High Society Fiction

After his grandfather passes away, Richard Blackwood travels East to collect his stubborn Granny Zinnia and bring the grieving widow back home. When a passionate encounter with a childhood acquaintance ends in a refused marriage proposal, Richard returns to Little Creede with a wounded heart.

Born a slave, the Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus (c. 55-135 AD) taught that mental freedom is supreme, since it can liberate one anywhere, even in a prison. In How to Be Free, A. A. Long - one of the world's leading authorities on Stoicism and a pioneer in its remarkable contemporary revival - provides a superb new edition of Epictetus's celebrated guide to the Stoic philosophy of life (the Encheiridion) along with a selection of related reflections in his Discourses.

On a ravaged street overlooking a cemetery in Beirut's Christian enclave, we meet an eccentric young man named Pavlov, the son of a local undertaker. When his father meets a sudden and untimely death, Pavlov is approached by a colorful member of the mysterious Hellfire Society - an anti-religious sect that, among many rebellious and often salacious activities, arranges secret burial for outcasts who have been denied last rites because of their religion or sexuality.

Probably the most famous of Edith Wharton's novels, Ethan Frome contrasts sharply with her usual ironic contemplation of the fashionable New York society to which she herself belonged and whose strengths and weaknesses she understood so well. Ethan Frome is a keenly-etched portrait of the simple inhabitants of a 19th-century New England village.

A woman is found murdered in her bathtub, and the murder has been made to look like a suicide. But a strange symbol found at the crime scene leads the local police to call Commissaire Adamsberg and his team. When the symbol is found near the body of a second disguised suicide, a pattern begins to emerge: Both victims were part of a disastrous expedition to Iceland over 10 years ago where a group of tourists found themselves trapped on a deserted island.

When a billionaire heiress is brutally murdered in the glamorous streets of Monaco, seasoned detective Alexandre Moreau is thrust into a deadly web of secrets, power, and betrayal. As he unravels the truth behind her assassination, he uncovers a sinister conspiracy reaching into the highest echelons of wealth and influence. But the deeper he digs, the more dangerous the game becomes. With powerful enemies closing in, Moreau must race against time to expose the mastermind before he becomes the next target. Inspired by a true story, Murder of a Monaco Billionaire is a gripping thriller of ...

"Using wit and romance with a master's skill, Kasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses." -- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nora Roberts Then Comes Marriage, Book Three in the Love in the Regency series: There are not many men who can say they attended their own funeral, but Brady James, Earl of Singleton is no ordinary man. He’s also, happily, not a dead man, which he is certain was the object of the trio of scoundrels who had lately tied him up and tossed him headfirst into the Thames. Of course, there’s also the matter of why he’d been skulking about the bowels of ...

In The Adventuress, Emily and husband Colin have come to the French Riviera for what should be a joyous occasion - the engagement party of her lifelong friend, Jeremy, duke of Bainbridge, and Amity Wells, an American heiress. But the merrymaking is cut short with the shocking death of one of the party in an apparent suicide. Not convinced by the coroner's verdict, Emily must employ all of her investigative skills to discover the truth and avert another tragedy.

Toxic medicine, a fanatic Chicago detective, and a fatal plunge down a steep staircase embroil Val and Roddy DeVere in a dangerous quest for facts in 1899. Roddy’s fledgling business teeters as his partner begs him to free him from a detective’s “witch hunt.” The question: was the partner’s wife’s fatal free fall an accident? Or was it murder?

A romantic adventure book set in the South Pacific during the late 19th century. Following a shipwreck, Mabel Miller, a disillusioned socialite from San Francisco, finds herself on the vibrant yet dangerous island of Kaahlanai with a small band of survivors, including Captain Gray and the Gray family. Initially seeking a break from her monotonous lifestyle, Mabel embarks on a journey that takes her far beyond her wildest dreams. Upon their ship's destruction by fire and subsequent arduous days at sea, the survivors finally land on Kaahlanai. They initially face both the harsh realities of ...

