As I like to post two ebooks at a time to the site, and having decided on Harriet Jacob’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, I came across a gem of a book called Our Nig by another woman named Harriet, Harriet E. Wilson. Both are about slavery and both are written by … Continue reading →.

Northanger Abbey is available for free download from our ebook catalog. This ebook is also part of The Complete Works of Jane Austen ebook compilation. Northanger Abbey, written around 1798 but actually published in 1817, follows Catherine Morland on a visit to Bath and later to Northanger Abbey, the house of new acquaintances, the Tilneys. … Continue reading →.

We wrap up Banned Books Week with two free ebook offerings: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Black Beauty. At first I thought these two books had nothing to do with one another, but after further research I see a common themes of cruelty, compassion, and propaganda through storytelling. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was … Continue reading →.

The following is an excerpt of a lovely review of Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men after the First World War By Virginia Nicholson. THIS is an inspiring book, lovingly researched, well-written and humane. Virginia Nicholson has found one of those subjects which sits unregarded under our noses, and has discovered in … Continue reading →.

Wuthering Heights is a classic tale of possessive and thwarted passion, one of the forerunners of today’s soap operas and romance novels. The tempestuous and mythic story of Catherine Earnshaw, the precocious daughter of the house, and the ruggedly handsome, uncultured foundling her father brings home and names Heathcliff, is played out against the backdrop of English moors no less wild and raw than the love they develop for one another. Continue reading →.

Strange to say, the book has some merit as a sensation novel, and, in spite of this puffery, will make its way. It is, in fact, just the sort of book to be read by everybody, – not too sentimental for a man’s requirements, nor too useful for a woman’s; having no end of plots and conspiracies for those who like plots, and plenty of light, easy, agreeable conversation for those who do not. Continue reading →.

Edna Pontellier, the heroine of The Awakening, shocked readers in 1899 and the scandal created by the book haunted Kate Chopin for the rest of her life. The Awakening begins at a crisis point in twenty-eight year-old Edna Pontellier’s life. Continue reading →.

I simply had to share some recent news I’ve been reading on AustenBlog about the new Jane Austen movie, Becoming Jane. First is a great review by Anne Wagner of The Stranger: There isn’t one irritating thing about Becoming Jane, there are about fifty. Even if you don’t care that Anne Hathaway is way too … Continue reading →.

Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf may be downloaded for free from our ebook catalog. Her third novel published in 1922 centers around the life of Jacob Flanders. In an innovative style, Jacob is presented to the reader entirely through impressions of the other characters including the repressed upper-middle-class Clara Durrant and the uninhibited young art … Continue reading →.

Moving from regret to jealousy to acceptance, Anne experiences a far wider range of emotions than we see in other Austen characters. At 27, Anne is also far older and more mature in outlook. She hopes for a second chance at love, but is not expecting it. Continue reading →.