Pines and Plains Libraries

Written by American author and dedicated abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Toms Cabin" is a poignant novel which shows the harsh reality of a slaves life in the 1800s. Uncle Tom, an African-American slave who believes in the power of Christian faith. The book would be a major contributor to the Civil War because its compelling portrayal of slaves as fellow human beings left little room for compromise: if slaves were indeed...

"Hank Morgan, cracked on the head by a crowbar in nineteenth-century Connecticut, wakes to find himself in the England of King Arthur. The tough minded Yankee, an embodiment of scientific enlightenment, faces a world whose idyllic surface only masks the dark forces of fear, injustice, and ignorance. This is the springboard which launches one of literature's most extraordinary excursions into fantasy. With the agility of Mark Twain's unique virtuosity,...

Washington Irving's "Tales of the Alhambra" is really two books in one. The first section chronicles Irving’s 1829 visit to the crumbling Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Irving was permitted to reside within the palace grounds. His beautifully detailed descriptions of the deteriorating palace and its inhabitants fit well within the romantic vision that was beginning to sweep Europe. One can only imagine Irving's influence in shaping the popularity...

Paddington and the Brown family have a series of misadventures on their vacation in France.

An annotated edition of Shakespeare's comedy about Spanish courtiers who unsuccessfully swear off relationships with women; also includes essays on Shakespeare's theatrical world and his texts, and a scholarly introduction.

Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited. "The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the "story" of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare's language intact. Specific stage directions...

The Underground City is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne, serialized in Le Temps in March and April 1877 and published immediately afterward by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. Covering a time span of over ten years, this novel follows the fortunes of the mining community of Aberfoyle near Stirling, Scotland. Receiving a letter from an old colleague, mining engineer James Starr sets off for the old Aberfoyle mine, thought to have been mined out ten years...

In the dimly lit alleys of Victorian London, a dense fog cloaks the city, wrapping its secrets in an enigmatic shroud. The air is thick with anticipation as a mysterious letter arrives at 221B Baker Street, the famed residence of the unparalleled detective, Sherlock Holmes. The sender, a shadowy figure known only as "The Midnight Scribe," beckons Holmes and his ever-loyal companion, Dr. John Watson, into a web of intrigue that will test the limits...

Trouble comes naturally to Paddington who's head is so full of ideas that some things are destined to go wrong!

"On an autumn day, in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, two boys were born in England, one to a poor family by the name of Canty who lived in Offal Court, not far from London Bridge, and the other to a wealthy and high-placed family by the name of Tudor. Young Tom Canty, unwanted, unloved, began his day-dreaming early in order to forget the petty stealing to which he was forced by his cruel rogue of a father--and the royal Court and young...