And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground. Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber

    As the festive season approaches in a small Welsh village, two friends, Patricia and Vanessa, fall for the same man. Vanessa will stop at nothing to win his affections, but ultimately it is Patricia who finds love.Yet when tragedy strikes, it is Patricia who has to piece her life back together. Throwing herself into revitalising a traditional gelato business, she finds comfort from an unexpected source. Soon local gossip makes her worry if her new suitor can be trusted… is he too good to be true? An atmospheric and emotional saga, Ice Cream in Winter is steeped in period detail. Its author, the much-loved Grace Thompson (here under the pen name Kay Christopher), is one of the bestselling saga writers of recent years.

    Only courageous mountain men like Nathaniel King were willing to risk the unknown dangers for the freedom the wilderness offered. But while attending a rendezvous of trappers and fur traders, King’s freedom was threatened when he was accused of murdering several men for their money. With the help of his friend Shakespeare McNair, Nathaniel had to prove his innocence. For he had not cast off the fetters of society to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Blood Fury In 1828, the Rocky Mountains were wild and treacherous. Anyone daring to travel there faced unknown dangers and adventures at every turn. On a hunting trip, young Nathaniel King stumbled onto a disgraced Crow Indian. Attempting to regain his honor, Sitting Bear placed himself and his family in great peril, for a war party of hostile Utes threatened to kill them all. When the savages wounded Sitting Bear and kidnapped his wife and daughter, Nathaniel had to rescue them or watch them perish. But despite his skill in tricking unfriendly Indians, King might just have met an enemy he could not outsmart. ABOUT THE AUTHOR David L. Robbins was born on Independence Day 1950. He has written more than three hundred books under his own name and many pen names, among them: David Thompson, Jake McMasters, Jon Sharpe, Don Pendleton, Franklin W. Dixon, Ralph Compton, Dean L. McElwain, J.D. Cameron and John Killdeer. Robbins was raised in Pennsylvania. When he was seventeen he enlisted in the United States Air Force and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant. After his honorable discharge he attended college and went into broadcasting, working as an announcer and engineer (and later as a program director) at various radio stations. Later still he entered law enforcement and then took to writing full-time. At one time or another Robbins has lived in Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. He spent a year and a half in Europe, traveling through France, Italy, Greece and Germany. He lived for more than a year in Turkey. Today he is best known for two current long-running series – Wilderness, the generational saga of a Mountain Man and his Shoshone wife – and Endworld is a science fiction series under his own name started in 1986. Among his many other books, Piccadilly Publishing is pleased to be reissuing ebook editions of Wilderness, Davy Crockett and, of course, White Apache. Check us out at www.piccadillypublishing.org

     Dreamed of roping your own sexy cowboy? How about Six stories by award winning and best-selling Western Romance authors? These tales delight with romance, Wranglers and Stetsons. The Heartsong Cowboy by Melissa Keir- Can two people, one horse and the power of love cure a little girl? Ride of his Life by Deb Julienne-Battling your own demons is easier than fighting family. Clayton and Andie learn this the hard way... Radio Rose by Stephanie Berget- Cowboys and aliens … on a dark, deserted highway, it can be hard to tell the difference. 119 Days by RaeAnne Hadley- Divorced for five years, Celeste Howard was happy with her life. The only thing she missed was a man's touch. Sean Mison fit her ideal of a perfect one-night stand, but what began as a simple stress reliever grew into more than what Celeste signed on for. Promise Me Eden by D’Ann Lindun- She’s buried in grief. He doesn’t know how to help. Can they find their way back together before it’s too late? Cowboy in Waiting by Leslie P. Garcia- She’d buried a hero. She wasn’t looking for another. But her cowboy in waiting was far from a hero… Climb on board for the ride of your life!

    As he is still on talking terms with his dead wife, Jimmy qualifies in spades.He will travel far...to a time and place that will slowly mend his broken heart, and alter the course of his life forever.

    Weil comes a boxset containing all of the Lost Fleet Series books. An alien galaxy, a trapped fleet, and no way to get home. Disaster has struck during the battle at the center of the galaxy near the massive black hole that swallows everything including light. Admiral Jeremy Strong and his fleet have been drawn into a spatial vortex connected to a distant galaxy. There is no way home, and they are stranded far away from everything and everyone they knew. Even worse, they face a new and dangerous enemy that wants to see Admiral Strong’s fleet destroyed. In desperation, Admiral Strong fights to save his fleet and find them a refuge. He is outnumbered, short on resources, and morale is low. What can he do to survive in a galaxy that only wishes to see his fleet’s destruction? Find out what happens in the five books of the Lost Fleet Series. 1,730 reviews Over 1,600 action-packed pages! Massive space battles, strange aliens, and unexpected twists and turns.

     See how they each conquered and held the rich, fertile kingdoms of the Stormlands, Dorne, and the Reach, and just why it is that the families of Game of Thrones are eager to avenge themselves on one another. Here is the story of how Orys Baratheon founded House Baratheon through fury and the fire of dragons and how that house eventually produced the Kings Robert and Stannis of the beloved series. Why is it that House Martell hates the Lannisters and all of the other Houses fear dealing with them? How did House Tyrell come to command the richest and greatest armies of all Westeros from their lowly origins as stewards? Game of Thrones: A Family History Volume II has all of these answers and more!

