Historical Tragedy

"King Lear" is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, depicting the gradual descent into madness of the title character after he disposes of his kingdom giving bequests to two of his three daughters based on their flattery of him, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman Celtic king; after the English Restoration, it was often revised with a happy ending for audiences who disliked its dark and depressing tone, but since the nineteenth century, Shakespeare's original version has been regarded as one of his supreme achievements.

Reckless Flirting and a Dangerous Temptation Daisy Trippe is the perfect daughter and the perfect woman to be a wealthy man’s wife. At the Debutante Ball, her goal is to kiss a handsome man. A rich handsome man who would make all her socialite dreams come true. Then she sees Lee Sackett. She overhears the man is well off and he fills out his clothes so deliciously. A temptation too much to resist. Lee Sackett is building his ranch. One day he will be a rich man, but right now, his one-room cabin is all he can afford. He needs to swap bulls with Mr. Trippe but the man is impossible to talk...

Susan Cameron, a young Missouri woman, arrives in Wyoming Territory determined to homestead on her own. Her nearest neighbors, Ellen Watson Averell and James “Jimmy” Averell, operate a small road ranch not far from the Oregon Trail on homestead land formerly grazed illegally by Albert Bothwell’s cattle. Ellen purchased a small herd of cattle and brand, but Bothwell claimed the Averells were operating a rural brothel and that Ellen took calves for her “favors.” Trouble haunts Susan, her veterinarian friend, Michael, and the Averells from the moment Susan attempts to take possession of her new homestead land, culminating in the hangings of both Ellen and Jimmy Averell by six prominent cattlemen, who then spread vicious lies in their controlled Cheyenne newspaper, calling Ellen “Cattle Kate.” The mystery deepens when the cattlemen are brought to trial and all the witnesses to the hangings have died or disappeared and Susan and Michael are kidnapped by hired gunmen...

"The Tragedy of Macbeth" is a play written by William Shakespeare. Set mainly in Scotland, the play illustrates the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. The play was most likely written during the reign of James I, who had been James VI of Scotland before he succeeded to the English throne in 1603. James was a patron of Shakespeare's acting company and of all the plays Shakespeare wrote during James's reign, "Macbeth" most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with the sovereign.

Angel of the Ghetto tells the remarkable story of Sam Solasz, a boy born into a warm and loving Jewish family in Poland in 1928. Sam inhabited a protected world until the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, which tore his world apart. Ripped from his family, young Sam lived a nomadic and dangerous life. He had to learn to depend on his resourcefulness and the keen ability. He had to size up people and events around him.

—ABOUT THE BOOK: Golden Gift from the Meadow (Book 5) How can a Christmas Eve house fire in New York City have a profound effect on a corner of the mid-American prairie? Not only that, but the profundity of it all extended into WWI in Belgium, where the bloodiest battles of the war were fought in hand-to-hand combat. Golden Gift from the Meadow—Book 5 in The Sheltering Stones series—continues with the third generation after the founding of the Prairie Academy. Sweeping change persists in the world and the Oklahoma Territory, and life is hard and sometimes even cruel for Territory ...

Tragedy and Triumph is based on the extraordinary life of an Afghan teenager whose loving childhood is shuttered by war. Ahmad Ansari is badly injured in a rocket attack on his house during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1970s. The memoir details challenges that young Ahmad faces since then, how he graduates valedictorian in Kabul to eventually earn a doctorate degree in France and join his refugee family in the United States.

Cecile has been raised to a life of privilege at Polruan House, by her widowed father and aunt. Now she's of age, they are determined that she make a proper match, but Cecile's heart belongs to their coachman, Sam - most definitely not suitable marriage material. When Sam turns to his friend, smuggler Zach Carver, for help eloping with Cecile, Zach tells of a recent encounter with Lise, a beautiful but poor girl in St Ives, who is the mirror image of Cecile.

Archaeology student Chione has vivid dreams about the discovery of an opulent tomb. After the founder of the Institute of Archaeology learns that Chione’s dreams might be connected to events in Egypt, he accepts an offer to examine a mysterious site in the Valley of the Queens. When they discover a burial chamber, ancient spells transport Chione and her ex-boyfriend, archaeologist Aaron Ashby, 3,500 years into the past. There, they learn of Tutankhamon and Tauret, a priestess in Pharaoh's Court.

