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Heartbreak Trail
by Shirley KennedyRomance and danger abound in this “vivid and moving portrayal” of the American West where a young widow searches for freedom and true love (Lady Victoria Kelly’s Historical Romance Book Reviews). Young and pampered Lucy Parker Schneider never wanted to leave Boston. But in 1850, her husband and cold-hearted brother-in-law dragged her onto a wagon train bound for California. When her husband becomes the first casualty of the arduous trek, Lucy longs to return home, but that would mean abandoning her little stepson. On the trail, Lucy faces deprivation, heartache, and hardship. But there is also Clint Palance, the rugged Indian scout who watches over Lucy with a caring eye. Though Clint ignites a passion in Lucy she’s never known, they must part ways as they reach California. Now she must decide whether to seek him out again, or return to a dull, safe life in Boston, forsaking the beautiful West she has grown to love.
The Heartbreaker (The Matchmaker Novels #4)
by Rexanne BecnelA rake seeks to mend his ways, but his new governess could quickly unravel that plan, in this Regency romance by the bestselling author of The Bridemaker. After returning home from adventures in the Orient, James Lindford, Viscount Farley, causes quite a stir in London society. The viscount&’s womanizing past has caught up with him, and he decides he must take his illegitimate children into his household to raise. Doing the right thing, unfortunately, costs him both his fiancée and his political aspirations. With the gossip hounds soon on the prowl, he escapes to the calm of his country estate. But between his rowdy children and the beautiful woman next door, James is not about to get any peace. Phoebe Churchill&’s quiet life of raising her niece and tending to her cottage is quickly upended upon the arrival of her new neighbor. When she discovers his daughter is stealing from her, James entreats her to be the children&’s governess. It is a job Phoebe accepts with great caution. Though she yearns for the viscount&’s kiss, she cannot ignore her mother&’s warning—that all men are lustful creatures not to be trusted . . . Perfect for fans of the Bridgerton series!Praise for the Matchmaker Series &“[A] sensual roller coaster of a book.&” —Booklist on The Heartbreaker &“Becnel gives us true insight into the human spirit and does not stint on creating the ideal atmosphere and recreating the era to near perfection.&” —RT Book Reviews on The Matchmaker &“Sparkling romance . . . Playful in tone and rich in character, this book is fun, breezy entertainment.&” —Publishers Weekly on The Bridemaker
Heartbreaker: Hell's Belles
by Sarah MacLean'I loved it' ELOISA JAMES'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' JULIA QUINN'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' LISA KLEYPAS New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke's secrets...and his heart. HEARTBREAKER Hell's Belles, Book 2A Princess of ThievesRaised among London's most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower-so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she's the Matchbreaker...using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.A King of ReputationHenry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable-and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.A Royal MatchWhen the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it's impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger...and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn's truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos...and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart.Praise for Sarah MacLean: 'My absolute go-to author for clever, sexy and fun historical romances' Jennifer L. Armentrout'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot.com'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly
Heartbreaker: A Hell's Belles Novel (Hell's Belles #2)
by Sarah MacLeanNew York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke’s secrets…and his heart. A Tempting ThiefRaised among London’s most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower—so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she’s the Matchbreaker…using her superior skills as a thief to help unwilling brides avoid the altar, all while hiding her own scandalous past.A Powerful DukeHenry Carrington, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection and has no time for the scandals that arise every time Adelaide ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable—and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close. A Perfect MatchWhen the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, the duke has no choice but to follow her across Britain on a trip filled with bad weather, bad luck, and a surprising lack of beds. Adelaide soon realizes that this perfect duke kisses like a proper scoundrel, and is turning out to be a thief in his own right…one who won’t stop until he’s stolen her well-guarded heart.
