Showing results for "A Governess of Distinction" in All Categories

After ten long years, the Earl of Devenham has returned to wed Mary Anstey, only to find that their feelings for each other have cooled off considerably. Nevertheless, they both put on bright faces for the benefit of family and friends. But Mary's younger sister Emily sees through their masquerade and would sacrifice anything rather than see her retiring sister married to the now-haughty earl.

It was true. The lovely young widow Lady Charteris - Delphine to her friends - had agreed to abide by her parents' wishes and marry the Comte Saint-Pierre. Delphine's parents had long since died in the Terror, but when she learned of their wishes for her, she believed it her duty to respect their wishes. Delphine would marry, but it would be a marriage in name only. But when Delphine saw Jules Saint-Pierre, she got the shock of her life: he was the same man she had seen juggling in the streets at a local fair.

Must one sister suffer in poverty while the other lives in the lap of luxury? This question plagued Harriet Clifton incessantly. Inviting herself to her widowed sister Cordelia's posh London townhouse for the season was surely the only way to meet a suitable partner - as well as escape drafty old Pringle House forever. The vain Cordelia was meanwhile casting her net for the notorious Marquess of Arden, a man who would rather court a mistress than wed a wife.

With little to live on but her romantic daydreams - which frequently starred the dashing Marquess of Fleetwater - Jean Lindsay lived a rather dismal life with her nasty, drunken uncle. Jean was always the object of ridicule, that is, until news of her unexpected inheritance spread. Suddenly her worn dresses became "quaint" and her forthright manner turned magically to "charming", but to Jean's horror, someone wanted her dead!

Miss Honaria Honeyford was sent to London to save the family fortune by hunting a wealthy husband - and being a loving (if not entirely dutiful) daughter, she obeyed. But if she was reluctantly willing to surrender her hand, this beautiful young lady who could ride, shoot, and argue with any man was not about to lose her head or heart to the dismal dandies of the Marriage Mart. First she met the arrogantly attractive Lord Alistair Stewart, who treated her infuriatingly like a little girl. And then she met the skillfully seductive Lord Channington, who treated her intoxicatingly like a desirable woman....

Lady Lucinda Esmond's swine of a father, the Earl of Sotheran, was forever fleecing young bucks in London's gaming halls with impunity - until he cheats Captain Mark Chamfrey, who kidnaps 10-year-old Lucinda for ransom. But when Chamfrey has a change of heart and returns the girl, Earl Esmond nonetheless exacts his own price: Chamfrey can only redeem himself and save his skin by marrying his little victim nine years hence.

When Henrietta Bascombe opens a confectionary shop in order to turn her pittance of an inheritance into a fortune, her friends are shocked to hear of such a well-bred lady going into trade. The earl of Carrisdown is both drawn to and repelled by her shop girl status. Undaunted, Henrietta proceeds to hang out the traditional confectioners' sign of a golden pineapple and soon finds a set of beautiful women in her employ, drawing the attention of earl of Carrisdown's younger brother and best friend.

A dead employer’s legacy of five thousand pounds allows spinster Hannah Pym to resign from housekeeping and find adventure traveling the English countryside by coach. But the adventure soon finds Miss Pym traveling with Miss Emily Freemantle, a spoiled, violet-eyed beauty fleeing an arranged marriage to a rake she has never met. When Emily’s darkly handsome betrothed boards their stage, Miss Pym is certain the girl was rash to bolt from this aristocratic catch!

Tongues were set wagging when Elizabeth Markham's glamorous young parents were killed, sinking their only child to the unspeakable class of poor relation. Forced to live with her cruel, miserly uncle Julius, Elizabeth is forbidden to partake in the season's festivities. Marriage is her only escape, and she enacts a daring plan to trick her way into the Duke of Dunster's exclusive house party, to snare one of the eligible dandies sure to dance attendance on her.

Destined for Dover, Miss Pym has her matchmaking work cut out for her when she encounters the pretty but hoydenish Lady Deborah Western! Encouraged by an unruly twin brother, the spirited, golden-haired Deborah seems set on dressing and acting the tomboy, much to the dismay of her handsome neighbor, the Earl of Ashton....

