"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is, arguably the earliest chronological story by Robert E. Howard in terms of Conan's life. The brief tale is set somewhere in frozen Nordheim, geographically situated north of Conan's homeland, Cimmeria. Conan is depicted by Howard as a youthful Cimmerian mercenary traveling among the golden-haired Aesir in a war party. Shortly before the story begins, a hand-to-hand battle has occurred on an icy plain. Eighty men ("four score") have perished in bloody combat, and Conan alone survives the battlefield where Wulfhere's Aesir "reavers" fought the Vanir "wolves" of Bragi, a Vanir chieftain...

The author of Frankenstein returns with her take on an Austen novel. The mother is proud, the father has many vices, yet the aristocratic name must be kept. Even more so when lord Lodore dies. His wife and daughter find themselves without protection. This novel is conserned with gender equality, education and social justice. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

How it fell out that Count Antonio, a man of high lineage, forsook the service of his Prince, disdained the obligation of his rank, set law at naught, and did what seemed indeed in his own eyes to be good but was held by many to be nothing other than the work of a rebel and a brigand. Yet, although it is by these names that men often speak of him, they love his memory; and I also, Ambrose the Franciscan, having gathered diligently all that I could come by in the archives of the city or from the lips of aged folk, have learned to love it in some sort. A tale that lovers must read in pride and sorrow, and, if this be not too high a hope, that princes may study for profit and for warning.

Julian LeVallon, born and raised alone in the Jura Mountains, is referred to psychiatrist Dr. Edward Fillery for care in London. But is LeVallon merely a schizophrenic with a secondary personality, "N.H." (non-human), or is he really an Elemental Being, a "bright messenger" who brings, perhaps, a new age of human evolution? And if so, is the human race ready for a major step forward?

The industrial revolution led to the rise of manufacture and, thus, the cotton mill factories. This important novel tells about the plight of Michael Armstrong, one of the boys who is forced to work there. The aim of the novel was to expose the public to the conditions of thousands of "infant labourers" around the northern mill towns. The novel drew much criticism, of course. Yet, nonetheless, it is a forgotten masterpiece, perfect for fans of Oliver Twist and North and South. It is a brave novel, full of truth and honesty, yet probably not for the faint of heart. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Mildred returns home from visiting her mother's relatives. She continues to grow in wisdom and beauty and receives many proposals of marriage. She is an ever-increasing blessing to her family and community. In-laws are added to the family, and they enjoy a visit from Horace Dinsmore and his daughter Elsie. - Summary by Amy

Isabel Carnaby returns from India. She starts looking for a place in upper class British society. At the begining, people are sceptical of her because she is an orphan. But she will surprise everybody. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

“I thought it was you I saw coming up the hill,” she said, stretching out her hand. He stopped and shook it; the touch of his big, firm fingers made her tremble. His hand was massive and hard as if it were hewn of stone. She looked up at him and smiled. “Isn’t it cold?” she said. It is terrible to be desirous of saying all sorts of passionate things, while convention debars you from any but the most commonplace. (Excerpts from chapter 1.)

Sally Lunton has led a bohemian lifestyle in Paris, but now at 31 she returns to Little Crampton disillusioned, no job, no money and no hopes for the future except a safe, if loveless, marriage.. Little Crampton has its complement of “typical” villagers – the pompous bank manager, the local gossip, the ageing parson – but this is spring 1915, and the young men are away fighting and dying in the Great War. Farms and businesses are struggling to exist, families are grieving and there are not many marriage prospects for a spirited, worldly young woman...

The Third Person is an amusing spoof on spooking. The 'ghostly man about the house' in whom two increasingly competitive maiden ladies come to take a proprietary interest is as unlikely to inspire terror as the wraith in one of James's earliest tales. The anticlimactic crisis may need a footnote for younger readers: a Tauchnitz was an unauthorized continental paperback edition of a british or american book which, purely for copyright reasons, was not supposed to be brought back to England. To think of this as smuggling certainly placed, for James's contemporaries, the crimes of the ghostly third person in a hilarious perspective.

An 1881 comic story by Nikolai Leskov, presented in the form of a traditional skaz or folk-tale, but entirely of Leskov's invention. It tells the story of a left-handed Russian artisan required to impress Tsar Nikolas I with his craftsmanship by outdoing some famous Englishmen who have created a tiny mechanical flea. The Russian smith barricades himself with two skilled colleagues in his workshop until finally forced to come out and reveal the brilliant result of his labor. Far more famous in Russia than in the West, the story of The Steel Flea reveals much about nineteenth-century Russian attitudes toward the West and toward their own country, but is difficult to categorize...

