Historical Humor

Karen Cushman's Newbery Honor-winning book tells the story of a medieval girl who works to avoid the marriage her father has arranged for her during her 14th year. Contained in this program is Catherine's diary - Catherine, called Little Bird or Birdy, daughter of Rollo and the lady Aislinn, sister to Thomas, Edward, and the abominable Robert. Against a vivid backdrop of everyday life on a medieval English manor, Catherine's earthy, spirited account of her fourteenth year is a richly entertaining story with an utterly unforgettable heroine.

Even as Julie worries about how her children are coping with the loss of their father and the recent move to their new ghost-town home in Mae’s Second Chance, her youngest son is quietly searching through one of the centuries-old buildings for a treasure he believes that his father means for him to find. But what he eventually discovers is not at all what he expects.Julie Engstrom has brought her family to the deserted ghost town of Mae’s Second Chance. She knew that her family needed something different as they struggled to deal with the loss that has changed their lives forever. Her ...

In the idyllic backdrop of Ballycross, County Cork, Seren once reveled in the bliss of marriage to Frenchman André while managing their quaint wine shop. A perfect world, it seemed, until an unforeseen tragedy shattered everything. Determined not to be a mere pawn in the game of fate, Seren takes charge of her destiny. In this journey, she discovers the stark difference between fate and faith—realizing that control is a powerful force. The revelation of an enigmatic email destined for her husband propels Seren into a harrowing mystery. Abandoning the comforts of Ballycross, she ventures ...

¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ❥ ♥♥Second Chance Romance♥♥ ¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ❥ Robert Rotherford, gentleman of wealth and privilege, saw something redeeming in Elizabeth that nobody else could see. Instead of leading her to the magistrate when he catches her robbing the widow, he marries the chit, clears her name, and then promptly dumps her in the country and forgets about her. For the first time in her life, Lizzie isn’t under the constant abuse of her mother and she begins to thrive. Surrounded by an amazing group of ladies with an unconventional habit of saving others, Lizzie ...

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown's schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents - horsemanship, facility with foreign languages, and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all. If only Flashman had got on with his dinner and ignored the handkerchief dropped by a flirtatious hussy in a Calcutta hotel....

Timothy (later St. Timothy) is in his study in Thessalonika, where he is bishop of Macedonia. It is A.D. 96, and Timothy is under terrific pressure to record his version of the Sacred Story, since, far in the future, a cyberpunk (the Hacker) has been systematically destroying the tapes that describe the Good News, and Timothy's Gospel is the only one immune to the Hacker's deadly virus.

Jane Austen's first major novel, a parody of the popular literature of the time, is an ironic tale of the romantic folly of men and women in pursuit of love, marriage, and money. The humorous adventures of young Catherine as she encounters "the difficulties and dangers of a six weeks' residence in Bath" lead to some of Austen's most brilliant social satire.

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown's schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents - horsemanship, facility with foreign languages, and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century despite trying his utmost to escape them all.

Can a mystical journey heal a heart of darkness Tom Logan awakens from a drug-induced coma clutching a mysterious black diamond, his only clue to finding his missing brother in the rugged Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Enter Amber Armstrong, a passionate poet-turned-police-officer who ignites sparks in Tom’s heart. Tom and Amber venture into the unknown together, discovering a hidden valley brimming with precious, uncut diamonds and a utopian society long concealed from the modern world. With the help of an old Bible, they attempt to unravel the valley’s secrets, but danger looms in ...

At the end of World War Il, most of the veterans who valiantly defended our country's freedoms left the military and returned home. A few of these gallant men, though, chose to remain in the service, and they found themselves in Japan—along with those few who stayed in uniform because they had nowhere else to go. When war breaks out in Korea, a new generation of men and women arrive—either drafted or volunteering to fill the empty ranks left by the departing servicemen. As the war rages, a different dynamic starts to take place in Japan, one that will shape and mold the future lives of ...

Alianore and her husband receive a new commission from King Edward IV. He has heard that the Holy Grail is to be found somewhere within his dominions - and he wants them to find it! At the same time, Jasper Tudor is suspected of trying to organise a new rebellion in Wales. Can he be stopped? Can the Grail be found? Will Alianore ever achieve her ambition of being allowed to retire to her home to grow gilly flowers?

