UNITED STATES AUTHOR · FICTION · HISTORY
Anya Seton
Also known as: Anya SETON, Anya seton
Ann Seton was born in New York, and died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton and Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson. She is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich. Her historical novels were noted for how extensively she researched the historical facts, and some of them were best-sellers. Dragonwyck (1941) and Foxfire (1950) were both made into Hollywood films. Two of her books are classics in their genre and continue in their popularity to the present; Katherine, the story of Katherine Swynford, the mistress and eventual wife of John of Gaunt, and their children, who eventually became the basis for the Tudor and Stuart families of England, and Green Darkness, the story of a modern couple plagued by their past life incarnations. Most of her novels have been recently republished, several with forewords by Philippa Gregory. Her novel Devil Water concerns James, the luckless Earl of Derwentwater and his involvement with the Jacobite rising of 1715. She also narrates the story of his brother Charles, beheaded after the 1745 rebellion, the last man to die for the cause. The action of the novel moves back and forth between Northumberland, Tyneside, London and America.
IT WAS ON AN AFTERNOON IN MAY OF 1844 THAT THE letter came from Dragonwyck.
— from Dragonwyck
Most acclaimed
Smouldering fires
Reincarnation or the power of eternal love? No one ever knew that shy, quiet Amy Delatour could reenter the world of the 18th century where her lover Paul waited for her. There she became Ange-Marie, and she was beautiful, young, and rapturously in love. Paul was there, still waiting for her, and she ran to him as though she was she was being chased by time itself. However for Amy, it was already to late. . .
Dragonwyck
A classic gothic romance, the story features an 18-year-old Miranda Wells who falls under the spell of a mysterious old mansion and its equally fascinating master. Tired of churning butter, weeding the garden patch, and receiving the dull young farmers who seek her hand in marriage, Miranda is excited by an invitation from the upstate New York estate of her distant relative, the intriguing Nicholas Van Ryn. Her passion is kindled by the icy fire of Nicholas, the last of the Van Ryns, and the luxury of Dragonwyck, and a way of life of which she has only dreamed. Dressed in satin and lace, she becomes part of Dragonwyck, with its Gothic towers, flowering gardens, acres of tenant farms, and dark, terrible secrets. This compelling novel paints a marvelous portrait of a country torn between freedom and feudal traditions; a country divided between the very wealthy and the very poor. Poor tenant farmers at Dragonwyck, the European royalty who visit, and American icons such as Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and the Astors are vividly brought to life. This is a heart-stopping story of a remarkable woman, her breathtaking passions, and the mystery and terror that await her in the magnificent hallways of Dragonwyck.
Best Sellers
Condensed versions of “The Tower” by Richard Martin Stern, and “All Creatures Great and Small” by James Herriot The Tower The World Tower Building rose, slim, graceful, dominating the skyline of Manhattan – a miracle of construction, as disasterproof as the finest architects and engineers could make it. On the day of its dedication, as a glittering cast of VIPs gathers in its Tower Room, an architect learns that there may be electrical flaws in the structure. And then a deranged act of violence threatens catastrophe. All Creatures Great and Small James Herriot was a young veterinary surgeon when he went to the remote Yorkshire Dales to treat animals large and small. He soon discovered that calving could tax the vet as much as the cow. The profession was still relatively primitive. For some complaints, cold water and Epsom salts were the only known remedies. Now Dr. Herriot sets his experiniece down with the skill of a natural-born narrator: The Pekingese who sent out social invitations, the beloved old horses in a sun-dappled meadow, the runaway pigs, Herriot’s own courtship, which began in Yorshire mud and dancing pumps. This warm, often hilarious, thoroughly enjoyable story captures the beauty of moorland and mountain, the plain speech and thought of the Dale farmers, and the daily communion between man and beast. -- Description from inside front cover