Seibert of the Island by Gordon Young

Seibert of the Island - South Seas Adventure Novel.

Seibert of the Island - A tale of adventure on a tropical South Sea island. Written by Gordon Young, a journalist in Chicago and San Francisco. Literary editor of the Los Angeles times, and author of over forty novels. A story with a pirate, two half native girls, a gentleman vagabond and a German planter. The German marries one of the girls, loved by neither, both girls loved the vagabond.

South Seas novel, set on the island of Pulotu, and featuring Adolph Seibert, a German plantation owner.

Young dedicated the book to the memory of the painter Middleton Manigault, who born in London, and started his career there.

Gordon Young (1886–1948), an American writer of adventure and western stories. He born in Ray County, Missouri. Gordon worked as a cowboy and served in the United States Marine Corps in the Philippines. He moved to Los Angeles and taking a job at the Los Angeles Times in 1914. Eventually Young became Literary Editor of the newspaper.

Gordon Young began writing fiction for the magazine Adventure in 1917. His first stories for Adventure were a series of crime thrillers about a gun-wielding gambler, Don Everhard. Soon he became one of the most popular of Arthur Sullivant Hoffman's roster of authors for Adventure. He followed the Everhard stories with a series of South Seas tales about Hurricane Williams, an adventurer.

Several of Gordon Young's stories were adapted for the cinema, including the 1936 film Captain Calamity.

He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, February 10, 1948.

Foursquare by Grace S. Richmond (Illustrated)

Foursquare - An absolutely beautiful story worthy of discovery by a new generation of readers.

Foursquare - A Charming loves story, but a powerful study too, of a beautiful talented girl at the turning point of her career.

This such a delightful lovely story. Written in 1922 by Grace S. Richmond a very prolific writer of her time. This the story of Mary Fletcher, an aspiring young author. She comes to live with her aunt in a small college town where she would come in the summer when she a small child. Professor Mark Fenn and his sister Harriet Fenn live next in the same house. They were raised in and played with Mary when they were all children.

With Juliet In England by Grace S. Richmond

With Juliet In England - Charming Early Romance Novel.

With Juliet In England tells of Juliet Marcy Robeson visits England and Chaperon to Diantha Brown a vivacious young lady from the States!

A charming story in which Juliet Marcy Robeson, one of Mrs. Richmond’s most lovable diameters, reappears. Juliet, visiting England for a while, chaperon to Diantha Browne, a vivacious young lady from the Western States. The love adventures in England of Diantha and her friend Agnes Gilbert art? amusingly interwoven with the account of their visits to Torquay.

A wonderful Snapshot of life in the 1930's from a time when Romance Novels for Women were new and daring!

Grace S. Richmond a well known romance novelist in the 1930's, her books included, 'The Indifference of Juliet', 'Midsummers Day', 'Cherry Square', 'Bachelors Bounty' and many more.

Grace Louise Smith Richmond (1866–1959), American romance novelist created the Dr. R.P. Burns series.

Her first short stories were published in various women's magazines including the Women's Home Companion, Ladies' Home Journal, and Everybody's Magazine as early as 1898. Richmond wrote 27 novels between 1905 and 1936. Red Pepper Burns was published in 1910. Like most of her strong-willed yet compassionate characters, R.P. Burns is a kind, old-souled country doctor who makes house calls. His fiery red hair and temper to match earned him his nickname Red Pepper, though he is still a charming and endearing gentleman. Mrs. Red Pepper (1913), Red Pepper's Patients (1917), and Red of the Redfields (1924) followed.

The Duchess of Powysland by Grant Allen

The Duchess of Powysland - Adventure novel listed in Hubin as a marginal mystery.

The Duchess of Powysland Excerpt:
Basil Maclaine said nothing to Douglas Harrison next day about his interview with Cecil. Why should he, indeed? Douglas was already 'more down than enough on him.' Like a prudent young man, he preferred his fellow-lodger should learn of it, if he learnt of it at all, from the lips of the Figginses. He didn't want to have Harrison pitching into him, he thought to himself, about that girl Linda. His moral censor would cut up nasty enough about it when he came to hear of it, anyhow, without any necessity for Basil to anticipate matters and take the bull by the horns prematurely of his own accord. Never volunteer for the lion's den. It was no fault of Basil's, after all, if these Figgins people had taken it into their joint heads that he meant to fling away his chances in the world by marrying so absurdly beneath him. And in any case, right or wrong, what was Douglas to him or he to Douglas? He wasn't bound to answer for his conduct in life to the man he lodged with.

Clancy, Detective by H. Bedford-Jones

Clancy, Detective - one of the most interesting detectives since Sherlock Holmes.

Clancy, Detective originally published in "Blue Book" magazine. The title character one of the most interesting detectives since Sherlock Holmes. The story sure to please everyone who likes Sherlockian detectives with extraordinary deductive abilities.

The first of a captivating series detailing the exploits of Peter J. Clancy, the dentist-detective of Paris - the most interesting detective since Sherlock Holmes!

Henry James O'Brien Bedford-Jones was a Canadian historical, adventure fantasy, science fiction, crime and Western writer who became a naturalized United States citizen in 1908.

Excerpt:
Half a second more, and the truck would have backed the little old man out of existence. It was one of those traffic jams for which Paris is famous, at the corner of the narrow Rue Caumartin. Caught between two lines of taxicabs, oblivious of the truck coming at him from behind, with everybody vociferously shouting at everybody else, the old chap stood bewildered and hesitant, or so I thought.

Consequently, I made a grab for him, rushed him under the nose of a taxi, and literally carried him to the sidewalk. There, to my surprise, he turned on me savagely with a flood of French.

The Five Hundred Dollar Check by Horatio Alger

The Five Hundred Dollar Check - Jacob Marlowe's Secret

The Five Hundred Dollar Check written in the typical Alger style. Herbert - a poor boy who sets out. He the help of his great uncle, to clear his father's name of a crime he did not commit.

Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote more than a hundred books on the same theme: that honesty, cheerfulness, virtue, thrift. The hard work would rewarded with success. His plots and dialogue sometimes lacked creativity. He can be credited with helping to create an uniquely American philosophy of Strive and Succeed. Titles such as Sink or Swim, Shifting for Himself, and The Five Hundred Dollar Check convinced generations that they could triumph over their circumstances and become an Alger Hero.

Imagine an old uncle of yours named Jacob Marlowe shows up on your doorstep in old tatty clothes wanting to stay with you for a few days. How would you receive him? You will required to read this great story. You find out how Jacob Marlowes' releatives reacted to just this situation.

The Five Hundred Dollar Check by Horatio Alger

The Five Hundred Dollar Check - Jacob Marlowe's Secret

The Five Hundred Dollar Check written in the typical Alger style. Herbert - a poor boy who sets out. He the help of his great uncle, to clear his father's name of a crime he did not commit.

Horatio Alger, Jr. wrote more than a hundred books on the same theme: that honesty, cheerfulness, virtue, thrift. The hard work would rewarded with success. His plots and dialogue sometimes lacked creativity. He can be credited with helping to create an uniquely American philosophy of Strive and Succeed. Titles such as Sink or Swim, Shifting for Himself, and The Five Hundred Dollar Check convinced generations that they could triumph over their circumstances and become an Alger Hero.

Imagine an old uncle of yours named Jacob Marlowe shows up on your doorstep in old tatty clothes wanting to stay with you for a few days. How would you receive him? You will required to read this great story. You find out how Jacob Marlowes' releatives reacted to just this situation.

The Clock Strikes Twelve (Miss Silver #7) by Patricia Wentworth

The Clock Strikes Twelve - Miss Silver #7.

The Clock Strikes Twelve first published in 1944.

Now, Miss Silver must unravel the mystery of troubled love and sudden death.

The Paradine family has gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve. Alas, when the clock strikes twelve old Mr. James Paradine, the patriarch, is found murdered. Yet, he seemed to invite his demise when he accused a family member of disloyalty. Now, Miss Silver must unravel the mystery of troubled love and sudden death.

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Miss Silver well known in the better circles of society, and she finds entree to the troubled households of the upper classes with little difficulty. In most of Miss Silver's cases there is a young couple whose romance seems ill fated because of the murder to be solved, but in Miss Silver's competent hands the case is solved, the young couple are exonerated, and all is right in this very traditional world.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

She Came Back (Miss Silver, #9) by Patricia Wentworth

She Came Back - Miss Silver #9.

She Came Back first published in 1945.

Assumed dead, Lady Anne Jocelyn meets varying degrees of welcome when she returns from Occupied France to her old life in England. Though her husband Sir Philip is not overjoyed to see her, he agrees to a trial reunion. But a murder raises his doubts, and then a second and third send Miss Silver to a curious consideration of life after death.

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Miss Silver well known in the better circles of society, and she finds entree to the troubled households of the upper classes with little difficulty. In most of Miss Silver's cases there is a young couple whose romance seems ill fated because of the murder to be solved, but in Miss Silver's competent hands the case is solved, the young couple are exonerated, and all is right in this very traditional world.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

Eternity Ring (Miss Silver #14) by Patricia Wentworth

Eternity Ring - Miss Silver #14.

Eternity Ring first published in 1948.

Murder on haunted ground...

Mary Stokes was walking through Dead Man's Copse one evening when she saw, in the beam of a torch, the corpse of a young woman dressed in a black coat, black gloves, no hat and an eternity ring set with diamonds in her ear. But when she and Detective Sergeant Frank Abbott went back to the wood the body had vanished.

This would have been mystery enough for Miss Silver to solve if a woman had not also reported that her lodger had gone out on Friday dressed in a black coat, black beret, black shoes and large hoop earrings 'set all round with little diamonds like those eternity rings.' She never came back...

The Ivory Dagger (Miss Silver #18) by Patricia Wentworth

The Ivory Dagger - Miss Silver #18.

The Ivory Dagger first published in 1951.

When Lila Dryden discovered standing over the dead body of her irritating fiance with a dagger in her hand, Miss Silver called in to investigate. What her patience and particular genius uncover Lila's talent for sleepwalking, the return of her former lover, and the victim's entire staff and circle of acquaintances - all of whom occasionally wished him dead.

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Miss Silver well known in the better circles of society, and she finds entree to the troubled households of the upper classes with little difficulty. In most of Miss Silver's cases there is a young couple whose romance seems ill fated because of the murder to be solved, but in Miss Silver's competent hands the case is solved, the young couple are exonerated, and all is right in this very traditional world.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

The Silent Pool (Miss Silver #24) by Patricia Wentworth

The Silent Pool - Miss Silver #24.

The Silent Pool first published in 1954.

An actress who fears her life is threatened comes to Miss Silver for help Mrs. Smith is not the first woman who has come to Maud Silver, the genteel private detective, claiming that someone is trying to kill her. She tells a story of attempted poisoning, a shove down a flight of stairs, and a house full of relatives who might want to push her out of the way. Miss Silver is intrigued, not least because this is not Mrs. Smith. Despite her attempt at a disguise, the detective recognizes the woman as Adriana Ford, the grand dame of the London stage. Mrs. Smith was a ruse; the attempts on her life are quite real. There is soon a body at Adriana's country estate, but it is not the actress who has been killed. Fully interested, Miss Silver travels to the house, where she learns that the actress is not the only one who tells lies.

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

Vanishing Point (Miss Silver #25) by Patricia Wentworth

Vanishing Point - Miss Silver #25.

Vanishing Point first published in 1953.

When a girl goes out for a walk in Hazel Green and disappears, there are suspicions that her disappearance linked to security leaks at the nearby Air Ministry experimental station. Luckily, Miss Silver is at hand to find out.

