A Cardinal Sin

A Cardinal Sin by Eugene Sue

Eugene Sue's A Cardinal Sin, translation of Les Sept Péchés capitaux--L'avarice, was translated by Alexina Loranger and published in 1892 by W. B. Conkey Company in Chicago. This book is sometimes called Avarice: The Millionaires. My copy is part of The Perfect Library's Works of Eugène Sue, a collection of 31 his works.
The story revolves around Mariette, a young girl facing poverty and hardship as she tries to care for her ailing godmother while dreaming of a life filled with love and happiness. The opening portion introduces Mariette as she visits a public scribe to have a letter written to her beloved Louis. She is unaware that the scribe is Louis' miserly father who tries to derail their relationship because he wants Louis to marry another woman for her father's money.
In 1829 Eugene Sue's father's death left him with a sizable fortune. Sue was strongly affected by the socialist ideas of his day and this novel explores how wealth can be shared and used to alleviate the suffering of the poor and working class, a theme common to many of his works. This book is one title in Sue's series Les Sept pêchés capitaux (The 7 Deadly Sins written between 1847 and 1849.

The Shadow of the Empire

The Shadow of the Empire by Qiu Xiaolong

The Shadow of the Empire is a detective story featuring the legendary Tang Dynasty Chinese detective Judge Dee Renjie. Written in 2021 by Chinese American mystery writer Qiu Xiaolong, The Shadow of the Empire is about a murder case involving a famous poetess and courtesan Xuanji who is accused of killing her maidservant and burying her in the back of the nunnery where she lives. Her simple confession, retrieved by torture, seems to be fabricated and may be a cover up. Judge Dee is asked to look into the real story behind the murder without raising any suspicion. He tells people he is gathering information to publish a book of Xuanji's poetry and that is the reason for his interest.
Di Renjie was a Tang Dynasty politician born in 630 about whom an 18th century Ming Dynasty author wrote a mystery novel that was discovered and translated from the Chinese in the early 20th century by Robert van Gulik, a Dutch orientalist. Van Gulik and others have since written other novels featuring Judge Dee. The Shadow of the Empire is the first of two such novels written by Qiu Xiaolong. There are also Judge Dee TV series, movies and a video game.

Pride & Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice by Nancy Butler & Hugo Petrus

Pride & Prejudice adapted from the novel by Jane Austen is a Marvel Comics graphic novel version written by Nancy Butler and illustrated by Hugo Petrus. This is a very enjoyable version with great period illustrations and a very readable dialog.