Early Fiction

Since its inception in the 19th Century photography has been a trusted source capturing both truth and reality. It cannot lie. Our eyes may deceive us, but the camera cannot. In this volume whilst our classic authors are at the early edge of photography’s development, they use it in ways that are both innovative and atmospheric as very often the camera and the photographer become a central part in many fascinating stories.

This is Carl Sandburg's third book of poetry and his largest. It is also the most wide-ranging. The title, Smoke and Steel, suggests the steel industry he knew in Chicago, Gary and Pittsburg, but he writes about many other things as well. His over-arching theme seems to be human life as a struggle in adversity, a struggle for the mere necessities of life - food, clothing, shelter, work - and a struggle for the human soul, a struggle for love, charity, justice, equality.

In Earth Triumphant, Conrad Aiken's first major book of poetry, he took on a significant subject: What is the ultimate source of the human spirit? When the young human spirit loves, rages, strives, plays, where does that energy come from? When the old human spirit sees that time has passed and death is coming, where does that spirit find rest?

Every Winter, the human population hibernates. During those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness and devoid of human activity. Well, not quite. Your name is Charlie Worthing, and it's your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses. You are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense - nothing more than a quirky artefact born of the sleeping mind. When the dreams start to kill people, it's unsettling.

Chiara Ravello is about to flee occupied Rome when she locks eyes with a woman being herded on to a truck with her family. Claiming the woman's son, Daniele, as her own nephew, Chiara demands his return; only as the trucks depart does she realize what she has done. She is 27, with a sister who needs her constant care, a hazardous journey ahead, and now a child in her charge.

This rhythmic I-Spy journey to school through various landscapes is the perfect introduction to colors, modes of transport, and of course, music! With popular singer Fred Penner's vocals, this I-Spy theme encourages reader/listener interaction while building sequencing skills. We All Go Traveling By is ideal for music and movement activities.

Take a break from videos and enjoy an uplifting historical novella about a loveable pixie. <>Summer of 1781<> Sweet, naïve — and psychic — pre-adolescent Jenny has just been adopted into a wonderful, yet different family. She knows Mommy and Grannie are from someplace where carriages fly in the air and books have moving pictures, but she doesn’t care if they’re odd – she loves them. Jenny’s adoring new parents try to educate the semi-feral youngster and protect her from problems that arise from growing up half-wild. However, no amount of love can prevent the chatty young girl ...

Ballet has never been fancier! Fancy Nancy loves going to ballet class with her best friend, Bree. But when she realizes that her dad and the rest of her family have a lot to learn about ballet, she has a fabulous idea! What if she opened her own ballet school?

Lois Ehlert is the celebrated author of numerous best-selling picture books. Would you believe that Ralph the dog can talk? Yip, yip, yip - it's true. With Ehlert's simple, funny, call-and-response text, this fresh, engaging book is sure to get little ones laughing (and talking to their dogs!).

National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward takes James Baldwin's 1963 examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, as a jumping-off point for this groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race from the most important voices of her generation and our time.

A mystery novel set in France during the early 20th century. In "The Brandy Bandits," readers are transported to the picturesque French countryside, where Marlin Bostick, a diligent English wine merchant, finds himself ensnared in an unexpected web of intrigue and peril. What begins as a simple business trip quickly spirals into a dangerous investigation that blurs the lines between trade and treachery. After a chance encounter with the enigmatic Madeleine Slaton at her father’s sawmill, Marlin notices oddities that suggest a darker underbelly beneath the serene facade of their world. His...

Based on a true story, Onesimus is the tale of a young, unhappy slave who lived during the first century Roman Empire. The world is a highly structured society of deities, slaves, masters, prostitutes, government corruption, soldiers—with little opportunity to move out of one’s role. But he has a plan to become free and make something of himself—until he is betrayed. His response leads him on a path of danger, deceit, and discovery until he comes into contact with a famous leader of a young new religion based on the Jewish faith. What he finds will test his will and his courage, and ...

What better way to fancy Mom up for her birthday than to treat her to a super-deluxe beauty day created by Fancy Nancy herself? It's a pampering paradise, and right in the backyard! With relaxing music, fragrant lotions, colorful nail polish, and foamy mousse, Nancy gives her mom a total makeover. She even treats her to sumptuous refreshments and special entertainment. But when the pampering suddenly goes too far, has Nancy ruined her mom's big day?

Follow the adventures of Franky the Frog and his best friend Felix the Fly. Franky is a very happy frog. Do you want to find out why he is so happy? This is an excellent storybook for early readers, listening aloud at home, and as a bedtime story.

Out of the mixture of Latin and Germanic paganism and the Christianity of the Early Middle Ages has sprung one of the world's supremely great pieces of literature. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, delivered a famous lecture to the British Academy in 1936 in which he maintained that Beowulf was a poem all of a piece, and not (as had been suggested) a jumble of fragments for pedantic scholars to paw over.

A murder mystery book set in New York and New York City during the early 20th century. Step into the shadowy streets of early 20th century New York City, where the echoes of a masterful criminal's footsteps blend with the clinking of horse-drawn carriages. Nick Grossman, a seasoned detective known for his unyielding pursuit of justice, finds himself entangled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the enigmatic Brown Robin, a cunning blackmailer and elusive impersonator. Nick Grossman receives a taunting letter from the Brown Robin, a master of disguise who has evaded the police in Chicago,...

Death in Central Park by Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a gripping mystery novel set in New York City during the early 20th century. When a young woman is found dead on a park bench, two high society individuals, Stephanie Orton and Carlos Collins, find themselves entangled in a complex web of intrigue and secrets. Stephanie Orton, a practical and independent heiress, refuses to marry the charming yet idle Steve Collins until he proves himself capable of achieving something meaningful. Their lives take an unexpected turn when they discover the lifeless body of a beautiful, unidentified girl in ...

Best-selling author Jasper Fforde begins an effervescent new series. It's Easter in Reading - a bad time for eggs - and no one can remember the last sunny day. Humpty Dumpty, well-known nursery favourite, large egg, ex-convict and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered beneath a wall in a shabby area of town.

From Amazon bestselling author Steven Becker comes an electrifying maritime adventure that will plunge you into the depths of the sea and the heart-pounding pursuit of hidden treasure. Prepare to embark on a thrilling journey alongside Mac and Wood as they unearth the secrets of the past, face treacherous adversaries, and dive headfirst into danger. Becker's expert storytelling will transport you to the sun-soaked shores of Florida Keys, immersing you in a world teeming with adventure, mystery, and the allure of buried treasure.

Life in the Pennsylvania colonies in the early 1760s meant new beginnings for many, brought to the land in search of freedom, adventure, and the chance for new beginnings. Everything good that they were traveled with most of them, while everything bad and petty, cruelly ambitious and greedy, came along packed in the baggage of others. Lord Dominick Crown hadn’t so much emigrated to New Eden than he had fled there to escape his past. Byrna Cassidy had left Ireland with high hopes for a new life with her father’s family. For both, the future seemed bright. But that was before the worlds ...