Literary Society

The novella is a searing portrait of family dynamics in contemporary America. The Starling family consists of Robert, the workaholic surgeon; his wife Sharon, the emotionally volatile mother of three daughters: Chelsea, the eldest, who craves wealth and power; Emma, who becomes an advocate for women’s rights; and Charlotte, the youngest, who wants to get as far away as possible from her suburban upbringing. Family tragedy strikes, however, forcing the family to face unpleasant truths.

FACT: Unbeknownst to eleven-year-old Theresa "Tessie" Finley, she's in over her head. PROOF: After hearing a scream and catching a glimpse of a mysterious man carrying a body beneath the flickering streetlights in the cemetery behind her house, Tessie adds solving a murder case to her already quite full to-do list.

The beautiful young Dorian Gray has his portrait painted by society artist Basil Hallward. Admired by all, the dazzling, wealthy, handsome young man has everything anyone could wish for, or so it appears. Oscar Wilde's novel is a masterly study of moral corruption, a tour-de-force of suspense and surprise.

Two men with a passion for vinyl create a society for the appreciation of records. Their aim is simple: to elevate the art of listening by doing so in forensic detail. The society enjoys moderate success in the back room of their local pub, The Half Moon, with other enthusiasts drawn to the initial promise of the weekly gathering. However, as the club gains popularity, its founder's uncompromising dogma results in a schism within the movement and soon a counter group forms.

The House of Mirth was Edith Wharton's first great novel. Set among the elegant brownstones of New York City and opulent country houses like gracious Bellomont on the Hudson, the novel creates a satiric portrayal of what Wharton herself called "a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers" with a precision comparable to that of Proust.

In A.D. 256, the specter of treachery hangs ominously over the Roman Empire. The sparks of Christian fervor have spread through the empire like wildfire, and the imperium is alive with the machinations of dangerous and powerful men. All the while, Sassanid forces press forward relentlessly along the eastern frontier. The battle-bloodied General Ballista returns to the imperial court from the fallen city of Arete only to find that there are those who would rather see him dead than alive.

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.

Lee Cuddy is 17 years old and on the run, alone on the streets of Philadelphia. After taking the fall for a rich friend, Lee reluctantly accepts refuge in the Crystal Castle - a cooperative of homeless kids squatting in an austere derelict building. But homeless kids are disappearing from the streets in suspicious numbers, and Lee quickly discovers that the secret society's charitable façade is too good to be true. She finds an unexpected ally in Tomi, a young artist and hacker.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author of the essay collection Shiksa Goddess, a dazzling debut novel, a comedy about New York's urban gentry living in a post-9/11 world, the arbiters of fashion and the doyennes of charity balls; about the rich and the nouveau rich(er), the glamorous and the desperate-to-be.

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.

What the World Needs Now is Poems Sweet Poems Anthology, by author Reneé Drummond-Brown and mutually respected writers from across the globe who pen philosophical writings saturated in worldviews relating to: culture, subculture, principles, language, struggle, freedom, equality, inequality and war and peace. It has been said that poetry imitates life, therefore this Anthology gives the reader something of old, something new, something borrowed and ‘sum sho-nuff poetic blues.

The first of the popular mystery series introduces a pair of English detectives to their archnemesis, the diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu. Flavorful atmosphere, fast-paced action, and colorful characters enliven this classic of the genre.

Madame de Treymes follows the fortunes of two innocents abroad: Fanny Frisbee of New York, unhappily married to the dissolute Marquis de Malrive, scion of a great house of the Faubourg St. Germain, and John Durham, her childhood friend, who arrives in Paris intent on persuading Fanny to divorce her husband and marry him instead.

Here YOU will Uncover the Secret Chilling Connections Between 1984, Brave New World, and Clockwork Orange! Imagine ... the dystopian classics are not separate novels; they are connected chapters in a terrifying future history of the world. A world where freedom is slavery, happiness is manufactured, and ultraviolence is normal. Welcome to the world of Brave New Orange: Your Clockwork World Since 1984, a groundbreaking book that exposes the dark connections between these iconic novels and our own world. A Must-Read for Fans of Dystopian Fiction, Literary Scholars, and Anyone Concerned About ...

At Madeline's Tea Salon, the cozy hub of the Avalon community, local residents scrapbook their memories and make new ones. But across town, other Avalonians are struggling to free themselves of the past: Isabel Kidd is fixing up her ramshackle house while sorting through the complications of her late husband's affair. Ava Catalina is mourning the love of her life and helping her young son grow up without his father. And Frances Latham eagerly anticipates the arrival of a little girl from China - unprepared for the emotional roller coaster of foreign adoption.

The war on drugs has been lost but for want of the courage to face the fact that the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From pop stars and princes to crack whores and street kids. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime.

Sarah Walters is a less-than-perfect debutante. She tries hard to follow the time-honored customs of the Charleston Camellia Society, as her mother and grandmother did, standing up straight in cotillion class and attending lectures about all the things that Camellias don't do. (Like ride with boys in pickup trucks).But Sarah can't quite ignore the barbarism just beneath all that propriety, and as soon as she can she decamps South Carolina for a life in New York City.

The motto of Blackwood University is carved in stone: Veritas vos liberabit. The truth will set you free. But when university archivist Dr. Isobel Reed begins to question the official story behind a student's tragic death, she discovers that some truths are meant to stay buried. Her search for answers pulls her deep into the library's forbidden collections, where a dark history of greed and corruption has been deliberately obscured. The institution will do anything to protect its secrets. As Isobel gets closer to the truth, the hallowed halls of the university become a hunting ground, and ...

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.

Lee Smith, author of the acclaimed The Last Girls, delights with a tale of dry wit. Smith has won many prizes, including the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and the Academy Award in Literature.