Other books that might interest you

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  The Prisoner of Zenda

  Anthony Hope

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  Rudolf Rassendyll, a carefree young man, doing all he can to avoid settling down in life, suddenly finds himself in the centre of royal intrigue in which he must play a role that will test all of his bravery and resolve. However his biggest test comes when the choice is between true love and duty. 
  The classic romantic adventure, much imitated but never bettered, beautifully narrated with verve and imagination by Simon Hester

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  Pemberley to Waterloo -...

  Anna Elliott

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  Can their love withstand the trials of war? Georgiana Darcy and Edward Fitzwilliam want only to be together. But when the former Emperor Napoleon escapes from his exile on the Isle of Elba, Britain is plunged into renewed war with France...and Edward is once more called away to fight.
  
  To be with the man she loves, Georgiana makes the perilous journey to Brussels, in time to witness the historic downfall of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. But when Edward is gravely injured in the battle, she will need more courage than she ever knew she had to fight for their future together.

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  Leonid Andreyev - A Short Story...

  Leonid Andreyev

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  Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was born on 21st August in Oryol, Russia to a middle-class family of Polish, Ukranian and Finnish ancestry. 
   
  He studied law in Moscow before working as a police-court reporter for a daily newspaper.  His literary efforts at this time were confined to poetry and those he did try to get published were all rejected.  
   
  In 1898 his first short story ‘Bargamot and Garaska’, published in the ‘Kurier’ newspaper caught the attention and friendship of Maxim Gorky.  Andreyev now discarded any other career path apart from that of author. 
   
  His first collection of short stories appeared in 1901 and sold over a quarter of a million copies.  He was a sensation. Using his interest in psychology and psychiatry gave him an almost unrivalled ability to delve into the human psyche and create astonishing characters. 
   
  During the first Russian revolution Andreyev was a staunch defender of democratic ideals and many of his stories reflected the heated mood of the times. With the 1905 Revolution’s failure his work became pessimistic and despairing. By the beginning of the following decade he began losing his audience to new literary movements such as the Futurists. 
   
  He published little after 1914 except political writings, instead working as the literary editor of the ‘Russian Will’ newspaper.  When the Bolsheviks took power he sensed catastrophe was coming and moved to Finland where he spent his last years in poverty distraught at the outcome of the Revolution. 
   
  Leonid Andreyev died of heart failure on 12th September 1919 at the age of 48 in Mustamäki, Finland.

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  Anti-imperialist Writings

  Mark Twain

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  Mark Twain, was not only considered by many to be the greatest author of his time, but also a great man who sought to wield his pen as a sharp tool intended to help protect the weak, and speak against the unfair policies of the imperialist powers of the time. As an avid anti-imperialist, Twain gave many lectures and speeches, while also producing other inspiring pieces of literature to fuel his cause.Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Writings reflect most faithfully the fighting character, uncompromising stance, sharp humor and brilliant intelligence of the famous author. Twain recognizes the need for a revolutionary voice, pointing out how many abolitionists were undeterred by so-called "patriots" who had despised and insulted them during the time when slavery was still lawful in the United States.
  An Author's Republic audio production.

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  The Cloak

  Nikolai Gogol

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  Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a preeminent Ukrainian-born story writer. He is particularly famous for those stories which veer in the direction of surrealism and the grotesque.The Cloak is one such tale. Akaky Akakiyevich is a reclusive and widely ridiculed lower official whose job is to copy letters. He lives a hand-to-mouth existence with his elderly landlady and has little money. But the harsh weather in St. Petersburg necessitates the purchase of a new cloak. His existing cloak, threadbare and filthy, is the butt of jokes among his comrades, and the tailor refuses to patch it up any further.Akaky Akakiyevich has somehow to scrape together the money for a new one. As he begins to save for it, the cloak begins to take on a much greater significance in his life. He dreams of it, visualises it, plans it with the tailor and scrimps and saves until the glorious day when he is able to actually commission its manufacture.The cloak is his pride and joy...but disaster waits around the corner. And in true Gogol style, the story takes a weird twist.

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  Dead at 40

  Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka,...

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  Science, better diet, advanced medicines are all part of a process that in the modern age keep most of us going to a ripe old age. 
   
  In previous times some diseases could only be slowed and not defeated. There toil of relentless attack on our physical forms brought misery and decay.   
   
  Add to this that within our number some will self-destruct, demons will pursue their inner thoughts and life will be too painful to bear. Some may shuffle off the mortal coil for no discernible reason, but life will end early, they will not take up their three-score year and ten. 
   
  In this collection of short stories some of our most popular and well-known authors are grouped together with an unfortunate tag: dead at 40. 
   
  These authors are not run-of-the-mill or ten a penny; many are literary leviathans who left enduring works of literature and sadly may have left us many more had they lived. We will never know. 
   
  Death for these authors was usually due to many health issues but primarily:— 
  Edgar Allan Poe — Several causes have been given but, in truth, it remains a mystery. 
  Franz Kafka — Tuberculosis 
  Jack London — Dysentery, late-stage alcoholism, and uremia 
  Mary Dods (writing as David Lyndsey) — Liver disease  
  William Hope Hodgson — Killed at the Fourth Battle of Ypres in World War 1 
   
  01 - Dead at 40 - An Introduction 
  02 - The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe 
  03 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 
  04 - To Build a Fire by Jack London 
  05 - The Prediction by Mary Diana Dods writing as David Lyndsey 
  06 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson

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