Jude the Obscure, the semi-autobiographical final novel from Thomas Hardy explores notions of surprising candor; within the eponymous protagonist lies the tragic truth of failed ambitions and relationships. In a fierce exploration of the darkness of love and the intellect, this is one of the great tragic novels of English literature. Jude Fawley, an earnest boy from a rural English village, dreams of a life of academia despite his working-class background....

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: • New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars • Biographies of the authors • Chronologies of contemporary...

On the day of her father's funeral, twenty-eight-year-old Clarissa Iverton discovers that he wasn't her biological father after all. Her mother disappeared fourteen years earlier, and her fiancé has just revealed a life-changing secret to her. Alone and adrift, Clarissa travels to mystical Lapland, where she believes she'll meet her real father. There, at a hotel made of ice, Clarissa is confronted with the truth about her mother's history, and must...

The core story centers on Joao, the bastard child of an ill-fated romance between two members of the aristocracy who are forbidden to marry, and his quest to discover the truth of his parentage. But this is just the start of an engrossing tale that follows a multitude of characters whose fates conjoin, separate and then rejoin again over three decades in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy.

When the affluent Lintons of Lenox Hill summon Sarah Brandt to examine their teenage daughter, their worst fear is confirmed: she is with child. The pregnancy is a mystery, however, as the young woman-mentally still a child herself-is never left on her own and denies that any man has ever hurt her. It's a delicate situation, one which casts suspicion on those close to the Lintons, including their beloved minister, the Reverend Oliver Upchurch. As...

Two surprising allies have emerged to aid the embattled ruler in a struggle he must win: Cefwyn's two young sons. Aewyn Marhanen is the prince destined to rule. Aewyn's half-brother, Elfwyn Aswydd-the bastard son of the king and the sorceress Tarien Aswydd-has spent years unaware of his parentage, yet now it is his time to emerge and claim the gifted birthright he's been denied for so long. But a dark, sinister magic has crept close to the young man...

It's been fifteen years since Roxy Carmichael left Clyde, Ohio, for fame and fortune. Now the town is excitedly planning for her homecoming. Among those anxiously awaiting her return is her ex-boyfriend, her rival, and an eccentric Dinky Bossetti.

Jade longs to begin a family with her husband Max. When she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son, her life is turned upside down. She flees to her Iowa childhood home, and questions everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. Does the future rest on the power of her past-- or in the goodness of God's tender mercies?

At age eighty-two and in failing health, Olivia Morrow must decide whether she will expose a long-held family secret and reveal that her cousin, Catherine, gave birth to a son at age seventeen and gave him up for adoption before entering a convent. Now deceased, Sister Catherine is being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church. Catherine's granddaughter Monica has no idea that her grandfather was the famous doctor Alex Gannon, and Alex's...