Ceremony Of The Innocent

New York Times Bestseller: The quest for the American Dream soars to new heights in this coming-of-age story of a young woman and her country. Living with her aunt in poor, rural Preston, Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Ellen Watson loves books and music and is completely oblivious to her own beauty. But her extraordinary looks arouse envy and malice in the female townspeople--and lust in the males. Hired as a housemaid in the palatial home of the village mayor, Ellen soon catches the attention of his son, Jeremy Porter, who captures her heart in turn. He offers to send her to school, and four years later he proposes marriage. As the years pass, Ellen's life parallels the hopes, dreams, and fears of a no-longer innocent nation. As America's enemies gather, Ellen must face her own demons. The wife of the scion of a powerful political family, she has everything she could ever desire: security, children, and a successful, adoring husband. But when tragedy rips her life apart, Ellen will be forced to confront some terrible truths about her marriage, her family, and herself. Played out against the backdrop of early twentieth-century America, Ceremony of the Innocent intertwines Ellen's personal journey with America's emergence from the devastation of World War I. It raises vital questions, such as: Are we as good as we believe we are? And is faith enough to keep us moving forward even in the face of unimaginable loss?

New York Times Bestseller: The quest for the American Dream soars to new heights in this coming-of-age story of a young woman and her country. Living with her aunt in poor, rural Preston, Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Ellen Watson loves books and music and is completely oblivious to her own beauty. But her extraordinary looks arouse envy and malice in the female townspeople—and lust in the males. Hired as a housemaid in the palatial home of the village mayor, Ellen soon catches the attention of his son, Jeremy Porter, who captures her heart in turn. He offers to send her to school, and four years later he proposes marriage. As the years pass, Ellen’s life parallels the hopes, dreams, and fears of a no-longer innocent nation. As America’s enemies gather, Ellen must face her own demons. The wife of the scion of a powerful political family, she has everything she could ever desire: security, children, and a successful, adoring husband. But when tragedy rips her life apart, Ellen will be forced to confront some terrible truths about her marriage, her family, and herself. Played out against the backdrop of early twentieth-century America, Ceremony of the Innocent intertwines Ellen’s personal journey with America’s emergence from the devastation of World War I. It raises vital questions, such as: Are we as good as we believe we are? And is faith enough to keep us moving forward even in the face of unimaginable loss?

Young and beautiful Ellen Porter learns to distrust the men who wish to shape her destiny in a small Pennsylvania town at the turn of the century

Riots. Terrorist attacks. Neo-Nazi violence. In modern-day Germany, journalist Catriona McClelland has seen it all while covering the contemporary European scene for a Catholic news organization. Keeping herself above the political fray in her professional life, she has also managed to keep herself from personal entanglements-still hurt from the wounds of a broken relationship. Things come to a head when her boyfriend Dennis, frustrated with a lack of commitment, leaves her for Suzy Davis, an idealistic young Canadian who is involved with a left-wing protest movement. But when Suzy is murdered... who is complicit and who is innocent? Ripped from the headlines, Ceremony of Innocence is a very contemporary novel of Europe on the edge of social breakdown. Train stations are bombed and migrants targeted for violence as journalists and other tastemakers watch from their positions of privilege. Dorothy Cummings McLean's realistic narrative does not describe the feats of heroes. Rather, it unnervingly lays bare the way religious faith and moral reasoning can be easily manipulated and compromised.

Riots. Terrorist attacks. Neo-Nazi violence. In modern-day Germany, journalist Catriona McClelland has seen it all while covering the contemporary European scene for a Catholic news organization. Keeping herself above the political fray in her professional life, she has also managed to keep herself from personal entanglements-still hurt from the wounds of a broken relationship. Things come to a head when her boyfriend Dennis, frustrated with a lack of commitment, leaves her for Suzy Davis, an idealistic young Canadian who is involved with a left-wing protest movement. But when Suzy is murdered... who is complicit and who is innocent? Ripped from the headlines, Ceremony of Innocence is a very contemporary novel of Europe on the edge of social breakdown. Train stations are bombed and migrants targeted for violence as journalists and other tastemakers watch from their positions of privilege. Dorothy Cummings McLean's realistic narrative does not describe the feats of heroes. Rather, it unnervingly lays bare the way religious faith and moral reasoning can be easily manipulated and compromised.

#1 New York Times Bestseller: A saga of power, greed, and illicit love set in the Gilded Age of upstate New York. Jerome Lindsey and his foster brother, Alfred, couldn’t be more different. The son of a wealthy banker in upstate New York, Jerome leaves home for a life of extravagance and adventure, seducing countless women along the way. Meanwhile, Alfred becomes an executive at the family bank and his adoptive father’s heir apparent. After his wife dies, Alfred shows little interest in remarrying—until he meets Amalie Maxwell, the ravishing and headstrong daughter of a tenant farmer. Fearing that his inheritance is at stake, Jerome returns home to expose Amalie as a shameless gold digger. But the more he schemes against her, the closer he’s drawn to her. Now, Jerome and Amalie will discover the thin line between love and hate—and that a moment of passion can have a lifetime’s worth of consequences. A mesmerizing tale of forbidden desire and a brilliant portrait of small-town America during the Reconstruction Era, This Side of Innocence is “a masterful piece of storytelling” from one of the twentieth century’s most beloved authors (The Philadelphia Inquirer).