Set sometime between the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War, Wieland details the horrible events that befall Clara Wieland and her brother Theodore''s family. Clara and Theodore''s father was a German immigrant who founded his own religion; he came to America just before the American Revolution with the conviction to spread his religion to the indigenous people. When he fails at this task, he believes he has also failed his deity. One night, as he worships in his bare, reclusive temple, he seems to spontaneously combust, after which his health rapidly deteriorates and he dies. His children inherit his property, which is divided equally between them. Theodore marries their childhood friend, Catharine Pleyel, and they have four children. Soon, Theodore begins to hear voices and Catharine''s brother, Henry Pleyel, begins to hear them, too. Though at first doubtful of the voices that the men claim to hear, Clara also begins to hear a strange voice. The mysterious Carwin appears on the scene, and suggests that the voices may be caused by human mimicry. Clara is secretly in love with Pleyel, and makes a plan to tell him so; however, her chance is ruined. When she returns home, she finds Carwin hiding in her closet. He admits he had been planning to rape Clara, but believing her to be under the protection of a supernatural force, leaves her. The next morning, Pleyel accuses Clara of having an affair with Carwin. He leaves quickly, without giving Clara enough time to defend herself. She decides to go to see Pleyel, to tell him he is mistaken, but he does not seem to believe her. On her way home, Clara stops to visit her friend Mrs. Baynton, where Clara finds a letter from Carwin waiting for her, which requests an audience with her. At Theodore''s house, Clara finds that everyone seems to be asleep, so she continues on to her own home, where she is to meet with Carwin. When she arrives, there are strange noises and lights, and she sees a glimpse of Carwin''s face. In her room, she finds a strange letter from Carwin, and Catharine in her bed – dead. Shocked, she sits in her room until Theodore arrives and threatens Clara. When he hears voices outside, he leaves Clara unharmed. Clara learns that Theodore’s children have also been killed. Clara falls ill; later, she is able to read the murderer''s testimony. The killer is her brother, Theodore. He claims to have been acting under divine orders. Clara is sure that Carwin is the source of Theodore''s madness. Carwin reveals to Clara that he is a biloquist. He was the cause of most of the voices, but he claims that he did not tell Theodore to commit the murders. Wieland, having escaped from prison, arrives at Clara''s house and tries to kill her. Carwin uses his ability to tell Theodore to stop. He says that Theodore should not have listened to the voices, and Theodore suddenly comes to his senses. He kills himself, full of remorse for what he has done. Clara refuses to leave her house, until it burns down one day. She then goes to Europe with her uncle, and eventually marries Pleyel. Clara feels she has finally recovered from the tragic events, enough to write them down. As for Carwin, he has become a farmer in the countryside. Apparently the novel was based on the true story of murders which took place at Tomhannock, New York (a hamlet near Pittstown) in 1781. Mirroring the incidents of the later novel, one James Yates, under the influence of a religious delusion, killed his wife and four children, then attempted to kill his sister, and expressed no remorse for his conduct in court later. Brown gave his tragic hero a pedigree related to that of the actual German author Christoph Martin Wieland, who is mentioned obliquely in the text: My ancestor may be considered as the founder of the German Theatre. The modern poet of the same name is sprung from the same family, and, perhaps, surpasses but little, in the fruitfulness of his invention, or the soundness of his taste, the elder Wieland. This and others of Charles Brockden Brown&#39;s novels were very influential in the later development of the Gothic genre by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, and most especially, George Lippard.

