Great Authors

Charming, vibrant, witty and edifying, The Life of Samuel Johnson is a work of great obsession and boundless reverence. The literary critic Samuel Johnson was 54 when he first encountered Boswell; the friendship that developed spawned one of the greatest biographies in the history of world literature. The book is full of humorous anecdote and rich characterization, and paints a vivid picture of 18th-century London, peopled by prominent personalities of the time.

In The World of J.R.R. Tolkien, you will join Dr. Dimitra Fimi to delve into Tolkien’s complex and multilayered mythology, examining all these ingredients and more. In these 10 lectures, you will explore and appreciate Middle-earth as medieval, mythological, and modern, a literary creation that was shaped by forces old and new. And you may be surprised to discover just how much of Tolkien’s legendarium was constructed posthumously, with his son Christopher compiling and publishing many of Tolkien’s later works after his death.

And a Bottle of Rum tells the raucously entertaining story of America as seen through the bottom of a drinking glass. With a chapter for each of 10 cocktails, Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society. Curtis takes us from the taverns of the American colonies, to the plundering pirate ships off the coast of Central America, to the watering holes of pre-Castro Cuba, and to the kitsch-laden tiki bars of 1950s America.

In this fascinating tale set in 1919, the Thomas family leaves New Orleans for Chicago as part of the Great Migration, seeking equality denied in the South. They are confident and optimistic. But hope is extinguished when they are met by 6,000 National Guard troops deployed to quell an earlier race riot. Linda and Ben prepare their nephew Trey to lead the family through the treacherous landscape of a big city plagued by segregation, police violence, and corruption. Is he ready? They devise a risky plan to challenge real estate covenants banning Blacks from buying homes in white ...

Once upon a time, as all good stories with happy endings begin, a penniless young mother walked the streets of Edinburgh with her beloved baby daughter, hoping to make her fortune. In truth, “fortune” is probably over-exaggerating; enough money to feed and clothe the two of them and put a decent roof over their heads was all this young mother asked, but it was proving to be incredibly difficult. Yet this is no fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson, it’s the true story of one of the most successful women the world has ever known, who in 1990 came up with the ...

This edition encompasses the best short fiction ever written for children. The beloved, enchanting fairy tales, such as of Cinderella and the Sleeping Beauty, thrilling stories packed with the adventures of Sindbad and Aladdin, excerpts from iconic works such as Oliver Twist and Gulliver’s Travels—all this and many more stories that inform, educate, entertain, and enthral children and fill them with wonder and fire up their imagination, have been included in this covetable collection.

The Timeless Novel About a Bus Ride from Hell to Heaven In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. The writer finds himself in Hell boarding a bus bound for Heaven. The amazing opportunity is that anyone who wants to stay in Heaven, can. This is...

Are there hidden Scriptures locked away in secret underground vaults, kept from the public? What would Christian sacred texts look like if they were written and revealed today? And if such writings existed, how would you receive them? Scholars and religious authorities assure us that the Scriptural canon is closed. Yet, the more we scrutinize, the more we are left to question the veracity of this stance. What if other Scriptures remain hidden or unfound, perhaps written for a time such as this? What would they read like? What would they reveal? How would they be received? Chronicles of the ...

In this poignant retelling of The Great Gatsby, set amongst L.A.’s Black elite, a young veteran finds his way post-war, pulled into a new world of tantalizing possibilities—and explosive tensions. AN ESQUIRE BEST BOOK OF SUMMER In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into...

Two Bestselling Agatha Christie Novels in One Great Audiobook The Secret of Chimneys What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favor for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie. Little did Anthony Cade...

Children have always found a delightful friend in James Herriot. His award-winning stories for young readers bring the farmyard world of Herriot's Yorkshire to vibrant life. Featuring a host of adorable animals and colorful townsfolk, each of the stories is narrated by the country vet himself...

Three French Hens Department Store is an icon for Christmas in New York. When the owner wants to retire, she decides to do it in French Hens style and opens a MyHeartChannel Christmas Contest. Five of her prized employees will compete in a Christmas Giving Contest like none before; giving away her $25,000 before Christmas Eve. The winner of the contest will take ownership of Three French Hens and become an overnight millionaire. Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Noel works in the Women’s Department at Three French Hens. Her life hasn’t turned out exactly like she’d planned; but, whose has?...

This is the story of a close, loving family splintered by the violent ideologies of Europe between the wars. Jessica was a Communist; Debo became the Duchess of Devonshire; Nancy was one of the best-selling novelists of her day; the ethereally beautiful Diana was the most hated woman in England; and Unity Valkyrie, born in Swastika, Alaska, would become obsessed with Adolf Hitler.

County Sheriff Brody Hayes is in the midst of a missing person's call - for a five-month-old baby. Deep in the mountains of his hometown, Bowie, Wyoming, Brody's desperate search for the helpless child through a worsening snowstorm leads him on an even greater journey - one through his memories of his childhood, his brother, his son, and a life for himself that he thought was lost.

When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to...

There are some names that just fall off the tongue with the lilting promise of great things, and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (usually abbreviated to JRR Tolkien) is a perfect example. In his own lifetime this softly spoken, pipe smoking, tweed clad Oxford College Professor, the quintessential Englishman, caused a tremendous stir when he wrote first “The Hobbit” and then “The Lord of the Rings”. But Tolkien could never have guessed the impact his beloved books would continue to have on future generations of readers, and since Peter Jackson’s wonderful 21st Century movie adaptations ...

The internationally bestselling author of The Woman on the Ledge returns with a twisty thriller about a missing child and three adults whose shared secrets and hidden history could prove deadly. “I need to report a crime. My baby has been stolen.” All Lauren wants is a new life in Spain...

The bestselling, award-winning author of The Midnight Library offers his funniest, most devastating dark comedy yet, a “silly, sad, suspenseful, and soulful” (Philadelphia Inquirer) novel that’s “full of heart” (Entertainment Weekly). When an extra-terrestrial visitor arrives on Earth...

Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape, and even murder. Here is her story, a queen who lost a throne for love, a monarch pampered and adored even as she was led to her beheading, the unforgettable woman who became a legend for all time.

For too long, Christians have domesticated God, bringing him down to our level as if he is a God who can be tamed. But he is a God who is high and lifted up, the Creator rather than the creature, someone than whom none greater can be conceived. If God is the most perfect, supreme being, infinite and incomprehensible, then certain perfect-making attributes must be true of him. Perfections like aseity, simplicity, immutability, impassibility, and eternity shield God from being crippled by creaturely limitations.