This novel is a fictional yet clear critique of Edwardian aristocratic society as well as a reflection of the author's childhood experiences. She tells the story of Sebastian and Viola, children of the English aristocracy. Handsome and moody, 19-year-old Sebastian is heir to Chevron, a vast country estate. Tying him to his inheritance is a deep sense of tradition and love of the English countryside, but he loathes the cold, extravagant society of...

Precious Bane won the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Prize. In 1957 and 1989 it was made into a BBC television drama. The story is narrated by the central character Prue Sarn, whose life is blighted by having a harelip. Only the weaver, Kester Woodseaves, perceives her inner beauty but Prue cannot believe herself worthy of him. Prue is wrongly accused of murder and only one man can save her and take her away to the happiness she believes she can never possess...

When Sara Crewe is sent to Miss Minchin's school for young ladies, her indulgent father provides for her as if she were a little princess. But although her toys and clothes are the envy of the other girls, Sara's kindness and gift for storytelling soon win her lots of friends. Then, the tragic news arrives that her father has died penniless and, without wealth or a guardian, Sara is at the mercy of Miss Minchin. Forced to work from dawn until dusk...

Nanda Gray, the daughter of a Catholic convert, is nine when she is sent to the Convent of Five Wounds. Quick-witted, resilient, and eager to please, she accepts this closed world where, with all the enthusiasm of the outsider, her desires and passions become only those the school permits. Her only deviation from total obedience is the passionate friendships she makes. Convent life is perfectly captured-the smell of beeswax and incense; the petty...

"I love Emily."—Madeleine L'Engle

Featuring one of L.M. Montgomery's most beloved characters, Emily Starr moves to New Moon Farm after the death of father, lost. But as she gets to know the people of New Moon she thinks she may end up finding a place to belong.

Orphaned after her father's death, thirteen-year-old Emily Starr is sent to live with her snobbish relatives at New Moon Farm. At first, Emily's miserable

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