In a small Ozark community the Matthews family live in the shadow of tragedy. Their only daughter had died in childbirth, after the man she loved had betrayed and deserted her. Young Matt had lived his life under the shadow of a curse ; the promise to kill the man who abandoned his mother. A stranger arrives in the mountains and becomes known as "the Shepherd" because of his kindness to the people of the mountains.

Jocie Brooke, preacher David Brooke, and Jocie's spinster Great-aunt Love seek to understand painful secrets, lost loves, and surprising truths in this heartwarming Southern tale set in the 1960s. The past issues of several citizens in a small town--the pastor, his daughter, his maiden aunt, and a coworker--all converge in this contemporary novel.

When I started to write The Looking Glass, I intended to create a story about the healing power of hope and love. But as this story developed, a message began to emerge that I had not foreseen, a message about the distorted mirror in which we view ourselves, binding ourselves with shackles of self-doubt and fear. The Looking Glass is aptly named, for it is about seeing the reality of ourselves: to see a true reflection of who we are. It is the story...

Shocked after Pastor Dave Flemming is accused of stealing jewelry, Emily doesn't know what to believe. She finds an earring in his pocket, and Dave is being so evasive. Could her husband have stolen it--or is he having an affair?

The Last Chronicle of Barset is a novel by Anthony Trollope, published in 1867. It is the final book of a series of six, often referred to collectively as the Chronicles of Barsetshire. The Last Chronicle of Barset concerns an indigent but learned clergyman, the Reverend Josiah Crawley, the perpetual curate of Hogglestock, who stands accused of stealing a cheque. The novel is notable for the non-resolution of a plot continued from the previous novel...

The enduring love story and satirical comedy by a master of the English novel. A young vicar's ambition drives him into a costly bargain in this classic tale from one of the Victorian era's finest novelists. Set in rural England in the fictitious county of Barsetshire, the fourth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire brilliantly examines the intersection of romance and social class. Mark Robarts is a young, ambitious vicar from the village of Framley,...

Ruth Livingstone's life changes drastically the day her father puts a young child in her arms and sends her to a small village in New Jersey under an assumed name. There Ruth pretends to be a widow and quietly secludes herself until her father is acquitted of a crime. But with the emergence of the penny press, the imagination of the reading public is stirred, and her father's trial stands center stage. Asher Tripp is the brash newspaperman who determines...

The classic tale of romance and betrayal from a distinguished master of English satire. The fifth novel in the Chronicles of Barsetshire epitomizes the wit, attention to detail, and thoughtful analysis of class and gender issues that made Anthony Trollope one of Victorian England's most beloved novelists. The Small House at Allington moves away from the earlier books' overt ecclesiastical concerns to focus on a small dower house on the edge of Christopher...

Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. GILEAD tells the story of America and will break your heart.

Reverend Eric Camden, his wife Annie, and their seven children learn to deal with life, love, and faith. In this season, the Reverend takes over household duties when stay-at-home wife Annie returns to school. Meanwhile, the whole family intervenes when bad influences threaten to drag down oldest daughter, Mary. As Simon copes with dating and Ruthie settles in at a new school, older siblings Lucy and Matt discover their life paths-- and find romance...