Modern Flirtations: A Novel

      Catherine Sinclair
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It was the rule of a celebrated equestrian, which might be adapted to authors as well as to horsemen, that every one should ride as if he expected to be thrown, and drive as if he expected to be upset. Impunity in publishing, far from rendering an author presumptuous, should tend rather to increase his timidity, the danger being greater always of venturing too much, than of hazarding too little; and the more cause any writer has to feel grateful for the lenient judgment of an enlightened public, the more circumspect should he become, not to trespass by an obtrusive reappearance on that notice which has already perhaps been, as in respect to the author herself, beyond all expectation favorable.An old proverb declares that "a goose-quill is more powerful than a lion's claw," and authors have been called "keepers of the public conscience;" but no influence is perhaps so extensive as that exercised by what is termed "light reading," which has now in a great measure superseded public places and theatrical entertainments, affording a popular resource with which the busiest men relax their hard-working minds, and the idlest occupy their idleness. It becomes a deep responsibility, therefore, of which the author trusts she has ever felt duly sensible, to claim the leisure hours of so many, while it is her first desire that whatever be the defect of these pages, no actual evil may be intermingled, and the cause of sound religion and morality supported, for her feelings are best expressed in the words of the poet,"If I one soul improve, I have not liv'd in vain."Novel-reading, formerly considered the lowest resource of intellectual vacuity, has been lately promoted to a new place in the literary world, since men of the brightest genius as well as of the highest attainments in learning and philosophy, allow their pens occasionally to wander in the attractive regions of fiction; therefore works of imagination, no longer merely a clandestine amusement to frivolous minds, are now avowedly read and enjoyed, to beguile an idle hour, or to cheer a gloomy one, by men of science, of wisdom, and of piety. Such is the general encouragement given now to works of fancy, that, as the literary existence of authors depends on attracting readers, there will scarcely be encouragement enough soon to induce historians and biographers to dip the pen of veracity into the ink of retrospection, while it is perhaps to be lamented that when so large a proportion of the public attention is occupied by novelists, their works being certain of instant circulation, for a very short period and for no more, few authors afford themselves time to aspire at the highest grade of imaginary composition. When such volumes are really true to nature, they convey very important truths in a form more popular than a dry sententious volume of moral precepts, and perhaps history itself can scarcely afford so graphic a portrait of human life as many of those fictitious volumes, written under the inspiration of genius, which portray in vivid coloring, the thoughts and motives by which men are internally influenced.

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    Newton Forster

      Frederick Marryat
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Newton Forster - The Merchant Service is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Frederick Marryat is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Frederick Marryat then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

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    Clown, the Circus Dog

      A. Vimar
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Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.

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    A Scout of To-day

      Isabel Hornibrook
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Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

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    Under Canvas; or, The Hunt for the Cartaret Ghost

      Burt L. Standish
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"Toby, we must be half-way there now; don't you think so?" "Guess you're right about that, Mr. Scout Master; as near as I can calculate." "Glad to hear you say so, Toby, because, excuse me for saying it, but until I hear something that sounds like business I'm all up in the air. I've known you to fool your trusting scout comrades before this." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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    The Solitary Farm

      Fergus Hume
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Fergusson Wright Hume, known as Fergus Hume (8 July 1859 – 12 July 1932) was a prolific English novelist. Finding that the novels of Émile Gaboriau were then very popular in Melbourne, he obtained and read a set of them and determined to write a novel of a similar kind. The result was the self-published novel The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886), which became a great success. Hume based his descriptions of poor urban life on his knowledge of Little Bourke Street. He sold the English and United States rights to the novel for 50 pounds, and thus derived little benefit from its success. It eventually became the best selling mystery novel of the Victorian era, author John Sutherland terming it the "most sensationally popular crime and detective novel of the century". This novel inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write A Study in Scarlet, which introduced the character Sherlock Holmes. Doyle remarked, "Hansom Cab was a slight tale, mostly sold by 'puffing'." After the success of his first novel and the publication of another, Professor Brankel's Secret (c.1886), Hume returned to England in 1888. He resided in London for few years and then he moved to the Essex countryside where he lived in Thundersley for 30 years, eventually producing more than 100 novels and short stories. He continued to be anxious for success as a dramatist, and at one time Henry Irving was favourably considering one of his plays, but he died before it could be produced.