Heartbreaker: a fiery regency romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton
by Sarah MacLean'I loved it' ELOISA JAMES'Smart, sexy, and always romantic' JULIA QUINN'For a smart, witty and passionate historical romance, I recommend anything by Sarah MacLean' LISA KLEYPAS New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke's secrets...and his heart. HEARTBREAKER Hell's Belles, Book 2A Princess of ThievesRaised among London's most notorious criminals, a twist of fate landed Adelaide Frampton in the bright ballrooms of Mayfair, where she masquerades as a quiet wallflower-so plain and unassuming that no one realizes she's the Matchbreaker...using her superior skills as a thief to help brides avoid the altar.A King of ReputationHenry, Duke of Clayborn, has spent a lifetime living in perfection. He has no time for the salacious gossip that arises every time the Matchbreaker ends another groom. His own reputation is impeccable-and the last thing he needs is a frustrating, fascinating woman discovering the truth of his past, or the secrets he holds close.A Royal MatchWhen the two find themselves on a breakneck journey across Britain to stop a wedding, it's impossible for Clayborn to resist this woman who both frustrates and fascinates him. But late-night carriage rides make for delicious danger...and soon Adelaide is uncovering Clayborn's truths, throwing his well-laid plans into chaos...and threatening to steal his heavily guarded heart.Praise for Sarah MacLean: 'My absolute go-to author for clever, sexy and fun historical romances' Jennifer L. Armentrout'Sarah MacLean has reignited the romance genre with a bolder edge' The New Yorker'Funny, smart, feminist and roastingly hot' BookRiot.com'Do yourself a favor and discover the compelling magic of Sarah MacLean' Amanda Quick'MacLean writes with an entirely unique blend of elegance and ferocity that bursts from every page' Entertainment Weekly
The Heartbreaker
by Elisabeth McneillCharles Edward Stewart, better known as 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', is famous for his doomed attack on England and his subsequent flight from Scotland disguised as an Irish serving maid, aided by Flora Macdonald, a poor shepherdess who took pity on his plight. This episode made him a legend in his homeland, but what happened next? Now, years later, the Prince is living in comfort in London, cut-off from reality, and Flora is married with four children, but is struggling to survive. In this fictionalized account, Elisabeth McNeill reveals the man behind the myth and wonderfully recreates life in the eighteenth century, as she completes their story.
Heartbroke Bay
by Lynn D'UrsoA powerful literary debut inspired by a true story. In 1898, Alaska is an untamed wilderness with an unforgiving climate. At the tail end of a world-wide depression, thousands of destitute people are drawn north by rumors of easy wealth coming out of the remote claims of the Gold Rush. Many of the pilgrims are unprepared for the hardships that await them and find nothing but a desolate landscape already pillaged of its riches by those who came before. Hannah Nelson, a beautiful young Englishwoman, is one of the late arrivals. After following her husband to a glacier-wracked fjord in the company of three equally desperate men, she discovers that gold is only one of the desires that can consume a person's soul...
Heartfire (Tales of Alvin Maker, Book #5)
by Orson Scott CardPeggy is a Torch, able to see the fire burning in each person's heart. She can follow the paths of each person's future, and know each person's most intimate secrets. From the moment of Alvin Maker's birth, when the Unmaker first strove to kill him, she has protected him. Now they are married, and Peggy is a part of Alvin's heart as well as his life. But Alvin's destiny has taken them on separate journeys. Alvin has gone north into New England, where knacks are considered witchcraft, and their use is punished with death. Peggy has been drawn south, to the British Crown Colonies and the court of King Arthur Stuart in exile. For she has seen a terrible future bloom in the heartfires of every person in America, a future of war and destruction. One slender path exists that leads through the bloodshed, and it is Peggy's quest to set the world on the path to peace.
The Hearth and Eagle
by Anya SetonA richly detailed historical saga from the bestselling author of Katherine and Green Darkness. 'Anya Seton takes us into other worlds, making us live for a few hours on a grand scale' (Women's Journal)Beginning in 1630, this is the story of the sleepy New England fishing village of Marblehead, Massachusetts from its earliest settlement to modern times, and of a family who called it their home for generations. Hesper Honeywood is unlike the obedient, deeply religious women of her family's past. While she copies the grim and pious behaviour of her cold and distant mother, she dreams of a life of passion and adventure beyond the confines of Marblehead and The Hearth and Eagle Inn. ANYA SETON (1904 -1990) was the author of 10 bestselling historical novels: Dragonwyk, My Theodosia, The Turquoise, The Hearth & Eagle, Foxfire, Katherine, Avalon, The Winthrop Woman, Devil Water and Green Darkness
Hearth and the Eagle: A Novel
by Anya SetonThe story of Hesper Honeywood is the centerpiece of Anya Seton's classic 1940s novel.
