues as many late Victorians saw them was a problem of the imbalance in the ratio of men to women in the population. There were more females than males, which meant that more and more women would be left unmarried; they would be ‘odd’ or ‘redundant,’ and would be forced to be independent and to find work to support themselves. In the Broadview edition, Gissing’s text is carefully annotated and accompanied by a range of documents from the period that help to lay out the context in which the book was written.In Gissing’s story, Virginia Madden and her two sisters are confronted upon the death of their father with sudden impoverishment. Without training for employment, and desperate to maintain middle-class respectability, they face a daunting struggle. In Rhoda Nunn, a strong feminist, Gissing also presents a strong character who draws attention overtly to the issues behind the novel. The Odd Women is one of the most important social novels of the late nineteenth century.Trade Review“When it comes to the complexities of everyday life in late-Victorian London, there is no better guide than Gissing and no better Gissing than The Odd Women. And now, in Arlene Young’s carefully edited and annotated edition, we have the definitive guide to Gissing’s novel. Students will also find the historical documents gathered in this volume an invaluable resource in the study of the “woman question” and the sociology of work in the 1890s.” — Stephen Arata, University of Virginia“Broadview’s enterprise is especially welcome in the case of The Odd Women, Gissing’s second most commonly studied novel. [This edition] deserves to become the text of choice for teachers—especially given its modest price.” — The Gissing JournalTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionA Note on the TextGeorge Gissing: A Brief ChronologyThe Odd WomenAppendix A: Contemporary Reviews Glasgow Herald 20 April 1893 Saturday Review 29 April 1893 Athenaeum 27 May 1893 Pall Mall Gazette 29 May 1893 Nation (New York) 13 July 1893 Illustrated London News (Clementia Black) 5 August 1893 Appendix B: Attitudes Towards Women and Marriage in Victorian Culture Sarah Ellis, from The Daughters of England (1842) Alfred Lord Tennyson, from The Princess (1847) Coventry Patmore, from The Angel in the House: “The Rose of the World” (1854) Thomas Henry Huxley, from “Emancipation—Black and White,” Reader (20 May 1865) John Ruskin, from “Of Queens’ Gardens,” in Sesame and Lilies (1865) John Stuart Mill, from The Subjection of Women (1869) Mona Caird, from “Marriage,” Westminster Review (1888) Appendix C: Debate over the “Woman Question” Grant Allen, from “Plain Words on the Woman Question,” Fortnightly Review (October 1889) Bernard Shaw, from “The Womanly Woman,” The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891) Eliza Lynn Linton, from “The Wild Women: As Politicians,” Nineteenth Century (July 1891) Eliza Lynn Linton, from “The Wild Women: As Insurgents,” Nineteenth Century (October 1891) Mona Caird, “A Defense of the So-Called ‘Wild Women’,” Nineteenth Century (May 1891) From “Character Note: The New Woman” Cornhill Magazine (October 1894) Nat Arling, “What is the Role of the ‘New Woman?’” Westminster Review (November 1898) Appendix D: Women and Paid Employment: The Limitations of Aspirations and the Actualities Charlotte Brontë, from Shirley (1849) From “The Disputed Question,” English Woman’s Journal (August 1858) Evelyn March Phillips, from “The Working Lady in London,” Fortnightly Review (August 1892) Clara Collet, from “The Employment of Women,” Report to the Royal Commission on Labour (1893) Frances H. Low, from “How Poor Ladies Live,” Nineteenth Century (March 1897) Eliza Orme, from “How Poor Ladies Live: A Reply,” Nineteenth Century (April 1897) Appendix E: Conditions of Work for Men in the White-Collar Sector James Fitzjames Stephen, from “Gentlemen” Cornhill Magazine (March 1862) B.O. Orchard, from The Clerks of Liverpool (1871) Charles Edward Parsons, from Clerks: their Position and Advancement (1876) Thomas Sutherst, from Death and Disease Behind the Counter (1884) H.G. Wells, from Kipps (1905) H.G. Wells, from Experiment in Autobiography (1934) Appendix F: Map of London (1892)Selected Bibliography

