"Annie Zook, the preacher's daughter, struggles to keep her promise to her father--to abandon her art for a full six months. Will Annie's intention to join the Amish church be derailed by the attention of a handsome Englisher?"--Provided by publisher.

"Annie Zook--the preacher's eldest daughter--is expected to join the Amish church, but at 20 she is 'still deciding.' Because of the strict rules that guide the Plain community, she must continually squelch her artistic passion, although it has become her solace"--Provided by publisher.

Forced by her parents' ambitions among her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess Durbeyfield attracts the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded, she finds work as a milkmaid, and her steadfast integrity is finally rewarded by the love of Angel Clare. Of all the great English novelists, no one writes more eloquently of tragic destiny than Hardy. With the innocent and powerless victim Tess, he creates profound sympathy for human frailty while passionately...

Annie Zook, the Amish preacher's daughter, is caught between two worlds. Living with shunned friend Esther, Annie longs to return to her forbidden art and the idyllic days spent with Englisher Ben Martin, before her father ordered her never to see him again. Stunned when family secrets come to light, Ben determines to solve the mystery of his past. Will his future include Annie--or will the Brethren always stand between them?

"Marilynne Robinson's mythical world of Gilead, Iowa--the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila, and now Jack--and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson's fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead's Presbyterian minister, and his...

A semi-autobiographical novel examines the complex relationships that exist in the Pontifex family as they reflect the hypocrisy of the middle-class life in Victorian England.

Relive the glory of a Pennsylvania canal town through the eyes of those who ministered to the needs of the workers. Betsy Nelson reluctantly returns to her childhood home to care for her failing father, a faithful minister who served the town for years. William Covington, a confirmed bachelor, comes to town to become the new pastor and set aside the luxuries of his birth for service to God. Can Betsy and William find common ground on which to work...

When Shannon Adair accompanies her minister father to the Western gold rush town of Grand Coeur, Idaho, she is certain she will never be happy away from her home--and that she will not lose her heart to a man who is not a gentleman.

Rich with wisdom and gentle irony, Oliver Goldsmith's only novel is a charming comedy that tells of an unworldly and generous vicar who lives contentedly with his large family until disaster strikes. When his idyllic life is brutally interrupted by bankruptcy and his daughter's abduction, he lands in prison. Yet these misfortunes fail to dampen the vicar's spirit or cause him to lose sight of Christian morality. A delightful lampoon of such literary...

"When Ruby King's mother is found murdered in their home in Chicago's South Side, the police dismiss it as another act of violence in a black neighborhood. But for Ruby, it's a devastating loss that leaves her on her own with her violent father. While she receives many condolences, her best friend, Layla, is the only one who understands how this puts Ruby in jeopardy. Their closeness is tested when Layla's father, the pastor of their church, demands...