Thomas Tryon

Young Opal Thigpen meets Cupid, an elephant in a traveling show, and the two have a series of adventures as they rise to stardom.

An awkward, mysterious orphan becomes the victim of a cabal at a summer Bible camp.

Fedora is dead, and movies will never be the same. A star since the early days of Hollywood, she survived the business for an unprecedented four decades before retiring to Crete. As the years wore on and her costars turned wrinkled and worn, Fedora’s perfect features never faded. Now that she has finally passed, the secret to her longevity will be told—a shocking revelation that will raise her to the level of myth. These four novellas tell the story of Fedora and three of her costars in 1955’s infamous The Miracle of Santa Cristi. Alongside the ageless beauty are William Marsh, whose days as a leading man are numbered; Bobbitt, a former child star still trading on his boyish good looks; and Lorna, a dim bulb who’s too sexy for her own good. When the film was shot, they were headed in different directions, but all ended up in the same place: forgotten, loathed, and unlamented.

It was almost as if time had not touched the village of Cornwall Coombe. The quiet, peaceful place was straight out of a bygone era, with well-cared-for Colonial houses, a white-steepled church fronting a broad Common. Ned and Beth Constantine chanced upon the hamlet and immediately fell in love with it. This was exactly the haven they dream of. Or so they thought. For Ned and his family, Cornwall Coombe was to become a place of ultimate horror.

Contains: Pride of the Peacock Bobbit Experiment [Ordinary People]( Storm Warning

After seven years of waiting tables in little Pilchuck, Washington, aspiring apparel designer Cindy Reilly is beginning to despair of ever seeing her line of evening dresses on the racks of a major department store. And when her longtime boyfriend falls for a classy big-city society girl, her future looks even bleaker. Enter Franklin Cameron Fitz III–of Seattle’s Strawbridge & Fitz department store fame–who wants nothing more than to help Cindy sell her designs. Except to win Cindy’s heart, that is… When Cindy embarks on an ambitious self-improvement campaign to win back her boyfriend, Franklin reluctantly agrees to help. The results are hilarious–and surprisingly successful. But when both “princes” fall at Cindy’s feet–at a high society ball, no less–will she choose the right one?

'My dear Kathie, My godson, the Marques de Barrateira, and his stepmother have arrived unexpectedly, several days before I was looking forward to having them. I would like you, dear child, to come and join us for the weekend, and I hope this won't upset any of your own personal arrangements! My car will pick you up at two thirty this afternoon.' Kathie's two sisters could not understand this invitation from Lady Fitzosborne. Why would she invite quiet, plain young Kathie instead of her much more attractive sisters? And indeed Kathie was puzzled too. But she reasoned that no doubt Lady Fitzosborne needed someone to help with the household arrangements rather than someone to help entertain her guests, and so she set off for the weekend intending to be as useful as possible.