The only available English translation of writings by an Enlightenment-era Dutch aristocrat, writer, composer-and woman. Born Dutch, noble, and free-spirited, Isabelle de Charrière (also known as Belle de Zuylen) was an enlightened woman whose writings-not unlike Jane Austen's-tackled the intricacies of high society, particularly in matters of love. Published when she was only twenty- two, "The Nobleman" is aPersuasion-like tale whose heroine challenges her stodgy father in order to marry a man of unassuming ancestry. But Charrière did not confine herself to simple marriage plots and country courtships. Another story, "Eagonlette and Suggestina," is a thinly veiled critique of Marie Antoinette, cleverly disguised as a fairy tale. The Nobleman and Other Romances will delight fans of Jane Austen and Enlightenment-era French literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"England, 1819. While British high society primps and plays, the impoverished citizens of London languish. But there are those fighting for the freedom of common citizens--including two members of the aristocracy who secretly champion revolution. In the drawing rooms of the upper class, Lady Amanda and Lord Nathaniel flirt and tease with the best of them as she pretends to win every heart in London for sport, and he, to conquer them. But in truth, their flirtation is merely a façade designed to keep their clandestine actions hidden from the ton--and from each other. When Nathaniel presents himself as a potential suitor, the attraction between the two is undeniable--but the faces they portray to the world are not enough to win each other's hearts. While their crusade for London's poor unites them more deeply than they could imagine, Amanda and Nathaniel struggle to trust one another with their true ideals and identities. But when the call to action leads Amanda into the path of danger, she can only hope that Nathaniel will see through her frivolous pretense. Because now, only the aid of the suitor she loves most--but trusts least--can save her."--Page [4] of cover.

The only available English translation of writings by an Enlightenment-era Dutch aristocrat, writer, composer-and woman. Born Dutch, noble, and free-spirited, Isabelle de Charrière (also known as Belle de Zuylen) was an enlightened woman whose writings-not unlike Jane Austen's-tackled the intricacies of high society, particularly in matters of love. Published when she was only twenty- two, "The Nobleman" is aPersuasion-like tale whose heroine challenges her stodgy father in order to marry a man of unassuming ancestry. But Charrière did not confine herself to simple marriage plots and country courtships. Another story, "Eagonlette and Suggestina," is a thinly veiled critique of Marie Antoinette, cleverly disguised as a fairy tale. The Nobleman and Other Romances will delight fans of Jane Austen and Enlightenment-era French literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Georgette Heyer's bestselling historical romance featuring a dashing and wild young nobleman and the gently bred young lady, both chasing happiness on a collision course with destiny. A rogue on a rampage... The Marquis of Vidal is a notorious rake, impossible to tame. Any night of the week you can find him wenching, gambling, or fighting, much to the dismay of his parents the Duke and Duchess of Avon. Forced to leave England after nearly killing his man in a duel, he decides to take a beautiful girl with him. In his rush, however, he runs off with the wrong woman. This lady is not a doormat... Determined to save her sister from the scandalous Marquis, Miss Mary Challoner throws herself into his path, hoping he'll release her when they get to Paris. But Vidal is intrigued by the unexpected young lady, who's not particularly impressed with him. The devilish rake has apparently met his match. And as Mary finds herself more and more entangled with the fascinating rogue, her reputation and her future are on the line. Take a deep breath and don't trip over your petticoats: This best-selling historical Regency romance features mistaken identities, a dashing rake, and a very smart young lady on a collision course with a marriage made in scandal.

The bold games of passion play out with delicious consequences in this fourth novel of Nicole Jordan’s seductive new series, The Courtship Wars. Two years ago, lively beauty Eleanor Pierce spied her dashing betrothed, Damon Stafford, Viscount Wrexham, with his former mistress and furiously ended their engagement. Now the charming rake is back in London, meddling in Eleanor’s affairs, bent on thwarting her new suitor. And when Damon’s intoxicating kisses rekindle her deepest longing, Eleanor loses her heart . . . again. But as she has no intention of allowing history to repeat itself, she embarks on a plan of tantalizing seduction, vowing to tame the rogue before she surrenders to his wicked, willful desires. Determined to stop another man from wooing and winning the woman he loves, Damon knows that claiming Eleanor’s heart is all that matters. But this scandalously bold beauty means to beat him at his own game of romance–a game he is ready and willing to lose.

