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In a bleak Mississippi farmhouse in 1918, Leona Pinson gives birth to an illegitimate son whose father she refuses to name, but who will, she is convinced, return from the war to rescue her from a hardscrabble life with a distant mother, a dangerous brother, and a dwarf aunt. When, instead, her lover returns with a wife in tow, her dreams are shattered. As her brother's violence escalates and her aunt flees, Leona must rely on the help of Luther Biggs, the son of Leona's grandfather and one of his former slaves, to protect her child. Told against the backdrop of the deprivation of World War I, the tragedies of the influenza epidemic, and the burden of generations of betrayal, That Pinson Girl unfolds in lyrical, unflinching prose, engaging the timeless issues of racism, sexism, and poverty.

From “a highest-order storyteller of Southern noir” (Electric Literature), a queer coming-of-age novel about addiction, belonging, and loving a place that doesn't always love you back. When sixteen-year-old Shae meets Cam, who is new to their small town in West Virginia, she thinks she has found someone who is everything she has ever wanted in a companion. The two become fast friends, and then more. And when Shae ends up pregnant, Cam begins a different transition—trying on clothes that Shae can no longer fit into and using female pronouns. Shae tries to be fully supportive as Cam becomes the person she wants and needs to be. After a traumatic C-section and the birth of their daughter, Eva, Shae is given opioids to manage the intense pain. During the first year of Eva's life, Shae's dependence shifts from pain management to addiction, and her days begin to revolve around getting more pills. In the heart of West Virginia, opioids are dispensed as freely as candy, and Shae is just one of many to fall victim to addiction. Meanwhile, as Cam continues to transition, she embraces new relationships and faces the reality of being a trans woman in rural America. Shae is as much about these two young women as it is about the home they both love despite its limitations. Following the acclaimed Sugar Run and Perpetual West, this is Mesha Maren's most intense and intimate novel yet.

What if the most important decision of your life was not yours to make? This vivid and powerful novel follows two women whose paths intersect at a maternity home in the'Baby Scoop Era.'In 1960, free-spirited Doreen is a recent high-school grad and waitress in a Chicago diner. She doesn't know Margie, sixteen and bookish, who lives a sheltered suburban life, but they soon meet when unplanned pregnancies send them to the Holy Family Home for the Wayward in rural Illinois. Assigned as roommates because their due dates line up, Margie and Doreen navigate Holy Family's culture of secrecy and shame and become fast friends as the weight of their coming decision — to keep or surrender their babies — becomes clear. Except, they soon realize, the decision has already been made for them. Holy Family, like many of the maternity homes where 1.5 million women “relinquished” their babies in what is now known as the Baby Scoop Era, is not interested in what the birth mothers want. In its zeal to make the babies “legitimate” in closed adoptions, Holy Family manipulates and bullies birth mothers, often coercing them to sign away their parental rights while still under the effects of anesthesia. What happens next, as their babies are born and they leave Holy Family behind, will force each woman to confront the depths and limits of motherhood and friendship, and fight to reclaim control over their own lives. Written by the acclaimed author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott and Undiscovered Country, The Myth of Surrender explores a hidden chapter of American history that still reverberates across the lives of millions of women and their children.

As a young unmarried mother in the 1960s, Maureen faces stifling disapproval and condemnation from mainstream society. Desperate to create a new life for herself and her baby, she rekindles an old romance and moves to South Africa under Apartheid. But her precarious journey to Africa's Eden is not the paradise she anticipated. Cultures smash against each other, family relationships are strained, there is death and despair, violence and injustice. But there is also humour, fun, family and friendship, as Maureen has to decide where her future lies. Is it here in Africa or back home in distant Eden, in her Australian homeland?

Elizabeth Gaskell tells the story of a fallen woman in the Victorian period in her novel Ruth. When Ruth Hilton's parents die, her guardian helps her to secure the position of an apprentice at a seamstress'shop. Sixteen year old Ruth is befriended by Mr. Bellingham who convinces her that he is in love with her.

Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) war ein britischer Schriftsteller und Verfasser der ersten Mystery Thriller. Aus dem Buch:'Nach Empfang dieser Mitteilung zog der Baumeister sich und seine Leute, sobald die westliche Treppe und das Geländer in Stand gesetzt waren, zurück und Porthgenna Tower blieb abermals der Obhut der Haushälterin und des Kastellans überlassen, ohne daß Herr oder Herrin, Freunde oder Fremdlinge die einsamen Gänge durchwandelt oder die leeren Zimmer belebt hätten.'

