"Fern and her mother have lived as servants in Wyndemere House, the old Gothic mansion of the Davenport family, for as long as she can remember, and her friendship with Dr. Davenport's son Ryder was never a problem . . . until they came of age. An intimate encounter following a high school prom brings the pair near-tragic consequences, and the forces of fate, arrogance, and class prejudice gather to crush their warm relationship. Still, the real threat...

"1825. Delighted by the quiet uproar of raising their newborn, Lady Lucy and Major Sir Robert Kurland could not be more pleased at the prospect of welcoming another into their home. But their preparations are soon overshadowed by a baffling case of murder . . . Once known to all in her village as the rector's daughter, Lucy is now a mother herself - to a wonderful eighteen-month-old son, Ned. Upon discovering that she is expecting a second child,...

"Molière's THE BUNGLER (1655) takes place in the Sicilian city of Messina and is a fresh, zestful verse treatment of the familiar elements of Italian popular comedy. A beautiful young woman named Célie has been traveling with a gypsy band and, shortly before the play begins, has been left by the gypsies with a rich old man named Trufaldin as security for a loan. Two young men of Messina, Lélie and Léandre, have lately been rivals for the hand...

"It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I...

The story of a gentleman in 18th century England marrying a servant girl, a challenge to the social hierarchy. This shows a typical representative of the middle class which had already challenged the aristocracy and was beginning to impose its ideal of Protestant respectability and hard work on England and the world.

Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's, 1904 New York City, world changes when Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and two little sisters move in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger, and grow to be as close as two sister could ever be. But life is full...

1666: The Great Fire of London sweeps through the streets and a heavily pregnant woman flees the flames. A few months later she gives birth to a child disfigured by a red birthmark. 1718: Sixteen-year-old Eliza Tally sees the gleaming dome of St. Paul's Cathedral rising above a rebuilt city. She arrives as an apothecary's maid, a position hastily arranged to shield the father of her unborn child from scandal. But why is the apothecary so eager to...

“Fascinating . . . The reader is treated to a revealing account of the passionate romance between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning through the eyes of an intimate observer.”—Booklist
Young and timid but full of sturdy good sense and awakening sophistication, Lily Wilson arrives in London in 1844, becoming a lady’s maid to the fragile, housebound Elizabeth Barrett. Lily is quickly drawn to her mistress’...

Chevalier transports readers to a bygone time and place in this richly imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired one of Vermeer's most celebrated paintings. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is the story of 16-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius, even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil. History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening.

All seven episodes from the first series of the Edwardian costume drama following the lives and loves of those above and below stairs in a stately home prior to the outbreak of WWI. The Grantham family, long time custodians of Downton Abbey, face a crisis when the heir to the estate dies on the 'Titanic'. With his three daughters unable to inherit by law, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), the current Earl of Grantham, must try and marry his eldest...