champlin

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love.

In the aftermath of the First World War, Paris offers a liberating waystation for expatriate newspaperman Jake Barnes. Jake is a casualty of the war, and his disillusionment would be complete were it not for his relationship with the fast-living, twice-divorced Englishwoman Brett Ashley. Along with a small collection of other dissolute expats, Jake and Brett travel from the cafés of Paris to the wild fiestas of Pamplona on a desperate quest for fulfillment.

George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution is an intimate part of our contemporary culture, quoted so often that we tend to forget who wrote the original words! This must-read is also a must-listen!