Rural Fiction

Ebenezer Le Page, cantankerous, opinionated and charming, is one of the most compelling literary creations of the late 20th century. Eighty years old, Ebenezer has lived his whole life on the Channel Island of Guernsey, a stony speck of a place caught between England and France yet a world away from either. Ebenezer himself is fiercely independent, but as he reaches the end of his life he is determined to tell his own story and the story of those he has known.

In post-Cultural Revolution China, in the fading village of Freshwind, the fates of two households are shifting. The Bais, once the most powerful family in the region, have fallen from status. Their beautiful daughter, Snow Bai, an embodiment of tradition, pursues a career in a vanishing art form. The Xias, enthusiastic members of the Party, are on the rise. Their favorite son, Wind Xia, is a citified politician whose marriage to Snow Bai could unite the two families. But in a village casting about for a new road to prosperity, fortunes can change.

Midwife Izzy is devastated to learn that her beloved grandmother is dying. Abandoned as a baby by her own mother, her grandparents have been the only family Izzy has ever known and she wants to spend every last precious moment with them. New locum vicar, Noah, is a wonderful support—kind, considerate and always there for Izzy whenever she needs a shoulder to cry on. But secretly Noah is battling his own doubts about his faith—how can he offer Izzy comfort if he doesn’t truly believe his own words?

Now in her early teens, Laura moves to the village of Candleford Green to work in the post office under the tutelage of her cousin Dorcas Lane, and grow into womanhood. In Candleford Green, new ideas and new ways are coming in from the outside world, from Dorcas' famous telegraph machine to the scandalous sight of ladies riding bicycles. There are also new people entering Laura's life: the curmudgeonly old servant Zillah, the grand Sir Thomas, the Irish Harvesters and the ardent young gamekeeper Philip White.

The Barrington girl-posse continue their monthly book club meetings, and somehow it becomes an incubator for new business ideas. And relationships. Rachael struggles daily with her grief, and attends to share memories of her daughter. But book club gives her so much more. Judith arrives, believing she’s ready for retirement. Or is she? Harry Stewart is home from up north, and on the first night, he bumps into little Freddie Campbell at the local pub. But she’s not little any more.

Sweet Naomi Byler cooks meals for the guests at The Peony Inn, where Amish sisters and owners of the inn Esther and Lizzie love her like a granddaughter. She’s as happy there as a young woman can be, considering that her fiancé, Thomas, has left her to court someone else. She knows she’ll get over the love of her life in due time, but she is beginning to assume marriage will never be a part of her future.

Asle is an aging painter and widower who lives alone on the west coast of Norway. His only friends are his neighbor, Åsleik, a traditional fisherman-farmer, and Beyer, a gallerist who lives in the city. There, in Bjørgvin, lives another Asle, also a painter but lonely and consumed by alcohol. Asle and Asle are doppelgängers—two versions of the same person, two versions of the same life. Written in melodious and hypnotic "slow prose," A New Name is the final installment of Jon Fosse's Septology.

Shirley Wallace and her four sons return to her childhood home on Pope Mountain in Jubilee, Kentucky, with a lifetime of hardship behind them, hoping to find peace and begin their lives anew. Eldest brother Aaron Pope returns to his life as a police officer and is settling in just fine. Then Aaron's investigation into an attempted murder leads him right to Dani Owens. She may hold the key to a long-lost part of the Pope family's past, and more importantly, she may hold the key to Aaron's heart.

Since her husband died seven years ago, Leanna Wengerd has done her best — caring for her son, Chester, and running her Jam and Jelly Nook at the Amish market. Though she enjoys seeing her cousins and customers at the marketplace, she wishes she could find more time for her rebellious teenage boy.