Wieland

Thad Beaumont is an author and recovering alcoholic who lives in the town of Ludlow, Maine. Thad''s own books – cerebral literary fiction – are not very successful. However, under the pen name "George Stark", he writes highly successful crime novels about a violent killer named Alexis Machine. When Thad''s authorship of Stark''s novels becomes public knowledge, Thad and his wife, Elizabeth, decide to stage a mock burial for his alter ego at the local cemetery, which is featured in a People magazine article. Stark''s epitaph says it all: "Not A Very Nice Guy". Stark, however, emerges from the mock grave as a physical entity and goes on a killing spree, gruesomely murdering everyone he perceives responsible for his "death" – Thad''s editor, agent, and the People interviewer, among others. Thad, meanwhile, is plagued by surreal nightmares. Stark''s murders are investigated by Alan Pangborn, the sheriff of the neighboring town of Castle Rock, who finds Thad''s voice and fingerprints at the crime scenes. This evidence, and Thad''s unwillingness to answer his questions, causes Pangborn to believe that Thad – despite having alibis – is responsible for the murders. Thad eventually discovers that he and Stark share a mental bond, and begins to find notes from Stark written in his own handwriting. The notes tell Thad what activity Stark has been engaging in. Observing his son and daughter, Thad notes that twins share a unique bond. They can feel each other''s pain and at times appear to read the other''s mind. Using this as a keystone to his own situation, he begins to discover the even deeper meaning behind himself and Stark. Pangborn eventually learns that Thad had a twin. The unborn brother was absorbed into Thad in utero and later removed from his brain when the author was a child. He had suffered from severe headaches and it was originally thought to be a tumor causing them. The neurosurgeon who removed it found the following inside: part of a nostril, some fingernails, some teeth, and a malformed human eye. This leads to questions about the true nature of Stark, whether he is a malevolent spirit with its own existence, or Thad himself, manifesting an alternate personality. Thad eventually vanquishes Stark, but the book ends on an unhappy note with Thad''s wife having serious doubts about the future of their relationship: she is appalled that Thad not only created Stark (if unintentionally), but that a part of him liked Stark. Sheriff Alan Pangborn goes on to appear two times more in the Castle Rock series. It is revealed that ever since the events of The Dark Half, he is plagued by nightmares and the memory of Thad Beaumont. We are also told of the subsequent death of Pangborn''s wife and son, and his own depression, in Needful Things. In the short story The Sun Dog it had mentioned in passing that Liz left Thad, taking the twins with her. It is then revealed in Bag of Bones that Thad committed suicide. This ties up the novel''s ambiguous ending regarding Thad''s relationship with Liz. Stark is also mentioned in the "Notes" section of King''s collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes under the story "The Fifth Quarter". It states only "Bachman again. Or maybe George Stark."

The Dark Half

The story takes place about 2015 AD, against a background of an overpopulated Earth, whose dysfunctional society is clearly an attempt to extrapolate into the future the rapid social changes taking place in the U.S. during the 1960s. Ancient billionaire Johann Sebastian Bach Smith is dying, and wants to have his brain transplanted into a new body. Smith advertises an offer of a million dollars for the donation of a body from a brain-dead patient. Coincidentally, his beautiful young female secretary, Eunice Branca, is murdered, so her body is used, since Smith never thought to place any restriction on the sex of the donor. He is rechristened Joan Eunice Smith. For reasons never made clear, Eunice''s personality continues to co-inhabit the body. (Whether Eunice''s personality is real or a figment of Johann''s imagination is addressed but never fully resolved in the novel.) Joan and Eunice agree never to reveal her continued existence, fearing that they would be judged insane and locked up. The two of them speculate that it may have something to do with the supposed ability of animals to remember things using RNA rather than the nervous system. (At the time the book was published, biologist J.V. McConnell had done a series of experiments in which he taught a behavior to flatworms, ground them up, and fed them to other flatworms, which supposedly exhibited the same behavior. McConnell''s experiments were later discredited, but ideas drawn from them were used in science fiction by several authors, including Heinlein, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman and Dean Koontz.) However, Joan and Eunice decide that this possible explanation is irrelevant, and near the end of the book, a third personality, that of Joan''s new husband, joins them by means that can only be explained via delusion, religion or mysticism, not science.