Hearth Stone (The Highland Series #3)
by Jeanne WilliamsKirsty has grown up in the shadow of her mother Great Mairi of the Isles, who has kept her people on the Long Isle throughout the cruel Highland Clearances. When faithless Alan betrays Kirsty for her cousin, Kirsty, though pregnant, leaves the island for Canada. On the voyage, her baby is stillborn and the captain helps her bury him on a rocky island near Newfoundland. She has made three good friends on the ship and now they help and support each other finding work at a boarding house near a sawmill town in Ontario. When the captain who is married, moves to a horse ranch he owns, with his feckless brother, Kirsty flees her secret love to go to the Red River with her landlady, Meg. In Winipeg, Meg meets an old Metis friend and with his oxen pulling their cart, they go to take up land near Riding Mountain. They encounter Texas Outlaws, Indians who still hope to drive out the white settlers, and daunting blizzards. Meg, Louie, and Kirsty create a home and stopping place for travelers and shelter a widowed Icelander and his baby. Kidnapped by outlaws running guns for an uprising, Kirsty helps in their downfall. The captain's wife has died in the thwarted rebellion and though he thinks he is too old and battered to marry again, Kirsty does not.~
Hearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film, Updated Edition
by Tony WilliamsHearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film traces the origins of the 1970s family horror subgenre to certain aspects of American culture and classical Hollywood cinema. Far from being an ephemeral and short-lived genre, horror actually relates to many facets of American history from its beginnings to the present day. Individual chapters examine aspects of the genre, its roots in the Universal horror films of the 1930s, the Val Lewton RKO unit of the 1940s, and the crucial role of Alfred Hitchcock as the father of the modern American horror film. Subsequent chapters investigate the key works of the 1970s by directors such as Larry Cohen, George A. Romero, Brian De Palma, Wes Craven, and Tobe Hooper, revealing the distinctive nature of films such as Bone, It's Alive, God Told Me To, Carrie, The Exorcist, Exorcist 2, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as the contributions of such writers as Stephen King. Williams also studies the slasher films of the 1980s and 1990s, such as the Friday the 13th series, Halloween, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Nightmare on Elm Street, exploring their failure to improve on the radical achievements of the films of the 1970s.After covering some post-1970s films, such as The Shining, the book concludes with a new postscript examining neglected films of the twentieth and early twenty-first century. Despite the overall decline in the American horror film, Williams determines that, far from being dead, the family horror film is still with us. Elements of family horror even appear in modern television series such as The Sopranos. This updated edition also includes a new introduction.
Hearthside Cooking
by Nancy Carter CrumpFor cooks who want to experience a link to culinary history, Hearthside Cooking is a treasure trove of early American delights. First published in 1986, it has become a standard guide for museum interpreters and guides, culinary historians, historical re-enactors, campers, scouts, and home cooks interested in foodways and experimenting with new recipes and techniques. Hearthside Cooking contains recipes for more than 250 historic dishes, including breads, soups, entrees, cakes, custards, sauces, and more. For each dish, Nancy Carter Crump provides two sets of instructions, so dishes can be prepared over the open fire or using modern kitchen appliances. For novice hearthside cooks, Crump offers specific tips for proper hearth cooking, including fire construction, safety, tools, utensils, and methods. More than just a cookbook, Hearthside Cooking also includes information about the men and women who wrote the original recipes, which Crump discovered by scouring old Virginia cookbooks, hand-written receipt books, and other primary sources in archival collections. With this new edition, Crump includes additional information on African American foodways, how the Civil War affected traditional southern food customs, and the late-nineteenth-century transition from hearth to stove cooking. Hearthside Cooking offers twenty-first-century cooks an enjoyable, informative resource for traditional cooking.
The Heartland: An American History
by Kristin L. HogansonA history of a quintessentially American place--the rural and small town heartland--that uncovers deep yet hidden currents of connection with the world.When Kristin L. Hoganson arrived in Champaign, Illinois, after teaching at Harvard, studying at Yale, and living in the D.C. metro area with various stints overseas, she expected to find her new home, well, isolated. Even provincial. After all, she had landed in the American heartland, a place where the nation's identity exists in its pristine form. Or so we have been taught to believe. Struck by the gap between reputation and reality, she determined to get to the bottom of history and myth. The deeper she dug into the making of the modern heartland, the wider her story became as she realized that she'd uncovered an unheralded crossroads of people, commerce, and ideas. But the really interesting thing, Hoganson found, was that over the course of American history, even as the region's connections with the rest of the planet became increasingly dense and intricate, the idea of the rural Midwest as a steadfast heartland became a stronger and more stubbornly immovable myth. In enshrining a symbolic heart, the American people have repressed the kinds of stories that Hoganson tells, of sweeping breadth and depth and soul.In The Heartland, Kristin L. Hoganson drills deep into the center of the country, only to find a global story in the resulting core sample. Deftly navigating the disconnect between history and myth, she tracks both the backstory of this region and the evolution of the idea of an unalloyed heart at the center of the land. A provocative and highly original work of historical scholarship, The Heartland speaks volumes about pressing preoccupations, among them identity and community, immigration and trade, and security and global power. And food. To read it is to be inoculated against using the word "heartland" unironically ever again.