After being falsely accused of a crime, Sophia’s husband committed suicide, and then she lost her young son to pneumonia… Prior to that she’d lost her job and was now left with no money or home. So she was without prospects or any recourse when she was approached by a navy admiral with a damaged left hand. He introduced himself as Charles and his smile was so unexpectedly charming that Sophia inadvertently revealed her predicament. And so he offered her a job…as his wife!

Winner of the Christian Gauss Award for excellence in literary scholarship from the Phi Beta Kappa Society Having excavated the world's earliest novels in his previous book, literary historian Steven Moore explores in this sequel the remarkable flowering of the novel between the years 1600 and 1800-from Don Quixote to America's first big novel, an homage to Cervantes entitled Modern Chivalry. This is the period of such classic novels as Tom Jones, Candide, and Dangerous Liaisons, but beyond the dozen or so recognized classics there are hundreds of other interesting novels that appeared then, known only to specialists: Spanish picaresques, French heroic romances, massive Chinese novels, Japanese graphic novels, eccentric English novels, and the earliest American novels. These minor novels are not only interesting in their own right, but also provide the context needed to appreciate why the major novels were major breakthroughs. The novel experienced an explosive growth spurt during these centuries as novelists experimented with different forms and genres: epistolary novels, romances, Gothic thrillers, novels in verse, parodies, science fiction, episodic road trips, and family sagas, along with quirky, unclassifiable experiments in fiction that resemble contemporary, avant-garde works. As in his previous volume, Moore privileges the innovators and outriders, those who kept the novel novel. In the most comprehensive history of this period ever written, Moore examines over 400 novels from around the world in a lively style that is as entertaining as it is informative. Though written for a general audience, The Novel, An Alternative History also provides the scholarly apparatus required by the serious student of the period. This sequel, like its predecessor, is a “zestfully encyclopedic, avidly opinionated, and dazzlingly fresh history of the most 'elastic' of literary forms” (Booklist).

Writing Lives in the Eighteenth Century is a collection of essays on memoir, biography, and autobiography during a formative period for the genre. Employing the methodology William Godwin outlined for novelists of taking material "from all sources, experience, report, and the records of human affairs," each contributor examines within the contexts of their time and historical traditions the anxieties and imperatives of the auto/biographer as she or he shapes material into a legacy.

Return to the enchanting world of the Montague siblings in the finale to the New York Times bestselling and Stonewall Honor-winning series, featuring a teenage Adrian Montague as he desperately seeks the now adult Monty and Felicity—the older siblings he never knew he had. Adrian Montague has a bright future. The sole heir to his father’s estate, he is an up and coming political writer and engaged to an activist who challenges and inspires him. But most young Lords aren’t battling the debilitating anxiety Adrian secretly lives with, or the growing fear that it might consume him and all he hopes to accomplish. In the wake of his mother’s unexpected death, Adrian is also concerned people will find out that he has the mental illness she struggled with for years. When a newly found keepsake of hers—a piece of a broken spyglass—comes into Adrian’s possession, he’s thrust into the past and finds himself face to face with an older brother he never knew he had. Henry “Monty” Montague has been living quietly in London for years, and his sudden appearance sends Adrian on a quest to unravel family secrets that only the spyglass can answer. In pursuit of answers about the relic, the brothers chart a course to locate their sister Felicity. But as they travel between the pirate courts of Rabat, Portuguese islands, the canals of Amsterdam, and into unknown Artic waters, the Montague siblings are thrown into one final adventure as they face a ghostly legend that threatens their whole family.

A young noblewoman begs a knight to protect her land but she cannot protect her heart from him in this medieval romance by a USA Today bestseller. Sir Henry was a knight-errant, capable of impressive prowess on the battlefield . . . and in bed. Finding two sisters—one stunningly beautiful, the other steadfast and determined—waiting patiently in his chamber, he entertained their proposition: a generous sum in exchange for commanding their men-at-arms in a battle to save their land. Seduced by the beauty of Gisele, yet irresistibly drawn to the intelligence of Mathilde, a proud woman as complex as her secrets, Henry accepts their offer. But as invaders close in, it is Mathilde who must dare to trust her deepest desires—and the man willing to fight for all he is worth to prove his honor. Praise for Hers to Command “Touching . . . Colorful and compelling details of life in the Middle Ages, from battle strategies to food, abound.” —Publishers Weekly