This is a troubling story of crime sin guilt punishment & expiation set in the rigid moral climate of 17th-century New Engl&. The young mother of an illegitimate child confronts her Puritan judges. However it is not so much her harsh sentence but the cruelties of slowly exposed guilt as her lover is revealed that hold the reader enthralled all the way to the book's poignant climax. ...

Hester Prynne is a beautiful young woman. She is also an outcast. In the eyes of her neighbours she has committed an unforgivable sin. Everyone knows that her little daughter Pearl is the product of an illicit affair but no one knows the identity of Pearl's father. Hester's refusal to name him brings more condemnation upon her. But she stands strong in the face of public scorn even when she is forced to wear the sign of her shame sewn onto her clothes: the scarlet letter 'A' for ' Adulteress' ...

This is an exquisite leatherbound edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne's historical study of guilt & sin. This version of the landmark of American literature features a satin-ribbon bookmark distinctive stained edging & decorative marbled endpapers. In seventeenth-century Boston Hester Prynne shoulders the scorn of her fellow Puritan townsfolk for bearing a child out of wedlock. For her refusal to name the father of her daughter Pearl Hester is made to wear a scarlet 'A' stitched conspicuously upon her dress. But though she bears the stigma of the shame her peers would confer upon her others feel the guilt for her transgression more acutely notably the pious Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale the confessor with whom Hester & Pearl's destinies are intimately bound up. First published in 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne's historical study of guilt & sin has since been lauded as the most important work of fiction by its distinguished author & a landmark of American literature. This exquisite collectible edition features an elegant bonded-leather binding a satin-ribbon bookmark distinctive stained edging & decorative marbled endpapers. It's the perfect gift for book-lovers & an artful addition to any home library. ...

William Marshal's prowess & loyalty as a knight in the English royal household has been rewarded by marriage to Isabelle de Clare heiress to great estates in England Normandy & Irel&. But their contentment & security is shattered when King Richard dies & is succeeded by his brother John who takes the Marshals' sons hostage & seizes their lands. Now William must face the conflict between remaining loyal or rebelling against these injustices
- & the struggle threatens to tear his marriage apart. Fiercely intelligent & courageous Isabelle too must come to terms with what the future holds.. . The Scarlet Lion is the final novel in an unforgettable standalone trilogy about William Marshal Earl of Pembroke Regent of England
- & one of the country's greatest forgotten heroes.

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What if you learned that your fiance was not who he claimed to be? Engaged to charming seductive Greg Anders Sara Shaw is happily anticipating her wedding in Edilean Virginia. The date has been set the flowers ordered; even her heirloom dress is ready. But just three weeks before the wedding Greg gets a call during the night & leaves without explanation. Two days later a strange man turns up at her apartment.. . Mike Newland is an undercover detective. His assignment is to use Sara to track down a woman who is one of the most notorious criminals in the country & who also happens to be the mother of the man Sara plans to marry. Mike thinks the job will be easy
- if he can figure out how to make Sara trust him. But Mike has no idea what this mission has in store for him. He has connections to Edilean dating back to his grandmothers time there in 1941 but hes worked hard to keep them private. As Mike & Sara get to know each other he cant help but share secrets that hes told no one else. & in return Sara opens up to Mike about things she could never reveal to Greg. As they work together to solve two mysteries will Mike & Saras growing love for each other be enough to heal the wounds of the past?
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Sadie Smith born with a degenerative hip is unable to walk. Sent to a Dr Barnardo's home for treatment she is so excited that she fails to realise she will never see her beloved family again. In 1927 once fully cured Sadie is offered the opportunity of a lifetime; to start a new life in Canada. But when she arrives at the Trikhardts' farm in the heart of Ontario her new life seems far from perfect. Worked from dawn to dusk she treasures the scarlet ribbons her mother gave her & seeks solace in her friendship with fellow orphan cheeky-faced Robbie. A freak hurricane finally provides Sadie with a lucky escape. From Canadian parlourmaid to pilot in Britain's Air Transport Auxillary from office clerk to managing director Sadie has to draw on her courage & strength in a determined struggle to find the lasting happiness that had eluded her as a child. ...

She was a madam in a brothel then a gangster's moll. Now Annie Carter owns the East End of London & God help anybody that crosses her... It's 1970 London & there's a killer on the loose. When gang boss Annie Carter gets a call suddenly it's personal. A close friend of hers is the latest victim & another is in the frame for the murder. With the hated Delaney gang still causing trouble & NY mob boss Don Constantine Barolli's family making no secret of the fact that they hate her she senses a feud blowing up in all their faces very soon. To save her old friend Annie has to try to find out who's been targeting the girls. Before long she's diving head-first into the seedy underbelly of the streets. How long before the killer strikes again? & who will be the next victim? ...

Scarlett" by Cathy Cassidy is an lovely addictive page-turner for girls aged 9+. I'll be different I won't break the rules.. .I promise' Scarlett has got herself in trouble so often her Mum no longer believes her promises. Sent off to stay with Dad the message is behave or else! Can Scarlett mend her ways or will she die of boredom? Perhaps gorgeous & mysterious local boy Kian can supply some of the answers.. ." Touching tender & unforgettable". (" Guardian"). " Cassidy's characters have real heart". (" Sunday Telegraph"). " Cathy Cassidy.. .is way better than Jacqueline Wilson". (Courtney aged 10). Cathy Cassidy wrote her first picture book for her little brother when she was eight or nine & has been writing fabulous stories ever since. Cathy is the bestselling author of " Dizzy" " Driftwood" " Indigo Blue" " Scarlett" " Sundae Girl" " Lucky Star" " Gingersnaps" & " Angel Cake". " The Chocolate Box Girls" is a sumptuous series starring sassy sisters super-cool boys & one of Cathy's biggest loves
- chocolate. Cathy lives in Scotland with her family & of all the jobs she's had writing has to be the best
- it's the perfect excuse to daydream after all."

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Disaster has struck Fairyland! Jack Frost has stolen all the jewels from Queen Titania's crown. Without them the fairies' magic dust is losing its power. Rachel & Kirsty have to help India the Moonstone Fairy Scarlett the Garnet Fairy Emily the Emerald Fairy Chloe the Topaz Fairy Amy the Amethyst Fairy Sophie the Sapphire Fairy & Lucy the Diamond Fairy to get the jewels back before it's too late...in this book Rachel & Kirsty must help Scarlett find her magical garnet before the goblins use its powers to cause chaos in the human world! ...

THE BEAST Strange twisted carvings & hideous gargoyles adorn the palazzo of the great Scarletti family. But a still more fearful secret lurks within its storm-tossed turrets. For every bride who enters its forbidding walls is doomed to leave in a casket. THE BRIDE Mystical & unfettered Nicoletta has no terror of ancient curses & no fear of marriage.. .until she looks into the dark mesmerising eyes of Don Scarletti. She had sworn no man would command her had thought her gift of healing set her apart but his is the right to choose a bride from among his people. & he has chosen her. THE BARGAIN Compelled by duty drawn by desire she gives her body into his keeping & prays the powerful tormented don will be her hearts destiny & not her souls demise. ...