In this collection three of the original titans in the field of fantasy literature (Edgar Allan Poe, George MacDonald, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu) take you on a magical guided tour of fairyland and adjoining countries and introduce you to whimsical, strange and even scary encounters and adventures with inhabitants such as good and bad fairies, ghosts and even the Devil. The stories included are “Cross Purposes” “The Carasoyn” “Bon-Bon” “The Child That Went With The Fairies” “Madam Crowl’s Ghost” and as an added bonus the beautiful (and cautionary) fairy poem “Queen Mab” by Thomas Hood.

Take It From Dad is a collection of letters written by a father to his son, Ted, at boarding school, away from home for the first time. In each letter "Dad" comments on some aspect of Ted's experience, attitude, or behavior, illustrating and driving home his point with an entertaining tale about human nature. This book is appropriate for all ages from adolescence on, and its lessons are as relevant today as when they were written. --Lee Smalley

Cradock Nowell: a Tale of the New Forest is a three-volume novel by R. D. Blackmore published in 1866. Set in the New Forest and in London, it follows the fortunes of Cradock Nowell who, at the end of Volume 1, is thrown out of his family home and disowned by his father following the suspicious death of Cradock's twin brother Clayton, their father's favorite. In Volume 2, the story picks up with those left behind at Nowelhurst and the question of who is now heir apparent to the Nowell fortune. Meanwhile, Cradock discovers life independent of the Nowell name and fortune is not easy...

A lonely, convalescing 12 year-old boy and his attractive mother, who is in a loveless marriage, meet a gentleman while vacationing at a European resort. Seeking an enjoyable way to pass the time, the man schemes to seduce the woman with the unwitting help of the boy. The son, puzzled by the developing relationship, becomes increasingly isolated and suspicious as he loses his childish innocence in this gripping coming-of-age novella. This work is translated from the original German, Brennendes Geheimnis, which has also been recorded for Librivox...

While L. M. Montgomery is better known for her novels, such as Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon, she also wrote hundreds of poems. Her love of beauty, nature, and the sea is evident in this, the only volume of her poetry published during her lifetime.

Written from the midst of the struggle for female suffrage, Constance Elizabeth Maud’s novel No Surrender (1911) is a Call to Arms. It is a dramatic narrative portraying key players and historical events in the battle for the Vote for Women in Britain. Jenny Clegg is a Lancashire millgirl working long, hard hours under unhealthy conditions in order to support her mother and younger siblings, only to have her father take possession of her savings. In order to seek the rights to improved work conditions, equal pay, and many other human rights, she joins the movement of women seeking political representation...

The Great War is over and the soldier boys are back home, but some of them just can't settle down again. Neither can the girls who helped out both on the foreign and the home front. Dr. Ward notices, but doesn't know how to help until one Sunday after his sermon, when something happens to change the lives of many in their town.

Johnson's only novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, was originally published anonymously in 1912. It is a fictional novel written as a memoir of an unnamed biracial narrator who grew up in the South during the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras. It is a story in which the narrator relates how as a young boy he initially assumed that he was white, and how his notions of racial identity were suddenly turned upside down one day—how from that moment on he was inclined to view himself and the world about him from the perspective of blackness. The novel received very little notoriety until Johnson republished it in 1927, this time taking full credit as its author.

Ranny Ransome is an idealistic young man, devoted to exuberant gymnastic exercises and to fighting “flabbiness” in his own life, body and soul. He loves the girlish and athletic Winny Dymond, and particularly loves participating with her in the Combined Maze, a choreographed, intricate, exhilarating group gymnastic ritual in which the young men and women of the Polytechnic Gymnasium demonstrate their skills. Unfortunately, Ranny falls under the spell of the seductive Violet, a sexual free spirit who wants nothing more than to live an untrammelled life on her own terms...

