Master Zacharius is a man of science, skill, and overpowering pride. He is the first to successfully, and accurately, regulate time. Does this not make him God-like? What then, should such a man do when his time is running out and his legacy is in danger?

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. The fifth issue has the following 6 stories: "The mysterious card", by Cleveland Moffet : a man desperately tries to understand the horrible message which utterly destroyed his life "Tang-u", by Lawrence E. Adams: through excellent eyesight, a young boy saves the lives...

A tale of human choices and lost opportunities, and how one's choices affect so many other lives, for good or ill. A borrowed watch. A selfish younger brother. An engagement and flirtation. A trip to the city to replace the watch turns David Ransom's life in a whole new direction. - Summary by TriciaG

Falkner is the last novel by Mary Shelley, best known as the author of Frankenstein and The Last Man. It tells the impossible love story between Elizabeth Raby and Gerald Neville. She is an orphan, raised by a tyrannical father figure. The man who raised her drove Gerald Neville's mother to her death years before. Can these men reconcile for the woman both love and start anew? Or would Elizabeth have to give up her happiness? Mary Shelley considered this her best novel. You may read it and see what you think. - Summary by Stav Nisser and Wikipedia.

This 2nd volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances continues the intrigues of "Balsamo, The Magician" and adds to them the schemes of philosophers and the stirrings of revolution. Balsamo carries on his occult tactics to weaponize the state secrets that he gained in the previous volume. A serious romance and illness takes root in the court of King Louis XV, convincing one of the leading philosophic minds of the era, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that “the breath of heaven will blast an age and a monarchy.” - Summary by jvanstan

A sequel to the stories published in The Old Man in the Corner, this second book in the series includes twelve new mysterious cases that The Old Man in the Corner unravels over his milk and cheesecake at the ABC Tea Shop, all the while tying and untying knots in a bit of string. His audience is Polly Burton, a young journalist, who has to begrudging admit that the Old Man's solutions are indeed plausible explanations to these cases which have baffled both the police and coroner. Orzy's Old Man is an early 20th century example of the armchair detective. Summary by J. M. Smallheer

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 sixth issue, offering the following 5 stories: "Eleanor Stevens' will", by Isabel Scott Stone: a rich woman's final will creates a stir among fortune hunters ''To let'', by Alice Turner Curtis: midnight screams scare away new residents in a cottage with a terrible history "Of course - Of course not", by Harry M...

As the title suggests, this work does flirt with the supernatural. Yet it is essentially a political novel—a utopian experiment in a fictitious Balkan country, the Land of the Blue Mountains. The story spans the years from 1892 to 1909. It includes a beautiful love story and an adventure tale—a double rescue requiring strength, cunning, and cutting-edge technology. These various aspects are unified by the character of the hero, a purely admirable individual whom we love and admire from the very first and who acquires immense power...

Mr. Fortune is a physician crime solver, using early forensic science techniques. This second volume brings seven more cases for him to solve for the police.

When the role of ‘Lady Superintendent’ becomes available at the Commercial and Technical College for South West England, the calm and capable Pauline Marchrose is the successful applicant. This is good news for Sir Julian, the college director, who greatly admires her diligence and ability. Mark Easter, Sir Julian’s agent, feels admiration for her too, which rapidly becomes romantic attraction. But Mark already has a wife, albeit in name only. And Sir Julian’s wife, Lady Edna Rossiter, discovers that Pauline Marchrose is the same woman who jilted her cousin Clarence after he was paralysed in an accident...

Rev. Mark Spencer is about to give up on writing his sermon one Saturday night when the Devil comes to him and tries to discourage him by reminding him how few of the people who have pledged themselves to make their motto, 'For Christ and the Church' keep it. The minister decides to preach a sermon like nothing the people in his congregation have ever heard before--a sermon that stirs them to action and to give themselves fully to God. A sermon that urges them to pledge themselves again to Christ and the Church! - Summary by Esther ben SimonidesCast ListRev...

