Anna Katharine Green is best known as one of the first women detective writers, and The Sword of Damocles, first published in 1881, does indeed include several mysteries. There is a very brief appearance by her famous detective, Mr Gryce, but at the heart of the book, which is subtitled A Story of New York Life, are a number of very different love stories.

"I was married to-day in Grace Church. At the altar my bride--you probably know her name, Miss Georgian Hazen--wore a natural look, and was in all respects, so far as any one could see, a happy woman, satisfied with her choice and pleased with the éclat and elegancies of the occasion. Half-way down the aisle this all changed. I remember the instant perfectly. Her hand was on my arm and I felt it suddenly stiffen. I was not alarmed, but I gave her a quick look and saw that something had happened...

After several people apparently vanish into thin air while walking along the same country road, New York detective Mr Gryce calls on the skills of Miss Amelia Butterworth to help him solve this most puzzling crime. The author of Lost Man’s Lane, Anna Katharine Green, has been described as the first female American writer of detective stories.

A young girl frantically summons a gentleman walking by on the street to come in and help her grandfather. Arthur Outhwaite answers her cry for help only to find himself as the last person to see her grandfather alive and left with the admonishment from the dying man to deliver a letter to someone, and to that person only. Unfortunately, he dies before he can inform Outhwaite who that particular person is. Being in a house of strangers, Outhwaite is thrust into the mystery of not only finding this unknown person, but is also faced with the mysterious circumstances under which the child's grandfather died.

Widow Clemmens is struck down in her parlor while the town's legal professionals chat outside the courthouse down the street. An investigation is made and two equally plausible suspects are quickly unearthed. But is either guilty? And what role does the mysterious Miss Imogene Dare play in this drama? A classic Green mystery notable particularly for the extended courtroom scenes in the second half of the book.

Delight Hunter spends her days looking out of her window at her handsome but very mysterious and reclusive next door neighbor. She walks straight into a mystery when one day a fire starts in one of the upper rooms of his house and she dashes over to warn him, only to have him lock her in with instructions to let no one else in. Why is he so insistent that no one come in? What secrets are hidden within the walls of this house?

Detective Ebenezer Gryce tells the story of the case with which he begun his career in 1840. Several wealthy men were drowned and washed ashore in New York City, and the first clue leads to a dubious money lender...

A man has been shot dead in his house. Ebenezer Gryce is on the case, but he has no leads, no witnesses, no evidence -- until he decides to talk to the neighbors of the victim, a blind doctor and his beautiful wife..

The opening scene takes place in a hospital ward where two patients lie, apparently dying, when a man enters and offers a proposition to one of them. The story then shifts to another town where, years earlier, Polly Earle’s mother died of unknown causes and her father disappeared, leaving Polly, a small child, parentless and penniless. Raised by neighbors, Polly is now a beautiful young woman engaged to be married. A stranger arrives and makes an unsettling request of Polly. Doctor Izard, an intensely private person who had attended her mother, becomes involved. Anna Katherine Green, a prolific and popular mystery writer, was considered to be "The American Agatha Christie".

Rita Van Arsdale falls in love and is proposed to by the gentleman Mr. Durand during a fancy high society party. She has landed the man of her dreams, but her wedding planning with Mr. Durand is interrupted by the beautiful Mrs. Fairbrother who is wearing a stunning diamond that attracts the attention of everyone at the party. During the course of the evening, a crime is committed and Rita’s fiance becomes the prime suspect. Rita must work to clear her fiance’s name through a series of twists and turns to discover what really occurred that night...

Anna Katharine Green is now best-known for her popular mystery and detective stories, but she also wrote some excellent poetry.

The Leavenworth Case is a gripping detective novel set in New York, and is one of the first detective fiction novels to be written by a female. Indeed, it was the first novel by Anna Katharine Green who came to be known as 'the mother of the detective novel', and 'The Leavenworth Case' was cited by Agatha Christie as an influence on her own fiction. The story plot twists and turns leaving the reader uncertain as to the identity of the murderer until the very end. This is one of the best detective stories you will ever hear.

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.

Anna Katharine Green was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green has been called "the mother of the detective novel". - Summary by Wikipedia

Romantic history of the fictional Don Sebastian, which was suggested to the author by a plaque commemorating a mysterious "Portuguese stranger". There is a historical backdrop, but the story itself and the characters are figments of her imagination. - Summary by Lynne T

In this unofficial sequel to Alice in Wonderland, a different Alice, a young American girl named Alice Lee , stumbles upon a magical door that leads to Wonderland. There, she meets familiar faces, like the Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Red Queen, among others, as well as some new ones. However, unlike our beloved English Alice who just tries to make sense of a senseless world, Alice Lee maintains power over her own fantasy, rather than let herself become the victim. Though a loving tribute to the original novels, Lewis Carroll absolutely disapproved of this novel, nearly seeking legal action against the British publication of it, but decided against it in favor of his reputation and privacy...

As wealthy financier, Hugh Mainwaring dictates his last will and testament to his private secretary, it would be impossible for him to imagine the shocking chain of events that he is about to set into motion. This best-selling mystery novel was first published in 1901 and remains an entertaining mix of detective work, courtroom drama and family intrigue.

"Those who remember that excellent detective story, That Mainwaring Affair will expect to find plenty of mystery and exciting incidents in A. Maynard Barbour's latest novel, called At the Time Appointed, and they will realize their expectations.The author has a certain way of forecasting events and making people utter prophetic words, all bound to find their fulfillment somewhere before the last chapter is ended, that is eminently characteristic of one who delights in the knitting and raveling of the intricate plots which are a prime necessity in a detective story...

This unique tale is narrated by a lovely, gentle horse named Black Beauty and has remained a children's classic since it was first published in 1877. It earned eternal name and fame for its author Anna Sewell, an invalid who died within a few months of publication. According to current estimates, it has sold more than fifty million copies world wide, been translated into many languages and delighted generations of children. The original title page reads: Black Beauty: Translated from the original Equine by Anna Sewell and this gives the reader an instant glimpse into what the book will be about...