The foundling Tom Jones is found on the property of a benevolent, wealthy landowner. Tom grows up to be a vigorous, kind-hearted young man, whose love of his neighbor's well-born daughter brings class friction to the fore. The presence of prostitution and promiscuity in Tom Jones caused a sensation at the time it was published, as such themes were uncommon. It is divided into 18 shorter books, and is considered one of the first English-language

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For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there's only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him. Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he's chosen a far more suitable bride. As usual, there's no problem Parth can't fix. But when he learns of Lavinia's desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even...

Lady Phoebe Batten is pretty, vivacious, and yearning for a social life befitting the sister of a powerful duke. But because she is almost completely blind, her overprotective brother insists that she have an armed bodyguard by her side at all times-the very irritating Captain Trevillion. FROM EVERY DANGER Captain James Trevillion is proud, brooding, and cursed with a leg injury from his service in the King's dragoons. Yet he can still shoot and ride...

"Nash, the 'dangerous' Duke of Malvern, has always bristled against the rules of English society. Hot tempered and fearful of becoming like his brutish late father, he lives a life of too much responsibility and too little joy. And although he's vowed to never marry, a duke has a duty - and there's only one way to get himself an heir and a spare. So Nash reluctantly takes a look around at society's available young ladies to see who might be willing...

Originally published in 1914, this charming and original sequel to the novels of Jane Austen intertwines the lives of the most beloved characters from all six Austen novels with new characters of the author's own devising. Inventive matchmaking leads numerous pairs of lovers through the inevitable (and entertaining) difficulties they must encounter before they are united in the end. The first Jane Austen sequel ever written!--From publisher description....

"Miss Viola Astley is so painfully shy that she's horrified by the mere idea of dancing with a stranger; her upcoming London debut feels like a nightmare.So she's overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society - but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke. Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to...

"Hugo Wilde, the Duke of Lindow, has a drafty castle, eight naughty children - and no wife. Ophelia, Lady Astley, has a fine house, one well-behaved daughter - and no husband. Hugo takes one look at Ophelia and loses his heart, but she doesn't want more children or a castle. She takes one look at him and heads for her carriage. Desperate to find a duchess, Hugo identifies an appropriate lady to woo. Yet when he meets Ophelia again, the duke realizes...

One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah's trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah's ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunned-the object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws,...

"'That's how it is for us servants. No one pays you much heed; mostly you're invisible as furniture. Yet you overhear a conversation here, and add a little gossip there. Then you find something, something you should not have found.' Irrepressible Biddy Leigh, under-cook at the foreboding Mawton Hall, only wants to marry her childhood sweetheart and set up her own tavern. But when her elderly master marries the young Lady Carinna, Biddy is unwittingly...

" INSPIRED BY ACTUAL EVENTS Fifteen-year-old Jane Austen dreams of three things: doing something useful, writing something worthy, and falling madly in love. When she visits her brother in Kent to celebrate his engagement, she meets wealthy, devilishly handsome Edward Taylor-a fascinating young man who is truly worthy of her affections. Jane knows a match between her and Edward is unlikely, but every moment she spends with him makes her heart race-and...