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Love Among the Ruins
by Evelyn WaughEvelyn Waugh dips his toes into the world of science fiction. In a future, dystopian Britain, Miles Plastic is in prison for arson. Which isn’t so bad, really – the prisons are actually quite nice. When he is released, he finds himself a nice, wholesome job at a state-run euthanasia clinic trying to control the crushing volume of voluntary applicants. At the clinic he meets Clara, a beautiful, bearded woman, and falls in love. But, as it turns out, love formed at a euthanasia clinic is fraught with its own unique challenges.
The Loved One
by Evelyn WaughAmerica and Britain swirl together in this delightful satire. Dennis Barlow came to America as a poet, hired to write a screenplay for a movie studio. But that ended badly, and so he has taken a job at a pet cemetery, a choice that has left other members of the British expat community in Hollywood quite taken aback, though they are quickly distracted by the suicide of one of their own. Barlow is tasked with the funeral arrangements, during which process he meets the beautiful Aimée Thanatogenos. Can he keep himself in the good graces of his countrymen, and Ms. Thanatogenos – especially after the passing of other poets’ works as his own?
Men at Arms
by Evelyn WaughThe first part of the Sword of Honour Trilogy, inspired by the author’s experiences in World War II.
Guy Crouchback, the youngest member of a declining British aristocratic family, is on self-imposed exile in Italy, ashamed of his failed marriage.
When World War II breaks out, he sees a chance to turn his life around, and to combat the evils of modernity.
As it turns out, war is not so glamorous as he’d imagined, and he finds himself an officer in an old, stodgy regiment, surrounded by eccentric and buffoonish characters, like his friend Apthorpe, a career soldier with an exceedingly complicated past. Guy is determined to do right by himself, and by his Catholic faith, but circumstances will not make it easy.
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Officers and Gentlemen
by Evelyn WaughThe second part of the Sword of Honour Trilogy, inspired by the author’s experiences in World War II.
After being bounced from his regiment in the war, Guy Crouchback, the youngest member of a declining British aristocratic family, falls in with a commando-brigade-in-training led by Tommy Blackhouse, Crouchback’s ex-wife’s second husband (but not her last).
Guy is posted to Egypt and finds himself in the middle of the frantic evacuation of Crete. Can he distinguish himself in service this time, or will he once again stumble?
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Put Out More Flags
by Evelyn WaughWaugh brings some of his best characters back for another romp. Against the backdrop of the Phoney War, Alistair Trumpington wants only the chance to fight for a worthy cause, but instead he finds himself stuck in a never-ending series of military maneuvers, getting him nowhere closer to any front.
Meanwhile, the scoundrel Basil Seal sees the burgeoning war as an opportunity to help only himself.
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Scoop
by Evelyn WaughHow far will one man go for a scoop that he doesn’t know, or care, about? William Boot is poor, but not unhappy. He is not burdened by the hustle and bustle of the big city and can fill his time in nature. He even writes a little about nature for a national newspaper. This is all well and good until he is mistaken for his cousin, a famous novelist, and shipped to a nation caught in a war to act as a foreign correspondent. If he can get out in one piece, much less get the scoop the paper wants, it will be a miracle. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Vile Bodies
by Evelyn WaughOne of Evelyn Waugh’s most conspicuously modern novels. The Bright Young Things are young and decadent, living out their youths in London in the space between the two World Wars. Adam is in love with Nina, though his courtship is not without its obstacles. It seems like things might work out for the couple – at least, until war breaks out. Vile Bodies was adapted by Stephen Fry into the film Bright Young Things. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Time Machine
by H. G. WellsOne of the greatest science fiction writers of all time paints a vivid and terrifying picture of humanity's possible future. An unnamed inventor tests his latest creation - a time machine. It works, pulling him far into the future, but while exploring this new world the time machine is stolen, forcing the Time Traveller to rely on help from the innocent, idyllic Eloi to recover it from the brutal, subterranean Morlocks. The book touches on socio-political issues such as classism and industrialization. It has been adapted for film twice. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
