The Dolliver Romance

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Dr. Dolliver, a worthy character of great antiquity. A persons desire for an immortal existence, an attempt to satisfy which would be stated in various ways: first, through the selfish old sensualist, Colonel Dabni, who greedily grabbed the mysterious elixir and took his draft so that he died on the spot; then, through the plain old Grandir, longing to live for Pansy; and, perhaps, through Pansy herself, who, having come to enjoy some kind of ennobling love, would like to defeat death so that she can always maintain the perfection of her worldly happiness all these forms of desire to be united are higher, a play of shadows that should direct our mind to true immortality outside of this world.

The Dom. Nowojorska bohema na polskim Lower East Side

Jan Błaszczak

Mecenas, filantrop, magnetyczna osobowość, ludzie po prostu do niego lgnęli. O Stanleyu Tolkinie w Nowym Jorku mówiło się wiele. Polak, który z powodzeniem prowadził kluby The Dom oraz Stanleys Bar, gdzie gościła śmietanka nowojorskiej bohemy. Andy Warhol wyświetlał tam swoje filmy, The Velvet Underground grali swoje pierwsze performatywne koncerty, najwięksi jazzmani wdawali się w światopoglądowe dyskusje, a afroamerykańscy aktywiści planowali równościowe pikiety. Ale kim tak naprawdę był Tolkin, o którym polskie archiwa uparcie milczą? Jan Błaszczak niczym najlepszy detektyw prowadzi nas nowojorskimi ulicami Lower East Side i próbuje rozwiązać zagadkę Stanleya Tolkina. W śledztwie pomagają mu bitnikowskie poetki, organizatorzy punkowych koncertów z lat 70., artyści wizualni, międzynarodowej sławy kompozytorzy, księża z nowojorskich parafii, afroamerykańscy pisarze i potomkowie polskich emigrantów. A opowieść o Tolkinie jest też przewodnikiem po Nowym Jorku ostatniego półwiecza, gdzie od lat słodki zapach marihuany miesza się z rześkim powietrzem znad East River. Po mieście, którego mieszkańcy, jak niegdyś Stanley Tolkin, próbują realizować swój American dream. Skoro Nowy Jork był sceną dla tylu zjawisk kulturalnych XX wieku, gdzie w tym wszystkim była Polonia? I co jeśli kaowcem, który w przełomowym momencie wpływał na oblicze miasta, był Polak? Jan Błaszczak jest świetnym, uważnym i wnikliwym miejskim przewodnikiem. Na każdym rogu jego Lower East Side kryją się ślady jakiejś wielkiej historii, a na każdej stronie jego książki jakiś zaskakujący fakt. Bartek Chaciński

The Doom of London

Fred M. White

A terrible story that can cause goose bumps after reading. The story of The Doom of London describes the disasters that befell Victorian London. One of the largest cities is shocked by life threatening circumstances. Here there are underground explosions, poisoning, aplague of diphtheria. London is on the verge of death.

The Door with Seven Locks

Edgar Wallace

A short but interesting detective story. Dick Martin plans for an early retirement from the police force seeking a quite life. His final job is to bring in Lew Pheeney, wanted in connection with a bank robbery. When Lew confesses to trying to open a dead mans tomb, however, Martin has a mystery he must unravel. He races to find the connection between an attractive young librarian, a mad scientist and the vanished heir to a vast fortune, as everyone becomes entangled in a web of fraud, deceit, torture and murder. What dangers did he face in understanding the mystery behind the door with seven locks? Combines a mystery thriller plot with considerable dashes of gothic horror, and just the faintest hint of science fiction.

The Dorrington Deed Box

Arthur Morrison

English writer Morrison chronicles the exploits of Horace Dorrington, a raconteur and scoundrel who hails from a very different social strata than the typical Victorian detective. Mr. Dorrington himself is a marvelous creation, charming and with no moral scruples whatsoever, clever, and entirely devoted to achieving as great a profit for himself as possible if this involves doing some honest detection, that is fine if it involved extorting the criminal instead of turning him over to the police, no problem, if it involves having the client murdered well, some things cant be helped. There are six short stories in this collection which begins with The Narrative of Mr. James Rigby. Definitely fun and recommended for readers who want to explore the darker side of Victorian detective stories.

The Double

Edgar Wallace

One of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century, Edgar Wallace was an immensely popular author, who created exciting thrillers spiced with tales of treacherous crooks and hard-boiled detectives. The Double is a story about a man who encounters his unknown double and the trouble that arises. When Dick Staines joined the police force the big case of the day had been the Staines murder. The only clue was an unknown thumb-print, the case was never solved. Ten years later and Detective Inspector Staines investigating a curious burglary in fashionable Belgravia finds a thumb-print on a glass. The strangest of murders with surgical overtones confronts Dick Staines our Cambridge educated detective.

The Double. A Petersburg Poem

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky

In the book The Double Dostoevsky appears before the reader as a writer with an inimitable sense of humor. The author shows an extraordinary skill in describing comic episodes from life and makes the reader cheerfully laugh at the shortcomings of his characters and the comic nature of the situations. Before the reader St. Petersburg streets of the XIX century come to life, he will get acquainted with the mores of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg.

The Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Alfred Burton, a smooth-talking salesman, is having a perfectly ordinary day on the job when he stumbles across a strange plant with green leaves and a cluster of queer little brown beans hanging down from them in an old house. The virtue of the beans is that he who eats one shall see nothing, think nothing, say nothing but the truth. Alfred Burton has a well-meaning, rather ordinary wife who becomes unendurable to him, and he falls in love with a charming girl who would have no appeal for the man he formerly was. What Alfred really doesnt realize is that the fruit of the plant, when eaten, will change not merely the entire course of his life, but in fact his very self.

The Double Traitor

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The Double Traitor is an espionage novel set in the days leading to the first World War. The main character is Francis Norgate, an aspiring British diplomat who falls in disfavor with his superiors for defending a woman while stationed in Berlin. The resulting scandal causes Norgate to be recalled. On the way home, he meets a German gentleman, Selingman, who claims to be a crockery salesman. But, Selingman is not what he appears to be. Disillusioned by the English government, Norgate allows himself to be recruited by Selingman. Oppenheim tells a good story a little romance, a little adventure turn of the century tales of success and failure, gain and loss.

The Dragon Murder Case

S.S. Van Dine

This is the seventh book about the detective Filo Vance, in which, as always, he skillfully investigates an unusual case. One of the guests gathered in a comfortable estate for the weekend dives into the pool and does not leave it in front of several people. Neither the search for divers or the descent of water yields results: a person disappears without a trace. And, although many are interested in the death of the unfortunate, the suspicion seriously falls on the dragon.

The Dream

Herbert George Wells

The Dream by H.G Wells follows the character, Sarnac, who lives a whole other life as Harry Mortimer Smith. Sarnac is at the height of his career as a scientist by discovering new research. Sarnac goes with his friends including his girlfriend, Sunray to escape for the holidays. Little does Sarnac know that he would be dreaming a whole new life as a different person. His dream world is peculiar rules and what is socially acceptable than reality. The roles of each member in this society is more conservative, yet relaxed at other situations. However, he finds that his dreams and the reality he has lived have become so entangled that he is no longer able to distinguish between them. The Dream is a 1924 novel by H. G. Wells about a man from a Utopian future who dreams the entire life of an Englishman from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, Harry Mortimer Smith.

The Dream Doctor

Arthur B. Reeve

Professor Craig Kennedy is a scientist detective at Columbia University. He uses his knowledge of chemistry and psychoanalysis to solve cases, and uses exotic devices in his work such as lie detectors, gyroscopes, and portable seismographs. In this book Kennedy and Jameson (newspaper reporter) help Carton, the District Attorney, unravel a tangled web of corruption and criminal activity in their fair city. Carton is running for elections and is trying to clean up the corruption that has ruled the city, especially a few major criminals that have bonded together to keep things lucrative for themselves. One of them is running in the election too. These 3 guys find out the truth and slowly uncover and convict the criminals one by one.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and Other the Randolph Carter Stories

H.P. Lovecraft

The Dream Quest is one of his most significant stories. This is the bridge and the key to his two greatest periods and his most revealing personal work. This complex fantasy of a dream, which strangely brought the protagonist closer to the solution. Lovecraft stories are full of nightmares ruled by evil gods.

The Drift Fence

Zane Grey

Zane Grey evokes the atmosphere, hardships and possibilities of the Old West like nobody else. Leaving Missouri with no knowledge of cattle ranching, Jim Traft of Missouri is put in charge of building one hundred miles of fence on his uncles western ranch to prevent cattle from drifting. The job puts him in conflict with the local community and he must find a balance. Theres also the lovely Molly Dunn to distract him; but how can he hope to woo the sister of his chief enemy? The Drift Fence shows how this tender young man struggles to overcome the odds he faces and ultimately wins over the heart of the beautiful young lass.

The Drum

A.E.W. Mason

Best known for The Four Feathers and the Hanaud detective novels, A.E.W. Mason wrote many novels. The Drum is an adventure novel by this British writer which was first published in 1937. This story is a rousing, Kipling-like adventure set in contemporary India, dealing with uprising and rebellion and a native prince caught between two worlds and forced into hiding. In it, murder and intrigue in a princely state on the Northwest Frontier of British India. A fairy drum no one must see beaten. A secret mission across the Hindu Kush and friendship between an Indian Prince and an English drummer-boy. All these are elements of The Drum which is one of two novels by A.E.W. Mason set in India. A pukka adventure in the days of the Raj.

The Duchesse de Langeais

Honoré de Balzac

This is one of the three novelettes that are grouped together as The History of the Thirteen, along with Ferragus: Chief of the Companions of Duty and The Girl with the Golden Eyes. The whole notion is that there is a secret society of wealthy gentlemen in Paris called The Thirteen which has powers approaching the supernatural. General Armand de Montriveau, a war hero, is enamored of Duchess Antoinette de Langeais, a coquettish, married noblewoman who invites him to a ball but ultimately refuses his sexual advances and then disappears. Assisted by the powerful group known as The Thirteen, who subscribe to an occult form of freemasonry, General Montriveau finds the duchess in a Spanish monastery of Discalced Carmelites under the name of Sister Theresa. The ending is romantic and highly tumultuous. Highly recommended!