Ever since her parents died of yellow fever when she was a child, Charlotte LeClerc has lived with her grandparents, who rarely speak of their son and his wife. They are on the verge of negotiating a marriage contract with a suitor, a man Charlotte loathes, when they discover that she enjoys the company of Gabriel Girod, a young Creole man. Charlotte's future hangs in the balance as her grandparents consider whether to stop keeping secrets and reveal the truth that they've known since before her birth--a truth that will make the difference between a life of obligation and a life of choice for Charlotte.
Ever since her parents died of yellow fever when she was a child, Charlotte LeClerc has lived with her grandparents, who rarely speak of their son and his wife. They are on the verge of negotiating a marriage contract with a suitor, a man Charlotte loathes, when they discover that she enjoys the company of Gabriel Girod, a young Creole man. Charlotte's future hangs in the balance as her grandparents consider whether to stop keeping secrets and reveal the truth that they've known since before her birth--a truth that will make the difference between a life of obligation and a life of choice for Charlotte.
Seamstress Abigail Watts is a young woman ahead of her time as she determines to create the life she wants in a world dominated by men. After hearing news of a silver strike in Calico, California, Abigail packs up her needles and thread and follows her father out West. When he mysteriously dies in the mines, she's left alone and finds herself pressed into a marriage of convenience with livery owner Nathan Hawk. Determined to uncover the mystery surrounding her father's death, Abigail stays in Calico. But when the truth sets her free, will she leave Calico - or stay and make a life with Nathan?
"Second chances aren't easy to come by in a town named Tombstone. When Christy Grey receives an urgent summons to Tombstone, Arizona, she reluctantly leaves her new life in California for an uncertain future. She finally arrives in Tombstone to find her mother ill and her brother trapped in a life of gambling. Desperate for money to support her family, will Christy bow to pressure from local saloon owners and return to a life she thought she's given up for good?"--Page 4 of cover.
With her mother ill, Rebecca Miller must take care of the house, the farm, and her younger siblings. Although she feels trapped at times, Rebecca is determined to fulfill a promise made to a dying friend. Then she meets a boy with good looks and a mischievous glint in his eye who just might help her keep her vow. Levi Cooper was born into an Amish community and lived there until his father died and his mother married an Englischer. When shunned by their Amish relatives, they lived as Englischers. Now haunted by painful memories and on the path to self destruction, Levi meets a lovely, adventurous Amish girl. Rebecca?s growing attachment to Levi could lead to the loss of everything she holds dear. And will the secrets he keeps separate them forever?
The importance of New Orleans in American culture has made the city's place in the American imagination a crucial topic for literary scholars and cultural historians. While databases of bibliographical information on New Orleans-centered fiction are available, they are of little use to scholars researching works written before the 1980s. In The New Orleans of Fiction: A Research Guide, James A. Kaser provides detailed synopses for more than 500 works of fiction significantly set in New Orleans and published between 1836 and 1980. The synopses include plot summaries, names of major characters, and an indication of physical settings. An appendix provides bibliographical information for works dating from 1981 well into the 21st century, while a biographical section provides basic information about the authors, some of whom are obscure and would be difficult to find in other sources. Written to assist researchers in locating works of fiction for analysis, the plot summaries highlight ways in which the works touch on major aspects of social history and cultural studies (i.e., class, ethnicity, gender, immigrant experience, and race). The book is also a useful reader advisory tool for librarians and readers who want to identify materials for leisure reading, particularly since genre, juvenile, and young adult fiction—as well as literary fiction—are included.
There is something mystical about holding the hand of a person who is “crossing over.” It can be heartbreaking, of course, but also very holy and beautiful. Some of the pieces in this collection share the experience of personal loss when a loved one dies. Often the presence of an angel or another mystical experience is shared. But not only in death—there are also stories here of the way the mystical world interacts with us in daily life. And not only angels, but also mothers, fathers, sisters, grandfathers, friends, and even a homeless man and a dog. Contributors: Cassandra King – Suzanne Henley – River Jordan – Sally Palmer Thomason – Natasha Trethewey – Sonja Livingston – Johnnie Bernhard – Frederica Mathewes-Green – Angela Jackson-Brown – Christa Allan – Renea Winchester – Jacqueline Allen Trimble – Mandy Haynes – Wendy Reed – Lisa Gornick – Jennifer Horne – Ann Fisher-Wirth – Averyell Kessler – Lauren Camp – Cathy Smith Bowers – Nancy Dorman-Hickson – Joanna Siebert – Susan Cushman – Claire Fullerton – Julie Cantrell
Lifelines: The Bowen Love Letters By: Susan Lee Ward “Katie Bowen was literate, observant, curious, compassionate, lucid, and philosophical. Her letters are informative, affectionate, and delightful to read. These letters constitute one of the finest pre-Civil War collections about military life.” Dr. Leo E. Oliva, Santa Fe Trail Historian Catherine “Katie” Bowen (nee Cary) was born and raised in Houlton, Maine, where her family ran a lumber and mercantile business. After a whirlwind courtship, Katie married a dashing young West Point graduate, Second Lieutenant Isaac Bowen, who left soon after the wedding for the Mexican War. When he returned safely from the war, Katie and Isaac embarked on the adventure of a lifetime: enjoying tea and discussing philosophy with Ralph Waldo Emerson; drinking a soldier’s cracker toddy and smoking cigars with General Zachary Taylor, Colonel Jefferson Davis, and Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant, one of Isaac’s West Point classmates; chatting fireside with Susan Shelby Magoffin, another well-known Santa Fe Trail traveler; sipping champagne at the White House with family friend, President Millard Fillmore; hearing crucial military intelligence from frontier scout, Kit Carson; and, being entertained with tall tales about Mississippi River life by steamboat Cub Pilot, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, later known as Mark Twain. The Bowen Love Letters reveal intimate details about young lives full of passion and adventure - lives that ended tragically in 1858 when Katie and Isaac were still in their early thirties.
