The Seven Poor Travellers

In this remarkable work, Dickens shows that no matter how hard the times, Christmas is bound to bring back warmth and love. “The Seven Poor Travellers” is a selected piece from Dickens’ Christmas writings that confirms his lasting influence upon our idea of Christmas spirit: that Christmas is a time for celebration, charity, and memory.

The Trumpet-Major

The Trumpet-Major is a picturesque tale by Thomas Hardy. The protagonist, Ann Garland who likes men in uniform, is pursued by three suitors in the backdrop of Napoleonic Wars. Harper's New Monthly wrote that its scenes "abound in the picturesque descriptions of scenery and still-life, and the subtle delineations of widely contrasted character and manner, that are the characteristic charms of his style and methods."

Belying Hardy's diversity, the book is divided into four very different sections: "Time Laughingstocks," a collection of bleakly tragic verses unflinchingly showing Hardy's signature pessimism; "More Love Lyrics," which is self-explanatory and contains some of Hardy's best writing on a subject he excelled at, though the depiction is unsurprisingly dark; "A Set of Country Songs," ballads and ballad-like poems set in Hardy's customary Wessex; and "Pieces Occasional and Various," a catch-all section with both personal and philosophical poems.

The Three Clerks

Henry Norman, with his friends Alaric and Charley Tudor, all of them in government service, were frequent visitors at the suburban home of Mrs. Woodward and her three daughters. Henry loved Gertrude, the eldest daughter, but she refused him as she loved Alaric. Alaric won by competitive examination a place to which Henry aspired but for which he was unwilling to compete and, when he became engaged to Gertrude, Henry felt doubly aggrieved and bitterly angry.

Trading Up by Candace Bushnell

 Bushnell's third novel, “Trading Up” (2003) is a wickedly funny social satire about a lingerie model whose reach exceeds her grasp and whose new-found success has gone to her head. The book takes place in the months leading up to 9/11, and portrays a wearily decadent society. This sharply observant, keenly funny comedy of manners is Bushnell at her most sassy and entertaining. The New York Times has called Bushnell “The philosopher queen of the social scene.” Trading Up is currently in production at Lifetime.