The Firm of Girdlestone

Arthur Conan Doyle

John and Ezra Girdlestone, father and son, run a British merchant company trading to the African coast with several sailing ships, all dangerously ill-maintained. Their small office is in London, their business is quite personally run, and the firm and its owners are well respected in the City by the 1870s. John Girdlestone is deeply and ostentatiously religious, to the cynical amazement of his son. The senior Girdlestone also is the tightly-controlling guardian of an heiress not quite of age, Kate Harston. This young lady is a cousin of Tom Dimsdale, college-age son of a physician. The story is filled with a fun, varied cast. Besides John, Ezra, and Kate, theres Captain Miggs, Major Tobias Clutterbuck, and the Dimsdale family. These families and their impingement are at the center of A. Conan Doyles psychological-adventure novel The Firm of Girdlestone.

The first devil

Zuzanna Kulik

Ona się go boi, on jej nienawidzi... A jednak musi ją ochronić Royal State High School to prawdziwe piekło. Tak w każdym razie postrzega swoją nową szkołę Elena. Tym piekłem rządzi prawdziwie szatańska czwórka ― paru chłopaków, którzy bardziej przypominają bandytów niż licealistów. Ostatnie, czego chciałaby nowa uczennica, to zwrócić na siebie ich uwagę... Oczywiście, los jest przewrotny. Elena staje przypadkiem na drodze szkolnego gangu, a to oznacza tylko jedno: kłopoty. Nawet jeżeli najgroźniejszy z diabelskiej czwórki, Nathan, ma mocne powody, by za wszelką cenę chronić dziewczynę przed swoimi bezwzględnymi kumplami, ona i tak najbardziej boi się właśnie jego. Chociaż musi też sama przed sobą przyznać, że jak na diabła, chłopak jest stanowczo zbyt przystojny i ma za piękne oczy. Oczy, o których można by nawet powiedzieć, że są anielskie, gdyby nie ich stalowe, zimne spojrzenie... Czy diabeł może mieć serce? Posłuchaj audiobooka:

The First Distiller. A Comedy in Six Acts

Leo Tolstoy

Such was the breadth of Tolstoys talents that he was unsurpassed in stories, essays and plays. A play about a demon who was stuck on the theft of the souls of peasants. The story itself is a story about juvenile morality, which seems so heavy that Tolstoys footprints should be on every page.

The First Men in the Moon

Herbert George Wells

Another H.G. Wells classic sci fi. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon by the impecunious businessman Mr. Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist Dr. Cavor. Bedford bankrupt businessman who is making a comeback by writing a play, through a series of circumstances, teams up with Professor Cavor a recluse scientist who does not realize his own potential. Together they build a contraption, sphere, that can cut off gravity waves. Once on the moon Bedford and Cavor find that they are not alone. After a few adventures they are detained by the Moonies referred to mostly in this story as Selenites. Will they be able to make it back to Earth and warn the people of the strange creatures? Or will they be caught and who knows what may happen to them in the long run. The novel can also be read as a critique of prevailing political opinions from the turn of the century, particularly of imperialism.

The First Part of Henry the Fourth

William Shakespeare

The play is a continuation of another Shakespeares work Richard the Second. The famous historical drama Henry IV, Part 1 takes place at the beginning of the fifteenth century, in England. The plot of the play revolves around the confrontation of the king with his rebel vassals.

The First Part of King Henry the Sixth

William Shakespeare

This historical chronicle spans a period of thirty years in English history. Starting from the death of King Henry the Fifth in 1422 and ending with the Battle of Castillon in 1453. Lancaster pays for the usurpation of power and the death of the real king. British troops are defeated in battles with France. In England, civil strife and civil war begin.

The First Time He Died

Ethel Lina White

The main character, Sir Benjamin Watson, created a private zoo in the countryside on the territory of his country house. Ganges is an exotic jungle filled with snakes, elephants, tigers and lions. One summer day, Ann Sherborne arrives at Ganges for meeting friends from the university. There are strange events: a series of accidents involving the zoo animals. Who is involved in this?

