But when she learns of Denis's guilty secret, she becomes painfully aware of her fiancé's flawed morality. Determined that no child of hers should inherit such character traits, she does everything in her power to instill in their son the highest moral code. Yet, when Dick is faced with a moral choice of his own, she can only watch to see if history will repeat itself. American novelist Edith Wharton (1862–1937) is celebrated for her finely crafted stories of New York mores, including The Age of Innocence.

    I wonder if she knows that at least one of her books made a grown woman finally feel like she'd been a normal girl all along. . . ."" -- FROM Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned fromJudy BlumeWhether laughing to tears reading "Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great" or clamoring for more unmistakable "me too!" moments in "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," girls all over the world have been touched by Judy Blume's poignant coming-of-age stories. Now, in this anthology of essays, twenty-four notable female authors write straight from the heart about the unforgettable novels that left an indelible mark on their childhoods and still influence them today. After growing up from "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" into "Smart Women," these writers pay tribute, through their reflections and most cherished memories, to one of the most beloved authors of all time.

    You learn too much. And you learn to move quietly through your own small domain. You also know when the men are gone. No more boots stomping above, no more football games turned up too high, and, best of all, no more front doors slamming before dawn as they trudge out for their early formation, sneakers on metal stairs, cars starting, shouts to the windows above to throw them down their gloves on cold desert mornings. Babies still cry, telephones ring, Saturday morning cartoons screech, but without the men, there is a sense of muted silence, a sense of muted life. There is an army of women waiting for their men to return in Fort Hood, Texas. Through a series of loosely interconnected stories, Siobhan Fallon takes readers onto the base, inside the homes, into the marriages and families-intimate places not seen in newspaper articles or politicians' speeches. When you leave Fort Hood, the sign above the gate warns, You've Survived the War, Now Survive the Homecoming. It is eerily prescient.

    A man travels to his son’s school to deal with the fallout of a violent attack and to make sure his son will not lose his college place. But what exactly has his son done? And who is to blame? A young woman trying to make it in LA, working in a clothes shop while taking acting classes, turns to a riskier way of making money but will be forced to confront the danger of the game she’s playing. And a family coming together for Christmas struggle to skate over the lingering darkness caused by the very ordinary brutality of a troubled husband and father.These outstanding stories examine masculinity, male power and broken relationships, while revealing – with astonishing insight and clarity – those moments of misunderstanding that can have life-changing consequences. And there is an unexpected violence, ever-present but unseen, in the depiction of the complicated interactions between men and women, and families. Subtle, sophisticated and displaying an extraordinary understanding of human behaviour, these stories are unforgettable.

    But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.... It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer." --Jeffrey Eugenides, from the introduction to My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead All proceeds from My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead will go directly to fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago. 826 Chicago is part of the network of seven writing centers across the United States affiliated with 826 National, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

    Bessie is a confident sixteen-year-old girl with the world at her feet, dreaming of what life will bring and what she’ll bring to this life. Then everything comes crashing down. Her bright and trusting smile is lost, banished by shame—and a secret she’ll carry with her for the rest of her life.2021. The last thirty-seven years have not been easy for Bess. At fifty-three she is visibly weary, and her marriage to Mario is in tatters. Watching her son in newlywed bliss—the hope, the trust, the joy—Bess knows it is time to face her own demons, and try to save her relationship. But she’ll have to throw off the burden of shame if she is to honour that sixteen-year-old girl whose dreams lie frozen in time.Can Bess face her past, finally come clean to Mario, and claim the love she has longed to fully experience all these years?

    It is here that Jeeves makes his first appearance with these unremarkable words: "Mrs. Gregson to see you, sir." Years later, when Jeeves became a household name, Wodehouse said he blushed to think of the off-hand way he had treated the man at their first encounter...In the story "Extricating Young Gussie," we find Bertie Wooster's redoubtable Aunt Agatha "who had an eye like a man-eating fish and had got amoral suasion down to a fine point." The other stories are also fine vintage Wodehouse: the romance between a lovely girl and a would-be playwright, the rivalry between the ugly policeman and Alf the romeo milkman, and the plight of Henry in the title piece, The Man with Two Left Feet, who fell in love with a dance hostess.

