First published serially between January and December of 1878 in the sensationalistic monthly London magazine "Belgravia", Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native" is the author's sixth published novel. Set in Egdon Heath, an area of Thomas Hardy's fictionalized Wessex known for the thorny evergreen shrubs, called furze or gorse, which are cut there by its residents for fuel. When the story begins, on Guy Fawkes Night, we find Diggory Venn, a merchant...

A brutal assault changes Marieke's life. She leaves her familiar city rhythms for the solitude of a dilapidated house in an empty countryside. Her irrational fears on the frozen farm are a constant struggle. As spring's orchestra begins, her curiosity for new things that cover the cold rot of winter pulls her out of the suffocating interior of her mind. Slowly she accepts the help of John, her neighbor, but as the seasons change so does she.

The December solstice is a turning point. For some, it represents a time of darkness, the shortest day of the year. But for others, this event-just a few days before Christmas-is about hope, renewal and rebirth. In a story both deceptively simple and effortlessly complex, Rosamunde Pilcher brings together five very different people, ranging in age from mid-sixties to teenagers, each of whom must confront very different challenges or losses.
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Disc 1. Season 1: episodes 1-7. Newly widowed Audrey is forced to auction Grantleigh when she finds out that her husband was bankrupt. She is mortified when the buyer is "a Czech grocer" intent on running his Empire from the Manor. Disc 2. Season 2: episodes 8-13. Hilarity abounds as Richard imposes new efficiency standards upon farm management and stirs Audrey's protest with his modernizing methods. Disc 3. Season 3: episodes 14-20. In this final...

Stanley goes for a drive on a hot day in the countryside.

"A tale of one man's shipwrecked life and an unlikely crew of rescuers. Having lost his long-time journalism job and been swindled out of his life savings, fifty-five-year-old Charles Howard is standing by the edge of Halifax Harbour on a foggy morning contemplating his dismal future when Ramona Danforth interrupts his ritual of self-pity. And so begins a most interesting relationship. Charles and Ramona decide to travel to his childhood home, Stewart...

Follows the efforts of twelve-year-old Reena, who has recently moved to rural Maine, to adjust to a new environment while unexpectedly bonding with an ornery cow.

Black and white illustrations and text record the sights on a day trip to the city and back home again to the country.

A rural child discovers the sights, sounds, colors, and special feeling of spring.

The Bobbsey twins visit Meadow Brook, the country home of their cousin Harry. While there they meet a frisky calf, celebrate Independence Day, and attend the circus.