Showing results for "Pearl" in Literature & Fiction

Marianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing. Left behind with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, she clings to the fragmented memories of her mother’s love; the smell of fresh herbs, the games they played, and the songs and stories of her childhood. As time passes, Marianne struggles to adjust, fixated on her mother’s disappearance and the secrets she’s sure her father is keeping from her.

“There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon.” Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls from the gulf beds that once brought great wealth to the Kings of Spain and now provide Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then...

In this short tale for fans of Cinderella and Bridgerton, Pearl’s ball gown may carry the whiff of mothballs, but her dance card for the duke’s ball is full…until she loses a shoe. In her enthusiasm, Pearl’s foot slides out of her too-big damask slipper in the middle of a dance and gets kicked around the ballroom to the amusement of the sophisticated guests. What is a spirited but clumsy heroine to do? Can her composure and good humor save her social dignity?

Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of Dr. Andrew Wilson FRSE, a prominent Scottish physiologist and zoologist who made significant contributions to the fields of zoology and comparative anatomy at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the preface of his insightful work, he expresses his goal of presenting the evidence for evolution in a way that is both engaging and accessible. Dr. Wilson emphasizes that evolution is not just a concept but a fundamental force shaping the diverse life forms that ...

Award-winning author Lauraine Snelling continues the story of Ruby Torvald in book two of her Dakotah Treasures series. Ruby's most recent boarder at the Dove House is schoolteacher Pearl Hossfuss. Avoiding an arranged marriage, Pearl has deserted her home in Chicago to teach in Little Missouri. There she has befriended Ruby and fallen for carpenter Carl Hegland. But her father threatens to take her back home. Ruby must turn to God for the strength to stand up to her father.

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See. In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted...

When our story begins, Julia Child is an eager but inexperienced codebreaker longing to prove herself in the male-dominated world of intelligence, and Josephine Baker is, well, Josephine Baker—a world-famous entertainer who is now leading a double life as a spy for the French Resistance. When a golden opportunity arises to infiltrate a high-stakes Nazi gala in Vichy France, Julia must put aside her by-the-book mentality to assist her unorthodox new partner.

In this classic collection of Pearls podcasts, Jill Loree strings together practical spiritual insights in a timeless collection that offers pearls of wisdom we can use every day. Topics include: Privacy & Secrecy • The Lord’s Prayer • Political Systems • The Superstition of Pessimism • Preparing to Reincarnate • Our Relationship to Time • Grace & Deficit • The Power of Words • Perfectionism • Authority • Order • Positive Thinking • Three Faces of Evil • Meditation for Three Voices • The Spiritual Meaning of Crisis • Leadership • Letting Go & Letting God.

Step into the world of first-century Rome with Pearl Maiden, the poignant tale of Miriam, a young Christian orphan. Caught between her deep affection for a Roman officer and the unwavering love of her childhood Jewish playmate, Miriam faces a heart-wrenching dilemma. As passions ignite and loyalties are tested, will she choose love or friendship? (Summary by Stav Nisser)

The latest puzzling mystery facing Jude Dee begins on the night of the Poo-yang dragonboat races in 699 A.D.: a drummer in the leading boat collapses, and the body of a beautiful young woman turns up in a deserted country mansion. There, Judge Dee—tribunal magistrate, inquisitor, and public avenger—steps in to investigate the murders and return order to the Tang Dynasty.

Pearl O'Reilly woont al haar hele leven in het slaperige Ierse dorpje Drangan. Ze geniet van haar dagelijkse rituelen: lunchen met haar beste vriendin Una, praten met haar therapeut Mairead en werken in het winkeltje van de O'Callaghans. Haar andere gewoontes – tot tien tellen voor ze de trap op of af gaat en obsessief haar handen wassen – zijn iets minder leuk. Dan ontmoet Pearl Jack, een Nieuw-Zeelander die op rondreis is door Ierland. Zijn bezoek is kort, maar als hij een liefdesbriefje voor haar achterlaat, begint ze na te denken over een ander leven.

One powerful family holds a city, a faith, and a woman in its grasp—from the national bestselling author of Daughters of Rome and Mistress of Rome. Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and teeming with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded...

On Christmas night of 1998, Maria Meyers learns that her 20-year-old daughter, Pearl, has chained herself outside the American embassy in Dublin, where she intends to starve herself to death. Although Maria was once a student radical and still proudly lives by her beliefs, gentle, book-loving Pearl has never been interested in politics nor in the Catholicism her mother rejected years before. What, then, is driving her to martyr herself?

Embark on a captivating journey to the stunning coast of Maine and dive into the charming community of Orr’s Island. Picture raindrops sparkling on pine needles while the waves crash against rugged rocks. This enchanting tale weaves together romance, tragedy, crusty sea captains, an adventurous boy, and a devoted girl, all intertwined with village gossip and unexpected twists. (Summary by Bridget Gaige)

Pearl is the first of the four poems of the Pearl manuscript, a 14th century work contemporaneous with Chaucer, Langland and Gower. It is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece of medieval English literature. In the poem the grief-stricken protagonist describes the loss of a precious pearl in a garden. He falls asleep and in his dream sees a vision of a beautiful Maiden, who through complex imagery is gradually revealed as the pearl, a lost loved one, often interpreted as the Dreamer's young daughter, though never explicitly identified.

The story of Tzu Hsi is the story of the last empress in China. In this audiobook, Pearl S. Buck recreates the life of one of the most intriguing rules during a time of intense turbulence. Tzu Hsi was born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of 17 to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort.

Lady Lea - beloved sister of the Emperor Caelan - is gifted with the ability to see into others' hearts and when she is moved to tears, those tears become pearls. When the hardened warrior Lord Shadrael kidnaps her and takes her through the fearsome Hidden Ways of the shadow world, Lea can foresee her destiny in him. For if she is to save Shadrael from his own darkness, she will ultimately have to choose between her brother and her abductor.

In February 1918, as the First World War was still being bitterly fought, Lady Northcliffe appealed to the women of Britain and the Empire to give a pearl from their necklaces to make a new string which could be sold in aid of the British Red Cross. Nearly 4,000 pearls poured in, from priceless heirlooms - one had survived the sinking of the Titanic - to treasured trinkets. Working with Christie's and the International Fundraising Committee of the British Red Cross, Rachel Trethewey weaves the touching story of a generation of women who gave what they had to aid the war effort and commemorate their losses.

After barely surviving last year’s lethal power struggle, the smart-mouthed thief known as The Oncoming Storm has solidified her long-standing belief that steering well clear of other people’s problems is the way to live. Even when a whole new civilization sails right into the harbor, she remains adamant. She is not getting involved in another political intrigue. But she might not have a choice.

The McKay family gathers for a week-long holiday at a rambling old house to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Robert and Mary. In recent years only funerals and sudden, severe illnesses have been able to draw them together, and as they gather in the splendid rooms of Hunting Manor, their differences are soon uncomfortably apparent. For all their history, their traditions, the connective strands of DNA, they are relative strangers. There are truths unspoken, but the question is: How much truth can a family really stand?