I Will Fear No Evil

The story opens with Rebecca''s journey to Riverboro, to live with her two aunts, Miranda and Jane Sawyer. Until this time, she has lived on the family farm. Rebecca is the second eldest of seven children. Most of the children have fanciful names, such as Marquis and Jenny Lind, influenced by the father''s artistic background (Rebecca is named after both the heroines in Ivanhoe). The family is quite poor, due to the number of children, Mr. Randall''s inability to stick to a job, and the farm being mortgaged. At the beginning of the novel, he has been dead for three years and the family are barely scraping by. Therefore, Rebecca''s stay with her aunt is both a chance to improve her opportunities in life and to make things easier, as there is one less mouth to feed. Despite her impoverished background, Rebecca is an imaginative and charming child, often composing little poems and songs to express her feelings or to amuse her younger brothers and sisters. It is she who names their farm "Sunnybrook". Miranda and Jane had wanted Hannah, the eldest sister, due to her pragmatic nature and household skills, but as these skills are also greatly valued by her mother, Rebecca is sent instead. Miranda is unimpressed by Rebecca''s imagination and sallow complexion, saying that she is the image of her shiftless father, Lorenzo DeMedici Randall. Miranda determines to do her duty and train Rebecca to be a proper young lady, so she will not shame the Sawyer name. Jane takes on the role of Rebecca''s protector, acting as a buffer between her niece and her sister, and teaches Rebecca to sew, cook and be a proper little housekeeper. In return, Rebecca''s liveliness and curiosity brighten Jane''s life and refresh her spirit. Although Rebecca strives to win Miranda''s approval, she finds it hard to live up to the older aunt''s high standards, as she has to fight against Miranda''s view of her as "all Randall and no Sawyer". The middle part of the novel is taken up with describing the life of Riverboro and the people who live there. Important characters include Jeremiah Cobb, who is the first resident to encounter Rebecca and be charmed by her; Sarah Cobb, his wife; Rebecca''s best friend, Emma Jane Perkins, and Adam Ladd, a young businessman, who first meets Rebecca when she and Emma Jane are selling soap for charity. Rebecca nicknames him "Mr Aladdin", as he gave her and Emma Jane a lamp as a present. Rebecca proves to be a good student, especially in English, and goes on to attend the high school in Wareham. During the last part of the book, she matures into a young lady, but still retains her high spirits and develops her talent for writing. She applies for a teaching place at Augusta, but her mother falls ill and Rebecca has to return to take care of her and the farm. While Rebecca is away from Riverboro, Miranda dies, having willed the Sawyer house to Rebecca. A railway company will buy Sunnybrook Farm in order to build on the land, giving the Randall family enough to live on. Thanks to Miranda''s will, Rebecca now has enough money to become an independent woman and help her brothers and sisters. The novel ends with her exclaiming, "God bless Aunt Miranda! God bless the brick house that was! God bless the brick house that is to be!"

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Mrs Phoebe Maybury, a widow in her late thirties, lives in Street Grainge with her two companions Diana and Anne. One day her servant Fred finds a rotting corpse in their ice house, a storage room inside a hillock that hasn''t been used for years. DCI George Walsh thinks it may be the corpse of Phoebe''s husband David, who went missing ten years ago. Back then Walsh suspected her for killing her husband, but this was never proven. Inhabitants of the village believe that the three women are dykes and that Phoebe did not only kill her husband but also her parents. They died in a car crash after garage owner KC neglected to check their brakes. One of the villagers, Dily Barnes, has forbidden her children Peter and Emma to play with Phoebe''s children Jonathan and Jane. The grounds are searched and the three women and Phoebe''s grown-up children are questioned. Jane used to have anorexia nervosa and underwent psychotherapy. DS Andy McLoughlin, whose wife has just left him for another police officer, gets romantically involved with Anne and believes the three women are innocent. Medical examiner Webster says the corpse can only be between two and three months old. A list of missing persons includes the names Keith Chapel and Daniel Thompson. Thompson''s wife is interrogated. It turns out he collected money from investors to produce see-through radiators. One of the duped investors was Diana. One night a burglar in Street Grainge smashes Anne''s skull. She recovers in hospital, but doesn''t remember who attacked her. Wally Ferris, a tramp who was seen in the environment, confesses he''s been in the ice house and stole the clothes of a dead man. The dead man is finally identified as Keith Chapel or KC, the former garage owner who went bankrupt. Chapel died from the cold and part of his flesh was eaten by rats after Wally left open the door of the ice house. Daniel Thompson is still alive. He was hiding from the angry investors and wanted to move to France with his wife. A group of burglars is caught at Street Grainge. After Jonathan fires a gun between Peter Barnes'' legs he confesses that he smashed Anne''s skull. Peter was instigated by the nasty gossip of his mother and other villagers. When the three women are left in McLoughlin''s company they talk openly about how Phoebe killed her husband ten years ago. She did it after she caught him abusing Jane. She buried his corpse behind a wall in the cellar. McLoughlin approves of revenge and makes plans to start a new life with Anne.