Rather than face a forced wedding to the father of her unborn baby, Elizabeth Lee joins her friends Jessie and Emma for a journey across treacherous land to a new life in the Unassigned Lands of Oklahoma in 1889. They never imagined the land would open with a massive horse race of fifty thousand people fighting for their own section of two million acres. Along the way, everything she ever knew about life, love, and God is questioned. When she meets Jared, she wonders, can she ever love again? Past and future intertwine as Elizabeth faces the unknown land, love, and life forcing their way into her livelihood upon the new land called Oklahoma.

An agonizing turbulence lies just beneath the surface of this skillfully wrought novel by the French phenom who caused a sensation with the publication of her novel Incest.Reaching back into a world before she was born, Christine Angot describes the inevitable encounter of two young people at a dance in the early 1950s: Rachel and Pierre, her mother and father. Their love is acute. It twists around Pierre's decisive judgments about class, nationalism, and beauty, and winds its way towards dissolution and Christine's own birth. Though it's Pierre whose ideas are most often voiced, it's Rachel who slowly comes into view, her determination and patience forming a radiant, enigmatic disposition. Equal parts subtle and suspenseful, An Impossible Love is an unwavering advance toward a brutal sequence of events that mars both Christine's and Rachel's lives. Angot the author carves Angot the narrator out of this corrosive element, exposing an unmendable rupture, and at the same time offering a portrait of a striking, ineradicable bond between mother and daughter.

Fall in love with thelatest Highland Falls romance about a single mom-to-be's surprise delivery and the undercover FBI agent who rescues her and her heart in the small town of Highland Falls.Single mom-to-be Sadie Gray will do anything to find her younger brother before the law catches up with him. Even if it means returning home to the small town of Highland Falls with a baby due any moment. But when that moment comes sooner than expected, and Sadie finds herself stranded on the top of a mountain—in labor--she couldn't be more grateful for the park ranger who finds her and helps deliver her daughter safely. Soon they've formed a tight friendship, and while he may be hinting at more, Sadie isn't planning to stick around after she finds her brother.FBI agent Chase Roberts wasn't looking for love when he agreed to go undercover as a park ranger to find an on-the-run informant. But he can't help being drawn to beautiful, warm-hearted Sadie and her sweet baby daughter. He's always longed to put down roots and start a family. But how can he hope to keep Sadie's trust when she finds out that his job is to arrest the brother she's been looking for? Includes the bonus novella A Wedding on Honeysuckle Ridge for the first time in print!

Ruth is a young orphaned girl who works in a sweatshop. Mrs. Mason, Ruth's boss, runs the sweatshop in a respectable manner, earning a sterling reputation among her employees and society. However, the comfort and acclaim of Ruth's job is threatened when she attends a ball to repair any dresses that get torn during dancing. There, she meets an aristocratic man named Henry Bellingham, who is infamous for his immoral treatment of women and frivolous spending. Ruth, however, is blinded by his charm, and after they have another chance encounter, befriends the man. When they are spotted together, Ruth's reputation is at stake as rumors start to fly. Worried about the gossip harming her sweatshop Mrs. Mason fires Ruth, leaving her with nowhere to go. With no other viable options, Ruth accepts Henry's invitation to go to London. Now considered a fallen woman, Ruth's reputation seems to be in a state beyond repair, though, while she stays with Henry, she is protected by his privilege. Held to lower standards by society, Henry is slightly looked down on, but his wealth and gender protects him from actual consequence. Perhaps that is why he finds it so easy and acceptable to leave Ruth, stranding her in Wales with a small allowance and tarnished reputation. Hopeless and pregnant, Ruth slips into a deep despair. It is only at the mercy of a kind local family, the Benson's, that Ruth is able to continue living. With their help, Ruth creates a new alias and backstory to live under, and is able to get a job and start to rebuild her social status. However, when Henry makes a surprise return, and rumors start to grow once again, Ruth must overcome illness and social disgrace to provide a better life for her son, and for herself. With strong characterization and themes of morality, gender, and sexuality in Victorian society, Ruth by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell provides a compelling glimpse into the hypocrisies of social expectations while depicting a moving narrative that captures both the audience's mind and heart. This edition of Ruth by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is now presented in an easy-to-read font and features a striking new cover design. With these accommodations, modern audiences are provided a lavish and accessible reading experience. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

An emotionally compelling tale of love and mystery set in the publishing world of World War II London, When We Meet Again tells the story of a mother searching for her stolen child, and illustrates the unbreakable bonds among families, lovers, and readers under the shadow of war.London, 1943: War and dwindling resources have taken their toll on the book publishing industry, but Alice Cotton, a young editor at Partridge Press, has seen her star begin to rise. She has a knack for creating new books to distract readers from the grim realities of the war. And the demand for books is greater than ever, both on the battlefield and on the home front. But just as her hard work seems poised to pay off, Alice unexpectedly falls pregnant. Facing the stigma of being an unwed mother, Alice flees to a small town to give birth to her child, Eadie, whom her family has promised to help raise. Instead, her mother sells the newborn to'baby farmers'who plan to give the child up for a private adoption. Alice begins her desperate hunt to find the daughter she never planned for but suddenly deeply loves. Alice's story intertwines with that of Theo Bloom, an American editor tasked with helping Partridge Press overcome the publishing obstacles of the war. Theo and Alice are quickly drawn to each other during their darkest hours, bound by hope, love, secrets, and the belief that books have the power to change lives.

