Other books that might interest you

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  The Birth-Mark

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

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  The Birth-Mark by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a hauntingly thought-provoking short story that explores the dark side of perfectionism, science, and obsession. With rich symbolism and moral complexity, Hawthorne crafts a powerful narrative that continues to resonate with readers today. Ideal for fans of classic literature, psychological fiction, and philosophical allegory.

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  The Song of Justice - From their...

  Rainer Maria Rilke

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  René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke was born into a troubled marriage on the 4th December 1875 in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  His mother, having previously lost a baby girl, would dress the young boy up in girl’s clothing.   
  Later his father dispatched him to a military academy at age 10 but after a miserable 5 years the young Rilke left due to illness and instead entered first Prague and then Munich and finally Berlin university to study art history, philosophy and literature. 
  His initial forays into literature was in poetry.  His intense, mystical and lyrical style was much admired and over time inspired many in succeeding generations.    
  His short prose collection ‘Stories of God’, written in an impassioned burst over several nights was published in 1900 and offers a beguiling view of much of Rilke’s influences and outlook.  
  The following year he married the pioneering sculptor and artist Clara Westhoff.  The union produced one child, a daughter Ruth.   
  He lived in Paris for most of the Century’s first decade where he mixed with many great minds of the time.  Although he continued to write he also worked as a secretary to the sculptor, Rodin.   
  It was only after they settled in Switzerland in 1919 that his writing output was in full flow.  Here he wrote profusely in both German and French, which included much on his previous travels, his left-wing sympathies, his religious and existential thoughts, all part of a unique and consummate style. 
  From 1923 on, Rilke increasingly struggled with his health which was now in constant decline and often spent time rehabilitating at a sanatorium.   
  Rainer Maria Rilke died of leukaemia on the 29th December 1926 in Montreux, Switzerland.  He was 51.

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  The Surgeon’s Hands - The...

  Unrepeatable Beauty, Lena Elisabet

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  Inside every body lies a story. 
  In every scar, a memory. 
  And in every silence, a possibility for healing. 
  The Surgeon’s Hands is not a medical memoir—it’s a meditation on presence, precision, and what it truly means to witness someone. Through ten quietly luminous chapters, Maurizio—a gifted and intuitive surgeon—guides us through consultations that become rituals, procedures that begin with reverence, and encounters where touch transcends technique. 
  This is not a tale of transformation by scalpel alone. 
  It is a short novel about the sacred in every pause, and the voice beneath every wound. 
  For surgeons, it is a mirror. 
  For patients, a refuge. 
  For readers, an unfolding. 
  Come closer. 
  You are already enough. 
  © Brilliant Woman Studios 2025

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  Young Magic - Power may be good...

  Helen Simpson

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  Helen de Guerry Simpson was born in Sydney, Australia on the 1st December 1897.  As a 17 year old she was sent to France and then on to Oxford, England to complete her education.  Whilst there she founded the Oxford Women's Dramatic Society.  She was sent down in 1921 apparently for breaking regulations prohibiting men and women students from acting together. 
   
  Her early work of poems, plays, a novel and a collection of short stories found little commercial success. It was only with ‘Boomerang’ in 1932 that her success was established.  Helen continued to write across the genres and by now had become intensely interested in politics.  She was selected to run by the Liberals for the Isle of Wight parliamentary seat in the expected General Election of 39 or 40. 
   
  Sadly this coincided with the rapid onset of cancer and her health very quickly deteriorated.   
   
  Helen Simpson died in Worcestershire, England on the 14th October 1940.  She was 42. 
   
  In ‘Young Magic’ a young girl has definite supernatural abilities which she attempts to control.  Years later when she returns home and begins a relationship those abilities begin to reappear in a more sinister form.

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  Count Magnus - From their pens...

  M R James

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  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.

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  A Source of Irritation - From...

  Stacy Aumonier

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  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 Stacy Aumonier.

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