In 1956, toward the end of Rev. John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears. This is also the tale of wisdom forged during his solitary life and how history lives through generations, pervasively present even when betrayed and forgotten.

"Marilynne Robinson, one of the greatest novelists of our time, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe, and wonder. Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church-the only available shelter from the rain-and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins...

A young priest is bound by his sacred vows to keep a deadly secret that was revealed to him by a man in the confessional, but when the unknown man begins threatening the priest's sister, he is forced to choose whether his vows or his family are more important to him.

"This first volume of G.K. Chesterton's mysteries marks the debut of a most unusual detective: Father Paul Brown, a short, stumpy priest with an extraordinary and uncanny ability to spot the evil that lies in human hearts. In these twelve stories, Father Brown uses his wisdom, common sense, and experience as a confessor to solve baffling, fascinating crimes -- and save lost souls along the way." --

"Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South is the story of Margaret Hale, the daughter of a local priest in Hampshire, whose father decides to leave his country church after a serious crisis of faith. All the events that follow happen in the fictional industrial English town named Milton to which the Hale family has moved. Thus, part of the narrative focuses on the juxtaposition between industrial areas and the countryside. Margaret is very critical of...

Marilynne Robinson's mythical world of Gilead, Iowa -- the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila, and now Jack -- and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson's fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead's Presbyterian minister, and...

"Book 1 of Anthony Trollope's popular "Chronicles of Barsetshire" series. In "The Warden", a crusading young physician seeks to expose corruption in the operation of an old age home by the facility's administrator, the respected Rev. Septimus Harding. Unfortunately, the young doctor fancy's Harding's daughter.Trollope's "Chronicles of Barsetshire" has been prized by readers for its entertaining exploration of the fictional English county of Barsetshire...

"There was a time when the world was sweeter... when the women in Beaufort, North Carolina, wore dresses, and the men donned hats. Every April, when the wind smells of both the sea and lilacs, Landon Carter remembers 1958, his last year at Beaufort High. Landon had dated a girl or two, and even once sworn that he'd been in love. Certainly the last person he thought he'd fall for was Jamie, the shy, almost ethereal daughter of the town's Baptist minister......

"On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire that quickly becomes a double homicide and kidnapping. Which is the very last thing Russ needs. Currently he's struggling with the prospect of impending fatherhood. And his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for their long-delayed honeymoon: a week in an ice-fishing cabin. The vestry of St. Alban's Church has...

Annie Zook, the daughter of an Amish preacher, finds herself caught between her world and the outside world while living with her shunned friend Esther and longing for her forbidden art and her relationship with Ben Martin.