When an unwed mother encounters the Lord she never forgot, they rediscover a passion that was never meant to end in this Georgian Era romance.1794, England. Melissa Frobisher resents having to keep her beautiful baby daughter a secret from the world. Though she never saw the father again, she would never forget the single night they shared in the Spring Gardens of London. But when a chance encounter reunites them, Melissa discovers that Lord Laurence Maxwell is as dangerously attractive as ever—and determined they wed for their baby's sake!With her child's reputation at stake, Melissa would seem to have no other choice. Yet she is determined only to marry for love. And Laurence must prove that their passion can be rekindled for good...

Jennie Gerhardt is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser. Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While working in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, Jennie meets George Brander, a United State Senator, who becomes infatuated with her. He helps her family and declares his wish to marry her. Jennie, grateful for his benevolence, agrees to sleep with him. He dies before they marry, and Jennie is pregnant...

The story takes place in the suffocating atmosphere of a social housing estate in the south of France. Sixteen-year-old Céline and her sister Jo, fifteen, dream of escaping to somewhere far from their daily routine, far from their surly, alcoholic father and uncaring mother, both struggling to make ends meet. That summer Celine falls pregnant, devastating news that reopens deep family wounds. Those of the mother Severine whose adolescence was destroyed by her early pregnancy and subsequent marriage with Manuel. Those of Manuel, grandson of Spanish immigrants, who takes refuge in alcoholism to escape the open disdain of his in-laws. Faced with Celine's refusal to name the father, Manuel needs a guilty party and Saïd, a childhood friend of the girls and conveniently Arab, seems to fit the role perfectly. In the suffocating heat of summer Manuel embarks on a drunken mission of revenge. A dark and upsetting account of an ailing society, filled with silent and murderous rage.

In 1937, Mary Margaret Joyce is born in the Tuam Home for unwed mothers. After spending her early years in an uncaring foster home, she is sentenced by a judge to an industrial school, where she is given the name Peg, and assigned the number 27. Amid one hundred other unwanted girls, Peg quickly learns the rigid routine of prayer, work, and silence under the watchful eye of Sister Constance. Her only respite is an annual summer holiday with a kind family in Galway. At the tender age of thirteen, Peg accidentally learns the identity of her birthmother. Peg struggles with feelings of anger and abandonment, while her mother grapples with the shame of having borne a child out of wedlock. The tension between them mounts as Peg, now becoming a young adult, begins to make plans for her future beyond Ireland. Based on actual events, The House Children is a compelling story of familial love, shameful secrets, and life inside Ireland's infamous industrial schools.

An emotionally raw and resonant story of love, loss, and the enduring power of friendship, following the lives of two young women connected by a home for “fallen girls,” and inspired by historical events. “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls deftly reimagines the wounded women who came seeking a second chance and a sustaining hope.”—Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours In turn-of-the-20th century Texas, the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls is an unprecedented beacon of hope for young women consigned to the dangerous poverty of the streets by birth, circumstance, or personal tragedy. Built in 1903 on the dusty outskirts of Arlington, a remote dot between Dallas and Fort Worth's red-light districts, the progressive home bucks public opinion by offering faith, training, and rehabilitation to prostitutes, addicts, unwed mothers, and “ruined” girls without forcibly separating mothers from children. When Lizzie Bates and Mattie McBride meet there—one sick and abused, but desperately clinging to her young daughter, the other jilted by the beau who fathered her ailing son—they form a friendship that will see them through unbearable loss, heartbreak, difficult choices, and ultimately, diverging paths. A century later, Cate Sutton, a reclusive university librarian, uncovers the hidden histories of the two troubled women as she stumbles upon the cemetery on the home's former grounds and begins to comb through its archives in her library. Pulled by an indescribable connection, what Cate discovers about their stories leads her to confront her own heartbreaking past, and to reclaim the life she thought she'd let go forever. With great pathos and powerful emotional resonance, Home for Erring and Outcast Girls explores the dark roads that lead us to ruin, and the paths we take to return to ourselves.

Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Ruth follows the story of an orphan girl named Ruth. Heraklion Press has included a linked table of contents for easy navigation.