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    An Undivided Union

      Oliver Optic and Edward Stratemeyer
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"How many miles have we still to go, Deck?" "Not over seven by this road, Artie," replied Major Deck Lyon, commanding the first battalion, Riverlawn Cavalry, of Kentucky. "I should think the surroundings would begin to look familiar to you, even if we have been away from home for some time." "I never frequented this road," exclaimed Captain Artie Lyon, commanding the fourth company of the Riverlawns. "Doesn't it run into that cut where you saved Kate Belthorpe and the rest of her party from that gang of so-styled 'Home Guard' ruffians?"

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    A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2

      George Saintsbury
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A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2 - To the Close of the 19th Century is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by George Saintsbury is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of George Saintsbury then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

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    A Key to Paradise

      Barry Rachin
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Grace Paulson’s train wreck of a personal life takes a turn for the better when the elementary school teacher meets a gifted artisan whose handmade jewelry boxes are featured at the local museum. Well-versed in nineteenth century Russian literature, Carl Solomon also happens to be the school janitor."A Life for Nicholas" details the life of a thirteen year old boy who is an orphan and living in the foster care system. He has to deal with adolescence, his sexuality, the loss of friends and abuse as he figures out his place in the world. This book is a novella of about 13,000 words and the prequel to "A Home For Christmas" by Matt Zachary. Other Books by Matt Zachary:New Discoveries (Book 1 of the New Discoveries series)Broken Hearts (Book 2 of the New Discoveries series)Life Changes (Book 3 of the New Discoveries series)New Beginnings (Book 4 of the New Discoveries series)The New Discoveries Series: Complete Collection (All 4 Books)12 Days of CraigslistA Life For Nicholas (Book 1 of The Nicholas Chronicles)A Home For Christmas (Book 2 of The Nicholas Chronicles)A Year For Change (Book 3 of The Nicholas Chronicles)The Nicholas Chronicles (All 3 Books)

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    The Third Lost Tale of Mercia: Aydith the Aetheling

      Jayden Woods
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“The Lost Tales of Mercia” are ten short stories that can be enjoyed as quick glimpses into the swashbuckling history of ancient England or read in addendum to the novel, "Eadric the Grasper." Aydith is a young aetheling whose distrust of the Norsemen often gets dismissed. With the encouragement of a kind hearth companion named Hastings, she might find another way to aid her country.Aydith is a young aetheling whose distrust of the Norsemen often gets dismissed. With the encouragement of a kind hearth companion named Hastings, she might find another way to aid her country."The Lost Tales of Mercia" are ten short tales that can be enjoyed as quick glimpses into the swashbuckling history of ancient England or read alongside the full-length novel, "Eadric the Grasper." Most of the characters are real historical figures inspired by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

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    Serpent's Reach

      C. J. Cherryh
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Within the Constellation of the Serpent, out of bounds to all spacefarers, humans live among the insect-like aliens--and one of them, a woman named Raen, is bent on a revenge that will tear apart the truce between human and alien. "Brisk pacing . . . and genuinely brilliant world-building".--ALA Booklist.

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    Wisps (The Extraterrestrial Anthology, Volume I: Temblar)

      Ryan Croker
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Gabriel Ramirez Ventura is about to be the first Mexican President gunned down by narco soldiers, and in his presidential palace in broad daylight. His mind is in a panic when seemingly otherworldly forces intervene. A being has come to Earth to return Mayan warriors borrowed over a thousand years earlier, and to pay a debt.Gabriel Ramirez Ventura is about to be the first Mexican President gunned down by narco soldiers, and in his presidential palace in broad daylight. His mind is in a panic when seemingly otherworldly forces intervene. A being has come to Earth to return Mayan warriors borrowed over a thousand years earlier, and to pay a debt. The being has interrupted the imminent assassination of President Ventura and provided a new kind of hope for Mexico. However, Ventura’s old corruption and greed are manifested in new ways with the advantages obtained by an alliance with this being from another world. Will Ventura return again to the road to ruin? “Wisps” is the third story in “The Extraterrestrial Anthology, Volume I: Temblar.” The anthology contains ten short stories to make you think and tremble.

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