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  The Perfect Murder

  Stacy Aumonier

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  Stacy Aumonier was a British writer, best known for his outstanding short stories. Nobel Prize-winner John Galsworthy described Aumonier as "one of the best short story writers of all time" and predicted that he would "outlive all the writers of his day".Aumonier wrote over 85 short stories in his lifetime. He has been described as the "British Maupassant" owing to his captivating plots and his ability to create complex characters with just a few lines of carefully selected prose. His intensely visual prose meant his works were readily adaptable to the cinema screen, and several of his short stories were adapted by Alfred Hitchcock.The Perfect Murder tells the story of two brothers who are perpetually on the brink of financial ruin, but are unable to prise funds from trust fund left by their uncle until after the death of their aunt. The solution is to plan the perfect murder.The younger brother is confident that he can carry it out... and indeed, does so. With very unexpected results.

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  Emma

  Jane Austen

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  Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The story takes place in the fictional village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and involves the relationships among individuals in those locations consisting of "3 or 4 families in a country village". The novel was first published in December 1815 while the author was alive, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters and depicts issues of marriage, gender, age, and social status.
  Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." In the first sentence, she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray.
  Emma, written after Austen's move to Chawton, was the last novel to be completed and published during her life, as Persuasion, the last novel Austen wrote, was published posthumously.
  This novel has been adapted for several films, many television programmes, and a long list of stage plays. It is also the inspiration for several novels.

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  Wacousta or the prophecy - A...

  John Richardson

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  This is volume 2 of  Major John Richardson, 1832 novel Wacousta.  It is set at Fort Detroit and the surrounding country during Pontiac's rebellion of 1763. The mysterious warrior Wacousta has aligned himself with the First Nations forces who are besieging Detroit and Fort Michilimackinac on the extreme western edge of the British North American frontier. Pontiac is determined to stop expansion into the region, by any means. Wacousta, is a great friend of Pontiac but has his own agenda. - revenge against the British Commander at Detroit, Colonel De Haldimar. The story begins with Wacousta stealing in to the secure fort and whispering something in to De Haldimar's ear. Only later to we discover the nature of his message. Meanwhile, Pontiac designs a clever scheme to break the siege at the well defended fort - a scheme so cunningly designed as to have every chance of success. In Volume 2 we follow Frederick De Haldimar's efforts to save his sister and fiance from being slaughtered in the attack on Fort Michilimackinac,, helped by the Ottawa damsel Oucansasta, whom Frederick had saved from drowning. This book was written in 1832 and incorporates all the attitudes and perspectives of class, race and culture prevalent at the time. Some of the terminology is now considered offensive but was common in the nineteenth century.  It is a powerful and engaging story, although the style of writing is extremely convoluted and complex, and can be difficult to read.  I hope hearing it helps you enjoy it.

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  Collection of Ghost Stories A...

  E. F. Benson

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  E. F. Benson's (1867-1940) ghost and supernatural stories are marvellous jewels, that combine elegant writing with moments of blood-curdling horror. This collection comprises thirteen of his finest stories: 
  The Man Who Went Too FarThe Horror HornThe Other BedGavon's EveThe Room in the TowerAli Abdul's GraveHow Fear departed from the Long GalleryThe Shootings of AchnaleishThe Dust-CloudThe Confession of Charles LinkworthCaterpillarsAt the FarmhouseThe Bus-Conductor

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  Crime and Punishment

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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  A century after it first appeared, Crime and Punishment remains one of the most gripping psychological thrillers. A poverty-striken young man, seeing his family making sacrifices for him, is faced with an opportunity to solve his financial problems with one simple but horrifying act: the murder of a pawnbroker. She is, he feels, just a parasite on society. But does the end justify the means? Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov makes his decision and then has to live with it. Dostoyevsky, in masterly fashion, contrasts the comedy and tragedy of life in St Petersburg with the anguish and turmoil of Raskolnikov’s inner life.

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  The India Novels Volume One -...

  Rumer Godden

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  Three unforgettable novels from a New York Times–bestselling author—including Black Narcissus, which “bears comparison with A Passage to India” (Arthur Koestler).   With Black Narcissus, her novel of five nuns in a remote Himalayan convent struggling against nature—both physical and human—Rumer Godden established her impeccable literary reputation. TheNew York Times wrote of her work: “Her craftsmanship is always sure; her understanding of character is compassionate and profound; her prose is pure, delicate, and gently witty.” Having spent her formative years in colonial India, she would continue to return to that setting for inspiration in several subsequent novels, each of them “beautifully and simply wrought by a woman of depth and sensitivity” (Los Angeles Times).  Black Narcissus: Led by Sister Clodagh, the youngest Mother Superior in the history of their order, the European Sisters of the Servants of Mary take up residence in an abandoned palace in the foothills of the Himalayas, where an Indian general once housed his harem. The sisters hope to establish a school and clinic to combat superstition, ignorance, and disease. But the isolation and mountain altitude, the ghosts and lurid history, and one young nun’s unhealthy obsession with their royal benefactor’s agent, Mr. Dean, threaten to undermine the best intentions of the purest hearts. Black Narcissus was made into an Academy Award–winning film starring Deborah Kerr and directed by Michael Powell.   “A very remarkable novel.” —The Observer  Breakfast with the Nikolides: As the Nazi juggernaut rolls through occupied France, Louise Poole is forced to flee Paris with her two daughters and return to East Bengal and the husband she left. Despite Louise’s hatred of rural India, eleven-year-old Emily is intrigued by her exotic new home, left free to explore—and enjoy the hospitality of her glamorous neighbors, the Nikolides. But as the cracks in her parents’ marriage become more obvious, an act of thoughtless cruelty ultimately shatters the tenuous bonds of family, violently disrupting the lives of the Pooles and the community.   “A fascinating book . . . It is absorbing and as original . . . as Black Narcissus.” —Kirkus Reviews  The River: The Second World War seems very far away for eleven-year-old Harriet, the daughter of a British businessman, and her home in Bengal, India, along the Ganges River—until the arrival of a handsome wounded soldier. Harriet is entranced by their new neighbor, Captain John, but unprepared for the rush of unfamiliar emotions he stirs up in her: longing, jealousy, and infatuation. Inspired by the author’s personal experiences growing up in India, The River is an evocative and bittersweet coming of age story. The River was made into a film directed by Jean Renoir.   “So intense, so quietly demanding of attention, that at the time there will be nothing in your thoughts but a small girl in India, and the people and places that were her world.” —Saturday Review

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