Blandford Candy is sent to London, after an illicit affair, and joins the Roundhead army to fight against the King, taking part in the Battle of Edgehill. A reluctant hero if ever there was one, he becomes a spy for the cause - and, through luck or judgement, uncovers more than one Royalist plot. His love of wine and the fairer sex prove both a curse and a blessing for the agent. Blandford soon earns the enmity of the King’s spy mistress Jane Whorwood, and patronage of the great parliamentarian leader John Hampden.

From the bustling streets of America to the quiet mountain towns in rural China, this captivating collection of short stories spans continents and cultures, weaving a tapestry of universal human experiences. Each tale offers a unique glimpse into lives shaped by love, betrayal, and the search for identity. These stories, by turns humorous and poignant, explore the intricate threads that connect us all—the joy of friendship, the pain of betrayal, the challenges of coming of age, and the bittersweet realities of leaving one's homeland. With its rich diversity of settings and emotions, this ...

At the turn of the 20th century, as he composes a treatise on melancholy, Jacov Reinhardt sets off from his small Croatian village in search of his hero and unwitting mentor, Emiliano Gomez Carrasquilla, who is rumored to have disappeared into the South American jungle - "not lost, mind you, but retired." Jacov's narcissistic preoccupation with melancholy consumes him, and as he desperately recounts the myth of his journey to his trusted but ailing scribe, hope for an encounter with the lost philosopher who holds the key to Jacov's obsession seems increasingly unlikely.

Una descripcion morbosa de la decadencia. La Montana Magica fue la obra que logro para Thomas Mann, el insigne escritor aleman, el Premio Nobel. En esa historia, situada en un sanatorio de tuberculosos en los altos de una montana, el autor creo un increíble microcosmos, reflejo de lo que el consideraba la decadencia de su patria y de toda la civilizacion europea.

When the University of Alabama's football team drafts Forrest and makes him a star, that's only the beginning! He flunks out - and goes on to be a Vietnam war hero, a world-class ping-pong player, a wrestler, and a business tycoon. He compares battle scars with Lyndon Johnson, discovers the truth about Richard Nixon, and suffers the ups and downs of true love.

There have always been Mountain Men. Their names are legendary. Their motives unknown. Until now. Over four centuries, one by one, they changed the course of human history. Occasionally, some of them were even quite good at it. Like most things in life, successful revolutions take a bit of practise. Only they knew their identity and purpose, but someone has discovered their secrets. Now the actions of the Mountain Men are being re-enacted in the 21st century and there’s twelve billion dollars up for grabs for anyone willing to help.

A humorous adventure book set in Cape Cod and Cashmere-on-the-Hudson during the early 1900s. The serene, coastal town of Orham, Massachusetts, is about to be turned upside down by a series of mysterious letters, unexpected adventures, and comical misadventures. Captain Jonadab Wixon and Barzilla Wingate are two unassuming residents who find themselves invited to a wedding at Dillamead House, Cashmere-on-the-Hudson. This seemingly ordinary event quickly spirals into a whirlwind of humorous incidents and unexpected encounters. Enter Peter T. Brown, a charismatic and persuasive character who ...

Behind every myth there is a spark of truth.... There's nothing special about Ben Garston. Or so he'd have you believe. He won't tell you, for instance, that he's also known as Red Ben. Or that the world of myth and legend is more real than you think. Because it's his job to keep all that a secret. But now a centuries-old rivalry has resurfaced, and the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered.

Florida, circa 1980. Reed Crowe, the eponymous Florida Man, is a middle-aged beach bum, beleaguered and disenfranchised, living on ill-gotten gains deep in the jungly heart of Florida. When sinkholes start opening on Emerald Island, not only are Reed Crowe's seedy businesses - a moribund motel and a shabby amusement park - endangered, but so are his secrets. Crowe, amateur spelunker, begins uncovering artifacts that change his understanding of the island’s history, as well as his understanding of his family’s birthright as pioneering homesteaders.