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Book SynopsisIn the mid-eighteenth century, Sarah Fielding (1710-68) was the second most popular English woman novelist, rivaled only by Eliza Haywood. The History of Ophelia, the last of her seven novels, is an often comic epistolary fiction, narrated by the heroine to an unnamed female correspondent in the form of a single protracted letter.This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and valuable appendices that contain contemporary reviews of the novel, Richard Corbould's illustrations to the Novelist’s Magazine edition, and excerpts from Sarah Fielding’s Remarks on Clarissa.Trade ReviewWith this edition of Sarah Fielding's popular final novel, Peter Sabor widens our access to the work of this respected and path-breaking writer of the mid-eighteenth century, until recently remembered, if at all, as Henry's sister and as 'the Author of David Simple', her first novel. The pleasures of this entertaining narrative of a female Welsh noble savage, kidnapped and transposed into a sophisticated and corrupt English society by a rakish nobleman, are heightened by Sabor's expert placement of the novel in the introduction and appendices, particularly with respect to the latest biographical scholarship and suggestive contemporary parallels such as Françoise de Graffigny's 1748 Letters Written by a Peruvian Princess and Frances Burney's 1778 Evelina." - Betty Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University"Peter Sabor deserves high praise for this beautiful edition of Sarah Fielding's The History of Ophelia. Sabor discusses Fielding's work in fiction, drama, and criticism, and provides a rich selection of contemporary documents and illustrations. Most striking are the questions he poses and answers. Did Fielding rework an unfinished manuscript by her brother Henry? How may Ophelia write back to Samuel Richardson's Clarissa? If the novel looks forward to gothic fiction, how may it subject the notion of gothic terror to comic deflation? In all, this edition makes an essential contribution to our current debates about and growing interest in Sarah Fielding." - Carolyn Woodward, University of New MexicoTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionSarah Fielding: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextThe History of OpheliaAppendix A: Contemporary Reviews The Monthly Review (April 1760) The Critical Review (April 1760) The British Magazine (April 1760) Appendix B: Material added to the Dublin Edition (1763)Appendix C: Richard Corbould’s Illustrations to the Novelist’s Magazine Edition (1785)Appendix D: A Victorian Critic of Ophelia: Clementina Black’s Essay of 1888Appendix E: Sarah Fielding’s Remarks on Clarissa (1749)Appendix F: From Françoise de Graffigny’s Letters Written by a Peruvian Princess (1748)Appendix G: From Frances Burney’s Evelina (1778)Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis 1886 novel may be Hardy’s most intense and gripping narrative. We first see the central character, Michael Henchard, as a drunken and unemployed hay-trusser who sells his wife Susan and his daughter Elizabeth-Jane at a fair. When he is eventually reunited with the two, he has become the contented and prosperous mayor of a thriving market town. But the downward spiral begins. Henchard’s fall is hastened by a series of coincidences and quarrels, and by his own jealousy and pride. Though the perspective on events that Hardy gives us is often that of other characters (Elizabeth-Jane in particular), Henchard remains the central focus; in the end he is a tragic figure, bankrupt, emotionally broken and an outcast from society.Prepared by one of the world’s leading Hardy scholars, this edition includes a critical introduction and a range of background materials from the period. Historical documents (concerning such topics as the corn laws and the practice of wife-selling) and contemporary reviews help set this remarkable novel in the context out of which it emerged.Trade Review“Of all the great Victorian novelists, Hardy is the one who consistently requires most annotation and careful contextual placing. The density of regional reference, the often complex composition, publication and reception histories, the author’s vexed relationship with his age—all call for tactful but learned editing. The noted Victorian scholar Norman Page supplies this admirably for Broadview Press’s Mayor of Casterbridge. This is the edition I shall use and prescribe in the future.” — John Sutherland, Professor Emeritus, University College LondonTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionComposition and PublicationSetting: Time and HistorySetting: Town and Country“A Man of Character”Narrative Technique: Pictorialism and CircularityLanguage and StyleA Note on the TextThomas Hardy: A Brief ChronologyThe Life and Death of the Mayor of Castlebridge: A Story of a Man of CharacterAppendix A: Dialect Words and ExpressionsAppendix B: Place-namesAppendix C: Wife-sellingAppendix D: The Corn LawsAppendix E: Prince Albert in DorchesterAppendix F: Maumbury Ring and the Execution of Mary ChanningAppendix G: The Skimmington RideAppendix H: Henchard’s BankruptcyAppendix I: The First Book of SamuelAppendix J: Hardy’s “General Preface”Appendix K: Contemporary ReviewsWorks Cited and Recommended Reading

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