19th century

"It's 1850, and you are setting off on the treacherous Oregon Trail. In these first two books . . . you need to choose the right path in order to get you and your family to the halfway mark on your 2,000-mile trek West"--Back cover.

"Follows the story of [the] author's . . . maternal grandmother, Dorothy May Jackson. Born in Tennessee in 1890, Dorothy May was the middle daughter of Addie Jackson, a married African-American housekeeper at one of the white boardinghouses in town, and Tom Mitchell, a commanding white attorney from a prominent family. Through three successive generations of African-American women, Elster intertwines the fictionalized adaptations of the defining periods and challenges--race relations, miscegenation, sexual assault, and class divisions--in her family's history"--.

"The story begins in 1839, at the dawn of the first Opium War. An English merchant arrives in the restricted port of Canton (Guangzhou), seeking to make his fortune trading opium. But the tide of addiction is decimating the Chinese population--a young scholar accompanies his Mandarin master on a mission from the emperor to shut down the trade. Thus begins an epic tale chronicling China's struggle to regain their ancient land and culture from the domination of the Western powers, which culminates in the revolution of 1911, and the ultimate rise of the Communist regime. We meet a young village wife struggling with the rigid traditions of her people, Manchu empresses and warriors, the powerful eunuchs of the Forbidden City, rapacious English opium dealers and savvy Chinese pirates, artists, concubines, scoundrel's and heroes. [The author] chronicles the rising and falling fortunes of members of Chinese, British, and American families, as they negotiate the tides of history"--Adapted from publisher description.

"Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic who offers relationship advice to individuals who place 'lonely hearts' ads in The Marriage Gazette. She is swept up in mystery, intrigue, and romance when a handsome detective requests her help to catch a killer who may be using the newspaper to find his next victim"--Provided by publisher.

"A novel about three women whose lives are bound together in nineteenth-century Australia and the hardships they weather together as they fight for redemption and freedom in a new society"--Amazon.

"Fleeing the nightmares of Coldthistle House, Louisa and her friends have taken up in a posh new London residence. . . But religious zealots from the shepherd's army are flocking to the city in droves, and ominous warnings are being left on Louisa's very doorstep. With the evil influence of her father's spirit growing stronger--trying to take over--Louisa knows she'll have to pick a side in the coming war between the old gods whether she'd like to or not. To save herself, Louisa is desperate enough to do whatever it takes--even if it means returning to Coldthistle House and striking another devil's bargain with Mr. Morningside. To uphold her end of the deal, Louisa will have to join his supernatural staff to venture to a gateway between worlds, a place of legend: the Tomb of Ancients. But, as always, Louisa knows there's a catch"--Provided by publisher.

"Judah's dream of becoming a successful shopkeeper comes true but, when God spares his life after being wounded during the War of 1812, he begins using his riches to secretly help others. Includes historical and biographical note"--Provided by publisher.

Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a highborn Victorian young lady, is determined to understand the nature of death after her own mother's death and as she is secretly apprenticing in forensics she finds herself embroiled in the investigation of serial killer Jack el Destripador. Presented in Spanish.

"The life story of a man who defied every convention of his time. He wheeled and dealed in the lily white business world, he married a white woman, he bought a mansion in rural New Jersey, he owned railroad stock on trains he was not legally allowed to ride, and generally set his white contemporaries teeth on edge when he wasn't just plain outsmarting them. An important contribution to American history, Hamilton's life offers a way into considering, from the unusual perspective of a black man, subjects that are usually seen as being quintessentially white, totally segregated from the African American past."--Provided by publisher.

The orphaned Pip is serving as a blacksmith's apprentice when an unknown benefactor supplies the means for him to be educated in London as a gentleman of "great expectations.".