Family Life Classics

"A Desertion" is a short story published in 1900 about a young woman who is suspected by others in the neighborhood of indiscretion that might trouble her father.

The sea was in Michael’s blood from the moment he was born.With most of his life spent travelling from one far away destination to another, when tragedy strikes unexpectedly and takes everything away from him, Michael’s heart is marooned at sea. However, when he chances upon a rag tag band of sea farers with ambitious ideals, he thinks he just may have found a new purpose.

Elizabeth Gaskell's novella The Moorland Cottage takes place near the town of Combehurst where Mrs. Browne lives with her children, Edward and Maggie, and their servant, Nancy. Near the Brownes' cottage lives the Bruxton family in a luxurious mansion. The two families grow closer with time and the author shows how childhood education and growing up shape and effect the adult personality.

Annotated. Study guide. Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to An Annotated Version of Almond-Blossom and experience the compelling world of this classical fictional story.

It all started with the school rabbit. Snowflake is the school rabbit, and Snowflake is trouble. At least that's what Tommy thinks, and when Snowflake is unexpectedly left for him to look after and everything starts to go wrong, it looks like Tommy might be right. Even if he is getting more pocket money for feeding it and might be able to afford a new bike after all. And with a sick sister left in bed, a snobby actor left with suspiciously damp trousers, and no rabbit anywhere to be seen, Tommy can see his hopes of a new bike disappearing as fast as Snowflake.

Published in 1871, Little Men is a sequel to the novel, Little Women. It tells the continuing story of Jo March, who has married Professor Bhaer, with whom she now runs a small school.

"Casa Howard" è ormai considerato il capolavoro di Edward M. Forster, ed è certamente uno dei "classici" della letteratura del ventesimo secolo. La ricchezza del romanzo sta nella pregnanza di una narrazione piena di tensioni, in parte irrisolte perché lo stesso Forster è partecipe di esse e il "solo connettere" del sottotitolo del romanzo gli è impossibile solo in parte, come egli ben sa. Ma forse il fascino di "Casa Howard" sta proprio in questa difficoltà a risolvere contraddizioni ancora irrisolvibili.

Pregnant with her second child, Martha King finds her marriage to lawyer Austin King more and more frustrating when her husband befriends his young foster cousin, Nora, and, in the process, unwittingly jeopardizes his marriage, career, and place in the community.

Dopo aver perso il padre in quello che ha tutta l'aria di essere stato un doppio suicidio d'amore, Yoshie si trasferisce dalla sua casa di Meguro a un minuscolo e vecchio appartamento a Shimokitazawa, un quartiere di Tokyo famoso per le sue stradine chiuse al traffico, i ristoranti, i negozietti, nonché meta degli alternativi della capitale. Qui Yoshie spera, aiutata dall'atmosfera vivace, di superare il dolore e dare una nuova direzione alla sua vita. Un giorno, però, sua madre le si presenta a casa all'improvviso con una borsa Birkin di Hermès e qualche sacchetto.

In the beginning, Jane was a lonely child who wanted a friend and was blessed with a little sister who made those lonely days fade away. Jane's days became filled with happiness and wonder as she discovered that her little sister was also her best friend.

It starts with a simple wish, and Emma Davies hardly notices when it comes true. She’s too preoccupied with a life she isn’t happy in - the spark in her marriage has fizzled, her career is headed nowhere and her boss is a misogynist. Her teenage daughter has grown distant, and her heart breaks daily for her teenage son with cerebral palsy. But soon Emma discovers her wishes are coming true, and she realizes that she has been given the power to change her life. Either that, or she’s going insane.

"Out on the islands that poke their rocky shores above the waters of Penobscot Bay, you can watch the time of the world go by, from minute to minute, hour to hour, from day to day..." So begins this classic story of one summer on a Maine island from the author of One Morning in Maine and Blueberries for Sal. The spell of rain, the gulls and a foggy morning, the excitement of sailing, the quiet of the night, the sudden terror of a hurricane, and, in the end, the peace of the island as the family packs up to leave are shown in McClosky's poetic language brought to life.

They tell Jip he tumbled off the back of a wagon when he was small, and no one ever came back for him. He never had a reason to question this tale - but then a stranger shows up and begins asking about him around town. Who is this man, and could he possibly know something about Jip's past?

En manos de la cocinera, Al correr de los años y El sencillo don Rafael, cazador y tresillista, cuentan la historia de unos personajes que llegan al amor tras un largo noviazgo - Al correr de los años - o por el azar: el destino actúa cuando Vicente, protagonista del primer cuento, se rompe una pierna y don Rafael, en el último cuento, encuentra el niño en la puerta de su casa.

À Fordham, par une nuit d'hiver, Ruth, la jeune apprentie de Mrs Mason n'a pas le temps de s'ennuyer : demain, c'est le grand bal de la ville et toutes les couturières sont mobilisées ! Choisie pour sa beauté, elle se tiendra dans le vestibule de la salle de bal afin de réparer les accrocs aux robes des danseuses et fera la connaissance de M. Bellingham. Ils sympathisent puis naît une relation qui vaut à Ruth d'être congédiée. Malgré le jugement de la société, ils passent des jours heureux dans le pays de Galles.

A white family adopts a small black child and then, because they are fearful of what will happen in their small town, make a terrible decision.

In this classic Hawthorne short story set in the late 18th century, the ambitious young scientist Aylmer cannot bear the fact that his otherwise flawlessly beautiful wife Georgiana bears a tiny birthmark on her cheek, an imperfection that he believes his scientific methods can cure. Devoted wholeheartedly to her husband, Georgiana allows Aylmer to work his scientific wonders upon her, so that the blemish no may no longer torment him. But tampering with nature can prove a fearful business....

This short story might well have been called, "All I Even Needed to Know About Humanity I Learned From Chickens". At times humorous, at times sympathetic, the author reveals the inadequacies of chickens and then points to our own inadequacies. As much as we hate chickens we can despise the things we believe are lacking in our own lives. That’s the philosophy of the story, perhaps it is equally enjoyable as a story about a family that just can’t seem to move far enough away from demented fowl.

The time is mid-1970 in back country called Whisker Ridge. Eleven-year-old Meg Nightly runs away into Fennel Forest to escape her grieving father's abuses. When she gets lost, she experiences a magical awakening. But her father goes on the hunt for Meg, to bring her back. Will he prevail or will he succumb to the woods? Way of the Wild Wood is a story of love lost, redemption, and faith.

"Local color" author Frances Gilchrist Wood wrote this powerful tale of a young wife who proves better able to succeed on the homestead frontier than does her husband.