The Ice House

The Man of Feeling details the fragmentary episodes of the life of Harley which exist within the remains of a manuscript traded to the initial narrator of the novel by a priest. The novel itself begins with these two latter figures hunting, whereas the manuscript is missing the first ten chapters and approximately thirty others at various locations throughout the manuscript''s entirety. As a young boy, Harley loses his parents and is assigned several guardians who constantly disagree with each other. They do however agree that he should make an effort to acquire more wealth, and so they urge him to make an old distant relative amiable towards him to claim some inheritance. Harley fails in this endeavour, as he doesn''t cooperate with the relative''s attempts to warm to him. Harley is then advised to acquire a patron; to sell his vote at an election for a lease of land. His neighbour Mr. Walton gives him a letter of introduction, and he soon leaves home (and Miss Walton) for London. He meets a beggar and his dog on the way, and after donating to them both, hears the fortune-telling beggar''s story. In the next few missing chapters, Harley presumably formally visits the baronet Mr. Walton recommended him to, because when the narrative continues, Harley calls upon him for the second time. The baronet however is away from London, and Harley meets another gentleman named Tom. They go for a stroll and then dine together, discussing pensions and resources with two older men. Harley proceeds to visit Bedlam, and weeps for an inmate there, before dining with a scorned, cynical man and together they discuss honour and vanity. He then demonstrates his skill (or, as many argue, his lack of skill) in physiognomy by being charitable on behalf of an old gentleman, with whom Harley later plays cards. It is after his finanical loss in these card games that Harley is informed the gentleman and his acquaintance are con men. Approached by a prostitute, Harley takes her to a tavern, gives her bread, claret and money, despite having to hand the waiter his pocket watch as collateral for paying the bill, and then meets again with her the next morning to hear her story. At its conclusion her father arrives, and after a misunderstanding is reconciled with his daughter. Upon discovering that his claim for the land lease has failed, Harley takes a stage-coach back home, discussing poetry and vice with a fellow passenger until they part ways and the coach reaches the end of its route. Harley continues on foot, and along the way reunites with Mr. Edwards, an old farmer from his village who has fallen on hard times and is returning from his conscription in the army. Together they approach the village, to find the school house destroyed by a squire, and two orphans who are actually the grandchildren of Harley''s companion. Harley takes the three of them home, and provides some land for them. After discussing corrupt military commanders with Edwards, Harley is informed that Miss Walton is going to be married to Sir Harry Benson, and can''t bring himself to be anything but happy for Miss Walton, although he does love her. The Man of Feeling then jumps almost randomly to a tale of a man named Mountford, who journeys to Milan with another man named Sedley to meet with a count. They visit a debtor''s prison to find a man and his family living there at the behest of the count''s son, a man who had been so charming to the two gentlemen. Sedley pays the family''s debt, and then Mountford and Sedley leave Milan in disgust. The narrative returns to the story of Harley, and for some unexplained reason Miss Walton does not marry Benson. She visits an unwell Harley (who has contracted a fever nursing Edwards and his grandchildren), who confesses his love to her. They hold hands and die, although Miss Walton is revived.