    Some of the most upfront information can easily be missed in the blink of an eye. Test any true fan with these hand selected Harry Potter facts from the series. Inside this fun and informative book, you’ll discover: Over 170 new facts you never knew about Potter Hagrid's legendary beard? Hilarious altercations that were NOT included Which characters had trouble getting acquainted? Lice break out and sleepless nights? Did I mention Hagrid's legendary beard? Untold lore from multiple series And so much more! You’ll enjoy fun sharable facts, new perspectives, and rare information you likely missed. Don’t miss out on this fan favorite – get your copy of Harry Potter: The Little Book Of Facts today. It’s quick and easy to order – Just scroll up and click the ADD TO CART button on the right side of your screen.

    But popular and successful Noah Rackham is shocked when Adelaide won't have anything to do with him. He has no idea that his very presence reminds her of something she'd rather forget. He only knows that he's finally met a woman he could love. TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Everyone in Whiskey Creek remembers Sophia DeBussi as the town's Mean Girl. Especially Ted Dixon, whose love she once scorned. But Sophia has paid the price—the man she did marry was rich and powerful but abusive. When he goes missing, she learns that he died running from an FBI probe of his investment firm, leaving her penniless and forced to face all the townspeople he cheated. Desperate for work, she accepts a job as housekeeper for Ted, now a successful writer. He refuses to get emotionally involved, but will the holidays bring them another chance at happiness? COME HOME TO ME When Presley Christensen returns to Whiskey Creek with her little boy, she has completely changed her life. Now she's back in the small town that was the closest thing to “home” she ever knew. There's just one catch. Aaron Amos still lives in Whiskey Creek, and no matter how hard she's tried, Presley hasn't been able to get over him. She's come too far to backslide now. And there's a secret she's been guarding—a secret she'll do anything to protect.

    Now Anders must decide quickly—stay and fight or cut cables and run.Either way, it’s too late. Someone has other plans for them. The trap has been set, they’ve rescued the woman and taken the bait, and before long Anders and what’s left of his dwindling crew must navigate with caution through the grips of the military and an especially vile outlaw.But Anders doesn’t captain just another team flying the black. With a genius mechanic who uses his ragtag high-tech machine shop to aid them in getting in and out of trouble, they’ve earned a reputation as the best of the best. With Anders’s careful planning, this motley crew must band together and flip the military to use them on a monster heist and dig themselves out from the heat pressing in from both sides of the law.Fly with them. They are clever, they are fierce, they are Lockheed Elite.

    

    This trilogy continues from the previous one, and brings a firm conclusion to the series.Dark Space IV: RevengeDARK SPACE WON THE BATTLE Humanity has just won a major victory against the invading Sythians--the first victory in the history of the war. The savage Gors have joined forces with Dark Space, and now for the first time since the invasion, it looks like the tide is turning. But the Sythians weren't defeated. Humanity just bloodied their noses. Now they know where Dark Space is, and they are coming back for revenge.THE WAR STILL RAGES Admiral Hoff Heston is secretly terrified of what's coming, but he's lulling people into a false sense of security. He needs to buy time. The people of Dark Space are not as alone as they think. AND EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO CHANGE Avilon, a lost sector of humans, has remained hidden and untouched by the Sythian invasion. No one knew they even existed, except for Admiral Heston. Now he must send a mission to contact them and get help, but what humanity finds there will change more than just the course of the war against the alien invaders . . . it will change the very nature of their existence.Other books included in this set:Dark Space V: AvilonSynopsis omitted due to spoilers.Dark Space VI: ArmageddonSynopsis omitted due to spoilers.

    Her beautiful but leaky old house is in need of total restoration, then her relationship with lawyer Todd collapses and he moves out. As the owner of a struggling art gallery she can't possibly manage the mortgage alone, so she is forced to do the one thing she never imagined she would: she advertises for lodgers.And so Francesca finds that her house has become a whole new world - and as things begin to turn around, she realises that her accidental tenants might become the most important people in her life. Over their year together, the house at 44 Charles Street fills with laughter, hope and heartbreak and Francesca discovers that she might be able to open her heart again after all...MaliceOn the night of her mother's funeral, Grace Adams is attacked. A young woman with secrets too horrible to tell, Grace will not reveal the truth about what happened. After a lifetime of being a victim, she must now pay the price for other people's sins.From a small town in Illinois to the depths of a women's prison; from a Chicago modelling agency to a challenging career in New York, Grace carries the past with her wherever she goes. When Grace meets Charles Mackenzie, she finds a man who wants nothing from her - except to heal her and to give her the family she so desperately wants. But with happiness finally within her grasp, Grace is at her most vulnerable - in danger of losing everything to an enemy from her past, an enemy bent on malice...

    The indigenous creatures of Faust have never accepted any invaders--but today, new arrivals haunt their skies. The Black Ship is a predatory vessel. Built for stealth, she glides undetected among the stars, seeking colonies along the Faustian Chain that are ripe for raiding--or outright conquest. These three forces: the colonists, the alien life forms, and the cyborg crew of the Black Ship, are on a collision course in this thrilling military SF adventure. THE BLACK SHIP is a Novella of classic military science fiction by B. V. Larson. The stories in this series can be read in any order.

    Any woman in their right mind would be attracted to the tall, dark, talented and sexy Mr. Jones. So what was JaNair’s problem? Jerome Hayes, JaNair’s newest love and current boyfriend, has been sweeping her off of her feet since the day they met. Already feeling that JaNair is the one for him, Jerome plans to do any and everything to keep her in his life; even if it means keeping secrets and lying to the woman he loves.When shit starts to hit the fan, truths are exposed and lies are revealed. Will the shoulder Semaj lends for tears turn into the shoulder JaNair bites into when he shows her pleasures she’s never known? Find out what the next man is willing to do, when bae won't.