Showing results by narrator "Anne Flosnik" in All Categories

Emma, a comic novel by Jane Austen, was published in December 1815. The main character, Emma Woodhouse, is described in the opening paragraph as "handsome, clever, and rich" but is also rather spoiled. Emma schemes to find a suitable husband for her pliant friend Harriet, only to discover that she understands the feelings of others as little as she does her own heart.

All Adanel MackBaythe knows about her Highland lover is that he is a McTiernay soldier - and a means of escaping her cruel father. But Dugan is not a man with whom to be toyed. His distrust of Adanel's motives will put a distance between them that can't be breached. Yet when their secret trysts are discovered - sparking a war between clans - a lust for vengeance will drive Dugan back into her arms, where he will embark on his greatest battle: for her heart....

Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, is one of the most famous events of Western history. It inaugurated the Protestant Reformation and has for centuries been a powerful and enduring symbol of religious freedom of conscience and of righteous protest against the abuse of power. But did it actually really happen? In this engagingly written, wide-ranging, and insightful work of cultural history, leading Reformation historian Peter Marshall reviews the available evidence and concludes that very probably, it did not.

London, 1732: Nora Reed, the daughter of a merchant, falls hopelessly in love with her father's clerk, Simon. Despite their differing social class, the star-crossed lovers dream of a future on a tropical island - until tragedy strikes, and Nora must face a life without her soulmate. Hopeless, Nora enters a marriage of convenience with Elias Fortnam, a widower and sugar planter in Jamaica. Even without Simon, she is determined to somehow fulfill their tropical fantasy.

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's first novel, is an entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm; Marianne is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor's reason nor Marianne's passion can lead them to happiness - as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who's already engaged.

Anna Leonowens, a proper Englishwoman, was an unlikely candidate to change the course of Siamese (Thai) history. A young widow and mother, her services were engaged in the 1860's by King Mongkut of Siam to help him communicate with foreign governments and be the tutor to his children and favored concubines.

It’s the summer of 1981. Newly widowed Bessie Halstone is fleeing Belfast with her young son, Herkie. She’s wrongly suspected of pocketing £10,000, the loot from a heist carried out by Packie, her late (and unmourned) husband. Bessie has plans. She longs to make a fresh start. But first she must reach the safety of her sister’s home, in County Sligo, to borrow money for the trip.

Perhaps the most haunting and tragic love story ever written, Wuthering Heights is the tale of Heathcliff, a brooding, troubled orphan, and his doomed love for Catherine Earnshaw. His desire for her leads him to madness when Catherine is made to marry a wealthy lord, sending Heathcliff on a lifelong quest to avenge himself upon those who stole his only love and his life.

Eliza Ellis has stayed hidden in Balfour Forest for as long as she can remember. Perhaps her only friends are the trees, or her little dog, or her story-telling father called Captain. But at least she is safe from the cruel world outside, a world Captain has warned her against and protected her from. That is, until a handsome stranger named Felton Northwood invades her quiet forest and steals her away. Why does he tell such lies?

When Chessa, the princess of Ireland, is kidnapped, Cleve rescues her to hand her over to her rightful groom, William of Normandy. But Chessa refuses to marry anyone but Cleve.

Merrik Haraldsson, the younger brother of Rorik, the Lord of Hawkfell Island, embarks on a journey that begins in Kiev where he comes away with two slaves - Laren and her younger brother. Laren wants to tell stories to earn enough silver and gold to buy her and her little brother from Merik, only he refuses to sell her. And now that she's his, he must protect her when she's accused of murder, then save her yet again when he discovers her secrets.

Knight Winthrop, Viscount Castlerosse - you met him in Night Storm - is very happy with his life just the way it is. Then Lily Tremaine shows up on his doorstep claiming she was betrothed to his murdered cousin. With her are his cousin’s three children. She has no money, nowhere to go. What’s even worse - Ugly Arnold is hard on her heels. Ah, so what’s Knight supposed to do now? He takes them in and kisses his former life goodbye.

Helen is a big girl - only two inches shorter than Heatherington - a resolute taskmistress, owner of her own inn. She adores her father, Lord Prith, and wants to find the lamp more than anything. It is her only passion - until she meets Heatherington.

Margaret of Ashbury is ready to settle down; the medieval healer is looking forward to an uneventful life in the country. And, indeed, life with her true love and a brood of rambunctious children is nearly perfect—except for her husband Gregory’s ever-meddling family. Finding himself deep in debt once again, Gregory’s father has plotted to sell Margaret’s daughter off in marriage to save his woodlands from a greedy abbot.

October 1917, heralded as the culmination of the Russian Revolution, remains a defining moment in world history. Even a hundred years after the events that led to the emergence of the world's first self-proclaimed socialist state, debate continues over whether, as historian E. H. Carr put it decades ago, these earth-shaking days were a "landmark in the emancipation of mankind from past oppression" or "a crime and a disaster."

The third Bride novel is a charm - from the #1 New York Times bestselling author. Sinjun Sherbrooke is bored with the London season, until she spies Colin Kinross across a crowded dance floor - and offers to be his bride...

After her father and brother disappeared, Lady Jane Lennox is managing Bellhaven Castle. Nonetheless, her aunt has invited six suitors to compete for the right to her hand - and to protect Bellhaven's towers of cool, pink-gray stone. Among the six is Nicholas Kincaid, the one-time object of Jane's affection. Two years ago, her brother banished Nicholas. A mere "sir," in want of title or land, Nicholas was not marriage material. Now, Nicholas will have the chance to compete in challenges of wit and skill, rather than heraldry.

London, 1812. When the unconventional Gemma Lancaster embarked on a mission to infiltrate high society and avenge her beloved cousin's murder, she never would have guessed she'd end up in the arms of a thief. At least, that's what she assumes when she discovers Lucas Stone breaking into a private safe. Lucas Stone, the Earl of Winchester, has a reputation for arrogance and a soft spot for his sister, which is how he ends up in the predicament of hiding behind a curtain at midnight with the dreadfully dull Miss Gemma Lancaster. But he soon discovers appearances can be deceiving.

British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers. But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives.

This Very Short introduction explores the major themes of Austen criticism through close analysis of her major and minor works, with particular emphasis on the literary, social, and political backgrounds from which the novels emerge, and with which they engage. Thomas Keymer combines critical introductions to each of Austen's six major novels with an exploration of the key themes in her works.