Books with author Norma Johnston

Roxana has know and loved Joss for as long as she can remember, ever since Joss came to Grey's Landing ten years earlier, in 1826, to be Roxana's nursery maid. Even before the deaths of her mother and brother in a tragic riverboat accident, Roxana had thought of Joss as family.When her father, a prominent judge, is called to Washington, Roxana must stay behind with Joss and the other free blacks on the plantation to run things and, to her surprise, "light the lanterns"-to act as a stationmaster, if necessary, on the Underground Railway. But even more unsettling to Roxana is the thought that Papa will be traveling on the river.After reports of brutal slave catchers in the area make it clear that Joss and her fiance must seek refuge farther north, it's up to Roxana to escort them, posing as an arrogant young slave owner. Her former teacher, Miss Hattie Beecher of Cincinnati, hates slavery, but will Roxana be able to overcome her crippling fear of the river long enough to get them to Miss Hattie? And will others on board the riverboat -- particularly the gracious young Southern gentleman who takes a fancy to Roxana -- see through her performance? Or is he, too, masquerading -- and more dangerous than he seems?Norma Johnston transports readers to the banks and roiling waters of the Ohio River in the difficult days before slavery was abolished, in a gripping historical novel that is also a poignant coming-of-age story.

Excerpt from Diary Notes of a Visit to Walt Whitman and Some of His Friends, in 1890: With a Series of Original PhotographsThe following Notes, extracted from a Diary record of a visit to America, in July, 1890, were written at the time, mainly for a small group of friends, referred to as The Eagle Street College, and without any idea of publication.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

From Publishers Weekly: On the day she lands the lead in the school play, Stacy learns that her former acting teacher has died. Madame Karpova has named Stacy next of kin and left her much of her estate. Madame's bequest sends Stacy into a bewildering flurry of activity: she throws herself into rehearsals (not surprisingly, her role is one in which Madame once triumphed), investigates the lame mystery surrounding Madame's death, begins her first romance and attempts to work through her feelings about her mother's recent death. And as if all that weren't enough, her widower father starts to date an actress who worked and studied with Madame. With so many issues vying for center stage, it is difficult to determine what this novel is really about. A cast of fully realized characters might be able to sort out the overabundance of plots and subplots, but this task is beyond the reach of shallow Stacy and her one-dimensional friends. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.