The Man of Feeling

Tally Hamilton is the daughter of the town''s beloved doctor. Tally loves her life; she is popular and gets along with everyone. So Tally is very upset when she is sent to a boarding school in England because of the war, but does so for the sake of her father. When Tally arrives at Delderton Hall she soon discovers that this school is certainly like no other: the dancing teacher encourages them to be seeds busting into light, and the enigmatic teacher biology Matteo takes them for study walks at four in the morning. Tally soon settles in and makes plenty of friends, she even organizes a trip for the Deldertonians to attend a dancing festival in Bergania. Meanwhile, Prince Karil of Bergania is a lonely boy who wants to be normal and have friends. He hates wearing stuffy suits and attending so many formal celebrations. One day Karil meets Tally at the Dragonfly Pool, his place of comfort and peace, and the two immediately become friends. But when Karil''s father the King is assassinated, Karil is forced to flee with Tally and the Deldertonians to England. The Germans overtake Bergania as part of their plan, as they had arranged the King''s assassination.

The Dragonfly Pool

At the start of the novel, Sophie finds herself dumped by her current boyfriend Lou, then immediately falls into a new relationship with Dylan, a boy considered the height of masculine beauty by her friends. As they date, Sophie discovers she does not really love or even like Dylan all that much and ends their relationship in favor of not actually liking his personality. She then forms a secret romance with an internet chat-room boy named Chaz. Before she meets Chaz in person, Sophie discovers he is a pervert and ends the relationship quickly. Now on her own, in real life, she encounters an outcast classmate, Robin Murphy, at the local art museum and is astonished to realize that while he is not physically attractive or liked by her friends, she falls in love with him. The book ends with Sophie choosing to sit with Robin in the cafeteria instead of her friends, knowing that revealing her secret relationship to her friends and classmates would be okay. The companion book What My Girlfriend Doesn''t Know, written from the perspective of Sophie''s boyfriend Robin (Murphy), was published in 2007.

What my Mother Doesn''t Know

Garrett is at home when Playmate comes by to visit, with a kid by the name of Kip Prose in tow. It turns out that Kip has made friends with creatures that cannot quite be described (Garrett thinks of them as "silver elves"), but because of his relationship with these creatures, other parties are trying to kidnap Kip. Despite his protests, Garrett gets drawn into the mess. While searching Playmate''s stables for clues, Garrett and company are attacked by another group of indescribable assailants. Luckily, Morley, Saucerhead, and Pular Singe are close by, and they manage to wake Garrett and Playmate after the scuffle. Kip Prose, however, is gone. The gang gives chase but is unable to locate Kip, though they do manage to get knocked out by the assailants a few more times. With Kip missing, Playmate and Garrett head off to talk to the members of Kip''s family, hoping they might be able to find some clues as to his whereabouts. Despite some promising leads, Playmate and Garrett are unable to locate Kip, although they do encounter an "elf" named Casey, who assures them Kip is in no immediate danger. When Playmate goes missing, Garrett and Pular Singe head out to track him down, with the Roze triplets tagging along for backup. Pular tracks the scent to the "elf" Casey''s apartment, where more mysterious "elves" make an appearance. The trail eventually takes Garrett, Pular, and the Rozes into the country outside TunFaire, where they find more of the "elves", their space ships, and an unconscious Playmate and Saucerhead Tharpe, as well as the bratty Kip Prose. Garrett decides it is time to involve the Watch, who can hopefully clean up the mess. Meanwhile, a ratman named John Stretch, who turns out to be Pular Singe''s brother, attempts to kidnap Pular for his own purposes. While Garrett and John Stretch come to an agreement, Colonel Block and Deal Relway try to manage the situation with the remaining "elves". Garrett concerns himself with striking a deal between Kip Prose, Max Weider, and Willard Tate, in which the involved parties agree to manufacture "Three Wheels", a revolutionary new method of transportation for the citizens of TunFaire. As a final twist, the "elf" Casey escapes, thwarting the attempts of Garrett and the Watch to discover the true nature of the "silver elves". Though Relway is angry and suspicious of Garrett, Garrett is on top of the world, with his new stake in the Three Wheel business booming and the Goddamn Parrot missing in action.