    But just when it looks like her dream might come true, her life gets crazy. From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Mondello, a new contemporary romance The Gift: When Allison Jones finds a small envelope on the ground, CEO Derek Holden accuses her of stealing the money that was supposed to be inside. Knowing what the envelope means for a little girl, Allison is determined to not only fulfill the gift herself, but to prove to Derek that there is more to life than just money. Derek didn't need the simple conventions of life...until he met Allison. He soon learns that a bank account full of money is no match for a heart full of love... From New York Times bestselling author Lenora Worth, a contemporary romance A Palm Tree Christmas: When an overworked, heartbroken Atlanta nurse takes a holiday on the Gulf coast, she meets a widower with two adorable children and rethinks what love really means. Together, Clara and Hank rediscover Christmas and maybe the beginning of something more. From Amazon bestselling author Margaret Daley, a new romantic suspense Deadly Holiday: Tory Caldwell witnesses a hit-and-run, but when the dead victim disappears from the scene, police doubt a crime has been committed. Tory is threatened when she keeps insisting she saw a man killed and the only one who believes her is her neighbor, Jordan Steele. Together, can they solve the mystery of the disappearing body and stay alive?From Carol Winner and CBA Bestselling author Pamela Tracy, a new historical romance Two by Two: In 1880's Arizona Territory, Frank Barlett, a Yuma prison guard, heads to the mining town of Bisbee in order to bury his younger brother Jasper and see that his widow has safe passage home. The widow isn't who or what Frank expected and doesn't have a home to be escorted to. Emmaline Bartlett has a secret or two and every time Frank uncovers one, it's just one more reason he's got to protect her. From award-winning author Camille Elliot, a new Regency romance The Spinster’s Christmas: Spinster Miranda Belmoore and naval Captain Gerard Foremont, old childhood friends, meet again for a large Christmas party at Wintrell Hall. Miranda is making plans to escape a life of drudgery as a poor relation in her cousin’s household, while Gerard battles bitterness that his career was cut short by the injury to his knee. However, an enemy has infiltrated the family party, bent on revenge and determined that Twelfth Night will end in someone’s death ... From fan favorite author Lacy Williams, a new contemporary cowboy romance Mistletoe Cowboy: After suffering a career-ending injury, bull rider Justin Michaels has stalled out. At twenty-seven, he’s back in college to try and find direction for his life. Valri North is a few credits away from completing her pre-med degree. She’s got her life planned out, until a disastrous assignment in class and a distracting cowboy threaten to derail her carefully-ordered plans. From award-winning author Cheryl Wyatt, a new contemporary romance A Refuge Christmas: Refuge police officer Connor Stallings is facing the challenge of his career: new mayor Adrianna White, who wants to restructure his beloved town upside down. Adrianna’s heart is in the right place, but as she and the handsome police officer clash, they grow close enough to glimpse on their horizon a partnership of vows beyond helping the quirky but close-knit town.

    She liked the simple things inlife - soft firelight and evenings at home. A quiet widow devoted to her only dear child, Sarah. Until she fell in with a fashionable crowd, going from party to party, trying things she would once have considered shocking and never quite thinking about the consequences. Why had she changed? And what was going to happen to her impressionable young daughter?Ann Prentice is in love with Richard Cauldfield and hopes for new happiness. Her only daughter, cannot contemplate the idea of her mother marrying again and wrecks any chance of her remarriage. Resentment and jealousy corrode their relationship as each seeks relief in different directions. Are mother and daughter destined to be enemies for life or will their underlying love for each other finally win through?

     You know the kind. They steal the breath from your lungs and make your heart beat a little faster with a single look. You can’t stop staring, but the moment they pin those gorgeous eyes on you, you’re done for. The kind that’s too hard to resist. This is a collection of men just like that. Handsome, confident and all for you. DRAWN TO HIM is a collection of eight exclusive never-before-seen novellas you can't resist, complete with HEAs. They have all the book feels and angst you've been wanting.

    Elegantly structured, these stories span the globe and beyond, from small-town America and sunny Caribbean islands to the Arctic Ocean and the very gates of Heaven itself. And though some of the stories are steeped in mythology, they remain grounded in universal experiences: loss of identity, leaving home, parenthood, joy, and longing.Crisscrossing the pages of Awayland are travelers and expats, shadows and ghosts. A girl watches as her homesick mother slowly dissolves into literal mist. The mayor of a small Midwestern town offers a strange prize, for stranger reasons, to the parents of any baby born on Lenin's birthday. A chef bound for Mars begins an even more treacherous journey much closer to home. And a lonely heart searches for love online--never mind that he's a Cyclops. With her signature tenderness, Ramona Ausubel applies a mapmaker's eye to landscapes both real and imagined, all the while providing a keen guide to the wild, uncharted terrain of the human heart.

    . . but first she’ll have to face her past. Young, vibrant, and willing to confront any obstacle in her path, Bree Yarbrough has spent the last few years traveling the world and learning from the great artists. Only, her work has yet to strike a lasting chord. When her hometown mentor reaches out with an opportunity that will set her on the path to success, she knows she can’t say no. But once back in Silver Creek, she discovers she isn’t the only one who’s returned home. Justin Cory has as well—and he’s living next door. She may have made a fool of herself over him before, but Bree isn't the kind of girl to let past mortification stand in the way of something she wants. The last ten years of Justin Cory’s life has been driven by one focus: go to school, get his physical therapy degree, and return home so he can be there for his mom. But now that he's back, he can't stop thinking about the night that changed his life forever—and the guilt he can't escape. Fun, irresistible, and once-best-friend Bree seems like the perfect distraction. She isn't sticking around past the holidays, so he doesn't have to worry she’ll expect more than he can give. But as they spend the season together, stolen mistletoe kisses start to feel all too right. However, with the future uncertain and the past hanging over them, it may take more than mistletoe to get from Christmas to forever.

