Search

The bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel delivers a “provocative, enthralling, bang up-to-the-minute” thriller (Daily Mail). It all starts with a prize. The Price family wins a holiday trip to Florida and gets their photo in the paper. They're all there, the picture-perfect family in front of their gorgeous home. But it's awkward, adolescent, seventeen-year-old Hannah who catches someone's eye. And only days later, she's gone. Val and Morris Price try not to panic when Hannah doesn't return from Camden Market on Sunday night. After all, she is a teenager. But when Hannah still hasn't shown up on Monday, they start to think the worst—then the ransom note comes with a demand for £500,000 and no police. After days of tallying assets and scrambling for money, Val makes the drop. Hannah comes home. Only what should be the end of a nightmare is just the beginning... The Prices'have lost their business and their home. Their sudden change in fortune takes its toll, and family bonds slowly begin to disintegrate. Meanwhile, the desperate couple who kidnapped Hannah embark on a life of luxury that only fuels their twisted love. But what goes up must come down... with a crash. “A neat plot... [with] dark flashes of hubris and nemesis.” —The Guardian “Moggach's subject is the rickety edifice we call the family, which she comes at armed with both a wrecking ball and an insatiable curiosity to note the particular way it collapses.” —The Independent “Deborah Moggach is a delight to read—her characters are wonderfully alive, and their stories grip us unequivocally.... The novel is enjoyable from first to last.” —The Daily Telegraph “It is characterisation at which Moggach excels. Her gift is to perceive and describe our confusions about life... and to write with feeling about the continual quest for love and happiness that is part of the human condition.” —The Sunday Times

“[A] social comedy with some brilliant people observations about ageing and a devilish plot twist” from the author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (The Times, London). After their elderly father's fall, Phoebe and her brother, Robert, couldn't be happier with his new caregiver, Mandy. She came to them with great recommendations and has given the brilliant, yet lonely, widower a new lease on life—though he is gossiping about the locals'love affairs instead of debating science and politics. But Phoebe and Robert soon become suspicious of Mandy—her rummaging about in their father's papers, her strange inheritance from a former client, her habit of speaking her mind no matter the consequences. Then Robert discovers that their father has changed his will. Suddenly Mandy seems more devil than angel... For the first time in years, Phoebe and Robert are bonding over something—even if it is their mutual distrust of Mandy. And what happens next will make the siblings question everything they thought they knew about their parents—and themselves. “Moggach addresses an all too common nightmare with ruthless honesty and sublime wit—The Carer is one of the funniest novels I have read for ages.” —The Times (London) “Unputdownable, fun and tender with characters that jump off the page. Perfection.” —Marian Keyes, international-bestselling author of Again, Rachel “Joyous... a sustained satire on smug middle-class mores.” —Daily Mail “The most endearing of humorists, Deborah Moggach casts a penetrating eye on our foibles and fantasies. Neither ageing, nor death—as The Carer so beautifully demonstrates—can resist her comic scrutiny.” —Lisa Appignanesi, award-winning author of Mad, Bad, and Sad

Three touching contemporary British novels of love, loss, and humor from the international bestselling “virtuoso” (The Times, London). Jumping the Queue: This masterpiece of wit, humor, and psychological suspense tells the story of a middle-aged widow who has had it with life. She puts her papers in order, gives away her pet goose, packs a picnic lunch, and heads to the beach to drown herself—only to meet a criminal on the run who has the same idea. Together they set out on adventure in this novel about the hidden costs of love and death. The Camomile Lawn: In this international bestseller, several cousins reunite after forty years to lay one of their own to rest. Together they recall their last carefree summer—and one hot August night in 1939 before the war began. They also reflect on the chaos that followed... and how it changed their lives forever. Harnessing Peacocks: Single mother Hebe juggles numerous lovers while working as a manor house chef to pay for her son's schooling. When her two worlds collide, a secret from the past leads to a final showdown with a man who's in search for his lost love in this captivating and sensual novel.

A boy returns home from seminary to a family on the verge of collapse For almost seven years, Mrs. Fury has done nothing but think of Peter. Of her five children, he is the youngest, her darling boy whose future she planned out long ago. It was for Peter that she took one child out of college and married another off—for Peter that she sent a third to work at sea. She has sacrificed everything so that Peter could return to Ireland to study for the priesthood. He is to be the family's salvation—but after seven years in seminary, Peter has failed. Mrs. Fury receives two telegrams: One telling her that Peter is coming home, the other bearing the news that her eldest son, Anthony, has fallen from his ship's mast and is in a hospital in New York. With two slips of paper, Mrs. Fury's hopes for the future are dashed. But this Irishwoman is strong as iron, and she will do whatever it takes to keep her family together—if only for Peter's sake. The Furys is the first book of James Hanley's acclaimed Furys Saga.

From a Nobel Prize–winning author, this classic Southern gothic tale recounts the demise of a once-prominent Mississippi family. In the early twentieth century, when scandal erupts in the Compson family of Jefferson, Misssissippi, it is the eldest daughter, beautiful and rebellious Caddy, at the center of it all. But it's the rest of the family who must deal with the fallout. There are Caddy's three brothers: manchild Benjy, neurotic and conservative Quentin, and ruthless and cynical Jason. Meanwhile, Dilsey, the family's Black servant, keeps house. Together, these four bear witness as the Compson family ties begin to unravel... Originally published in 1929, The Sound and the Fury is William Faulkner's fourth novel. Although it was not an immediate success, it has since gone on to be considered one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, as well as Faulkner's masterpiece.