Angry Lead Skies

The story joins the main character of Odd Girl Out, Laura Landon, a year after she has left college. Exhausted by living with her harsh, judging father for his perception that she failed out of school, Laura leaves home in the middle of the night and goes to New York City. She gets a job as a secretary in a medical office and lands an apartment with a roommate&nbsp;— Marcie. Marcie is young and very impulsive, but vivacious and she puts Laura at ease. Laura moves in to the apartment in Greenwich Village with a vague gnawing excitement in her. Laura and Marcie develop a routine and Laura learns her new job. Marcie is constantly fighting with her ex-husband Burr, who comes around frequently to date Marcie, and in between fights, they sleep together. Finding that Laura tempers Marcie a bit, she insists that she will only date Burr if Laura is with her&nbsp;— which confounds Laura as she recognizes that she is attracted to Marcie and intensely dislikes Burr. Burr brings along a friend, Jack Mann, and they double date one evening. As a joke, he explains, Jack takes them to a gay bar in Greenwich Village and watches their reactions. Jack is clearly an alcoholic and gets drunk frequently, but is good-natured and has a self-deprecating sense of humor. Laura is intrigued by him, and his friends laugh at him. Jack returns the intrigue when he hears Laura argue with Burr''s statement that he can make any of the women in the bar straight if he wanted to. Jack asks her out again and shocks her when he tells Laura he knows she''s in love with Marcie. Jack admits he''s also gay and helps Laura deal with the realization about herself. She also confides to him that her father hates her because her mother and brother drowned and her father could not save them. After going out a couple times, Jack introduces Laura to a mutual friend, Beebo Brinker (born as Betty Jean) - a tall, swaggering, dark-haired butch. They meet later in the gay bar after Laura runs away from Marcie, unable to contain her attraction. After a few drinks, Laura is afraid to return home, so Beebo allows her to sleep on the sofa. From a desperate longing and loneliness, Laura sobers up enough to seduce Beebo and they begin a torrid affair. Laura tells Beebo about Marcie and Beebo warns Laura that Marcie knows Laura is in love with her and is playing with her. Laura refuses to believe it. Laura''s father travels to town for a journalists'' convention and she attempts to contact him, only to be rebuked. Marcie finally stops speaking to Burr and Burr, frustrated, calls Laura at work and accuses her of being in love with Marcie and keeping her from seeing him. Laura begins to spy on her father and unravel under the strain of her relationship with Marcie. She depends on Jack, who is in a new relationship with a young man, but who expresses his sincere doubt that it will last. After getting drunk and humiliating Beebo in a bar, she''s left alone. Exhausted, Laura finally tells Marcie she''s in love with her. Marcie, deeply moved by Laura''s sincerity and intensity admits that it was a game for her after all, but will try to return Laura''s love. Heartbroken and ashamed, Laura leaves the apartment to confront her father at his hotel. They have a violent fight and Laura hits him over the head with an ashtray and runs. After wandering the night in the rain, Laura shows up at Jack''s house fearing she killed her father. Jack and his new boyfriend take care of her. Laura shows up to apologize to Beebo and tells her she loves her. In an ending that was completely different from any previous work of lesbian fiction, they walk together to Beebo''s apartment arm in arm.

