Based on the real-life experiences of two French missionaries in New Mexico, Death Comes for the Archbishop tells the story of the aged, withdrawn bishop Jean Marie Latour and his practical and hopeful vicar, Joseph Vaillant, who struggle together to bring Old World religion to the New World by building a cathedral in the desert Southwest. As always, Cather makes her landscape--the arid New Mexican plains--a palpable character in the story, and she...

Castle Rackrent is a sharp critique of class dynamics, the moral ambiguities of loyalty, and the intricate nature of landlord-tenant relationships in Ireland. Edgeworth delves into the flaws and excesses of the Anglo-Irish gentry, depicting a society where privilege and neglect coexist, often to the detriment of the lower classes. Through the narrative of Thady Quirk, the novel exposes the economic and social consequences of mismanagement and exploitation,...

After the Civil War sweeps away the genteel life to which she has been accustomed, Scarlett O'Hara sets about to salvage her plantation home.

A dark and thrilling novel from the author of The Secret Garden sees a strong-willed heroine defy conformity, lunging head first into a world filled with violence, manipulation, passion, and murderSet in late 17th-century England, amid the ribbons and romance of courtship, this gothic tale tackles violence and manipulation, blackmail, and even murder. When Clorinda is born, the odds seem stacked against her. First and foremost, she is a girl like...

Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only...

A novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932. When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there...

The Sea-Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini, originally published in 1915. The story is set over the years 1588—1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a galley, Sir Oliver is liberated by Barbary pirates. He joins the pirates, gaining the name "Sakr-el-Bahr" (the hawk of the sea), and swears vengeance against...

"The tiny region of the globe now known as Minnesota has appeared on maps for more than five centuries, in the sketchy first impressions of explorers, the exuberant promotions of boosters, and the analytical tools of planners and managers. This lavish treasury of almost 100 maps, some rarely seen and never before available in one volume, illuminates the imagined, real, and changing landscape of Minnesota" --