Publisher: The Gresham Library
This exciting and moving novel is the story of a horse; a proud, brave and noble animal who tells the story of his life in his own voice.
For sheer storytelling delight and pure adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Ben-bow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have transpire the imaginations of generations of readers.Treasure Island, narrated and written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil — but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring. Designed to forever kindle a dream of high romance and distant horizons, Treasure Island is, in the words of G. K. Chesterton, 'the realization of an ideal, that which is promised in its provocative and beckoning map; a vision not only of white skeletons but also green palm trees and sapphire seas.'Show book
In the Avu Observatory" is a short story by H. G. Wells (1866-1946), first published in the Pall Mall Budget on 9 August 1894, and subsequently included in The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (1895) and The Country of the Blind and Other Stories (1911).[1] It describes an attack by a large bat-like creature on an assistant at a remote observatory in Borneo.Show book
The fables of Aesop have become one of the most enduring traditions of European culture, ever since they were first written down nearly two millennia ago. Aesop was reputedly a tongue-tied slave who miraculously received the power of speech; from his legendary storytelling came the collections of prose and verse fables scattered throughout Greek and Roman literature. First published in English by Caxton in 1484, the fables and their morals continue to charm modern readers: who does not know the story of the tortoise and the hare, or the boy who cried wolf?Show book
The Hound of the Baskervilles is the tale of an ancient curse suddenly given a terrifying modern application. The grey towers of Baskerville Hall and the wild open country of Dartmoor hold many secrets for Holmes and Watson to unravel. The detective is contemptuous of supernatural manifestations, but the reader will remain perpetually haunted by the hound from the moor.Show book
Brother Cadfael is confounded when his own potion is used to kill his former love’s new husbandGervase Bonel is a guest of Shrewsbury Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul when he suddenly takes ill. Luckily, the Abbey boasts the services of the clever and kindly Brother Cadfael, a skilled herbalist. Cadfael hurries to the man's bedside, only to be confronted with two surprises: In Master Bonel's wife, the good monk recognizes Richildis, whom he loved before he took his vows—and Master Bonel has been fatally poisoned by monk's-hood oil from Cadfael's stores.The sheriff is convinced that the murderer is Richildis' son, Edwin, who hated his stepfather. But Cadfael, guided in part by his concern for a woman to whom he was once betrothed, is certain of her son's innocence. Using his knowledge of both herbs and the human heart, Cadfael deciphers a deadly recipe for murder.Show book
"The Island of Doctor Moreau" is a science fiction novel by H.G. Wells, first published in 1896. The story revolves around Edward Prendick, a shipwreck survivor who finds himself on a remote island controlled by the mysterious Doctor Moreau. Moreau, a disgraced vivisectionist, is conducting horrifying experiments, transforming animals into human-like creatures. As Prendick explores the island, he grapples with themes of identity, morality, and the ethical limits of scientific exploration.Show book