A thriller book set in New York City during the early 20th century. Step into the shadowy alleys and grand ballrooms of New York City in the early 20th century, where hidden secrets and overt opulence collide. In a world where wealth and power dictate the social order, a sinister plot of betrayal and murder unravels amidst the city's elite. Samuel Whittington, a prosperous industrialist, finds his orderly life thrust into chaos when the enigmatic Julia Strong arrives with a dire warning: George Dernier is in a murderous frenzy, incensed by Whittington's affair with his wife, Grace. The ...

Naive young Masha Mironova arrives in Moscow at the turn of the century with a modest inheritance and a determination to shed her provincial Siberian upbringing. As soon as she alights in Moscow, she becomes Columbine, a reckless and daring young woman with eccentric outfits and a pet snake worn as a necklace. Columbine soon discovers the Lovers of Death - a small group of poets who conduct seances to determine death's next chosen lover. The string of suicides resulting from the group have drawn attention, and gentleman detective Erast Fandorin investigates.

For her 16th birthday, Vaela Sun receives the most coveted gift in all the Spire - a trip to the Continent. It seems an unlikely destination for a holiday: a cold, desolate land where two nations remain perpetually locked in combat. Most citizens lucky enough to tour the Continent do so to observe the spectacle and violence of battle, a thing long vanished in the peaceful realm of the Spire.

Beneath the glamour, beyond the wealth, a shadow lurks... In the world of high society, appearances are everything but behind the luxury lies a web of deception. When a scandal threatens to shatter the pristine image of the elite, secrets that were meant to stay hidden come creeping into the light. As a determined investigator delves deeper into the mystery, the façade of elegance begins to crack, revealing dangerous alliances, forbidden affairs, and a truth too powerful to ignore. In a society where silence is currency and reputation is king, will justice prevail, or will the shadow of ...

Jazz...Booze...Boys...It’s a dangerous combination. Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle - and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun...or are they? Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch - but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears.

"Using wit and romance with a master's skill, Kasey Michaels aims for the heart and never misses." -- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nora Roberts The Kissing Game, Book Four in the Love in the Regency series: Lady Allegra has made handling unpredictable situations and people an art form, particularly since her father, Oxie Nesbitt, is one of the greatest practical jokers in all of England. For the sinfully handsome and wickedly witty Armand, who loves to observe the world around him, Ally and her outrageous father prove to be too irresistible. He forms a fast friendship with them, ...

Western silver heiress Val DeVere expects nothing but joy at an elegant Newport picnic in 1899, only to be abruptly summoned to New York by a close friend's urgent and cryptic plea: "PLEASE HELP...THEO B." In New York, Theo confides in Val, begging her to save his lively cousin Phoebe from a cunning Irish manservant who, he claims, is plotting her "accidental" death in the Rocky Mountains—just as he allegedly orchestrated the death of her twin sister in Boston a year earlier. Determined to help her friend, Val, now Mrs. Roderick DeVere, tries to convince the headstrong Phoebe to delay her...

London, 1952: Forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway feels she has failed at most everything in life, especially living up to her mother, the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, an ideal socialite and model of perfection until she disappeared in the summer of 1923—and hasn’t been heard from since. When Elizabeth is handed a medal with a mysterious inscription from her mother to a soldier named Septimus Warren Smith, she’s certain it contains a clue from the past.

A murder mystery book set in the busy city of London during the early 20th century. The story revolves around the baffling case of a prominent Member of Parliament, Jacob Remy, whose sudden disappearance sends shockwaves throughout the city. Life takes a nefarious turn when he is discovered dead in his office, prompting an in-depth investigation that uncovers a tangle of deceit, hidden letters, and a suspicious will that challenges the tranquility of London society. Navigating the Shadows of Wealth and Power An eclectic array of characters, right from Remy's diligent secretary Chambers to ...

Newport Summer 1899—yachts, balls, and famed artists eager to paint portraits of Society’s “Queens.” Western silver heiress Val Mackle DeVere (Mrs. Roderick W.) agrees to “sit” for a portrait for her beloved Roddy, only to stumble on a scene of bloody, grisly homicide at an art gallery. Like a figure from Pompeii, the dead Newport gallery manager screams in silence, his hands like claws clutching at a gilt frame pulled down over his head and shoulders while blood darkens his cream-colored suit. Impulsive, Val reaches for the murder weapon and will find herself suspected, shamed,...