The Five Knots

Fred M. White

Frederick Merrick White is an eminent writer who became famous for his short stories. The main character, Samuel Flowers, is a wealthy man and owns a fleet of ships. In England, where precious treasures are missing, some people begin to search for them. Will they be found, and what will happen to Flowers and his niece?

The Flaming Jewel

Robert W. Chambers

Its an action-packed story set deep in an American forest shortly after World War I. There are international jewel thieves, rum dealers, gruesome deaths, a couple of sweet romances, betrayal, hidden identities, and multiple plot twists.

The Flirting Fool

Aidan de Brune

De Brunes novel The Flirting Fool is a thrilling court-room melodrama previously only published as a newspaper serial. The story is fast-paced with some surprising twists, well written and great to read. Readers of Aidan de Brunes novels may always count on a story of absorbing interest, turning on a complicated plot, worked out with dexterous craftsmanship. Nineteen novel length serials, two novella serials, and eighteen short stories, all except one published in Australian and New Zealand newspapers between 1926 and 1935. Other novels by De Brune were reputedly published in the USA under various pseudonyms, but these have not been traced.

The Flying Fifty-five

Edgar Wallace

Edgar Wallace was an English novelist, journalist and playwright, who was an enormously popular writer of detective, suspense stories, and practically invented the modern thriller. His popularity at the time was comparable to that of Charles Dickens one of Wallaces publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him. The Flying Fifty-Five is a novel set in the horse racing community and follows the ups and downs of turf life. Its all great fun and Wallace keeps the action moving along swiftly, as he always did. Although he takes us into some of the intricacies of betting in the horse racing arena, it is not so tedious that you cant get through those sections, but otherwise a wonderfully written, funny and happy ending.

The Flying Inn

G.K. Chesterton

Armed with a donkey cart filled with rum, cheese and a tavern signpost, pub owner Humphrey Hump and Captain Patrick Dalroy, a crimson-haired giant with a tendency to burst into song, take to the road in this rollicking, madcap adventure, encountering revolution, romance, and a cast of memorable characters. In this hilarious, satirical romp, G.K. Chesterton demonstrates his intense distrust of power and progressives, railing against Prohibition, vegetarianism, theosophy, and other dreary and oppressive forces of modernity.

The Flying Squad

Edgar Wallace

The creek between the canal and the river flows under Ladys Stairs, a crazy wooden house inhabited by Li Yoseph known to the police as a smuggler. The neighborhood suspects he is rich, and knows he is mad. Inspector Bradley is out to break a drug-smuggling gang which operates from an old house overhanging the Thames; the gang is headed by a criminal called Mark McGill. The disappearance of young Ron Perryman whom McGill has murdered and dumped in the river gives the Inspector his ideal opportunity to begin asking questions... Edgar Wallace established his reputation as a writer of detective thrillers, a genre in which he wrote more than 170 books, with the publication of The Four Just Men.

The Flying U Strikes

B.M. Bower

More trouble at the Flying U Ranch! Another installment in the Flying U series brings with it more trouble for the gang! After a suspected cattle-rustling incident turns into attempted murder, Chip soon realizes that his old nemesis, Big Butch Lewis, has bigger and more sinister plans. Chip soon discovers that he is rounding up gunmen from all over Montana in a sweeping plan to make the range a stronghold for outlaws! An action-packed adventure romp in the American Old West, The Flying U Strikes is not to be missed by those with a love of Western fiction and the works of B. M. Bower. One of many recommended Westerns by this prolific author.

The Flying Us Last Stand

B.M. Bower

The gang has to deal with changing times, progress, and civilization, all of which threaten the very existence of the Flying U. Homesteaders! Farmers! What can be done to protect the home country from these people who have no idea that the land claims they are wanting to prove up on are not meant for farming? This is B. M. Bowers 1915 novel, The Flying Us Last Stand. Another fantastic sequel to Chip of the Flying U, this book is not to be missed by those who have read and enjoyed other books in this classic Western series and the works of B. M. Bower. Highly recommended for fans of Western adventure fiction and worthy of a place on any bookshelf.

