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I have to thank all the previous students of Shelley as poet and man--not last nor least among whom is my husband--for their loving and truthful research on all the subjects surrounding the life of Mrs.Shelley. -Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti Mrs. Shelley is a biography of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley, author of Frankenstein and other works, wife of Percy Shelley, daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin who penned The Vindication of the Rights of Women, and daughter of William Godwin, a philosopher and novelist. The life of this woman, who at nineteen wrote a story that has become a part of everyday culture, is its own story to tell. The author Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti was the daughter of the artist Ford Madox Brown and the wife of William Michael Rossetti of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. (Summary by A.L. Gramour)...

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Biography

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Boswell's famous work on the life of his admired friend Johnson, the formidable poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer, is a milestone in the development of biographical writing, a treasure-house of Johnson's witticisms and opinions, and a window on his social circle that is packed with incidental detail of 18th-century life and concerns. This second of four volumes covers the years 1764-1776. (Summary by Philippa)...

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Biography, Literature, Memoirs

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William Henry Hudson (August 1841 - 1922) was an author, naturalist and ornithologist. Hudson was born of U.S. parents living in the Quilmes Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, where he spent his youth studying the local flora and fauna and observing both natural and human dramas on what was then a lawless frontier. 'Far Away and Long Ago' is a classic memoir of a boy, fascinated by nature, on the Pampas in the 19th century....

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Adventure, Biography, Nature

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William Dean Howells (1837-1920) became fast friends with Mark Twain from the moment in 1869 when Twain strode into the office of The Atlantic Monthly in Boston to thank Howell, then its assistant editor, for his favorable review of Innocents Abroad. When Howells became editor a few years later, The Atlantic Monthly began serializing many of Twain's works, among them his non-fiction masterpiece, Life on the Mississippi. In My Mark Twain, Howells pens a literary memoir that includes such fascinating scenes as their meetings with former president Ulysses Grant who was then writing the classic autobiography that Twain would underwrite in the largest publishing deal until that time. But it is also notable for its affectionate descriptions of his friend's family life during Howell's many visits to the Twain residences in Hartford and Stormfield. (Summary by Dennis Sayers)....

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Biography

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“You will never be a leper nor will any Sister of our Order.” The amazing promise was made by Mother Marianne of Molokai, the “Quiet Flame” of the this title who, as a Sister of St. Francis , spent 30 years on that island helping lepers during and after the time of Father Damien. Mother was speaking to a young nun, and she spoke the truth. Not one of the Sisters ever did contract the disease, a notable fact considering the tender care they fostered on the lepers. This story of this good nun, was written by the author of a number of Catholic biographies and fiction books for children. (Summary from original jacket and Maria Therese)...

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Biography

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A biography of Abraham Lincoln by his long-time law partner, William Herndon and Herndon's collaborator, Jesse Weik. The book is notable for its extensive use of first hand interviews (unusual for its time) and for Herndon's overriding determination to convey an affectionate but frank picture of his law partner's life story as remembered by Lincoln's family, friends, associates and neighbors. (Summary by RalphK)...

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Biography

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Rose Wilder Lane was a newspaper reporter, free-lance writer, political activist, and the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House series of popular children's books. In this biography of Henry Ford, Ms. Lane worked directly with Ford to tell his story from his birth to his founding of the Ford Motor Company and his use of modern assembly lines to mass produce his cars. (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett.)...

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Biography

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Being a Jew in Russia at the end of the 19th century was not easy at all. Jews were persecuted because of their religion. So the Jews found comfort in their ancient traditions. When Mary Antin's father decided that keeping to his traditions did not suit him anymore, he found no place in Russia. So he emigrated to America with his family. Life was not easy, though as a child, Mary describes life in Boston as almost perfect. A smart and dignified girl, Mary takes the good things in anything and writes her autobiography with a smile. When you listen to Bridget reading this wonderful book, you can almost feel Mary Antin's trials and joys. (Summary by Stav Nisser)...

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Biography

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A biography of the famous Cleopatra of Egypt, written in a manner, equally interesting to children and to adults.

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History, Biography, Children

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This is a collection of ten short, entertaining, informative picture-book biographies of famous composers. Each book tells about the childhood and great achievements of a composer, and includes a short musical example. Here are links to the online texts so you can read along and look at the pictures: Bach: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34568 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34568 Mozart: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34582 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34582 Beethoven: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34737 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34737 Haydn: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34550 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34550 Schubert: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35070 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35070 Handel: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35157 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35157 Chopin: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35013 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35013 Verdi: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35158 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35158 Wagner: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35128 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35128 Grieg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35097 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35097 (Summary...

