Showing results by narrator "Anne Hancock" in All Categories

This book has all the makings of a fairy tale. The lovely orphaned girl, Phoebe Deane, lives with her kind but ineffectual half-brother but is treated like an unpaid servant by his shrewish wife. A crude widower with a houseful of children is determined to have her. He repulses her but her sister-in-law helps with the scheme to get her in his clutches. Phoebe is in despair and would prefer death to living with a tyrant. Along comes a fairy godmother full of sympathy and plans to help her - and a handsome stranger....

Mrs. Blencarrow is a lovely middle-aged widow with five adoring children and a comfortable income with which to raise them. She holds a position of admiration and respect in her strictly Victorian village society. But the good lady who seems beyond reproach has a secret, and not all her neighbors wish her well. When one of them stumbles upon incriminating information, Mrs. Blencarrow stands to lose everything she holds dear ... Originally published in 1890 by Margaret Oliphant, a keen and prolific chronicler of the strict laws and customs of her time.

A great building boom spread across America in the 1920s and the Fawcett Construction Company of New York has many projects in the pipeline. Carol Berkley, private secretary to the company's president, keeps track of them all and is particularly concerned about the lack of progress in a building out west. When two men who appear to have something to do with the project arrive to talk to her boss, she overhears them discussing plans to swindle the company. Their scheme is to share the spoils with the project's engineer, Philip Duskin.

Constance Wetherill's world has collapsed. The young socialite has discovered that her late uncle has squandered the family fortune, and she is left with $5000 and the care of her elderly grandmother. Having no experience in the world of work, Constance takes a chance. In an out-of-the-way town, far away from anyone she knows, she finds a rambling house with cheap rent where she hopes to open a tea room. Is the place haunted? The townspeople think so because there have been sightings of a lady in white roaming the house and grounds.

Sue Ives and Stephen Bellamy are charged with the murder of Stephen’s wife Mimi, found stabbed in an uninhabited cottage on a Long Island estate. The eight-day trial introduces a trove of witnesses (some reliable, some not); an avuncular defense attorney who may be incompetent; a wily and relentless prosecutor; and the voracious members of the press and public captivated by a crime that lays bare the intrigues and jealousies of the country club set. Two of the reporters, a veteran, and a rookie attending her first murder trial, act as a Greek chorus commenting on unfolding events.

Eager to become a reporter, Penny Parker grabs the chance to cover a society wedding. Her father, the editor of the Riverview Star, explains that the only access to the Kippenberg estate is via a rickety bridge and that Mr. Kippenberg, who is on the run for tax evasion, just might show up at his daughter's wedding. Penny smells a scoop! When the groom receives a mysterious note and disappears moments before the ceremony, Penny is on the trail. The mystery deepens as the intrepid teenager gathers clues while encountering a belligerent gardener, unsavory boatmen, and an alligator.

Strong-minded, irrepressible Miranda Griscom is content working as a live-in housekeeper for the young Spafford family. Here she is loved and appreciated in contrast to her lonely childhood as an unwanted granddaughter. When a wealthy neighbor proposes marriage so that she can care for his motherless children, she is delighted to show him the door, proud that she is “a free and independent woman who can earn her own living”.

Elizabeth is utterly alone in her Montana cabin, shocked by the sudden, brutal death of her brother, the last of her family. His killer has threatened to return and claim her, and she has only one thought: to flee across country to the East and search for relatives she has never known. With the villain and his gang in pursuit, she rides across perilous terrain, encountering those who help her and those who, in their own way, are just as dangerous as the men she is fleeing.

When Rachel and her mother move to Mrs. Moore's house - the one with right next to the Line - Rachel starts questioning things. There are so many rumors of the horrible things that lie beyond the Line - in a place called Away - but no one dares to talk about it. And it's no use asking questions, especially of Mrs. Moore, who has always lived by the Line, or of her mother. But then, Rachel comes across a recorded message - one that could only have come from Away. And the voice on the recorder is asking for help...

