The book starts with Annette Georges choosing between two fates: suicide and running away with a disreputable stranger. She is rescued by a kind woman who looks after her until she can go to live with her maiden aunts in a village in the English countryside. There she meets and makes friends with various people and, almost coincidentally, the facts of her past come back to play a crucial part in the story. - Summary by Simon Evers

A young man travels to South Africa to find his Mother and sister. He wants to be a clergyman and a farmer when he arrives there. This story includes accounts of the Zulu-Boer wars. - Summary by Ingrid Kennedy

Between the former site of old Fort Dearborn and the present site of our newest Board of Trade there lies a restricted yet tumultuous territory through which, during the course of the last fifty years, the rushing streams of commerce have worn many a deep and rugged chasm. These great canons—conduits, in fact, for the leaping volume of an ever-increasing prosperity—cross each other with a sort of systematic rectangularity, and in deference to the practical directness of local requirements they are in general called simply—streets...

Set in a small town in Edwardian England, Regiment of Women is about the relationship between two teachers at a private girls' school. One of them, Clare Hartill, is in her mid-thirties and runs the school in all but name. Most of the girls are devoted to Hartill and gladly suffer under her strict but charismatic rule. The other teacher is Alwynne Durand, an attractive nineteen-year-old woman who lives with Elsbeth Loveday, her unmarried aunt and guardian. When Durand starts teaching at the school she is immediately popular with her students but also excites Hartill's attention...

A romantic, political adventure story set in the late 1500's, during the Spanish rule over the Netherlands, in the city of Ghent. Leatherface is an Orangist and emerges to lead the Ghent citizens to rebel and win back their freedom.

Pitou lost his mother when he was small. He was raised by a stern aunt who did not really love him. He starts knowing the world by going to service. How can this man, Pitou the Peasant go on to influence the whole state? How can he go on and take a part in the French revolution? Can his motivation, coming from what he did not have, be enough? - Summary by Stav Nisser

Anne of Geierstein, or The Maiden of the Mist is a novel by Sir Walter Scott. It is set in Central Europe, mainly in Switzerland, shortly after the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury . It covers the period of Swiss involvement in the Burgundian Wars.

A story of repentance and forgiveness set in the times of the the coal mines. Follow a blind boy and his brother determined to get him cured but also determined to live up to a moral code even if that mean years of blindness for Benny. See self sacrifice and family togetherness in this classic tale. - Summary by Luke Castle Cast List Narrator: Sky AsimaruDoctor: lordaJack: Andrew JamesBennie, Judge: larryhayes7Lawyer Pleadwell: Adam BielkaTom: NavinSandy: RockyOctopusDistrict Attorney, Lawyer Summons: Alan MapstoneRandom Testifying Guy, Sheriff: Michael LMicheal Carolann, Irishman: Wayne CookeCourt Clerk, Little Fellow: ambsweet13Mother: LilyLewis G...

The Brown Brethren tells the story of friends and comrades who fought together during World War I on the Western Front. The principal characters belong to the London Irish Rifles, a volunteer regiment whose 1st Battalion was mobilized immediately with the outbreak of the war. The 1st Battalion, to which this story's characters belong, especially distinguished itself at the Battle of Loos in 1915. This book takes the men up through the Battle of the Somme - Summary by KevinS

"This is the true story of a negro who was discontented and the circumstances that were the outcome of that discontent." While considered a novel, this largely autobiographical story is based on the author's experience as an African-American pioneer in South Dakota.

Anne of Geierstein, or The Maiden of the Mist is an adventure and romance novel by Sir Walter Scott. It is set in Central Europe, mainly in Switzerland, shortly after the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Tewkesbury . It covers the period of Swiss involvement in the Burgundian Wars.

The charming story of “Gudrun” is a romance of the old heroic period, written by some unknown poet of Austria or Bavaria in the thirteenth century. Next to the "Nibelungen Lied," it is the most important of the German epic poems...The same elemental passions are depicted. The men are brave, vigorous heroes, rejoicing in battle and feats of prowess; the women are beautiful, constant, and courageous. There are many fine delineations of character in the original, as well as vigorous sketches of northern scenery...

