Shoes reveal the hopes, dreams, and disappointments of the early Americans who wore them. Honorable Mention of the Historic New England Book Prize by Historic New England In Treasures Afoot, Kimberly S. Alexander introduces readers to the history of the Georgian shoe. Presenting a series of stories that reveal how shoes were made, sold, and worn during the long eighteenth century, Alexander traces the fortunes and misfortunes of wearers as their footwear was altered to accommodate poor health, flagging finances, and changing styles. She explores the lives and letters of clever apprentices, skilled cordwainers, wealthy merchants, and elegant brides, taking readers on a colorful journey from bustling London streets into ship cargo holds, New England shops, and, ultimately, to the homes of eager consumers. We trek to the rugged Maine frontier in the 1740s, where an aspiring lady promenades in her London-made silk brocade pumps; sail to London in 1765 to listen in as Benjamin Franklin and John Hose caution Parliament on the catastrophic effects of British taxes on the shoe trade; move to Philadelphia in 1775 as John Hancock presides over the Second Continental Congress while still finding time to order shoes and stockings for his fiancée’s trousseau; and travel to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1789 to peer in on Sally Brewster Gerrish as she accompanies President George Washington to a dance wearing a brocaded silk buckle shoe featuring a cream ground and metallic threads. Interweaving biography and material culture with full-color photographs, this fascinating book raises a number of fresh questions about everyday life in early America: What did eighteenth-century British Americans value? How did they present themselves? And how did these fashionable shoes reveal their hopes and dreams? Examining shoes that have been preserved in local, regional, and national collections, Treasures Afoot demonstrates how footwear captures an important moment in American history while revealing a burgeoning American identity.

An “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug). When P. T. Barnum met twenty-five-inch-tall Charles Stratton at a Bridgeport, Connecticut hotel in 1843, one of the most important partnerships in entertainment history was born. With Barnum’s promotional skills and the miniature Stratton’s comedic talents, they charmed a Who’s Who of the nineteenth century, from Queen Victoria to Charles Dickens to Abraham Lincoln. Adored worldwide as “General Tom Thumb,” Stratton played to sold-out shows for almost forty years. From his days as a precocious child star to his tragic early death, Becoming Tom Thumb tells the full story of this iconic figure for the first time. It details his triumphs on the New York stage, his epic celebrity wedding, and his around-the-world tour, drawing on newly available primary sources and interviews. From the mansions of Paris to the deserts of Australia, Stratton’s unique brand of Yankee comedy not only earned him the accolades of millions of fans, it helped move little people out of the side show and into the limelight.

How American bicyclists shaped the landscape and left traces of their journeys for us in writing, illustrations, and photographs. In the later part of the nineteenth century, American bicyclists were explorers, cycling through both charted and uncharted territory. These wheelmen and wheelwomen became keen observers of suburban and rural landscapes, and left copious records of their journeys—in travel narratives, journalism, maps, photographs, illustrations. They were also instrumental in the construction of roads and paths (“wheelways”)—building them, funding them, and lobbying legislators for them. Their explorations shaped the landscape and the way we look at it, yet with few exceptions their writings have been largely overlooked by landscape scholars, and many of the paths cyclists cleared have disappeared. In Old Wheelways, Robert McCullough restores the pioneering cyclists of the nineteenth century to the history of American landscapes. McCullough recounts marathon cycling trips around the Northeast undertaken by hardy cyclists, who then describe their journeys in such magazines as The Wheelman Illustrated and Bicycling World; the work of illustrators (including Childe Hassam, before his fame as a painter); efforts by cyclists to build better rural roads and bicycle paths; and conflicts with park planners, including the famous Olmsted Firm, who often opposed separate paths for bicycles. Today's ubiquitous bicycle lanes owe their origins to nineteenth century versions, including New York City's “asphalt ribbons.” Long before there were “rails to trails,” there was a movement to adapt existing passageways—including aqueduct corridors, trolley rights-of-way, and canal towpaths—for bicycling. The campaigns for wheelways, McCullough points out, offer a prologue to nearly every obstacle faced by those advocating bicycle paths and lanes today. McCullough's text is enriched by more than one hundred historic images of cyclists (often attired in skirts and bonnets, suits and ties), country lanes, and city streets.