This file includes: Sister Carrie (1900), Jennie Gerhardt (1911), The Financier (1912), The Titan (1914, and Twelve Men (1919). According to Wikipedia:'Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist. He pioneered the naturalist school and is known for portraying characters whose value lies not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency... His first novel, Sister Carrie (1900), tells the story of a woman who flees her country life for the city (Chicago) and falls into a wayward life. The publisher did little to promote the book, and it sold poorly[citation needed], however it was made into a 1952 film by William Wyler and starred Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones. He was a witness to a lynching in 1893, and wrote the short story'Nigger Jeff', which appeared in Ainslee's Magazine, in 1901. His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt, was published in 1911. Many of Dreiser's subsequent novels dealt with social inequality. His first commercial success was An American Tragedy (1925), which was made into a film in 1931 and again in 1951.'

George Moore was a prominent Irish writer and art critic during the Victorian era. Moore is considered to be one of the first English authors to adopt the ideas of the French realists as Emile Zola was a major influence on his work. Moore himself, with books such as Esther Waters, was an influence on the great James Joyce. Esther Waters, published in 1894, is a classic novel set in England that centers around a young woman from a poor-working class family who is abandoned by her lover after becoming pregnant. Esther decides to raise the child as a single mother. This book is one of the best Victorian novels on the life of a'fallen woman'.

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Esther Waters by George Moore - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of George Moore'. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Moore includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features:• The complete unabridged text of ‘Esther Waters by George Moore - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'• Beautifully illustrated with images related to Moore's works• Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook• Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

Classic novel. According to Wikipedia:'Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist. He pioneered the naturalist school and is known for portraying characters whose value lies not in their moral code, but in their persistence against all obstacles, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency... His second novel, Jennie Gerhardt, was published in 1911. Many of Dreiser's subsequent novels dealt with social inequality. His first commercial success was An American Tragedy (1925), which was made into a film in 1931 and again in 1951.'

From solitary cowboy…To protective daddyHis Texas ranch has been a refuge for Jared King ever since tragedy tore his life apart. But when the widowed rancher is reunited with the one-night stand he never forgot and meets the child he never knew existed, he quickly learns just how much danger they're both in. Now, with Courtney Jamison trusting him to keep her and their son safe, will the city girl who invaded his heart stick around once the danger has passed?

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Elizabeth Gaskell'. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Gaskell includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.eBook features: • The complete unabridged text of ‘Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'• Beautifully illustrated with images related to Gaskell's works • Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook • Excellent formatting of the text Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Wilkie Collins'. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Collins includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.eBook features: • The complete unabridged text of ‘The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)'• Beautifully illustrated with images related to Collins's works • Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook • Excellent formatting of the text Please visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

An abandoned young woman and her infant son find a new home among the unusual residents of New England town in the 1970s in this poignant novel.When June arrives on the coast of New England, baby in arms, an untrustworthy man by her side, Mabel—who rents them a cabin—senses trouble. A few days later, the girl and her child are abandoned.June is soon placed with Mabel's friend, Iris, in town, and her life becomes entwined with several locals who have known each other for decades: a wealthy recluse with a tragic past; a widow in mourning; a forsaken daughter returning for the first time in years, with a stranger in tow; and a kindly WWII veteran who serves as the town's sage. Surrounded by the personal histories and secrets of others, June finds the way forward for herself and her son becoming determined by the others'pasts, including loves—and crimes—from years ago.In vivid, nuanced prose, Melanie Wallace—“a writer with a tender regard for the marginal, the missing, and the lost” (Hilary Mantel)—explores the time-tested bonds of a small community, the healing power of friendship and love, and whether the wrongs of the past can ever be made right.Praise for The Girl in the Garden“Powerful.... A quiet, contemplative novel that builds slowly and leaves a lasting impact.” —Publishers Weekly

A tragic affair blooms between a working-class orphan and a wealthy rake in this classic novel of Victorian England. Although Ruth Hilton is kind, life does not treat her kindly in return. An orphaned young seamstress, she works long hours at a sweatshop in a small English town. When she is sent to a fancy ball to repair the ladies'dresses, she catches the eye of a gentleman, Henry Bellingham. Falling for Henry leads to the loss of her job and her home, and Ruth quickly finds herself raising a child alone. Overcome with grief and shame, she must now make her way in a world where society has turned its back on her and all she can rely on is hope. A moving novel from the author of North and South and Mary Barton, Ruth offers a unique look at British life during the mid-nineteenth century.

