Publisher: Salt
'Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere.'
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the 19th century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era.'Wicked Captain Walshawe' is a disquieting ghost story. Captain Walshawe, a dissolute rake, marries a wealthy heiress as a means to pay off his gambling debts. The marriage is an unhappy one on account if his dreadful behavior. When his wife dies, her old Irish servant casts a curse on Walshawe...which years later leads to a bizarre and totally inexplicable scene after the captain's own death.A Red Door Consulting production.Show book
Showcasing three of O. Henry’s sharpest short stories, Crisis of Conscience highlights the choices available for folks whose options are limited and difficult. In the first, An Unfinished Story, O. Henry uses a technique of only half telling two stories, delivering a clear and powerful message. The other two tales, A Retrieved Redemption and A Blackjack Bargainer, are more traditional narratives, each examining folks who are trying to get back up on the straight and narrow, and their terrible wrangle with the most evil adversary of all – hope.Show book
William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English author of horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction. Hodgson used his experiences at sea to lend authentic detail to his short horror stories, many of which are set on the ocean. He became one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th century. He died in World War I at age 40.'A Tropical Horror' is the vivid story of a ship which is attacked by a hideous sea serpent.Show book
The Science of Getting Rich is the classic guide to creating wealth through the Law of Attraction. First published in 1910, a hundred years later it inspired Rhonda Byrne's bestselling book and movie, The Secret. According to Wallace D. Wattles, "There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches; once these laws are learned and obeyed by any man, he will get rich with mathematical certainty."Show book
Dr Death the coroner and grim reaper king, his wife and son a serial killer are superheros they trying to find another serial killer in a hospital where the Doctor and his wife work. Their son plays bait for the killer who kills magician. Will they catch the killer or will Dr Death have to take his son to the afterlife?Show book
Prince Stepan Kasatsky experiences a disappointment with his fiancé and decides to become a monk! There is a story line, but beneath it, Father Sergius struggles to find peace and, if not happiness, then at least contentment. But he is always disillusioned and ultimately unsatisfied. Only in the end does he find his way by letting go of what he struggled to attain all his life, i.e. to be better than everyone else in whatever he did, and settle for the mundane.Show book
