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First published in 1850, New York by Gas-Light explores the seamy side of the newly emerging metropolis: "the festivities of prostitution, the orgies of pauperism, the haunts of theft and murder, the scenes of drunkenness and beastly debauch, and all the sad realities that go to make up the lower stratum—the underground story—of life in New York!" The author of this lively and fascinating little book, which both attracted and offended large numbers of readers in Victorian America, was George G. Foster, reporter for Horace Greeley's influential New York Tribune, social commentator, poet, and man about town. Foster drew on his daily and nightly rambles through the city's streets and among the characters of the urban demi-monde to produce a sensationalized but extraordinarily revealing portrait of New York at the moment it was emerging as a major metropolis. Reprinted here with sketches from two of Foster's other books, New York by Gas-Light will be welcomed by students of urban social history, popular culture, literature, and journalism. Editor Stuart M. Blumin has provided a penetrating introductory essay that sets Foster's life and work in the contexts of the growing city, the development of the mass-distribution publishing industry, the evolving literary genre of urban sensationalism, and the wider culture of Victorian America. This is an important reintroduction to a significant but neglected work, a prologue to the urban realism that would flourish later in the fiction of Stephen Crane, the painting of George Bellows, and the journalism of Jacob Riis.

Told for the first time in picture book form is the true story of James Lafayette—an enslaved person who spied for George Washington's army during the American Revolution. After his resounding defeat at the battle of Yorktown, British general Charles Cornwallis made a point of touring the American camp, looking for the reason behind his loss. What he didn’t expect to see was James, an escaped enslaved person who had served as a guide to the British army. Or at least that’s what Cornwallis was led to believe. In fact, James wasn’t actually a runaway—he was a spy for the American army. But while America celebrated its newfound freedom, James returned to slavery in Virginia. His service as a spy hadn't qualified him for the release he'd been hoping for. For James the fight wasn't over; his next adversary was the Virginia General Assembly. He'd already helped his country gain its freedom, now it was time to win his own.

A definitive new biography of James Fenimore Cooper, early nineteenth century master of American popular fiction American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) has been credited with inventing and popularizing a wide variety of genre fiction, including the Western, the spy novel, the high seas adventure tale, and the Revolutionary War romance. America’s first crusading novelist, Cooper reminds us that literature is not a cloistered art; rather, it ought to be intimately engaged with the world. In this second volume of his definitive biography, Wayne Franklin concentrates on the latter half of Cooper’s life, detailing a period of personal and political controversy, far-ranging international travel, and prolific literary creation. We hear of Cooper’s progressive views on race and slavery, his doubts about American expansionism, and his concern about the future prospects of the American Republic, while observing how his groundbreaking career management paved the way for later novelists to make a living through their writing. Franklin offers readers the most comprehensive portrait to date of this underappreciated American literary icon.

First published in 1950, Operation Heartbreak tells the fictional story of Wilie Marygton, a career soldier who was too young for WWI and too old for WWII. Born into a military family, Willie’s one goal in life is to take part in a battle, so he is exhilarated when he receives his commission, and is scheduled to leave for the Western Front on November 9, 1918. However, news of the Armistice changes his orders, and he instead spends the next 20 years in various posts in India and Africa, where his main occupation seems to be big game hunting and polo. With the rise of fascism, he is ready to resign his commission to fight in Spain, but is persuaded otherwise and spends WWII training recruits, lamenting his military status. But in an ironic twist of fate, he does end up playing an important part in the war effort....

The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper first published in 1840. It is the fourth novel featuring Natty Bumppo, his fictitious frontier hero, and is considered as forming the third chronological episode of the Leatherstocking Tales.

WINNER OF THE 2018 QUEBEC WRITERS' FEDERATION CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY FIRST BOOK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2018 DANUTA GLEED LITERARY AWARD FINALIST FOR THE 2018 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2018 A QUILL & QUIRE BOOK OF THE YEAR Fantastical, magnetic, and harsh—these are the women in Paige Cooper’s debut short story collection Zolitude. They are women who built time machines when they were nine, who buy plane tickets for lovers who won’t arrive. They are sisters writhing with dreams, blasé about sex but beggared by love—while the police horses have talons and vengeance is wrought by eagles the size of airplanes. Broken-down motorbikes and housebroken tyrannosaurs, cheap cigarettes and mail bombs—Cooper finds the beautiful and the disturbing in both the surreal and the everyday. Troubling, carnal, and haunting, these stories are otherworldly travelogues through banal, eco-fabulist dystopias. Zolitude is a gorgeous, sad, and sexy work of slipstream and an atlas of fantastic isolation. The monstrous is human here, and tender.

The Hundredth Chance, by Ethel M. Dell, is a captivating romance that delves into themes of love, courage, and second chances. The story revolves around a young woman named Sylvia Ingleton, who finds herself in a challenging situation when she agrees to marry the rugged and scarred Jack Bolton, a man whom society deems unworthy. As their marriage of convenience unfolds, Sylvia begins to see beyond Jack's hardened exterior to the kindness and integrity that lie beneath. Ethel M. Dell masterfully explores the complexities of love and trust as Sylvia and Jack navigate their unconventional relationship. The novel’s tension builds as Jack, with his strong will and enduring spirit, tries to prove himself worthy of Sylvia’s love, despite the shadows of his past. The title, The Hundredth Chance, symbolizes the hope and resilience that define their journey toward understanding and acceptance. The Hundredth Chance is celebrated for its emotional depth and compelling narrative. Dell’s evocative prose and strong character development create a timeless story that resonates with readers who appreciate tales of love overcoming obstacles and the transformative power of human connection. Readers are drawn to The Hundredth Chance for its blend of romance and drama, and its message that love can grow in the most unlikely places. This book is a must-read for fans of classic romance and stories of redemption. Owning a copy of The Hundredth Chance is like holding a testament to the enduring strength of love and perseverance.

The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path (1841) was the last of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales to be written. Its 1740-1745 time period makes it the first installment chronologically and in the lifetime of the hero of the Leatherstocking tales, Natty Bumppo. The novel's setting on Otsego Lake in central, upstate New York, is the same as that of The Pioneers, the first of the Leatherstocking Tales to be published (1823). The Deerslayer is considered to be the prequel to the rest of the series. Fenimore Cooper begins his work by relating the astonishing advance of civilization in New York State, which is the setting of four of his five Leatherstocking Tales.