The Mortmere stories

Sample

Robert Louis Stevenson

During his residence in London, the accomplished Prince Florizel of Bohemia gained the affection of all classes by the seduction of his manner and by a well-considered generosity. He was a remarkable man even by what was known of him; and that was but a small part of what he actually did. Although of a placid temper in ordinary circumstances, and accustomed to take the world with as much philosophy as any ploughman, the Prince of Bohemia was not without a taste for ways of life more adventurous and eccentric than that to which he was destined by his birth.

Sample

Patrick Taylor

The New Year brings challenges and changes to the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. The Christmas holidays have barely passed before a fire engulfs the humble thatched cottage housing Donal Donnally and his family. Although the family escapes the blaze more or less unsinged, Donal, his wife, their three small children, and their beloved dog find themselves with nothing left but the clothes on their back. Good thing Doctors O'Reilly and Laverty are on hand to rally the good people of Ballybucklebo to come to their aid. Rebuilding the cottage won't be quick or easy, but good neighbors from all walks of life will see to it that the Donallys get back on their feet again, no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, matters of procreation occupy the doctors and their patients. Young Barry Laverty and his wife, Sue, frustrated in their efforts to start a family, turn to modern medicine for answers. O'Reilly must tread carefully as he advises a married patient on how to avoid another dangerous pregnancy. As a new and tumultuous decade approaches, sectarian divisions threaten to bring unrest to Ulster, but in Ballybucklebo at least, peace still reigns and neighbors look after neighbors.

Sample

A. Manette Ansay

Here are the lives of rural people struggling to make sense of the isolated and often intensely religious worlds in which they live. Marie, a young wife and mother, recalls the effects of a statutory rape trial on her small community. Stuart, a devout teenage boy, dares to rename himself "Start," the only significant thing he has ever done without first consulting God. Widowed Eliza discovers her husband's ghost in the bathroom, flipping through pages of the Popular Mechanics magazines she had thrown out after his death.

Sample

Eleanor Farjeon

Celebrated since childhood for how well she skips rope, 109-year-old Elsie Piddock once again skips, to save her English country town.