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  Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

  L. Frank Baum

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  “There is no doubt they intend to kill us as dead as possible in a short time," said the Wizard. 
  "As dead as poss'ble would be pretty dead, wouldn't it?" asked Dorothy.” During an earthquake in California Dorothy and her friends are swallowed up by cracks in the earth and find themselves in a whole new land – the Land of Mangaboos. The Mangaboos are a vegetable people, and they accuse Dorothy and her friends of causing the earthquake and sentence them to death. The 1939 movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ starring Judy Garland, perfectly told the story of a little girl’s first adventure, but the story of Oz and Dorothy far from ended then. With his trademark inventions on display, author L. Frank Baum delivers another imaginative and delightful book in the Oz series, though many will agree that this fourth one is darker and more troubling than its predecessors. 
  L. Frank Baum (1956-1919) was an American author, actor, and filmmaker best known for his children’s books, particularly ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ (1900) and its thirteen sequels. He started writing young and created a journal with his brother, which they handed out for free.

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  Odyssey of the North An

  Jack London

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  Things are not what they seem. A grizzled traveler arrives in a bluster. He doesn't make sense when he speaks. But once he warms up from the brink of death, his story and his heartbreak unfolds. 
  Enjoy this classic from Jack London, narrated by Audible best seller Evan Schmitt. 
  Story originally published in 1900. Production copyright 2023 by Riveting Publishing

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  Tom Swift and His Air Glider

  Victor Appleton

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  Tom Swift and His Air Glider by Victor Appleton is an exciting classic adventure that follows the brilliant young inventor Tom Swift as he explores new possibilities in aviation, engineering, and discovery. Filled with imagination, suspense, and scientific curiosity, this thrilling installment of the beloved Tom Swift series showcases the creativity and determination that have made Tom an enduring hero for generations of readers.
  
  As Tom experiments with a remarkable new invention, he encounters unexpected challenges, mysterious situations, and thrilling adventures that require courage, intelligence, and quick thinking. With his inventive skills and fearless approach to solving problems, Tom demonstrates the importance of perseverance, innovation, and using knowledge to overcome obstacles.
  
  Victor Appleton's engaging storytelling captures the excitement of early technological progress through memorable characters, imaginative devices, and fast-paced action. The novel reflects the optimism of an era fascinated by flight and invention while highlighting timeless values such as friendship, responsibility, teamwork, and the pursuit of discovery.
  
  Perfect for readers who enjoy classic adventure fiction, science-themed stories, aviation tales, and inventive young heroes, Tom Swift and His Air Glider remains a timeless favorite that celebrates curiosity, engineering achievement, and the excitement of exploring new frontiers through imagination and ingenuity.

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  The Chorus Girl - From their...

  Anton Chekhov

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  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on 29th January 1860 in Taganrog, on the south coast of Russia.  
  His family life was difficult; his father was strict and over-bearing but his mother was a passionate story-teller, a subject Chekhov warmed to. As he later said; ‘our talents we got from our father, but our soul from our mother’.  
  At school Chekhov was distinctly average. At 16 his father mis-managed his finances and was declared bankrupt. His family fled to Moscow. Chekhov remained and eked out a living by various means, including writing and selling short sketches to newspapers, to finish his schooling. That completed and with a scholarship to Moscow University obtained he rejoined his family. 
  He was able to help support them by selling satirical sketches and vignettes of Russian lifestyles and gradually obtained further commissions. In 1884, he qualified as a physician and, although it earned him little, he often treated the poor for free, he was fond of saying ‘Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.’ 
  His own health was now an issue as he began to cough up blood, a symptom of tuberculosis.  Despite this his writing success enabled him to move the family into more comfortable accommodation.  
  Chekhov wrote over 500 short stories which included many, many classics including ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Lady with a Dog’.  His collection ‘At Dusk’ won him the coveted Pushkin Prize when was only 26.  
  He was also a major playwright beginning with the huge success of ‘Ivanov’ in 1887.   
  In 1892 Chekhov bought a country estate north of Moscow. Here his medical skills and money helped the peasants tackle outbreaks of cholera and bouts of famine. He also built three schools, a fire station and a clinic.  It left him with less time for writing but the interactions with real people gained him detailed knowledge about the peasantry and their living conditions for his stories.  
  His most famous work, ‘The Seagull’ was received disastrously at its premiere in St Petersburg. It was later restaged in Moscow to highlight its psychological aspects and was a huge success. It led to ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘The Three Sisters’ and ‘The Cherry Orchard’.  
  Chekhov suffered a major lung hemorrhage in 1897 while visiting Moscow. A formal diagnosis confirmed tuberculosis and the doctors ordered changes to his lifestyle.  
  Despite a dread of weddings the elusive literary bachelor quietly married the actress Olga Knipper, whom he had met at rehearsals for ‘The Seagull’, on 25th May 1901. 
  By May 1904 with his tuberculosis worsening and death imminent he set off for the German town of Badenweiler writing cheerful, witty letters to his family and assuring them his health was improving.  
  On 15th July 1904 Anton Chekhov died at Badenweiler.  He was 44.

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  The Scapegoat - From their pens...

  Paul Laurence Dunbar

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  Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27th, 1872 in Dayton Ohio. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky before the Civil War.  
  Dunbar wrote his first poem at age 6 and gave his first public recital at age 9. By 16 he was already published as a poet in ‘The Herald’, a local newspaper. 
  After completing his formal schooling in 1891, Dunbar was employed as an elevator operator, at $4 a week. His hopes of a legal career floundered on a lack of funds and racial discrimination. However, he wrote his poetry and took every opportunity to publish. In 1892 his employers sent him to the United Brethren Publishing House which, in 1893, printed his dialect poetry, ‘Oak and Ivy; Dunbar subsidized the printing and earned back his investment in two weeks by selling copies himself. 
  Dunbar also wrote the lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, the first musical written and performed entirely by African Americans. It was produced on Broadway in 1903; and then toured England and the United States for four years. 
  After returning from a literary tour of United Kingdom, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore on March 6th, 1898. She was a teacher and poet from New Orleans. Dunbar called her "the sweetest, smartest little girl I ever saw". Alice would become as famous as Paul during her life for her own literary works. 
  In 1900, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctors recommended drinking whisky to alleviate his symptoms.  The couple moved to Colorado as the cold, dry mountain air was considered favorable for his health. Dunbar and Alice separated in 1902, but never divorced. But Depression and declining health drove him to depend on alcohol, and health deteriorated. 
  His short career was prolific; a dozen books of poetry, four books of short stories, four novels, lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, and a play. Dunbar’s essays and poems were published widely in leading journals including ‘Harper's Weekly’ and ‘The Saturday Evening Post’.  He was also a committed civil rights activist. 
  In 1904 he returned to Dayton to be with his mother.  
  Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9th, 1906, at the age of only thirty-three.

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  Mysteries and Adventures

  Arthur Conan Doyle

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  Mysteries and Adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle is offered here in a clean English digital edition prepared for fluent ebook reading. The work stands within general and gives modern readers direct access to a public-domain classic with navigable structure and a restrained typographic presentation. The opening pages establish the book's atmosphere with this first movement: A True Colonial Story Broadhurst's store was closed, but the little back room looked very comfortable that night. The fire cast a ruddy glow on ceiling and walls, reflecting itself cheerily on the polished flasks and shot-guns which adorned them. Yet a gloom rested on the two men who sat at either s This edition is suited to readers who want a reliable, uncluttered version of the text for study, rediscovery, and sustained reading.

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