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In 1908, in a seaside resort in the south of England, Ruth, a former housemaid, marries Ernie Caspar, a working man. He brings up little Alice, born before their marriage, as his own daughter. Children come along, Ernie loses his job and owes the rent to his brother Alf, who still wants Ruth. As strikes spread and war draws near, a trade unionist from the North falls in love with Ruth in his turn. It is a sensitive portrait of a working-class woman, strong and loyal, in England before 1914. Its absorbing story, close to everyday life, is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In Kentucky, young Patricia Adair has to save Rosemeade, the family home where her grandfather lives. She writes a play based on her great-grandmother's love letters. In New York, the producer Godfrey Vandeford buys it without reading it. He is even counting on the play failing, to teach the star of his shows a lesson. But Patricia arrives on Broadway full of confidence, and nothing goes as planned. A love story full of humour and high spirits, between the meadows of Kentucky and the wings of the theatre. Its lively, light tone makes it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

Around 1890, on the banks of the Kootenai River, near the border between Canada and the United States, a sixteen-year-old girl who lives among the Native Americans dives into the icy water to save a child. Dan Overton, a guide respected throughout the region, takes her to live in the village of Sinna Ferry, in Idaho. There she calls herself Montana, refuses to say where she comes from and keeps the secret map of a place rich in gold. The portrait of a free and defiant heroine, in a land of forests and gold prospectors. This novel of the American West is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In a mountain valley in Virginia in the nineteenth century, Sybil Berners, a rich heiress with a passionate nature, has just married a penniless young lawyer whom she adores. Back from their honeymoon, the couple take Rosa Blondelle, a ruined young mother abandoned by her husband, into their home at Black Hall. Little by little, the guest's charm awakens Sybil's jealousy. One evening, Rosa is found dying, and she accuses Sybil in front of everyone. A novel of passion and suspicion that keeps you in suspense right to the end. Full of dramatic twists, it can be read in one sitting in the language you are learning.

Stella, nineteen and born in Italy, runs away from a boarding school in Florence and takes refuge in England with her uncle, James Etheridge, a dreamy old painter who lives on the banks of the Thames. There she meets Lord Leycester, the fiery heir to the neighbouring estate of Wyndward. Between them stand the pride of a noble family, which has another woman in mind for him, and Jasper Adelstone, a lawyer who will stop at nothing to marry Stella. A love story full of twists, carried by a frank and spontaneous heroine. Simply written, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

A young woman from New York society, suddenly ruined, marries, almost without thinking, Duncan McKail, a former engineer of Scottish descent who has become a wheat farmer in western Canada. She discovers her new life: a plank shack in the middle of the prairie, a Swedish farmhand, the hens, the cooking and the loneliness. She tells it all, day after day, in a diary addressed to her friend Matilda Anne, with a humour and frankness that make her very endearing. Written as a diary, in a lively, natural tone, the novel is easy to read in the language you are learning.

After two years in the Burmese jungle, Edward Courtlandt, a rich American, returns to Paris to see Nora Harrigan again. She has become a famous opera singer, performing at the Opera under an Italian name. When he forces his way in, she shoots at him and misses, then disappears, and the newspapers talk of a kidnapping. What happened between them two years earlier? The novel reveals it little by little, between comedy and suspense, from Paris to Lake Como. Light and full of twists, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In London, Lionel Mortimer, a young barrister with no clients and a writer with no publisher, can no longer pay his rent. One day he stops a runaway horse and saves a young woman, Beatrice Blair. She tells him about a secret treaty coveted by several governments, and asks him to help her burgle a house to get it back. Lionel gladly agrees. Others join in, including Tony Wild, a rich idler in search of thrills. A light English comedy full of humour, in which a penniless hero becomes a burglar out of gallantry. Written with gusto, this novel will make you smile as you read it in the language you are learning.

In the eighteenth century, in an English spa town, people spend their days between the baths, the balls and the card tables. Young Phyllida is courted by Francis Vernon, a gambler buried in debt who talks of running away with her, while a young poet is also trying to win her. But Phyllida's mother does not want to see her married. A witty comedy of manners, Compton Mackenzie's first novel, full of the charm of powdered wigs and the balls of long ago. Its light tone and humour make it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

In Kentucky in 1925, sixteen-year-old Ellen Gaddy works on the family farm. Her father, a stern man, pins all his hopes on her younger sister, who studies the piano. Ellen falls for a young farmhand, who takes advantage of her and then disappears. Pregnant, she hides her secret and leaves the farm. We follow her for a dozen years, through the Great Depression, to the rhythm of the seasons, the animals and folk songs: a sensitive and unvarnished portrait of country life. Written in a simple, direct style, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In a valley in the Tyrol, two young Englishmen on their travels, Will Deverill, a poet and musician, and his friend Florian Wood, discover Linnet, a young dairymaid who sings with an exceptional voice. The village innkeeper, her singing teacher, wants to make her an opera singer and marry her. But a jealous young hunter is courting her too. From mountain pastures to the opera stage, a story of love and ambition in which a rare voice draws every eye. Told with humour, this story is easy to read in the language you are learning.

Once a red-haired office boy, Torchy has become private secretary to the president of a big New York company. Married to Vee and a young father, he lives in the suburbs at the end of the First World War. At the office as at home, he meddles in the affairs of his colleagues, his neighbours and his friends, especially when love is involved. Seventeen linked comic stories, told by Torchy himself, with his New York straight talk and plenty of humour. Short and lively, they are easy to read in the language you are learning.

London, 1869: Robert Orange, a young Catholic MP of French descent and a protégé of Disraeli, marries Brigit, a young widow whom he loves with an almost religious love. On the very day of the wedding, they learn that Brigit's first husband, believed drowned, is alive: so their marriage is not valid. Torn between politics, his faith and the eyes of the world, Orange must decide how to act, while the ambitious Lady Sara de Treverell takes an interest in him. This novel is about love, honour and conscience. With the translation always in front of you, you can read it in the language you are learning.

Eighteen-year-old Barrie MacDonald grows up near Carlisle with a stern grandmother who hates the theatre and has let her believe that her mother is dead. The day Barrie learns that her mother, an actress, is very much alive, she runs away to find her. On the way she meets a rich Scotsman back from America, who takes her on a motoring tour of Scotland. A fresh romantic comedy, with the roads and landscapes of Scotland as its backdrop. Told partly by Barrie herself, the story is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In New York around 1913, Harvey Forbes, a young lieutenant with no fortune, comes back from the Philippines. At the theatre he meets Persis Cabot, a rich and very beautiful young woman whom everyone around her already sees married to Willie Enslee, the richest man in her circle. Persis does not love Willie, and she is drawn to this officer who lives only on his pay. Amid luxury motor cars, evenings at the theatre and fashionable dances, everyone watches and judges everyone else. In this world, one question decides everything: what will people say? This love story that defies convention is a pleasure to read in the language you are learning.