“To bury these, to christen those, And marry such fond folks who chose To change the tenor of their life And risk the matrimonial strife.” This was the humdrum life of Dr. Syntax before he set out on his bizarre and hilarious adventures, presented here in the form of satirical poem in 26 cantos. It’s a lot of fun!

How differently people view life, society, and religion, depending on their perspective! Perry, the often sick young man that is learning to follow his Master; Eunice (Una), as close as a sister to Perry but not a Christian; Eleanor, the selfish socialite; and Tom, Eleanor's earnestly Christian brother, form the core of this story of life, love, marriage, and service.

"More Newspaper Articles by Mark Twain" fills in the gaps left by the first collection of newspaper articles: "Newspaper Articles by Mark Twain" . The missing articles, collected by twainquotes.com, consist of works printed in the Muscatine Journal, the Keokuk Daily Post, the New York Sunday Mercury, the Golden Era, the Californian, The Daily Dramatic Chronicle, San Francisco Bulletin, the New York Herald and travel letters originally printed in the Chicago Daily tribune. The earliest articles first appeared in 1853...

The tales of King Arthur and his Knights are of Celtic origin. The Celts were the people who occupied Britain at the time when the history of the country opens, and a few words are necessary to explain why the characters in the stories act and speak as though they belonged to a later age. These stories are adapted from the Book of Romance by ANDREW LANG. It is believed that King Arthur lived in the sixth century, just after the Romans withdrew from Britain, and when the Britons, left to defend themselves against the attacks of the marauding Saxons, rose and defeated them at Mount Badon, securing to themselves peace for many years...

Volume 2 of a ten volume collection of amusing tales, observations and anecdotes by America's greatest wordsmiths. This work includes selections by such household favorites as Ambrose Bierce, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain and Bret Harte.

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 eighth issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: "The Passing of the Polly Ann", by Collins Shackelford: the survivor of a drifting ship testifies to a startling revelation "The Obsequies of Ole Miss Jug", by Jean Ross Irvine: these children know how to bury a faithful dog in style "A Modern Goliath", by J...

This poem celebrates Christmas by exploring the mystery of Christ's mission on earth: his death, resurrection, and second coming as judge of all human souls. Sir Gawain is cast in the role of Everyman. At the feast of the New Year, an unarmed green giant rides his green horse into the banqueting hall of King Arthur and challenges any member of the assembled company to behead him with a huge axe and then to submit to the same treatment from his victim the next year. Gawain volunteers to prevent Arthur from accepting this challenge, fairly confident that the challenger will be unfit to return the blow...

Nick Carter is a fictional detective who first appeared in 1886 in dime store novels. Over the years, different authors, all taking the nom de plume Nicholas Carter, have penned stories featuring "America's greatest detective". In this story, Nick is called to visit his banker friend, Mr. Gilsley, who is concerned about some missing money. Also present at the meeting is Belle Braddon, the banker's stenographer. Although the young woman is striking, there is something about her that Nick doesn't trust. - Summary by Lynne Thomson

This sequel to Consuelo picks up not long after the striking conclusion of the first novel. Consuelo is enjoying a brilliant singing career. She befriends Princess Amelia of Prussia, the woman adored by Baron von Trenck, whose acquaintance Consuelo made in her previous adventures. She has also attracted the admiration of King Frederick II, who is Princess Amelia’s brother, and finds that she must tread carefully in order to both remain on his good side and protect her friends from his wrath...

Originality and humor characterize the plots of these clever detective stories. The mysteries are solved by the detective priest, Father Brown. His application of shrewd, common sense to the unraveling of a succession of strange crimes and happenings rob them of the supernatural element attributed to them by the credulous. This is the third collection of similar stories.

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 ninth issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: "The Man-Hunt of Mendocino", by Frank Bailey Millard: no one can stop the revenge of a mother for the murder of her son "Silas Bartle's Snake-Bite Cure", by Winthrop Packard: witness young Norris' dramatic struggle to survive a deadly snake bite "Tunnel Number Six", by Eugene C...

