"Written from the perspective of a male narrator, Willa Cather's classic novel is an Amercian version of "Madame Bovary". It is a portrait of a talented woman trapped in the conventions and economic restraints of a marriage. It is the story of a woman who defies expectations, and whose personal changes coincide with the transforming American Frontier. In this work, Willa Cather expressed her profoundly modern feminist views in the life of an ordinary...

Two years after a horrible incident made them run away, vampire princess Lissa and her guardian-in-training Rose are found and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy, where one focuses on mastering magic, the other on physical training, while both try to avoid the perils of gossip, cliques, gruesome pranks, and sinister plots.

Once the countess of Riverdale, widowed Viola decides to run off with Marcel, the Marquess of Dorchester, but they soon find themselves victims of the age's ideas of respectability.

"As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not. In this book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories...

Bess Samson was raised in privilege, but always had a thing for Cade Hollister, the rough-and-tumble cowboy next door, even ignoring her controlling, class-conscious mother's warning to stay away from him. But he turned her down - hard. Humiliated, she grew up and moved on, but never truly gave up hope. Cade has secretly always adored Bess - but is filled with disdain for the Samsons' wealth. Once, the families had been friends, until dark secrets...

Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband much too soon. Content in a quiet life with friends and family, the young widow has no desire to marry again. But when Hugo, Lord Trentham, scoops her up in his arms after a fall, she feels a sensation that both shocks and emboldens her. Hugo never intends to kiss Lady Muir, and frankly, he judges her to be a spoiled, frivolous, if beautiful, aristocrat....

This novel is about how the artistic soul is sacrificed on the altar of big business. Except in this case the artist willingly makes the sacrifice and has no regrets afterward. Thus, the novel can't be counted a tragedy. John Sheridan lives by one mantra: Bigger is better. He owns the Sheridan Pump Works and is determined to make it an industrial giant. He brings his two oldest sons into the business only to see them fail. His youngest son, Bibbs,...

"[In the author's first collection of short fiction, she] pinpoints the questionable decisions, missed connections, and sometimes extraordinary coincidences that make up a life. Indeed, she writes what were all thinking--if only we could express it with the wit of a master satirist, the storytelling gifts of an old-fashioned raconteur, and the vision of an American original"--Amazon.com.

"Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford has struggled against both her mother's expectations and the restrictions early 20th-century British society imposes upon women of "gentle breeding". Lilly longs to make a difference, to have a life of substance and meaning. Only one person other than her beloved brother Edward ever listened to what she really wanted--Robert Fraser, Edward's best friend. But that was many years ago when he was visiting and Lilly was...

"In this powerful new work, Thomas Piketty reminds us that rising inequality is not inevitable. Over the centuries, we have been moving toward greater equality. Piketty guides us with elegance and concision through the great movements that have made the modern world and shows how we can learn from them to make equality a lasting reality"--