In this Southern gothic classic by a Nobel Prize winner, the shadows of war drive a wedge between a wealthy Mississippi family and their dreams. At the end of the Civil War, Confederate Colonel John Sartoris brought the railroad to Jefferson, Mississippi, where he planted roots, grew a family, and became a legend... Decades later, the once prosperous Sartoris clan is experiencing a reversal of fortune. Two of Colonel John's great-grandsons—twins John and Young Bayard—are fighter pilots in the First World War, but only Young Bayard returns home alive. Now the young man faces a new battle. Hoping to move on, Young Bayard settles down with the lovely Narcissa Benbow. Yet guilt, grief, and his family's ghosts refuse to let him go. Theirs is a reality from which there is no way out, only a living death or violent self-destruction... Originally published in 1929, Sartoris was Faulkner's third novel and marked a new stage in his development as an author. It was his first work to introduce his mythical Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, as well as many characters he would revisit in further tales. “[A] wonderfully readable novel, the work of a master storyteller.... If you have never read any of Faulkner's books, start with Sartoris.” —The New York Times

A young woman comes of age in the midst of rising violence during the Irish Troubles in this classic novel by the author of The Death of the Heart.County Cork, Ireland, 1920. Though she is an orphan, nineteen-year-old Lois Farquar enjoys a life of leisure supported by her uncle, Sir Richard Naylor, and his wife, Lady Myra. But just beyond the Big House, a rebellion is brewing that threatens their way of life. As the Naylors invite friends to join them—including British officers sent to quell the uprising—the tennis matches, tea parties, and romantic intrigues continue. Yet all know that the end is approaching. Lost within a world that feels increasingly unmoored, Lois attempts to free herself from the very class that her elders are vainly defending. The Last September depicts the tensions between love and loyalty, and between tradition and emancipation. from both personal and political beliefs.

Following WWI, an English aristocrat struggles to find peace as he attempts to rebuild his life in this conclusion to the Parade's End Tetralogy. The Great War is over. The ancestral home of Christopher Tietjens has been sold to an American. Christopher and Valentine Wannop now share a cottage with his brother and sister-in-law. A mathematician before the war, Christopher now earns a living selling antique furniture. It seems his world will be forever changed... Set over the course of one summer day, The Last Post follows its characters as they amble through a disorientating new world. Tensions arise for the inhabitants of the cottage. Valentine is pregnant and worried about her unmarried status as well as Christopher's money troubles. Then Christopher's estranged wife schemes to make their lives miserable. With the past haunting their present, the future seems uncertain for Christopher and Valentine. Praise for Parade's End “The finest English novel about the Great War.” —Malcolm Bradbury “There are not many English novels which deserve to be called great: Parade's End is one of them.” —W. H. Auden “The best novel by a British writer.... It is also the finest novel about the First World War. It is also the finest novel about the nature of British society.” —Anthony Burgess “The English prose masterpiece of the time.” —William Carlos Williams

The final novel of “a social satire of epic proportions and one that does not suffer by comparison with Thackeray's Vanity Fair” (The New York Times). From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932 Set against the backdrop of a post–World War I Britain, now rocked by a general strike, Swan Song captures the staunch resilience—and ridiculousness—of the British upper middle class, who view this new national crisis as just a minor inconvenience. As the ever-so-steadfast Winifred Dartie says, “If they could get this little fuss over, the coming season would be most enjoyable.” Especially since Jon Forsyte and his American wife have visited from France. Though eager to pitch in to help his homeland, Jon never expects his return will have such an effect on his former love, Fleur Mont, now married to a member of Parliament and a mother. Even when the strike abates, their reunion sends ripples through their friends and family, including Fleur's father. He knows his daughter wants nothing more than what she doesn't have—and to save her from herself—he sets out to stay one step ahead of her duplicitous heart... “It is such a joy to read a book which is unquestionably a good piece of work, that tells you on the first page that it is going to tell its story gracefully, with technical skill, and with that rare quality of fineness. Swan Song has quite literally greatness—to say more about it would be to spill gilt paint over a calla.” —Chicago Tribune

In this novel by the author of The Berlin Stories, a listless pair of siblings in post-WWI London battle the constraints of society and their mother. It's the 1920s—the wake of the Great War—and Britain is undergoing a transformation. The middle class is struggling, and the younger generation, feeling constrained by the values that once fueled the empire, is yearning to break free... A new war is brewing in the slums of Kensington, London. The members of one family are plotting daily against each other and themselves. Philip Lindsay has quit his office job and dreams of becoming an artist. His sister,Joan, is in love. To get what they want, they must first get away from their overbearing mother... Originally published in 1928, All the Conspirators was Christopher Isherwood's first novel. He later went on to write such works as The Berlin Stories, A Single Man, and Goodbye to Berlin.

A brush with death may finally bring a father and son together, in the conclusion to the award-winning, decades-spanning series. Sir Lewis Eliot has made his way from a deprived childhood to knighthood, but when he experiences cardiac arrest during surgery, his thoughts turn to the meaning of it all. As he considers a life spent in the realms of law, government, and academia, he can't refrain from passing judgment on himself. Yet amid his melancholy musings about age and infirmity, Eliot finds his characteristic optimism has not deserted him—and looks to the future in the form of his adult son, who is part of a new generation he struggles to understand, but who remains as beloved as the day he was born... “As with [John] Galsworthy, Snow's respectable achievement has been to make honest drama out of the undramatic stuff of compromise.” —Time “A master craftsman in fiction.” —The New York Times

In this comic novel by a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a bachelor on a transatlantic cruise meets a group of runaway children who change his life forever. Martin Boyne is a cautious man of forty-six. The bachelor has been nursing a relationship with a widow for five years, and now he is crossing the Atlantic to be with her. He laments that he never meets interesting people in his travels, but that is about to change... The seven precocious Wheater siblings, traveling with their nanny, are running away from their parents. Their mother and father are always breaking up and reconciling, shuffling the children back and forth, and they have had enough. They simply want to be together... Moved by the children's plight and knowing of their parents, Boyne decides to help them as best he can. It is time to throw caution to the wind, and everyone, including Boyne, just may be better for it...

