Publisher: Classica Libris
A fictionalized story of the rescue of Maria Clementina Sobieska from imprisonment so that she could wed James Francis Edward Stuart, also known as Prince James, Prince of Wales (also known as The Old Pretender or The Old Chevalier).
The best known of all Edith Nesbit's books: The Railway Children is a timeless classic that see's three children transplanted into the country and all of their adventures, usually centered around the local Railway Station.When their father leaves under mysterious circumstances, Roberta, Phyllis, Peter and Mother move from their comfortable house to a shabby cottage near a railroad called Three Chimney's. Over time however, they fall in love with the local countryside, and especially the small Train Station and the friends they make there.Narrated by Michael Ward.Show book
Rudyard Kipling’s The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Ghost Stories conjures colonial India’s spectral shadows to expose human vice and imperial hubris. In the titular tale, John Holderness, a British officer, is tormented by the vengeful ghost of Bessie Slane—a woman he abandoned—manifesting as an unstoppable phantom rickshaw, symbolizing guilt and moral rot. Stories like The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Noul trap characters in surreal horrors, while My Own True Ghost Story blends dark humor with existential dread. The Man Who Would Be King critiques imperial ambition through two adventurers’ doomed quest for power. Kipling’s evocative prose merges Gothic terror with sharp social critique, using the supernatural to mirror colonial fragility and the inescapable echoes of sin. This anthology hauntingly reveals how personal and imperial pasts linger as spectral judges of human folly.Show book
"I Have Nothing to Declare Except My Genius." Oscar Wilde was the ultimate dandy, a literary rebel who believed that life should imitate art. Behind the silk cravats and the sparkling dinner-party repartee was one of the most brilliant minds of the 19th century—a writer who could skew Victorian morality with a single sentence while exploring the darkest corners of the human soul. This comprehensive collection brings together his entire output, from his celebrated plays and provocative novel to his profound poetry and fairy tales. Inside this definitive collection, you will encounter: The Master of the Epigram: Experience the razor-sharp wit that redefined the "Comedy of Manners," where every line is a polished gem of irony and social observation. The Gothic and the Decadent: Explore the haunting side of Wilde's genius, where the pursuit of eternal youth and sensory pleasure leads to a chilling moral reckoning. The Subversive Dramatist: Witness the plays that scandalized and delighted London, using mistaken identities and "trivial" concerns to expose the hypocrisies of high society. The Depth of Suffering: Delve into his later, poignant works written from the depths of despair, offering a raw and moving meditation on faith, humanity, and forgiveness. Wilde's influence on modern culture is immeasurable, providing the blueprint for the modern celebrity and the intellectual provocateur. Whether you seek a riotous comedy, a dark philosophical fable, or soul-stirring poetry, this volume is an essential cornerstone for any library of classic literature and modern drama. Live the life of the mind. Buy "The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde" today and rediscover the most brilliant wit in history.Show book
Mary Rackham was born in Norwich on 14th August 1848 to a merchant family. Little is known of her early life and her biography only re-appears in September 1871 with marriage to Fairman Joseph Mann, a farmer with 800 acres. Mary moved to Shropham, Norfolk and became involved with the workhouse, visiting the sick and other unfortunates of the parish, her observations and experiences a valuable source for her later stories. She took up writing, partly to offset the dreary village life of her surroundings, in the 1880s and published her first novel, ‘The Parish of Hilby’ (1883) at her own expense. It was well received by the critics. Thus began a career that spanning three decades provided thirty-three novels, hundreds of short stories, and fourteen plays.? Her work was largely focused on rural life in Norfolk and centered on the fictional town of Dulditch, with grim but authentic accounts of poverty and deprivation. Her marriage produced one boy and three girls. With her husband's death in 1913, she moved to Sheringham. She is regarded as a major contributor to East Anglian literature with particular praise given to her short stories. Mary E Mann died on 19th May 1929. She was 80. Her grave-marker is a carved open book with the epitaph ‘We bring our years to an end, as if it were a tale that is told’. 1 - The Short Stories of Mary E Mann - An Introduction 2 - Wolf Charlie by Mary E Mann 3 - Ben Pitcher's Elly by Mary E Mann 4 - Some of the Shipwrecked by Mary E Mann 5 - Rats by Mary E Mann 6 - Clomayne's Clerk by Mary E Mann 7 - The Country Doctor by Mary E Mann 8 - Little Brother by Mary E MannShow book
Living immerses us in the daily lives of a group of ordinary people working in a post-WWI iron factory. Through fragmented perspectives, Green captures the beauty and chaos of everyday existence—love, loss, and the fleeting moments of joy amidst routine. As the characters navigate their lives, the line between their inner worlds and external realities blurs, revealing the quiet yet profound battles that define the human experience.Show book
Barry Eric Odell Pain was born at 3 Sydney Street in Cambridge on 28th September 1864. He was one of 4 children. He was educated at Sedbergh School and then Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In 1889, Cornhill Magazine published his short story ‘The Hundred Gates’. This opened the way for Pain to advance his literary career on several fronts. He became a contributor to Punch and The Speaker, as well as joining the staff of both the Daily Chronicle and Black and White. Pain was also a noted and prominent contributor to The Granta and from 1896 to 1928 a regular contributor to the Windsor Magazine. It is often said that Pain was discovered by Robert Louis Stevenson, who compared his work to that of Guy de Maupassant. It’s an apt comparison. Pain was a master of disturbing prose but was also able to inject parody and light comedy into many of his works. A simple premise could in his hands suddenly expand into a world very real but somehow emotionally fraught and on the very edge of darkness. Barry Pain died on 5th May 1928 in Bushey, Hertfordshire.Show book