The Benson Murder Case – A Philo Vance Story is the first of a series of twelve popular mysteries set in New York during the Jazz Age. S. S. Van Dine is the nom de plume of prominent art critic, and member of New York’s avant-garde, W. H. Wright. He rapidly became one of the country’s best-selling authors and the series remained immensely popular for decades, as Philo Vance was featured in dozens of movies, plays and radio shows. Van Dine’s novels marked a sharp departure from earlier detective fiction...

Judith Richards is seated alone in her father's library at midnight, when a man enters, rifles her father's safe, and is examining his loot when a steel blade darts thru the portières, pierces him and he falls dead to the floor. Judith meanwhile has remained undisturbed, for she is seated with her back to the intruder and she is, moreover, stone deaf. When she finally rises to leave the room, she discovers the crime, and recognizes the victim as the stepson of her uncle. Detective Ferguson comes to the conclusion that the murder must have been an inside job, and the members of the household come under suspicion...

Perceval Landon was a journalist and short story author, and in these two tales he explored the supernatural. In ‘Railhead’, a man receives an urgent message – from an out-of-service telegraph. In ‘Thurnley Abbey’, the titular abbey’s past might be less remote than its occupants believe. NB These stories were first published in 1908 and contain contemporary views on race and violence. It is policy not to alter the published text. - Summary by Newgatenovelist

While primarily known for being pessimistic, the poetry of James Thomson is also beautiful and psychologically complex. This 1903 edition, varying as it does in selection from the edition of the same name published during his lifetime, provides a representative look at what has come to be known as his best works. The title poem is a horror-laced journey through depths that are surface level supernatural and at their heart an exploration of depression and atheist existential crisis. Subsequent works turn personal struggles into pure art and praise poets that have gone before. - Summary by MoonLylith

A collection of 4 short works by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. - Summary by Krista Zaleski

A fine football story for boys. This is another dime novel from the author of the Frank Merriman series.

The Cameron family tries to keep up in society despite their more limited finances, by "making a dollar look to [their] friends as though it was ten dollars," much to the harried father's embarrassment and potential ruin. In addition to the financial stress, the youngest daughter has been "bringing up herself," such that she's on the road to moral peril. This story follows the life of the family as they walk the tightrope between social acceptability and financial stability, moral failure and strength through the guidance of Jesus Christ. - Summary by TriciaG

Bigamy, blackmail, damsels in distress, gambling and kidnapping--this story has it all, plus Nick Carter and his crew in hot pursuit of the criminals. - Summary by Paul Hampton

Dorothy Boulger , who wrote under the pen-name Theo Gift, assembled four original short stories of supernatural and unsettling happenings in this collection. - Summary by Sonia

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 tenth issue of volume 2 with the following five short stories: > For Dear Old Yale, by James Langston: a game of cards will decide the fate of these six men > The Casket of Pandora, by Margaret Dodge: a young woman is tempted to choose between her family and her career > A Romance of the Palisades, by E...

This is a collection of 12 detective short stories by American fiction writer Arthur B. Reeve . What makes these stories so interesting is that each crime is solved with the Sherlock-Holmes-like clever deductions and scientific methods of Professor Craig Kennedy. - Summary by Sonia

One of a series of exciting adventure stories featuring Leroux's criminal mastermind Chéri-Bibi. When the story starts the "astonishing bandit", Chéri-Bibi, is languishing in a penal colony, somewhere in the darkest regions of the French empire. In the colony he has befriended a more noble type of prisoner, Raoul de Saint-Dalmas, known colloquially as the Nut. The dastardly forces of the Parisian, the Burglar, the Joker and the Caid get their enjoyment from interfering in our heroes' lives. Then there are the Chief and his warders, Pernambouc the Executioner and his assistant Monsieur Desiré, for Chéri-Bibi and the Nut, to contend with...