Ocean State Libraries

"Joseph Conrad's enduring portrait of the ugliness of colonialism in a deluxe edition with a gripping cover by 'Hellboy' artist Mike Mignola. 'Heart of Darkness' is the thrilling tale of Marlow, a seaman and wanderer recounting his physical and psychological journey in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz. Traveling upriver into the heart of the African continent, he gradually becomes obsessed by this enigmatic, wraith-like figure. Marlow's discovery...

In this wonderful novel about love and trust, hope and belief, Elizabeth Berg, the bestselling author of We Are All Welcome Here and The Year of Pleasures, transports us to Nazareth in biblical times to reimagine the events of the classic Christmas story.
We see Mary–young, strong, and inquisitive–as she first meets Joseph, a serious-minded young carpenter who is steadfastly devoted to the religious traditions of their...

"In imperial Vienna, where the court halls buzzed with waltzes and champagne, as well as temptation, rivals, and cutthroat intrigue, the intensely personal tale of Empress Sisi unraveled. Infamously beautiful, a mother of four, and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph - whom she unintentionally stole away from her sister - Sisi's reign was anything but simple. Against the backdrop of a rich, romantic, and volatile time period--marked by pivotal events such...

"Explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies"--source of summary not specified.

A portrait of the mid-twentieth-century scientist and adventurer traces his British government mission to China, his love affair with visiting student Lu Gwei-Djen, and his pivotal influence on the Western world's understanding of China's culture and history.

"Judge Crater's wife, Stella, is the picture of propriety. Ritzi, a leggy showgirl, thinks the judge's bed is the first step out of the chorus line. And thanks to the judge, dutiful maid Maria Simon's husband is now a detective in the NYPD. Crater himself is indebted to both Tammany Hall and a notorious gangster. As rumors circulate about widespread political corruption, the Honorable Joseph Crater steps into a cab and disappears forever. Or does...

A United States Army officer/trained assassin is sent into the depths of a southeast Asian jungle to seek out a renegade colonel and terminate his command during the Vietnam War.

"From the New York Times bestselling authors of The First Conspiracy and The Lincoln Conspiracy, The Nazi Conspiracy tells the little-known true story of a Nazi plot to kill FDR, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Churchill at the height of the second World War. In 1943, as the war against Nazi Germany raged abroad, President Franklin Roosevelt wanted one thing: a face-to-face meeting with his allies Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. This meeting of the...

"The presidential inaugural poet--and unforgettable new voice in American poetry--presents a collection of poems that includes the stirring poem read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States." -- Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage. Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, her poems shine a light on a moment of reckoning and reveal that Gorman has...