Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Drags a bit - but Leaves an Impression (Spoiler-Free).
Okay, hows this for a setup? The hugely rich Mr. Green a/k/a Sir Willoughby, his wife, his rambunctious little daughter Bonnie, and a small army or servants live in a vast mansion on grounds within a huge forest estate (a "chase") infested with ravenous man-eating wolves. The Greens have just adoped their timid orphaned neice Sylvia. No sooner has Sylvia arrived, however, when Mr. & Mrs. Green leave on a 6-month sea voyage in the hopes of benefitting the wife's ailing health. They leave the 2 girls, the servants, and the estate under the care and charge of their new governess, a distant cousin named Mrs. Slighcarp. Needless to say, Slighcarp is a villain, and she and her allies start showing their true colors the instant the Greens are out to sea. The Wolves, it seems, are not confined to the forest, and the children must beware.

It is very colorful, as well as unapologetically outrageous (man-eating wolves in snow-covered forests laying siege to railroad trains in the heart of England). However, if you are expecting a zany, silly, thrill-a-minute adventure, you may be disappointed. Aiken writes as though she takes it all dead seriously (this is, in fact, part of the appeal). There is significant attention to background and detail, much of which enhances the mood and atmosphere. She is less effective in pushing the story foreward, which progresses in fits and starts before meandering to a conclusion.

The lack of focus means, unfortunately, that there are many opportunities for the reader to lose patience and stop reading. This is a shame, for though Aiken's writings are not always compulsive page turners, she has an ability to weave memories that stay with the reader, and leave them hungry for more.

This book is the first in a series of about 11 books, which are now being called the "Wolves Chronicles". In the second book, "Black Hearts in Battersea" (another great title) it is made more explicit that they are set in an alternate-history England very different from our own.

If your child is one who tends not to finish books, I might be good to start with "Nightbirds on Nantucket" -- the third book in the series. As a child, it was "Nightbirds" that I first read all the way through. I then was sufficiently interested to go back and read "Wolves" and "Battersea" all the way through, despite having previously attempted them and put them down. This is perhaps not ideal, since it may spoil the impact of certain surprises, but it is better than not reading them at all. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Macmillan Reference USA Science Library: Computer Sciences, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2586 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Reviews the history of the discipline and its concepts, and profiles contributors in the field. The impact of computers on society is explored, with examples in literature and film to illustrate and support trends. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Macmillan Reference USA Science Library: Computer Sciences, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3529 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Reviews the history of the discipline and its concepts, and profiles contributors in the field. The impact of computers on society is explored, with examples in literature and film to illustrate and support trends. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from American Decades: Primary Sources, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 627 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.American Decades Primary Sources provides fresh insight into the decade's most important events, people, and issues. Entries representing a diversity of views that provide insight into the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from the decade. Also included are concise contextual information, notes about the author and further resources. American Decades Primary Sources includes chapters on the arts, medicine and health, media, education, world events, religion, government and politics, lifestyles and social trends, law and justice, religion, business and the economy, and sports. Included to provide unique perspectives and a wealth of understanding are first hand accounts that include oral histories, songs, speeches, advertisements, TV, play and movie scripts, letters, laws, legal decisions, newspaper articles, cartoonsand recipes. ... Read more