Victorian Drama

This annotated edition of Dickens's Bleak House includes: • An original critical afterword, "The Fog and the System" • On Chancery, Jarndyce v Jarndyce, and the machinery of the law • Dickens's dual narrators and the first detective in English fiction • A biographical essay on Charles Dickens and a note on the text A volume in CLASSICS OF WORLD LITERATURE from Erato Press. "Fog everywhere." So begins the greatest of Dickens's novels — fog on the river, fog in the streets, and at the heart of the fog, the High Court of Chancery, where the endless suit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has ...

The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston's position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland. With two months to devise a better plan, Julia's first choice - to marry her childhood sweetheart - is denied. Then, a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, opening a realm of possibilities.

The New York Times bestselling novel that has been called “a tour de force” (Wall Street Journal), “unputdownable” (The Washington Post), “a delicious hothouse of a novel” (USA Today), “effortless” (The Economist), “seductive” (Vanity Fair) and “pitch perfect” (Salon)...

She’s engaged to his brother. He's falling in love with her anyway. Mining heiress Lucy Maldon is determined to make her engagement more than a business arrangement—even if it means following her elusive fiancé on his Grand Tour. But Walter, Lord Chelmsford, has no intention of playing the part of devoted husband-to-be. His younger brother, Peter, has always lived in his older brother’s shadow. Tasked with accompanying his brother across the Continent, Peter never expected to spend so much time with Lucy—or to fall for the woman he can never have. Torn between loyalty and love, ...

She’s seventeen, spontaneous, and entirely too clever. He’s twenty-nine, serious, and completely off-limits. But the more they clash, the harder it is to stay apart. Octavia Shelford is doing her best to dazzle the beau monde—and more importantly, her mother—on their Grand Tour. But a year of elegant soirées and polite conversation has only left her exhausted and no closer to impressing the one man whose opinion truly matters. Guy Claybury, the Duke of Woodford, gave up on finding a love match years ago. He is far too old and far too occupied with preventing war between England and...

Step into the moors with a fresh perspective in "Wuthering Heights: Adapted for Modern Readers." This edition invites you to experience Emily Brontë's timeless tale with contemporary typography and a streamlined format. Lightly clarified language makes the classic narrative accessible without losing its original tone and intensity. Discover Heathcliff and Catherine's turbulent world through a lens that resonates with today's readers, ensuring the haunting beauty of the story is both engaging and comprehensible. Set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, "Wuthering Heights" explores ...

A Mystery Book set in New York City and Boston during the late 19th century. Sudden Poverty is a poignant and dramatic story set in late 19th-century New York City. Betty Farnham, once prosperous, faces severe hardships after her father's death and the resulting financial ruin. Struggling to support her ailing mother, Betty encounters further distress when a gold coin she receives for work is declared counterfeit, leading to her wrongful arrest. The story evolves with Betty discovering her true parentage through letters left by her mother, revealing she is the product of a shameful affair. ...

Her brother’s best friend is the only man who’s ever made her feel safe. Too bad he’s completely off-limits. Shy, rule-following Alice Loughton has adored Frederick Kempton for as long as she can remember. He’s the only man she can talk to without trembling, the only one who doesn’t frighten her—and the only one she wants to marry. There’s just one problem: her brother. No one will ever be good enough for his baby sister, least of all his irresponsible best friend. With more suitable suitors ready to line up, there’s no way he’d ever approve of a match between Alice and ...

She swore never to marry. Then she met him. Rachel Wickford has vowed to follow in the footsteps of her heroine, Florence Nightingale, dedicating her life to nursing. She’s certain love would only distract from her calling—especially when it comes to the determined colonel who seems to turn up everywhere she goes. Colonel Curtis Loughton needs experienced nurses to help launch Miss Nightingale’s new training program in London. But more than that, he needs a partner—and he’s sure Rachel is the one. Winning her heart, however, may prove to be the hardest campaign of his life. In a ...

On the grim streets of London, a young man succumbs to his demons. Discarded by his lover and left penniless and alone, Michael “Micha” Dashwood uses sex to pay the bills and opium to numb the pain. When a sudden illness strikes, all seems lost. But hope finds Micha in the shape of the Reverend Thomas Mandeville. Haunted by grief of his own, Thomas cannot bear to ignore another man’s plight. He brings the ailing Micha home to heal in his parish at Nettlefield.