I Am A Woman

Polly begins narrating the novel just as she arrives in Greece. She expects to be picked up by her Aunt and Uncle but they were detained and will not arrive in Greece for a few days. Polly goes to her hotel and feels rather depressed about the current state of affairs. But her mood improves when she meets Zachary Gray at the hotel restaurant. He is quite interested in her and is attracted to her innocence. He offers to take her around Greece and show her the sights. Polly is reluctant but agrees. Zachary is an interesting tour guide and Polly enjoys his companionship. But when Zachary begins to show interest in a romantic and physical relationship, she resists. When Polly''s aunt and uncle show up, Zachary is unable to keep up his relationship with Polly but insists that they will see each other again. During this time, Polly has been flashing back to the past and how she managed to get a trip to Greece. About six months earlier, Polly was introduced to Max, a friend of her uncle. Although Max is an adult and Polly is still a teenager, the two begin a friendship and Max encourages Polly to develop her identity. Polly''s friend Renny also encourages her and Polly blossoms. When Max admits that she and her "friend" Ursula have been lovers for thirty years, Polly is surprised but decides this does not change who Max is and remains friends. Max also admits she is dying, which devastates Polly. But after one night of heavy drinking, Max makes what seems to be a sexual advance toward Polly. Polly is horrified. Ursula tries to assure Polly that Max loves her (Polly) as a daughter, not in any romantic sense but Polly is still terrified and runs away. She stays with Renny. While still vulnerable and scared, Polly and Renny sleep together. Polly returns to her family and does not tell them about Max or Renny. While she severs all contact with Max, she still accepts the trip to Greece. In the present, Polly goes to a literary conference, held on Cyprus, where she is to volunteer. Surrounded by new friends and interesting work, Polly begins to heal. But Zachary suddenly appears and asks Polly to go out with him. She reluctantly agrees. The two go sailing on the ocean but an accident occurs and the two nearly drown. They are saved by Polly''s friends from the conference. This event makes Polly realize that she needs to talk to Max, before it''s too late. She phones America and tells Max that she forgives her. The line goes dead after a few minutes but Polly is satisfied because she and Max are friends once more.

A House Like a Lotus

When Bill, an impoverished Cambridge student, is even unable to pay for his mother''s funeral, his thoughts turn to crime. However, a friend warns him that "To have no money is to join the aristocracy, Bill. When the day comes for you to have it, you will have left the aristocracy, never to return." Another central character, Helen, an undergraduate reading English literature, lacks stability in her life and finds her main solace in poetry and particularly in the romantic medieval work of Tennyson. Her obsession with The Lady of Shalott, and her identification with the lady of the poem, bring her to a fatal ending. Helen has been seduced by the medieval romances of the Victorian era but does not wish to be seduced by Bill. Lance, a scientist, hopes to save the world, but the effect of his experiments on Helen is less positive. Meanwhile, ''the Cambridge rapist'' is at large. "This is the world of bedsitter girls, of Auden and Betjeman and Brian Patten." By buying a Donald Duck mask for bank robbing purposes, Bill unwittingly identifies himself with the rapist. In the course of a week during the University''s Michaelmas term, the tensions and interplay between the leading characters lead not only to bank robbery, but also to ritual castration, transvestism, and a fatal car crash. "From the Whipple Museum to the University Arms Hotel, intellectuals and tourists turned pale. What could have caused it, this catastrophic sound?" The novel includes many quotations, not only from Tennyson but also from Thomas Hood, William Thackeray, and W. H. Auden.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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Wieland

By Charles Brockden Brown

The Dark Half

By Stephen King

I Will Fear No Evil

By Robert A. Heinlein

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

By Kate Douglas Wiggin

The Ice House

By Minette Walters

The Man of Feeling

By Henry Mackenzie

The Dragonfly Pool

By Eva Ibbotson

What my Mother Doesn't Know

By Sonya Sones

Angry Lead Skies

By Glen Cook

I Am A Woman

By Ann Weldy

A House Like a Lotus

By Madeleine L''Engle

Floating Down to Camelot

No Author Listed