In a heat castigated town with women carrying parasols to protect themselves from the sun, Mr. Vartun, an old man, ruminates about his past. What human being should not think about his past without realizing the strange games of life that build up depression - situations from the past intermingle with those who surround him in the present, including his daughter, Paulina who, with her white parasol, intrigues him and finally reveals more about herself that meets the eye.

Paulina 1880, published in 1925, strikingly prefigures the French "new wave" in fiction. In Pierre Jean Jouve's first novel, Paulina - said to be the most beautiful woman in Milan - enters a passionate affair with a married man. Her love for Count Michele Cantarini is all-consuming, yet Paulina is plagued by its impurity in the eyes of her family, of society, of God. The death of her father, and the subsequent death of the Count's wife, send Paulina into an abyss from which neither her love for Michele nor her faith in God can rescue her.

Travel back in time to early 20th century England with Guy and Pauline, a Bildungsroman novel about the lives of two children born out of wedlock to wealthy parents. Follow the journey of Michael Fane and his sister Stella as they navigate the challenges of growing up in a society that frowns upon their birth circumstances. The novel delves into themes of class, family, and personal growth as Michael and Stella struggle to find their place in the world.

An incisive, beautifully written first novel by a former supermodel that explores the glamorous and gritty world she inhabited Only a handful of women in the world have experienced what Paulina Porizkova has--being whisked away to model in Paris while still a teenager, reaching the pinnacle of the profession before her schoolmates had even graduated--and fewer still have the insight to capture it on paper. In her first novel, Paulina tells the story of Jirina. A tall, scrawny fifteen-year-old girl from Sweden, she's much more accustomed to taunts and disdain than admiration and affection, whether from her classmates or her own family. That all changes when her only friend, Hatty, asks to practice her makeup and photography skills on Jirina. Almost before she knows it Jirina is on a plane to Paris, where she will spend the summer in a milieu entirely alien to her. Living at the home of her modeling agency's owner and constantly subjected to blunt physical assessments, catty and often cruel fellow models, and womanizing photographers--and, miraculously enough, while sometimes feeling truly beautiful--Jirina embarks on a journey beyond her wildest imaginings. Between photo shoots in Italy and Morocco and parties with models and musicians, Jirina manages to make a few friends, fall in love, and, eventually, feel the very adult pain of betrayal and heartbreak. Told with the grace, simplicity, and accuracy that can only come from real-life experience, A Model Summer is both the debut of a notably talented novelist and an unusually well-informed look behind the scenes at a world many people fantasize about, but few really know.

In 1901, the beautiful, confident Celeste Wells twirls her parasol as she strolls down Baltimore's fashionable North Avenue, waiting to be noticed by the handsome, wealthy Willie Strauff. She is certain that life will deliver her dreams-love and a house on Mt. Vernon Place. When Willie finally succumbs to Celeste's sashays, he calls on her, smelling of Ivory Soap and Bay Rum. Quickly, the couple falls in love despite objections over their age difference: Willie is twenty-two; Celeste just sixteen. When Celeste fears she is pregnant, they elope, much to the dismay of their families. Unfortunately, destiny soon finds a different path for Celeste. As the vagaries of fate and her decisions result in blow after blow, she finds inner-strength, replaces her dream, and accepts her circumstances as life comes full circle and she realizes that nothing is ever predictable when love leads the way.