Other books that might interest you

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  The Terrible Old Man

  H.P. Lovecraft

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  Howard Philips Lovecraft was an American writer world-famous for his horror fiction works. He was interested in influence of things of non-human nature on human beings. In his stories the reality that we know is merely a thin insecure cover, and what is hidden below may definitely drive you insane. This is a story of three robbers planning to obtain the treasure of a weird and lonely old but rich man. What remains unknown to them is that the man inspires the whole town with awe. And it’s not his oddly set and colored stones in the yard and talking to glass bottles, what something invisible but perceptible behind this. The three friends hatch out a plan and begin to fulfill it. The story lets its readers dive into the atmosphere of a classic Lovecraftian horror and gives them creeps.A SmartTouch Media production.

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  In Bayswater - One family is...

  Mary Butts

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  Mary Frances Butts was born on 13th December 1890 in Poole, Dorset. 
   
  Her early years were spent at Salterns, an 18th-century house overlooking Poole Harbour.  Sadly in 1905 her father died, and she was sent for boarding at St Leonard's school for girls in St Andrews. 
   
  Her mother remarried and, from 1909, Mary studied at Westfield College in London, and here, first became aware of her bisexual feelings.  She was sent down for organising a trip to Epsom races and only completed her degree in 1914 when she graduated from the London School of Economics.  By then Mary had become an admirer of the occultist Aleister Crowley and she was given a co-authorship credit on his ‘Magick (Book 4)’. 
   
  In 1916, she began the diary which would now detail her future life and be a constant reference point for her observations and her absorbing experiences. 
   
  During World War I, she was doing social work for the London County Council in Hackney Wick, and involved in a lesbian relationship.  Life changed after meeting the modernist poet, John Rodker and they married in 1918. 
   
  In 1921 she spent 3 months at Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema in Sicily; she found the practices dreadful and also acquired a drug habit.  Mary now spent time writing in Dorset, including her celebrated book of short stories ‘Speed the Plough’ which saw fully develop her unique Modernist prose style. 
   
  Europe now beckoned and several years were spent in Paris befriending many artists and writing further extraordinary stories.   
   
  She was continually sought after by literary magazines and also published several short story collections as books. Although a Modernist writer she worked in other genres but is essentially only known for her short stories.  Mary was deeply committed to nature conservation and wrote several pamphlets attacking the growing pollution of the countryside. 
   
  In 1927, she divorced and the following year her novel ‘Armed with Madness’ was published.  A further marriage followed in 1930 and time was spent attempting to settle in London and Newcastle before setting up home on the western tip of Cornwall.  By 1934 the marriage had failed. 
   
  Mary Butts died on 5th March 1937, at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, after an operation for a perforated gastric ulcer. She was 46. 
   
  Her story ‘In Bayswater’ grippingly describes a man’s friendship with a dysfunctional family he rents a room from.  As each facet reveals itself his opinion and decisions change, back and forth, this way and that….

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  The Hammer of God - A Father...

  G.K. Chesterton

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  Will Father Brown discover who killed the well-to-do ne’er-do-well? It appears as though he was stricken with the hammer of God. Is that a thing?  
  G.K. Chesterton is most notable for his creation of Father Brown. This unlooked for, and often unwelcome, detective is actually not a detective. But rather, an individual self-trained to think as criminals think, for he has heard so many of their confessions. He knows how their minds work, and can piece together many things that others cannot.  
  This story is from the first collection of Father Brown Stories, The Innocence of Father Brown. 

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  Five Beloved Stories by O Henry

  O. Henry

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  O. Henry wrote over 600 short stories. We have chosen five that seem outstanding examples of the short story art form. Stories like The Gift of the Magi; The Cop and the Anthem; Man about Town; A Cosmopolite in a Cafe and Mammon and the Archer.

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  Puppy Love Valentine

  C. Coal

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  Julia lives for her puppy Maisey. And there's nothing her pup likes more than to go to the dog park to chase squirrels and play with other pups.Julia's happy with her life, but maybe Maisey will lead her to the love she didn't even know she was missing.This story is part of the Puppy Love series of clean meet cute short stories about puppies bringing two people together. They can be read in any order.

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  O Henry Memorial Award Prize...

  Various Various

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  In 1918 the Society of Arts and Sciences established the O. Henry Memorial Awards to reward the very best short stories published during the previous year with cash prizes.   1921 was a particularly productive year with sterling and brilliantly varied examples of the art of short story writing as are included here.  The selection committee struggled to agree on these, but finally, here they are for us to enjoy and record.   The length varies but most are sufficiently long for a reader to get their teeth into and enjoy.   The stories are listed in a rough order of how they were judged, but all are excellent.     - Summary by Phil Chenevert

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