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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
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San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
An indiscretion in the life of an heiress
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Rare Books
A ne'er-do-well exploits his gentle daughter's beauty for social advancement in this masterpiece of tragic fiction. Hardy's 1891 novel defied convention to focus on the rural lower class for a frank treatment of sexuality and religion. Then and now, his sympathetic portrait of a victim of Victorian hypocrisy offers compelling reading.
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Manuscripts
Letters that Hardy wrote to his parents during his Civil War service constitute the bulk of the collection. The letters describe the work on the defenses of Washington, D.C., including Forts Massachusetts (Stevens), DeRussey, Talbot, Ripley, Alexander, Franklin and Sumner; life in camp, particularly the food, healthcare, and various sports and amusements; the men of his regiment, including the hated regimental surgeon suspected of killing off "weak soldiers" and an "old Hypocrite" of a chaplain' encounters with fugitive slaves, slaveholders, Confederate prisoners, Union conscripts, etc. Hardy also discusses the affairs at home, (including the fate of his dog), and renders his opinion on war news and state and national politics, e.g. the draft and the Copperheads. Longing for a battle, he also shared various schemes that would allow him to be transferred to cavalry or the Navy. The letters also contain accounts of the beginning of Grant's Overland campaign and the battle of Poplar Springs where he lost his arm as well as descriptions of the Columbian Hospital in Washington, D.C. and the Beverly Hospital in New Jersey. The letter of Dec. 25, 1858 describes Christmas in Georgetown, Guyana and briefly recounts Hardy's impression of the West Indies. Also included are: Hardy's letter to his future employer, Mrs. Ames, written from Soldiers' Home in Bangor and detailing his Civil War service; his letters from Tillsonburg, Ont., discussing the town and Hardy's plans for the future; a letter from his son, Robert Samuel Hardy, with a detailed account of festivities in his Bangor, Me. school; a newspaper clipping with Amos E. Hardy's obituary, and an undated letter from G. Low to William Low of Castleton, Vt.
mssHM 81771-81832
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Rare Books
Translated into twenty languages and published in more than fourteen Spanish editions, The Lost Steps, originally published in 1953, is Alejo Carpentier's most heralded novel. A composer, fleeing an empty existence in New York City, takes a journey with his mistress to one of the few remaining areas of the world not yet touched by civilization -- the upper reaches of a great South American river. The Lost Steps describes his search, his adventures, and the remarkable decision he makes in a village that seems to be truly outside history. Amazon review.
660882
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Rare Books
"In this new novel, Macdonald's famous non-hero private eye Lew Archer ... picks his way through the overheated and explosive mazes of a wealthy family's long hidden secrets. A lost heirloom, a murder that breeds more murder, a boy's life poisoned by a money-crime committed before he was born--these are the elements of "The goodbye look." It is Ross Macdonald at his unnerving best: a novel at once brilliantly perceptive of the world it anatomises--the freeway culture of Southern California--and from first to last unfaltering in its dramatic excitement and suspense"--Page [1].
636043
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Rare Books
"Before You, Santa Claus, Life was like a Moonless Night is remarkable through its visual language and allows us to get lost in a world where everything is possible. Alessio captures the magic of the night and his sensibility shines through the pages"--Book wrapper.
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