Other books that might interest you

• 

  The Short Stories of Jack London...

  Jack London

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  John Griffith Chaney was born on January 12th, 1876 in San Francisco.   
   
  His father, William Chaney, was living with Flora Wellman when she became pregnant.  Chaney insisted she have an abortion.  Flora's response was to turn a gun on herself.  Although her wounds were not severe the trauma made her temporarily deranged. 
   
  In late 1876 his mother married John London and the young child was brought to live with them as they moved around the Bay area, eventually settling in Oakland where now, calling himself Jack, he completed grade school. 
   
  Jack worked hard at several jobs, sometimes 12-18 hours a day, but his dream was university.  He studied hard and borrowed the money to enrol in the summer of 1896 at the University of California in Berkeley. 
   
  In 1897, at 21, Jack searched out newspaper accounts of his mother's suicide attempt and for the name of his biological father. He wrote to Chaney, then living in Chicago, who claimed he could not be Jack’s father because he was impotent and casually asserted that London's mother had relations with other men.  Jack, devastated by the response, quit Berkeley and went to the Klondike. Other accounts suggest that his dire finances presented Jack with the excuse he needed to leave. 
   
  In the Klondike Jack began to gather material for his writing but also accumulated many health problems, including scurvy, which together with hip and leg problems he would carry for the rest of his life. 
   
  During the late 1890's Jack was regularly publishing short stories and by the turn of the century full blown novels. 
   
  By 1904 Jack had married, fathered two children and was now in the process of divorcing.  A stint as a reporter on the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 was equal amounts trouble and experience. But that experience was always put to good use in a continuing and remarkable output of work. 
   
  In 1905 he married Charmian Kittredge who at last was a soul and companion who brought him some semblance of peace despite his advancing alcoholism and his incurable wanderlust. 
   
  Twelve years later Jack had amassed both wealth and a literary reputation through such classics as ‘The Call of the Wild’, ‘White Fang’ and many others. He had a reputation as a social activist and was a tireless friend of the workers.   
   
  Jack London died suffering from dysentery, late-stage alcoholism and uremia, aged only 40, on November 22nd 1916 at his property in Glen Elen in California. 
  01 - Jack London - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  02 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 
  03 - A Wicked Woman by Jack London 
  04 - The Unparallelled Invasion by Jack London 
  05 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London

  Show book

• 

  Top 10 Short Stories The - Men...

  Joseph Conrad, Anton Chekhov,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  As the Century staggers to a close under the burdens of its expansive history authors, freed from many constraints, are exploring new ideas on a more intimate scale but on a wider landscape.  Their now everyday names and reputations are forged in these stories.  
   
  1 - The Top 10 - The 1890's - The Men - An Introduction 
  2 - Youth - Part 1 by Joseph Conrad 
  3 - Youth - Part 1 by Joseph Conrad 
  4 - About Love by Anton Chekhov 
  5 - Twenty-Six Men and a Girl by Maxim Gorky 
  6 - B24 by Arthur Conan Doyle 
  7 - Lost Hearts by M R James 
  8 - The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker 
  9 - An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce 
  10 - The Inconsiderate Waiter by J M Barrie 
  11 - Hide And Seek or Pliatki by Fyodor Sologub 
  12 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 1 by Robert W Chambers 
  13 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 2 by Robert W Chambers

  Show book

• 

  Paradise Beach - Calming sleep...

  Alexander Baker

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  If you are struggling to get to sleep or you've woken up in the middle of the night and want to get back to sleep, this story is for you. We start off with a couple of relaxing breathing exercises then the beautiful female voice will hypnotise you to sleep as you image yourself on a paradise beach.

  Show book

• 

  Gauntlets and Conches - A Short...

  Gordon Bonnet, Marlon S Hayes

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Since the beginning of human interaction, there have been storytellers who have spun tales to inspire and capture the imagination. In homage to Golding's Lord of the Flies and the act of flinging a gauntlet before a duel, these two writers, Gordon Bonnet, and Marlon S. Hayes, have shown their multi-genre talents. 
  Two guys in a bar, grandmas, fathers and sons, and myths are a few of the themes in this collection, and the results are noteworthy, entertaining, and soul filling. What if an opportunity arose to have a conversation with one's younger self? Or, what if the pictures on the wall started whispering warnings? Ever imagined how an orc might view humans? What about an epic road trip across America's heartland where anger and grief also ride along? Exactly. 
  It's a duel of well-written short stories, with each writer inspiring the other to continue to ascend with their storytelling skills. It's not a competition, simply an acknowledgement of each other's talents.

  Show book

• 

  The Campaign Grafter

  Arthur B. Reeve

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  "The Campaign Grafter", a short story published in 1912, tells the tale of Professor Graig Kennedy and his assistant Walter Jameson coming to the aid of a politician troubled by an incriminating photograph. 
  Arthur B. Reeve (October 15, 1880—August 9, 1936) was an American mystery writer and screenwriter known for creating the series character Professor Craig Kennedy, sometimes called "The American Sherlock Holmes", and Kennedy's Dr. Watson-like sidekick Walter Jameson, a newspaper reporter. 
  Grace Canin is an actress, voiceover artist, and writer, based out of southern Oregon. She has written over two dozen short stories, while maintaining a stage presence at numerous theaters in the Pacific Northwest.

  Show book

• 

  A Pen-and-Ink Effect - From...

  Frances E Huntley the writing...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors.  From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure.  Among them is Ethel Colburn Mayne.

  Show book