"L'Abb Constantin" is a comedy in three acts, taking place against the background of the Franco-Prussian War. The Abb is curate of a small church supported by the income of a nearby estate. The estate has passed into the hands of an American owner, whom the Abb presumes will be Protestant and uninclined to support his church.

The Abbatial Crosier, set in the year 737 AD, is the 8th volume in a series called The Mysteries of the People; or History of a Proletarian Family Across the Ages that was written between 1849-1857. Eugene Sue created this series to be a European history that depicted the struggle between the ruling and the ruled classes. One family, the descendants of a Gallic chief named Joel, represent the oppressed and the descendants of a Frankish chief Neroweg, typify the oppressors. Down through the ages the successive struggles between oppressors and oppressed are depicted in a series of stories that culminate in the European Revolutions of 1848. Considered classics of Marxist/Socialist thought, these books are mostly forgotten today, and the English-language editions published at the beginning of the 20th Century have only recently become available. The Abbatial Crosier is set in the year 719 when Germanic Franks under the leadership of Charles Martel (The Hammer) are driving back invading Moslems. The native Gauls are enslaved by both sides of the conflict. Sue quotes a female slave as saying "Sad days these are for us. We have only the choice of servitudes." One young enslaved Gaul, having helped keep his master's weapons sharp, armor clean, and horse well-fed, takes them one day. Assuming a new name, he disguises himself as a free warrior. Fierce in battle, he wins his way into the heart of Charles Martel. He enjoys fighting other German tribes and Moslem invaders, but feels out of place, and fears he will be called upon to fight his own people. One day he must decide between the glory of working for the ruling class, or returning to his Gallic roots.

Aaron the Jew is, among other things, an anti-conversion novel, but it's of a startling sort. The plot hinges on a baby switch. (No, that's not why it's startling.) To avoid financial disaster, Aaron Cohen, an Orthodox Jew, agrees to raise a Christian child born out of wedlock. (The mother had been forced to give the baby up as part of a deal with a would-be husband. It's a sign of the Victorian times that the novel is not only sympathetic to the mother, but eventually lets her prosper.) But Aaron's own child, born at nearly the same time, dies suddenly, and fearing that the shock could kill his wife, Aaron passes off the baby girl as their own. (Mrs. Cohen is blind, which enables the switch.) Flash forward many years. The girl in question, Ruth, has been raised as a Jew...but refuses to embrace the faith.

The Imitation of Christ (Latin: De Imitatione Christi) by Thomas a Kempis is a Christian devotional book. It was first composed in Latin ca.1418-1427. It is a handbook for spiritual life arising from the Devotio Moderna movement, where Kempis was a member. The Imitation is perhaps the most widely read devotional work next to the Bible, and is regarded as a devotional and religious classic. Apart from the Bible, no book has been translated into more languages than the Imitation of Christ. The text is divided into four books, which provide detailed spiritual instructions: "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life," "Directives for the Interior Life," "On Interior Consolation" and "On the Blessed Sacrament." The approach taken in the Imitation is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by other friars. The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist as key element of spiritual life. ------------------------------------------------------------ St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

Aaron Trow, because of his murder of a man during a strike in England, is shipped off to a prison in Bermuda. He escapes and breaks into the house of a pastor and his daughter on a night when the daughter is alone. He demands food, drink and money. She gives him the first two but protests she hasn't a penny to give him. He gets physical and they have a knock-down, drag-out brawl until the girl's fiance comes to the rescue. Trow escapes and a posse is sent out after him, a chase that ends in a cliff cave over the crashing sea. By the time it is all over, everyone who has been a part of this drama has been changed for the rest of their lives.

A massive collection of Catholic novenas and not only such standards as novenas to St. Anthony and to the Infant of Prague. It also includes little known novenas such as novenas to Saint George, Our Lady of America, to Maria Bambina, to Our Lady of Pompeii, to Saint Hilda, to Saint Roque, and over 200 others. This massive collection should be on every serious Catholic's bookshelf.

A beautifully illustrated guided meditation through the mysteries of the Rosary

The emptiness and hypocrisy of bourgeois society and the power of money were depicted with irony and sarcasm in short stories and novellas written by Merimee in the 1830's and 1840's, including The Double Misunderstanding,"Arsene Guillot,"and "The Abbe Aubain."In the short stories "The Venus of Ille,""Colomba,"and "Carmen" (1845) the author focuses on the clash between bourgeois morality and primitive but more just moral norms."

It is the inclination of the average reader to skip prefaces. For this I do not in the least blame him. Skipping the preface is one of my favorite literary pursuits. To catch me napping a preface must creep up quietly and take me, as it were, unawares. But in this case sundry prefatory remarks became necessary. It was essential that they should be inserted into this volume in order that certain things might be made plain. The questions were: How and where? After giving the matter considerable thought I decided to slip them in right here, included, as they are, with the body of the text and further disguised by masquerading themselves under a chapter heading, with a view in mind of hoodwinking you into pursuing the course of what briefly I have to say touching on the circumstances attending the production of the main contents. Let me explain: Chapter II, coming immediately after this one, was written first of all; written as an independent contribution to American letters. At the time of writing it I had no thought that out of it, subsequently, would grow material for additional and supplementary offerings upon the same general theme and inter-related themes. It had a basis of verity, as all things in this life properly should have, but I shall not attempt to deny that largely it deals with what more or less is figurative and fanciful. The incident of the finding of the missing will in the ruins of the old mill is a pure figment of the imagination; so, too, the passage relating to the search for the lost heir (Page 55) and the startling outcome of that search. Three years later, actual events in the meantime having sufficiently justified the taking of such steps, I prepared the matter which here is presented in Chapters III, IV and V, inclusive. Intervened then a break of approximately two years more, when the tale was completed substantially in its present form. In all of these latter installments I adhered closely to facts, merely adding here and there sprinklings of fancy, like dashes of paprika on a stew, in order to give, as I fondly hoped, spice to my recital. One of the prime desires now, in consolidating the entire narrative within these covers, is to round out, from inception to finish, the record of our strange adventures in connection with our quest for an abandoned farm and on our becoming abandoned farmers, trusting that others, following our examples, may perhaps profit in some small degree by our mistakes as here set forth and perhaps ultimately when their dreams have come true, too, share in that proud joy of possession which is ours. Another object, largely altruistic in its nature, is to afford opportunity for the reader, by comparison of the chronological sub-divisions into which the story falls, to decide whether with the passage of time, my style of writing shows a tendency toward improvement or an increasing and enhanced faultiness. Those who feel inclined to write me upon the subject are notified that the author is most sensible in this regard, being ever ready to welcome criticism, provided only the criticism be favorable in tone. Finally there is herewith confessed a third motive, namely, an ambition that a considerable number of persons may see their way clear to buy this book.

Aaron Sisson, is a union official in the coal mines of the English Midlands, trapped in a stale marriage. He is also an amateur, but talented, flautist. At the start of the story he walks out on his wife and two children and decides on impulse to visit Italy. His dream is to become recognised as a professional musician. During his travels he encounters and befriends Rawdon Lilly, a Lawrence-like writer who nurses Aaron back to health when he is taken ill in post-war London. Having recovered his health, Aaron arrives in Florence. Here he moves in intellectual and artistic circles, argues about politics, leadership and submission, and has an affair with an aristocratic lady. The novel ends with an anarchist or fascist explosion that destroys Aaron's instrument. Many incidents in the novel have direct parallels with events in Lawrence's own life.

G. K. Chesterton, the "Prince of Paradox," is at his witty best in this collection of twenty essays and articles from the turn of the twentieth century. Focusing on "heretics" - those who pride themselves on their superiority to conservative views - Chesterton appraises prominent figures who fall into that category from the literary and art worlds. Luminaries such as Rudyard Kipling, George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, and James McNeill Whistler come under the author's scrutiny, where they meet with equal measures of his characteristic wisdom and good humor. In addition to incisive assessments of well-known individuals ("Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Making the World Small" and "Mr. H. G. Wells and the Giants"), these essays contain observations on the wider world. "On Sandals and Simplicity," "Science and the Savages," "On Certain Modern Writers and the Institution of the Family," "On Smart Novelists and the Smart Set," and "Slum Novelists and the Slums" reflect the main themes of Chesterton's life's work. Heretics roused the ire of some critics for censuring contemporary philosophies without providing alternatives; the author responded a few years later with a companion volume, Orthodoxy (also available from St. Dismas Catholic Classics). Sardonic, jolly, and generous, both books are vintage Chesterton. --------------------------------------------------- St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

A massive collection of Catholic novenas and not only such standards as novenas to St. Anthony and to the Infant of Prague. It also includes little known novenas such as novenas to Saint George, Our Lady of America, to Maria Bambina, to Our Lady of Pompeii, to Saint Hilda, to Saint Roque, and over 200 others. This massive collection should be on every serious Catholic's bookshelf.

"All Things Considered" features more than thirty columns that G. K. Chesterton wrote for the London Daily News in the years before World War I. Covering a variety of themes, each is written with the same high quality that readers have come to expect of Chesterton. In an essay on canvassing, Chesterton ponders some unusual double standards. In another, he writes about daily annoyances. Another covers literature. But regardless of the topic, each of the essays in "All Things Considered" is the usual Chesterton masterpiece, tempting the reader to track down even more of the 4,000 newspaper columns penned by Chesterton during his career. G. K. Chesterton is well known as a novelist, essayist, storyteller, poet, philosopher, theologian, historian, artist, and critic. He's less well-known as a journalist these days, yet all evidence indicates that he viewed his work for the various newspapers as his primary raison-de-etre. Therefore anyone interested in exploring the works of this colossal genius should include a sampling of his newspaper columns, as featured in "All Things Considered," along with all of his other brilliant books.

Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Latin: A defense of his life) is the classic defense by John Henry Newman of his religious opinions, published in 1864 in response to what he saw as an unwarranted attack on him, the Catholic priesthood, and Roman Catholic doctrine by Charles Kingsley. The work quickly became a bestseller and has remained in print to this day. The work was tremendously influential in turning public opinion for Newman, and in establishing him as one of the foremost exponents of Catholicism in England. After a brief and unsatisfactory correspondence with Kingsley, Newman began work on the Apologia. A revised version, with many passages re-written and some parts omitted, was published in 1865. ------------------------------------------------ St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

Orthodoxy (1908) is a book by G. K. Chesterton that has become a classic of Christian apologetics. Chesterton considered this book a companion to his other work, Heretics. In the book's preface Chesterton states the purpose is to "attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it." In it, Chesterton presents an original view of Christian religion. He sees it as the answer to natural human needs, the "answer to a riddle" in his own words, and not simply as an arbitrary truth received from somewhere outside the boundaries of human experience. The book was written when Chesterton was an Anglican. He converted to Catholicism 14 years later. The title, Orthodoxy, is meant to avoid such sectarian questions. ------------------------------------------------------------ St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

The adventures of two men, one an atheist, the other a Catholic, who want to fight a duel over God and the Virgin Mary. The world thinks them both mad, of course, because they seem to be serious... ------------------------------------- St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

The Faith of Our Fathers: A Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ is a book published in 1876 by archbishop James Gibbons, which became a best-selling conversion manual in the United States and by 1980 was in its 111th printing. In his 1917 preface to the 83rd edition, the Cardinal noted that "since the first edition appeared, in 1876 up to the present time, fourteen hundred thousand copies have been published and the circulation of the book is constantly increasing." The work has been translated into nearly all the languages of Europe. Well-known agnostic, literary critic and fellow Baltimorean H. L. Mencken wrote, in his survey of religion Treatise on the Gods, that "the best exposition of Catholic doctrine is probably The Faith of our Fathers', by the late Cardinal Gibbons." -------------------------------------------------- St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

The teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicholas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite monk, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his conversations kept by Brother Lawrence's interlocutors. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God. ------------------------------------------------------------ St. Dismas Catholic Classic editions are all new translations, filled with numerous vivid illustrations and are offered at very reasonable prices in order to make these books readily available to the faithful.

True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is one of the greatest and most celebrated books ever written about Our Lady. Praised by popes, mystics and theologians, this profound and powerful book presents Mary as the essential and infallible key to the heart of Jesus. Nowhere will you find a deeper and more life-changing book on that quintessentially Catholic doctrine: the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Christian and the life of the Church. Unpublished during the saint s life time, it has enjoyed the endorsement of the many outstanding popes the Church has been blessed with since its discovery in 1842. John Paul II, in particular, was its tireless champion, crediting True Devotion with a turning-point in his spiritual life, adopting his motto, Totus tuus, from St. Louis. The key to De Montfort s Marian spirituality is that he considered Our Lady to be the infallible and chosen gate to the heart of Christ To Jesus through Mary: it is Christ Himself Who is at the center of True Devotion.

The book tells the adventures of five Americans on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. The story begins in the American Civil War, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. As famine and death ravage the city, five northern prisoners of war decide to escape by the unusual means of hijacking a balloon. The escapees are Cyrus Smith, a railroad engineer in the Union army (named Cyrus Harding in some English translations); his black manservant Neb (short for Nebuchadnezzar), a former slave who had been freed by Smith; the sailor Bonadventure Pencroff (who is addressed only by his surname, but his "Christian name," Bonadventure, is given to their boat; in other translations, he is also known as Pencroft); his protege Harbert Brown (called Herbert in some translations), a young boy whom Pencroff raises as his own after the death of his father (Pencroff's former captain); and the journalist Gedeon Spilett (Gideon Spilett in English versions). The company is completed by Cyrus' dog "Top.""