Sexy bartender Seth Marino is the epitome of the allure and sophistication for which the town of Lavender Shores is known. For 20 years, Seth has found contentment and happiness as co-owner of the Blue Blossom Bed and Breakfast. Seth’s kind heart, good looks, and humor charm both locals and tourists - except the one person who despises him. Charley Perez began building the life of his dreams a few years before Seth moved to town.

Four stubborn hearts. Four shattered histories. Two couples—and one matchmaking duchess determined to fix it all. Lord Arthur Yelverton hasn’t forgotten the woman who once refused his proposal. Gone is the eager young puppy who fell in love with every woman in London. Now he’s a serious, steadfast diplomat stationed in Paris—with no time for romantic folly. When Lady Agatha arrives at Versailles, she’s stunned to find Arthur transformed—mature, thoughtful, and still just as handsome. But no matter how much he’s changed, her refusal to reconsider him is as ironclad as ever. ...

Having survived his final year at school, Jamie now needs to find something to occupy his time. Seeing a poster in the village, he considers joining a circus. However, when the family goes to a performance the Big Top collapses, Tillie loses David in the mayhem, and Jamie is kidnapped by an evil clown. Shipped off to stay with Sarah in Harrogate, he meets a rich society girl, Geraldine, who takes a shine to him. However, he still has feelings for his woodland girl, Beth, who seems to have moved away, and then there's Maisie, whom he feels obligated to take away from her life of drudgery as ...

She’ll marry for duty and lie for honor—but her brother’s charming best friend might ruin everything. Eleanor Barrington hovers on the edges of London’s glittering society, clinging to propriety while her reckless father threatens to expose the scandals they’ve kept buried. Her only hope is a sensible marriage—one that promises safety, not affection. But Percy Hauxton has never followed the rules. As the younger son of an earl, he can't afford to marry for love—but that doesn’t stop him from charming Eleanor at every turn. And it certainly doesn’t stop her from noticing. ...

Obedience was the first lesson. Elizabeth came to teach them the last. McGowan Hall does not look like a prison. It looks like a good Georgian house with fresh flowers in the entrance hall and a rule card in every room. Rule twenty-six: unnecessary vivacity in communal spaces is discouraged. The gargoyles on the roofline watch everything that isn't there. Elizabeth Lansford arrives at nineteen, wealthy, unafraid, and lying about why she's come. Somewhere behind the college's quiet corridors, its girls are being taught to want nothing — and Elizabeth intends to prove it, gather the ...

Fourteen nights. A locked basement. A wife who was never supposed to notice. Camille installs cameras to prove she’s imagining things. Instead, she catches her husband unlocking a door she didn’t know required a key. Then she finds the photograph. A woman in her kitchen. Six years ago. His first wife. The one he swore never existed. Audra didn’t die. She disappeared. And the nanny Camille just hired isn’t there to help. She’s there to make sure someone finally looks downstairs.

Born into the shadows of Victorian London, Oliver Twist’s fight for dignity and belonging still hits hard today. This refreshed edition, adapted for modern readers, keeps Charles Dickens’s unforgettable story intact while smoothing outdated phrasing, untangling long sentences, and presenting clean, contemporary typography. The result is an accessible, page-turning experience that honors the original voice and atmosphere, making it easier than ever to fall into Dickens’s world without stumbling over archaic language or cluttered formatting. Step into the grim workhouses, crowded ...

Two women. One prison. A friendship that breaks every rule of class, grief, and shame. In 1902, an elegant young widow and the daughter of England's most notorious murderess meet inside Holloway Prison's walls, and neither leaves the same. In the soot stained heart of North London, Holloway Prison has recently become a women only institution. Inside its walls, and in the shadow it casts, two women live worlds apart. Victoria Wood is elegant, educated, and newly married, but her perfect life has shattered in a way she cannot yet speak aloud. Margaret Bull scrapes by as a cleaner, her name ...

The Rose Garden is a richly imagined historical novel full of intrigue and secrets, spanning the luxury and poverty of Victorian England. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies and Rachel Hore. Every house has its secrets . . . For twelve-year-old Ottilie Finch, London is an exciting playground to...

A gothic mystery set in Victorian London during the late 19th century. Submerge yourself in the chillingly atmospheric streets of fog-shrouded Victorian London, where *Ghosts of River Hall* weaves a captivating tale of intrigue, love, and spectral whispers. This suspense-laden narrative follows the Craven & Son law firm, gripped by the haunting mystery of "The Cursed House," a property overshadowed by unsettling events and spectral presences. Embrace the relentless tension of a house torn between worlds—a beloved residence and an ominous ghost dwelling by the River Thames. The tale ...