The life of a simple country girl in nineteenth-century England is destroyed by her father's determination to use her in order to regain the family's former social standing.

Presents the classic story by nineteenth-century English author Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell that reflects of lives of a group of spinsters and widows as they struggle to maintain their middle-class standards within an ever-changing society.

In Thomas Hardy's first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening...

"Robert Glory has never quite felt as though he fit in the small town of Esau, Michigan, but finds solace in his role as the pastor of Esau Baptist and his spare, orderly routine. When Susan Shearer arrives at his church seeking the strength to stay true to her tormented and increasingly volatile husband, neither expect that their immediate connection will upend both of their lives. As their relationship deepens and Susan's domestic situation becomes...

Barry Laverty, M.B., is looking forward to his first Christmas in the cozy village of Ballybucklebo, at least until he learns that his sweetheart, Patricia, might not be coming home for the holidays. That unhappy prospect dampens his spirits somewhat, but Barry has little time to dwell on his romantic disappointments. Christmas may be drawing nigh, but there is little peace to be found on earth, especially for a young doctor plying his trade in the...

In a small town in Kentucky, 92-year-old Jack Beechum, a farmer, moves slowly through his last day of life. Day dreaming in his rocking-chair, he recalls his love for his wife and long days working the earth.

The New Year brings challenges and changes to the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. The Christmas holidays have barely passed before a fire engulfs the humble thatched cottage housing Donal Donnally and his family. Although the family escapes the blaze more or less unsinged, Donal, his wife, their three small children, and their beloved dog find themselves with nothing left but the clothes on their back. Good thing Doctors O'Reilly and Laverty...

The tragic impact of the Vietnam War on a relationship between father and daughter. The father is an upstanding individual who believes in the American Dream, but his daughter has a different dream, to get America out of Vietnam and she kills innocent people to achieve it. For the father it is the end of the world, he has lost his daughter. By the author of Sabbath's Theater.

This is the first novel by Barbara Pym and is also an ode to her friends and family. The story centers on Belinda and Harriet Bede, (Barbara herself and her sister, Hilary.) Archdeacon Hoccleve, a married clergyman for whom Belinda has long nurtured a passion, is believed to be based on Pym's first love, Henry Harvey. In the course of the book, both sisters receive proposals of marriage which they feel obliged to reject, partly because they are not...

"Before Doctor Barry Laverty joined Doctor Fingal O'Reilly's practice in the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo, he was an intern, working long hours, practicing new medical techniques, falling in love, and learning what is most important in the medical field for a family physician -- the bonds of family, friendships, and human kindness. Years later, Barry practices everything he has learned in Ballybucklebo, a lovely village where neighbor looks...