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...

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.

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.

G.P.R. James was a historian and novelist, who took well-documented historical events and characters and wove stories around minor or imaginary actors in the events. In this work, set in seventeenth century France, we follow the adventures of young Louis, heir to the Count of Bigorre, after an encounter with the vindictive Marquis de Saint Brie forces him into exile. The tale wends its way inexorably towards the Battle of Marfee in the 30 years War and the death of the Count of Soissons in a failed coup against the much hated minister, Cardinal de Richelieu. Young love, a brush with the law, card sharks, a deadly avalanche-- life is definitely interesting for the young adventurer.

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.

A stranger rides across the Kentish countryside when his attention is called to a cottage where violence is being done to an elderly couple. The knight, for such he appears to be, rushes to their aid. Soon after, the strange and prophetic Sir Cesar appears on the scene and foretells of danger ahead. We follow this knight as he encounters an evil landowner; the good and faithful Longpole, son of the elderly couple; the beneficent Duke of Buckingham--or is he a traitor?; and the coquettish Lady Katrine...

This is a gentle, delightful story of life and love on the bayoux of Acadian Louisiana during the latter half of the 19th century. Bonaventure is a Creole raised among the Acadians. He loves learning, and through his calling as a teacher, and his own unique force of character, comes to have a lasting effect on the people around him. A word of warning: This story has occasional references to Jews and African Americans that the modern mind finds offensive. They are retained here in the interest of preserving the original text.

This is the first of five volumes. – Giacomo Casanova (1725 in Venice – 1798 in Dux, Bohemia, now Duchcov, Czech Republic) was a famous Venetian adventurer, writer, and womanizer. He used charm, guile, threats, intimidation, and aggression, when necessary, to conquer women, sometimes leaving behind children or debt. In his autobiography Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life), regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century, he mentions 122 women with whom he had sex...

After completing the famous Mme Bovary, Flaubert put all his efforts into researching the Punic Wars and completed the lesser known Salammbô. In this volume, Flaubert describes in detail the Mercenary Revolt and the fight of the Mercenaries against the all-powerful Carthage, the theft of the magical Zaimph and the love and hate between the Carthaginian princess Salammbô and the fiercest leader of the Mercenaries, Matho.

A comic rendering in verse of well-loved Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, each ending with a moral and full of puns. The titles of the tales themselves make another verse.

This is not your typical H. Rider Haggard adventure book yet it is full of mystery and intrigue including a coerced marriage, bigotry, adultery, murder and a buried treasure! This is the tale of an ancient family’s struggles to survive, one woman’s selflessness and another’s evil schemes; Two Gentlemen, two scoundrels and one very underestimated, loyal servant. Listen as the tale unfolds and guess where the treasure is hidden that can save them all!

The Saga of Eric Brighteyes is the title of an epic viking novel by H. Rider Haggard, and concerns the adventures of its eponymous principal character in 10th century Iceland. Eric Thorgrimursson (nicknamed 'Brighteyes' for his most notable trait), strives to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair. Her father Asmund, a priest of the old Norse gods, opposes the match, thinking Eric a man without prospects. But deadlier by far are the intrigues of Swanhild, Gudruda's half-sister and a sorceress who desires Eric for herself. She persuades the chieftain Ospakar Blacktooth to woo Gudrida, making the two men enemies. Battles, intrigues, and treachery follow.

This is a great book if you're looking for an adventure filled novel. It takes place during the Spanish Inquisition and describes some of the horrors that happened giving you an idea of what it was really like to live during that time period. Follow Lysbeth, a young Hollander girl, as she struggles through life enduring times of hardship and peace, sorrow and happiness, war and love. (Introduction by Abigail Rasmussen)

Set in the days of the Crusaders, this books tells of a young maiden named Rosamund, and her twin cousins. Godwin is the grey eyed thoughtful man, and Wulf is the blue eyed warrior. They are both knights of England and they are both in love with their fair cousin. But the riddle of the story is which does Rosamund love?The adventure begins when Rosamund is taken from England and carried to the East. The plot thickens as the two young knights follow her in hopes of rescuing her from the Muslim leader, Saladin...

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...

Entry in the Rick Brant series by Goodwin under the name John Blaine, which began in 1947. 'Rick and Scotty travel to the Himalayas again, this time to stop nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands.' says Wikipedia.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of the most controversial novels of the last century, with it’s sentimental portrayal of the anti-slavery movement in the USA. Written in 1852, the novel instantly rose to fame and split Americans up and down the country. Stowe was a passionate abolitionist and was inspired to write Uncle Tom when she spent time in Cincinnati in the early part of the 18th century. She met many slaves who had escaped from Kentucky and was touched by the friendships she built. It was with this sentiment that the novel was born and the deep empathy Stowe had for slaves is evident throughout...

Go on a journey to the coast of Maine and immerse yourself in the picturesque community on Orr’s Island. See the raindrops glistening on the pine needles and hear the waves crashing on the rocks. This is a tale of romance, tragedy, crusty sea captains, an impetuous boy, a loving girl, complete with village gossips and twists in the plot.

The Lancashire Witches is a highly fictionalised account of the activities of the notorious witches Demdike, Chattox and Alice Nutter who, together with others terrorised the district of Lancashire around Pendle Hill and the Forest of Bowland during the early seventeenth century. The witches named in the book were real enough, if not as witches then as people. Ainsworth, in his story brings in the dissolution of Whalley Abbey and the historic families of Assheton, Braddyll and Nowell and takes us through to the final trial and execution at Lancaster Castle in 1612. (Summary by Andy Minter)

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...

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

Tom Jones is considered one of the first prose works describable as a novel. The novel is divided into 18 smaller books. Tom Jones is a foundling discovered on the property of a very kind, wealthy landowner, Squire Allworthy. Tom grows into a vigorous and lusty, yet honest and kind-hearted, youth. He develops affection for his neighbor’s daughter, Sophia Western. On one hand, their love reflects the romantic comedy genre popular in 18th-century Britain. However, Tom’s status as a bastard causes Sophia’s father and Allworthy to oppose their love; this criticism of class friction in society acted as a biting social commentary...

This novel is sometimes thought of as [Fielding's] first because he almost certainly began composing it before he wrote Shamela and Joseph Andrews. It is a satire of Walpole that draws a parallel between Walpole and Jonathan Wild, the infamous gang leader and highwayman. He implicitly compares the Whig party in Parliament with a gang of thieves being run by Walpole, whose constant desire to be a “Great Man” (a common epithet for Walpole) should culminate only in the antithesis of greatness: being hanged.

The story of Richard Mahony, a doctor trained in Edinburgh who comes to Ballarat in the gold rush of the 1850s. At first he runs a shop but later he marries and returns to medical practice. His story is interwoven with that of his wife’s brothers and sister. Even after his medical practice becomes successful he is still unhappy living in the colony and decides to return home to Britain. Richard is a restless irritable man whose character is said to be based on the author’s own father. This book is the first of the trilogy ‘The Fortunes of Richard Mahony’, but stands well on its own...

Dulcibel is a young, pretty and kind-hearted fictional character charged with Witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch trials. During this time there is a group of "afflicted girls" who accuse Dulcibel and many others of Witchcraft, and during their trials show "undoubtable" proof that these people really are Witches. Will Master Raymond, Dulcibel's lover, be able to to secure Dulcibel's release from jail? Or will Dulcibel's fate be the gallows like so many other accused Witches of her time?

This is the story of Miriam, an orphan Christian woman living in Rome in the first century. She falls in love with a Roman officer, but knows that her Jewish childhood playmate loves her too and will do anything in order to get her love in return.