Showing results by narrator "Lillian Rachel" in All Categories

As a renowned wizard, Fitzwilliam Darcy thinks he is familiar with most of the spells, enchantments, and magic practiced in the wizarding world. When he reluctantly joins his friend Bingley in Meryton, a small town not known for its magic, he is startled to stumble upon the rare gift possessed by Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The daughter of a poor country squire, she possesses a singular talent: She is not only immune to magic, but she can counter enchantments as well.

Elizabeth Bennett never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennett accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband's heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?

Much-Afraid had been in the service of the Chief Shepherd, whose great flocks were pastured down in the Valley of Humiliation. She lived with her friends and fellow workers Mercy and Peace in a tranquil little white cottage in the village of Much-Trembling. She loved her work and desired intensely to please the Chief Shepherd, but happy as she was in most ways, she was conscious of several things which hindered her in her work and caused her much secret distress and shame.

A baffling burglary. A suspicious death. Can an up-and-coming amateur sleuth sort coincidence from crime? Northern England, 1954. Miss Pauline Riddell is determined to stay busy. Grieving for her fiancé killed in Korea, the churchgoing young woman welcomes the distraction of viewing a priceless...

She's determined to bring a murderer to justice. Can a whip-smart woman solve a crime nobody else believes happened? England, 1953. After her first success, Miss Riddell has caught the mystery bug. Excited to demonstrate that she's a talented up-and-coming detective, she eagerly agrees to help...

If this pup doesn't get found fast, her feisty younger sister could be on the hook for a life-threatening crime . . . Manchester, England, 1960s. Miss Riddell has no taste for modern fashions. Which gives her yet another bone to pick with the youngest and wildest family member whom she blames...

With her hometown awash with crime, a sleuth must solve a slaying. Can she save her family from a treacherous plot? Yorkshire, England, 1962. Miss Riddell definitely isn’t having a merry Christmas. With her mother sick and brother pestering her to investigate a forged will, the worst winter in...

“Mr Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.” It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister, or that Viscount Saye would overhear and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well.

He's the grumpiest guardian angel a girl could ask for. Estella Hale's late brother's best friend absolutely loathes her. The scarred, brooding marquess glowers at her across every ballroom. He chases off every suitor who approaches. Honestly, he frightens her half to death. Which is why it's so shocking when Estella begins to suspect that this very same man might be the secret benefactor who's been quietly saving her family for the last two years. Paying her father's debts. Filling the kitchen coffers. Sending every fortune hunter fleeing the country.

How do you know if you're going to heaven? How do you avoid going to hell? Learn what its like in heaven and hell from Emanuel Swedenborg's conversations with angels and spirits as this eighteenth-century Christian mystic explains what happens when we die. A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual awakening that led to almost daily experiences of heaven, hell, and what he called the world of spirits; a process that lasted twenty-seven years until his death at age 84.

Marianne Mowbrey is a responsible country rector’s daughter who longs for the novelty and excitement she reads about in novels. When her crusty Aunt Harriet agrees to give her a season in London, Marianne vows to dazzle the world, win a husband, and never go home again. But the Londoners who determine social success are inclined to pass over plain Marianne in favor of her beautiful, reckless younger sister. In a world of ambition, fashion, flattery, and deceit, how can Marianne stay true to her real self - when she is not even sure what that real self is?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one false step can involve a lady in endless ruin. On a rainy November day in 1811, Miss Elizabeth Bennet finds herself wondering why no one ever bothered to tell her about this. A few blithe steps on a morning walk taken after a succession of rain lead to unexpected events that irrevocably change the course of Elizabeth's life, placing her fate in the hands of the haughty and conceited Mr. Darcy - the last man in the world she had ever thought to marry.

There's no love lost between this shy wallflower and society's most formidable duke. The Duke of Mandrick has made it clear he's only aiding Felicity's successful entrance into society because he's taken pity on his friend's poor country relation. Luckily for Felicity, her chaperone Lady Greta has agreed to tutor her in the art of flirtation. And since the coldhearted duke is the last man to fall for her charms, he's the perfect man to practice on. However, when her attempts to flirt are an epic fail, it's the duke who comes to her rescue.

‘Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s dishonor upon his soul, and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. If his 15-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, her scandal could destroy years of perfect behavior.

North and South follows the young Margaret Hale as she is caught in the middle of the brutal world between employers and local workers following the Industrial Revolution. She finds herself at odds from the very start with John Thornton, a local factory owner and self-made man, as she believes him to be unfeeling and callous about the poverty and suffering of the workers while John sees Margaret as haughty and entitled. Further conflicts arise when the workers strike and Margaret feels compelled to intervene with no regard for her own safety.

Could George Wickham, Jane Austen's most notorious villain, be a hero? Faced with the choice of keeping his good name or serving King and Country, George Wickham puts aside love, acceptance, and family in service of the Crown. Never does he dream he will prove so adept at deceit that one act of...

An allegory of the nine spices mentioned in Song of Solomon compared with the nine fruits of the Spirit.

When the Marquess comes to court her sister, Louisa has one job... To stay out of trouble, and remain out of sight. She's failing spectacularly. But Louisa never expects the irritatingly charming Marquess to find her dancing alone in the moonlight, or that he'll be the one to catch her when she falls out of a window attempting to be unseen. And the more the Marquess tries to draw her out of her sister's shadow, the more clear it becomes. It's not just her reputation that's in trouble . . . it's her heart.

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.

Madame Pratolungo is a close companion to Lucilla Finch, a young woman who has been blind since birth. Madame Pratolungo records the narrative of Lucilla's trials from falling in love with Oscar Duborg, her wealthy and shy neighbor, to ending up in a romantic entanglement between Oscar and his brother Nugent. When Lucilla temporarily regains her sight thanks to Herr Grosse, mistaken identities and manipulative schemes are there to greet her.