"Hester Prynne is an adulteress, and the bright red 'A' sewed on to her dress forever separates her from the other sad-colored inhabitants of her New England hometown. But no one else knows who the father of Hester's pixie-like child is-and that sordid mystery eats at the townspeople. Months stretch into years for the uncomplaining and dignified Hester, providing some of her begrudging neighbors with ample opportunity for prying, hypocrisy, contempt,...

Raised in the idyllic setting of Dorlcote Mill, the wild and wilful Maggie Tulliver adores her elder brother Tom and is forever trying to gain the approbation of her parents. Yet, as she grows older and the family struggle under the weight of severe pecuniary difficulties, she becomes increasingly caught between the divergent expectations of the four men in her life: a doting father, an obdurate and vengeful brother, a good-looking and frivolous suitor...

Cooper's first choice of career had been the U.S. Navy, in which he served as a midshipman from 1808 to 1810. In 1823, Cooper began writing The Pilot, which he saw as a sea novel that seamen would appreciate for its fidelity and yet one that landsmen could understand. Cooper's poetic power is reserved for the sea, which is no backdrop but a separate world with forces and laws of its own. The individuation of the ships, particularly the personification...

Four bumbling members of a nineteenth-century London social club, known as the legendary Pickwick Club, journey to places outside the city and become involved in romantic foibles, danger, and a few legal scrapes.

After a rebellious beauty, fleeing from an arranged marriage, disappears after nursing him back to health and stealing his horse, Travis McMurray is determined to track her down and bring her back to the ranch as his wife.

Feeling betrayed after her greedy cousin moves in, eighteen-year-old Arcie Bryant, whose parents died suddenly when she was eleven, leaves her wealthy grandfather's home expecting to never see him again, but years later they cross paths, and Christianity makes an unexpected arrival in her life.

Tracing their ancestry to a small Dublin town while honeymooning in Ireland, newlyweds Regan and Jack Reilly learn disturbing information about their families, a discovery with which they are aided by Jack's colleagues at the Major Case Squad.

"When Anna decides it's time to leave her abusive boyfriend, she doesn't know where to turn. Rob has completely won over her parents, and the entire community, with his good looks and smooth charm. Only Anna has seen his dark side. Desperate, she runs to the only place she's ever felt completely safe--the Amish Brenneman Bed and Breakfast, where Anna met life-long friend Katie Brenneman. The family welcomes her in, and with few questions asked allows...

Dismayed by developer plans to bulldoze a historic courthouse, Miss Julia launches a plan to expose the community's eccentric characters in order to scare off investors, but her investigation is challenged by the disappearances of several of her friends' husbands.

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns...