It’s the most frightening time of the year! Halloween is almost here and it’s the perfect time to load up on scary movies and books. AAPLD’s collection includes horror classics and soon-to-be classics. Our horror films are tagged with a special sticker and located on a special seasonal display for easy access. Whatever you’re in the mood for…terrifying tales of […]
Always dreamed of writing a book, but never found the time? This November could be your opportunity, and AAPLD is ready to help! November is National Novel Writing Month, an annual event that challenges writers of all experience levels, ages and genres to craft a 50,000 word novel or non-fiction work in 30 days. Since NaNoWriMo’s beginning in 1999, hundreds […]
In late-nineteenth-century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer and led to an infamous love affair.
The night of the Great Fire, as seventeen-year-old Delia watches the flames rise and consume what was the pioneer town of Chicago, she can’t imagine how much her life, her city, and her whole world are about to change. Nor can she have guess that the agent of that change will not simply be the fire, but more so the man she meets that night….
Leading the way in rebuilding after the fire, Marshall Field reopens his well-known dry goods store and transforms it into something the world has never seen before: a glamorous palace of a department store. He and his powerhouse coterie—including Potter Palmer and George Pullman—usher in the age of robber barons, the American royalty of their generation.
But behind the opulence, their private lives are riddled with scandal and heartbreak. Delia and Marshall first turn to each other out of loneliness, but as their love deepens, they will stand together despite disgrace and ostracism, through an age of devastation and opportunity, when an adolescent Chicago is transformed into the gleaming White City of the Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893. […]
We’re making some changes to the Adult Services DVD Collection to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. If you enjoy documentaries, be sure to browse our new Documentary section, located between feature films and our TV series sections. The collection includes films by top documentary filmmakers including Ken Burns, Michael Moore; programs from the History Channel, PBS […]
A dying criminal confesses that his loot has been stored “in the tower.” Both towers of the looted mansion are searched in vain. It remains for the Hardy boys to make an astonishing discovery that clears up the mystery and clears the name of a friend’s father. […]
Did you know that AAPLD’s Main Library on Harnish Drive is a McHenry County early voting site? Beginning Oct. 19, our downstairs program room will be an early voting polling place for voters registered in McHenry County, regardless of their home precinct. Early voting polling place hours are: Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 23: 8:30 am – 5 […]
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From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.
“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”
—Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding
London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?
With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love. […]
If your reading habits lean toward fiction with compelling protagonists, get ready to discover a new genre. Biographies! Biographies can satisfy your craving for larger-than-life characters who celebrate amazing triumphs, or suffer spectacular downfalls. They can deliver page-turning reads that are both entertaining and educational. At AAPLD, Biographies have a special section all their own. You’ll find it on the […]
September 15 marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, highlighting the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latino people. The mid-month date is significant because it’s the independence day of five Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Several other nations, including Mexico, mark their independence this month. The celebration runs through October 12, […]