Fanny Knocker is a very, very plain young woman. She is introduced to the extremely handsome, thoroughly impoverished, younger son of an old family. What will transpire? (David Wales)

"The Hemlock Avenue Mystery" is one of a series of mysteries written by Lily Augusta Long using the pseudonym Roman Doubleday. A lawyer is accused of killing a rival lawyer, both having battled in court on numerous occasions. A newspaper reporter following the case is bent on determining the facts behind the murder. As it happens, there are two women also suspected of participating in the crime, and a third who was apparently utterly unconscious of what had occurred. It's up to the reporter turned detective to unravel the clues, few as they are. - Summary by Roger Melin

The Black Cat was a monthly literary magazine, publishing original short stories, often about uncanny or fantastical topics. Many writers were largely unknown, but some famous authors also wrote original material for this magazine. This is the very first issue, offering the following 7 stories: "In gold time", by Roberta Littlehale: in wild-west days, when two rivals love the same woman, tragedy ensues "The unturned trump", by Barnes MacGreggor, pseudonym of H. D. Umbstaetter : to while away the...

This book is part of the "Our Little Cousin" series, written for North American children to tell them about their 'cousins' from other parts of the world. Embark on a journey to 19th Century Germany with Bertha, Gretchen and Hans. They live in a toy-making village in the Black Forest. Learn about their work and customs; get to know facts and lore, hear about architecture, music and more. ( Claudia Salto)

A classic mystery/detective story in the Sherlock Holmes tradition, the hidden room suggested by the title of this book does not remain a mystery for very long as the book progresses. Written in the first person, the husband of his (Carlton Davies) former lover is found dead one night at the stroke of midnight, and Davies finds his ex-lover standing over the dead body immediately after the shot was fired, with a gun in her hand. It was no secret that she never truly loved her husband, who had blackmailed her into marrying him...

A young man came to Lloyds of London. He knew they took out policies on unusual risks... And what he wanted was love insurance. What follows is a comic novel, by the creator of the Chinese detective - Charlie Chan!

A young man, finding himself unexpectedly impecunious, attempts to improve his fortunes by wagering that he can speak nothing but the absolute truth for three weeks. He soon learns, however, that telling only the unvarnished truth can have surprising consequences. This 1914 novel of love, mystery, and misunderstandings, with amusing characters and plot twists, was adapted as a Broadway play in 1916, followed by six motion pictures: in 1920 and 1929; in 1931 separately in Spanish, French and German; and in 1941 starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Frederic S. Isham was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. (Lee Smalley)

The novel begins with the arrival of a family staking a claim in the black delta of the Deep South. Whitlaw is a brutish sort who bullies his cowering wife into working herself to death. Shortly after giving birth to a strapping man-child, the wife, Portia, dutifully dies. Her sister-in-law, Clio, takes over the responsibilities of raising the young Whitlaw and tending to every need and whim of her brother. Jonathan Jefferson grows up to be shrewd, conniving, and sly, driven – as Trollope thought most Americans were – by a compulsion for financial success...

Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series . Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring...

The Three Hostages is the fourth of five Richard Hannay novels. The Richard Hannay novels are action/mystery/spy novels with a James bond feel. This book starts out with Richard Hannay married to Mary Lamington living in Fosse Manor. He is asked to work undercover and figure out who kidnapped three children of prominent people, while Scotland Yard investigate the abductions officially. Different friends help him solve the mystery. It's suspenseful and a fun action packed mystery! - Summary by Kimberly Shoemaker

Green's last published detective novel, The Step on the Stair is typical of her earlier mysteries. Quenton is in love with Orpha, and thinks their marriage has been approved by her guardian. Imagine his shock when her engagement to Edgar is announced. Jealousy rears its ugly head. But then Quenton is made aware of gossip and superstition, which may affect his position in the household. Finding the lost will after their uncle's death could answer all their questions.