Heartland Courtship
by Lyn CoteAn Unexpected Partnership Quaker Rachel Woolsey dreams of having her own bakery and her own homestead. But the odds are stacked against her-until the handsome ex-soldier she nurses back to health offers to help her. Like Rachel, Brennan Merriday is an outsider. But he'll be the temporary ally she needs, and her foolish attraction will fade once he's gone. At first, the only thing Brennan wants to know about Pepin, Wisconsin, is how fast he can leave it. Perhaps in Canada he'll find peace after a bloody war. Yet repaying his debt to the pretty baker offers unexpected solace. She saved him once. Now he longs to rescue dreams of family-for both of them. Wilderness Brides: Finding love-and a fresh start-on the frontier
Heartland Courtship & Homefront Hero
by Lyn Cote Allie PleiterNew hope for a soldierHeartland Courtship by Lyn CoteQuaker Rachel Woolsey’s plans to have her own bakery and homestead seem out of reach—until the handsome ex-soldier she nurses back to health offers to help her. At first, Brennan Merriday intends to stay in Pepin, Wisconsin, only long enough to repay his debt to the pretty baker. But soon he longs to rescue dreams of family—for both of themHomefront Hero by Allie PleiterDashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can’t help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows as soon as he’s well enough, he’ll rush back to war—and far away from South Carolina. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne’s hero.USA TODAY Bestselling Author Lyn Cote
Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity
by Victoria E. JohnsonWinner of the 2009 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Katherine Singer Kovacs Book AwardThe Midwest of popular imagination is a "Heartland" characterized by traditional cultural values and mass market dispositions. Whether cast positively --; as authentic, pastoral, populist, hardworking, and all-American--or negatively--as backward, narrow-minded, unsophisticated, conservative, and out-of-touch--the myth of the Heartland endures.Heartland TV examines the centrality of this myth to television's promotion and development, programming and marketing appeals, and public debates over the medium's and its audience's cultural worth. Victoria E. Johnson investigates how the "square" image of the heartland has been ritually recuperated on prime time television, from The Lawrence Welk Show in the 1950s, to documentary specials in the 1960s, to The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, to Ellen in the 1990s. She also examines news specials on the Oklahoma City bombing to reveal how that city has been inscribed as the epitome of a timeless, pastoral heartland, and concludes with an analysis of network branding practices and appeals to an imagined "red state" audience.Johnson argues that non-white, queer, and urban culture is consistently erased from depictions of the Midwest in order to reinforce its "reassuring" image as white and straight. Through analyses of policy, industry discourse, and case studies of specific shows, Heartland TV exposes the cultural function of the Midwest as a site of national transference and disavowal with regard to race, sexuality, and citizenship ideals.
Heartland Wedding (After The Storm: The Founding Years Ser. #2)
by Renee RyanRebecca Gunderson's fresh start in High Plains, Kansas, is destroyed when a deadly tornado wrecks the immigrant's new home—and her reputation. Everyone knows Rebecca rode out the storm with the town's blacksmith, and no one believes her time with Pete Benjamin was totally innocent. To protect her, Pete offers Rebecca his hand in marriage…but the grieving widower can't give her his heart. Is Rebecca trusting her happiness to a man trapped in the past? Or will faith and trust finally bring them through the storm to a brighter future?
Heartless
by Mary BaloghFrom New York Times bestselling legend Mary Balogh--and the beloved author of Longing, Silent Melody, and Beyond the Sunrise--comes a ravishing novel of passion and duty, love and menace....Life has taught Lucas Kendrick, Duke of Harndon, that a heart is a decided liability. Betrayed by his elder brother, rejected by his fiancée, banished by his father, and shunned by his mother, Luke fled to Paris, where he became the most sought-after bachelor in fashionable society.Ten years later, fate has brought him back home to England as head of the family who rejected him. Unwilling as he is to be involved with them, he must assume responsibility for his younger siblings, the family estate he once loved--and the succession. He faces the prospect of marrying with the greatest reluctance--until he sees beguiling Lady Anna Marlowe across a ballroom one night.Anna, far from being the bright-eyed innocent Luke takes her for, is no more a stranger to the shadows of a painful past than he is. But for her, marriage cannot so easily solve what is wrong in her life--not when a tormentor stalks her to the very doors of Bowden Abbey, where Luke and Anna must learn to trust in each other or risk any chance they may have for a happy future.