Back at his family's New England estate, a man finds a second chance at love—and a devastating truth—in this novel by the author of Young Mr. Keefe. At thirty-one years of age, Hugh Carey has ended both his marriage and his advertising partnership. With his life at loose ends, he's returned to the family home in Connecticut—that imposing castle built by his grandfather—to take stock and start over. His mother is only too happy to offer her counsel, as she does for Hugh's sister Patsy. But her reputation as the most effective woman since Lady MacBeth is well earned. Also delighted to have Hugh back is Edrita Everett Smith. She's the girl next door—and the one who got away. As Hugh and Edrita reconnect, it seems that little has changed, and their old romance is ready to blossom again. But in this quiet, well-heeled suburb, nothing is as simple as it seems. As buried jealousies come to light and new schemes are hatched, Hugh will learn what it truly takes to forge his own path.

An ambitious young man seeks his fortune in 1950s California in this New York Times–bestselling author's classic novel of love and disillusionment. As the heir apparent to his family's mercantile empire, Jimmy Keefe is guaranteed a bright future. But the recent college graduate is determined to liberate himself from his old money New England home. He leaves Connecticut behind for the dream of California. However, when his hasty marriage suddenly falls apart, Jimmy finds himself alone in Sacramento. Yet there are those who seem to have everything Jimmy desires. His friends from back East, Claire and Blazer Gates, now host lavish parties in their opulent, glass-walled San Francisco penthouse. But the closer Jimmy gets to Claire and Blazer's shimmering life on a hill, the more he becomes embroiled in their sordid—and increasingly scandalous—affairs.

The story of a Boston heiress who wishes for nothing—except happiness—by a New York Times–bestselling author who “never falters when it comes to storytelling” (Publishers Weekly). Caroline Ames is rich beyond imagining. But after a childhood with a cold, rejecting father, she is irrationally terrified of poverty, seething with hostility, and incapable of giving or receiving love. Those who cross her path tend to find themselves at the very least suffering, if not thoroughly broken.A Prologue to Love introduces three generations of the Ames family during the Gilded Age and the early twentieth century—painting a compassionate portrait of a difficult woman, those who have hurt her, and those she has hurt. It is a vivid, profoundly moving novel that explores the damage that everyday evil can do—and what it takes to overcome it.

A “truly enjoyable” journey through one man's Jewish American experience by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Marjorie Morningstar (Newsday). Israel David Goodkind is a minor bureaucrat in the Nixon White House, killing time in the office by writing the story of four generations of his large, sprawling Russian Jewish immigrant family. As he recounts his brief stint in show business, his torrid affair with a showgirl, and his encounters with a hassled and distracted President Nixon, Goodkind also witnesses historical events firsthand—the Watergate scandal, the Yom Kippur War—and eventually finds his way back to his Jewish faith. Combining Pulitzer Prize winner Herman Wouk's wildly comic streak with his deep respect for religious tradition, Inside, Outside is both an individual's story and “a social comedy of Jewish-American life reaching from New York to Jerusalem and spanning much of the 20th century” (Publishers Weekly). “Extremely funny.” —The Wall Street Journal “Wouk reaffirms his position as one of the nation's eminent storytellers.” —Newsday “Wouk's most significant work since The Caine Mutiny.” —Chicago Tribune “Generously stuffed with zestfully old-fashioned humor and sentiment.” —Kirkus Reviews

This “jewel at the heart of English comic literature” chronicles the daily fortunes and misfortunes of a middle-age, middle-class clerk (William Trevor, The Mail on Sunday). Since its original publication in 1892, The Diary of a Nobody has become a much-loved classic. It is a fictional man's dissection of the everyday drama of his life as an office worker in a London firm. With dry wit, the authors step into the character of Charles Pooter as he navigates work life with not-so-respectful young coworkers and family life with his charming wife, Carrie, and impetuous son, Lupin. From home repairs gone wrong (painting the tub red), to the comings and goings of his friends Cummings and Gowings, Pooter painstakingly shares intimate details of his existence, with the (not completely absurd) hope of maybe someday having his memoir published. An ongoing tally of the good jokes he makes shares space with descriptions of grievous insults to his person, party mishaps, the annoying behavior of everyone around him, and Lupin's on-again off-again employment and engagement status. The Diary of a Nobody gives everyone a reason to laugh—and recognize themselves in Pooter's droll prose. “The funniest book in the world.” —Evelyn Waugh, author of Brideshead Revisited “There's a universality about Pooter that touches everybody... [he] fits into the tradition of absurd humour that the British do well, which started with Jonathan Swift and runs through Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear to Monty Python.” —Jasper Fforde, Time Out “Pooter himself is as gentle as you could wish, a wonderful character, genuinely lovable. The book is beautifully constructed.” —Andrew Davies, The Herald

A chemist's life is transformed by the wonders of selling snake oil in this satire of early–twentieth century capitalism by the author of The Time Machine. As a young assistant chemist, George Ponderevo rode his uncle's coattails to a great fortune. His uncle Edward's meteoric rise was all thanks to a miraculous patent medicine, Tono-Bungay—which George knew to be nothing more than sugar water. Though it provided none of its promised curative effects, Tono-Bungay was well marketed—and a huge success. So it was that George Ponderevo went on to sit with countesses, find himself in a number of amorous entanglements, and enter the high-flying world of aeronautics. But when Uncle Edward's business empire collapses, George concocts increasingly outlandish plots to save his mentor in fraud. First published in 1909, Tono-Bungay is an incisive satire of the social and economic forces that continue to shape our world today.