    Now Irish Girls Are Back In Town ...and their unique charm resonates throughout this high-spirited gathering of first-rate short fiction! So cozy up with some of today's best Irish women writers -- many favorites from the first Irish Girls collection and some lively newcomers -- as they spin nineteen all-new tales ranging from poignant and heartwarming to provocative and outright hilarious. Against the madcap setting of a bingo hall, Cecelia Ahern conjures a woman's memories of her domineering mother in "The Calling"...Patricia Scanlan unwraps the truth behind "Façades" when two friends reconnect at the holidays. Are they as happy and successful as they appear?...A resolute widow pieces together a shocking betrayal -- and vows to outdo her competition -- in Gemma O'Connor's deliciously twisted "Dinner with Annie"...Sarah Webb reveals "How Emily Got Promoted" -- and how a little bit of luck can make a working girl's day. Plus other wonderful entries from Una Brankin · Marita Conlon-McKenna · Martina Devlin Clare Dowling · Catherine Foley · Áine Greaney · Suzanne Higgins · Rosaleen Linehan · Joan O'Neill · Julie Parsons · Deirdre Purcell · Morag Prunty · Tina Reilly · Mary Ryan · Annie Sparrow

    Together, they own and run Wild Country Hiking Tours. When Lucas returns to the company after getting his college degree, Maggie realizes that the crush she had on him as a teenager has now blossomed into so much more. But Lucas still treats her as one of the guys, and Maggie worries that if she tells him her real feelings, their relationship will be damaged forever.In JUST FLY, Krista Lynne Jensen's captivating novella, Wren is faced with the devastating news of her grandfather's death. But when her mom finds a mysterious letter from a woman named Dot in Seattle, Wren decides to visit the woman herself to deliver the news in person. Wren learns of the bucket list Dot and Gramps had put together with the help of Dot's grandson, Seth, and Dot challenges Wren to take her grandfather's place in completing the list. Before the week of adventure is over, Seth has impressed Wren in more ways than one. But is that enough to overcome Wren's fear of losing those she loves?HOW TO REWRITE A LOVE LETTER, an enthralling novella by Diane Darcy, high school teacher Julie Ashburn believes she’ll never live the “event” down in which she wrote her true feelings in a love letter to Principal Dane Parker, and he laughed out loud, mocking her. Now that her honors English students want to write love letters for the school fundraiser, Dane turns down the idea flat. Julie tries to convince him that it was her students’ idea and not any sort of payback. But when a student writes a fake love letter from the principal to Julie, everything gets even more mixed up, and both Julie and Dane are caught up in a series of misunderstandings that might be impossible to sort out.In Sarah M. Eden’s delightful story, A THOUSAND WORDS, Shannon Ryan has been waiting half a year to be reunited with her fiance, Patrick, with only the letters between them keeping their relationship alive. He finally sends for her after securing a good job with the Sidney newspaper, and she can’t wait to be reunited with him, swept up in his arms and thoroughly kissed. And of course, married as soon as possible. But when she arrives at the train station, there is no Patrick waiting for her. Shannon must discover if the man she loves still has feelings for her.BETWEEN THE LINES is a sweet romance by Annette Lyon. Jane Martin is intelligent but extremely shy, especially around men. When the Aid and Cultural Society proposes a letter-writing program, Jane signs up, hoping she can find true friendship. The program doesn’t run as smoothly as expected, and unknown to Jane, one of the men in her city becomes her writing friend. Thomas Allred has always known shy and quiet Jane, but reading her letters written to his secret persona, opens his eyes to what an amazing woman she is. The only trouble is, Jane doesn’t know that the man who she is falling in love with through letters is also Thomas, the man who is falling in love with her in person.In the enchanting novella, BLACKBERRY HOLLOW, by Heather B. Moore, Lucy Quinn travels to England to inspect her inherited estate. Unfortunately, as a resident of New York and nearly engaged, Lucy needs put the house on the market. But first, she wants to learn more about her ancestors. What she doesn’t expect is Calvin Bevans, the man living next door. The two families have been divided by a misunderstanding decades old, and when Lucy discovers a set of love letters, she learns the truth. As Calvin helps her unravel the hidden secrets between the two families, Lucy finds that she has more reasons to stay in England than to return to New York.

    Brought together in this volume, these stories represent an unprecedented accomplishment in American literature. In their iconoclasm and needle-sharp irony, their formal and thematic ingenuity and element of surprise, they differ markedly from the fiction admired in Bierce's time. Readers familiar with the classic An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge will want to turn to Bierce's other Civil War stories. Also included here are his horror stories, among them The Death of Halpin Frayser and The Damned Thing, and such tall tales as Oil of Dog and A Cargo of Cat.