Hans of Iceland was written in 1821 and is the very first novel written by young Victor, years before he became the great Hugo. It has all the ingredients of a gothic novel: dreadful murders by the hand of a human monster, a young hero in love with the destitute heroine, royal court-intrigues and rebellious uprising, all set in dungeons, dark towers and the untamed nature of Norway.This audio-book has been recorded as Dramatic Reading with all the voices performed by one single reader, including laughs, sobs, groans, occasional screams and a lot of growls. I hope you will enjoy listening to this adventurous journey just as much as I enjoyed recording it. - Summary by Sonia

In this small book Rosalind Goforth tells many stories of 'diamonds' in China that have been tested and come out pure in the King of Kings' hand for His service. Sketch 9 speaks of the awful facts of the "heathen" that Rosalind Goforth had witnessed. Although she speaks of these as being confined to merely non-Christian persons, many of these evils are characteristics of people in countries generally classified as "Christian". Please be advised that this fact may cause this chapter to be offensive to some.

This is an exciting sequel to the earlier books Titus: A Comrade of the Cross and Stephen: A Soldier of the Cross. It tells the story of the apostle Paul, from his conversion through his imprisonment.

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.

Ivan Matveich, the most ordinary person you might hope to meet, is swallowed alive by a crocodile at a sideshow. Finding life inside the belly of the beast quite comfortable, he makes a home for himself there. His disquisitions on the state of the world from inside the crocodile make him quite a name for himself; while all the while the discussion rages outside as to whether the beast is going to be cut open to release him or not, its value as a sideshow attraction having massively increased owing to the presence of the human voice buried inside it. One of Jorge Luis Borges' seven most favourite stories. - Summary by Tony Addison

This book continues Sentimental Tommy, also in the catalogue. Tommy grows up and marries Grizel. But life is not only roses and rainbows. This book has all the elements of a good love story, but it is also a book about growing up and finding out your distinct voice in the world. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

The third book in the Marcia Schuyler/Miranda trilogy, this story focuses on the irrepressible Miranda Griscom. She has repeatedly rejected a wealthy suitor's proposals of marriage. The townsfolk are puzzled: why would she give up such a chance? But "jest plain, hombly, turn-upnose, freckle-faced, red-haired M'randy Griscom" has a long-secret love for a man who was accused of murder, whose escape she orchestrated.

Aunt Hannah's fondest wish had been that her nephew John would marry a local girl and take over the family farm. Trouble was, John was never very interested in the farm and followed his own path, first to college and then to seminary. Now he was settling into his first pastorate and as anyone could see, his wife Mattie was simply not fit to be a housekeeper or a pastor's wife in a country church. If only he had listened to his Aunt Hannah!

"Policy and Passion, a Novel of Australian Life" tells the story about a father and daughter, torn between the policy of the country in which they live and the passions both have. The father, Thomas, is a rising politician until his love for a married woman changes the game while the daughter, Honora, falls in love with an English nobleman. But this is not only a love story. This novel tells about the early days of Australia, and tells the story of a whole community. It receives scholarly attention as a work about colonialism. - Summary by Stav Nisser

A selection of eight short works, chapters, or poems about Christmas. - Summary by david wales

This historical novel is set in the 1100s in France and Jerusalem, following the First Crusade. Part of the story of Guy of Lusignan is told through the eyes of his fictional sister, Elaine. Guy travels to the Holy Land to reclaim it from the Saracens. Elaine follows afterward, finding upon arrival that her brother has fallen in love with Sybil, the sister of the leper king of Jerusalem. Queen Sybilla, a real historical character, is surrounded by political intrigue as she prepares to ascend the throne, which threatens her upcoming marriage to Guy of Lusignan...

The story of an exciting test of wits between world-class thief Arsène Lupin and master detective Herlock Sholmes. Translated from the French. - Summary by Andy Harrington

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...

A Trappist monastery in nineteenth century Kentucky. A young monk. A young woman in distress. Whither? One might want to compare this story with a later story with a similar theme, more fully developed, by the same author.

Witches, spells, ghosts, pacts with the Devil, occult rituals, love triangles, popes and the Anti-Christ are some of the ingredients of this chilling early horror work by Marjorie Bowen that some consider to be the ultimate Gothic Novel. With enough suspenseful plot twists and turns to keep most listeners on edge guessing till the very end.