Fate brings a second chance at love for a Scottish scoundrel when he is reunited with the woman he wronged years ago in this historical romance. Duncan MacNeil voyages over the sea to make his fortune in America. But before he goes, the ambitious young rogue has a single, unforgettable tryst with lovely Isobel Dunbar. Abandoned and pregnant by the man who took her virginity, Isobel gives birth to a spirited boy. But to protect her reputation—and her son Ian—she claims that his father married her and then died in a shipwreck, leaving her a poor widow. Years later, Duncan returns to take charge of his family's business. He intends to buy a former brothel and convert it to a cannery. But he can't understand why the current occupant refusal to sell—or why she harbors such resentment towards him. When Duncan realizes that this beautiful woman is none other than Isobel, the passion of their fateful night is rekindled. Determined to win her love, Duncan will do anything to prove he's a changed man. But can Isobel embrace her true feelings after living a lie for so long?

“A powerful, authentic voice for a generation of women whose struggles were erased from history—a heart-smashing debut that completely satisfies.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and SweetA young woman finds the most powerful love of her life when she gives birth at an institution for unwed mothers in 1883 Philadelphia. She is told she must give up her daughter to avoid lifelong poverty and shame. But she chooses to keep her. Pregnant, left behind by her lover, and banished from her Quaker home and teaching position, Lilli de Jong enters a home for wronged women to deliver her child. She is stunned at how much her infant needs her and at how quickly their bond overtakes her heart. Mothers in her position face disabling prejudice, which is why most give up their newborns. But Lilli can't accept such an outcome. Instead, she braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep herself and her baby alive. Confiding their story to her diary as it unfolds, Lilli takes readers from an impoverished charity to a wealthy family's home to the streets of a burgeoning American city. Drawing on rich history, Lilli de Jong is both an intimate portrait of loves lost and found and a testament to the work of mothers.'So little is permissible for a woman,'writes Lilli, “yet on her back every human climbs to adulthood.”

A group of eccentric friends makes a mess of their shared holiday in this witty novel from one of Britain's best-loved authors. When Claude stumbles upon an old photo, memories of a weekend spent in the company of his friends come back in full force. In the snapshot are Lily, a thick-ankled girl who is unlucky in love; Edward, the “awfully quiet and awfully nice” geologist Lily is trying to woo; “Victorian Norman,” a factory worker and Marxist romantic; and Shebah, an elderly Jewish drama queen who used to be in show business. But during their country-house holiday, there was deception and drama lurking behind the scenes. Through the voices of each of Claude's guests, author Beryl Bainbridge weaves a darkly comic tale of everyday people grasping for love—or lust—as a means of revolt against the mundane normalcy of their lives. Confined for a night and a day, they make a muck of all social pleasantries and put their friendships on the line. First written in 1967, then revised and republished in 1982, A Weekend with Claude marks a stylistic departure from Bainbridge's renowned third-person novels, such as The Bottle Factory Outing and Injury Time. Yet the master writer's singular morbidity and black humor abound, making this a welcome and entertaining read with “the kind of dreamy, evocative quality we associate with the films of Éric Rohmer” (TheNew York Times).

Dans un quartier populaire d'Ottawa au milieu du siècle dernier, Marjorie Chalifoux, jeune couturière de dix-neuf ans, mène une vie rangée et silencieuse à l'ombre d'un père irascible – un homme étrange rompu dans l'art de la conversation avec les morts. Son existence tranquille prendra un tournant inattendu, et pour cause?: elle est enceinte d'un amoureux qui a eu la mau­vaise idée de mourir dans un accident de voiture… Et elle doit l'annoncer à son père?! Poussée par le destin, elle cherchera à donner un nouveau sens à sa vie. Son périple, qui la mènera jusqu'à Montréal, lui fera rencontrer des personnages plus étonnants les uns que les autres. Elle goûtera à l'amour, aux plaisirs de la chair et apprendra – à son propre étonnement – qu'au fond d'elle-même se cachait une femme déterminée, débrouillarde, têtue et manifestement charmante. Ce roman épique est teinté par un brin de folie très à propos, à la manière d'un Éric Dupont («La fiancée américaine», Marchand de feuilles) ou d'un Gabriel García Márquez. Empreint d'humour et de tendresse pour une humanité fragile, il laissera le lecteur ébloui par le talent de conteuse de l'auteure.

Writing can open doors to a better life for Raina—but it's up to her not to slam them shut Raina doesn't trust anyone. People either hurt you or leave you—or they die, which is the same thing, really. She used to trust her mother, until her mother chose heroin and a long series of abusive boyfriends over her. Now, sixteen-year-old Raina panhandles on the streets and sleeps in abandoned buildings with her boyfriend, Sonny. She doesn't tell anyone the truth about her life, at least not out loud, but she can't stop it from coming out in the poems and stories she writes for her teacher Miss Johnson. Miss Johnson knows that Raina is smart, perceptive, and utterly locked inside of herself. The concerned teacher reaches out again and again, but Raina's dreams have been crushed by reality too often. What will it take for Raina to ask for help?