"Freedom or Death" was named by Britain's The Guardian newspaper as one of the top 10 greatest speeches of the 20th century. In 1913, British suffragist Emmaline Pankhurst was invited to speak in Hartford, CT by Mrs. Katharine Hepburn, president of the Connecticut Women's Suffrage Association and mother of the future actress.

While being accosted by an over-ardent admirer who takes advantage of their being alone, Hazel's pony is spooked and runs off with her. Unfortunately, the girl's horsemanship, restricted to civilized rides in Central Park, is powerless to control him. Hours later she's rescued by a handsome missionary and their attraction grows as they travel to rejoin her party. Both are profoundly affected by their encounter. The missionary returns to his work among the indigenous people of the desert; the girl to a social life that quickly loses its appeal.

In this gem of a short story, Edith Wharton's talent for satire shines. Mrs. Ballinger and the ladies of the Lunch Club, that exclusive group dedicated to literature and erudition, are eagerly anticipating a visit by the noted novelist Osric Dane. Her books have been read by all the members except their newest, Mrs. Roby, whose idea of a perfect novel is one that entertains and preferably ends with marriage for the hero and heroine. It's painfully clear to Mrs. Ballinger and the others that Mrs. Roby is not on their intellectual plane.

From the author of the best-selling If You Don't Feed the Teachers, They Eat the Students, comes an innovative resource for all who work with pre-K through 12th grade students. Neila Connors presents a wealth of strategies and techniques to help teachers develop, maintain, and sustain positive student relationships. If You Don't Feed the Students offers practical, commonsense methods for improving classroom performance, served up in an engaging and entertaining manner.

Cyril Gordon, an intrepid Secret Service Agent, has completed part of his mission in obtaining a coded message vital to the nation's security. But desperate men are pursuing him and with the help of a handy cab and a disguise, he makes his escape. The cab deposits him at a church where, astoundingly, everyone seems to be waiting for him to complete a wedding party, certain he's the missing best man.

A terrified woman erases her past to escape her abusive husband. Taking her children, she disappears from Texas only to reinvent herself as a teacher in a remote Alaskan village. She fights to survive the harsh environment, while ever mindful of the danger stalking her. A complication emerges in the form of her new boss who is unaware of her entanglement and pursues her with a passion. Hungry for a father figure, her young children immediately take to him, but she is haunted by the cruel man who battered her.

According to legend, in 1910, Marie Belloc Lowndes attended a London dinner party where a guest told her that his mother’s butler and cook claimed they had once rented rooms to Jack the Ripper, the notorious mass murderer. The idea for “The Lodger” was born. Mr. and Mrs. Bunting have sunk their savings into their house with plans to let rooms. But no lodgers have materialized, and they are on the verge of penury when, one foggy night, a knock on the door brings Mr. Sleuth, an unassuming gentleman whose needs are perfectly suited to the suite of rooms the Buntings have to rent.

Grace Livingston Hill’s three novels about 19 century small-town America remain relevant a century after they were first published. The timeless themes include the powerful influence of gossip, the importance of faith, and the precious gift of true friendship.

Archibald Jordan contentedly resides in his native Islington, a perennial lodger in that neighborhood's many boarding houses. Fastidious in his habits and gently insistent in his demands (but always paying more than the going rate), he confounds his landladies by his habit of never taking up residence for more than a year. Offering no explanations, he leaves each lady mystified and in hope her prize lodger will one day return.

A prolific writer of Christian romances, Grace Livingston Hill also excelled in creating novels of suspense. These tales highlight three women who, through pluck and cleverness, strive to escape the menace that envelops them. (Of course, being GLH stories, there are always romantic possibilities!)

Rachel Rainsford should be excited. She was on a train traveling across the US to a well-paid position as an old lady's companion. But after several hours spent with the man who hired her and is accompanying her on her journey, she's having doubts. His manner seems strange, and she may have acted too hastily in accepting a job so far from home. Meanwhile, in the parlor car, Chan Prescott overhears two men concocting a plan to abduct a young woman. When her name is mentioned, Chan recognizes it as the daughter of a former beloved teacher.