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1Verse-Book of a Homely Woman

By Fay Inchfawn and Elizabeth Rebecca Ward

Published by the Religious Tract Society in London, <i>The Verse-Book of a Homely Woman</i> is a collection of domestic, spiritual, and fanciful poems from the point of view of a woman, a housewife, and a Christian. The natural, supernatural, and solidly mundane are mixed together as well as separated into two parts: <i>Indoors</i> and <i>Outdoors</i>. <br /> Summary by Clarica.

2Marcella

By Mary Augusta Ward

Mary Augusta Ward (Mrs. Humphry Ward) was a very popular author at the end of the 19th century. The arrival of Marcella was discussed a lot in the London news papers. This popular novel tells about Marcella Boyce, a beauty of the 1880s, who thinks she truly believes in the values of socialism. A 21-year-old art student, she lives in a boarding house in Kensington until her father inherits Mellor Park, the family estate which is located in the Midlands. She unwillingly leaving her studies, all the things she loves and wants to do, and her friends, and starts her new life at Mellor Park, determined to help the poor people she sees around her. Then Aldous Raeburn, Tory candidate for Parliament and heir to Lord Maxwell's estate, falls in love with her. But Marcella is torn between her "love of power" and her "power to love." But she'll have to learn in the hard way that high morals are apt to clash with reality. (Summary by Stav Nisser)

3Lady Rose's Daughter

By Mary Augusta Ward

"Julie Le Breton enchants almost everyone around her with her smart, charm, and excellent manners. She almost belongs to the English highest nobility, but just almost… Her parents, 2 aristocrats who ran away from England in order to be together, could never marry - because her mother was married to someone else. Therefore, she is forced to work for the cruel Lady Henry Delafield, who hates her. She has a few good friends, amongst whom are 2 admirers… And that is only the beginning. This is a compelling drama, set mostly in England, among the English aristocracy. By turns smart, funny and moving, it's the story of a strong and good woman- just trying to survive and make the correct choices. But sometimes, doing what is right doesn't make you happy. Only by giving up the man she loves, can Julie get the honorable place she deserves- beside a man whose strong love for her "saved" her.<br><br> This novel has been adapted for a play in Broadway in 1903 (the year in which it was published), and a silent film in 1920."<br>Summary by Stav Nisser.

4Marriage of William Ashe

By Mary Augusta Ward

William Ashe, an up and coming politician, impulsively marries Kitty, a young, flighty and strange girl who, far from supporting her husband in his career, instead does exactly as she pleases. The book follows the course of their marriage to a rather unexpected conclusion. - Summary by Simon Evers

5Complete Works of Artemus Ward Part 2, War

By Artemus Ward

Charles Farrar Browne, a native of Maine, became famous as a writer and lecturer under the name of Artemus Ward. Like his friend Mark Twain, Browne worked as a type-setter in his youth and in 1858, began publishing a series of letters, essays, and stories told in the first person by a droll, illiterate rube with a good measure of subtle common sense who commented on the events and fads of the day. Taking his character to the stage as a lecturer, Browne became an early-day prototype of what we now name a stand-up comedian. Artemus Ward was such a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln that the chief executive read one of the Ward stories to his assembled cabinet officers before getting down to the business of discussing the proposed Emancipation Proclamation. Browne’s writings became popular in England as well as in America, and he travelled to Britain to perform his Artemus Ward lectures and contribute to the comic magazine <i>Punch.</i> Browne contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of thirty-two in Southampton. (There was a real Artemus Ward, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.) ( Delmar H. Dolbier)

6Gilbert Keith Chesterton

By Maisie Ward

This is the first and only authorized biography of G.K. Chesterton, written by his friend, Maisie Ward.<br><br> Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936), was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. He wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4000 essays, and several plays. Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. He converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism in 1922. (Summary by Maria Therese, partially adapted from Wikipedia)