Wilkie Collins was the first great detective novelist. His dark and complex mysteries influenced the work of other writers, such as Anthony Trollope and Charles Dickens, with whom he developed a close personal friendship. Swinburne found his work worthy of serious criticism, and T. S. Eliot credits him even more than Poe with the invention of the modern detective novel and the popular thriller. Before such works as The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Armadale, and No Name, Collins demonstrates the full range of his talents for intricate plot and dramatic suspense in The Dead Secret, one of his earliest novels.Like much of Collins's work, The Dead Secret explores the consequences of a single, hidden act. The Cornish mansion Porthgenna harbors the secret of such an act, one that has ruined the life of the servant girl Sarah Leeson. This same secret lies hidden for fifteen years until the heiress to Porthgenna, Rosamund Treverton, returns and exposes it. Her detective work may reveal the truth, but her revelation of a long-forgotten crime could mean disaster for her and the entire estate. Wilkie Collins's brilliant characters, suspenseful plots, and piercing look into Victorian-era society are on full display in The Dead Secret.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Set in England from the early 1870s onward, the novel is about a young, pious woman from a poor working-class family who, while working as a kitchen maid, is seduced by another employee, becomes pregnant, is deserted by her lover, and against all odds decides to raise her child as a single mother.

Olí, 15 años, pobre de solemnidad y encaprichada con un embustero ya casado con una mujer mayor, sale a los prados a buscar las flores de San Juan. Esa noche pagana y campesina sellará su destino. Cuando el hijo que espera se hace evidente en su perfil de niña, un padre al que adora la expulsa de la choza familiar. Anania, el niño al que abandona a las puertas de la casa del padre natural, dedicará su vida a encontrar a esa madre odiada y sagrada a la vez. Pero cuando Olí y Anania se reencuentran, un sacrificio se impone para devolver la naturalidad a la relación familiar trastocada, como en las tragedias griegas.

Die Hoffnung auf das Seelenheil. Die Grausamkeit der Schlachtfelder. Eine Frau, die mutig ihren Weg geht. Süddeutschland, im Jahre des Herrn 1094: Die Arbeit auf dem Bauernhof ist hart, aber Ursula ist froh, ein Dach über dem Kopf zu haben. In der alten Ester findet sie sogar eine Freundin, von der sie die Kräuterheilkunst erlernt. Doch dann fällt der Blick des falschen Mannes auf die junge Magd. Als sie schwanger wird, jagt man Ursula mit Schimpf und Schande davon. Mühsam schlägt sie sich durch – bis zu dem Tag, an dem Wanderprediger zur Befreiung des Heiligen Landes aufrufen. Für Ursula beginnt eine abenteuerliche Reise im Kreuzfahrertross voller Schlachten, Entbehrungen und Gefahren, aber auch unerwarteter Zärtlichkeit … Fesselnd, abgründig, bewegend: „Ein gelungenes Debut, das nicht nur den Fans der Reihen ‚Hebamme‘ oder ‚Wanderhure‘ viel Lesespaß bereiten wird.“ Ruhrnachrichten „Es ist absolut positiv, dass hier weder romantische noch religiöse Schwärmerei das Thema ist, sondern das tatsächlich mühevolle Leben in dieser Zeit. Unterhaltsam und lehrreich zugleich.“ Zauberspiegel Jetzt als eBook: „Die Kreuzfahrerin“ von Stefan Nowicki. dotbooks – der eBook Verlag.

Originally published in English: London : Mills & Boon, c2010.

Ruth is a surprisingly compassionate portrayal of a fallen woman in Victorian times. Ruth Hilton is an young orphaned seamstress who is seduced and then abandoned by gentleman Henry Bellingham. Ruth, pregnant and alone, is taken in by a minister and his sister. They conceal her single status under the pretense of widowhood in order to protect her child from the social stigma of illegitimacy. Ruth goes on to gain a respectable position in society as a governess, which is threatened by the return of Bellingham and the revelation of her secret.

A new mother must adjust to a life she never asked for in this spirited novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bodyguard and The Rom-Commers“Charming... cleverly told and uncommonly appealing.”—PeopleSometimes the worst thing that can happen is exactly what you've been waiting for.Very pregnant and not quite married, Jenny Harris doesn't mind that she and her live-in fiancé, Dean, accidentally started their family a little earlier than planned. But Dean is acting distant, and the night he runs out for cigarettes and doesn't come back, he demotes himself from future husband to sperm donor.And the very next day, Jenny goes into labor.In the months that follow, Jenny plunges into a life she never anticipated: single motherhood. At least with the sleep deprivation, sore boobs, and fits of crying (both hers and the baby's), there's not much time to dwell on her broken heart. Then things start looking up: Jenny learns how to do everything one-handed, makes friends in a mommy group, and even gets to know a handsome, helpful neighbor. But Dean is never far from Jenny's thoughts or, it turns out, her doorstep, and in the end she must choose between the old life she thought she wanted and the new life she's been lucky to find.

