Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

Only 15-years-old, Eleanor Vane is very happy with her lot: educated in an expensive finishing school in Paris, the apple of her father's eye, and disposed to be kind. Of course there are things missing: she does not remember her mother who died when she was young. But at least she has her father... Until he unexpectedly dies. Now Eleanor is at the mercy of her half-siblings who were never in touch with her, and the rest of the world who would consider her an orphaned beggar. Sent to work as a lady's companion to an old friend of her late father's, Eleanor might, just might, be able to win a ...

Frustrated with life in the tenements generally and the negative influences on his children specifically, a father decides to move his family to the country, where they live off the land and breathe fresh air. - Summary by David Gore

Chapters XV through XIX of "Our New Selection""The wheat was in, and Dad decided to take a trip to Brisbane. For seven or eight years he had been thinking of that trip, but something or other always came to prevent his going. According to Dad himself, the farm would suffer if he went away for a month; there would be no one to look after it, no one to manage. According to us there would be no one to look on while the cows were being milked; no one to stand in the paddock all day while the hay was being raked and carted and stacked; no one to fuss round and be a nuisance to Dave while he sold a ...

This is a self-contained story-arc over eight chapters from the pages of Steele Rudd's book "Back At Our Selection". The Synopsis: After being a shy bachelor for a number of years, Dave (Dad Rudd's second eldest son) has finally got married. To a "Girl from Town" named "Lily White". When she first arrives at "Ruddville", she and Dave's sister Sarah get on wonderfully. But after some months, friction between the two young woman sets in, and Dave and Lily seek to have a separate house of their own on the extensive Rudd property. But Dad, though now a prosperous farmer, started out with his wife ...

"Richard Mutimer is delighted to inherit a large fortune. As a socialist, he means to use it well: he will open a factory in which workers would be treated well, he will advance his party's causes through his own wealth... At least, so he thinks. But reality may be far different. This novel raises more questions than answers. How much should money play in the marriage market, or can love have a prominent place? Can a man who gained power remain a socialist? This book is not only about political unrest. It is a story of a man who changes, for better or worse, and all the forces that shape him. ...

Esther wurde von ihrem Onkel aufgezogen. Sie leben in Susa; das weit weg von Israel liegt. Esther wird Königin. Eine Intrige wird verhindert, als sie durch ihren Mut ihr Volk vor dem Tod schützt. (Zusammenfassung von Anza)

The adventures of Tyltyl and The Fairy Berylune. Of all the girls he knows, who does he love the most? Read on to find out. - Summary by Michele EatonCast List:Gaffer Tyl: Alan MapstoneNeighbour: Alan MapstoneThe Miser: Algy PugJalline: Annie MarsAimette: Belinda LovedayRoselle: Matea BracicChild: Jenn BrodaBelline/Child: Joanna Michal HoytThe Great Ancestor/Daddy Tyl: Wayne CookeMummy Tyl: SoniaRosarelle: Kelly S TaylorMytyl: Lauren-Emma BlakeLight: LydiaNarrator: MichaelMaggsMilette: MinnieSmallest Child: Mira WilliamsAnother Child 1: Jim LockeThe Shape/Destiny: Andrew GaunceBeryllune the ...

In this dramatic reading of the classic epic Ben Hur, rediscover the wonder of three wise men who travel through the wilderness together. Thirty years later, Judah ben Hur accidentally looses a tile upon the head of the Roman governor and is sentenced to the galleys for life. When he escapes, he is caught up in his thirst for revenge against his accuser, Messala, and his search for the Messiah of his people, the King who is to come. As Judah learns more about this King, however, he begins to realize that the kingdom he is searching for may not be found in what he can see and the revenge he is ...

The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas's most popular work. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting ...

Inspired by the real life story of Caroline Norton, a friend of the author's, this book tells about a lively woman who is trapped in a miserable marriage. Yet Diana is not one to give up in her quest for love, happiness and fulfillment. - Summary by Stav Nisser

First published in 1893, this novel came to question many subjects which were considered taboo. Through a few interconnected plots and sub plots, the story examines the role of women and the different opportunities women and men had. Through the twins of the title, a girl and a boy, and through two other ladies we discover the Victorian world in a different light. What does a woman have to do if, after marriage, she discovers very unsettling things about her husband's past? Yes, society expects her to stay with him and honor the marriage. But what if she is not willing? What are women expected...

The Egoist is a tragi-comical novel by George Meredith published in 1879. The novel recounts the story of self-absorbed Sir Willoughby Patterne and his attempts at marriage; jilted by his first bride-to-be, he vacillates between the sentimental Laetitia Dale and the strong-willed Clara Middleton. More importantly, the novel follows Clara's attempts to escape from her engagement to Sir Willoughby, who desires women to serve as a mirror for him and consequently cannot understand why she would not want to marry him. Thus, The Egoist dramatizes the difficulty contingent upon being a woman in ...

Satirizes the rise of a young novelist (thought to be Richard Harding Davis, but denied as such by Churchill). - Summary by Joseph Tabler

Catherine is a beautiful woman, and despite being a respectable married woman, enjoys matchmaking, flirting and mischief. The tale is set in the French countryside, amid a simple people, who are no match for her machinations. - Summary by LynneT

One dark winter's day in the north of Finland, Father Mikko seeks shelter in an isolated cabin till a storm abates. After dinner the family sit around the fire, and the daughter asks him to tell them "all the stories he had ever heard from the very beginning of the world all the way down", and so the book begins. In the words of the author "If this little volume may in any degree awake some interest in the Finnish people its author will be amply satisfied, and its end will have been attained." ( Annise)

This collection from renowned author Washington Irving (famed for his haunting tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the fantastical legend of "Rip Van Winkle") offers a diverse mix of stories ranging from the spooky and strange supernatural folk tales surrounding his native New England to stories more exotic of ancient legends and travel sketches from faraway places reflective of the time Irving spent journeying through Europe. - Summary by Ben Tucker

Iceland is the home of the Saga, a form of literature which includes the telling of the story of a hero’s life and adventures in a fixed, regular form, and which is usually intended for recitation, though the Saga is never set in the customary versified style of poetry. A large number of these Sagas, relating to Iceland, Greenland, North America, and the Norse countries, still remain, and among them the Frithiof Saga, narrating the stirring adventures of that hero of the Northland and Viking of its seas, is one of the most beautiful. Its subject is noble, heroic, and free from exaggerated ...

The Chateau D'Or, or The Castle of Gold, looked gloomy and gray from the train rattling through the French countryside from Paris to Marseilles. How did it get its grand name? Stories and legends abound, but this is just one as related by two interested travelers. Also included are two shorter stories, Norah and Kitty Craig - Summary by LynneT

Beautiful, playful young Deirdre, caught in the crosshairs of Ireland's wily, chauvinistic King Conachur, who desires to marry her after his own wife Maeve has escaped his clutches, is one of many prequels to the legend of “The Great Tain”, Ireland's national epic. Sometimes called "The Irish Iliad", this saga of war between rival Irish and Scottish kings, with its many characters, was preserved in oral tradition with many variations, until committed to writing in the Middle Ages. Stephens gives his own interpretation, insights and humor of the Deirdre story as he spins court intrigue, ...

A rollicking juvenile adventure tale, this historical fiction book received the Newbery Honor award in 1922. Set in England during the early 1200s, the scion of a Western Marches noble family relates the many encounters and battles that he faces with the Saxon yeoman who becomes his fast friend. This yeoman, great of cross-bow skill and strategy, often saves the day, and after earning knighthood, becomes instrumental in the making of the Magna Carta. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins