They were to be married before the open fire, in the big living-room of the old house on the hill. Upstairs, Bess Holt was helping Faith dress. Faith sat before the old, veneered dressing table with its little mirror tilting on the curved standards, and submitted quietly and happily to Bess's ministrations. Bess was a chatterbox, and her tongue flew as nimbly as the deft fingers that arranged Faith's veil. Faith was content; her soft eyes resting on her own image in the little mirror were ...

First published in 1947, this bestselling historical novel is cherished and remembered as one of the finest retellings of the Civil War saga—America's own War and Peace. In the first hard pinch of the Civil War, five siblings of an established Confederate Virginia family learn that their father is the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The family's story, and the story of their descendants, is presented in this tale that includes both soldiers and civilians—complete with their boasti...

The Complete Works of Ben Ames WilliamsThis Complete Collection includes the following titles:--------1 - All the Brothers Were Valiant2 - The Sea Bride3 - Thrifty Stock, and Other Stories4 - The Great Accident5 - Black Pawl6 - Evered

The fine old house stood on Jumping Tom Hill, above the town. It had stood there before there was a town, when only a cabin or two fringed the woods below, nearer the shore. The weather boarding had been brought in ships from England, ready sawed; likewise the bricks of the chimney. Indians used to come to the house in the cold of winter, begging shelter. Given blankets, and food, and drink, they slept upon the kitchen floor; and when Joel Shore’s great-great-grandfather came down in the m...

The story of "Evered" follows the life of the titular character, Evered Barefoot, from his childhood through adulthood. Set in rural New England, the novel explores Evered's experiences growing up in a small town and the challenges he faces as he comes of age.As the narrative unfolds, readers are introduced to Evered's family, friends, and the community in which he lives. The novel delves into themes such as love, ambition, betrayal, and the complexities of human relationships as Evered na...

SPIESS, a born lubber who would never learn the way of the sea, bungled his simple share of the task of getting the mate’s boat away. Black Pawl, master of the schooner, was near by; and he cuffed the man. The buffet was good-natured enough, and Black Pawl laughed as he administered it. Nevertheless it knocked Spiess end over end. The man got up, grumbling; and Red Pawl, the captain’s son and mate, said sharply to his father: “I’ll handle my boat and my men, sir. Let them be.” Black Pawl l...

THE girl, stormful and rebellious, had come out of the old farmhouse above Fraternity, and without much caring in which direction she turned, walked across the stubble of the freshly cut meadow toward the edge of the woods at the crest of the hill. This meadow was really a high plateau; it was fringed with bushes which grew along the crumbling stone wall which bordered it, and with birch and wild cherry trees here and there along its edge. Between these trees she could look abroad across a...

Black Pawl by Ben Ames Williams is a gripping maritime novel set on the high seas, revolving around themes of authority, rebellion, and the complex relationship between father and son. The story takes place aboard a merchant ship, where the titular character, Captain Pawl, is a fearsome and authoritarian figure, known as "Black Pawl" for his stern demeanor and iron will.Captain Pawl commands his ship with an almost tyrannical authority, ruling over his crew with a strict and uncompromising...

Joel Shore, newly appointed captain of the whaling ship Nathan Ross following his brother's apparent demise as captain of the same ship, elects to make his first cruise as captain to the very location where his brother had last been seen - the Gilbert Islands, in order to try to learn more about what happened to his brother. The focus of this tale is of that voyage halfway around the globe and the adventures which he and his crew encounter. (Summary by Roger Melin)

Ben Ames Williams wrote across a range of genres, including adventure, romance, and historical fiction. His storytelling often reflected the complexities of human nature and relationships, capturing both the drama and the subtle nuances of everyday life."Thrifty Stock, and Other Stories" includes various tales that explore different aspects of human experience, characterized by Williams' keen observation and engaging prose. While the specific contents and themes of the stories in this coll...

First published in 1947, this bestselling historical novel is cherished and remembered as one of the finest retellings of the Civil War saga—America's own War and Peace. In the first hard pinch of the Civil War, five siblings of an established Confederate Virginia family learn that their father is the grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The family's story, and the story of their descendants, is presented in this tale that includes both soldiers and civilians—complete with their boasti...

Leave Her to Heaven is a chilling anatomy of possessive love that masquerades as romance. Novelist Richard Harland falls for dazzling Ellen Berent; their marriage moves from desert brightness to a secluded Maine lake where her devotion curdles into ruthless jealousy. Williams narrates the spiral with cool, lucid prose that inventories ordinary acts while intimating abyssal motives. The placid domestic frame becomes a theater of moral terror, locating the book within American domestic noir ...