In Regency England a profligate son was regarded as every parent's worst nightmare: he symbolized the dangerous temptations of a new consumer society and the failure of parents to instil moral, sexual, and financial self-control in their sons. This book tells the dramatic and moving story of one of those 'profligate sons': William Jackson, a charming teenage boy, whose embattled relationship with his father and frustrated attempts to keep up with his wealthy friends, resulted in personal and family tragedy. From popular public school boy to the pursuit of prostitutes, from duelling to debtors' prison and finally, from fraudster to convicted felon awaiting transportation to Australia, William's father (a wealthy East India Company merchant) chronicled every step of his son's descent into depravity and crime. This remarkable source provides a unique and compelling insight into the relationship between a father and son at a time when the gap between different generations yawned particularly wide. Diving beneath the polished elegance of Britain in Byron's 'age of surfaces', the tragic tale of William Jackson reveals the murky underworld of debt, disease, crime, pornography, and prostitution that lay so close beneath the veneer of 'polite society'. In a last flowering of exuberant eighteenth-century hedonism before the dawning of Victorian respectability, young William became disastrously familiar with them all. The Profligate Son combines a gripping tale with cutting-edge historical research into early nineteenth-century family conflict, attitudes towards sexuality, credit, and debt, and the brutal criminal justice system in Britain and Australia at the time. It also offers challenging analogies to modern concerns by revealing what Georgians believed to be the best way to raise young men, what they considered to be the relative responsibilities of parents and children, and how they dealt with the problems of debt during the first age of mass consumer credit.

The New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Newsweek called renowned minister Timothy Keller "a C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century" in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation. Within that parable Jesus reveals God's prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

The Prodigal Son leaves home and squanders his inheritance in riotous living. His elder brother stays home and works hard. When the prodigal returns and is restored to his father, the elder brother becomes petty, jealous, bitter, and resentful. Despite their different paths into carnality, their sins cannot remove them from the circumstances of their birth. Once a son, always a son! As a “born again” believer, whether you sin like the prodigal or like the elder brother, you remain a permanent member of the family of God, but you lose your temporal fellowship with God. To remedy this rift, God has provided a simple, grace procedure—rebound—so that your postsalvation sins are forgiven and you can recover fellowship and move on in the Christian life. Jesus taught the parable of the prodigal son to an audience of self-righteous legalists who reviled the profligate prodigal and praised the holier-than-thou elder brother. Yet, they entirely missed the message! Everyone who believes in Christ by faith alone is a permanent son of God. Once a family member, any believer can reclaim his Christian life from carnality and be restored to fellowship with God.

The first full-length study of the ways in which Shakespearean drama influenced and expanded notions of inheritance in early modern England.

Giving historical background, The Prodigal Son will reveal Christ's original message as intended for the Pharisees, the disciples, and the world today. --from publisher description.

"Lee brings the atmosphere of the Georgian era to life with lush descriptions that beg the reader to see, hear, feel and touch it all."—RT Book Reviews She is the ultimate gamble...And he'll risk everything on a toss of the dice Beautiful young widow Susannah, Lady Messingham, refuses to belong to any man again. Until she inadvertently draws handsome Lord Philip Drake into an exhilarating game of terrifying stakes and unimaginable rewards. Philip is a seasoned gambler who knows all the tricks and isn't afraid to use them. He'd do anything for Susannah, including sacrificing his honor and his freedom. Praise for The Highest Stakes: "A sweeping tale of romance, betrayal, intrigue, and the power of true love." - RT Book Reviews "Compelling...Allow yourself to be transported." - The Racing Journal "Brava to Ms. Lee on a brilliant first novel. Well-rounded characters, excellent research, realistic dialogue, and a unique plot." - Romance Reviews Today "Lee writes beautifully and passionately ... the plot moves at a rapid clip with extraordinary twists and turns, leaving the reader wanting to know more." - Rundpinne