Nothing much ever seemed to happen in the sleepy village of Hazel Green apart from the occasional tea-party, spiced with local gossip. Until Maggie Bell went out one evening for a breath of fresh air and never came back. Could Maggie's disappearance be linked to security leaks at the nearby Air Ministry? Or a sinister scheme being hatched closer to home? Miss Silver called in to solve the mystery just as a second person goes missing ...

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

The Benevent Treasure (Miss Silver #26) by Patricia Wentworth

The Benevent Treasure - Miss Silver #26.

The Benevent Treasure first published in 1953.

An intriguing mystery involving an ancient British country home, a long-missing aide to two little old ladies, and their legendary treasure. Spoiler alert: the treasure is found, but not before tragedy strikes again.

Invited to live with her two great-aunts, the Misses Cara and Olivia Benevent, Candida Sayle has no home of her own and accepts. But the offer takes on an eerie quality when the aunts recall the family legacy--the Benevent Treasure that brings death to all who touch it. When Candida becomes reacquainted with local architect Stephen Eversley, he worries for her safety and calls in Miss Silver. But she is already on the case, investigating the mysterious disappearance years earlier of a man sho worked for the sisters, and knew a bit too much, perhaps, about the Benevent Treasure.

Patricia Wentworth - born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

The Listening Eye (Miss Silver #28) by Patricia Wentworth

The Listening Eye - Miss Silver #28.

The Listening Eye first published in 1955.

A deaf woman learns something she shouldn’t, and she asks Miss Silver for protection.

Paulina Paine was buried under her house during the Blitz. She spent twenty-four hours trapped underneath the rubble, where the silence was absolute as the grave, and only after she escaped did she realize that the bomb that spared her life had taken her hearing. With difficulty, she learned to read lips—an invaluable skill that may soon get her killed. She is at an art gallery when, quite by chance, she spies an interesting conversation across the room. Without meaning to, she eavesdrops, and learns of a shocking plan to commit a most fearsome robbery. She doesn’t know what to do until she learns that, after she left, the two men asked after her, and learned about her special talent. Now only the demure detective Maud Silver can halt the robbery and save Paulina’s life.

Patricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles - a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

Poison in the Pen (Miss Silver #29) by Patricia Wentworth

Poison in the Pen - Miss Silver #29.

Poison in the Pen first published in 1955.

When the quiet village of Tilling Green plagued by an outbreak of poison pen letters, and then a mysterious suicide, Scotland Yard dispatches Miss Silver to investigate.

It is through her friend Frank Abbott, of Scotland Yard, that Miss Silver first learns of the anonymous letters. A widowed cousin of his, living in a small country village, being tortured by an unknown author who insinuates that the young woman’s husband may not have died of natural causes. It is a case of the kind of cruelty that is all too common in the countryside, and the governess-turned-detective listens with only polite interest. Then the first death comes. Another target of the letter-writing campaign, tortured by the threats to reveal her darkest secrets, drowns herself in the manor-house pond. The Yard sends Abbott to unmask the sinister letter-writer. He brings Miss Silver along as an undercover agent. He masquerading as a tourist as she attempts to stop the next death before it happens.

Patricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles--was a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

The Girl in the Cellar (Miss Silver #32) by Patricia Wentworth

The Girl in the Cellar - Miss Silver #32.

The Girl in the Cellar first published in 1961.

Miss Silver helps a woman with no memory reconstruct a terrible crime.

She awakes in a dark place. A young woman with a shattered memory, she knows neither who she is nor how she came to be in this abandoned house. All she possesses is a faint sense that someone is lying dead at the foot of the stairs. Horrifyingly, she is correct. In the cellar lies a young woman, her body broken, her head split, her life undone by a revolver's shell. The amnesiac flees and finally has a stroke of luck: She meets Maud Silver. A dowdy governess turned daring detective, Miss Silver sees immediately that something is wrong. She comforts the confused young woman, and coaxes out of her what little story she can tell. The memory of the body sets Miss Silver on a fantastic adventure--the last written by Patricia Wentworth, and one of the most thrilling of them all.

Patricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles--was a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Miss Silver series (15 books) by Patricia Wentworth

Contents:
Miss Silver 06 - Miss Silver Deals With Death Aka Miss Silver Intervenes
Miss Silver 07 - The Clock Strikes Twelve
Miss Silver 09 - She Came Back Aka The Traveller Returns
Miss Silver 10 - Dark Threat aka Pilgrim's Rest
Miss Silver 12 - Spotlight Aka Wicked Uncle
Miss Silver 14 - Eternity Ring
Miss Silver 18 - The Ivory Dagger
Miss Silver 20 - Anna, Where Are You Aka Death at Miss Silver
Miss Silver 24 - The Silent Pool
Miss Silver 25 - The Vanishing Point
Miss Silver 26 - The Benevent Treasure
Miss Silver 27 - The Gazebo Aka The Summerhouse
Miss Silver 28 - The Listening Eye
Miss Silver 29 - Poison in the Pen
Miss Silver 32 - The Girl in the Cellar

A Marriage Under the Terror by Patricia Wentworth

A Marriage Under the Terror - A novel of the French Revolution.

A Marriage Under the Terror published in 1910, won the Melrose Prize for best first novel.

A gripping tale of love blossoming in the ashes of betrayal, and a fascinating first step from a master storyteller.

Nineteen-year-old orphan Aline de Rochambeau is horrified at the prospect of an arranged marriage to the foppish Vicomte Selincourt. But when Selincourt and Madame de Montargis, Aline’s married aunt, are unmasked as lovers and arrested for treason, the young noblewoman’s situation grows even more drastic. Alone in a Paris engulfed in revolt, Aline has no chance of survival—until she meets the dashing freedom fighter Jacques Dangeau. Torn between his vow to liberate France and his passion for Aline, Jacques makes a choice that could doom both of them forever.

Patricia Wentworth--born Dora Amy Elles--was a British crime fiction writer.

She wrote a series of 32 classic-style whodunnits featuring Miss Silver. The first of which published in 1928, and the last in 1961, the year of her death.