A Cool Million
by Nathanael WestA great American satirist, Nathanael West laughs in the face of the Horatio Alger myth. Like many an Alger, Lemuel Pitkin leaves his home on the farm to seek his fortune in the Big City. By the time he is through, he has been robbed, jailed, has lost his teeth, his eye, a leg, his scalp, and has witnessed a remarkable number of assults and political riots. In A Cool Million, West etches a classic parable of America in the chaotic Thirties.Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Day of the Locust
by Nathanael WestIn The Day of the Locust a young artist, Tod Hackett, arrives in Los Angeles full of dreams. But celebrity and artifice rule and he soon joins the ranks of the disenchanted that drift around the fringes of Hollywood. When he meets Faye Greener, an aspiring actress, he is intoxicated and his desperate passion explodes into rage.Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Miss Lonelyhearts
by Nathanael WestMiss Lonelyhearts is a decidedly off-kilter, darkly comic tale set in New York in the early 1930s. A nameless man is assigned to produce a newspaper advice column. It was meant to be a joke. But as endless letters from the Desperate, Sick-of-it-All and Disillusioned pile up for Miss Lonelyhearts's attention the joke begins to escape him.Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Age of Innocence
by Edith WhartonAn epic portrait of the 19th century American upper class that earned its author a Pulitzer Prize. Newland Archer has it all - he is a lawyer from one of the most respected families in New York, and has a highly desirable marriage with the beautiful May Welland. When May's cousin Ellen, rumoured to have just broken off her marriage with a Polish count, returns to town, Newland finds himself questioning his future. At first, he is simply concerned about the taint that Ellen's scandal might bring upon him - but then he finds himself falling for her, and questioning everything he thought he wanted from life. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Bunner Sisters
by Edith WhartonThe Bunner Sisters own a millinery shop in a poor district in New York. Money is tight, but they are able to get by. When Herman Ramay, a bachelor and local shop owner, comes in to their lives, it teases at new possibilities and new horizons for both women. But will they find that what Ramay might offer elevates them? Or will it destroy something precious? Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you high quality, classic works of literature in e-book form. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Children
by Edith WhartonOne man on a journey across the ocean meets seven remarkable children—children on the run from their parents, children who will change his life. Martin Boyne is not a reckless man. A bachelor despite being over forty, he is taking a transatlantic journey to meet with a widow whom he has nursed a cautious love for for years. He is disappointed that he never meets interesting people on his trips—disappointed, that is, until he makes the remarkable acquaintance of the seven Wheater children, travelling only with their nanny, to escape their parents. As if this were not remarkable enough, he discovers that he knows the parents, and the astonishing nature of the encounter is enough to overcome his caution, and he agrees to help them flee, despite the risks. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you high quality, classic works of literature in e-book form. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Ethan Frome
by Edith WhartonA grim tale of one man’s search for simple happiness, and the harsh realities that intrude upon his path. The novel’s narrator, an unnamed man, is spending a winter in the New England town of Starkfield, where he encounters Ethan Frome, a mysterious long-time resident of the town. Though none of his fellow townsfolk are willing or able to shed much light on Frome’s background, the narrator is determined. He eventually finds himself a guest of Frome’s while seeking shelter from a winter storm, and his host begins to reveal parts of his complicated and fraught history.
The Fruit of the Tree
by Edith WhartonJustine is a young nurse, born into a wealth that was lost before she reached adulthood. When she takes a job assisting with the recovery of an injured mill-worker, she finds herself at the centre of a struggle for power, dignity, and a better life.
John Amherst, the assistant manager of the mill, is fed up with the deplorable working and living conditions of the workers in his charge. When the mill's owner passes away, leaving control in the hands of his widow, Amherst sees a chance to change things for the better. Bessy, the widow, is initially receptive to his ideas, but breaking down a lifetime of embedded ideology about class and wealth is no easy feat.