On a sultry South Carolina island, sunlight teases out the darkest secrets of the heart, in this novel from the author of An Undisturbed Peace. Joe and Abigail Becker, a Jewish couple from Boston, have inherited a house on Sweetgrass Island in South Carolina's Lowcountry. Though they feel like fish out of water, the couple is excited to give the South a try—and maybe even find it a place to finally call home. Their Boston friends are convinced they won't last the summer. But the South works its magic on the Beckers, holding them fast to misty marsh, farmlands, and grand oaks, the sweet twang of banjos and the blues. Even the locals have put aside their usual mistrust of transplants. Joe is convinced that has more to do with Abigail's beauty than with his dubious charms—especially in the case of Billy Euston. A celebrated pit master and womanizer, Billy is transfixed with Abigail at first sight. And though Joe is used to his lovely wife's effect on men, he misjudges their playful flirtations—a tragic mistake that will tear through the island like a hurricane, leaving the broken and the battered in its wake...Praise for Mary Glickman “Mary Glickman is a wonder.” —Pat Conroy, New York Times–bestselling author of Prince of Tides “Mary Glickman gives us a nuanced image of our twentieth-century selves, our society woven into stunning art.” —Carolivia Herron, author of Nappy Hair and Thereafter Johnnie “Religion isn't the only thing that stirs Glickman to fervor: she writes in a high-drama, no-holds-barred style when it comes to romance... [An] entertaining novel about sins of the flesh and the redemptive power of belief.” —Publishers Weekly on Marching to Zion

This classic debut novel is a dramatic Victorian-era family saga of love and greed from the author of the Allan Quatermain series. Brantham Abbey has been in the Caresfoot family since the reign of King Henry VIII, after a knight sold the property to one of their ancestors. The current head of the household is “Devil” Caresfoot, and through his fifty years of leadership, the family has come to live opulently. But all that can change... On his own, Devil has raised two boys: his son, Philip, and his nephew, George—the product of a secret marriage between his simple-minded brother and a scheming housemaid. Devil has every intention of passing his estate on to Philip. But as George grows older, he proves to be every bit his mother's son, and Philip believes George is out to ruin him... Twenty years later, George is cunning as ever, and Philip has even more hardships to endure, but now his daughter is also at risk...

Six classic supernatural short stories, including one Allan Quatermain tale, from the author of King's Solomon's Mines. Originally published in 1920, this collection of six stories with a supernatural bent takes readers on a wild ride. An archaeologist with a passion for Egyptology is locked overnight in the Cairo Museum, and the experience changes his life. Haggard's greatest creation, Allan Quatermain, tells the tale of a Zulu man's sacrifice and bravery. A British Army captain stationed in Southern Africa carries on a love affair with a woman in London. An English missionary and his family live with a Zulu tribe. On the eve of his marriage to his second wife, a man is haunted by the ghost of his first wife. A mother in the English countryside makes a great sacrifice. In these six tales, Haggard creates worlds of magic, ghosts, reincarnations, and more, and demonstrates his mastery of the form.

A mother searches for her missing daughter in this short tale of love and Victorian morality from the author of Cranford and North and South. Eager to see the world, young Lizzie Leigh leaves her childhood home behind to work in Manchester, England. Sadly, she is soon led astray and finds herself pregnant with an illegitimate child. After she abandons her job, her family discovers what she has done. Her father, James, is ashamed and declares her dead. But when James dies, Lizzie's mother, Annie, decides she cannot give up on her missing daughter. Annie makes a deal with her oldest son, Will. They will go to Manchester where she can search for Lizzie, and if she doesn't find her after one year has passed, they will return home... A classic tale of a “lost” woman, “Lizzie Leigh” is a tragic yet heartwarming story of unconditional love, family, and morality in Victorian England.

A farmer in nineteenth-century England is torn between love and her sense of duty in this novella by the author of Wives and Daughters and Cranford. Susan Dixon is a hardworking, respected farmer living alone in the Westmorland Dales in northwest England. But that wasn't always the case. She was once surrounded by her father and mother, her brother, and her beloved, the handsome Michael Hurst. Time and time again, Susan is put to the test as tragedy forces her to make difficult decisions that will affect the lives of those around her as well as her own...

A rural young Englishwoman experiences her first love with a worldly engineer in this tale from the beloved author of Cranford and Wives and Daughters. It is the 1840s in England, and the time has come for nineteen-year-old Paul Manning to make his own way in the world. He takes a position working for Edward Holdsworth, an engineer overseeing expansion of a railway line into the countryside. Paul's work also takes him to Hope Farm and his relatives, the Holmans—his mother's cousin, her minister husband, and their daughter, the tall and beautiful seventeen-year-old Phillis. Paul bonds with Holmans and soon brings his boss to the farm. A quasi-love triangle begins to blossom, and innocent Phillis's world soon transforms... Originally published in four parts in The Cornhill Magazine from1863 to 1864, Cousin Phillis is a Victorian novella that captures young people coming of age in a changing nation and a changing world.

A French family's origins and their life under Napoleon III's Second Empire are explored in this classic novel by the author of Thérèse Raquin. Émile Zola's The Fortune of the Rougons is the first entry in his epic Les Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels. The cycle begins as Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte leads his coup d'état of December 1851 to create the Second French Empire. While the aristocrats support the monarchy, the workers support the republic. Murder, treachery, and greed spread across the land as the new empire is built with violence, and the “fortune” of the Rougons will be paid for in blood... The Fortune of the Rougons opens as young lovers Silvère and Miette join woodcutters and peasants in a republican army to resist Napoleon III and seize control of their town of Plassans. As the action continues, author Émile Zola explores the foundations of the Rougon family and its illegitimate Macquart branch, bringing to light hereditary weaknesses that will pass to future generations...

A young woman is caught between two mothers in 1850s Manhattan in this novella by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Age of Innocence. Tina is a girl torn between two women. There is her adoptive mother, Delia Ralston, a member of one of Manhattan's ruling families, and then there is Charlotte Lovell, the woman who gave her up so that she could have a chance at a better life. As Tina grows up, the tensions between Delia and Charlotte begin to fester as the two worry about what sort of woman Tina will become... Originally published in Edith Wharton's Old New York in 1924, The Old Maid examines ideas of motherhood, class, gender, and society while detailing the complex relationships between women. The novella was adapted into a Pulitzer Prize–winning stage play by Zoe Akins, which was in turn adapted into a feature film starring Bette Davis.