One young woman. Two very different roads. The choice will change everything. Even as a pregnant, unwed teen in 1974, Sandy Lincoln wanted to do the right thing. But when an ageless woman approached her in a convenience store with a mysterious prophecy and a warning, doing the right thing became even more unclear. She made the best choice she could... and has lived with the consequences. More than thirty years later, a pregnant teen has come into her life, and Sandy's long-ago decision has come back to haunt her. The stakes rise quickly, leaving Sandy with split seconds to choose once more. But will her choice decision bring life... or death?'The Choice shows the struggles of unplanned pregnancy and the courageous act of adoption in a way that I haven't read before...'—Abby Brannam-Johnson, former Planned Parenthood Director and author of Unplanned'Whitlow captures the struggle of many women trapped in the battle over abortion in a truly sympathetic and affecting way.'—Booklist

De 4 broers MacKade Stoer, sexy en al vanaf hun vroegste jeugd voortdurend in aanvaring met alles en iedereen in het kleine plaatsje waar ze opgroeien - de vier knappe broers MacKade maken al hun leven lang de tongen los. Rafe, de wildste van de vier broers, is tien jaar weg geweest uit zijn geboorteplaats wanneer hij terugkomt om het prachtige oude - maar vervallen - huis te kopen waar hij als puber verliefd op werd. Voor de inrichting roept hij de hulp in van Regan, de eigenares van de plaatselijke antiekwinkel, al weet hij dat hij zich daarmee op glad ijs begeeft... Hoewel iedereen beweerde dat er nooit iets van hem terecht zou komen, heeft Jared het tot advocaat geschopt. Met een bloeiende praktijk, die hem af en toe tot hier zit. Net op een van zulke dagen loopt hij Savannah tegen het - ontegenzeglijk opmerkelijke - lijf. En moet híj haar vertellen dat haar vader is gestorven! (Covertekst)

'I daresay I shall get through my trouble somehow.'Esther Waters is a young, working-class woman with strong religious beliefs who takes a position as a kitchen-maid at a horse-racing estate. She is seduced and abandoned, and forced to support herself and her illegitimate child in any way that she can. The novel depicts with extraordinary candour Esther's struggles against prejudice and injustice, and the growth of her character as she determines to protect her son. Her moving story is set against the backdrop of a world of horse racing, betting, and public houses, whose vivid depiction led James Joyce to call Esther Waters'the best novel of modern English life'. Controversial and influential on its first appearance in 1894, the book opened up a new direction for the English realist tradition. Unflinching in its depiction of the dark and sordid side of Victorian culture, it remains one of the great novels of London life and labour in the 1890s. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Hartsgeheimen Huwelijk op zijn Italiaans Het ene moment loopt Holly berooid en dakloos op straat, het volgende is ze getrouwd met miljonair Rio Lombardi! Een verstandshuwelijk, dat wel, maar hij lijkt net zo gelukkig met haar als zij met hem. Tot ze een verschrikkelijke ontdekking doet en hun relatie op drijfzand blijkt te zijn gebouwd... Tot liefde veroordeeld Rose valt niet op advocaten, zelfs niet op de sexy Leo. Maar ze weet niet dat hij als een blok voor haar is gevallen, met roze puntschoenen en al! En dat hij niets liever wil dan haar hart veroveren. Rose is echter bang dat ze zijn carrière zal schaden. Ze heeft tenslotte al eens voor de rechter gestaan... Liefde met spoed Madison is erg voorzichtig geworden in de liefde. Van Guy, de nieuwe noodhulparts, is ze echter direct onder de indruk. Maar net wanneer ze uit haar schulp kruipt, vertrekt hij, zonder uitleg. Madisons hart is gebroken, tot ze ontdekt waaróm hij is vertrokken. Is er toch nog een kans op geluk?! (Covertekst)

Do I have a child? Julia DeSmit knew she would face the question eventually, but she didn't expect it now. At twenty-four, she is finally content with the way her life has unfolded. A single mother to her son and young brother, she works at the local grocery store while chipping away at a two-year degree. All her free time is spent with her unorthodox family—her boys, her grandmother, and her boyfriend of five years. It's not perfect, but Julia is happier than ever. So when she receives the cryptic e-mail from her son's father, Julia's world is turned upside down. She hasn't heard from Parker since he left her in a college parking lot nearly six years ago. But one look at her son—the spitting image of his father—is enough to convince her that, for better or worse, Parker is a part of their story. Faced with this new reality and an unexpected tragedy, Julia begins a tightrope walk between what was and what is, what she hopes for and what will be.

