Three items make this series of books timely. First, interest in the early church fathers is growing within the Protestant Churches (witness the Ancient Christian Commentaries series). Second the common lectionary - Catholics, Episcopaleans, Lutherans and main-stream protestants - provide a broader audience for lectionary resources. Third, writers such as Kathleen Norris (Presbyterian) and Robert Bondi (Southern Baptist) are introducing new audiences to the Liturgy of the Hours - with it's Office of Readings which includes selections from the early church fathers.

In this context, this collections of readings for the Cycle C(Gospel of Luke) Sunday readings should be useful to all Christians. The selections are well chosen and stand well as independent readings; they reflect on some point in the Sunday's Gospel - often in a thought-provoking way. The readings in this volume include selections from: Gregory Palamas, Nilus of Ancyra, Hilary of Poiters, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great, Denis the Carthusian, Anselm of Canterbury ... i.e. a cross-section of the available texts.

Outstanding! Written by the Edith Izant, a long-time Kerry breeder and well respected judge. One of the canine worlds most informative sources on the breed. You will enjoy the photo's, as well as, a somewhat uncertain origination of the breed. See photo's of some of the worlds top-winning and top-producing Kerries and read about the breeds versatility. A must have for the Kerry Blue owner, be it novice or all-time Kerry lover.

Victoria Dawkins, daughter of an apothecary and a governess, has fallen on hard times due to the thoughtlessness of an aristocrat; she lost her position and, without a reference, cannot get another one. So now she lives in a slum, hoping against hope that she will find a new position. Charmingly, she is 'adopted' by Alfie, the eleven-year-old oldest child of the family next door, who hires her to teach himself and his siblings how to speak 'proper', in return for food and her rent.

In the meantime, Colin Haverford, the new Earl of Clune, hears a confession from his young cousin Theo, Lord Malverne: an action of crass stupidity on his part lost a poor old governess her job. It was some weeks after the event that Theo bothered to tell Clune anything about it, but they at once go to find the governess; Colin is amazed and dumbstruck to find that Victoria is anything but old, and that she is beautiful. Still, Theo promises to call on her to recompense her in some way, so Colon thinks no more of it. Until he discovers a couple of weeks later that Theo did nothing at all. Struck with an attack of conscience - Clune is a far more noble man than the book's cover description implies - he goes to see Victoria, to try to undo the wrong done to her by his family.

But he is overcome with feelings of attraction to her, and since - because of the way Theo explained what had happened to him - Colin believes that Victoria is not as innocent as she appears, he offers her a carte blanche. She rejects it outright, but wonders afterwards if she did the right thing. Learning from his mistake, but still feeling responsible for her, Colin then tries to arrange a respectable position for Victoria. But her poor living conditions and lack of sufficient food means that when she comes to see him to discuss his offer, she collapses and has to be confined to bed in his house.

Which means that Colin then finds himself also responsible for the most charming and amusing family I've encountered in romantic fiction: no-one could help loving Alfie, or admiring the way he takes care of his younger siblings.

However, Victoria is still just a governess, an apothecary's daughter, and as such the only relationship possible between Colin and Victoria is that of master and mistress. And Colin's already made the mistake of offering her that once, and he respects her too much to disgrace her. So, as he tells her, she cannot live under his roof.

As usual with Layton's heroes, Colin is a decent, fair man at heart; despite the jackets of her books portraying her heroes as wicked seducers, almost none of them ever do seriously attempt her heroine's seduction - and never against their will. She does a very good job of portraying Colin's fight with his libido and his struggle to remember his manners and position around Victoria. And likewise, Victoria constantly struggles with her conscience and her attraction to Colin.

And as ever, there is an entertaining cast of secondary characters, including Alfie and his siblings. Highly recommended, if you can get your hands on it!

One thing which puzzled me: just why Colin is called 'Cole' by his family, when the first syllable of 'Colin' is obviously 'Col'.

This book contains about 400 of Wharton's letters, out of about 4,000 extant. It is a careful selection, including "major" letters that are often quoted, and for the first time (other than in a small university publication), a substantial portion of her correspondence with Morton Fullerton, with whom she had an affair while in her mid-40s. That particular correspondence did not surface until the 1980s, and added an entirely new perspective on Wharton's life and work. Unfortunately, nearly all of her correspondence with two of her greatest friends, Henry James and Walter Berry, did not survive, and the absence is felt. I applaud the editors (one of whom wrote a Pulitzer prize winning bio of Wharton) for a selection that is very readable and never trite or repetitive (a big problem when dealing with letters in their entirety). Reading the letters after having read the bio, I found they added to my understanding of Wharton as a person and a writer.

I am only half way through this book but it is so interesting and moving. Edith Stein talks about her family, their religious practices and primarily about how much they mean to her and how they would later mould her own religious life. She writes fluidly and cleary with much care. A brilliant read for anyone who knows of this remarkable woman.

Little O is a very sweet little child and very naughty too! She is the youngest in the family. This book tell us all about her.

This book was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I never read it in English, I did not even speak English back then. I read it in Polish and now I want to see if it's as good in English as well. It's a book that makes one want to be at the places that are described, see and feel, touch and live with people who are characters of this book. I read this book hundreds times and I still grabbed it tonight, even though I am already twenty. And it still takes me into the author's childhood. Not only that, it takes me into my own childhood as well. It is truly an amazing book.

Edith Pearlman's writes of people and places, varied in geography, time and circumstance. She hits the emotional center every time with a simplicity and intelligence that surprises and touches. I love short stories and Edith's are right on. From Jerusalem to Boston, from university scholar to a waitress in Maine, these stories and their characters are eccentric or off beat and unexpected. A woman loses her gay Jewish husband and replaces him with an African American pediatrician, a heterosexual, yet still so different from her that her loneliness pierces the reader's heart. Read these stories for their intelligence and their warmth. ...

This is one of my all time favorite Regencies. All the stories are fantastic, and I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This is the book I want them to toss in my coffin before they nail the lid down. I chanced upon Maiden Voyage many years ago and as soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it all over again. The friend, who realized I had borrowed it, rather unpleasantly made me return it. Written autobiographically by a young English boy, it is an astonishing, often scandalous, and occasionally deviant account of a coming of age. Denton's brilliant style, deceptively simple but frank and intimate is timeless. Aspects of British upper class life have altered only a little since this book was written, which was pre WW2. There are still tormented boys on trains heading back to school and contemplating escape. The glimpses of Shanghai still haunt me.

I am rarely as moved by the written word. Denton Welch was a genius, a truly great writer. Maiden Voyage is his most revealing work. Order it immediately! I'm never going to lend my copy to anyone.....