7Complete Works of Artemus Ward Part 4, To California and Return

By Artemus Ward

Charles Farrar Browne, a native of Maine, became famous as a writer and lecturer under the name of Artemus Ward. Like his friend Mark Twain, Browne worked as a type-setter in his youth and in 1858, began publishing a series of letters, essays, and stories told in the first person by a droll, illiterate rube with a good measure of subtle common sense who commented on the events and fads of the day. Taking his character to the stage as a lecturer, Browne became an early-day prototype of what we now name a stand-up comedian. Artemus Ward was such a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln that the chief executive read one of the Ward stories to his assembled cabinet officers before getting down to the business of discussing the proposed Emancipation Proclamation. Browne’s writings became popular in England as well as in America, and he travelled to Britain to perform his Artemus Ward lectures and contribute to the comic magazine Punch. Browne contracted tuberculosis and died at the age of thirty-two in Southampton. (There was a real Artemus Ward, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.) - Summary by Delmar H. Dolbier

Charles A. Ward was considered one of the most knowledgeable in his studies of the prophecies of Nostradamus. Ward viewed the prophecies of Nostradamus as predictions that only make sense in hindsight, rather than a tool for predicting future events. This work includes Ward's theories regarding the methods of prediction and his theoretical belief that the predictions were sequential. Ward details only a few of the actual predictions of Nostradamus in his interpretations but attempts to shed light on his theoretical orientation in hopes of making them easier to understand for the reader. - Summary by CJ Plogue

9Base-Ball: How to Become a Player

By John Montgomery Ward

Base-Ball: How to Become a Player is a brief history of the game of baseball, with an explanation of the rules and positions. During the audio, reference is made to the "cuts" -- pictures of players, the baseball field, and balls. You can find these pictures in the CD case insert PDF. Alternatively you may reference them in the book itself at Gutenberg.org, at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19975" target="_blank">gutenberg.org/ebooks/19975</a>. - Summary by EliseDee

10Delia Blanchflower

By Mary Augusta Ward

Delia Blanchflower’s father has died, leaving her a considerable inheritance. However, she has become caught up in the militant wing of the Suffragist movement and has come under the spell of Gertrude Marvell, one of the leaders of the movement. Because he strongly disapproves, Delia’s father has put his money in trust until she is older. He has appointed an old friend – Mark Winnington – as the main trustee. Against the background of the Suffragist movement, the book follows the developing relationships between Delia, Gertrude and Mark Winnington. - Summary by Simon Evers

11Lady Connie

By Mary Augusta Ward

Constance Bledlow is a beautiful monied 20 year old with the world at her feet. She arrives in Oxford to spend a few months with her impoverished uncle, a University reader, and his family. She conquers Oxford society and sets many hearts aflame, among them that of Douglas Falloden, a conceited aristocrat at the university. However, his assumption that she will fall at his feet comes to nothing. Later, some ragging by ‘bloods’, led by Falloden, of a Polish musician at his college (Radowitz) leads to a bad injury. The book, set in Oxford, follows the aftermath of the incident and the way the lives of the three surprisingly intertwine. - Summary by Simon Evers

12Bicycling for Ladies

By Maria E. Ward

Written in 1896, at the height of the bicycle craze, Bicycling for Ladies is addressed to the large numbers of women interested in the new "art of wheeling" and wondering how to begin. The book's author, Maria Ward, knew her subject. She was the co-founder of the Staten Island Bicycling Club, and an advocate for women's athletics in general, at a time when women were first emerging from the era of corsets and petticoats. In this book, she delves into the issues of appropriate dress for cycling, endorsing loose practical clothing, shorter skirts, breathable waists, and even knickerbockers. She clearly explains the mechanics of the bicycle, encouraging women to undertake their own bicycle maintenance, and explaining the use of various tools. She encourages women to venture out and explore the world, extolling the pleasures of cycling holidays on the open road with groups of friends, and the sense of independence and confidence to be found in such adventures. The same year that this book appeared in print, famed woman's suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony said that bicycling "has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.” It is that very attitude of freedom and self-reliance that Maria Ward sets out to convey in this practical beginner's guide to cycling.(Summary by Maria Kasper)