Miss Silver, a retired governess-turned private detective, sometimes compared to Jane Marple, the elderly detective created by Agatha Christie. She works closely with Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Frank Abbott and is fond of quoting the poet Tennyson.

Wentworth also wrote 34 books outside of that series. Her novels were the topic of Jariel D. O'Neil's 1988 doctoral dissertation.

The Stolen Body by H. G. Wells

The Stolen Body - Great story.

The Stolen Body - a science fiction short story by H. G. Wells that originally published in The Strand Magazine (November 1898).

The story's main characters are a pair of casual paranormal researchers. They are experimenting with the idea of astral projection. One night, one of them inadvertently succeeds in projecting his spirit from his body. But spirit taken possession of by a malevolent entity in his absence. His partner receives a vivid sensation of him calling out for help and rushes to his residence, only to find him absent and the place in shambles.

The researcher continues to search for his partner and learns that he has perpetrated a series of violent incidents around London. He seeks the aid of a medium, who channels his partner's spirit and finds that he has fallen down a well and subsequently been abandoned by the possessing entity. They locate the well and rescue him, after which he recounts the story of his possession.

Herbert Wells often called the father of science fiction. British author Herbert George (H. G.) Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. Include such famed titles as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Invisible Man.

Wells wrote over fifty novels, numerous non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His legacy has had an overwhelming influence on science fiction, and popular culture. Wells died in 1946 at the age of 79.

The Inexperienced Ghost by H. G. Wells

The Inexperienced Ghost - Wonderfully told story.

The Inexperienced Ghost - A short tale shared between men at a club after a day of male bonding.
Is the storyteller making this up or is somethig disturbing happening?
The men decide to investigate the tale and have the teller demonstrate the events...

H.G. Wells looks at ghosts with a sense of humor. Spot on dialogue/narration, and evocative of a different era.

Herbert Wells often called the father of science fiction. British author Herbert George (H. G.) Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. Include such famed titles as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Invisible Man.

Despite being fixedly associated with science fiction, Wells wrote extensively in other genres. He wrote on many subjects, including history, society and politics. His first book, offered predictions about what technology and society would look like in the year 2000. Many of which have proven accurate.

Wells went on to pen over fifty novels, numerous non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His legacy has had an overwhelming influence on science fiction, and popular culture. Wells died in 1946 at the age of 79.

The Adventures of Tommy by H. G. Wells

The Adventures of Tommy telling all about the Proud Rich Man and about the Present he gave to Tommy.

The Adventures of Tommy written by Wells for a child of a friend. Tommy saves the life of a rich man and gets an elephant as his reward.

Herbert Wells often called the father of science fiction. British author Herbert George (H. G.) Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. Include such famed titles as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Invisible Man.

Despite being fixedly associated with science fiction, Wells wrote extensively in other genres. He wrote on many subjects, including history, society and politics, and heavily influenced by Darwinism. His first book, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Thought, offered predictions about what technology and society would look like in the year 2000, many of which have proven accurate.

Wells went on to pen over fifty novels, numerous non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His legacy has had an overwhelming influence on science fiction, and popular culture. Wells died in 1946 at the age of 79.

Mr. Ledbetters Vacation by H. G. Wells

Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation - a short story written by H. G. Wells in 1894.

Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation deals with the internal human conflict between rationality and the irrational fear of the unknown.

Mr. Leadbetter in holy orders, and for more years than he cares to remember has led a virtuous, worthwhile and very dull life. After drinking a little more than good for him whilst on holiday, he rashly decides to commit a crime. It has consequences he could never have imagined - he ends up on the other side of the world.

"Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation" published in The Strand Magazine Vol. XVI: July - December 1898 (London: George Newnes Limited, 1898).

Herbert Wells often called the father of science fiction. British author Herbert George (H. G.) Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. Include such famed titles as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Invisible Man.

Despite being fixedly associated with science fiction, Wells wrote extensively in other genres. He wrote on many subjects, including history, society and politics, and heavily influenced by Darwinism. His first book, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Thought, offered predictions about what technology and society would look like in the year 2000, many of which have proven accurate.

Wells went on to pen over fifty novels, numerous non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His legacy has had an overwhelming influence on science fiction, and popular culture. Wells died in 1946 at the age of 79.

Nothing In Her Way by Charles Williams

Nothing In Her Way - good crime noir story.

Nothing In Her Way - a story by one of the past masters of the genre.When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael’s parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it’s payback time.

From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan—and then all bets are off.

Who is the master of who-done-it? You know? The inexplicable corpse. The nasty abrupt tragedy of terror. The seemingly random sequence of events that don't make sense and stink of evil. Or wicked creepy, question mark people who target other people and enjoy being mean. Who is this one who can go beyond kingdom come and have fun figuring it out? Why it's The Saint in 1940 Miami, a black sheep who does good and becomes an American hero.

Nothing In Her Way by Charles Williams

Nothing In Her Way - good crime noir story.

Nothing In Her Way - a story by one of the past masters of the genre.When Michael Belen runs into the cherubic con man named Wolford Charles in New Orleans, he has no idea he had just opened the door to his ex-wife Cathy. She and Charles and Judd Bolton are working a con on a man named Goodwin, who had been a partner with a contractor named Lachlan down in South America. Lachlan had worked a swindle which had wiped out Cathy and Michael’s parents, and now as far as Cathy is concerned, it’s payback time.

From Goodwin to Lachlan, Belen commits himself to Cathy and her scheme. When a drug-addled gangster named Donnelly starts threatening her, Belen takes care of him. When Charles and Bolton try to work a double-cross, Cathy matches them with a cross of her own. They are the perfect team. Until they go up against Lachlan—and then all bets are off.

Who is the master of who-done-it? You know? The inexplicable corpse. The nasty abrupt tragedy of terror. The seemingly random sequence of events that don't make sense and stink of evil. Or wicked creepy, question mark people who target other people and enjoy being mean. Who is this one who can go beyond kingdom come and have fun figuring it out? Why it's The Saint in 1940 Miami, a black sheep who does good and becomes an American hero.

