Author: Janet A. Hale

1Peterkin Papers

By Lucretia P. Hale

The Peterkins were a lovable but comically inept family that possess ingenuity, logic, resourcefulness, and energy--but not common sense. The general formula is that the family tries to solve some problem in an appealingly roundabout way, fails, and is eventually rescued by "the wise old lady from Philadelphia" who always cuts the Gordian knot with some effective but prosaic solution. The charm of the story is not in the plot, but in the telling, with the building up of layers of complication, and the affectionate fun poked at the not-quite-cartoonish characters. The "wise old lady's" solution is usually obvious to the reader, or even the young listener, from the start. (From Wikipedia)

The Peterkin Papers is a book-length collection of humorous stories by Lucretia Peabody Hale, and is her best-known work. The Peterkins are a lovable but comically inept family with ingenuity, logic, resourcefulness, and energy—but not common sense. Many chapters show the family trying to solve some problem in a roundabout way, failing, and eventually being rescued by "the wise old lady from Philadelphia," who cuts the Gordian knot with an effective but prosaic solution. The charm of the story is not in the plot, but in the telling, building up layers of complication, and the affectionate fun poked at the not-quite-cartoonish characters. The "wise old lady's" solution is usually obvious to the reader, even the young listener, from the start. (summary from Wikipedia)

The transitioning years between girlhood and womanhood are an exciting time for a girl, as well as tumultuous and confusing. Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale is a lovely guide that will help the young girl understand the changes she is going through emotionally and physically and also guide her in the proper behavior befitting a young woman. (Summary by Laura Caldwell)

4Famous Sea Fights

By John Richard Hale

I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that "he who commands the sea commands all." I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.<br /><br />I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people.<br /><br /> I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book)

5Man Without A Country And Other Tales

By Edward Everett Hale

Edward Everett Hale was an American author, historian and Unitarian clergyman. Hale first came to notice as a writer in 1859, when he contributed the short story "My Double and How He Undid Me" to the Atlantic Monthly. He soon published other stories in the same periodical. His best known work was "The Man Without a Country", published in the Atlantic in 1863 and intended to strengthen support in the Civil War for the Union cause in the North. Though the story is set in the early 19th century, it is an allegory about the upheaval of the American Civil War. As in some of his other non-romantic tales, he employed a minute realism which led his readers to suppose the narrative a record of fact. These two stories and such others as "The Skeleton in the Closet", gave him a prominent position among short-story writers of 19th century America. Each story in this collection has an introduction. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)

6Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

By Edward Everett Hale

This is a collection of ten Christmas Stories, some of which have been published before. I have added a little essay, written on the occasion of the first Christmas celebrated by the King of Italy in Rome. (Summary by Book Preface)

7Cuentos Clásicos del Norte: Segunda Serie

By Edward Everett Hale, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving

(Segunda parte de esta serie de Cuentos Clásicos de América del Norte, esta vez con la presencia de tres de los más destacados autores del siglo XIX en este género. Esta recopilación de leyendas y relatos fantásticos transcurre entre las nacientes poblaciones e inhóspitos y misteriosos bosques de la Nueva Inglaterra, a la vista de las Montañas Katskill y las tierras bañadas por el río Hudson. En ellos podemos encontrar criaturas misteriosas, casacas rojas, colonos holandeses, patriotas puritanos, cabañas en la niebla... ¿Cuál es la historia de aquel que llaman El hombre sin Patria? ¿Cómo acabará el experimento en el salón del doctor Heidegger? ¿A quién no se le hiela la sangre al escuchar los ruidos que anuncian la inminente llegada del Jinete Sin Cabeza?). (Resumen por Epachuko)

8New Joan and Other Poems

By Katherine Hale

Katherine Hale is the pen name of Amelia Beers Warnock Garvin, a Canadian poet and literary critic. This volume is one of her collections with the background of World War I as a theme, but full of faith and hope. - Summary by Larry Wilson

More than a generation ago, a common joke when an insolvent debtor or any other loafer who had changed his home, wished to leave warning behind him where he had gone, he chalked upon his door the letters, "G.T.T." These letters were understood to mean "gone to Texas." Shortly before his death at The Alamo, Davy Crockett is quoted, regarding his last campaign for Congress: "I was, for some years, a member of Congress. In my last canvass, I told the people of my district, that, if they saw fit to re-elect me, I would serve them faithfully as I had done; but, if not, they might all go to h——, and I would go to Texas. I was beaten, gentlemen, and here I am." The roar of applause was like a thunder-burst. <br> Andrew Hale's long-forgotten book is NOT about Davy Crockett, but it IS about going to Texas in a Pullman train car, and various adventures that attached to it. Note: Special thanks to Beate and Eberhard Schneider of Germany and Katie Greenman, for their help with the lullaby recording in Chapter 6 and to Kazbec for the Italian song and lyrics in Chapter 12. (Summary by John Greenman & Wikipedia)