A New Jersey rabbi's mitzvah for her mother leads her to investigate a shady hospital in this cozy mystery by the author of Unleavened Dead. Rosh Hashanah has just ended, and Rabbi Aviva Cohen is exhausted. She should get started on her preparations for Yom Kippur, but there's a family emergency. Her mother was found unconscious at her assisted living facility in Boston and is now in the hospital. When Aviva arrives, she is desperate to learn if this was an accident or if her mother was attacked, but with unsure doctors and her mother in a coma, there's no way to get a clear answer. The rabbi's only choice is to investigate, but that won't be easy with her bossy sister and her lovelorn ex-husband in tow. And yet Aviva manages to uncover an unsettling conspiracy at the hospital involving fraud and possibly murder. Aviva better pray she doesn't wind up in the hospital herself—or worse yet—the morgue. “A witty, engaging mystery and fun read!” —Amy M. Bennett, author of the award-winning Black Horse Campground mysteries “The best in this series. As usual, Rabbi Aviva Cohen is feisty, honest, and funny. The author's experience ministering to the elderly is apparent. This cozy rings true.” —J. L. Greger, author of the award-winning Science Traveler medical mystery thrillers“If I'm ever in trouble, forget the marines. Send in the rabbi! In Yom Killer you'll have a great time watching Rabbi Aviva Cohen shedding light on the shadiest hospital in New England. This is Schneider's best yet.” —Robert Lopresti, award-winning author of Greenfellas

In the third volume of the Quinn family saga, Ansel Quinn is caught in an international scandal with reverberations across two world wars. In 1916, the world waits with bated breath to see if the United States will enter the Great War raging in Europe. Meanwhile, President Wilson campaigns for reelection on his record of keeping America out of the fray. Caught in the middle is Maj. Ansel Quinn of Mississippi, assigned to the French army headquarters in Paris as a neutral observer. At home, Ansel's wife, Isabel, has been left to manage the family's cotton plantation in Mississippi as well as their sugar plantation in Cuba. It is a trial to be without her husband, but only the beginning of the hardships she will face. When Ansel is wounded on the frontlines of the Somme—far from where any neutral observer should be—it sets off international intrigue that could change the course of history. In No Promise for Tomorrow, the Quinn family struggles across the decades between World War I and World War II—a period that includes the influenza epidemic, the Roaring Twenties, prohibition, and the Great Depression.

From the Civil War to the Cuban independence movement to WWI, this historical epic follows the incredible life of a woman tragically bound to bloodshed. War brings about many strange events, but none stranger than the bullet that impregnated sixteen-year-old Annielise Quinn at the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863. After passing through the groin of a Confederate soldier, the bullet lodged itself in her pelvis. Such was the portentous beginning of Beverly Bethany Quinn, the “bullet baby” whose life was fated never to escape the perils of war. By 1915, Bethany thinks she has finally found peace, until a call from the British Crown brings a shocking revelation. To aid the Allies in the Great War overseas, England would like to purchase a cache of rifles owned by her family's sugar mill in Cuba—a cache that Bethany never knew existed. Years ago, Bethany and her uncle Jonathan supplied guns to the Cuban rebels against Spain. Has her uncle doomed her from beyond the grave to take part in slaughter once again? In preparation for the journey of her “special cargo,” Bethany sits down with her mother's old diary, returning to that fateful day in 1863, and unfolding an epic journey of war, survival, love, and betrayal spanning decades and nations.

A teenager follows along as her mother moves from town to town—and man to man—in this coming-of-age novel: “Both hilarious and tragic... a radiant debut.” —The New York Times Book Review The inspiration for the cult-classic film starring Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci, and Cher, this novel is narrated by Charlotte Flax, a fourteen-year-old helplessly dragged by her mother from place to place, brief affair to brief affair. When they settle into a quiet New England town in 1963, the teenager yearns to stay put for once. With a convent just steps away from their home, this could be Charlotte's chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a martyred Catholic saint—despite the fact that she's Jewish. At the same time, the young caretaker at the convent is inspiring some unsaintly thoughts... “Patty Dann gives us a magnificent voice in the young Charlotte... Compelling and tender, touching and alive in her search to find some order in the chaos of her life.” —The New York Times Book Review “This is a really funny book about people trying to find something to hang onto in a world that keeps shifting under their feet. Patty Dann guides us through the guerilla war between mother and daughter, through the minefields that lie between being a child and being an adult, in a voice not like any we've heard before.” —John Sayles, director and novelist “Moments of pure gold... An energetic talent.” —Kirkus Reviews “Both of [the sisters'] characters are sharply etched and recognizable.” —Publishers Weekly “Poignant... a quirky charm.” —Booklist

“Disturbing and witty... A deftly-described odyssey that places the battle of the sexes in a new arena” from the author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (The Sunday Times). Meet Desmond Fletcher. At forty-two years old, his marriage has ended and he finds himself all alone in an apartment above an electrical repair shop lent to him by his soon-to-be-ex-wife's brother. With not much else to do besides his job driving coaches, Desmond has a lot of time to think. Mostly about where his life has gone wrong, the women he has failed, and the child he has never known. More than a decade ago, a woman Desmond was seeing became pregnant but wanted nothing to do with marrying him—or any man for that matter. Now, with his life in limbo, Desmond becomes obsessed with finding his son. Hijacking a coach, he travels across England, unearthing clues and following in his son's footsteps—from London to the mountains to the fens. It's a quest that will take Desmond deep into his own heart, where he just might discover what he's really looking for... “Poignant and funny... Deborah Moggach is brilliant at capturing just the right voice for her characters.” —Cosmopolitan “Moggach, for the purposes of this book, has turned herself into a bloke. His monologue throughout strikes me as totally authentic, but not only does Moggach get his lingo right, she thinks through his head, dramatizing his confusion, decency, wit, pain, and determination. This is not just ventriloquism, but empathy so complete as to be phenomenal.” —The Irish Times “Acutely funny and sad.” —The Mail on Sunday

