First appearing as an anonymous serial in "Harper's Magazine" in 1895, "Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" was Mark Twain's final novel and was published as a complete work under his name in 1896. The novel is a stark departure from Twain's usual comic and satirical writings, which is why Twain insisted it initially be published anonymously so that the public would take it seriously. The work is told from the perspective of a fictionalized version...

Zane Grey's debut novel, which he self-published in 1905, "Betty Zane" is the first book in Grey's "Frontier Trilogy" and tells the true biographical story of Elizabeth "Betty" Zane, a hero of the American Revolutionary War and direct ancestor of the author. While under siege at Fort Henry by American Indian allies of the British Army and faced with dwindling supplies, the lovely and sixteen-year-old Betty bravely volunteers to venture out of the...

Against the pomp and pageantry of turbulent seventeenth century England, Elizabeth Goudge weaves the poignant tale of Lucy Walter, the proud and beautiful secret wife of Charles II. From her early childhood in a castle by the sea in Wales and the joys and pangs of childhood, to her tragic estrangement from the king and her death in Paris at the age of twenty-eight, Lucy Walter lived to the full a life of intense joy and equally intense drama. Miss...

In this powerful crescendo to Eugenia Price's acclaimed Florida Trilogy, young and headstrong Margaret Seton vows to win the heart of grieving widower Lewis Fleming. Margaret's Story tells of the heartwarming relationship between the bold Margaret and her beloved Lewis, and how it plays out against dangerous and tumultuous events while spanning almost half a century. Experiencing Seminole uprisings, Florida's burgeoning statehood, the Civil War,...

Eight linked stories tracing the history of a painting by the 17th century Dutch artist, Vermeer. In one, he paints his daughter to pay off debts, a second story describes the loss of the ownership papers, a third takes place on the eve of its theft by the Nazis. By the author of What Love Sees.

"A novel set in Renaissance Italy, and centering on the captivating young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici"-- Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Moderna and Regio, Lucrezia...

Roseanne McNulty, once one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland, is now an elderly patient at Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. As her hundredth year draws near, she decides to record the events of her life, hiding the manuscript beneath the floorboards. Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to close and is evaluating its patients to determine whether they can return to society. Dr. Grene, Roseanne's caretaker, takes...

Author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette Courageous, attractive, romantic, intelligent, Catherine Parr became the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Her story, as Carolly Erickson re-creates it, is page-turning drama: from the splendors of the Field of the Cloth of Gold to the gory last years of the outsize King Henry, when heads rolled and England trembled, Catherine bestrode her destiny and survived to marry her true love. Catherine Parr attracted...