Would you buy this book?

Here are a few samples of novel summaries that I've written for works about to be published. Not sure yet if these will appear on the books themselves, but they will be used on sites like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com as the product descriptions for these works. Would you buy any of these?

Selected Poems
By Thomas Hardy

In the sphere of poets like Swift, Meredith and Kipling, Thomas Hardy is today becoming recognized as one of the greatest English poets of the 20th century. As a young man with interests in journalism, art, and architecture, Hardy achieved greatness in the fiction genre early on, writing novels for a living until his mid-fifties. He then abandoned fiction entirely in order to devote himself to his true passion- poetry. This ample selection of poems demonstrates Hardy's experimentation with intricate stanza forms and rhyme schemes, as well as his genius for rhetorical ambiguity. Set in his native, rural Dorset, his Selected Poems include such well-known pieces as "During Wind and Rain," "Afterwards," "The Darkling Thrush," and "The Oxen." Although most of the acclaim for his poetry was received posthumously, Hardy's poetry evokes themes and ideas that transcend time. Readers today still enjoy these poems of love, nature, and life's little ironies.

Chronicles of the Crusades
By Jean de Joinville, Geffroy de Villehardouin

The individual narratives brought together here reveal insight into the two hundred year struggle for possession of Jerusalem, in the words of two soldiers who participated first-hand in the bloody campaigns. Geffroy de Villehardouin (1150-1212?) was an appointed marshal of Champagne, France, whose Conquest of Constantinople recounts the controversial Fourth Crusade of 1204, against Eastern Christians in the Latin empire of Constantinople. Jean de Joinville (1224-1317) inherited the office of seneschal of Champagne at a young age, and wrote Life of Saint Louis after having accompanied King Louis IX on his first crusade and later living as a friend in his court. These accounts, originally composed in Old French, are considered to be some of the most accurate portrayals of the Crusades, and give fascinating insight into the religious and political fervor that sparked centuries of brutal battles and the struggle for holy conquest.

Otto of the Silver Hand
By Howard Pyle

Written in the style of traditional Arthurian legends, Otto of the Silver Hand is a scathing tale of the realities behind the chivalric ideal. During the course of his studies of medieval society, in preparation to write a magnificent series on King Arthur's Court, Howard Pyle shockingly discovered a mentality of cruelty and vengefulness among the legendary knights, which he brings to light in this work. However, these criticisms cannot overshadow the high sense of adventure in the story and illustrations of Otto, the gentle-natured son of a German warlord who, reclaimed from a monastery at age 12, suffers under the hands of a vengeful family rival, Baron Henry. While being held prisoner he falls in love with Baron Henry's daughter, Pauline, until he's rescued by his father and escapes his captor's grasp. The chase ensues in this epic tale of a young man overcoming hatred and strife with goodness and love.


I've written 22 of these summaries, I'll post them periodically among my personal writings!