Heartless: Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless And Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate #4)
by Gail CarrigerLady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines, Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?HEARTLESS is the fourth book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.
Heartless
by Kat MartinHEARTLESS is a spellbinding classic Kat Martin romance--now available as an e-book for the very first time! To escape her life of poverty as a tenant farmer's daughter, Ariel Summers made a bargain with the devil--she would become the Earl of Greville's mistress in exchange for the schooling and refinements of a lady. But she couldn't foresee the earl's timely death, or her own disturbing attraction to his bastard son and heir, Justin Ross.Justin never meant to demand payment from the tempting young woman his father had so callously planned to ruin. But her innocent allure provoked his ruthless nature and he vowed he would have her in his bed.Seduction was his plan, but Justin never suspected Ariel's innocent passion would awaken emotions he had long thought dead. Now mistrust and betrayal threaten the fragile happiness the two of them have found, and Justin must convince Ariel he isn't the heartless man she believes him to be.
Heartless
by Katherine MartinTo escape her life of poverty as a tenant farmer's daughter, Ariel Summers makes a bargain with the devil...
Heartless Dark
by J P BuxtonTog has fulfilled his destiny - but destiny bites back. He's got it all: power - he's the high king; friendship - those who fought for survival alongside him are still at his side; love - Jenna, his extraordinary young warrior queen, who seems to hold the key to some all-powerful mystery in her very being.Then a savage warlord called the Dragon rips it all away. What do you do? If you're Tog, you set off to win it back, even though the quest seems hopeless, even though everyone tells you it's hopeless. Alone, guilt ridden, you push down the rivers of Britain into the heart of country to pit your courage and resolution against the Dragon, this byword of evil and depravity who rules with a powerful war band that includes vicious child soldiers. He's terrorizing the country round his stronghold, turning everything to a blasted ruin, corrupted and corrupting. There is no way forward for Tog but to face the forgotten armies, the hostile tribesmen, the ancient mysteries he can barely grasp - and his own demons.
Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1)
by Kristen CiccarelliEnemies-to-lovers doesn't get more high stakes than a witch and a witch hunter falling in love in bestselling author Kristen Ciccarelli's latest romantic fantasy. <p><p> On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is. <p><p> Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe - a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution - who she can't help but find herself falling for. <p><p> Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting? <p><p> Kristen Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter is the thrilling start to The Crimson Moth duology, a romantic fantasy series where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch...is falling in love. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Heartless Immensity: Literature, Culture, and Geography in Antebellum America
by Anne BakerAs the size of the United States more than doubled during the first half of the nineteenth century, a powerful current of anxiety ran alongside the well-documented optimism about national expansion. Heartless Immensity tells the story of how Americans made sense of their country's constantly fluctuating borders and its annexation of vast new territories. Anne Baker looks at a variety of sources, including letters, speeches, newspaper editorials, schoolbooks, as well as visual and literary works of art. These cultural artifacts suggest that the country's anxiety was fueled primarily by two concerns: fears about the size of the nation as a threat to democracy, and about the incorporation of nonwhite, non-Protestant regions. These fears had a consistent and influential presence until after the Civil War, functioning as vital catalysts for the explosion of literary creativity known as the "American Renaissance," including the work of Melville, Thoreau, and Fuller, among others. Building on extensive archival research as well as insights from cultural geographers and theorists of nationhood, Heartless Immensity demonstrates that national expansion had a far more complicated, multifaceted impact on antebellum American culture than has previously been recognized. Baker shows that Americans developed a variety of linguistic strategies for imagining the form of the United States and its position in relation to other geopolitical entities. Comparisons to European empires, biblical allusions, body politic metaphors, and metaphors derived from science all reflected--and often attempted to assuage--fears that the nation was becoming either monstrously large or else misshapen in ways that threatened cherished beliefs and national self-images. Heartless Immensity argues that, in order to understand the nation's shift from republic to empire and to understand American culture in a global context, it is first necessary to pay close attention to the processes by which the physical entity known as the United States came into being. This impressively thorough study will make a valuable contribution to the fields of American studies and literary studies.