After years of incredibly bad dates, Charlie thinks she's met the man of her dreams. But, poor Charlie is in for a shock when she finally meets his overly possessive mother Viola. Determined to scare off her son's new fiancée, Viola hatches a scheme to become the world's worst mother-in-law. With the help of her loyal, wise-cracking assistant, Viola does everything she can to break up the happy couple. Charlie gets wise to Viola's schemes and decides...

After nearly two decades under the wing of an aging, avuncular husband, dutiful mother and housewife Pippa Lee undergoes a midlife breakthrough. Unearthing the sexually curious wild child of her teens, middle-aged Pippa sparks a relationship with a divorcee loner. Pippa Lee is a resilient woman, refusing to let life pass her by.

In New York City in the 1870s, a rigid social code governs how people talk, walk, meet, part, dine, earn their livings, fall in love, and marry. Not a word of the code is written down anywhere, but these people have been studying it since they were born. In this elegant milieu, marriages, like treaties between nations, exist to provide for the orderly transmission of wealth; scions of old and rich families understand that their personal desires have...

Set in the old South, Julie Marsden is a Southern belle with a knack for manipulating the men in her life. Although she is to be wed to Pres Dillard, the engagement is called off due to her insensitivity and unusual behavior. When Dillard returns married, Julie's ruthless jealously explodes.

In 1929, an impoverished nine-year-old named Chiyo is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto's Gion district and subjected to cruel treatment from the owners and the head geisha Hatsumomo. Her stunning beauty attracts the vindictive jealousy in Hatsumomo and she is rescued by Hatsumomo's bitter rival, Mameha. Under Mameha's mentorship, Chiyo becomes the geisha named Sayuri, trained in all the artistic and social skills a geisha must master in order to survive...

"New England schoolteacher Rachel Cameron's life is small and safe. Too small and safe for a warmhearted woman who wants to do something, anything, to keep from slipping into spinsterhood"--Container.

Holly Golightly is a carefree New York playgirl who is scouring Manhattan looking for a suitable millionaire to marry. However, when Paul Varjak, a struggling young writer, moves into her apartment building, she becomes interested in him. Paul gets swept into Holly's dizzying, delightfully unstructured lifestyle.

Homer Wells grows up in an orphanage in remote St. Cloud, Maine. Dr. Larch, who also provides medically safe, if illegal, abortions, runs the orphanage. Homer is Dr. Larch's favorite, and over the years, Dr. Larch trains Homer as his successor. Homer thus becomes a skilled, albeit unlicensed, physician. Homer, however, yearns for a life outside the orphanage. When Wally and pregnant Candy come for an abortion, Homer leaves with them to work on Wally's...

First, Jenny was orphaned by the 1906 earthquake and fire and has gone on to become the madame of a prosperous bawdy house. After putting her son up for adoption, he becomes a district attorney dedicated to closing down such houses. She kills an underling who wants her son dead and is now facing execution. Last, A mistaken arrest, a prison term, and lack of employment leads to a young woman's involvement with gangsters. In a brothel she meets a wealthy...

Teresa is a young woman dominated by her own greed. She would rather lie and cheat her way out of poverty than find an honest job. Her parents have made great sacrifices to give her a good, decent life, but Teresa wants more, a lot more. Mariano, Teresa's boyfriend, is truly in love with her and stands behind all of her decisions. Teresa, however, sees him merely as a convenient accessory, someone always eager and ready to do her bidding.