River Girl by Charles Williams

River Girl - one terrific, top-notch piece of fiction.

River Girl - The story of a man and a woman who met and knew instantly that not all the world would tear them apart. This story first published in 1951 as "The Catfish Triangle." A book that shares some similarities with Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. Down in swamp country a deputy sheriff meets and falls in love with a young lass. Her husband stands in the way, probably more for a time.

Deputy Jack Marshall's life a mess. His boss, the Sheriff totally corrupt. His wife spending money like there's no tomorrow, and all he wants to do get up to the lake for some fishing. On his trip he spots a young gorgeous woman swimming, and they meet. She's married to a bad guy, and who on the run from something. Their attraction, as it does in these kinds of books, spins the world out of control for Jack.

It a southern noir piece taking place in and around a small Southern town and a swamp around the town. The narrator, Jack, a corrupt Southern Deputy Sheriff. He stuck in an unhappy marriage with a woman who barely makes an appearance in the book. Who only seems to want money and, at that, more money. Louise was very pretty, a taffy blonde with wide, green eyes and a stubborn round chin. Their lives were constant fights and endless bickering over money.

River Girl by Charles Williams

River Girl - one terrific, top-notch piece of fiction.

River Girl - The story of a man and a woman who met and knew instantly that not all the world would tear them apart. This story first published in 1951 as "The Catfish Triangle." A book that shares some similarities with Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. Down in swamp country a deputy sheriff meets and falls in love with a young lass. Her husband stands in the way, probably more for a time.

Deputy Jack Marshall's life a mess. His boss, the Sheriff totally corrupt. His wife spending money like there's no tomorrow, and all he wants to do get up to the lake for some fishing. On his trip he spots a young gorgeous woman swimming, and they meet. She's married to a bad guy, and who on the run from something. Their attraction, as it does in these kinds of books, spins the world out of control for Jack.

It a southern noir piece taking place in and around a small Southern town and a swamp around the town. The narrator, Jack, a corrupt Southern Deputy Sheriff. He stuck in an unhappy marriage with a woman who barely makes an appearance in the book. Who only seems to want money and, at that, more money. Louise was very pretty, a taffy blonde with wide, green eyes and a stubborn round chin. Their lives were constant fights and endless bickering over money.

Gulf Coast Girl by Charles Williams

Gulf Coast Girl - A sea tale about a search for treasure.

Gulf Coast Girl - a tale of a couple on the run from mobsters and filled with car chases and brawls and bodies strewn about. It's also a deep sea tale about a search for buried treasure on a sunken plane and the desperate search to find it. It's a tale of trust and betrayal. And it may just be the best book you read all year.

An American tanker, finds a small, abandoned boat drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. On the boat, a coffee pot is still warm. Clearly, the boat has not been abandoned for long. But what has happened to its occupants? The answer lies in a log book in which our protagonist, Bill Manning, has written his story.

Action, Adventure, and love – who could ask for anything more?

Gulf Coast Girl, first Published in 1955, is yet another testament to the excellence of Charles Williams' writing. This book, like other Charles Williams novels, is so damn good, it's in a class by itself.

The story begins with the finding of an abandoned boat in the Gulf, well provisioned, the dinghy aboard her, the coffee pot still warm, and a satchel filled with $80,000 on the deck. There's a log and a strand of ash-blonde hair and the tale the log tells is something else entirely.

Gulf Coast Girl by Charles Williams

Gulf Coast Girl - A sea tale about a search for treasure.

Gulf Coast Girl - a tale of a couple on the run from mobsters and filled with car chases and brawls and bodies strewn about. It's also a deep sea tale about a search for buried treasure on a sunken plane and the desperate search to find it. It's a tale of trust and betrayal. And it may just be the best book you read all year.

An American tanker, finds a small, abandoned boat drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. On the boat, a coffee pot is still warm. Clearly, the boat has not been abandoned for long. But what has happened to its occupants? The answer lies in a log book in which our protagonist, Bill Manning, has written his story.

Action, Adventure, and love – who could ask for anything more?

Gulf Coast Girl, first Published in 1955, is yet another testament to the excellence of Charles Williams' writing. This book, like other Charles Williams novels, is so damn good, it's in a class by itself.

The story begins with the finding of an abandoned boat in the Gulf, well provisioned, the dinghy aboard her, the coffee pot still warm, and a satchel filled with $80,000 on the deck. There's a log and a strand of ash-blonde hair and the tale the log tells is something else entirely.

Love’s Dazzling Glitter by May Agnes Fleming

Love’s Dazzling Glitter - A sequel to "Carried by storm"

Love’s Dazzling Glitter - A novel by May Agnes Fleming. Author of "Wedded, Yet no Wife," "A Wonderful Woman," "Silent and True," "Norine's Revenge," "Carried by Storm." The ideal romances of American life, published in the New Eagle Series.

Excerpt:
With the rising of the morning's frosty sun, Joanna's new life in the city may be fairly said to begin.
It was rather late. She descended to the room with cooking stove, which the kitchen, parlor, dining room, and children's sleeping room inclusive. The little black stove so superheated it that the windows were open. Two or three pots of hardy rose geraniums flourished on the sills. They made a pleasant spot of color to the country girl's eyes, with their vivid green leaves and pink blossoms. Sunlight found the room tidy as lamplight. Mrs. Gibbs stood over a tub in the corner, washing, a little boy and girl of five toddled about, each with a doll made out of a bottle. This the home scene that greeted Joanna.
"Good morning," Mrs. Gibbs said. "How did you rest, my dear?"

The Master of Man by Hall Caine

The Master of Man: The Story of a Sin.

The Master of Man - a best-selling 1921 novel by Hall Caine.

