Ruby Sisson Library

"For the character of Little Nell, the beautiful child thrown into a shadowy, terrifying world, Dickens drew on a tragedy in his own life, the death at the age of seventeen of his sister-in-law Mary Hogarth. Five years later he wrote, 'the desire to be buried next her is as strong upon me now ... and I know (for I don't think there ever was love like that I bear her) that it will never diminish.'" "The sorrows of Nell and her grandfather are offset...

"Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about the physical manifestations of violence, grief, trauma, and abuse on his own body. He writes of his own eating disorder and gambling addiction as well as similar issues that run throughout his family. Through self-exploration, storytelling, and honest conversation with family and friends, Heavy seeks to bring what has been hidden into the light and to reckon with all of its myriad sources, from the most...

Respectable society of nineteenth century Colorado gave women little leeway when it came to supporting themselves. Women who strayed from the accepted norm of the day soon found themselves outcasts, doomed to find their way to the bars and brothels of the West. Many of these fallen women became dance-hall girls, prostitutes, and madams - and a few adopted the lifestyles of gamblers, robbers, and rustlers. Ladies of the Lamplight tells the stories...

"When Jingo decides to court a judge's daughter, he finds almost everyone out to stop him--the judge, the hopeful suitor, and the brother of the man he shot over a card game"--

Old New Orleans and Saratoga in the 80's. The story of a young Texan and the daughter of a Creole aristocrat.

Traveling independently on the expansive road through the west, cowboy and westerner Tomas H. Elkman is a man of the times. To ease the loneliness of the trail while searching for gainful employment, Elkman warily teams up with a fight-prone, good-timing gambler by the name of Jefferson McGredy. This strange pairing of men is hired to deliver an assemblage of horses to a ranch in the untamed northern territory. The rancher sends his young son, Kent...

When shy and secluded author Sara Fielding ventures from her country cottage to research a novel, she inadvertently witnesses a crime in progress-and manages to save the life of the most dangerous man in London. Derek Craven is a powerful and near-legendary gambling club owner who was born a bastard and raised in the streets. His reputation is unsavory, his scruples nonexistent. But Sara senses that beneath Derek's cynical exterior, he is capable...

Mojo's got an uncanny knack for winning at slots, but her home sweet home is Bad-Ass Bert's Biker Saloon. She'd love to go undercover with an irresistably hot cop, but he's got baggage as big as his biceps. Mojo survived a mysterious childhood tragedy, but she's never quite figured out who she really is or how to get on with her life. Now the wisecracking Mojo is seeing ghosts - the ectoplasmic kind - turing up baffling clues to her real identity....

Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Jim Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank, a loan shark with an interest...

After bandits steal his poker winnings, this American legend makes his way to the next town in search of them. Seeking his revenge during a poker game gone bad, Doc West soon finds himself in the local jail. When his past is exposed and a battle among the townsfolk breaks out in gunfire, he will have to choose sides between the outlaws and the law-abiding citizens.