The Tower of Taddeo (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

By Ouida

This 1892 melodrama features an elderly bookseller ruined by the ambitions of his thoughtless son.  The old man is a victim of the greed of others, despite the sacrifices of his saintly daughter, who falls in love with a struggling young artist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Apr 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781411450967

Ouida

Ouida (1839-1908) was the pseudonym for the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé, known for writing novels that romanticized a fashionable lifestyle. She got this name from the pronunciation of her childhood nickname “Louisa.” In her early twenties she moved to London and began voraciously writing, publishing numerous novels, which gained her wealth and fame. She threw elaborate parties at the Langham Hotel, inviting literary figures that inspired the characters in her books. At the height of her fame, Ouida moved to Italy and lived an extravagant lifestyle. In her later life, this extravagance, along with the lack of sales in her books, left her penniless. She died in poverty in Italy at the age of 69.