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  The Pavilion - From the dark...

  Edith Nesbit

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  Edith Nesbit was born on the 15th August 1858 in Kennington, then part of Surrey.   
   
  Due to the health issues and tuberculosis of her sister Mary, Nesbit’s early life was one of constant changes of house both in England and on the continent. 
   
  At age 17, Nesbit met Hubert Bland and they married three years later―whilst she was 7 months pregnant.  Bland also kept his affair with another woman going throughout their marriage and the two children of that relationship were raised by Nesbit as well as her own three with Bland. 
   
  Together they were founder members of the Fabian Society in 1884 naming their son Fabian in its honour.  They also edited the Society's journal; ‘Today’.  Nesbit was an active lecturer and prolific writer on socialism during those years but gradually her work for them dwindled as her career as a children’s writer grew.  Her most famous success was ‘The Railway Children’ but she was also very prolific and greatly accomplished in poetry, short stories―especially her macabre ghost and supernatural stories―and novels for adults.  
   
  In February 1917, some three years after the death of Bland she married Thomas ‘the Skipper’ Tucker in Woolwich, where he was a ship's engineer on the Woolwich Ferry. 
   
  Edith Nesbit died from lung cancer on the 4th May 1924 at her house ‘The Long Boat’ at Jesson, St Mary's Bay, New Romney in Kent.  She was 65.

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  Beowulf - Hall Translation

  John Lesslie Hall

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  Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. He then returns to his own country and dies in old age in a vivid fight against a dragon. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on in the exhausted aftermath. In the contours of this story, at once remote and uncannily familiar at the beginning of the twenty-first century, Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney finds a resonance that summons power to the poetry from deep beneath its surface. Drawn to what he has called the "four-squareness of the utterance" in Beowulf and its immense emotional credibility, Heaney gives these epic qualities new and convincing reality for the contemporary reader.

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  Freckles - From their pens to...

  William Pett Ridge

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  William Pett Ridge was born at Chartham, near Canterbury, Kent, on 22nd April 1859. 
  His family’s resources were certainly limited. His father was a railway porter, and the young Pett Ridge, after schooling in Marden, Kent became a clerk in a railway clearing-house. The hours were long and arduous, but self-improvement was Pett Ridge’s goal.  After working from nine until seven o’clock he would attend evening classes at Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institute and then to follow his passion; the ambition to write.  He was heavily influenced by Dickens and several critics thought he had the capability to be his successor. 
  From 1891 many of his humourous sketches were published in the St James's Gazette, the Idler, Windsor Magazine and other literary periodicals of the day. 
  Pett Ridge published his first novel in 1895, A Clever Wife. By the advent of his fifth novel, Mord Em'ly, a mere three years later in 1898, his success was obvious.  His writing was written from the perspective of those born with no privilege and relied on his great talent to find humour and sympathy in his portrayal of working class life. 
  Today Pett Ridge and other East End novelists including Arthur Nevinson, Arthur Morrison and Edwin Pugh are being grouped together as the Cockney Novelists.   
  In 1924, Pugh set out his recollections of Pett Ridge from the 1890s: “I see him most clearly, as he was in those days, through a blue haze of tobacco smoke. We used sometimes to travel together from Waterloo to Worcester Park on our way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening with H. G. Wells. Pett Ridge does not know it, but it was through watching him fill his pipe, as he sat opposite me in a stuffy little railway compartment, that I completed my own education as a smoker... Pett Ridge had a small, dark, rather spiky moustache in those days, and thick, dark, sleek hair which is perhaps not quite so thick or dark, though hardly less sleek nowadays than it was then”. 
  With his success, on the back of his prolific output and commercial success, Pett Ridge gave generously of both time and money to charity. In 1907 he founded the Babies Home at Hoxton.  This was one of several organisations that he supported that had the welfare of children as their mission.  
  His circle considered Pett Ridge to be one of life's natural bachelors. In 1909 they were rather surprised therefore when he married Olga Hentschel.  
  As the 1920’s arrived Pett Ridge added to his popularity with the movies. Four of his books were adapted into films.  
  Pett Ridge now found the peak of his fame had passed. Although he still managed to produce a book a year he was falling out of fashion and favour with the reading public and his popularity declined rapidly.  His canon runs to over sixty novels and short-story collections as well as many pieces for magazines and periodicals. 
  William Pett Ridge died, on 29th September 1930, at his home, Ampthill, Willow Grove, Chislehurst, at the age of 71. 
  He was cremated at West Norwood on 2nd October 1930.

