Showing results by narrator "Anne Flosnik" in All Categories

Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Anita Desai ruminates on art and memory, illusion and disillusion, and the sharp divide between life's expectations and its realities in three perfectly etched novellas. Set in India in the not-too-distant past, the dramas illuminate the ways in which Indian culture can nourish or suffocate. All are served up with Desai's characteristic perspicuity, subtle humor, and sensitive writing.

When a loathsome rake steals one of her most cherished family heirlooms - and nearly her virtue as well! - Francesca Dunroy devises the perfect plan to put him in his place. At a ball being held in her honor - she didn't "take" in her first season, now her family is determined to get her a match in her second - she'll offer him a clandestine kiss sure to convince him to return what is rightfully hers. But in the dark hallways surrounding the ballroom, Francesca makes a terrifying mistake. She seduces the wrong man!

In April 1831, her grace Corinne Monroe wants her widowed son, Lord Julian, to marry her best friend’s daughter, Miss Sophie Wilkie. Julian last saw Sophie when she was twelve years old, silent, skinny, and always staring at him. However, his mother is nothing if not persuasive, and Julian reluctantly accompanies her to London to meet the young lady.And he knows that whatever happens isn’t going to be good.Lord Devlin Monroe, Julian’s nephew, is very fond of his intriguing reputation in society: he delights, he frightens, he brings on delicious shudders.

As the '90s draw to a close, Liza wants to get married, Dulcie wants a divorce, and Pru wants things in her relationship to stay exactly the same. Those are the New Year's resolutions these three best friends have vowed to keep this year. But if you want to change your mind about your resolutions - and who doesn't? - you probably shouldn't have told your closest pals. Regardless of good intentions, every effort to help each other only gets things more mixed up. Fortunately for all concerned, Fate has got a few tricks of her own in store....

Miranda's sister Kerri has a new boyfriend. He's a handsome charmer who seems to dote on Kerri. But Brendan isn't the man he says he is. Miranda should know. She broke off her own affair with him just a few weeks ago when she found him reading her diary.

In a quiet corner of northern Edwardian England, Margaret Lounsbury diligently works in her grandmother's millinery shop, making hats and caring for her young sister. Several years earlier, a terrible event shattered their idyllic family life and their future prospects. Maggie is resilient and will do what she must to protect her sister Violet. Still, the loss of her parents weighs heavily on her heart as she begins to wonder if what happened that day on the lake...might not have been an accident.

Muriel Beau, country baker turned heiress, can't stop instigating outrage. She discards two arranged engagements, then further antagonizes Kent society by publicly proposing to a baron at a ball. His rejection leaves her with no choice but to flee to the city and secure a coronet so splendid that her peers will forget her debacles.

The Nukecaust radically altered the face of the globe and even the secret malevolent architects of mankind's history could not predict the will of the human spirit to survive - and to rebel. As Earth's destiny remains pawn to sinister forces not of this world, an underground resistance movement is fighting back against the ruling barons and their hidden masters. Kane, once an enforcer of the evil he now seeks to destroy, is joined by his compatriots in a brutal, covert war to reclaim the future for its rightful owners.

It was the perfect crime: a murder from afar, the culprit escaping hours before drug lord Ronnie O’Neill breathed his last breathe. Now a rival gang leader’s daughter has been kidnapped and the race is on to find a silent killer and a missing schoolgirl before more blood is spilled. Senior Investigator Jo Stuart is tasked with finding the perpetrator, but when another body turns up that is seemingly unrelated to O’Neill it throws all her theories into the air, leading Jo to wonder if there’s more to the case than meets the eye.

Eliza Somerton has a dangerous secret. As the daughter of the infamous art forger, she's rebuilt her life under a new name. But when an old forgery goes up for auction, her father's enemy, Grayson Montgomery, outbids her and presents her with an unimaginable choice: help him find her father or he'll ruin her. For years, Grayson, the Earl of Huntingdon and one of London's top art critics, has sought justice. His well-laid plans finally come to fruition when he learns of his enemy's beautiful daughter. But Eliza possesses a sensuality and independent spirit that weakens his resolve....

Who really built Europe's finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves.

The alien blueprint to claim Earth dates back to eons before humanity became enslaved. Fires of human rebellion have only strengthened the bid to fully secure the chains of iron rule. But the battle that spans time and space has become a proving ground. A bold, sophisticated band of insurgents has understanding of the enemy's darkest secrets and dares to loosen the choke hold of power on the planet....

It’s December 23, and Clara Dunphy is running around Oxford Street like a chicken with its head cut off trying to pick up “a few lastminute bits and bobs.” Despite the frenzy, the twicedivorced mother of three loves Christmas and always wants to make it perfect—a challenge even in the best of times but particularly when “family” means an extended network of inlaws, outlaws, exstepfathers, and hangerson totaling sixteen. Is the madness of Christmas really worth it?

After her father and brother disappeared, Lady Jane Lennox is managing Bellhaven Castle. Nonetheless, her aunt has invited six suitors to compete for the right to her hand - and to protect Bellhaven's towers of cool, pink-gray stone. Among the six is Nicholas Kincaid, the one-time object of Jane's affection. Two years ago, her brother banished Nicholas. A mere "sir," in want of title or land, Nicholas was not marriage material. Now, Nicholas will have the chance to compete in challenges of wit and skill, rather than heraldry.

The daughter of an infamous art forger, Chloe Somerton grew up poor. Desperate to aid her sisters, she'd picked a pocket . . . or two. Now circumstances have changed, and Chloe has a chance to marry a young, wealthy lord. Only his mentor—a dark, dangerous duke—stands in her way. The duke knows about her past, and she'll do anything to keep him from telling.

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, tells the story of Mole, Water Rat, Badger, and Toad. The story takes place along a peaceful riverbank surrounded by lush meadows. Mole is originally from a neighboring meadow, but one fine spring day he ventures away from his home and finds the magical life of the river awaiting him. Mole quickly becomes fast friends with Water Rat, a polite and civilized creature who invites Mole to live with him while he teaches Mole the secrets of river life.

Time hasn't stopped after the apocalypse. After the long nuclear winters, a few continue the struggle for survival in the irradiated wastelands. Then, a new order emerges, with a directive to destroy whatever freedom remains in its fortified enclaves and the surrounding Outlands. Kane, once its trusted and feared warrior, is now a fugitive driven to fathom the past and unravel the future.

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's first novel, is an entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm; Marianne is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor's reason nor Marianne's passion can lead them to happiness - as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who's already engaged.

If you want to know your Socrates from your Sartre and your Confucius from your Kant, strap in for this whirlwind tour of the highlights of philosophy. This illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes, and theories you need to know to understand how human ideas have sculpted the world we live in and the way we think today.

In 13th-century England, lovely Philippa de Beauchamp escapes from her father's castle and is swept away by the roguish Dienwald de Fortenberry, only to find herself a prisoner in her lover's castle, surrounded by mysteries, villains, and passion.