The Glimpses of the Moon
by Edith WhartonAn expertly drawn portrait of two young lovers, caught between bright-eyed passion and the bitter allure of wealth. Nick Lansing and Susy Branch are torn - they are in love, but believe that they can never be happy without the wealth that their friends so cavalierly throw around. They wed, but with an agreement to divorce if a more financially suitable prospect appears for either of them. This agreement makes a certain banal sense, at least at first, but when it is tested by the messy realities of love, lust, desire, and ambition, Nick and Susy realize that they are in over their heads. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The Gods Arrive
by Edith WhartonVance and Halo have found each other. But can they find happiness? Picking up from the events of Hudson River Bracketed, Vance’s wife has passed away, and his novel is a success. Halo cannot escape her happy marriage while she stays in America, but between a sudden inheritance and Vance’s newfound wealth, the two can escape to Europe. But what will they find there? Freedom from the pettiness and hollowness they see in the States? Or just more of the same? And can their relationship survive the journey? Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you high quality, classic works of literature in e-book form. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
The House of Mirth
by Edith WhartonLily Bart is a beautiful socialite, born into a world of wealth and luxury – a world that threatens to slip through her fingers. The death of her parents and drying up of her family estate threaten to wrench her from the high-class lifestyle of her birth, unless she can secure a marriage to a wealthy young man. But Lily is growing older, and her window of marriageability is getting smaller. A penchant for gambling at bridge, and a secret desire to break free of the claustrophobic expectations of her social class, add extra complication to Lily’s already fraught situation.
Hudson River Bracketed
by Edith WhartonA brilliant, complex tale of love, life, and art in the 1920s. Two artistic souls, Vance and Halo, are drawn into unhappy marriages. Vance lives the impoverished life of a struggling novelist, while Halo marries for money to ensure her parents' security. Through their common love of literature, the two find the happiness and love lacking in their marriages. But can they overcome the obstacles keeping them apart? Edith Wharton, never one to fall into sentimentality, will not let their happiness come easy.
Madame de Treymes
by Edith WhartonFanny de Malrive, an American living in Paris, is trapped in a loveless marriage. She wants nothing more than to divorce her estranged husband and marry her childhood friend John Durham. But even if her husband could overcome his conservative, religious family and culture to acquiesce, she fears losing custody of their son. In hopes of finding a solution, Durham meets with Fanny's sister-in-law, the enigmatic Madame de Treymes, who suggests that she might be willing to appeal to her brother on his behalf--if, that is, he will help settle her illicit lover's gambling debts. Such a proposition surely won't have a catch...
The Mother's Recompense
by Edith WhartonA feminist Oedipus, cut through with Wharton’s usual condemnation of social class and high society. Kate Clephane was driven out of New York years ago for abandoning her husband and daughter, Anne, which is why she is so surprised to be asked by to America by the same daughter. Anne is set to marry Chris Fenno, a war hero of questionable intentions – and a former lover of Kate’s, putting her in a particularly delicate situation. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.
Old New York
by Edith WhartonA series of four interconnected novellas, painting a vivid portrait of New York through the middle of the 19th century.
In the 1840s, Lewis Raycie is sent to Europe by his father to purchase art by famous painters. The elder Raycie, a self-made man, wants to establish a family dynasty and hopes that a respected art gallery well help entrench his family in New York's upper crust.
But when his son returns home with works by cutting edge but unknown artists, it threatens to tear this fledgling family apart.
In the 1850s, Delia Ralston's cousin Charlotte is about to be married but has a dilemma. Her husband-to-be wishes her to give up her work at an orphanage where, unbeknownst to him, Charlotte's illegitimate daughter resides.
Delia wants to help her cousin out, while also looking out for Charlotte's future husband, who is in turn her husband's cousin. And then there is the young child to worry about, an orphan in the public eye who has no prospects to speak of...
In the 1860s, a young man named Hayley joins the Civil War and is wounded. Three decades later, the narrator traces the way his life has unfolded since the war.
Finally, in the 1870s, a woman named Lizzie's apparent affair is causing a scandal throughout the city, but the relationship is not as it appears...
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The Reef
by Edith WhartonA dark tale of jealousy, betrayal, and the inability to let go of the past. When Anna Leath’s husband passes away, she finds herself reunited with George Darrow, a former love from before her marriage.
But her frequent delaying of their reunion leads him into an affair with a young actress named Sophy. Eventually George and Anna come together, but their future is complicated by Anna’s stepson, who has fallen in love with a woman that his family disapproves of – Sophy.
Who, as it turns out, has been hired as Anna’s governess. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in e-book form, with the highest quality production values.
Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.