Great Fiction/Photography for Under the Tree!
Discover the perfect gifts with our curated list of great fiction and photography books for under the tree. Find inspiring reads and stunning visuals for every book lover!
Book
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold
Sebold's mesmerizing and luminous first novel--a #1 national bestseller--builds a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, and even joy, following an unspeakable tragedy.
Book
Mirabilis
by Susann Cokal
It's a defiant act of generosity - when she was twelve years old, her sainted mother, the two priests suspected of being her father, and all the village women who believed Bonne's conception had been immaculate were locked into the church and set afire.
Book
In the Country of the Young
by Lisa Carey
On a stormy November night in 1848, a ship carrying more than a hundred Irish emigrants ran aground twenty miles off the coast of Maine. Many were saved, but some were not -- including a young girl who died crying out the name of her brother. In the present day, the artist Oisin MacDara lives in self-imposed exile on Tiranogue -- the small island where the shipwrecked Irish settled. The past is Oisin's curse, as memories of the twin sister who died tragically when he was a boy haunt him still. Then on a quiet All Hallows' Eve, a restless spirit is beckoned into his home by a candle flickering in the window: the ghost of the girl whose brief life ended on Tiranogue's shore more than a century earlier. In Oisin's house she seeks comfort and warmth, and a chance at the life that was denied her so long ago. For a lonely man chained by painful memories, nothing will ever be the same again.
Book
In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden
by Kathleen Cambor
In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden is the story of a bittersweet romance set against the backdrop of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood -- a tragedy that cost some 2,200 lives when the South Fork Dam burst on Memorial Day weekend, 1889. The dam was the site of a gentlemen's club that attracted some of the wealthiest industrialists of the day -- Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Mellon, and Andrew Carnegie -- and served as a summertime idyll for the families of the rich. In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden imagines the lives that were lived, lost, and irreparably changed by a tragedy that could have been averted.
Book
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, the year before the author's death at the age of thirty, endures today as perhaps the most powerful and intensely original novel in the English language. “Only Emily Brontë,” V.S. Pritchett said about the author and her contemporaries, “exposes her imagination to the dark spirit.” And Virginia Woolf wrote, “It is as if she could tear up all that we know human beings by, and fill these unrecognisable transparencies with such a gust of life that they transcend reality. Hers, then, is the rarest of all powers. She could free life from its dependence on facts, with few touches indicate the spirit of a face so that it needs no body; by speaking of the moor make the wind blow and the thunder roar.” This Modern Library edition contains a biographical note, a preface by the author's sister Charlotte Brontë, an Introduction by Diane Johnson, and commentary by George Henry Lewes, Virginia Woolf, and E. M. Forster. This edition also includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide.
Book
Grange House
by Sarah Blake
When Maisie Thomas turns 17 in 1898, her visit to Grange House--a hotel on an island off the coast of Maine--marks a turning point in her life. As Maisie considers the attentions of two young men, Miss Grange tells her stories of her past. Death, diaries, letters and a ghostly apparition play a part in changing Maisie's life forever.
Book
Marie Antoinette
by Antonia Fraser
Still a controversial figure, as well as a celebrated one, Marie Antoinette's dramatic life-story continues to arouse mixed emotions. To many people, she is still la reine méchante, whose extravagance and frivolity helped to bring down the French monarchy; her indifference to popular suffering epitomised by the (apocryphal) words: let them eat cake. She was accused of personal profligacies and sexual excesses. Others are equally passionate in her defence: to them, she is a victim of misogyny. Marie Antoinette remains one of the genuinely romantic and ill-treated characters in history. A compassionate queen and devoted mother, she did little to deserve her tragic destiny. She was born in 1755, one of 16 children of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. At the age of 15 she was to be the bride of the French Dauphin, heir to his grandfather Louis XV. The Dauphin came to the throne as Louis XVI in 1774 and for more than ten years the French court at Versailles glittered under the presidency of its young, beautiful and artistic queen, in what would be seen afterwards as the last throw of the Ancien Regime. In this stunning biography Antonia Fraser examines her influence over the king, the accusations and sexual slurs made against her, her patronage of the arts which enhanced French cultural life, her imprisonment, the death threats made against her, rumours of lesbian affairs, and her trial (during which her 7-year-old son was forced to testify to sexual abuse by his mother) and eventual execution by guillotine in 1793.
Book
The Glorious Cause
by Jeff Shaara
In Rise to Rebellion, bestselling author Jeff Shaara captured the origins of the American Revolution as brilliantly as he depicted the Civil War in Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure. Now he continues the amazing saga of how thirteen colonies became a nation, taking the conflict from kingdom and courtroom to the bold and bloody battlefields of war. It was never a war in which the outcome was obvious. Despite their spirit and stamina, the colonists were outmanned and outfought by the brazen British army. General George Washington found his troops trounced in the battles of Brooklyn and Manhattan and retreated toward Pennsylvania. With the future of the colonies at its lowest ebb, Washington made his most fateful decision: to cross the Delaware River and attack the enemy. The stunning victory at Trenton began a saga of victory and defeat that concluded with the British surrender at Yorktown, a moment that changed the history of the world. The despair and triumph of America’s first great army is conveyed in scenes as powerful as any Shaara has written, a story told from the points of view of some of the most memorable characters in American history. There is George Washington, the charismatic leader who held his army together to achieve an unlikely victory; Charles Cornwallis, the no-nonsense British general, more than a match for his colonial counterpart; Nathaniel Greene, who rose from obscurity to become the finest battlefield commander in Washington’s army; The Marquis de Lafayette, the young Frenchman who brought a soldier’s passion to America; and Benjamin Franklin, a brilliant man of science and philosophy who became the finest statesman of his day. From Nathan Hale to Benedict Arnold, William Howe to “Light Horse” Harry Lee, from Trenton and Valley Forge, Brandywine and Yorktown, the American Revolution’s most immortal characters and poignant moments are brought to life in remarkable Shaara style. Yet, The Glorious Cause is more than just a story of the legendary six-year struggle. It is a tribute to an amazing people who turned ideas into action and fought to declare themselves free. Above all, it is a riveting novel that both expands and surpasses its beloved author’s best work.