The bestselling author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel “illuminates with great compassion how love can so easily go off the rails” (Daily Mail). In the shadow of Heathrow airport, a girl grows up in a family of four with her unaffectionate, absent mother, her precocious younger brother, and her father. Once a traveling fairground worker, her father's been forced to settle down. Now he sits at home, dreaming up schemes to make money, drinking with his friends, raising pigs... It's those pigs that give Heather her nickname. The mean girls at school call her “Porky,” as much as for her animals as for her weight and pink complexion. They don't live in a decrepit bungalow like she does, surrounded by airport traffic and muck. And they don't have a father like she does, one who steals her innocence and makes her grow up too fast. This is Heather's story. It's easier for her to tell a stranger reading a book than her best friend, a counselor, the man who now loves her. Maybe you will understand her attempts to work, to live, to survive, to fly away as far as possible—as if her wings weren't already clipped... “Deborah Moggach conveys with chilling skill the process by which a fundamentally bright, decent child becomes infested by corruption.” —The Spectator “At once eerily exuberant and bleak, this is a compassionate, tough book.” —The Observer “[An] extraordinarily skilful account of a childhood blasted by what is now acknowledged to be a more widespread offence than was previously recognised: incest.” —London Review of Books “Sustain[s] a first-person register so level in its tone of quiet desperation, so careful to avoid blatant shock, as to hold back the tidal wave of revulsion and pity which threatens, but never quite engulfs the reader.” —The Times(London)

The Larkin family's rich spirit is tested when Pop has a heart attack in this series finale by the author of The Darling Buds of May. Pop Larkin enjoys the finer things in life, like good food and drink, but too much of it leads him to a mild heart attack. Placed on bedrest and an uncharacteristically strict diet, the family patriarch soon finds himself in low spirits. As nurses try their hand at helping Pop get well, Ma pursues alternative remedies. And Primrose, meanwhile, is in hot pursuit of the dashing Mr. Candy. But when it is discovered the government has plans to run a railroad through the Larkins'home, it is all hands on deck as the Larkins, their community, and even Pop rise up to prove that the country way of life is always worth fighting for...Praise for the Pop Larkin Chronicles “The Larkins live—these novels please us by escaping definition.” —The Guardian “Like Wodehouse's Jeeves, Bates'Larkins must continue in their own delightful milieu—in this case the Kentish countryside.” —The New York Times

The arrival of a French guest heralds christenings and chaos for the Larkin clan in this comic classic by the author of The Darling Buds of May. When Mademoiselle Dupont, the hotel manager from the Larkins'frightful French holiday, announces she is coming over to be Oscar's godmother at his christening, Pop and Ma reveal none of their children are baptized. Mariette and Charley are already planning to christen their little Blenheim, but now all seven Larkin children will be joining him. Not that Pop and Ma would turn down a reason to partake of some champagne or Dragon's Blood... But their plan is far from blessed. The second eldest Larkin, Primrose, is infatuated with the handsome young vicar, who already has his hands full dealing with the hell-raising Larkin twins. Of course, that is only the beginning of the Larkins'troubles, and it will take more than holy water to get them out of this mess.Praise for the Pop Larkin Chronicles “Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny... are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy.” —The Scotsman “Like Wodehouse's Jeeves, Bates'Larkins must continue in their own delightful milieu—in this case the Kentish countryside.” —The New York Times

A rural British family gets new neighbors—and new troubles—in this comic classic by the author of The Darling Buds of May. Gore Court is a run-down country house that junk dealer Pop Larkin intends to convert into a bungalow for his daughter and son-in-law. But Mr. and Mrs. Jerebohm, a wealthy couple from London, arrive desperate to buy the place. Spotting the naivete of the social-climbing pair, Pop manages to get them to agree to pay a ridiculous amount. Now he can install a swimming pool at home... But he may not have time to enjoy it. After a party at the Jerebohms, Pop finds himself fending off unwanted advances. Soon, a rocking rowboat, a pair of misplaced hands, and a misunderstanding have Pop before the local magistrate, and it may take more than wit and country charm for him to clear his name... “Pop is as sexy, genial, generous, and boozy as ever. Ma is a worthy match for him in all these qualities.” —The Times (London)Praise for the Pop Larkin Chronicles “The Larkins live—these novels please us by escaping definition.” —The Guardian “Like Wodehouse's Jeeves, Bates'Larkins must continue in their own delightful milieu—in this case the Kentish countryside.” —The New York Times

The Larkins travel to France for some sun and relaxation—only to be met with disaster—in this comic classic by the author of The Darling Buds of May. At summer's end, rain clouds hovering over Kent have some in the Larkin household feeling under the weather in more ways than one. Ma is exhausted from nursing newborn Oscar, and Mariette needs a break. Meanwhile, Mariette's husband, Charley, reminisces about delightful summers spent in Brittany during his youth. It was inexpensive, the food was marvelous, the air was warm and sultry, and they would almost never see a drop of rain. And with that, Ma persuades Pop to take a holiday in France. But when the Larkin clan arrives in the village of St. Pierre le Port, it is vastly different from Charley's memories. It is raining, the food is awful, the hotel is run-down, and the manager is rather nasty. The Larkins normally find joy in the little things in life, but they have never dealt with a vacation like this... “Very racy, earthy. Rabelaisian.” —The SpectatorPraise for the Pop Larkin Chronicles “Hilarious.” —The New York Times “Pop Larkin, Ma and their progeny... are essentially English of the rich and ribald England of Chaucer and Shakespeare. A superb and timeless comedy.” —The Scotsman

