Outside Covent Garden on a rainy evening in 1912, cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, meets linguistic expert Henry Higgins. Higgins, in turn, bets with his companion, Colonel Pickering, that, within six months, he could transform Eliza into a proper lady, simply by teaching her proper English. The next morning, face and hands freshly scrubbed, Eliza presents herself on Higgins' doorstep, ready and willing to be turned into a lady.

The wretched and landless poor have existed from the time of the earliest British colonial settlement. They were alternately known as "waste people," "offals," "rubbish," "lazy lubbers," and "crackers." By the 1850s, the downtrodden included so-called "clay eaters" and "sandhillers," known for prematurely-aged children distinguished by their yellowish skin, ragged clothing, and listless minds. Surveying political rhetoric and policy, popular literature...

Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun meet one evening at a carnival. But they are separated by Allie's parents who disapprove of Noah's poor family, and move Allie away. When Allie doesn't hear from Noah after several years, she meets and becomes engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon. Allie, with her love still alive for Noah, stops by Noah's home to check on him. Seeing that their reunion has rekindled a passionate romance, Allie must now choose...

"Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Shy in Avon-upon-Kynt. And for eighteen years, Emmaline Watkins has feared that her future held just that: nothing. But when the head of the most admired fashion house in the country opens her prestigious design competition to girls from outside the stylish capital city, Emmy's dreams seem closer than they ever have before. As the first "country girl" to compete, Emmy knows she'll encounter extra hurdles...

"Robinswood Estate, County Waterford, Ireland. 1946. Years of neglect and abandonment have left the family seat of the Keneficks almost derelict, but the new Lord Kenefick and his charming young wife Kate, are determined to breathe life into the old house once more. The war is over and they have survived, so now they must set about making a bright future for themselves and their family. But the shadows of the past are ever lurking, and there are...

Jun, a scholarship student at Ellsmere Boarding School, tries to fit in and befriends the quirky Cassie, who regales Jun of tales of a beautiful creature who lives in the forest near the school.