The Widow’s Fire explores the shadow side of Jane Austen’s final novel Persuasion, disrupting its happy ending and throwing moral certainties off balance. We join the action close to the moment when Austen draws away for the last time and discretely gives an overview of the oncoming marriage between heroine Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. This, it transpires in The Widow’s Fire, is merely the beginning of a journey. Soon dark undercurrents disturb the order and symmetry of Austen’s world. The gothic flavor of the period, usually satirized by Austen, begins to assert itself. Characters far below the notice of Anne, a baronet’s daughter, have agendas of their own. Before long, we enter into the realm of scandal and blackmail. Anne Elliot must come to recognize the subversive power of those who have been hitherto invisible to her — servants, maids and attendants — before she can defend her fiancé from an accusation too dreadful to be named. Captain Wentworth himself must learn the skills of living on land; the code of honour and secrecy which has protected him on deck no longer applies on the streets of Bath.
Domestic fiction
- Author:Butler, PaulSummary:
- Author:Golden, MaritaSummary:
From acclaimed author Marita Golden comes a moving African-American family drama of love and devotion in the face of Alzheimer's disease. You just can't plan for this kind of thing. Diane Tate certainly hasn't. She never expected to slowly lose her talented husband to the debilitating effects of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. As a respected family court judge, she's spent her life making tough calls, but when her sixty-eight-year-old husband's health worsens and Diane is forced to move him into an assisted living facility, it seems her world is spinning out of control. As Gregory's memory wavers and fades, Diane and her children must reexamine their connection to the man he once was-and learn to love the man he has become. For Diane' daughter Lauren, it means honoring her father by following in his footsteps as a successful architect. For her son Sean, it means finding a way to repair the strained relationship with his father before it's too late. Supporting her children in a changing landscape, Diane remains resolute in her goal to keep her family together-until her husband finds love with another resident of the facility. Suddenly faced with an uncertain future, Diane must choose a new path-and discover her own capacity for love.
- Author:Pearson, KitSummary:
In 1932, after the death of their father, ten-year-old Polly and her older sister Maud must leave their home in Winnipeg and begin a new life with their grandmother on a remote island off the coast of B.C. Maud goes off to boarding school in Victoria and Polly, despite missing her sister, begins to adapt to her new life on the island. But on the edge of this budding happiness, is a dark secret that Polly struggles to keep.
- Author:de la Roche, MazoSummary:
First published in 1953, in The Whiteoak Brothers, the Jalna household is electric with secrecy and excited expectation. It is now 1923, and while young love blossoms between Pheasant and Piers, Aunt Augusta's friend, Dilly Warkworth, arrives at Jalna and tries to snare the heart of Renny. Eden, meets a persuasive mining broker whose new venture promises miracles. One by one, Eden persuades the other Whiteoaks to part with their savings - even old Adeline. This is book 6 of 16 in The Whiteoak Chronicles. It is followed by Jalna.
- Author:Johnson, JaneSummary:
Mother and daughter Magdalena and Mila acquire a house in the White Valley of Cornwall in the summer of 1954. Magda has grand plans to restore the house to its former glory as a venue for glittering parties. Her grown daughter, Mila, just wants to escape the scandal in her past and make a safe and happy home for her little girl, Janey, a solitary, precocious child blessed with a vivid imagination, much of which she pours into stories about her magical plush toy, Rabbit. But Janey's rabbit isn't the only magical being around. Legend has it that an enchanted white hare may be seen running through the woods. As Mila, her mother, and her young daughter adjust to life in this mysterious place, they will have to reckon with their own pasts and with the secrets that have been haunting the White Valley for decades.
- Author:Birch, TonySummary:
Australia, 1960s. For thirteen years Odette raised her fair-skinned granddaughter Sissy without drawing notice from the authorities who remove fair-skinned Aboriginal children from their families. But the arrival of a new policeman with cruel eyes and a rigid by-the-book attitude throws their lives off-kilter. It will take all of Odette's courage and cunning to save Sissy from the authorities.
- Author:Jackson, JoanneSummary:
A year after the early death of his wife, John Davies comes hesitantly out of retirement to take a job at The Wheaton, a senior's residence. Having resisted 'getting involved' for his entire life, John is immediately out of his comfort zone. The Wheaton is a boundary-free environment, and he is immersed in the kinds of sticky matters he usually does his best to avoid. Surrounded by mortality and the ghosts of regret haunting many of the residents, John begins to do the unthinkable: relate to his fellow creatures and reconsider his past. After a life of being a selfish husband and a distracted absentee father, is it too late to try to make amends?
