Madam Belle: Sex, Money, and Influence in a Southern Brothel


Maryjean Wall - 2014
    At nineteen, Brezing was already infamous as a youth steeped in death, sex, drugs, and scandal. But it was in Miss Hill's "respectable" establishment that she began to acquire the skills, manners, and business contacts that allowed her to ascend to power and influence as an internationally known madam.In this revealing book, Maryjean Wall offers a tantalizing true story of vice and power in the Gilded Age South, as told through the life and times of the notorious Miss Belle. After years on the streets and working for Hill, Belle Brezing borrowed enough money to set up her own establishment -- her wealth and fame growing alongside the booming popularity of horse racing. Soon, her houses were known internationally, and powerful patrons from the industrial cities of the Northeast courted her in the lavish parlors of her gilt-and-mirror mansion.Secrecy was a moral code in the sequestered demimonde of prostitution in Victorian America, so little has been written about the Southern madam credited with inspiring the character Belle Watling in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. Following Brezing from her birth amid the ruins of the Civil War to the height of her scarlet fame and beyond, Wall uses her story to explore a wider world of sex, business, politics, and power. The result is a scintillating tale that is as enthralling as any fiction.

Wild Fire


Zane Grey - 1910
    Lucy Bostil found the horse and the unconscious man who had roped him. She saved both their lives and took Sloan's heart in the process. Now another man wants Lucy and the horse--and will stop at nothing short of killing to get them. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Man O'War


Walter Farley - 1962
    the book covers horse-breeding, training and racing.

The Race


Lauraine Snelling - 1991
    Tricia learns to trust in God as she deals with the problems of her father's serious illness and her mother's disaproval of Tricia's involvement with hor racing.

Thinking Racehorse


Jimmy Tudeski - 2018
    This isn't a tale told by the owner, the jockey or even the trainer, it's the story of the horse - Delivered straight from the horses mouth! Follow the comical journey of Chakalak, bred purely to be a champion racehorse, yet no-one has told him this yet.

Grand Theft Horse


G. Neri - 2018
    When she became part owner of an untamed thoroughbred named Urgent Envoy, everything changed. After Urgent Envoy showed real promise, her co-owners forced Gail to speed up training and race him too early, causing the horse to develop a hairline fracture. Refusing to drug the horse to keep it running, Gail lost Urgent Envoy to her partners, who pushed the horse even harder. One more race would kill him. When nobody heeded her warnings, Gail had to act.So on Christmas Eve, she rescued her own horse. A modern-day outlaw, Gail evaded private investigators and refused to give the horse up. Blacklisted by the racing world, she learned the law at night to take on a powerful L.A. attorney determined to crush her in court. As she stood up for the humane treatment of racehorses, she also faced down the system that caused their demise.

Wild Girl


Patricia Reilly Giff - 2009
    Finally Lidie is 12—time to leave Brazil for New York.Meanwhile, a filly is born and begins her journey to a new home. As Lidie’s story unfolds, so does the filly’s.Lidie’s father runs a stable at a famous race track, and Rafael is training to be a jockey. As much as they want to make Lidie feel welcome, they still think of her as the little girl they left behind. They don’t even know what a strong rider she is, and that she’s determined to befriend and ride the wild filly her father has just bought: Wild Girl.

Old Bones the Wonder Horse


Mildred Mastin Pace - 1955
    Old Bones, as he was affectionately called, came out of nowhere to win a Kentucky Derby and to run a hundred races before his retirement."

Gabriel's Horses


Alison Hart - 2007
    The year is 1864 and twelve-year-old Gabriel hopes to one day become a famous jockey. Although he is a the son of a free black father and a slave mother-making him a slave as well-he loves to help his father, one of the best horse trainers in Kentucky, care for the thoroughbred racehorses on Master Giles's farm. But the violence of war disrupts the familiar routine of daily life on the farm. One-Arm Dan Parmer and his band of Confederate raiders are threatening area farms and stealing horses. When Gabriel's father enlists in a Colored Battalion to help the Union Army and earn enough money to purchase freedom for his wife and son, Gabriel is both proud and worried. But the absence of his father brings the arrival of Mr. Newcastle, a white horse trainer with harsh, cruel methods for handling horses...and people. Now it is up to Gabriel to protect the horses he loves from Mr. Newcastle and keep them safely out of the clutches of One-Arm Dan and his men. Author Alison Hart mines the complex relationships between white and black, slave and master, Unionist and Confederate, and old and young in this gripping work of historical fiction. Young readers will experience the danger and drama of a time when war split the country and human beings were segregated into the owners and the owned based on the color of their skin. Background historical material and photos are included.

Perfect Timing: How Isaac Murphy Became one of the World's Greatest Jockeys


Patsi B. Trollinger - 2006
    Many of Isaac's records remain unbroken today. Filled with paintings that capture the excitement, tension, and movement of a horse race, Perfect Timing is a winning combination of sports, biography, and the inspiring story of an African American who made racing history. About the Author: Patsi B. Trollinger lives in Danville, Kentucky, near several racetracks where she did much of the research for this story. Perfect Timing is her first book. Jerome Lagarrigue is an awardwinning artist and illustrator. He recently spent a year living and working in Rome, Italy, on a Villa Medici grant for fine arts.