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The first novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart, America's queen of crime This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous. So says Rachel Innes, the spinster in question and one of the most remarkable heroines in American...
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Mansfield Park is a study of three families - the Bertrams, the Crawfords, and the Prices - with the isolated figure of the heroine, Fanny price, at its centre. Fanny's quiet passivity, her steadfast loyalty, and love for the son of the family who regard her as the poor relation, and who have taken her under their roof, are among the qualities whose true worth is not appreciated until they are tried against the brilliant and witty Mary and Henry Crawford,...
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"The once grand house is now home to two very different families. Despite delusions of grandeur, Lord and Lady Kenefick and their adult children, live a life of decayed opulence as the money needed to keep such a large house and grounds ever dwindles. Meanwhile, the Murphy family, Dermot, Isabella and their three almost grown up girls, live and work on the estate and do their best to keep everything running smoothly. Social structure is vital. Everyone...
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The novel's narrator, Stevens, is a perfect English butler who tries to give his narrow existence form and meaning through the self-effacing, almost mystical practice of his profession. In a career that spans the second World War, Stevens is oblivious of the real life that goes on around him -- oblivious, for instance, of the fact that his aristocrat employer is a Nazi sympathizer. Still, there are even larger matters at stake in this heartbreaking,...
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Generally considered the first English sensation novel, The Woman in White features the remarkable heroine Marian Halcombe and her sleuthing partner, drawing master Walter Hartright, pitted against the diabolical team of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde. A gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness, and mistaken identity, Collins's psychological thriller has never been out of print in the 140 years since its publication.
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"It's a mystery that begins during the Great War, when Gabriel Hughenfort dies amidst scandalous rumors that have haunted the family ever since. But it's not until Holmes and Russell arrive at Justice Hall, a home of unearthly perfection set in a garden modled on Paradise, that they fully understand the irony echoed in the family motto, Justica fortitudo mea est: Righteousness is my strength. A trail of ominous clues leads Holmes and Russell from...
10) Howards End
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"First published in 1910, Howards End is the novel that earned E. M. Forster recognition as a major writer. At its heart lie two families - the wealthy and business-minded Wilcoxes and the cultured and idealistic Schlegels. When the beautiful and independent Helen Schlegel begins an impetuous affair with the ardent Paul Wilcox, a series of events is sparked - some very funny, some very tragic - that results in a dispute over who will inherit Howards...
11) Irish country
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Informative text and gorgeous photos yield a sense of Ireland, its culture, and its people to show how the land's natural beautify and centuries of talented artisans are reflected in Irish Country decor.
13) Jane Eyre
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Following the death of her uncle, the orphan Jane Eyre is sent to the Lowood School, where she grows into a confident and well-educated young woman. When Jane leaves to become a governess at Thornfield Hall, she falls in love with Mr. Rochester, her pupil's guardian. But a series of eerie and terrifying events threatens to destroy her happy future. Featuring gripping plot twists and surprises, Jane Eyre offers rich insight into the life of a woman...
14) Jane Eyre
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"Jane Eyre recounts the story of a governess who, having suffered during childhood both at her aunt's house and then at school, finds herself falling for her new employer, Mr Rochester. But Mr Rochester and his home are not all they seem and when secrets come to light, Jane is forced to abandon all her hopes and dreams."--Amazon.
15) Wideacre
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory comes the thirtieth-anniversary edition of her sexy, scandalous debut novel about Beatrice Lacey, the beautiful, rebellious woman willing to go to any means necessary to inherit her family estate and keep her family name. Strong-willed Beatrice Lacey refuses to conform to the limited life of an eighteenth-century woman. Threatened with the loss of her family name and beloved Wideacre estate...
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Jim Henderson is one of six guests summoned by the mysterious Edwin Carson, a collector of precious stones, to a weekend party at his country house, Thrackley. The house is gloomy and forbidding but the party is warm and hospitable except for the presence of Jacobson, the sinister butler. The other guests are wealthy people draped in jewels; Jim cannot imagine why he belongs in such company. After a weekend of adventure, with attempted robbery and...
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A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book, a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to...
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Little did Anthony Cade suspect that a simple errand to deliver a manuscript on behalf of a friend would drop him right in the middle of an international conspiracy. Why were Count Stylptich's memoirs so important? And what was "King Victor" really after? Murder, blackmail, stolen letters, and a fabulous missing jewel - all threads lead to Chimneys, one of England's historic country house estates, and a startling denouement under the not always co-operative...
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It's London in 1876, and the whole city is abuzz with the enigmatic disappearance of a famous foreign pianist. Lenox has an eye on the matter - as a partner in a now-thriving detective agency, he's a natural choice to investigate. Just when he's tempted to turn his focus to it entirely, however, his grieving brother asks him to come down to Sussex, and Lenox leaves the metropolis behind for the quieter country life of his boyhood. Or so he thinks....
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Every English mansion has a locked room, and Grinton Hall is no exception. The library has hidden doors and passages and a corpse. But when the corpse goes missing, Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath have an even more perplexing case on their hands - just how did it disappear when the doors and windows were securely locked? A bevy of helpful houseguests offer endless assistance, but the two detectives suspect that they are concealing vital
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