"Winn Van Meter is heading for his family's retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as Winn prepares for the marriage of his daughter Daphne to the affable young scion Greyson Duff. Winn's wife, Biddy, has planned the wedding with military precision, but arrangements are sideswept by a storm of salacious misbehavior and intractable lust:...

An anthology of 35 ghostly tales and mysteries.

With eleven short stories, Sarah Orne Jewett's The Life of Nancy is a serene and heart-touching collection of 19th-century fiction. In A War Debt, Tom Burton finds himself stuck in Boston, as he is the primary caretaker of his grandmother. Though he has long given up the dream of a vacation, he is forced to a long trip to Virginia, when his grandmother admits guilt over possessing an item stolen during the war, and is desperate for it to be returned...

Presents twenty-six moral tales written during Hawthorne's residence in the historic Concord house.

Oldtown Folks (1869) is a historical novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Although her career peaked with the publication of abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Stowe continued to work as a professional writer throughout her life. A tale of family, faith, and perseverance, Oldtown Folks displays her impressive imaginative range and admirable moral outlook while illuminating aspects of early American life that would otherwise be consigned to history....

Fanshawe: Ellen is memorable as the typical damsel in distress. Fanshawe and Edward Walcott are captivating as the rivals for Ellen's love who put their differences aside to save her. The Angler is captivating as a villain who offers some interesting passages and is not quite a monster. And Hawthorne manages to speed things up with a wild chase and bitter confrontation. The scarlet letter: In the early days of Puritan Boston Hester Prynne braves...

On a poor farm near Starkfield in western Massachusetts, Ethan Frome struggles to wrest a living from the land, unassisted by his whining and hypochondrialcal wife Zeena. When Zeena's young cousin Mattie Silver is left destitute, and only place she can go is Ethan's farm. An embittered and man and an enchanting young woman meeting in such circumstances unleash predictable consequences as passions are aroused between the three protagonists.

In the title story, a young girl-out walking with her only friend, a cow named Mistress Moolly-finds the nest of a rare bird. When a handsome young hunter passes by, she must decide whether or not to reveal the nest to him. Other charming, luminous stories of New England village life include "The Gray Man," "Farmer Finch," "Marsh Rosemary," "The Dulham Ladies," and more.

The library of America is dedicated to publishing America's best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as the "finest-looking, longest-lasting editions ever made" (The New Republic), Library of America volumes make a fine gift for any occasion. Now, with exactly one hundred volumes to choose from, there is a perfect gift for everyone.