Betty has graduated from the Pines and is now with her parents at their new home on Long Island. When Betty finds out that her father is having trouble paying the mortgage, she decides to spread her entrepreneurial wings and help with the family finances. But can a young girl in 1907 earn enough money to make a difference? Does Betty have the spirit and determination to stick with her plans, even when others try to discourage her?

Victoria de Loredani lives the life of a fairy tale princess in Venice. She has everything one might desire and more, until the sinister Count Ardolph enters her world. The Count carries off Victoria's mother in an elopement, and sets off a series of dramatic events that begin to unhinge Victoria's life entirely. Passion, brutality, and murder begin to dominate the separated worlds of Victoria and her brother Leonardo. - Summary by Carolin

Three young women are the central characters in this story. Callie and her husband are poor, but they are frugal, spending using God's principles, and they reserve a tenth for God's work. Eva's husband makes more than double what Callie's husband makes, but that doesn't keep them from sinking beneath a load of debt. Even worse, she feels that her husband thinks it's her fault - and she thinks it is, too. She's an inexperienced housekeeper and doesn't know where the money goes. Happy-go-lucky Jennie wants to marry a rich man, so that her married life can be filled with parties, gaiety and pretty things. Will Coleman is poor, and not a Christian, but he's SO gentlemanly and romantic...

Written by Gothic writer Matthew Lewis, whose novel The Monk is one of the most enduring Gothic works from the eighteenth century, The Castle Spectre is one of Lewis' earliest forays into drama, and a strong indication of his talents as a controversial and frightening entertainer. Set in medieval Conway, Wales, the play is filled with every delicious Gothic trope imaginable: a menacing castle, a villainous nobleman hiding terrible secrets, a virginal damsel in distress, an heroic lover trying to save her, several comedic supporting characters, and, yes, the presence of a ghost...

New Yorker Robert Pagebrook travels to Virginia to visit relatives. The Civil War has ended and family ties are in order to be re-established. All goes well; the family relationships are as they should be, perhaps even better than expected. Unique character studies develop as Pagebrook finds himself in a financial predicament, becoming indebted and with no resources available, as his bank back home has dissolved. It is up to Robert Pagebrook to find a way to prove to his kin that he is still a Man of Honor.

Evil lurks in the hearts and minds of men and many nefarious schemes are hatched by these gangsters, mob bosses and super villains. But thankfully, equally brave, talented detectives are there to track them down and thwart their twisted plans. These six stories, along with two "true fact detective shorts" were in the magazine Hooded Detective, January 1942. Are they well written? well, no, but they are fun. Here are a few of the blurbs: "They had expected spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, but were served instead, hot lead, with a little bit of blood on the side...

The diamonds are gone--vanished! But who could have taken them? And how? With each plot twist author Thomas E. Price takes the reader off in a new direction.

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.

It seems that all the people close to Betty are going through major life changes. Lois is certainly spending a lot of time with Dunmore Lane these days. Is Betty about to lose her friend and confidante forever? Even Miss Minturne is behaving strangely. If she's falling in love, as Betty suspects, what will happen to the income that Betty is depending on to pay off the mortgage on the farmhouse? Meanwhile, before Betty is even aware of it, her friends have begun to wonder if someone is falling in love with her...

The world knows the fate of the classic lovers Cleopatra and Mark Antony, so there is no need to announce a spoiler alert. Georg Ebers was a German Egyptologist who deftly applied his comprehensive knowledge of Rome and Egypt into a fictionalized account of the ill-fated romance between the Egyptian Queen and her Roman lover Mark Antony.