- Author:Swan, SusanSummary:
"The Western Light, the prequel to the international bestselling The Wives of Bath, is Susan Swan''s long-awaited return to the life of the beloved narrator Mary "Mouse" Bradford. Mouse''s world is constrained by a number of factors: her mother is dead, her father -- the admired country doctor -- is emotionally distant, her housekeeper Sal is prejudiced and narrow, and her grandmother and aunt, Big Louie and Little Louie, the only life-affirming presences in her life, live in another city. Enter Gentleman John Pilkie, the former NHL star who''s transferred to the mental hospital in Midland, where he is to serve out his life-sentence for the murder of his wife and daughter. John becomes a point of fascination for young Mary, who looks to him for the attention she does not receive from her father. He, in turn, is kind to her -- but the kindness is misunderstood. When Mary figures out that the attention she receives from the Hockey Killer is different in kind and intent from the attention her Aunt Little Louie receives, her world collapses. Set against the beautiful and dramatic shores of Georgian Bay, the climax will have readers turning pages with concern for characters they can''t help but love."--Publisher.
- Author:Brenner, JamieSummary:
Meryl Becker is living a mother's dream. Meg, the oldest of her three beautiful daughters, is engaged to a wonderful man from one of the country's most prominent families. Of course, Meryl wants to give Meg the perfect wedding -- who wouldn't? But when her two younger daughters, Amy and Jo, also become engaged to celebrated bachelors, Meryl has to admit that three weddings is more than she and her husband, Hugh, can realistically afford. The solution? A triple wedding! At first, it's a tough sell to the girls, and juggling three sets of future in-laws is a logistical nightmare. But when Hugh loses his teaching job, and Meryl's aging mother suddenly moves in with them, a triple wedding is the only way to get all three sisters down the aisle. When the grand plan becomes public, the onslaught of media attention adds to Meryl's mounting pressure. Suddenly, appearances are everything--and she will do whatever it takes to keep the wedding on track as money gets tight, her mother starts acting nutty, and her own thirty-year marriage starts to unravel. In the weeks leading up to the nuptials, secrets are revealed, passions ignite, and surprising revelations show Meryl and her daughters the true meaning of love, marriage, and family. Jamie Brenner's The Wedding Sisters invites listeners to the most unpredictable wedding of the year.
- Author:Chiaverini, JenniferSummary:
Meditating on the weddings she has attended in Elm Creek Manor throughout the years on the morning of her daughter's wedding day, Sarah McClure evaluates the symbolic features on a wedding quilt designed to display the signatures of beloved guests.
- Author:Hauck, RachelSummary:
Four brides. One dress. A tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love. Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift--and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can't she find the perfect dress--or feel certain she should marry Tim? Then Charlotte purchases a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new, shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it? Charlotte's search for the gown's history--and its new bride--begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with something ...
- Author:Fox, PhoebeSummary:
Marcie Malone didn't think she was either, but when she drives from Georgia to the southwestern shore of Florida without a plan and wakes up in a stranger's home, she doesn't seem to know anymore. Despondent and heartbroken over an unexpected loss and the man she thought she could count on, Marcie leaves him behind, along with her job and her whole life, and finds she has nowhere to go. Herman Flint has seen just about everything in his 70 years living in a fading, blue-collar Florida town, but the body collapsed on the beach outside his window is something new. The woman is clearly in some kind of trouble and Flint wants no part of it - he's learned to live on his own just fine, without the hassle of worrying about others. But against his better judgment he takes Marcie in and lets her stay until she's on her feet on the condition she keeps out of his way. As the unlikely pair slowly copes with the damage life has wrought, Marcie and Flint have to decide whether to face up to the past they’ve each been running from, and find a way to move forward with the people they care about most.