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Biography, Children, Fiction, Music, Teen/Young adult

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The object of the writer, in preparing this account of himself, is toRAISE SUFFICIENT MEANS TO FREE HIS LAST TWO CHILDREN FROM SLAVERY.Having already, within twelve years past, purchased himself, his wife, and five of his children, at a cost, altogether, of over _four thousand dollars_, he now earnestly desires a humane and christian public toAID HIM IN THE SALE OF THIS BOOK,for the purpose of finishing the task in which he has so long and anxiously labored.God has blessed him in an extraordinary manner, not only by granting freedom to him and so large a portion of his family, but by giving him the hope of the gospel, and permitting him to preach that gospel among his own people--in which calling he has been engaged for about twenty-five years. (Excerpted from the book)...

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Biography, Memoirs, History

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Written for children, James Baldwin's history of Washington, Franklin, Webster, and Lincoln brings these men to life in a way that will be interesting for adults as well. The stories touch on the little humanities of the great men, rather than dwelling on the great works and great events of their lifetimes, without ignoring the latter. (Summary written by Sibella Denton) _________________...

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Biography, Children

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Marie Francoise Therese Martin, affectionately known as 'The Little Flower', was born on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France to Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin. She was the youngest and one of five surviving sisters of the nine Martin children. When Therese was 3, her mother died. Louis Martin moved his family to Lisieux to be closer to his late wife's brother and his family. It was there that Therese's sister, Pauline, entered the Carmel at Lisieux on October 2, 1882. Therese at that time also heard the Divine Call to religious life. Therese entered the Carmel on April 9, 1888, after much oppostion to her entering at the age of 15. It was there that she wrote L'Histoire d'une Ame (The Story of a Soul) through obedience. Eventually, Therese's other sisters entered the religious life, one at the Carmel of Lisieux and the other became a Poor Clare at the Visitation Convent at Caen. Therese died on September 30, 1897, at the Carmel of Lisieux of tuberculosis. She was beatified on April 29, 1923 and canonized on May 17, 1925. (Summary written by Ann Boulais.)...

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Biography, Memoirs, Religion

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Hurricane! Volcano eruptions and fire! Leprosy! Nothing deterred Father Damien from doing the work to which he had been called. Outstandingly big and strong as a boy, he was notably kind as a young man. He needed all his strength and kindness when he went to live at the leper colony of Molokai. This children’s biography of Father Damien of Molokai was written by Eva K. Betz, a prolific Catholic writer of history and biography books for children. (Introduction from an original dust jacket and Maria Therese)...

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Adventure, Biography, History

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This book is about the life of Queen Victoria (1819 to 1901). All nine of her children married into the royal houses of Europe. She became the longest reigning monarch and more. This book is a fascinating read about the woman behind the British Empire. (Summary by Michele Eaton)...

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Biography, History

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The object of this book is to bring together stories of the most important movements in the history of Europe during the Middle Ages, and to make familiar the names of the most important figures in those scenes. I have endeavoured to weave a tapestry in which, with due colour, may be traced the history of the rise and fall of the various nationalities and the circumstances and mode of life of each—in short, to give the young reader an approximation to the background for the study of his country's history which a wide reading gives to a man. (Summary from the Preface of Heroes of the Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan)...

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Biography, Children

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These are biographical sketches of the men and one woman, Joan of Arc, who were famous during the Middle Ages.

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Biography, Children, History

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In this book you will not find the stories of all God's saints. I have gathered a few together, just as one gathers a little posy from a garden full of roses. But the stories I have chosen to tell are those that I hope children will love best to hear. (excerpt from In God's Garden by Amy Steedman)...

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Children, Biography, Religion

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Narrated by Mike Vendetti aka Mike the Auctioneer, this early novel by Sinclair Lewis (his third) is said to be autobiographical. The protagnatist, Carl Ericson, born in 1855 becomes whiteness to a period of great technological and social change in America. (Summary by Mike Vendetti)...

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Biography, History

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This is the lively autobiography of Martha Summerhayes, the wife of an officer in the American Army. Here, she tells many stories about life and conditions in different camps and forts in which she lived with her expanding family, people along the way, and Journeys. (Summary by Stav Nisser)...

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Memoirs, Biography