Half A Hero

Anthony Hope's novel, "Half a Hero," is a study of political and social life in the English colony of New Lindsey, which may possibly be New Zealand. The half hero is one Medland, leader of the radicals, who by a coalition comes into power as premier. He had been a common laborer, had risen by integrity and energy, and although unpolished of manners shows qualities that make the true man. The humor of the situation arises from the necessity forced upon the snobbish family of the titled governor to receive him and his daughter on terms of social equality. Later on it appears that there has been something "irregular" about Medland's marriage, but when disgrace is threatened and he has the chance to silence his enemies by a skilful distribution of spoils he refuses to submit and dares political death and social obloquy rather than sacrifice his manliness. The end of the story is tragic.

Evocative of Dead Poets Society and The Starboard Sea, Holly LeCraw's The Half Brother is the story of secrets and betrayals between two brothers set amid the ivy-covered walls of an elite New England boarding school. When Charlie Garrett arrives as a young teacher at the Abbott School, he finds a world steeped in privilege and tradition. The school's green quads are lined by gothic stone halls, students dart across campus in blazers and bright plaid skirts. Fresh out of college and barely older than the students he teaches, Charlie longs to find his place in the rarefied world of Abbottsford. He gets to know the school chaplain, Preston Bankhead, and is drawn to Preston's beautiful young daughter, May, a student at the school. Then, Charlie's younger half brother, Nick, arrives on campus. Nick is, quite literally, the golden child, with sandy blond hair and a dazzling smile. Teachers welcome him warmly; students stay late to talk after class; and May Bankhead proves susceptible to his magnetic power. As Charlie sees the unmistakable connection between his first love and his half brother, he struggles with emotions far more complicated than mere jealousy. A terrible secret threatens to surface, and Charlie's peaceful campus life is in jeopardy. A complex, sexy, page-turning novel, LeCraw's latest asks how much we will sacrifice to protect those we love and how far we will go to keep the past safely buried.

Anthony Hope's novel, "Half a Hero," is a study of political and social life in the English colony of New Lindsey, which may possibly be New Zealand. The half hero is one Medland, leader of the radicals, who by a coalition comes into power as premier. He had been a common laborer, had risen by integrity and energy, and although unpolished of manners shows qualities that make the true man. The humor of the situation arises from the necessity forced upon the snobbish family of the titled governor to receive him and his daughter on terms of social equality. Later on it appears that there has been something "irregular" about Medland's marriage, but when disgrace is threatened and he has the chance to silence his enemies by a skilful distribution of spoils he refuses to submit and dares political death and social obloquy rather than sacrifice his manliness. The end of the story is tragic.

"Half a Hundred Hero Tales of Ulysses and The Men of Old " by various is a collection of 50 classical stories relevant to Greek Mythology. The book is a great choice for any young reader interested in Ulysses' period of heroism and all other connected legends to this extraordinary character. Excerpt: "You Greeks," said the Egyptian priest to Herodotus, "are always children," and Greece will never lose the secret of eternal youth. The tale of Troy divine, of Thebes and Pelops' line, the song of sweet Colonus, the cruelest death of Pyramus and Thisby, Dido with a willow in her hand—these old stories of Homer and Sophocles, of Virgil and Ovid, have not lost their gloss and freshness. "The innocent brightness of a new-born day is lovely yet." They have been sung or said by Wace and Caxton, by Chaucer and Wordsworth, by Keats and William Morris; they have been adapted for young readers by Fénelon, by Niebuhr, by Kingsley, by Hawthorne, and yet the last word has not been said. Each new editor makes his own selection, chooses some new facet, or displays the jewel in a new light."

This is a novel by Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, known as Anthony Hope. He was a prolific British novelist and playwright, most famous for his novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau. All of his novels are full of political intrigue and humor.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.