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  Les Misérables: Volume 4: The...

  Victor Hugo

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  Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 - 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote abundantly in an exceptional variety of genres: lyrics, satires, epics, philosophical poems, epigrams, novels, history, critical essays, political speeches, funeral orations, diaries, and letters public and private, as well as dramas in verse and prose.
  BOOK 11: THE ATOM FRATERNIZES WITH THE HURRICANE: At the instant when the insurrection, arising from the shock of the populace and the military in front of the Arsenal, started a movement in advance and towards the rear in the multitude which was following the hearse and which, through the whole length of the boulevards, weighed, so to speak, on the head of the procession, there arose a frightful ebb.

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  Spirits of Zangbeto - The Hidden...

  EDDIE INYANGALA

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  "Spirits of Zangbeto: The Hidden Horrors" by Eddie Inyangala delves into the heart of Zangbeto, a village steeped in mystery and ancient customs. The tranquil existence of the villagers is disrupted by a series of terrifying occurrences, propelling Dr. Rebecca Lawson on a quest to unearth the truth. However, her pursuit inadvertently awakens a malevolent force as the blood moon looms large, plunging the village into a nightmare straight out of whispered legends. 
    
  Amidst the chaos, the arrival of Ezulwini, a mysterious witch doctor from a feared cannibal tribe, offers both hope and trepidation as he delves into forbidden rituals to combat the encroaching evil. The unity of the villagers fractures as they confront both familiar and unprecedented terrors, uncertain of who to trust. In a race against time to save her village, Rebecca grapples with her destiny, facing unearthly horrors unleashed by ancient curses. Will her bravery be enough to thwart the darkness that threatens to consume Zangbeto forever? 
    
  This masterful tale by Eddie Inyangala weaves together cultural heritage and spine-tingling suspense. "Spirits of Zangbeto: The Hidden Horrors" promises to enthrall readers with its emotionally charged narrative, reminiscent of Inyangala's previous work, "Aminata's Journey: A Tale of Strength and Survival." The novel is enhanced with vivid illustrations that breathe life into the eerie and mystical atmosphere of Zangbeto, immersing readers in a world where secrets lurk in every shadow. 
    
  Delve into the haunting pages of "Spirits of Zangbeto: The Hidden Horrors" to unravel the enigmatic secrets of Zangbeto.

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  Rainbow Valley

  Lucy Maud Montgomery

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  "Rainbow Valley" centers around the adventures of the Blythe children - Jem, Walter, Nan, Di, and Shirley - and their imaginative play in the enchanting Rainbow Valley. Living with their father, the new minister of Glen St. Mary, the Blythe kids befriend the Meredith children, whose father is a widower and often absent. Together, they create a world of fun and mischief, while also navigating the challenges of growing up. Lucy Maud Montgomery's exquisite storytelling and her vivid portrayal of childhood innocence and imagination have endeared "Rainbow Valley" to readers of all ages. 
   
  Lucy Maud Montgomery, born on November 30, 1874, in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, was a prolific and cherished Canadian author best known for her novel "Anne of Green Gables." Drawing inspiration from her own experiences and rural upbringing, Montgomery created the spirited and imaginative character of Anne Shirley, who quickly became an iconic figure in children's literature. Montgomery's enchanting storytelling, vivid descriptions of Prince Edward Island's landscapes, and her ability to capture the nuances of human emotions endeared her to readers across the globe. Throughout her career, she wrote numerous novels, essays, and short stories, leaving an indelible mark on the literary world. Her timeless works continue to resonate with readers of all ages, inspiring generations to find wonder and beauty in the simplest of things.

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