The Glitter and the Gold

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Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home—Blenheim Palace.The ninth Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era. An unsnobbish, but often amused observer of the intricate hierarchy both upstairs and downstairs at Blenheim Palace, she is also a revealing witness to the glittering balls, huge weekend parties and major state occasions she attended or hosted. Here are her encounters with every important figure of the day—from Queen Victoria, Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to Tsar Nicholas, Prince Metternich and the young Winston Churchill.This intimate, richly enjoyable memoir is a wonderfully revealing portrait of a golden age.

"A woman of poise, beauty, and charm looks back on her life at the very center of the most opulent and aristocratic society of three countries, the United States, Britain, and France . . . and emerges . . . a woman of courage, public spirit refinement, and surprisingly democratic convictions." ---The New York Times

The Grieving Garden

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Every year, some two million parents in the U.S. suffer the death of a son or daughter. The unnatural sequence of the child's preceding the parent in death creates a wrenching loss and overwhelming emotional and spiritual disorientation. Most of these bereaved parents find relief from their isolation only in the company of others like themselves. The Grieving Garden offers the support, understanding, and ultimately comfort and hope, from those who have shed the same tears over the death of a child.

BLACK DAHLIA &WHITE ROSE

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A wildly inventive new collection of stories by Joyce Carol Oates that charts the surprising ways in which the world we think we know can unexpectedly reveal its darker contours

The New York Times has hailed Joyce Carol Oates as "a dangerous writer in the best sense of the word, one who takes risks almost obsessively with energy and relish." Black Dahlia & White Rose, a collection of eleven previously uncollected stories, showcases the keen rewards of Oates's relentless brio and invention. In one beautifully honed story after another, Oates explores the menace that lurks at the edges of and intrudes upon even the seemingly safest of lives—and maps with rare emotional acuity the transformational cost of such intrusions.

Unafraid to venture into no-man's-lands both real and surreal, Oates takes readers deep into dangerous territory, from a maximum-security prison—vividly delineating the heartbreaking and unexpected atmosphere of such an institution—to the inner landscapes of two beautiful and mysteriously doomed young women in 1940s Los Angeles: Elizabeth Short, otherwise known as the Black Dahlia, victim of a long-unsolved and particularly brutal murder, and her roommate Norma Jeane Baker, soon to become Marilyn Monroe. Whether exploring the psychological compulsion of the wife of a well-to-do businessman who is ravished by, and elopes with, a lover who is not what he seems or the uneasily duplicitous relationships between young women and their parents, Black Dahlia & White Rose explores the compelling intertwining of dread and desire, the psychic pull and trauma of domestic life, and resonates at every turn with Oates's mordant humor and her trenchant observation.

The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age

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A captivating biography of America's first female tycoon, Hetty Green, the iconoclast who forged one of the greatest fortunes of her time.
 
    No woman in the Gilded Age made as much money as Hetty Green. At the time of her death in 1916, she was worth at least 100 million dollars, equal to more than 2 billion dollars today. A strong believer in women being financially independent, she offered valuable lessons for the present times.
 
Narrator Coleen Marlo aptly portrays a woman ahead of her time--intelligent and cunning enough to have amassed a fortune. Her net worth of $100 million dollars, for which she was tagged the "Witch of Wall Street," was unprecedented for a woman in the Gilded Age. Marlo deftly delivers the author's deep insights into historical events during Green's lifetime, including the Civil War, bank failings, stock market crashes, and the struggles of the women's movement. Green's life was filled with rewards and disappointments. Never quite gaining her father's approval despite her success in the world of finance, she was simultaneously despised and envied by men less capable. Her fortune helped support churches, municipalities, and even New York City itself. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2013

THREATS AND PROMISES

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Lauren Stevenson, who has been transformed into a stunning beauty as a result of necessary plastic surgery, should be enjoying her new good looks. Instead, a series of accidents and near-misses at her home and business put her in fear for her life, and she becomes suspicious of Matt Kruger, the hunky new man in her life. Coleen Marlo's smooth, often breathless voice is the perfect vehicle for this romantic thriller. Marlo's delivery is rapid-fire and enthusiastic, with an unusual elongation of some words that is interesting. Her changes in tone and slight accents make the characters generally recognizable. Although the story is not as memorable as some of Delinsky's other work, Marlo's narration makes for an enjoyable audio experience. A.C.P. © AudioFile 2012

VACCINE EPIDEMIC

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How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children

National polls show that Americans are increasingly concerned about vaccine safety and the right to make individual, informed choices together with their healthcare practitioners. Vaccine Epidemic focuses on the searing debate surrounding individual and parental vaccination choice in the United States. Featuring more than 20 experts from the fields of ethics, law, science, medicine, business, and history, Vaccine Epidemic urgently calls for reform. It is the essential handbook for the vaccination choice movement and required reading for all people contemplating vaccination for themselves and their children.

Louise Kuo Habakus and Mary Holland edit and introduce a diverse array of interrelated topics concerning the explosive vaccine controversy, including:

• The human right to vaccination choice
• The ethics and constitutionality of vaccination mandates
• Personal narratives of parents, children, and soldiers who have suffered vaccine injury
• Vaccine safety science and evidence-based medicine
• Corrupting conflicts of interest in the national vaccine program
• What should parents do? A review of eight advice books on vaccines that span the gamut.

The Marriage Bargain

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WINNER BEST OF 2012 ON AUDIBLE

"Actor and award-winning narrator Coleen Marlo provides a clear and well-paced reading of a light, contemporary romance." ---Library Journal Audio Review

To save her family home, impulsive bookstore owner Alexa Maria McKenzie casts a love spell. But she never planned on conjuring up her best friend's older brother—the powerful man who once shattered her heart. A marriage in name only with certain rules: Avoid entanglement. Keep things all business. Do not fall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn't be that hard to follow, right?

Except fate has a way of upsetting the best-laid plans . . .