Historical Letters

In 1875, 18-year-old would-be poet Jack Brennan runs away from home to avoid being pushed into the priesthood. Life soon looks rosy for Jack when he lands the teaching job he's always dreamed of and meets the love of his life, Eliza Hewlett. But his world is shattered when Mary Ellen, his landlord's daughter, falsely accuses him of fathering the child she is expecting. Jack and Eliza decide to escape to America. As they are about to sail, Jack is arrested and dragged from the ship, leaving Eliza alone en route to New York with only a few shillings in her pocket.

The Dear Sleep audiobook is a collection of letters written by historic figures like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mary Wollstonecraft, Vincent Van Gogh, and many more. Each letter is lovingly read in a slow, soporific tone both with and without music by Kim (UK accent) and Molly (USA accent). Choose a section, hit play, and fall asleep in minutes!

1938. In the turmoil of pre-war Italy, a painting is stowed in the false bottom of a suitcase, ready to be carried across the border. But as the train draws to a violent halt and armed officers lead the passengers onto the platform, the suitcase is taken and the painting never seen again. 1963. London is on the cusp of change in the swinging 60s. Nightclubs and exclusive parties are in their heyday. But when a lowly boarding-house mistress attempts to take on the establishment, and is accused of spying for the Russians, she can save only one thing - her reputation, or the love of her life.

En una época de mentes cerradas en la que reinaban el caos y una concepción errónea del universo aceptada desde hacía siglos, unos pocos hombres se atrevieron a cuestionar esa visión, decididos a descubrir y revelar cómo funcionaba el mundo.

When her sister volunteers to help renovate the two cottages she owns in France, Merle is happy to have company. The cottages are a disaster–especially one that has mostly been inhabited by rodents for years. But inside the cottage are surprises. A packet of letters dating from World War One intrigue Merle. What happened to this soldier who was writing to his girlfriend back in England? Does his last letter, telling her to forget him, mean something terrible happened to him?

Remarkable Diaries traces the history of the diary in all its forms, from ancient times to the present day. It brings together historical and literary diaries, artists' sketchbooks, explorers' journals, and scientists' notebooks. Discover what is was life to build a pyramid, sail the seas with Magellan, travel into the heart of Africa, or serve on the Western Front. Find out how writers and artists planned their masterpieces and how scientists developed their groundbreaking theories.

These letters were arranged in two volumes by Albert Bigelow Paine, Samuel L. Clemens's literary executor, as a supplement to Mark Twain, A Biography, which Paine wrote. They are, for the most part, every letter written by Clemens known to exist at the time of their publication in 1917. They begin with a fragment of a letter from teenaged Sam Clemens to his sister, Pamela, and conclude with a letter to his attorney two weeks before his death. These letters give us some degree of insight into the evolution of Twain's style of speech and prose over the period of his lifetime.

Samuel Pepys kept a diary in which he wrote with astonishing candour about the life he saw around him in London in the 1660s, and about his private desires and ambitions. The diary was kept for fewer than 10 years of his long life: Claire Tomalin tells the whole story of the Fleet Street tailor's son who made himself rich and powerful, an MP and adviser to royalty.

Mary Russell, assistant and protégée of the great Sherlock Holmes, finds herself and her partner once more mired in mystery. When Mary is given a scrap of papyrus by an old archaeologist friend, she has no inkling of what it contains. Written in Greek, it could be a letter from a previously unknown apostle - who just happens to be female. However, the situation moves from being curiously exciting to chillingly perilous as the archaeologist is murdered and Mary and Sherlock's home is ransacked.

Giulia Farnese, a woman who traverses time to find, in this novel, her redemption. Her real story is tachat of a woman who goes far beyond the figure of Sponsa Christi as she was known throughout the world.

Set in the Puritanical society of 17th-century Boston, this novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, a married woman who has an affair and gives birth to a daughter. Hester refuses to name her lover, but when her estranged husband appears unexpectedly, he determines to discover the man's identity.

It has happened again. Barefoot and lost, Daisy closes her eyes and prays for a sign. After mourning her late husband, moving to Nicollet Island was meant to be a new beginning. Instead, at sixty-two, Daisy’s life is cruelly being stolen from her by dementia and the pandemic. Forced into isolation, she must navigate her cognitive decline while fear of death and societal turmoil overtake the country. When Daisy was young, before bitterness corrupted her mother’s soul, she asked, “How can we know for sure that Jesus was God’s son and that everything in the Bible is true?” Her mother...

It's the run-up to Christmas, 1998. On the Isle of Mull, Sergeant Ivor Punch is losing himself in his vinyl collection, a tragic anniversary and too much single malt whisky. But news of a missing child soon brings him back to his senses. And as word spreads of more strange disappearances, an aircraft vanishing from the sky and a famous classical musician gone with it, it seems a sinister plot holds the island in its grip. Punch thought he knew the secrets of this place, its people and stories.

Cultural and familial fireworks flare when the headstrong teenage daughter of a wealthy New Yorker falls passionately in love with a young man from New Orleans, and from a very different background indeed. What makes this story sizzle and soar are its time and place - the United States during the Civil War and Victorian England - and a couple of key facts about the protagonists.

These are the passionate and poignant letters from General George E. Pickett, C.S.A., written to his wife, Sally. These letters reveal intimate details of Pickett's personal life, as well as his incredible accounts of Civil War battles and personalities. A must-listen for any Civil War buff!

As World War Two rages, MI5 agent Sarah Gillespie is faced with her toughest challenge yet: handling Adeline Vernier, a mysterious double agent from Paris. Adeline’s coded letters could help the Allies defeat the Germans – but, in return, she demands that her boyfriend is rescued from Nazi-occupied France. Adeline is not above threatening to double-cross MI5 to get what she wants, leaving Sarah fearful for the millions of lives at stake.

Mark’s dog, Wolfie, is part malamute, part German shepherd, and all heart. Mark can hardly imagine life without his big, loving canine companion. But in 1969, the Vietnam War is still raging, and when Mark learns that the army needs scout dogs, he decides to send Wolfie. As his dad says, a smart dog like Wolfie could save a lot of soldiers - soldiers like Mark’s brother, Danny. Besides, it seems like the patriotic thing to do. Inspired by real events, this is a heartbreaking story about sacrifice, loyalty, and the complex meanings of patriotism.

In Whispers Across Time, Civil War soldier Nathaniel and spirited Sarah cling to love through secret letters, even as war, betrayal, and fate conspire to keep them apart. Over a century later, historian Hannah Parker uncovers their story—and her own path to love with guarded archivist Andrew Knight begins to unfold. As past and present intertwine, two love stories echo across time in a tale of passion, redemption, and the unbreakable bond between hearts.

Grace is a worker in the new Industrial Revolution town, Lowell, MA. Despite only being 14 years old, she hopes to send extra money to help her poor family. To do so, she must work 12 hours a day in a factory helping machines wind thread. Learn about her life as a textile mill worker in the 1830s and the working conditions that she and her fellow workers endured in order to stay employed.

The Scarlet Letter is generally considered to be Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece. Set in 17th-century Boston, it follows the plight of Hester Prynne, a young woman who bears a child out of wedlock, refuses to name the father, and is condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reaches back to America’s Puritan roots to probe themes of lust, sin, guilt, and redemption. This Essential Classics edition includes a new introduction by Professor Vivian Heller, PhD, in literature and modern studies from Yale University.