'I think I must be an improper woman without knowing it, I do so manage to shock people.'Elizabeth Gaskell's second novel challenged contemporary social attitudes by taking as its heroine a fallen woman. Ruth Hilton is an orphan and an overworked seamstress, an innocent preyed upon by a weak, wealthy seducer. When he heartlessly abandons her she finds shelter and kindness in the home of a dissenting minister and his sister, who do not reject her when she gives birth to an illegitimate child. But Ruth's self-sacrificing love and devotion are tested to the limit by a twist of fate that brings her past back to haunt her. Gaskell's depiction of Ruth lays bare Victorian hypocrisy and sexual double-standards, and her novel is a remarkable story of love, of the sanctuary and tyranny of the family, and of the consequences of lies and deception. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Siciliaanse passie'Elke man die te dichtbij komt, hak ik in mootjes. Je bent mijn vrouw. Je bent een d'Severano. Onthoud dat goed.'Daar mag Jill het mee doen. Op liefde hoeft ze niet te rekenen; Vittorio d'Severano, Siciliaan in hart en nieren, is slechts met haar getrouwd om hun nu elf maanden oude zoon een familie en een toekomst te geven. Op Sicilië, welteverstaan. Dat zij daardoor genadeloos wordt geconfronteerd met wat er zich in haar verleden heeft afgespeeld, daarvan heeft hij geen weet. Net zomin als hij weet dat hij zich om andere mannen geen zorgen hoeft te maken, omdat haar hart hem allang toebehoort... (Covertekst)

Published in England in 1853, this social novel by Elizabeth Gaskell received controversial reviews among readers of the Victorian era because of its candid portrayal of the'fallen woman.'Ruth Hilton, an orphaned young seamstress, falls prey to the wiles of the young, wealthy and bored Henry Bellingham. The affair is short-lived when Ruth, carrying Bellingham's unborn child, is abandoned and left unemployed, homeless, and utterly without hope. She is saved by the minister, Thurstan Benson, who takes pity on Ruth and her illegitimate child, and helps to establish for her a respectable place in society. Upon the unforeseen return of Bellingham, the young mother must make a decision: to retain her personal pride and endure the chastisement of her community, or to succumb once again to Bellingham's advances. One of the first works to explore the social stigmas of the'fallen woman'in the context of 19th Century England,'Ruth'has remained a socially impactful work in literary history.

A compelling novel about a bed-and-breakfast that houses three generations of women- and their many secrets. In the early 1960s, Ruby, a spunky unwed teen mother, was wooed and won over by the founder of the McCloud Home. Now, forty years later, the historic property has been converted into an inn that Ruby runs with one of her daughters, Jill. When Jill's fourteen-year-old daughter begins to search for the identity of her father, she sets in motion events that will test the bonds that bind mothers, daughters, and sisters. Jill unwittingly aids the forces of upheaval when she agrees to host the wake of the town matriarch. As the guests-including the matriarch's handsome son and Jill's vivacious, irresponsible sister Jocelyn- return to the small town, the convergence of people and memories uncovers rivalries, sparks romance, recalls heartbreak, and reveals a shocking family secret, one that could separate the McCloud women forever or lead them to the renewal of their powerful, enduring connection.

Passion, danger, and the mysteries of the human heart--Janelle Taylor explores them all in her breathtaking bestsellers. In her latest novel of romantic suspense, a struggling young mother inherits a fortune--and becomes the target of a deadly obsession... Someone's Watching... Amanda Sedgwick never wanted anything from her rich father except love, but William Sedgwick gave her nothing during his lifetime. Now that he's dead, everything has changed. Overnight, Amanda goes from being a single mom with a dead-end job that barely covers the rent to a fabulously wealthy heiress. Her inheritance comes with several conditions, however, one of which is the man who will be making sure she follows her father's eccentric rules to the letter... And It's Not Who She Thinks. Ethan Black isn't happy about what William Sedgwick asked him to do--but he owes the old man his life, literally. Playing babysitter to a young woman who barely knew her father when he was alive is hardly what he had in mind, but Amanda is far from the gold-digging brat Ethan expected. Falling in love definitely wasn't in his job description--nor was putting his life on the line when it becomes terrifyingly clear that he isn't the only one watching Amanda...

A Suzie Fewings genealogical mystery - Suzie Fewings is working on her family tree when she meets American Prudence Clayson. Prudence has come to England to find her Puritan ancestors, but is shocked to discover that one of her ancestors was born to an unmarried mother. Suzie helps Prudence come to terms with this and assists her with her research, but she soon has problems in the present day - when she starts to suspect that Millie, her teenage daughter, might be pregnant. The truth, however, may be darker than she fears...