The rich spirit of an English junk dealer and his family is challenged by the arrival of the tax collector in this humorous and heartwarming classic. Beneath the sunny, cloudless skies of Kent, the Larkin household—Pop, Ma, and their six children—enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Pop works as a junk dealer and keeps the farm to feed his brood, while Ma cooks the meals and minds the children. While the family may not seem to have much, they more than make up for it in joyous spirit—and bountiful feasts. All of that could change, however, when a stranger appears on their farm. Cedric Charlton from Inland Revenue has come to inquire why the Larkins failed to file income tax for the previous year. But Charlton's plans hit a snag when the eldest Larkin daughter, Mariette, takes a liking to him—and he to her. Now, if the Larkins and country living can charm Charlton, perhaps he will forget about every last pound they owe... “A pulsing comedy of country manners. A five-alarm blaze of a book. Just about perfick.” —Time “A gently, anarchic, wish-fulfilling daydream.” —The Times (London)

The author of Mermaids reunites the unforgettable women of the Flax family decades later: “Its plot twists will make you laugh—after you wipe away tears.” —Sally Koslow, author of The Real Mrs. Tobias Now in her early forties with a grown son and two grandchildren, Charlotte Flax has never forgotten the year she spent as a teenager in Grove, Massachusetts, with her mother and little sister. When she finds out that their old house there, one of the many the family occupied over the years, is available for rent, Charlotte moves in and plans a birthday party for her flighty-as-ever mother. Some things have changed—the nearby convent has given way to real estate interests. Some things have not—Charlotte still has feelings about Joe, her first love. This upcoming reunion will stir up a lot of memories—and some trouble—and test the ability of relationships to survive over time... “Patty Dann, through Charlotte's unique voice, propels us back into the careening lives of the Flax women. Funny, sad, chaotic, mysterious, moving, searching, they are above all a family.” —Richard Benjamin, director of MermaidsPraise for Mermaids and the novels of Patty Dann “Dann gives us a magnificent voice in the young Charlotte... Both hilarious and tragic... a radiant debut.” —The New York Times Book Review “A marvel... brilliant.” —Elinor Lipman, author of Good Riddance “Poignant.” —Sheila Kohler, author of Once We Were Sisters and Cracks “Both of [the sisters'] characters are sharply etched and recognizable.” —Publishers Weekly

In this “complex, compelling” novel by the New York Times–bestselling author, a troubled woman uncovers the mysteries of her own past (Kirkus Reviews). Abandoned by her young mother, unsure of her father's identity, and raised by her prominent aunt and uncle, thirty-year-old Fiona Range has developed a high threshold for emotional pain. Her recklessness, generosity, and poor judgment have landed her in more scrapes than her affluent family—or small-town community—can tolerate. Beautiful, volatile, and smart-tongued (or trashy, erratic, and wild, depending on whom you ask), Fiona hits rock bottom after she wakes up with a hangover and a strange man in her bed. Alienated from relatives and friends but determined to change, Fiona turns to the men in her life—among them, cruel and unstable Patrick Grady, who denies she is his daughter. When her gentle cousin Elizabeth arrives home with fiancé in tow, it sparks a storm where past mistakes and current passions collide.

The political awakening of a migrant worker in northern France leads to a coal-mining strike in this masterpiece of nineteenth-century French literature. Former railway worker Étienne Lantier has come to the bleak town of Montsou in search of work. Befriending a coal miner, he soon takes a job pushing carts into the Voreux mine. Though he finds a place of respect among his fellow workers, Lantier begins to see how unacceptable their life of poverty, illness, and hunger truly is. As his political idealism takes shape, he inspires a strike that will bring both suffering and hope to Montsou. First published in 1885, Germinal is the thirteenth novel in Émile Zola's celebrated Les Rougon-Macquart sequence. It combines an uncompromising depiction of working conditions in northern France with an inspiring evocation of love, community, and the human spirit.

A young man journeys from rural Mississippi to the battlefields of WWI to discover his family's bloody legacy in this sequel to By Accident of Birth. On May 7, 1915, the passenger ship RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat. Among the many casualties was Beverly Bethany Quinn, an American woman whose entire life was marked by the forces of bloodshed. For Ansel Quinn, the single event holds a grim double meaning. With his beloved aunt gone, he is the last of his family line. And now his country is on the brink of joining the war overseas. When Ansel discovers his Aunt Bethany's diary, the shocking revelations within set him on an epic quest for family honor and self-discovery. President Wilson had vowed to keep America out of another war. Ansel had sworn to serve his country. Fate's cards trumped them all. From the American South to the trenches of Verdun, nothing will ever be the same again.

A 1926 collection of nine stories of “fine insight and finished craft” from the acclaimed author of The Great Gatsby (The New York Times).Experience the Roaring Twenties through the mind of one of the twentieth century's greatest American writers with these nine short stories. Included are tales of wealthy eccentrics and unrequited love like “Winter Dreams” and “Rags Martin-Jones and the Pr-nce of W-les.” A woman who marries for money must handle the consequences when tragedy strikes in “The Adjuster.” A suburban married couple must deal with the fallout of their toddler's violent tantrum in “The Baby Party.” And a young boy confesses his sins in “Absolution,” originally written as a prologue to The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925, one year prior to this collection.

In the second volume of the acclaimed novel, the narrator recalls his adolescent discoveries of art and women in Belle Époque France.Following the events of Swann's Way, the nameless narrator shifts his attention to memories of his teenage years. His relationship with the Swann family is altered as his love for Gilberte fizzles out. Two years later, he accompanies his grandmother to the resort town of Balbec on the Normandy coast. There, he encounters figures who will change his life: Robert de Saint-Loup, who becomes his friend; the magnificent painter Elstir; and the new object of his affection, the beautiful Albertine, who causes him to reflect on the nature of love.Although it was originally meant to be published in 1914, Within a BuddingGrove's release was delayed until 1919 due to World War I. The book was awarded the Prix Goncourt, which quickly garnered fame for Proust. It is the second of seven volumes in a saga Edmund White hailed as “the most respected novel of the twentieth century.”Praise for Marcel Proust“Reading Proust... it's a whole world not just a book. Everyone wants to live more than one life and Proust is like ‘here's another one you can live.'” —Francine Prose, New York Times–bestselling author of Mister Monkey“I can think of only one other writer capable of such breadth and humanity: Shakespeare.” —André Aciman, New York Times–bestselling author of Find Me “When I want to restore my faith in literature, I read Proust.... Reading Proust is like watching a galaxy being put together, one particle at a time.” —Aleksandar Hemon, author of The Making of Zombie Wars