The fictional story set on the Isle of Man and is concerned with Victor Stowell, the Deemster's son. He commits a romantic indiscretion and then gives up on all of his principles in order to keep it a secret. However, in the face of the mounting consequences, Victor confesses publicly to his crime and punished. But redemption comes through a woman’s love.
The penultimate of Caine's novels, it is romantic and moralistic, returning to his regular themes of sin, justice. And atonement, whilst also addressing "the woman question." It adapted for a film entitled Name the Man in 1924 by Victor Sjöström.

The central idea for the plot of The Master of Man. She came from a correspondence which Hall Caine had in September 1908. Following a performance of the theatrical version of his earlier novel, The Christian, Caine identified as a likely signatory in a petition against the harsh punishment of a woman named Daisy Lord. After giving birth to a child out of wedlock the young woman had killed the child secretly. But discovered and arrested. At the trial she explained that "I thought I would put an end to it so that it should not have the trouble I have had." Caine signed the petition but he kept the accompanying letter as a record of its story.

The Green Glow of Death by Stanley G. Weinbaum

The Green Glow of Death - A short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum.

The Green Glow of Death Excerpt:
The excitement of sailing left him indifferent from long experience, so he sought out the passenger list. A Miss Arlene Lowell was listed, true enough; her stateroom was on the same side as his, and the third door away, which was doubtless Gordon’s doing. Simon’s had ample influence to encompass such matters.
And Gordon’s hand appeared again at luncheon. Bill found himself at the table with the chief engineer, a tall gaunt Scot named McKittric, but five minutes after the commencement of the meal he was staring into a pair of cool laughing, violet eyes, and listening nonplussed to McKittric’s gruff introduction of Miss Lowell.

Back on deck in the afternoon, he scowled inwardly over his thoughts. Insurance is a queer proposition; people otherwise strictly honest will often cheat an insurance company without a qualm. Any sort of insurance; you dent a fender and have the whole car overhauled. In Bill’s line one had to suspect anybody, but he growled to himself that there were common sense limitations to any general thesis, and if there were any crooked work in this proposition, one thing he’d swear to was that Arlene Lowell wasn’t in it.

Goldfish by Raymond Chandler

Goldfish - Classic Marlowe short story.

Goldfish follows private eye Philip Marlowe through a world of pool hall informants on the hunt for stolen pearls. Along the way, Marlowe and his characters spit out all the short, snappy, now clichéd lines that Chandler invented. You can almost smell the stale smoke hanging in the air and the cheap whiskey on Marlowe's breath.

The Leander pearls were stolen nineteen years ago. The thief caught, but the pearls were never found. But there is still a $25,000 reward for anyone who finds them. Then somebody comes to private detective Carmady with a story about a guy. This guy knows where the pearls are hidden.Carmady agrees to talk to the guy who says he knows. But he finds him dead in his bed, with burned feet. And it seems there are quite a lot of people in Los Angeles who have heard the story, and who are out looking for the Leander pearls...

The White Prophet by Hall Caine

The White Prophet - A story of Egypt and the Soudan, with its principal scenes in Cairo and Khartoum.

The White Prophet published in 1909. It anticipated by many years some racial, political and religious problems which are now agitating those countries. The glamour and mystery of the East are the background of turmoil, in strong contrast to the stark simplicity of the scenes of Hall Caine’s Manx and Icelandic stories.

A later novel by the author who lived on the Isle of Man, and served as Dante Gabriel Rossetti's secretary. Many of Caine's works were adapted to film, including The Christian, The Manxman, and The Eternal City. He also wrote the script for a propaganda film commissioned by Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

Many erroneous statements made in the press during the serial publication of this story. This statements bind its characters and incidents with distinguished living persons and recent public events. So make it necessary to say that "The White Prophet " intended to be read as a work of fiction only.

Excerpt:
Then his father died, without leaving a will, as the cable of the solicitors informed him. And he returned to England to administer the estate. Here a thunderbolt fell on him, for he found a younger brother. With whom he had nothing in common and had never lived at peace, preparing to dispute his right to his father's title and fortune. On the assumption that he was illegitimate—that is to say, was born before the date of the marriage of his parents.

A Man's Life by Arthur Adams

A Man's Life - A novel by Arthur Adams.

A Man's Life Excerpt:
The nurse looked at him. A man of sixty, perhaps, with clear-cut features. His clothes were good. Perhaps a gentleman. Some money in his pocket. She was somewhat curious; she wondered who he was.
Well, she said again to herself, he's gone, poor thing!

She was to be forgiven, with all her experience in the casualty ward, in thinking that the man was dead. True, she could see no sign of life in that still warm body. But the nurse was alive; and the living do not know what the dying think.

For in that final flash of Life there had surged into the man's consciousness one thing after the other that he had done or thought of since childhood. His whole life flashed up in disconnected scenes, pictures startlingly vivid leaping into his mind, and as abruptly dying.

Arthur Henry Adams (1872-1936) - a journalist and author.
His works include: Maoriland, and Other Verses (1899), Tussock Land (1904), The New Chum (1909), Galahad Jones (1910), The Collected Verses of Arthur H. Adams (1913), Mrs. Pretty and the Premier (1914), Double Bed Dialogues (1915), Australian Nursery Rimes (as editor) (1917), The Australians (1920) and A Man's Life (1929).

Fury by Henry Kuttner

Fury - A classic science ficiton novels.

Fury - A truly under-rated work that deserves a lot more recoginition than it gets. Clearly, Henry Kuttner's best work (with some uncredited help from his wife, C.L. Moore. Classic Science Fiction at its best and a ton of fun.

The Earth long dead and the human survivors live in huge citadels beneath the Venusian seas, ruled by the Immortals, genetic mutations with a lifespan of 1000 years. Sam Reed was born an immortal, but his deranged father had him mutilated as a baby. He determined to overthrow the immortals and lead the people of Earth off of the floor of the oceans of Venus.