William Morris initiated the genre of high fantasy in a number of short novels written toward the end of his life. But he had already experimented with the genre much earlier in stories written for the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine, which he launched as a student at Oxford University in 1856. Published posthumously in book form, and reprinted as the eighth volume of the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library under the title Golden Wings and other Stories, these short stories make an entertaining collection that stands up well against Morris's mature work. - Summary by Phil Benson

Peter Schlemihl is an ordinary man until one day he bargains with the devil: He trades his shadow for a bottomless purse. While this sounds like a good idea at first, it turns out that having no shadow is considered to be so strange by society, that even unlimited wealth cannot repair such a fault. The story of Peter Schlemihl is exceedingly well-known even today, but the original text is not so widely-read as it once was. This very accessible translation by F.H. Hedge may be a good introduction to modern listeners. - Summary by Carolin

The stabbing death of a beautiful young woman in a London park at night and the disappearance of her sister; a shocked and heartbroken young suitor; a terrified landlady and her simple husband; a recently unemployed man, the narrator, who is requested to investigate the crime; and the mysterious title character who, as his name suggests, has a devilishness about him in his psychic ability to read minds and to perform other supernatural acts. These are some of the individuals in this inventive, absorbing mystery by the prolific and popular British author, B. L. Farjeon. There are really two mysteries here: the murder and the strange – person? – known as Devlin.

The Crimson Circle gang spreads fear by extortion and murder. Its members range from rich, powerful bankers to petty criminals, and none of them know each other. A beautiful young woman named Thalia Drummond appears to be involved in the gang too. But who is the leader of the gang, known only as The Crimson Circle? Chief Inspector Parr is on the case, as well as private detective Derrick Yale. - Summary by Anna Simon

A selection of short works about Christmas.

Celestina was adopted by Mrs. Willoughby from a convent in France. No one knows who her parents are. Her secret birth causes problems for her in the marriage market. But this novel is not only a courtship novel. It is about creating and keeping friendships, finding the meaning of family, the difference between love and obsession, and the development of Celestina from a dependent child to a strong woman of virtue. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

THE PERMANENT HUSBAND, also published as The Eternal Husband, is a psychological novella by the acclaimed Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The plot revolves around the intense and complex relationship between Velchaninov and Trusotsky. Velchaninov, the protagonist, is a former lover of the recently deceased wife of Trusotsky, the title character. Some critics have ranked this novella among Dostoeyevsky’s best works because of its style and structure. Alfred Bem has called it "one of the most complete works by Dostoyevsky in regards to its composition and development. – Adapted from Wikipedia An excellent commentary may be found here.

“The Jolly Parisiennes” by Émile Zola is a very clever, brilliant and interesting romance of a “grande passion” with an undercurrent of political intrigue. The plot is ingenious both in conception and execution, while the tone of the novel is exceedingly bright and vivacious. A peculiar phase of Parisian society is most agreeably dealt with. The heroines, Louise Neigeon and Berthe Gaucheraud, are very jolly ladies indeed, but they never forget that they are ladies, even in their merriest and most eccentric moods...

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...

Once Carolyn Wells began, or re-invented her writing career, 'The Clue' was her initial book which strayed from children's writings into mysteries and detective stories. It is also when we are introduced to her most famous of detectives, Fleming Stone. On the eve of her wedding day, Madeleine Van Norman, a beautiful young lady who is soon to come into her family fortune is found dead, apparently stabbed with an ominous blood-stained letter opener found nearby. There is nobody within the household...

In the second book of the Mary Louise Gay mysteries, Mary Lou and her best friend Jane are thrilled to be spending a whole month of their summer together at Shady Nook. But when suspicious fires threaten their relaxing holiday, they jump into their sleuthing ways to find the culprit. With so many interesting residents in this small town, they have their work cut out for them! - Summary by Cari Shorrock

Elective Affinities was Goethe's third novel. It depicts human relationships in a Romantic crucible, and is the sourcebook and inspiration for many literary and filmic adaptations and variations. - Summary by Nicole Lee

Two London gentlemen ponder the evolution of humankind as they investigate a modern-day murder committed with an ancient tool. - Summary by Wanda White

The Dark Other is a horror novel by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The novel concerns Patricia Lane who is in love with Nicholas Devine, a quiet and gentle writer. Devine undergoes sudden changes becoming cold and calculating. Frightened by this, Lane consults psychologist Dr. Carl Horker who rescues her from Devine. Devine again attacks Horker, and overcomes him. He is then shot by Lane and rushed to a hospital where a surprise is found.

