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  Jam For The Enemy - Former...

  Edgar Wallace

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  Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on the 1st April 1875 in Greenwich, London.  Leaving school at 12 because of truancy, by the age of fifteen he had experience; selling newspapers, as a worker in a rubber factory, as a shoe shop assistant, as a milk delivery boy and as a ship’s cook.  
   
  By 1894 he was engaged but broke it off to join the Infantry being posted to South Africa. He also changed his name to Edgar Wallace which he took from Lew Wallace, the author of Ben-Hur.  
   
  In Cape Town in 1898 he met Rudyard Kipling and was inspired to begin writing. His first collection of ballads, The Mission that Failed! was enough of a success that in 1899 he paid his way out of the armed forces in order to turn to writing full time.  
   
  By 1904 he had completed his first thriller, The Four Just Men. Since nobody would publish it he resorted to setting up his own publishing company which he called Tallis Press. 
    
  In 1911 his Congolese stories were published in a collection called Sanders of the River, which became a bestseller. He also started his own racing papers, Bibury’s and R. E. Walton’s Weekly, eventually buying his own racehorses and losing thousands gambling.  A life of exceptionally high income was also mirrored with exceptionally large spending and debts.  
   
  Wallace now began to take his career as a fiction writer more seriously, signing with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921. He was marketed as the ‘King of Thrillers’ and they gave him the trademark image of a trilby, a cigarette holder and a yellow Rolls Royce. He was truly prolific, capable not only of producing a 70,000 word novel in three days but of doing three novels in a row in such a manner. It was estimated that by 1928 one in four books being read was written by Wallace, for alongside his famous thrillers he wrote variously in other genres, including science fiction, non-fiction accounts of WWI which amounted to ten volumes and screen plays. Eventually he would reach the remarkable total of 170 novels, 18 stage plays and 957 short stories. 
   
  Wallace became chairman of the Press Club which to this day holds an annual Edgar Wallace Award, rewarding ‘excellence in writing’.  
   
  Diagnosed with diabetes his health deteriorated and he soon entered a coma and died of his condition and double pneumonia on the 7th of February 1932 in North Maple Drive, Beverly Hills. He was buried near his home in England at Chalklands, Bourne End, in Buckinghamshire.

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  White Nights - Audiobook

  Fyodor Dostoevsky, Classic...

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  Fyodor Dostoevsky's White Nights is a deeply emotional and poetic novella that explores themes of loneliness, dreams, and fleeting connections. The story follows a solitary dreamer who wanders the streets of St. Petersburg at night, lost in his own thoughts and imagination. One evening, he meets a mysterious young woman, Nastenka, who, like him, is longing for something beyond her reach. Over the course of several nights, they open up to each other, sharing their fears, hopes, and desires, forming an unusual bond.Through delicate and lyrical prose, Dostoevsky captures the fragile nature of human emotions and the contrast between dreams and reality. White Nights is a meditation on love, solitude, and the way our most cherished moments can slip away like a dream. The novella remains one of Dostoevsky's most touching works, leaving readers with a bittersweet sense of longing and reflection on the nature of human connection.

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  Complete Original Short Stories...

  Guy de Maupassant

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  Experience the Unflinching Eye of a Literary Master.
  
  Guy de Maupassant was the protégé of Gustave Flaubert and a titan of French literature who perfected the art of the short story. Known for his economical style and startling "twist" endings, he captured the entirety of human experience—from the vanity of the Parisian elite to the brutal hardships of the Franco-Prussian War. This comprehensive collection brings together his complete output, showcasing the sharp irony and deep empathy that redefined modern fiction.
  
  Inside this monumental collection, you will discover:
  
  The Architect of the Modern Story: Witness the birth of the modern short story structure, characterized by its objective tone, psychological precision, and narrative efficiency.
  
  The Irony of Fate: Explore his signature themes of social hypocrisy and the cruel tricks of destiny, where a single moment of vanity or a chance encounter can alter a life forever.
  
  A Panorama of 19th-Century France: Journey from the fashionable boulevards of Paris to the rugged farms of Normandy, meeting a cast of characters that spans every social class.
  
  Tales of the Supernatural and the Mind: Delve into Maupassant's later, more haunting works that explore obsession, paranoia, and the thin line between reality and madness.
  
  Maupassant's influence on the world of literature is immeasurable, paving the way for writers like Somerset Maugham, O. Henry, and Chekhov. Whether you seek a biting satire of society or a chilling psychological study, this volume is an essential cornerstone for any library of world literature and classic fiction.
  
  Own the masterpiece of brevity and brilliance. Buy the "Complete Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant" today and see the world through a master's lens.

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  Rime of the Ancient Mariner

  Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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  Step aboard the ship of imagination with 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Unabridged Version)', Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic tale of sin, penance, and the awe-inspiring power of the natural world. This audiobook rendition perfectly encapsulates the haunting beauty of Coleridge's masterpiece, making it an unmissable auditory experience.Delivered in a crisp, clear voice that captures the rhythmic beauty of Coleridge's original verse, this audiobook stays loyal to the timeless text, bringing each poignant line and dramatic scene to life. As the ancient mariner recounts his chilling tale of an ill-fated sea voyage, listeners will be drawn into a world of mariners, albatrosses, ghostly specters, and the relentless sea.Perfect for both lovers of classic poetry and those new to Coleridge's work, this audiobook offers a captivating way to experience one of the most influential poems in English literature. So, whether you're revisiting this iconic tale or hearing it for the first time, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Unabridged Version)' will leave you spellbound by its evocative power and lyrical charm.

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  A Saga of the Seas - From their...

  Kenneth Grahame

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  Kenneth Grahame was born on 8th March 1859 in Edinburgh. 
  At age 5 his mother succumbed to puerperal fever.  His father, who had a drinking problem, now sent his 4 children to live with their grandmother at her large house in Cookham, Berkshire. Here the children lived in large open grounds next to the river.  These early experiences would in later years, be retold in his writing through a myriad of characters. 
  Grahame loved being a pupil at St Edward's School, Oxford and wanted to enroll at the university there but his guardian demurred on account of the cost. 
  Instead, a banking career was chosen for him, starting in 1879 at the Bank of England, where he rose steadily to the rank of its Secretary until retiring, with a pension, in 1908 due to ill health. 
  Alongside his commercial career Grahame had written and published various stories and essays in several periodicals. Some were anthologized as ‘Pagan Papers’ in 1893, and two years later ‘The Golden Age’ and later still ‘Dream Days’ and its masterpiece ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ became part of many home libraries.  His ability to view life through the lens of a young and curious child was superb, enabling the reader to easily identify with the character.   
  Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899 and they had one child; Alastair, born semi-blind and plagued by health problems.  In a heart-rending tragedy he would later take his own life whilst attending Oxford University in 1920.   
  In 1908 Grahame reworked many of the bedtime stories he had fashioned for his son into the enduring favourite; ‘The Wind in the Willows’, describing the heart-warming adventures of Mr Toad and his friends.   
  Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire, on 6th July 1932.

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  The Scarlet Letter

  Nataniel Hawthorne

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  "Nathaniel Hawthorne's astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe" -Robert McCrum ; The GuardianThe Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.Set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in America. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work today. It inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described it as a masterwork and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination".

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