The premise that mankind, having settled down into a luxurious Eden of the future. With no challenges left, would slowly strangle in its own inertia if, out of somewhere, a deliverer did not come with a flaming sword to drive them back to life.
In this case, life the almost intolerable condition on the continents of Venus. The full of the fury of mindless animal and vegetable and insect life gone wild with growth and death. Even the soil and the air are alive with fierce bacterial forms in constant struggle for survival with every other life-form on the planet.
How Sam fulfills this challenge, by the most complex methods, for the worst of motives, is the story of FURY.

The Bindles on the Rocks by Herbert Jenkins

The Bindles on the Rocks - The last of the Bindle stories.

The Bindles on the Rocks - Some further incidents in the life of mr and mrs Bindle.

Poor old Bindle struck an unlucky patch and lost his job. For weeks he had been out of work and for weeks he had tramped London from early morning until late at night without food, beer or tobacco. He suffered considerable pain from what he called his "various" veins; but Joseph Bindle was a great-hearted little man, who realised to the full his domestic responsibilities and, with the aid of his friends, he pulled through.

In this volume reappear gloomy Ginger, Dick Little, Mr. and Mrs. Hearty, and many others. It tells how Bindle stops a "Prohibition" meeting, pays a visit to the "Zoo," with Mrs. Bindle as militant as ever.

Excerpt:
The critic was silenced, and henceforth held her peace. She prided herself upon her knowledge of the Scriptures; but the reference to the Sea of Galilee puzzled her. She hesitated to confess her ignorance of an incident which seemed to come so easily to Mrs. Bindle's tongue.
Long and patiently this woman had searched Holy Writ for something that seemed even remotely to condone labouring upon the seventh day; but without success. In consequence she disliked Mrs. Bindle even more than before; but her dislike was henceforth tinctured with respect.

A Thousand Miles an Hour by Herbert Strang

A Thousand Miles an Hour - A Tale by Herbert Strang.

A Thousand Miles an Hour Excerpt:
The little tent in which he spent the nights with Pedro had been pitched on a rocky bluff a few yards above the level of the river. Juan and the Indian crews were camped a short distance away. Below them the three canoes were moored to trees on the bank. On both sides stretched the forest-not such immense trees as Derrick had admired lower down, but trees which, though smaller, grew more closely together, and were thickly festooned with creepers and climbing plants. At this point the stream was about two hundred yards broad. The opposite bank also was densely wooded; whichever way he looked Derrick's eyes met nothing but sluggish muddy water, green vegetation dotted with bright spots of colour, and the heavy grey sky above.

While he and Pedro waited for their supper, a sudden jabbering broke out among the Indians beyond the bluff. Presently they came running up, their leader holding something in his outstretched hand. He halted in front of the two young men and began to pour out a torrent of shrill discordant cries, to Derrick incomprehensible.

Herbert Strang was the pseudonym of two English authors, George Herbert Ely and Charles James L'Estrange. They specialized in writing adventure stories for boys. Ely and L'Estrange have been classified as "popular writers of imperial fiction" and "successors of G. A. Henty...."

Honour First by Herbert Strang

Honour First - A Tale of the 'Forty-five.

Honour First - Historical novel for teenagers about the adventures of a young man just before and during the Battle of Culloden of 1746, the culminating event of the Jacobite Rising, during which Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland with the help of the French, invaded England, and tried to take the British Crown.

Excerpt:
One of his shoelaces snapped.
'Hang old Capplethwaite!' he said explosively, throwing the broken end across the floor.
He sought a new lace, and threaded the eyes with a roughness that threatened another break. Every now and then his lips murmured. Had he uttered his thoughts aloud they would have composed a long tirade against 'old Capplethwaite'. 'Why did my father make him my guardian? What has he ever done for me? Paid my school fees—with my father's money. Paid John Seddon for my keep—with my father's money. What else? Nothing: the old skinflint. Keeps my father's money snug, he says, till my coming of age. I wish I were twenty-one to-day instead of sixteen. He wouldn't keep me here another hour.'
'Hang old Capplethwaite!' he said explosively, throwing the broken end across the floor.
A woman's voice called him from below.

Children of the Wind by M. P. Shiel

Children of the Wind - Adventure novel in which a lost heiress takes over an African tribe.

Children of the Wind - A story of adventure in South Central Africa. An English scientist learns that the "White Queen" of the Wa-Ngwanyas is his own cousin and heiress to a fortune of which she is being kept in ignorance.

A pre-pubescent white girl shipwrecked in Africa becomes the merciless queen of the fictional kingdom of Wo'Ngwanya. She is also the heir to a fortune so upon learning where she is, her exceptionally dim-witted cousin goes in search of her.

Believe it or not her people have given her the name Speciewegiehotiu, which Cobby, her cousin, shortens to 'Hot Spice.' That really tells you all you need to know about the tone and quality of this stupid and sordid excrescence of a novel.

Of course the teenage queen acts like a coquettish brat even as she orders death and destruction; of course Cobby and Macray, the villain who has stolen her inheritance, alternately patronise and lech over her; and of course she has a similarly young, black lesbian lover named Suella, just for the sheer prurience of it.

Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865–1947) was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent.

M. P. Shiel is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work published as serials, novels, and as short stories. The Purple Cloud (1901) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel.

The Evil That Men Do by M. P. Shiel

The Evil That Men Do - A Novel of Mystery.

The Evil That Men Do - A Novel of Mystery about Hartwell from birth, does he inherit his fathers traits? Do great men have great sons and how much does one's own life's experiences cause variance to this question?

Although Mr. Shiol as usual indulges in a fantastic situation, his book is at least free from the glaring faults of taste which have disfigured some of his former writings. To the ordinary reader there will seem (until his marvellously sudden " conversion ") very little in point of morality to choose between Robert Harts-ell and the villainous millionaire whom a strange facial resemblance enables him to impersonate. Mr. Shiel does not, and probably does not aspire to, draw pictures of everyday life as it is. But there is always something ingenious in his situations, and in this book, at any rate, he has contrived to avoid the developments which disfigured at least one of his earlier novels.

Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865–1947) was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent.

M. P. Shiel is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work published serials, novels, and short stories. The Purple Cloud (1901) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel.

The Lost Viol by M. P. Shiel

The Lost Viol - A Fantasy classic.

The Lost Viol - A classic tale by author of classic SF novel, "The Purple Cloud".

Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865–1947) was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent.

M. P. Shiel is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work was published as serials, novels, and as short stories. The Purple Cloud (1901) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel.

Excerpt:
Kathleen now went up a lane on the left leading to her own place, "The Hill," while Sir Peter and the footman went on down yew and hawthorn hedges, till the light of Woodside Farm appeared; and great was the wonder of the old farmer and of Mrs. Langler when they saw Sir Peter come to see Hannah, for the baronet was a rather crusty and rusty type — tall, with a stoop and an asthmatic chest — from whom a jerk of the head was about all that people on the estate expected in the way of friendliness.

Sir Peter saw Hannah, who lay unconscious from her drenching, stayed a little with the old couple and old Dr. Williams, and then trudged back to the Hall.

He sat up so late that night, sniffing his three dried apples, that Bentley, his old house-steward, became uneasy. He was writing a long letter; for his discovery that night that Hannah Langler was twenty-four, not twenty-three, as he had somehow thought, was now hurrying him to an action which for fifteen years had lain planned in his heart.

The Pale Ape by M. P. Shiel

The Pale Ape - a ghost story.

The Pale Ape - a ghost story with a tragic denouement set in an English country house, and also a magnificently atmospheric adventure of confused identity and abnormal psychology.

Sharing much with the atmospheric terror of the traditional ghost story, wherein established reality is invaded by outside forces -- albeit with a vastly different style and approach. "The Pale Ape" is a minor supernatural masterwork, mirroring in its tragic plot and emotional authenticity a sense of helplessness.

Matthew Phipps Shiell, also known as M. P. Shiel, was a prolific British writer of West Indian descent. His legal surname remained "Shiell" though he adopted the shorter version as a de facto pen name. He is remembered mostly for supernatural and scientific romances. His work was published as serials, novels, and as short stories. The Purple Cloud (1901; 1929) remains his most famous and often reprinted novel.

Excerpt:
Yesterday again I stood and looked at Hargen Hall from the lake; and it is this that has brought me to write of my life in it. Wintry winds were whistling through the withered bracken and the branches, whirling withered birch-leaves about the south quadrangle; and no birds sang.
When I first entered it I was a girl, one might say—gay enough; but now I have known what one never forgets; and the days and the hairs grow grey together.

The Yellow Danger by M. P. Shiel

The Yellow Danger - Shiel's most successful book during his lifetime.

The Yellow Danger - a part of a relatively new literary genre, the British speculative future war novel. Interpretated in many ways - fin-de-siecle, technophobia, critiques of British imperialism - they anticipated modern science fiction.

The book takes great pains to explain the “character” of the Chinese and Japanese. Much made of the Chinese love of money, nationalism, and cruelty (the later becomes key when we get to the invasion of Europe) and the idea that a single race must dominate the Earth. The British character explored too, in more glowing terms, our hero a genius sailor named John Hardy who also has a meteoric rise.

Much of the book blown on sea-battles in the English channel, which I guess are supposed to display Hardy's tactical genius. Despite diagrams and a lot of ship stats, you might say I was “all at sea” during these parts.

Aside from the expected racism in this kind of text, a real new level of cringe reached. When John Hardy finally meets Dr. Yen How and tries to talk to him in “pidgin-english”, even after How speaks to him in proper English. It makes some of the torture scene that follow pretty sweet.

Unto the Third Generation by M. P. Shiel

Unto the Third Generation - the history of Edward Denman, heir to a treasure.

Unto the Third Generation compounded of distinct elements of mystery. Adventure, and romance narrative. The history of the efforts of the ubiquitous Hagen clan to seize Denman's hidden treasure.

Barnes, a railroad engineer, a martyr to the romance. He suffers meekly thru the fabulous antics of his social superiors. The Denman treasure walled in a vault with literally countless doors of impregnable construction. It proves impossible to locate the treasure by breaking open the doors. Hagens concentrate on finding the hidden code showing the number of the vault which holds the jewels. Their machinations involve marriages of convenience, mayhem, and train - wrecks. The maimings, and schemings against obstacles galore.

Excerpt:
‘ Never. I fancy the question has been on the tip of his tongue several times, but he has never asked it. Pride, I s’pose.’
‘ He may guess though that you know. Suppose he has you followed when you come to see me ?’
‘Have no fear of that, Lucy. You know already my views about your leaving your husband, however good your reasons may have been, but inasmuch as you have bound me over to secrecy, no one is ever going to find you out through me : I’m too old a hand for that, by a long way.

Love’s Dazzling Glitter by May Agnes Fleming

Love’s Dazzling Glitter - A sequel to "Carried by storm"

Love’s Dazzling Glitter - A novel by May Agnes Fleming. Author of "Wedded, Yet no Wife," "A Wonderful Woman," "Silent and True," "Norine's Revenge," "Carried by Storm." The ideal romances of American life, published in the New Eagle Series.

Excerpt:
With the rising of the morning's frosty sun, Joanna's new life in the city may be fairly said to begin.
It was rather late. She descended to the room with cooking stove, which the kitchen, parlor, dining room, and children's sleeping room inclusive. The little black stove so superheated it that the windows were open. Two or three pots of hardy rose geraniums flourished on the sills. They made a pleasant spot of color to the country girl's eyes, with their vivid green leaves and pink blossoms. Sunlight found the room tidy as lamplight. Mrs. Gibbs stood over a tub in the corner, washing, a little boy and girl of five toddled about, each with a doll made out of a bottle. This the home scene that greeted Joanna.
"Good morning," Mrs. Gibbs said. "How did you rest, my dear?"