Is it true that people can literally be scared to death ? Is it possible to photograph astral projections ? What happens if you play with a pack of cards which belonged to a dead card-trickster ? These and more questions are raised and answered in ''The Seen and the Unseen'' , a collection of twelve short stories of a supernatural and uncanny nature by English author Richard Marsh , famous for such mystery/horror novels as ''The Beetle'' and ''The Goddess: A Demon''. So if you feel you are ready for some goosebumps before bedtime, snuggle up and have a listen. - Summary by Sonia

The second book by Huysmans concerning the religious development of the novelist Durtal, who in the first book experienced depravity and Satanism. In this book he struggles desperately to find a foothold in the Catholic faith. He is aided by his aesthetic sensitivities and the support of an understanding priest. But it is not until he undertakes a retreat in a Trappist monastery that he achieves depth of spiritual transformation.

After a night of drinking and gambling, John Ferguson has a terrifying dream of his neighbor being violently torn to shreds by an unknown attacker. When he wakes up, he sees a strange and bloodied woman climbing through his window, suffering from amnesia. These strange occurrences are brought to a chilling climax when, the next day, Ferguson learns that his dream came true, and his neighbor was indeed brutally murdered during the night! With suspicion mounting against the mysterious woman, Ferguson sets out to uncover her true identity and find the vicious killer in the process...

This story ran as a serial in 1852 in the New York Sunday Dispatch, and for more than 160 years was buried in obscurity, unknown to the world as novel written by Walt Whitman. Zachary Turpin, a graduate student specializing in Whitman's works, had seen in his notes a sketch of a novel including the characters Covert, Wigglesworth, Smytthe and Jack Engle, but no work including these characters had ever been found. After poring over endless pages of newspapers of the era however, Turpin found this advertisement for an upcoming serial: “A RICH REVELATION...

Old Mrs. Solomon Smith considers herself "nothing but an ignorant old woman" who didn't have the advantages others did when growing up. However, those around her know that she's actually full of biblical wisdom and the experience of walking with Christ through the years. She shares her wisdom -- and more importantly, Christ -- to those she meets in everyday life, in a wise and gentle manner. She touches lives wherever she goes. But can her life and example touch the heart of Laura, a young woman who loves and respects her, but doesn't seem interested in religion?

Following a shipwreck Stella is preparing to die but is unexpectedly rescued. A love triangle of an unusual sort develops where an inventor of the mobile phone, back in 1900, who is engaged, becomes involved with a woman who has a passionate mystical influence on him. The story explores the nature of death and how we should look forward to it as being a great step to a greater world.

Malcolm MacPhail has lived, for all of his twenty or so years, in a fishing village on the north coast of Scotland. He lives with his grandfather and, though he has never met his parents, has no curiosity about the details of his birth. However, others in the town have their own curiosity, and their own suspicions, about where this highland man and his infant grandson came from, those twenty or so years ago. When the local marquis and his daughter come to live in their grand estate just outside the town, unoccupied for many years, events begin to move which introduce to them the humble Malcolm, and which may shed some light on Malcolm's past while changing the course of his future.

The Bryant family - widowed Mrs. Bryant and her children Benjamin, Caroline , and little Daisy - is on the thin edge of poverty due to debt incurred when Mr. Bryant was alive. We follow the family, especially Ben and Daisy, as they help shoulder some of the burden. Prominent in the story are children's dolls, which are the means to some of the family's income. - Summary by TriciaG

The Markets of Paris is a remarkable work, and is the one which Zola calls his very best novel, and of which he is far more proud than of any others in his Rougon-Marquart series – prouder than of L’Assommoir. It must have been in his early manhood, when poor and friendless, he lived among the people, that much of the information which makes these pages so startlingly vivid, was acquired. How many mornings, long before dawn, must he have visited these markets – how many hours and days must he have spent there, to have mastered the habits, manners and ways of these people, who are a class by themselves, and of whom we do not lose sight, from the beginning to the end of the book...

A widow has been murdered in the home of a relative on a foggy night in London town when all residents were off on to the theatre, and one to run an errand involving the title bauble. Who done it? Old dark house mystery full of period cliches is pulp fun for the new year. - Summary by Matt Pierard