Publisher: Classica Libris
Collection of adventure stories: “Little Tomtit,” “The Tale of the Tenth Tablet,” “The Emperor’s Amulet,” “A Tiger Hilt,” “Red Amber,” “The Ambassador’s Ring” and “The Image of Earth.”
Thirteen tales of terror—from the macabre and morbid to unexplainable stories of the occult—from such authors as Harry Houdini, H. P. Lovecraft, and others. First hitting newsstands in 1923, Weird Tales magazine quickly became a literary monster in discovering and publishing the best horror, sci-fi and fantasy writers of its day. The pulp magazine was one of the earliest publications, if not the first, to feature strange tales of occultism and alien invasions that simply didn’t fit into any other magazine at that time. The stories struck a chord with those early audiences, and as a result, Weird Tales created a subgenre as “weird” could be attached itself to various genres. Marquee names like master magician Harry Houdini and cosmic horror creator H. P. Lovecraft graced the magazine’s pages during those early years with several debut stories, alongside authors who were already giants in their own right—Otis Adelbert Kline, Seabury Quinn, and Greye La Spina. Maybe lesser known, but no less influential, writers like Frank Belknap Long Jr., Mary S. Brown, Lyllian Huntley Harris, Hasan Vokine, Arthur J. Burks, and H. Warner Munn turned out disturbing yarns that have stood the test of time only to be resurrected nearly a century later. This collection features those early authors across thirteen spooky stories from the impactful years of 1923 to 1925 that are best enjoyed at the witching hour. Reading ritual aside, you’ve been warned.Show book
Dmitrey Merezhkovsky, a formidable historian and philosopher, known best for his epic narratives from Russian history, takes a romantic foray into the realm of life, death, love, and all things in between.Show book
The critically acclaimed author of The Rib King returns with an eagerly anticipated collection of interlocking short stories including the title story written exclusively for this volume, that explore relationships between friends, family and strangers in a Black neighborhood over fifteen years The twelve gripping tales In The Last Suspicious Holdout, the new story collection by award-winning author Ladee Hubbard, deftly chronicle poignant moments in the lives of an African American community located in a “sliver of southern suburbia.” Spanning from 1992 to 2007, the stories represent a period during which the Black middle-class expanded while stories of ""welfare Queens,"" ""crack babies,"" and ""super predators"" abounded in the media. In “False Cognates,” a formerly incarcerated attorney struggles with raising the tuition to keep his troubled son in an elite private school. In “There He Go,” a young girl whose mother moves constantly clings to a picture of the grandfather she doesn’t know but invents stories of his greatness. Characters spotlighted in one story reappear in another, providing a stunning testament to the enduring resilience of Black people as they navigate the “post-racial” period The Last Suspicious Holdout so vividly portrays.Show book
Montague Rhodes James is cited as perhaps the greatest English writer of ghost stories, an opinion few would disagree with. James was born on 1st August 1862 at Goodnestone Parsonage in Kent, where his father was Curate but at age 3 the family went to live at Livermere, near Bury St Edmunds in East Anglia. From early childhood he had a passion for mediaeval books and antiques. He was educated initially as a boarder at Temple Grove School in East Sheen, west London, before gaining a scholarship to Eton and thence Cambridge where he gained a double first, becoming a distinguished linguist and mediaevalist. Before the Great War vacations were usually spent touring Europe absorbing cultures and references for his later writing. A man of enormous knowledge it was said he timed his breakfast egg whilst he completed the Times crossword. Many of his elegant yet terrifying tales were created by discarding the prevailing gothic cliches and placing his characters and narrative in a realistic setting. Thereby the stories gained atmosphere and menace on a grand scale and he was famed as the originator of the antiquarian ghost story. Although story-telling and writing these 30 or so tales was a hobby, when published their effect transformed the genre and still chill the bones in our more modern times. James was also a medievalist scholar and translator whose work remains highly respected. He was also Provost of Eton College between 1918 and 1936. M R James died on 12th June 1936 at Eton in Buckinghamshire. He was 73.Show book
Anton Chekhov is amongst the most vaunted of authors. His tales can take a small fragment of a person’s life and turn it into a narrative of unrivalled and compelling power. This volume perfectly illustrates Chekhov and his miniature masterpieces. 1 - The Top Ten - Anton Chekhov 2 - The Bet 3 - Vanka 4 - Misery 5 - The Lady with the Dog 6 - The Kiss 7 - The Death of a Government Clerk 8 - Volodya 9 - The Student 10 - About Love 11 - GooseberriesShow book
Hannah More was born on February 2nd, 1745 at Fishponds in the parish of Stapleton, near Bristol. She was the fourth of five daughters. The City of Bristol, at that time, was a centre for slave-trading and Hannah would, over time, become one of its staunchest critics. She was keen to learn, possessed a sharp intellect and was assiduous in studying. Hannah first wrote in 1762 with The Search after Happiness (by the mid-1780s some 10,000 copies had been sold). In 1767 Hannah became engaged to William Turner. After six years, with no wedding in sight, the engagement was broken off. Turner then bestowed upon her an annual annuity of £200. This was enough to meet her needs and set her free to pursue a literary career. Her first play, The Inflexible Captive, was staged at Bath in 1775. The famous David Garrick himself produced her next play, Percy, in 1777 as well as writing both the Prologue and Epilogue for it. It was a great success when performed at Covent Garden in December of that year. Hannah turned to religious writing with Sacred Dramas in 1782; it rapidly ran through nineteen editions. These and the poems Bas-Bleu and Florio (1786) mark her gradual transition to a more serious and considered view of life. Hannah contributed much to the newly-founded Abolition Society including, in February 1788, her publication of Slavery, a Poem recognised as one of the most important of the abolition period. Her work now became more evangelical. In the 1790s she wrote several Cheap Repository Tracts which covered moral, religious and political topics and were both for sale or distributed to literate poor people. The most famous is, perhaps, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, describing a family of incredible frugality and contentment. Two million copies of these were circulated, in one year. In 1789, she purchased a small house at Cowslip Green in Somerset. She was instrumental in setting up twelve schools in the area by 1800. She continued to oppose slavery throughout her life, but at the time of the Abolition Bill of 1807, her health did not permit her to take as active a role in the movement as she had done in the late 1780s, although she maintained a correspondence with Wilberforce and others. In July 1833, the Bill to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire passed in the House of Commons, followed by the House of Lords on August 1st. Hannah More died on September 7th, 1833.Show book
