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  Tales from the Big House:...

  Michael J. Rochford

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  As long ago as the twelfth century, St Oswalds Priory at Nostell, near Pontefract, was home to canons of the order of St Augustine, and until it was dissolved during the reign of Henry VIII it was one of the wealthiest priories in the country. In secular times, a grand house on the site was home to the Gargrave family, whose rapid rise had seen Sir Thomas Gargrave attain the offices of Speaker in the House of Commons and High Sheriff of Yorkshire during the days of Queen Elizabeth I. But within a couple of generations the family was ruined. Sir Thomas's grandson and namesake, into whose hands Nostell had come, was executed in 1595 for committing murder by poisoning, a deed shrouded in mystery and misinformation for centuries  until now.In 1654, Nostell became the property of the Winn family, who were soon made baronets by Charles II, having shown him great support during the Civil Wars. The following century, Sir Rowland Winn, 4th Baronet of Nostell, began work on a brand new, magnificent Palladian house, known today as Nostell Priory, in honor of the medieval canons who had once worshipped on the site. His descendants would cede the title, but in 1885, another Rowland Winn of Nostell, who was Conservative MP for North Lincolnshire, was made Baron St Oswald following his partys election success.Featuring stories about the formidable Swiss wife of the 5th Baronet, whose daughter ran away with the local baker, grand political rallies, secret marriages, and even murder, _Tales From the Big House: Nostell Priory_ offers the reader an exciting tour-de-force through some of the history of the site, and the owners and their servants who made this great house their home.

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  Because of the Hate - The Murder...

  Kirk McCracken

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  Because of the Hate is the true story about the murder of Jerry Bailey, a beloved high school football coach in Oklahoma. In 1976, Jerry Bailey had resigned as the Sapulpa High School head football coach but was murdered by his assistant Paul Reagor Jr. The book goes into detail about the day the coaches went missing, the murder, the trial and the fall out from it. Five years removed from winning a state championship in Nowata, Jerry Bailey had ended his run as the head coach at Sapulpa and was ready to move on to another high school and another football team. However, Bailey and his assistant, Reagor, left school on a January morning and never returned. An exhaustive search eventually found both coaches the next day but only one was still alive. Reagor was found inside of an abandoned farmhouse several towns away from Sapulpa and Bailey was dead inside of the truck of Reagor's car.  Why did Reagor kill Bailey? Why did they leave the school that day? The town of Sapulpa has never really discussed the murder out of respect for Bailey's wife and children. It left nothing but rumor, speculation and questions, but now, over forty years later, every question can be answered.

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  The Camel's Back

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  In this story a young man, recently broken off from a long engagement, attends a gala costume party dressed as a camel. There he is approached by his gal, who does not recognize him in his camel garb, and the comical escapade ensues. This light and amusing story will keep you entertained, right up to the surprise ending.

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  The Criminal Class - Memoir of a...

  Paul MacNamara

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  Criminal Class follows the journey of a teacher working inside the criminal justice system. This amazing story will both repel you, and at the same time, draw you in.   
   
  The only door in the room was now closed and sitting before me was a murderer, a rapist, an armed robber and a guy serving six years for grievous bodily harm. 
  Each of them had a sharpened pencil in their hands; a potential weapon. I had been forewarned yet I had handed them out willingly. I looked at these four brutes trying not to stare but conscious of not looking away in fear either. All four of them had their eyes fixed on me too; sussing out the new guy. In silence I shot back a tight-lipped grin. Slowly but purposefully, I glanced at the secured metal door and, next to it, the red duress button on the wall. I guessed the distance to be three metres. I looked back at the prisoners and wondered, if it came to it, would I be able to press that button or exit the doorway before they could get to me? I didn't fancy my chances… 
   
  The Criminal Class is based on the true-life experiences of an everyday teacher who makes the precarious career transition to an Education Officer in the prison system. Dealing with both the law enforcers and the law breakers, but not bound by any normal allegiances, he finds himself having to thread the rocky path of an outsider on the inside.   
  ‘Teaching in the jail system is a surreal experience,. In this bizarreness you encounter things that make you shake your head, shake your fist, cry your heart out, laugh your head off and blow your mind. And I felt compelled to write it down; to capture its un-realness. Hopefully I can convey some of this in The Criminal Class.' PAUL A. MACNAMARA

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  Behind Enemy Lines - The True...

  Marthe Cohn, Wendy Holden

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  Marthe Cohn was a young Jewish woman living just across the German border in France when Hitler rose to power. Her family sheltered Jews fleeing the Nazis, including Jewish children sent away by their terrified parents. But soon her homeland was also under Nazi rule. As the Nazi occupation escalated, Marthe's sister was arrested and sent to Auschwitz and the rest of her family was forced to flee to the south of France. Always a fighter, Marthe joined the French Army and became a member of the intelligence service of the French First Army. Marthe, using her perfect German accent and blond hair to pose as a young German nurse who was desperately trying to obtain word of a fictional fiancé, would slip behind enemy lines to retrieve inside information about Nazi troop movements. By traveling throughout the countryside and approaching troops sympathetic to her plight—risking death every time she did so—she learned where they were going next and was able to alert Allied commanders.

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  A Summer with Montaigne - On the...

  Antoine Compagnon

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  “Brings the man to life and shows his questions, ideas, and solutions to be every bit as relevant as they were in the 16th century.” —New York Journal of Books Michel de Montaigne embodies the humanist ideal—curious, measured, contemplative yet not unworldly, witty, free of prejudice, and urbane. But what does this French Renaissance philosopher have to tell us about how to think and live today? In forty short, erudite, and lively chapters written over a single summer, Antoine Compagnon seeks answers to that question. In A Summer with Montaigne, Compagnon invites his readers to join him as he strolls through Montaigne’s key contributions to our understanding of what is good and worthwhile in life. This engaging book, then, serves as both an introduction to Montaigne for readers unfamiliar with his work and a refresher for those who are already acquainted with his unique brilliance, vitality, and timeliness. Montaigne’s Essays deal with themes that remain relevant today, from the problems posed by religion, war, power, and friendship to the absurdity of our fixations and peccadillos. Accompanying readers through the Essays, Compagnon never pontificates and is never austere. Rather, he approaches Montaigne with a sense of humor, admiration, and joy. “Agreeably useful reading in any season.” —Library Journal

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