Kelli Montgomery spent the previous twenty years in a loveless and abusive marriage. Last Christmas, after her brother, Andy, arrived home after decades away, she finally found the strength to leave her husband—but as anyone who’s ever been through such trauma knows, what happens next—the healing process, the rebirth which is the hardest, and most grueling part of healing. Years ago, Kelli and her ex took over her parents’ prosperous real estate business. Now that Mike has officially left the island, the work has fallen on Kelli’s shoulders.

Completely exhausted, Raven Marigold is doing everything she can to keep her cool after the quaint Connecticut coastal town of Paramour Bay mysteriously loses power. No electricity means no coffee. No coffee means that Raven's nerves are more than a bit frayed. After a bit of investigating, Raven discovers evidence that witchcraft might have been involved in causing the power outage that has puzzled the residents and left them a little bit cranky. Their irritability turns into panic when a possible murder victim is discovered smack dab in the middle of the town's cobblestone square.

A girl dies one late, rainy night a few feet from the back door of her home. The girl, Abeba, was born in Ethiopia. Her adoptive parents, Delvin and Betsy Harvey—conservative, white fundamentalist Christians—are charged with her murder.

Bienvenue à Pagford, petite bourgade anglaise paisible et charmante : ses maisons cossues, son ancienne abbaye, sa place de marché pittoresque... et son lourd fardeau de secrets. Car derrière cette façade idyllique, Pagford est en proie aux tourmentes les plus violentes, et les conflits font rage sur tous les fronts, à la faveur de la mort soudaine de son plus éminent notable.

This famous satire of life on Main Street, Gopher Prairie, mirrors with devastating honesty life on Main Streets from Albany to San Diego.

Welcome to Magnolia. Victoria is no longer mayor, a sentiment that she is still trying to get used to saying. After the inauguration of the new mayor, she's pretty sure that she has reached bottom - until her parents inform her that they are selling their house in Magnolia, and she has a week to find a new place to live.

Tony Kavanagh had been Allison’s dream-come-true. They were in love within days, engaged within weeks, married and pregnant within a year. Her cup bubbled over with joy...but years later, that joy was extinguished by unexpected trials. The day Allison issued her husband an ultimatum, she thought it might save him. She never expected he would actually leave. She was certain God had promised healing - but it became clear she’d misunderstood. Now, living in the quiet mountain cabin she inherited from her Great Aunt Emma, Allison must come to terms with her grief.

All Marnie wants is somewhere to call home. Mourning lost years spent in a marriage that has finally come to an end, she needs a fresh start and time to heal. Things she hopes to find in the rural west Lancashire village her mother always told her about. With nothing but her two green thumbs, Marnie takes a job as a gardener, which comes with a little cottage to make her own. The garden is beautiful - filled with roses, lavender and honeysuckle - and only a little rough around the edges. Which is more than can be said for her next-door neighbour, Ned Mars.

Willow Tree Hall, the proud ancestral home of the Earl and Countess of Cranley for centuries, has seen better days. Annie Rogers takes the job as housekeeper at Willow Tree Hall, having to work with a reluctant heir Sam Harris to renovate the failing estate. With Sam running from his past and Annie hiding from hers, just maybe together they can bring Willow Tree Hall back to life.

Cathy Terry is tired of running. Full of fear and hope, she backpacked across the country to Blessings, Georgia, not knowing if or when her abusive ex-husband would catch up to her. In Blessings she glimpses a safe haven and the closest feeling to home she's had in a long time - even more so when she meets Duke Talbot. The sweet, strong, and handsome rancher provides a shoulder to lean on. The stakes get higher as the community embraces her and her relationship with Duke deepens - but can Cathy claim a new home and family before her past claims her?

Running my sister's bed-and-breakfast in our small town should have been a piece of cake. Until I opened the door to our new guest and came face to face with the man I had a one-night stand with a year ago—and he was looking at me like I was a total stranger. Nate Sullivan was fourteen years older than me and my brother's best friend. Not to mention a billionaire CEO who looked just as good in well-worn jeans and a T-shirt as he did in a suit. And when he was with his girls? There was no way I couldn't fall for him.