Other books that might interest you

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  Morella

  SAMPI Books, Edgar Allan Poe

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  "Morella", by Edgar Allan Poe, shows the relationship between a man and his wife, whose fixation with the supernatural makes her almost a ghost. After she dies, her daughter, also called Morella, appears to be her reincarnation, continuing a frightening cycle of life, death and rebirth.

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  Dracula's Guest - From their...

  Bram Stoker

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  Abraham Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland on the 8th of November 1847, the third of seven children.  
  His early years were plagued with such ill-health that he was unable to start school until the age of seven.  He turned the long periods of recovery into an opportunity for thinking and said “I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years”.  
  Strikingly at Trinity College, Dublin his health had returned with such vigour that he was named their University Athlete whilst also achieving a BA in Mathematics with honours.  
  At this time his interest in theatre became a job offer to be the Dublin Evening Mail’s theatre critic, co-owned by Sheridan Le Fanu.  He now began to also write short stories and in 1872 ‘The Crystal Cup’ was published.  An interest in art developed and he co-founded the Dublin Sketching Club.  
  In 1878 came marriage to Florence Balcombe.  She had formerly been courted by Stoker’s acquaintance, Oscar Wilde.  The marriage produced one child.   
  Stoker had some years before reviewed Henry Irving’s Hamlet and had dined with him.  That friendship now resulted in a proposal from Irving to move to London and to manage his Lyceum Theatre.  His numerous commercial innovations ensured both he and the theatre thrived.  Irving would also often take Stoker with him when he toured abroad. 
  Despite this busy life Stoker continued to write and these works paved the way for his most famous creation, published in 1897, ‘Dracula’.  It is rightly recognised as one of the greatest horror novels of all time and although not the first with a theme of Vampires, it is undoubtedly the most well-known. 
  Stoker also wrote poetry and many excellent short stories and continued to write novels and other works throughout his career. 
  Politically Stoker supported Home Rule, though only by peaceful means.  He was also keen on following scientific trends particularly in medicine. 
  In 1902 his tenure at the Lyceum Theatre ended and although he continued to write his health was deteriorating, mainly due to a series of debilitating strokes. 
  Bram Stoker died on the 20th April 1912, in Pimlico, London.  He was 64.

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  The Mayor Of Casterbridge

  Thomas Hardy

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  "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is one of Thomas Hardy's most compelling novels, originally published in 1886. Set in the fictitious town of Casterbridge, the story is a tragedy of character, exploring the life of Michael Henchard, a man of strong will and at times, self-destructive tendencies. After impulsively selling his wife and daughter at a fair while under the influence of alcohol, Henchard tries to amend his ways and eventually becomes the mayor of Casterbridge. However, the shadows of his past actions loom large, affecting his relationships and leading to a series of heartrending events. The narrative delves deep into themes of fate, personal responsibility, and the immutable character of a man.

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  Rats - A Short Story Collection...

  Bram Stoker, HP Lovecraft, M R...

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  An urban myth is often quoted that you are never further than six feet from a rat in any built-up area.  The true figure is nearer one hundred and fifty feet but that too seems too close for comfort. 
   
  Wherever these creatures settle there is an undeniable fear amongst most of us that they are malevolent, vile and disgusting creatures.  A chill and a shudder are our bodies natural reactions.  Fear lurks in our hearts and souls. 
   
  Enter our storied arena of authors.  This, for them, is fertile territory with which to torment and torture the reader and listener with all sorts of dark deeds that, somehow, we just can’t resist.  
   
  From the macabre and talented pens of Lovecraft, Stoker, James we add Cowles and Mann and others to assault your ears. 
   
  1 - Rats - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  2 - The Burial of the Rats by Bram Stoker 
  3 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft 
  4 - The Devilish Rat by Edward Page Mitchell 
  5 - Rats by Mary E Mann 
  6 - Rats by M R James 
  7 - Rats by Frederick Cowles 
  8 - Alexander the Ratcatcher by Richard Garnett

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  The Diary of a Nobody

  George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith

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  This “jewel at the heart of English comic literature” chronicles the daily fortunes and misfortunes of a middle-age, middle-class clerk (William Trevor, The Mail on Sunday).   Since its original publication in 1892, The Diary of a Nobody has become a much-loved classic. It is a fictional man’s dissection of the everyday drama of his life as an office worker in a London firm. With dry wit, the authors step into the character of Charles Pooter as he navigates work life with not-so-respectful young coworkers and family life with his charming wife, Carrie, and impetuous son, Lupin. From home repairs gone wrong (painting the tub red), to the comings and goings of his friends Cummings and Gowings, Pooter painstakingly shares intimate details of his existence, with the (not completely absurd) hope of maybe someday having his memoir published. An ongoing tally of the good jokes he makes shares space with descriptions of grievous insults to his person, party mishaps, the annoying behavior of everyone around him, and Lupin’s on-again off-again employment and engagement status. The Diary of a Nobody gives everyone a reason to laugh—and recognize themselves in Pooter’s droll prose.  “The funniest book in the world.” —Evelyn Waugh, author of Brideshead Revisited  “There’s a universality about Pooter that touches everybody . . . [he] fits into the tradition of absurd humour that the British do well, which started with Jonathan Swift and runs through Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear to Monty Python.” —Jasper Fforde, Time Out  “Pooter himself is as gentle as you could wish, a wonderful character, genuinely lovable. The book is beautifully constructed.” —Andrew Davies, The Herald

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  Lazarus

  Leonid Andreyev

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  What did Lazarus see beyond the veil of death?
  In this haunting masterpiece of psychological and philosophical fiction, Leonid Andreyev conjures a vision of resurrection unlike any ever imagined. Lazarus is not a tale of triumph over death—but of what death leaves behind.
  Strange, unsettling, and metaphysical, this is the story of a man raised from the grave only to cast a cold, unblinking gaze back upon the living. Wherever he walks, beauty withers, joy dissolves, and the veneer of meaning slips away. Those who look into his eyes do not die—they unravel.
  Written in a feverish prose that borders on the ecstatic and apocalyptic, Lazarus is a hypnotic meditation on the abyss that separates existence from extinction—and the unspeakable truth that might wait on the other side.
  Perfect for listeners drawn to existential horror, metaphysical fiction, or the eerie brilliance of Dostoevsky, Kafka, or Poe.

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