Books published by publisher London: William Heinemann, 1931.

In the small Yorkshire town of Cottenly — dominated by the steel works and surrounded by beautiful countryside — Isaac Stanford lives with his wife Emily and their three lovely daughters, known locally as the Stanford lasses. Alice, the eldest, lives only for her work as a secretary and chapel on Sunday. Fair and loving Lizzie is content with her job making umbrellas — until she falls in love. And headstrong Ruth, the merry one, is intent upon marrying a handsome charmer despite warnings from friends and family.Already emotionally damaged by a traumatic childhood, Alice struggles to lead a normal life. Poor but happy with her ever-increasing family, the onset of war means Lizzie must face the threat of losing all she holds dear. And Ruth soon realises she has made a terrible mistake in her marriage as she becomes trapped in a life of poverty and violence. As the years pass, each sister is forced to confront her greatest challenge…From the Paperback edition.

The story of the rise and fall of Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV’s first finance minister.Sometime late in 1664, the musketeer D’Artagnan rode beside a heavily-armoured carriage as it rumbled southwards from Paris, carrying his great friend Nicolas Fouquet to internal exile and life imprisonment in the fortress of Pignerol. There he would be incarcerated in a cell next door to the Man with the Iron Mask. . .From a glittering zenith as the King’s first minister, builder of the chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte, collector of books, patron of the arts and lover of beautiful women, Fouquet had fallen like Icarus. Charged with embezzlement, he was convicted and sentenced to banishment until the King intervened to change his sentence to life imprisonment.Charles Drazin’s riveting account brings to life the rich and hazardous world in which Foucquet lived. But it is in his downfall and incarceration, which he bore with great fortitude, courage and humour, that Fouquet’s strength of character and grace emerge. The richness and contrasts of his remarkable story are done full justice in this compelling book.

The latest of Donna Leon's bestselling Venice crime novelsAs a favour to his wealthy father-in-law, the Count Falier, Commissario Guido Brunetti agrees to investigate the seemingly innocent wish of the Count’s best friend, the elderly and childless Gonzalo, to adopt a younger man as his son. Under Italian inheritance laws, this man would become the sole heir to Gonzalo’s substantial fortune, something which Gonzalo’s friends, including the Count, find appalling. For his part, Brunetti wonders why they're so intent on meddling in the old man's business.Not long after Brunetti meets with Gonzalo, the elderly man unexpectedly passes away from natural causes. Old and frail, Gonzalo’s death goes unquestioned, and a few of his oldest friends gather in Venice to plan the memorial service. But when Berta, a striking woman and one of Gonzalo’s closest confidantes, is strangled in her hotel room, Brunetti is drawn into long-buried secrets from Gonzalo’s past. What did Berta know? And who would go to such lengths to ensure it would remain hidden?Once again, Donna Leon brilliantly follows the twists and turns of the human condition, set against the ebb and flow of Venetian life.

First U.S. edition bound in purple cloth with gold lettering & design, ills. by Charles Robinson, 161 pages. Tissue guard & dj. The book is VG, some mild rubbing at the edge of the front board, a few dust spots & foxing to the inside. Tissue guard still present, but has a small tear at the head of the spine. The scarce dj has several tears & chips but is complete & serviceable.