The Story by Nathaniel FarcasA young man comes home, but home is not what he thought it was... and I guess it is a supernatural tale.A Royal Pain in the Ear by Lauren LangRoyal earaches are no laughing matter for a court jester.Uprooted by Jon Fain A Hollywood location manager goes to a place he thought he' d never see again — his hometown — to deal with unpleasant memories and the complex needs of his estranged family.Open House by Elizabeth S. DevecchiA young realtor is assigned her first open house, a step toward independence and escape from an abusive husband. The mysterious inhabitants of the little fixer-upper have different plans for her.The Kipling Lamp by Eric D. LehmanA young man buys a magical lamp that belonged to Rudyard Kipling in order to become a famous writer, but it does not go as smoothly as he hopes.Copper by Brittany BellA lonely girl befriends her elderly neighbor one summer after her parents cut ties with her best friend' s family for undisclosed reasons.All For You, Sara Sue by Ken GoldmanMeet Darcy and Elliot, a childless couple who desperately want a baby of their own but find they are unable to conceive. Together they discover a most unusual way to make that birth happen — and Sara Sue is born! But at what cost..?Basement Bob by Brittany BellAn eleven-year-old girl undergoes a formative experience while trying to impress an older boy by spying on the town' s enigmatic recluse, akin to Boo Radley.The Weeping Scimitar by Vincent Czyz“ The Weeping Scimitar,” set in the hinterlands of an unnamed Eastern European country in the 19th century, is the tale of a judgment, a blood debt, and a small band of brigands bent on escaping a gulag. The Geisha in the Attic by Dalton MireA ” Southern Belle” is exiled by missionaries to a House of Geisha in 1860s Japan, and her letters inspire a woman in the 21st Century.Statute of Limitations by Gary ZenkerThe long arm of the law has an even longer reach than one might guess.People on the Roads and in the Gardens by Mykyta RyzhykhA story about war, people, roads, cities.The Fisherman by Kim RansleyWhat if the sea is your only friend?Ricochet by Mark WilliamsTeenage banjo prodigy, Harlan Dillbeck, goes to Bardstown, Kentucky, where, after giving up his dreams of banjo stardom, he becomes a master bourbon taster. Years later, with help from his former banjo-playing nemesis, Sam Boone, Harlan hopes to rescue his son from a nine-fingered hitman, Duke Earl.The Memory Bench by Beck ErixsonCraving a memory' s soul makes hot chocolate bittersweet. Begin Again by Ibtisam ShahbazThis story captures the tale of two lovers as melodies echoing in different corners of the world, whose soundwaves have collided at last.Respite by Jennifer CinguinaThe Audition by Brittany BellA talented musician confronts guilt over his younger sister' s death while auditioning for Julliard.Never Enough by Caroline Shannon DavenportAbundant Accumulations and Acquirements. A game? A need?Schmeared Reputation by Gary ZenkerLife dishes out a serving of the darker side of people, with a side of irony.The Results by Joseph A. SchillerOur future no longer holds any secrets from us. We may wish it did.As My Father Was Dying by Caroline Shannon DavenportBeing pulled away but painfully, slowly, slowly, being pulled toward... Last Kiss by Gary ZenkerIf you know the secret being hidden, is it still a secret?Art Project by John TavaresMonster by Jerry PurdonA man is disappointed in his quest to assert his authority and making others disappointed. As his plans unravel, with his main target' s death, he sets is

It is December 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast-members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. Then it's up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Play!

This lively biography of America’s most famous traitor offers a new perspective on his terrible legacy as well as life in Revolutionary Era Connecticut. On September 6, 1781, Connecticut native Benedict Arnold and a force of 1,700 British soldiers and loyalists took Fort Griswold and burnt New London to the ground. The brutality of the invasion galvanized the new nation, and “Remember New London!” would become a rallying cry for troops under General Lafayette. In Homegrown Terror, Eric D. Lehman chronicles the events leading up to the attack and highlights this key transformation in Arnold—the point where he went from betraying his comrades to massacring his neighbors and destroying their homes. This defining incident forever marked him as a symbol of evil, turning an antiheroic story about weakness of character and missed opportunity into one about the nature of treachery itself. Homegrown Terror draws upon a variety of primary sources and perspectives, from the traitor himself to his former comrades like Jonathan Trumbull and Silas Deane, to the murdered Colonel Ledyard. Rethinking Benedict Arnold through the lens of this terrible episode, Lehman sheds light on the ethics of the dawning nation, and the way colonial America responded to betrayal and terror.