Tracy Chevalier

Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl, who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts Vermeer's attention. He slowly draws her into the world of his paintings and ultimately has her sit for him as a model.

In this richly imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired on of Vermeer's

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1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fianc�e, Violet Speedwell has become a "surplus woman," one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled eggs and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother's place and into the town of Winchester, home...

Growing up fascinated with the fossils she collected on the beach, Mary Anning blossomed into a skillful amateur archaeologist. When she discovers an intriguing fossilized skeleton, townspeople and religious authorities react viciously. Barred from the scientific community and in love with an unavailable man, Mary turns to Elizabeth Philpot, a London exile, for friendship. Together, they look to make their way in the evolving nineteenth century through...

Starting his fifth school in five years, Osei Kokote, a diplomat's son, hoping to survive his first day becomes friends with Dee, the most popular girl in school, but Ian is determined to destroy the budding friendship. 1970s, in a suburban D.C. schoolyard. Starting his fifth school in five years, Osei Kokote, a diplomat's son, hopes to survive his first day. He becomes friends with Dee, the most popular girl in school. But one student, Ian, is determined...