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  A Lickpenny Lover - From their...

  O Henry

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  William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. 
  He first attended at a school run by his aunt before enrolling at the Lindsey Street High School and then worked at his uncle’s drugstore and gained a pharmacists’ license in 1881.  
  A persistent cough took him to Texas in the hope that a change of climate would help his symptoms. He took on various types of work, initially from ranch hand and cook and then as varied as pharmacist, draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began to write, though for now, purely as a hobby. 
  He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married. 
  Athol, impressed by his writing, encouraged him to get them published. A job as a draftsman at the Texas General Land Office paid a healthy $100 dollars per month and life was good. 
  But then life turned cruel. His son died a few hours after birth although a daughter, Margaret, came the following year.  His job had to be vacated but another was found at the First National Bank of Austin. The bank operated informally and Porter was careless in keeping the books. He lost that job but began writing for the humourous weekly The Rolling Stone and the Houston Post. Some time later the federal Bank auditors went through his former accounts and he was arrested on charges of embezzlement. 
  Porter fled the day before his trial to Honduras. Holed up for several months he began to write.  Athol had become too ill to travel to meet him and learning that her health was deteriorating he surrendered to the court in February 1897.  Bail was obtained so that he could stay with Athol during her final days.  
  Porter was sentenced to five years at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus. His pharmacy qualifications got him the job of night druggist.  His sentence also gave him time to write and publish fourteen short stories. In December 1899 in McClure’s Magazine he published a short story as O Henry.  
  He was released two years early in July 1901, and reunited with Margaret, now 11, in Pittsburgh.  He now began his most prolific period of writing; a short story per week for the New York World, while also publishing works in other magazines.  Eventually over 600 of his short stories were published. 
  Porter was a heavy drinker and in 1908 his health, which had deteriorated for several years, took a dramatic turn for the worse, as did his writing.  
  O Henry died of cirrhosis of the liver complicated by diabetes and an enlarged heart on 5th June 1910.

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  Brothers Karamazov

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

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  First published in 1880, "The Brothers Karamazov" is a philosophical novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. The story revolves around the morally complex Karamazov family: Fyodor, the debauched father, and his three sons—Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha. The novel delves deep into themes like faith, doubt, morality, and the complexities of human nature. Through a blend of narrative styles, including dialogues, monologues, and essays, the book grapples with existential and spiritual questions.

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  The Seven Dials Mystery

  Agatha Christie

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  Dive into the heart of intrigue and suspense with Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery. This classic whodunit takes listeners into a web of secrets, mysterious societies, and unexpected twists, where every clue leads closer to danger. 
  When a practical joke at the manor house of Chimneys takes a deadly turn, the discovery of a murdered guest and a strange clock point to a deeper conspiracy. Bundle Brent, a spirited and clever heroine, sets out to unravel the enigma of the Seven Dials Club—a shadowy group whose motives remain shrouded in mystery. As Bundle pieces together cryptic clues and faces growing peril, she discovers that the truth may come at a shocking price. 
  Filled with Christie’s signature blend of wit, intrigue, and memorable characters, The Seven Dials Mystery is a masterful tale of deception and discovery. Perfect for fans of classic detective fiction, this audiobook will keep you riveted until its thrilling conclusion.

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  Winnie-the-Pooh

  Alan Alexander Milne

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  Enjoy the beloved book that started it all, featuring Christopher Robin and his friends! Join the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and the rest for delightful mishaps and adventures filled with Warmth, Whimsy, and Honey. Rediscover the charming tales that have captured hearts for generations.

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  The Written World and the...

  Italo Calvino

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  A rich collection of essays offering an extraordinary global view of Calvino’s approach to writing, reading, and interpreting literature. 
   
  An extraordinary collection of essays, forewords, articles, and interviews, The Written World and the Unwritten World displays the remarkable intelligence and razor-sharp wit of prolific Italian writer Italo Calvino as he explores the meaning of literature in a rapidly changing world. From classics to  
  contemporary literature, from tradition to the avant-garde, Calvino masterfully explores reading, writing, and translating through careful and illuminating discussion of the works of Bakhtin, Brecht, Cortázar, Thomas Mann, Octavio Paz, Georges Perec, Salman Rushdie, Gore Vidal, and more. Drawn  
  from Mondo scritto e mondo non scritto (2002), Sulla fiaba (1988), and other uncollected essays, this volume of previously untranslated work—now rendered in English by acclaimed translator Ann Goldstein—is a major statement in literary criticism.

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  Dracula

  Bram Stoker

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  “There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.” ― Bram Stoker, Dracula 
  Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to move from Transylvania to England so he may find new blood and spread undead curse, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. 
  Dracula has been assigned to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. The novel touches on themes such as the role of women in Victorian culture, sexual conventions, immigration, colonialism, and post-colonialism. 
  Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.

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