In the third volume of the celebrated novel, a writer comes into his own and learns the way of the world in Paris. Continuing the nameless narrator's voyage through his memories after Within a Budding Grove, The Guermantes Way finds him and his family entering Parisian high society. They have moved into a stately old town house owned by the Duke and Duchess de Guermantes in the Fauborg Saint-Germain district of Paris. Daily sightings of the duchess do nothing but fan the flames of the narrator's infatuation with her. So, of course, he falls in love once more. He also continues his journey as a writer, visiting aristocratic and literary salons where, beneath a thin veneer of manners, a battle for political, sexual, and social supremacy rages on... Originally published in two volumes in 1920 and 1921, The Guermantes Way explores the customs of Parisian society in Belle Époque France. Praise for Marcel Proust “Whatever your preference, Proust is a pleasure no serious reader should miss.” —Kirkus Reviews “Reading Proust... it's a whole world not just a book. Everyone wants to live more than one life and Proust is like ‘here's another one you can live.'” —Francine Prose, New York Times–bestselling author of Mister Monkey “I can think of only one other writer capable of such breadth and humanity: Shakespeare.” —André Aciman, New York Times–bestselling author of Find Me “When I want to restore my faith in literature, I read Proust.... Reading Proust is like watching a galaxy being put together, one particle at a time.” —Aleksandar Hemon, author of The Making of Zombie Wars

“An inquiry into the nature of civilization, of man's impulse to civilize and create,” from the beloved author of O Pioneers! (The New Criterion).After completing his masterwork and garnering a great deal of money for it, history professor Godfrey St. Paul has purchased a new house. But when the time comes to move, he cannot bring himself to do so. Sitting in his comfortable study in his current house near the shore of Lake Michigan—and on the verge of a midlife crisis—he reflects on his past.At fifty-two, he has dedicated himself to his work, his garden, and his wife and two daughters, but despite all of his successes, he is unhappy with the course of his future. He retreats into his memories—his career and fond recollections of Tom Outland, his most outstanding student and once his son-in-law-to-be, who was lost in the Great War. He also thinks of his present and the daunting mystery of what lies ahead. And soon the introspection takes over... “The Professor's House is Cather's masterpiece. It is almost perfectly constructed, peculiarly moving, and completely original.” —A. S. Byatt, The Guardian

Romance between a middle-aged widow and a younger man scandalizes 1920s London society in this classic novel by the author of The Enchanted April.Although they thoroughly enjoy watching performances of The Immortal Hour, it is no longer the sole reason Catherine and Christopher continue returning to the theater in King's Cross. On Catherine's ninth visit, and Christopher's thirty-sixth, the two theater lovers finally strike up a conversation, and sparks begin to fly. Christopher is infatuated with Catherine and is relieved to discover that her marriage has dissipated. While Catherine appreciates the attention from the handsome, flame-haired gentleman, there is one complication: she is forty-seven years old, and Christopher is twenty-five. But she cannot resist his charms. Soon their public relationship will shock everyone, including Catherine's daughter and son-in-law—who is not much older than Catherine!

The classic novel about a man torn between his devotion to his mother and his desire for a lover. Cited by the Modern Library as one of the ten best twentieth-century novels in the English language, Sons and Lovers is considered by many to be D. H. Lawrence's masterpiece, with its deep psychological insight into the bond between mother and son, and the difficulties of emotionally separating from a parent. Considered a semiautobiographical work, it follows protagonist Paul Morel as he experiences the loss of his older brother, hostility toward his coal miner father, and a burden of responsibility toward his more genteel mother, who inspires maddening mixed feelings in him. Paul struggles to find room in his life for a meaningful, romantic relationship of his own as he works to hold his family together.

An inspiring novel about a struggling inventor and his family in turn-of-the-century New England.A man sits in his modest, rundown house in Connecticut, missing his wife, who is working overseas as a governess to make money for the family. But he does have the companionship of his son, who supports him in his dreams of success as an inventor.As Christmas draws near, their spirits are low—until the two begin working together on a model of a city, built with simple scraps, that leads them to a new place of hope... This tale, first published in 1907, has become a cherished classic—and makes for a wonderful holiday read about life's truest gifts.

The classic eighteenth-century saga—a masterpiece of Chinese literature— about an aristocratic family and a forbidden love during the Qing dynasty. Considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature, The Dream of the Red Chamber is believed to be a semiautobiographical account of author Cao Xueqin and his aristocratic family's rise and fall, and focuses particularly on the women in his life, including servants. Originally circulated in hand-copied manuscripts, The Dream of the Red Chamber is not only rich with psychological insight, but also enlightening in its portrayal of Chinese society during the Qing dynasty. It is an engrossing epic of imperial politics, friendship, and romantic rivalry, with an extraordinary cast of characters.

A middle-aged stockbroker leaves his family to become an artist in this novel inspired by the life of Paul Gauguin from “a notable and original writer” (The New York Times). From the author of The Razor's Edge and Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence tells the story of Charles Strickland, who suddenly deserts his wife and children in order to devote his life to painting. Unpleasant in manner yet strangely charismatic, he makes his way to Paris, Marseilles, and finally Tahiti, producing works of genius that few in his lifetime appreciate—while those he left behind speculate about what drove him to abandon them so abruptly. “A notable and original writer... Mr. Maugham digresses whenever he happens to feel like it, and his digressions never cause him to lose the reader's attention, but instead rather strengthen his hold on it. His comments are sometimes brilliant, always shrewd—often disconcertingly so. He has a way of getting beneath the surface.” —The New York Times