Good Girls Just Want to be Bad Rose Tuttle, the preacher’s daughter, has been secretly rebelling against her father’s tyranny for months. Disguised she takes a job singing in the saloon. When her father announces he’s found her a husband, she rebels. That night, at the end of her performance, she removes her disguise. Now with no other choice, she becomes the newest member of the bad girls club. Son of a Railroad tycoon, Hayden Lee has been going to hear a mysterious singer in the saloon for months. Her angelic voice reaches deep inside him and touches his soul. But he isn’t ...

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed. It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most-filmed story after Cinderella".

Searching for a Santa Christmas is coming and Carrie Madison needs a Santa for the celebration at the orphanage. Only problem is she has yet to find a man who knows the meaning of Christmas and how to be a good Santa. When she arrives home after the ball, a burglar tells her he just needs a place to hide and then he’ll be gone. Fearing for her life if she says no, what choice does she have? Pinkerton agent Roscoe Dalton chased outlaws all the way to Durango where they met up with the gang and are now pursing him. Roscoe knows he’s risking Carrie’s life staying at her home, but he has ...

Born in 1846 in Ireland at the start of the "Great Hunger", James Kinnier Wilson emigrated to Philadelphia to start a new life at 17 years old. After his life took a dramatic turn, he found himself attending Princeton and then a college in Scotland, where he met Agnes Hately, the talented daughter of a famous figure in the Scottish "Disruption" - the emergence of the Free Church of Scotland.

Katarina’s world of music, love, and laughter is shattered when the Nazis invade Austria. Because of her Jewish background, she must sever relationships to protect those she loves. Fear and anxiety become her constant companions. Time is running out for her and her family, and they know that at any moment they could be arrested, never to be heard from again. When an opportunity to escape the Nazis presents itself, a daring plan is suggested.

In the year 1040 AD the Scottish king, Duncan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Certain evidence points to the king's own servants. Gowan Drummond, Thane of Lennox does not believe Duncan's servants killed him. Drummond’s suspicions turn to Macbeth who quickly ascends the throne. His suspicions become certainty when Banquo is found murdered. In his quest for the truth, the Thane of Lennox must be cautious in his investigations, for cruel are the times, and a dangerous evil is loose in the land. Give Me The Daggers is based partly on history but mainly on William Shakespeare’s great...

Two very different girls from this tight-knit community join up as ARP Wardens to do their bit for the home front. Violet Simms lives with her controlling, widowed mother who runs the local pawn shop. At just 20-years-old, Violet longs for friendship, love and escape. It seems her dreams might come true until tragedy strikes on one of the very worst nights of the Birmingham Blitz. Grace Templeton is the eldest in her family of 10 children. Spirited Grace is determined never to become burdened by child bearing and drudgery like her mother.

Once upon a time in an enormous forest lived a woodcutter and his wife. The woodcutter is very poor and a war rages around them, making it difficult for them to put food on the table. Yet every night, his wife prays for a child. A Jewish father rides on a train holding twin babies. His wife no longer has enough milk to feed both children. In hopes of saving them both, he wraps his daughter in a shawl and throws her into the forest. While foraging for food, the woodcutter’s wife finds a bundle, a baby girl wrapped in a shawl.

In this, perhaps Dickens' most profound and personal novel, we are invited to share in the sentimental education of Pip, the poor boy from the village forge who risks losing himself in snobbery and selfishness when he mysteriously inherits a fortune. The story moves from the bleak Kentish marshes of Pip's childhood to a thrilling climax that mingles tragedy and triumph.

When Miss Julia received a phone call from her attorney, she could have never in her wildest dreams imagined what he was about to tell her. She was in a will and she had been granted guardianship of two small children—her brother's grandchildren, two young girls. But her brother had been dead for thirty years.

Even promises of a new beginning come with a price. Daisy Miller was the belle of the ball until she was involved in scandal. Even her parents have disowned her and she has been reduced to living on the streets of Charleston. Then she overhears a professional matchmaker looking for mail-order brides. Could this be her chance to start over? Could there be a place she could overcome her shame? Ellis Sanders and Lee Chapman are successful businessmen, but each of their past mistakes have the potential to destroy their futures. Though not actively searching for a bride, they’re both smitten ...