- Author:Moriarty, SinéadSummary:
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Way We Were by Sinead Moriarty, read by Robert Portal, Rachel Louise Miller, Alison McKenna and Daniel Weyman. WINNER OF THE IRISH BOOK AWARD FOR POPULAR FICTION 2015 'Heartfelt and deeply moving ... I couldn't put it down.' Susan Lewis 'Intriguing and thought provoking ... a great read.' Katie Fforde When Alice's husband Ben dies suddenly, her world falls apart. They shared twenty years and two daughters and life without him is unimaginable. Having lost her parents while young, Alice understands her girls' pain. At fifteen, Jools is at that awkward age and only Ben could get through to her. And eleven-year-old Holly looks for the answer to everything in books but this time she's drawing a blank. Alice realizes that for their sakes she must summon up superhuman reserves of strength. Somehow all three of them come through the dark days. In time, it's even possible for Alice to consider marrying again, with the girls' blessing. So when Ben turns up after three years, her world is again turned upside-down. The girls assume that their family can go back to the way they were. Alice is not so sure. Once more Alice has to find the strength to be the mother her daughters need her to be. But this time what that means is far from clear ...
- Author:Cockram, JaneSummary:
When Susie suddenly dies, her sister Camilla receives a bundle of letters instructing her to visit a place special to Susie, both to spread her ashes but also to uncover some truths Susie has long kept hidden from her family.
- Author:Kelsall, LéonieSummary:
An entrancing new rural romance from the bestselling author of The Farm at Peppertree Crossing. Three aching hearts, a ramshackle country pub and a tangled web of secrets. PR executive Gabrielle Moreau knows she has an easy life, but when her business partner claims she lacks career passion she takes ownership of a dilapidated pub in a tiny riverside settlement to prove she can be a success without falling back on her privilege. Eighteen months ago, Settlers Bridge stonemason Hayden Paech had it all: a job he loved, good mates and a close family. All he needed was the right woman to come along, and he was ready to settle down. But one poor choice stole that chance and he'll never risk caring for anyone again. Living at Wurruldi Hotel for ... goodness, so many years, Ilse has seen more changes of ownership than she can recall. Clinging to her failing memories, she's tired of trying to protect the property her grandparents built. With the arrival of the elegant Gabrielle Moreau, however, it seems that finally an owner may recognise the importance of recapturing the grace and dignity of Ilse's past. For Ilse to find peace, Hayden forgiveness and Gabrielle her true passion, three aching hearts must reveal their secrets. 'Warm, witty and brimming with big-hearted country characters, renovations and romance.' Maya Linnell, bestselling author of Bottlebrush Creek.
- Author:Contois, DarlaSummary:
The War Being Waged is a poetic and unflinchingly truthful examination of what happens when patriotism and sovereignty collide. An Indigenous mother becomes an activist while her brother becomes a soldier. A grandmother speaks to her granddaughter from prison. A granddaughter, filled with turmoil, struggles to accept her family's history. Three generations of Indigenous women try to connect the pieces of their lives after experiencing all the ways Canada has torn them apart.
- Author:Nowlan, AldenSummary:
In this new edition of Alden Nowlan's poignant first novel, published posthumously in 1988, a boy growing up in a small Nova Scotia mill town is abandoned by the young mother he adores. Family relationships, sexual confusions, and the pains of love are rendered with deep and authentic feeling. This is an essential book for all readers who have admired the work of this major Canadian writer.
- Author:Ada, KawaSummary:
As the Soviet army invades Afghanistan, Aman and Mariam flee to Canada in hopes of putting an ocean between themselves and the daily horrors of war. A championship chess player in Kabul, Aman finds himself working in a pizzeria just to get by. Their fresh start continues to prove difficult as they navigate the trauma and displacement that follows them at every turn, and when their son Roshan is born, their curse of displacement is passed on to the next generation. The family’s only hope for a peaceful future might be Mariam’s past, as her family mythology becomes a source of power. Is her love strong enough to keep Aman and Roshan from destroying themselves or each other?
- Author:Lawrence, D. H.Summary:
In a claustrophobic household, oppressed by her blind, toad-like grandmother and a cowardly, conventional father, Yvette's exuberance seems doomed to suppression. But meeting a gypsy awakens unfamiliar emotions in her, making her challenge the family's accepted morality. As she wavers between conformity and rebellion, a flash flood threatens her home, her world and her life. This short novel deals with all the major themes of sexuality and identity that made Lawrence one of the most original and influential writers of the 20th century; and it is a satirical, atmospheric, moving and surprising masterpiece.
- Author:Mallery, SusanSummary:
Mackenzie Dienes seems to have it all. But really, it's her husband who does. So when their marriage is over, she's on the brink of losing everything. But if she can let go, she might discover something more beautiful waiting for her.
Pages
![Subscribe to RSS - Domestic fiction](https://nnels.ca/misc/feed.png)