Book
Louvre
by Nicholas D'Archimbaud
Offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Louvre, along with a review of its diverse art collections
Book
Susannah Morrow
by Megan Chance
An irresistible blend of history, suspense and romance captures the extraordinary drama of the Salem witch trials. Set in one of the most horrific yet intriguing periods in history, "Susannah Morrow" offers fascinating psychological insight into the sexual repression that spawned the witch hunts.
Book
The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin
by Robert J. Begiebing
A depiction of life in seventeenth-century New England revolves around the investigation into the brutal murder of Kathrin Coffin, a trail that leads Richard Browne through Indian country and Puritan society
Book
Ansel Adams: Classic Image Essays
by Ansel Adams
A beautiful collection of Adams' work, hand-picked by himself--a last statement portfolio to represent his life's work. 76 duotones.
Book
Great Houses of the Hudson River
by Michael Middleton Dwyer
The author takes readers on a palatial ride up the Hudson River to explore the spectacular homes of the Roosevelts, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Astors. 15,000 first printing.
Book
Great Irish Houses and Castles
by Jacqueline O'Brien
Ireland's architectural heritage is richly portrayed here as never before. Key masterpieces are included from every period--the imposing medieval Dunsany Castle, elegant Palladian style country houses, Regency and Gothic Revival houses, and more. Guinness is a roving editor for Architectuaral Digest. 306 full-color illustrations; map.
Book
Philadelphia
by Carol M. Highsmith
The stunning Photographic Tour series continues. Spectacular photography and compelling text and captions capture the essence of each particular destination. Each book includes an illustrated map, an Introduction with black-and-white archival photographs, and more than 100 vibrant, full-color photographs.
Book
Lyric Poems
by John Keats
Treasury of 30 works, including such favorites as "On first looking into Chapman's Homer," "The Eve of St. Agnes," "On seeing the Elgin Marbles," "La Belle Dame sans Merci," "Ode to a Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn," "To Autumn," and 23 more. Reprinted from a standard text. Alphabetical List of Opening Lines.
Book
Songs of Innocence ; And, Songs of Experience
by William Blake
Classics of English poetry, alternately describing childhood states of innocence and their inevitable ensnarement in a corrupt and repressive world. Contains the full texts of all the poems in the original 1794 edition of both collections. Includes a selection from the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
Book
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost
Illustrations of wintry scenes accompany each line of the well-known poem.
Book
Anastasia's Album
by Hugh Brewster
Illustrated in scrapbook style with young Anastasia's photos and watercolor paintings, this intimate glimpse brings to life the unspoiled princess of the last of the czars. Drawing on precious personal keepsakes, personal letters and diaries, and memories of loved ones, this piercing portrait will enthrall all readers who are curious about Anastasia Romanoff's fascinating--if tragically brief--life. Photos, many in color.
Book
Nicholas and Alexandra
by George Sergei Vilinbakhov
Presents family diaries, letters, clothing, and possessions
Book
The Story of Lucy Gault
by William Trevor
A novel set in Ireland in the 1920s charts the progress of a young girl whose entire life seems to be falling apart when the threat of arson drives the family from their country home.
Book
Portrait of a Killer
by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
Examines the century-old series of murders that terrorized London in the 1880s, drawing on research, state-of-the-art forensic science, and insights into the criminal mind to reveal the true identity of the infamous Jack the Ripper.
Book
Dispatches from the Tenth Circle
by Robert Siegel
"The Onion is laugh-out-loud, go-tell-your-friends, get-angry-you-didn't-think-of-it funny." -Conan O'Brien "Outside of maybe Dario Fo, an Italian who few are sure exists, the Onion people make the most consistently perfect and excoriating social commentary we currently have. But will those Nobel bastards honor them, too? Only God, our merciless and just God, knows." -Dave Eggers "The funniest publication in the United States." -The New Yorker "This publication is tasteless and destructive to our shared values. Read it for yourself and you'll see what I mean. Seriously, what else could make me laugh-much less laugh uproariously-while being offended week after week after week?" -Al Gore "The Onion is the funniest thing in news since Dan Rather's spooky stare." -Matt Groening "Brutal satire that rushes into the far reaches of race, class, sexuality, and culture where many publications-and critics-fear to tread." -Chicago Tribune "The Onion, unlike any other entity in our media culture, offers a refreshingly honest look at our complicated life." -Ken Burns
Book
Our Dumb Century
by Scott Dikkers
The Onion has quickly become the world's most popular humor publication, misinforming half a million readers a week with one-of-a-kind social satire both in print (on newsstands nationwide) and online from its remote office in Madison, Wisconsin. Witness the march of history as Editor-in-Chief Scott Dikkers and The Onion's award-winning writing staff present the twentieth century like you've never seen it before.