Lady Susan is the most beautiful, beguiling schemer in Regency England. She must subjugate every gentleman who crosses her path, conducting multiple flirtations and extracting herself deviously from... More > all the complications. When her husband dies, leaving her destitute with a pretty, innocent daughter on her hands, she uses all her wiles to find them both convenient husbands. Convenient to herself, that is.
Jane Austen penned 'Lady Susan' at nineteen. It was her first completed attempt at a novel, but in the form of letters. She never submitted it for publication. Yet the twenty-three thousand words sparkle with genius. Here, the narrative is presented as it might have appeared as one of Miss Austen's mature works. If this seems sacrilege, this second English lady authoress begs the public to remember that 'Sense and Sensibility' was first written in the form of letters. Perhaps, if she had been spared, Miss Austen might have subjected her first youthful work to a similar revision< Less
Miss Austen, at the height of her powers, wrote eighteen thousand words of a delightful story and then abandoned her attempt. Everyone who read the fragment regretted her decision. Now, every word... More > has been incorporated into a complete novel which, it is to be hoped, should give pleasure to many.< Less
Jane Austen's Mansfield Park chronicles the mutual love of Mary Crawford and Edmund Bertram until he abandons his love, claiming that she has forfeited even his respect. Can our flawed heroine,... More > with her beauty, her charm and her twenty thousand pounds ever find a worthy gentleman who will appreciate her for those very qualities that Edmund deplored? How many trials and difficulties must she first surmount while all Regency England echoes to the public debate of her brother's adultery and her dissolute uncle's blatant vice? Can Mary, innocent and kind, despite her worldly standards and cynical friends, stand firm against society's censure?< Less
Longbourn House in Hertfordshire remains the home of the Bennet family but, five years after the conclusion of Pride and Prejudice, find Kitty and Mary still unwed and discontent. Then Mary's deep... More > reading leads her to a plan. "it was absolutley delightful , so much so that I couldn't stop reading and I've finished it already!!So the apology is for the amount of time it must have took you but you should feel really pleased to impart that much pleasure - I'm only sorry I've finished it now!"Dnkhobson@aol.com< Less
The biography of Lionel Hoare, the last of a farming dynasty in the Blackdown Hills in darkest Somerset. Born on the eve of the first World War, saddled with ten sisters, he learnt at his father's... More > side, skills that were already obsolete. Head of the household at twenty, he struggled against the tyranny and injustice of landlords until the outbreak of the second World War, and the German Uboats, turned him into a hero. Lionel was the author's uncle. You will learn, from eye-witnesses, of a rooted, settled way of life that, after thriving for centuries, completely vanished in a few short years. 'all so well written and interesting'
'Please can we have 2 more copies of book, it is very popular.'georgina.gillingham@tesco.net 'I have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. You must have done a great deal of research to find out all that information - very impressive' DJOWAD@aol.com 'a lovely afternoon well spent reading' 'I thoroughly enjoyed this journey'Dnkhobson @aol.com< Less
Miss Austen finished Persuasion with an enigma.
Was the deceitful widow Mrs Clay so lost to all honour, decency and - yes - self-interest as to live installed in town under the capricious protection... More > of that equal dissembler Mr Elliot? Or was the lady, as Lady Russell proclaimed her, a very dangerous companion? Was she indeed capable, with neither money nor family connexions to sustain her, of 'wheedling and caressing' her profligate lord into making her his wife and thus, the future Lady Elliot? Without descending into the realms of vice and depravity, the authoress hopes to resolve this puzzle. A recent reader said 'I thoroughly enjoyed your latest - fabulous and the twist in the end was brilliant !!look forward to your next.'< Less
An English convalescent nursing a broken heart and enfeebled body discovers the joys and dangers of another culture when she mistranslates an advertisement in a gardening magazine and, by answering... More > it, puts her life on the line.< Less
Humorous romp when a dull typing teacher in rural Somerset uncovers an angel and she is mistaken for Eve. The repercussions reverberate around the world and it takes all the skill of her attractive... More > lawyer to keep her alive and re-establish sanity.< Less
An entertaining way to maintain and improve your English. 2007 jokes for adults, carefully written in correct (British) English with no crude language. Each joke is supplied with helpful explanations... More > of grammar and background. Native speakers too can enjoy the jokes and learn more than most schools teach about grammar.< Less
A romance, based on a true incident, of multi-layered intrigue and unexpected passion set in the turmoil of the Wars of Religion in Southern France. Two different beauties, one a vivacious... More > aristocrat, the other a penniless dishonoured waif, both become the pawns of an embittered court beauty of a previous era. Or do they? "I have thoroughly enjoyed all the ones I have read but my favourite was definately the Substitute Bride." Dnkhobson@aol.cpm< Less