The shy Miss Yvonne Grenier, a beautiful fugitive of the French Revolution, is quite terrified when a dangerous enemy boards her stage to York. Luckily, Miss Hannah Pym is also on board. Ever the matchmaker, Miss Pym sees the answer to Yvonne's plight in the hands and heart of another passenger - the Marquis of Ware. Handsome and tailored to perfection, the marquis' birth and fortune are armor enough to defend Yvonne.

Handsome, dashing Henry Wright, the Duke of Westerland, needed a wife in a desperately short period of time. If he could not find a wife, he would lose the legacy he so desperately desired. Young, lovely, but sheltered Miss Frederica Sayers needed a husband just as much as Henry Wright needed a wife, only she needed a husband to save her from the life of shame that almost certainly awaited her when shefled the callous cruelty of her family.

No sooner does Miss Pym board her next stagecoach than she finds herself embroiled in the plight of Miss Belinda Earle, a spirited heiress banished to Bath after swearing off the marriage market. When the coach founders near Baddell Castle, and the dashing Marquis of Frenton comes to the rescue, Miss Pym decides to give Fate a hand. Although the austere bachelor disdains romance, his furtive glances towards Belinda prove to Miss Pym that her expert matchmaking will soon turn this star-crossed couple into a heavenly match!

In this rollicking novel, 96-year-old ornithologist Luka Levadski foregoes treatment for lung cancer and moves from Ukraine to Vienna to make a grand exit in a luxury suite at the Hotel Imperial. He reflects on his past while indulging in Viennese cakes and savoring music in a gilded concert hall. Levadski was born in 1914, the same year that Martha - the last of the now-extinct passenger pigeons - died. Levadski himself has an acute sense of being the last of a species.

For lovely young Miss Patricia Patterson, life seemed a delightful dream - until the specter of her guardian, Lord Charles Gaunt, cast a shadow over her carefree days of idleness and enchanting evenings of dazzling balls and delicious flirtations. Lord Charles demanded she act the part of a proper and perfectly boring young miss. Even worse, he insisted she devote her waking hours to cultivating her mind rather than captivating her swarm of admirers. Thus, the battle was joined - between the handsome, arrogant aristocrat who had Patricia in his lawful power, and Patricia, who vowed to turn this hateful tyrant into her lovelorn slave.

With courage, grace, and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GMA BOOK CLUB PICK AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied...

Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From nationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali, this perfect book club read is “evocative...and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism” (People) set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. In 1950s Tehran...

USA TODAY BESTSELLER · SOUTHERN INDIE BESTSELLER · A BRENDA NOVAK BOOK GROUP PICK · GLOSS BOOK CLUB PICK · THE GIRLFRIEND BOOK CLUB PICK · A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 (SheReads) · Margaret never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution, for that matter in this...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY “A glorious sweep of a novel” (Ann Patchett) that weaves the intimate lives of two midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late twentieth century. “Mesmerizing.”—People...

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters.

A 2026 Audie Award Finalist for Best Fiction Narrator The 40th anniversary edition of the Pulitzer Prize–winning classic of the American West, with a new foreword by Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan. An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last...

"Jane fans rejoice! . . . Exceptional storytelling and a true delight." —Helen Simonson, author of the New York Times bestselling novels Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Calamity of Souls comes a novel set in 1940s London about a bereaved bookshop owner and two teenagers scarred by the Second World War, and the healing and hope they find in one another. "A masterpiece of a historical thriller." —Lisa...

THE YEAR IS 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli. By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Elsa must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

Silla Nordvig is running for her life. The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous quest: travel the treacherous Road of Bones—a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer—and go to Kopa, where a shield house awaits her. After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew.

Author of the National Book Award-winning All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy is one of the most provocative American stylists to emerge in the last century. The striking novel Blood Meridian offers an unflinching narrative of the brutality that accompanied the push west on the 1850s Texas frontier.

The year is 1883, and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Anne Gallagher grew up enchanted by her grandfather’s stories of Ireland. Heartbroken at his death, she travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. There, overcome with memories of the man she adored and consumed by a history she never knew, she is pulled into another time. The Ireland of 1921, teetering on the edge of war, is a dangerous place in which to awaken. But there Anne finds herself, hurt, disoriented, and under the care of Dr. Thomas Smith, guardian to a young boy who is oddly familiar.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER / A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK / AUDIOBOOK READ BY MERYL STREEP “Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.”—The Guardian In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself...

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over. Award-winning narrator Saskia Maarleveld’s...

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.