13Robert Elsmere

By Mary Augusta Ward

Essentially the book covers the life of Robert Elsmere, a boyishly intellectual clergyman. The first part covers his meeting with and eventual marriage to Catherine Leyburn. After a period as a country vicar, Robert’s meetings with the local squire, an intellectual atheist, lead to his having a crisis of faith. The pair move to London where Robert works with the poor and uneducated. The lives of the people closely associated with the pair are also covered.<br> <br> The book is set against the late Victorian world and its reactions to Darwinism, Unitarianism and the rise of secularism and modernism. At the time, it was a runaway best seller and its attack on orthodox Christianity was fiercely debated by all, including Gladstone. - Summary by Simon Evers

The Counter-Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation, and remembered for its infamous Inquisition, was the period of Catholic resurgence which was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. Adolphus Ward writes, that it was "a movement pursuing two objects...the regeneration of the Church of Rome, and the recovery of the losses inflicted upon her by the early successes of Protestantism...The onset of the combat is marked by the formal establishment of the Jesuit Order as a militant agency devoted alike to both of the purposes of the Counter-Reformation, and the meeting of the Council of Trent [1545-1563] under conditions excluding from its programme the task of conciliation." It largely ended in 1648, when the Peace of Westphalia brought an end to the Thirty Years' War. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)

15Lady Rose's Daughter (Version 2)

By Mary Augusta Ward

Julie le Breton is the illegitimate daughter of Lady Rose, who severed her relations with her aristocratic family when she had the baby and moved to Belgium with her partner. Twenty years later, her parents having died, Julie moves to London to become the companion of Lady Henry, a pillar of society. Only very few know of Julie’s parentage. Julie creates a stir in London society. However, she and Lady Henry fall out, partly because of Lady Henry’s jealousy of Julie’s success in society. Meanwhile, Julie is promoting the cause of a young and handsome soldier, Warkworth. Julie sets up her own household and the book continues to follow the twists and turns of her life and that of her supporters. - Summary by Simon Evers

Set in the 1890's "A Republic Without a President and Other Stories" is a collection of short stories that looks at American politics through the lens of science fiction. - Summary by Kristin Hand

Horror author Harold Ward is perhaps most well-known for his Doctor Death series of stories published in the 1930s. Before that, Ward released a series of horrific and strange stories in the earliest days of Weird Tales magazine. Settle in for a sinister pair of stories that delve into the heart of the macabre! - Summary by Ben Tucker

18Missing

By Mary Augusta Ward

It is 1915 and Nelly and Lieutenant George Sarratt have recently married. After a blissful but brief honeymoon in the Lake District, George is posted to the Front in northern France. Nelly stays on in the Lake District with her older and controlling sister, Bridget. They meet some well to do people, including Sir William Farrell, his friend Captain Marsworth and his sister, Cicely. <br> News comes from France that George is ‘missing, believe killed’ in action. The story continues, exploring the fortunes and changing relationships of these people as the war drags on and there is no definite news of George’s fate. (Summary by Simon Evers)

19History of David Grieve

By Mary Augusta Ward

The book follows the life and times of David Grieve, from his childhood on a remote farm in the Peak District to Manchester, Paris and back to Manchester again. David is an orphan whose life is inextricably bound up with his wild sister Louie. We move from his miserable upbringing to his first successes in business to his adventures in Paris and back to a more settled life until tragedy overtakes him. (Summary by Simon Evers)

20Coryston Family

By Mary Augusta Ward

Lady Coryston has inherited her husband’s estate but surprisingly has not left it on her death to Coryston (known as Corry) her oldest son. They clash over their opposing political views. Marcia, the daughter, is being wooed by Edward Newbury, a very religious neighbour. Arthur, the younger son, is an MP and the apple of Lady Coryston’s eye – she writes his speeches for him. Arthur has however fallen in love with the daughter of the leader of the opposition. The book follows these complicated family relationships to some unexpected conclusions. (Summary by Simon Evers)

21Marriage à la Mode

By Mary Augusta Ward

While travelling in the USA, Roger Barnes, a handsome Englishman, meets and falls in love with Daphne Floyd, a rich and determined American. The book follows their progress through life – their return to England, their unhappy marriage and subsequent divorce, which is complicated by the difference between the laws in their two countries. (Summary by Simon Evers)