Woolf wrote this novel based on his experience as a government agent for British imperialist-controlled Ceylon in the early part of the twentieth-century. He focuses his story on one poor family in a jungle village as they struggle to survive, not just faced with a very harsh environment but with their own human prejudices, superstitions, jealousies, violence, ignorance, and greed. In the background is the other enemy: the foreign government that controls them but does not really understand or care for these uncivilized, not really human beings. It was an important work because its point of view was sympathetically a native one. JL

The background of this collection of sketches and stories is the country through which flowed one of the most interesting of our western rivers before its destruction as a natural waterway. This book is not a history. It is intended as an interpretation of the life along the river that the author has come in contact with during many years of familiarity with the region. Names of places and characters have been changed for the reason that, while effort has been made to adhere to artistic truth, literary liberties have been taken with facts when they have not seemed essential to the story. - Summary by Earl H. Reed

This is the first volume of Dumas' Marie Antoinette Romances . This historical fiction chronicles the strange events surrounding the fall of the French monarchy and rise of revolutionaries so terrifying that the period is still called "The Reign of Terrors" . In this volume, a renowned magician, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro , employs various occult tactics, like hypnotism and necromancy, to gain state secrets. Balsamo claims to be plotting against the Bourbons, but one must wonder whether this 3000 year old sorcerer has an ulterior motive... - Summary by jvanstan

John and David grew up best of friends, outgoing and full of adventure. Living but miles from the sea west of Boston, right on the cusp of manhood at the end of America’s Revolutionary war, the ocean’s siren song beckoned to both. At the peak of adolescence, they struck out on foot in pursuit of their shared dream. Two days to Boston and only one day there found them aboard ship for a whirlwind of adventure beyond their wildest dreams. The next fifteen years shaped a future for the fledgling mariners that seems spun as a flaxen yarn --- were it not so historically accurate. - Summary by Tom Hirsch

What were the lower Mississippi River, Gulf Coast regions, and Appalachians of North America like in the earliest colonial days? Full of untamed forests, wild animals, nuts, berries, and Indians. Chateaubriand spent many years exploring the area, and this early novella was inspired by his years spent with various Indian tribes, , primarily the Natchez. Amongst these natives, as the story goes, was a blind old patriarch named Chactas, revered for his wisdom and knowledge of the affairs of life, including many years spent learning the ways of Europeans...

Beau Brocade is a historical fiction set in England in the early 1700's. The hero Beau is a wanted highwayman, who takes from the rich to help the poor. - Summary by Deon Gines

"Kangaroo" is the nickname of a character in this novel, Benjamin Cooley, who was a charismatic leader in the fascist movement of ex-soldiers who fought in the Australian army in WWII. The story's main character is an international journalist, Richard Lovat Somers who, with his wife, comes to rent a house next door to Jack Calcott and his wife who are natural-born Australians through-and-through. Jack is in league with Kangaroo and tries to persuade Lovat to join their political movement conflicting with the Socialist political faction in the country...

This 2nd volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances continues the intrigues of "Balsamo, The Magician" and adds to them the schemes of philosophers and the stirrings of revolution. Balsamo carries on his occult tactics to weaponize the state secrets that he gained in the previous volume. A serious romance and illness takes root in the court of King Louis XV, convincing one of the leading philosophic minds of the era, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that “the breath of heaven will blast an age and a monarchy.” - Summary by jvanstan

Sir Julian Stafford Corbett was a prominent navy historian and geologist. This semi-autobiographical novel tells about the start: the personal and professional life of a scholar, the excitement of sailing, and joining the navy. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

The author: "This little tale was begun at first merely for my own amusement. It is published that I may reconcile my conscience to the time which it has employed, by making it in some degree useful. Let not the term so implied provoke a smile! If my book is read, its uses to the author are obvious. Nor is a work of fiction necessarily unprofitable to the readers." Jane Austen comments about this novel in a letter to her sister: “I am looking over Self Control again, & my opinion is confirmed of its’ being an excellently-meant, elegantly-written Work…”  - Summary by Author and Jane Austen

"Wistfully I deliver up to you my simple story, knowing that the first suggestion of “historical novel” will bring before you an image of dreary woodenness and unceasing carnage. Yet if you will have the graciousness but to unlock my castle door you will find within only two or three quiet folk who will distress you with no battles nor strange oaths. Even in the days of rival Princes and never-ending wars there dwelt still a few who took no part in the moil of life, but lived with gentle pleasures and unvoiced sorrows, somewhat as you and I; wherefore, I pray you, cross the moat...

In the backwoods, lives a man and his two teenage children. He has sought the quiet life on the frontier, although he is a friend to all and never turns away a stranger. One evening, one such stranger arrives at his door, asking for shelter for the night and he is not disappointed. But who is this stranger? He does not give his name or his errand, although he has an aristocratic bearing. As they are about to leave the table, a third man, apparently known to both, arrives and lets himself in to claim hospitality...

This novel is centered on the Dutch House of Orange, and begins with its prince, William. It is set in the time of the Holy Inquisition, when tensions between the Catholic and Protestant churches dominated.