"The Lark" has all the charm and freshness which have made Miss Nesbit's former novels so justly popular, and yet the story ts entirely new and original. Two girls, Jane and Lucilla, are led by Jane's guardian to entertain high hopes. The fortune, however, which Jane was to have inherited, has been lost by unlucky speculations, and the two girls have to set about earning their own livings. They experience many adventures and ups and downs of fortune before they meet with the two men who ensure their happiness and prosperity. A delightful story, well worth reading.

The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror (1893) is a science fiction novel by English writer George Griffith. It was his first published novel and remains his most famous work. It was first published in Pearson's Weekly and was prompted by the success of The Great War of 1892 in Black and White magazine, which was itself inspired by The Battle of Dorking. A lurid mix of Jules Verne's futuristic air warfare fantasies, the utopian visions of News from Nowhere and the future war invasion literature of Chesney and his imitators, it tells the tale of a group of terrorists who conquer the world through airship warfare...

Chip Delany's 2nd novel -- the first is The Jewels of Aptor (1962) -- published by Ace Books in 1963. Set in the 35th Century, the survivors of a nuclear war live on the coastline and an island in a kingdom ruled by a royal family in disrepair. A young victim -- the son of a wealthy merchant -- of their wrath becomes a working-class hero as he fights to get back his good name, aided by a disaffected member of the royal family. This was later rewritten as Out of The Dead City by Delany as part of the Towers Trilogy, an early masterpiece, imo. (Introduction by BellonaTimes)

The year 18-- was a momentous one in Great Britain. Not only did the nation receive most of the world's royalty for months on end, but the well-to-do gentleman, Simon Carne spent much of the social season in London. On friendly terms with royalty, sponsored into society by Lord Amberly, formerly viceroy of India, Carne's horse won the Derby and his Yacht the Queen's Cup. But at the same time, a serious of notorious swindles, thefts and other crimes plagued London and the surrounding environs. The mysterious detective Klimo, did a thriving business by attempting to resolve the crimes...

Grandma Knight's Tales* includes stories that provide entertainment and, hopefully, some moral learning to small listeners. A special dedication goes out to the narrators own grandchildren, by whom this book was inspired. "Merry Christmas to my Bucket, Stuff, Jo-Jo, Buster Brown Eyes, and little Curly...grandma loves you! And a very Merry Christmas to children all over the world! Enjoy!" (Deborah Knight, December 2013) Created to inspire an early love for reading, writing, and literary works it includes the following stories...

The Power-House is a novel by John Buchan, a thriller set in London, England. It was written in 1913, when it was serialised in Blackwood's Magazine, and it was published in book form in 1916. The narrator is the barrister and Tory MP Edward Leithen, who features in a number of Buchan's novels. The urban setting contrasts with that of its sequel, John Macnab, which is set in the Scottish Highlands. The Power-House of the title is an international anarchist organization led by a rich Englishman named Andrew Lumley...

In this sketch, called by Korolenko “a psychological study,” the author has attempted to analyze the inner life of the blind. He has undertaken to lay before the reader not only the psychological processes in the mind of the blind, but their suffering from the lack of sight as well, uncomplicated by any untoward circumstances. To accomplish this he has placed his hero in most favorable, nay, almost exceptional conditions. The subjects for this study are a blind girl, whom the author had known as a child; a boy, a pupil of his, who was gradually losing his sight; and a professional musician, blind from his birth, intellectually gifted, scholarly, and refined.

Due to a clerical error, successful attorney Charles Gordon Curtiss arrives a day late to give a lecture in a nearby town. But the literary society's loss is Curtiss' gain; he meets the charming Constance Stuart and falls in love. A year later, they marry. The very next day, however, before Curtiss can bring Constance to her new home, Constance meets a young woman named Pauline. What Pauline tells her alters the lives of all of them for years to come. - Summary by TriciaG

In Edwy, Ann Radcliffe gives us a delightful piece of poetic moonshine, whose eponymous hero seeks assistance from the world of faerie in order to spy on his girlfriend, Aura, and see if she really loves him. He does this by venturing unseen into Windsor Forest at night to trap the love-fay, Eda, who, once spellbound, must reveal all and let him remotely view Aura's activities by means of a magic mirror cut from crystal. In addition to this early form of cyberstalking, Edwy, on his night-journey into the forest gets to witness a royal procession of the Fairie Queen, followed by midnight revels of elves and spirits...

Librivox volunteers bring you eleven readings of My Doves, by Louisa May Alcott. This was the fortnightly poem for December 21, 2014 - January 4, 2015