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  The Narrative of Arthur Gordon...

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  Rum, a sailing ship, and a dare…   …What could go wrong?   Edgar Allan Poe’s only complete novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is one of the first adventure stories set in and around the Antarctic, which at the time was a place of mystery and the unknown.   Pym takes us on an adventure across the seas to uncharted southern lands that are fraught with danger. With shipwrecks, murder, mutiny, and, yes, cannibalism, this tale has it all. First published in 1838, midway between Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Poe’s Pym echoes one and presages the other while delving even deeper into the darkness of men’s souls.   This new edition, with a new Foreword by New York Times best-selling author and Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry, brings the classic tale back to life. Not for the faint of heart, Poe’s novel, which inspired H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, H.P. Lovecraft, and many others, reflects the wonder and dangers of exploring the unknown.

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  The Listener - A Novel

  Taylor Caldwell

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  A parade of people in need of solace find a mysterious sympathizer, in this uniquely moving classic by a New York Times–bestselling author. They come day and night to confess their troubles to an anonymous listener positioned behind a curtain. Could it be a priest, a psychiatrist, a friend, or a judge? Each person draws a different conclusion. From a businessman who feels betrayed by someone he trusted, to a society woman with contempt for her husband, to a scientist troubled by what his work has wrought, the visitors’ situations vary widely as they struggle with grief, denial, prejudice, and fear. But in this small sanctuary, there are no office hours, the listener is always listening, and the visitors’ lives are forever changed. This inspiring and inventive work of fiction comes from the award-winning author of Captains and the Kings, Testimony of Two Men, and many other bestsellers. “The gift of narration and characterization which Taylor Caldwell brings to each of her books is here in strong measure.” —Kirkus Reviews “I believe [Caldwell] wanted to instill hope, renew faith, and foster love in what she saw as a society on the decline. The year was 1960. But the issues can be universally applied today.” —The Book Cafe

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  A Respectable Woman - From their...

  Kate Chopin

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  Katherine O'Flaherty was born on the 8th February 1850 in St Louis, Missouri to parents of French and Irish descent. 
  At age 5, she was sent to the Sacred Heart Academy and, apart from a 2 year period at home when her father died, remained there until graduating in 1868.  Whilst there she began writing and became an avid reader of almost anything that crossed her path.   
  Kate married Oscar Chopin in 1870 and the couple moved to New Orleans, and later to the rural setting of Cloutierville, Louisiana to raise their 6 children.  
  In 1882 her husband died leaving her in a deep trench of debt.  Despite her best efforts to turn the businesses around they were sold, and she moved the family back to St Louis and the financial help of her mother.  Sadly, her mother died within the year.  Kate, now struggling with depression, pushed herself to write and gained a local reputation as a writer of short stories that captured the local color and vibrancy of her surroundings. 
  By the early 1890’s her short stories were published nationally.  With this widespread audience also came negative reviews, controversy, and cries of immorality as themes such as interracial relationships, the rights of women and other burning issues of the day were written about. 
  Despite the criticism, which unnerved her, she continued to write though in the main her works, around 100 short stories and two novels, were not attributed with any literary worth. 
  Kate Chopin died from a brain haemorrhage in St Louis Missouri on the 22nd of August 1904.  She was 54. 
  For much of the 20th Century her work was forgotten and out of print.  It was only in early 1970’s, with the rise of feminism and the call for a more just society that she was given the status her works had long described and shone a literary light at.  She is now safely revered as one of America’s great authors.

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  3 Horror Stories About Blood - A...

  Rudyard Kipling, Hanns Heinz...

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  There is something about the number 3.    
  The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two.   
  Most religions also have 3 this and 3 that and, of course, in these more modern times, three’s a crowd may be too many, except when it’s a ménage à trois.  It seems good things usually come in threes. 
  Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating. 
   
  01 - 3 Horror Stories About Blood 
  02 - Tomato Sauce by Hanns Heinz Ewers 
  03 - The Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling 
  04 - The Sumach by Ulric Daubeny

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  A Permanent Member of the Family

  Russell Banks

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  Suffused with Russell Banks’s trademark lyricism and reckless humor, the twelve stories in A Permanent Member of the Family examine the myriad ways we try—and sometimes fail—to connect with one another, as we seek a home in the world. 
  In the title story, a father looks back on the legend of the cherished family dog whose divided loyalties mirrored the fragmenting of his marriage. “A Former Marine” asks, to chilling effect, if one can ever stop being a parent. And in the haunting, evocative “Veronica,” a mysterious woman searching for her daughter may not be who she claims she is. 
  Moving between the stark beauty of winter in upstate New York and the seductive heat of Florida, Banks’s acute and penetrating collection demonstrates the range and virtuosity of both his narrative prowess and his startlingly panoramic vision of modern American life.

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  Owen Oliver - A Short Story...

  Owen Oliver

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  Owen Oliver was born Joshua Albert Flynn in Sheerness, Kent, on 15th September 1863.  He was the eldest son of Albert Spencer Flynn and benefitted from a good education at private schools and then on to graduating at King's College, London.    Writing came after he had established himself as a senior civil servant and after he married Ada Parkinson who he had two sons and three daughters with.   
   
  Flynn served in South Africa as financial adviser to Lord Kitchener, worked for the Admiralty and the War Office from 1885 and was appointed director-general of finance at the Ministry of Pensions in 1916.  He excelled professionally and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1910 and knighted in 1919.  
   
  Under his pen name, Owen Oliver, he contributed over 250 short stories in different genres that were published in the popular magazines of the day.  Science fiction mainly in the Yellow Magazine, romance in the Windsor Magazine and numerous adventure stories in the London Magazine and  Cassell’s.  In 1918, he published the novel "An Author's Daughter" followed by A Knight at Heart, which delved into themes of chivalry, honour and love, set against the backdrop of historical events. Through his evocative prose and engaging narratives Oliver transported readers to different worlds, inviting them to experience the thrill of adventure and life in possibly a simpler time.  He wrote one further novel as well as a non-fiction book on the civil service that included the idea of widening recruitment outside of the elite universities. 
   
  Joshua Albert Flynn, aka Owen Oliver, died in Streatham, south London on 8th October 1933.  He was 70. 
   
  1 - Owen Oliver - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  2 - The Cloud-Men by Owen Oliver 
  3 - Days of Darkness by Owen Oliver 
  4 - The Awakening by Owen Oliver 
  5 - An Unsolicited Contribution by Owen Oliver 
  6 - The Specification by Owen Oliver

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