A Tale of the Great Plague. 1666 was a difficult year in London. With its sordid materialism and its coarse handling of things most sacred, not merely does Manning see, as an Englishwoman, the grandeur of its struggles, but she sees its best embodiment in the tragedy of an almost perfect life. In her description of the plague , followed by The Great Fire, Manning is taken out of her comfort zone to the sordid realities. Her answer is to take Mistress Cherry to a country house in Berkshire, where peace and tranquility are to be found. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The time of French king Louis XIV was a time of religious conflict. His father, Louis XIII had tried to suppress the teachings and followers of Calvin but was thwarted by his ministers. The son took a different path. The king was Catholic, and although he was tolerant of others, some in his government were less so, and persecuted the Protestant Huguenots. This is the story of Albert, Count of Morseiul as he treads the tightrope of being a Huguenot landowner and loyal subject and friend of the king.

Norma Hardacre is a member of smart London society. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to a penniless artist named Jimmie Padgate. However, she gets engaged to Morland King, a wealthy man who sees her as a convenient trophy wife as he furthers his career. Morland is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, Jimmie, who is hopelessly in love with Norma, starts to become a rising star - but then his reputation is suddenly smashed . . . - Summary by Simon Evers

The Able McLaughlins won the Pulitzer Prize for a novel in 1924 in Margaret Wilson's debut work. Aptly described as "Little House on the Prairie - but for adults" the novel follows a group of Scottish families who pioneer the Iowa prairie in the 1860’s. The main storyline concerns Wully, the eldest McLaughlin son, who returns home from the Civil War to find that his sweetheart, Chirstie, has experienced an unspeakable tragedy that will profoundly affect the couple's lives. Their story is one of shame and honor, secrets and guilt, fear and loathing, revenge and forgiveness...

This 5th volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins after the fall of the Bastille and the March on Versailles, which forced Louis XVI and his court to be escorted back to Paris. In Paris, political factions battle over the fate of the nation, the royal family, and anyone with royalist sympathies. Our heroes and our anti-heroes must navigate the blood-streaked landscape while keeping their necks out of the guillotine. All the while, the prophetic Balsamo urges on the revolution: "the quantity of blood which must be shed before the sun rises on the free world ...

A strange manuscript in an unknown language is found among the effects of the late Professor Horace Holly. Its translator discovers that while in Central Asia, Holly convinced the immortal Ayesha, also known as She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed, to write her story - and this is the book they have found. Ayesha, born the daughter of a sheikh in the 4th century BCE, has no interest in the arranged marriage expected of her. She wants power and position of her own. Led by a vision to believe she is the daughter...

The epigram to this work from Christoher Marlowe applies to the plot of this story: "My men like satyrs grazing on the lawns / Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay." The plot follows Huxley and his cohorts in a search for meaning and hope and love in post WWI London.

This is a fictionalized biography of the wife of the reformer Dr. Martin Luther. In the author's words, he hopes that "people may learn to know the wife of its greatest man,—not by name only, but as her husband's 'helpmeet,' in the truest sense of the word, as a pattern of domestic virtue, and as a pearl among women." - Summary by Dory Smith

The book follows the adventures of two main characters - Clementina Wing, a talented artist in her mid 30's with no social graces and Ephraim Quixtus, an older bookish gentleman whose quiet life is abruptly changed for the worse one day. Although the two know each other, a later surprising event brings them together.- Summary by Simon Evers

Lady Arabella Stuart was an English noblewoman at the beginning of the seventeenth century. At one time considered to be a possible successor to Elizabeth I, the crown eventually went to her cousin, the tyrannical James I. Our story begins in 1603, shortly after his ascension to the throne. Apparently she was happy at the change in fortune, although relations with her kinsman deteriorated after her clandestine marriage, which was incorrectly seen as a power struggle. Even her closest friends could not protect her. In James's usual fashion, this is a colorful fictional account of her life.

A collection of British aristocrats, soldiers, gentlemen and ladies gather at the Province House inn, as the American imperial possessions crumble around them. - Summary by The Reader

A novel in the Scarlet Pimpernel series that features Peter Blakeney, a descendant of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Peter's adventures take him to Hungary and much intrigue involving his good friend, Rosemary, Nazis, and spies ensue. - Summary by Holly Rushik

The title of this historical fiction could as well have been "A Soldier’s Mother" or “An Unknown Soldier”. There are indeed butterflies, and there is a small boy who grows into a fine, strapping young man who goes to war. But this moving novella centers squarely on the young man's mother, her love for him and her abiding faith.

