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Lorna Raver

Lorna Raver

  • In this classic tale of the death of childhood, there is a savage comedy that owes much to Dickens. But for his portrayal of the child’s capacity for intelligent wonder, James summons all the subtlety he devotes elsewhere to his most celebrated adult protagonists.

    In the aftermath of an acrimonious divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled back and forth between her father and mother and their new spouses, all of whom are monstrously self-involved. Neglected and exploited by everyone around her, Maisie herself becomes a pretext for sexual intrigue when her stepparents become attracted to each other. As Maisie opens her young eyes on this distinctly modern world, the death of her childhood provides Henry James with a vehicle for scathing social satire.

  • “This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous.” So begins The Circular Staircase, a book that has been hailed as the best novel by the most important American woman mystery writer of our time.

    Rachel Innes was relieved when Gertrude and Halsey arrived to keep their dear old aunt company and allow her the courtesy of a decent night’s sleep. Unfortunately, the explosive sound of a gunshot the next night shattered Rachel’s hopes. And the body at the foot of the circular staircase ensured many sleepless nights to follow. 

  • Long before Western writers had even conceived the idea of writing detective stories, the Chinese had developed a long tradition of literary works that chronicled the cases of important district magistrates. One of the most celebrated of these was Judge Dee, who lived in the seventh century AD.

    This book, written anonymously in the eighteenth century, interweaves three of Judge Dee’s most baffling cases: a double murder among traveling merchants, the fatal poisoning of a bride on her wedding night, and the suspicious death of a shop keeper with a beautiful wife. The crimes take him up and down the great silk routes, into ancient graveyards where he consults the spirits of the dead, and through all levels of society, leading him to some brilliant detective work.

  • Winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for literature ever awarded to a woman, The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s elegant portrait of desire and betrayal in old New York.

    In the highest circle of New York social life during the 1870s, Newland Archer, a young lawyer, prepares to marry the docile May Welland. But before their engagement is announced, he meets the mysterious, nonconformist Countess Ellen Olenska, May’s cousin, who has returned to New York after a long absence. Ellen mirrors his own sense of disillusionment with society and the
    “good marriage” he is about to embark upon and provokes a moral struggle within him as he continues to go through the motions.

    A social commentary of surprising compassion and insight, The Age of Innocence toes the line between the comedy of manners and the tragedy of thwarted love.

  • The willful, chatty ten-year-old Rebecca Rowena Randallhas been sent away from her home at Sunnybrook Farm to live with her two spinster aunts in the quiet town of Riverboro—where it is hoped she will be brought up as a proper young lady.

    Precocious, curious, and full of creative energy, Rebecca isn't quite ready to be tamed, leaving the prim and demanding Aunt Miranda with her hands full. But soon, Rebecca's irrepressible spirit and bright intelligence win the hearts of all in Riverboro—including her rigid aunt. As we follow Rebecca's coming-of-age over the course of seven years, we find thatshe manages to become a fine young lady in the process.

    The unconventional and charismatic Rebecca, a new kind of female character when she was first introduced in 1903, has since become one of the most beloved characters in children's literature.

  • The basis for Hitchcock's 1927 movie by the same name, as well as a more recent major motion picture from 2009, this award-winning audio of Marie Belloc Lowndes' classic thriller still packs a wallop.

    An elderly couple living in Victorian London struggle against despair as their small resources dwindle. When an eccentric and mysterious gentleman answers their advertisement for a lodger, they celebrate. But as women begin dying at the hands of “The Avenger” on the foggy streets of London, they start to suspect something too horrific for words. Could the timing just be mere coincidence?

    While neither mentions their suspicions to the other, they each suffer horribly from dread when their beautiful young niece comes to stay with them and is terribly curious about their new lodger.