D-Day: 6 June 1944. The date of the invasion of the Normandy Coast of France by the Allies. This novel gives a different look at that invasion than most of us have ever seen. It tells of a young French boy, André Gagnon, and his exciting adventures as he helps the Maquis , a shot down British airman, and the American soldiers in their successful attempt to liberate France from German occupation. An entertaining and informative family friendly tale. - Summary by Wayne Cooke

1793. The new revolutionary government of France is laboring mightily to end injustice and bring in an ideal new age of liberty, equality, and brotherhood, beginning by killing those obnoxious persons who don't appreciate their ideals. In Vendée a force of peasants, strongly supported by imperial England, is laboring mightily to overthrow the revolutionary government and restore Christianity, family, honor and decency, beginning by killing those obnoxious persons who fail to appreciate those noble phenomena...

The book is probably better known under the title ‘Mr Perrin and Mr Traill’, later made into a well-known film in 1948. Perrin and Traill are masters at a grim old-fashioned second-rate boarding public school in Cornwall – Perrin has been there many years and the youthful Traill has just arrived. The book concerns the growing antagonism between the two which turns into active dislike following an unfortunate incident and which eventually has devastating consequences. The author vividly captures the dreadful nature of such a cloistered society and the stultifying effect it has on the pupils, their teachers and the other adults in the community. - Summary by Simon Evers

Three generations of the Trenchard family, ruled over by the indomitable Mrs Trenchard, live together in comfortable domesticity until Katherine, the favourite daughter, meets and falls in love with Philip, back from some years in Russia, who threatens the whole stability of the family set up by thinking that he can marry her and thus take her away from them all. Philip and Katherine agree reluctantly to postpone their marriage for a full year. During this year, the family begins to splinter as more about Philip and his past becomes known. With considerable humour, the book follows the ups and downs of the family relationships as the year progresses.

The Pirate is set in the island of Shetland in the late 1600s, and is a historical novel based on the life of John Gow, Captain Cleveland in the novel. - Summary by Deon Gines

The Battle of Agincourt provided a surprise English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place in 1415 and brought a turning point in the war between France and England after failed negotiations. This romance by James begins in the lead-up to the battle, with the mysterious "Hal of Hadnock" shown hospitality by Sir Philip Beauchamp while on an unknown journey. He is befriended by young Richard of Woodville, who has suspicions regarding Hal. Gradually, we learn more of Hal and Richard as we follow their fortunes and the twists and turns surrounding Richard’s love for Mary.

Olivia is a newly orphaned young woman looking for adventure and excitement. She rents out her house to Blaise Olifant whose friend Alexis Triona soon moves in to stay with him. Olivia moves to London and enjoys life in London society before she meets Triona again. Triona writes a book about his rather mysterious past experiences which is an instant bestseller. The book follows their relationship and the strange and totally unexpected path it takes.

Laurent de Courtomer, the son of a French aristocratic emigré and an Englishwoman, returns to France upon the Bourbon restoration following Napoleon's defeat in 1814. He meets a young Breton Royalist officer who quite turns his head with hero worship: Aymar de la Rocheterie. But when Napoleon escapes from Elba and war breaks out again, Laurent meets Aymar again, severely wounded and under suspicion of treason. As Laurent nurses him back to health, the evidence against Aymar seems to become worse and worse. Will Aymar be able to clear his name, and will Laurent's devotion to him remain unshaken? - summary by Elin

Herman Cyril McNeile, better known as Sapper, was one of England’s most popular fiction writers during the period between World Wars I and II. He was a soldier, and his early writings mostly concerned war and the way war influenced the lives of his main characters. Because British officers were prohibited from publishing under their own names, he used the pseudonym Sapper. His best known works are ten thrillers featuring Bulldog Drummond. Sapper also wrote a great many other novels and short stories...

Twenty years ago, John Balthazar, a notable and brilliant Cambridge mathematician, left England abruptly as he found himself falling in love with a woman who was not his wife. No one hears from him for 20 years and it's assumed he's dead. He travels to China where he steeps himself in the culture and returns incognito 20 years later with his Chinese pupil, Quong Ho. They live in a remote farmhouse where he stays in blissful ignorance of the events of the First World War until a German zeppelin crashes nearby and blows up his house...

Romantic history of the fictional Don Sebastian, which was suggested to the author by a plaque commemorating a mysterious "Portuguese stranger". There is a historical backdrop, but the story itself and the characters are figments of her imagination. - Summary by Lynne T

In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers is a classic adventure where the hero is an American sailor who saves a young Mexican from thugs. The story spreads to an Indian attack, the loss of the heroine to cave dwellers, her rescue, and the eventual happiness of hero and heroine who have overcome adversity. - Summary by Publisher