The Folded Paper Mystery

Hulbert Footner, Hulbert Footner

Nick Peters was a repairer of watches who fond of friendly arguments with Fin Corveth, a free-lance journalist. One day Peters is murdered, and Corveth finds himself involved in a baffling mystery in which a little brass ball plays an important part for the little brass ball conceals an emerald locket, which in turn conceals a blank square of folded paper. It becomes clear that greater events are afoot than simple murder...

The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth

Herbert George Wells

What happens when science tampers with nature? Mr. Bensington and Mr. Redwood create a new food material, Herakleophorbia, later called Boomfood, they hope will have beneficial uses to mankind. They come up with a substance that causes flora, fauna, and people to become giants. At first, there are giant nettles, mushrooms but then it ramps up, with giant rats that can take down and eat horses and wasps so large one could hear them half a mile off. In the end it becomes a tragedy: several hundred children around the world had been given this food of the gods and grow to a height of around forty feet. The first giant babies are revealed and for the first time humanity has to contend with the existence of a new race of giant people. How humanity deals with this shocking new creation is revealed in The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth.

The Forged Coupon and Other Stories

Leo Tolstoy

At the beginning of the story, walking along an incline, some of Tolstoys characters lie, commit robberies and even killings. The author allows his heroes to experience feelings of satisfaction and complete impunity, after they have committed terrible atrocities. Pelageyushkin, going to the massacres, is content with one own impunity. Tolstoy conducts his heroes in hellish circles: all terrible crimes are uncovered. The punishment for the crime hangs with a Damocles sword over the heads of Tolstoy literary characters. It is also interesting that the writer selects his heroes from each social group.

The Forger

Edgar Wallace

Forged notes have started to appear everywhere. Mr. Cheyne Wells of Harley Street has been given one. So has Porter. Peter Clifton is rich, but no one is quite certain how he acquired his money not even his new wife, the beautiful Jane Leith. Jane, newly married to this man she does not love, is plunged into a nightmare of murder and madness. What is the secret of her husbands immense fortune? Is he The Clever One who has baffled the police, the banks and the world with his clever forgeries? Or is he a homicidal maniac? Inspector Rouper and Superintendent Bourke are both involved in trying to solve the mystery.

The Forsaken Inn

Anna Katharine Green

The Forsaken Inn by Anna Katharine Green is an exceptional novel of gothic horror set in late 18th-century Revolutionary America. Told from the perspective of a Mrs. Truax, the owner of an inn, The Forsaken Inn is a locked-room mystery that keeps readers guessing about what has happened. Edwin Urquhart, loved by two sisters, chooses to marry the elder. Arriving at the Forsaken Inn for their honeymoon, they occupy an apartment containing a secret chamber. That night, the young bride is murdered and buried in this secret room. Did her new husband commit the crime or is something much more sinister afoot? Yet, many people saw that bride leave with her husband. How can this be?

The Fortress

Hugh Walpole

Judith Paris, now middle-aged, is returning to the Lakes to deal with the fierce feud between the two branches of the family. The feud ended with the construction of one branch of a huge house, known as the Fortress, which will dominate the land of others. But in this conflict, the children of two families play an important role.

The Fortunate Wayfarer

E. Phillips Oppenheim

A best-selling author of novels, short stories, magazine articles, translations, and plays, Oppenheim published over 150 books. He is considered one of the originators of the thriller genre, his novels also range from spy thrillers to romance, but all have an undertone of intrigue. He was the earliest writer of spy fiction as understood today, and invented the Rogue Male school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household. This 1927 old detective story by Oppenheim revisits the plot device of a young man who comes into a large fortune suddenly and explores the class differences between the lower middle, and the upper class.

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe

Written in a time when criminal biographies enjoyed great success, Daniel Defoes The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (aka Moll Flanders) details the life of the irresistible Moll and her struggles through poverty and sin in search of property and power. Born in Newgate prison and abandoned six months later, Moll Flanders drive to find and hold on to a secure place in society propels her through incest, adultery, bigamy, prostitution and a resourceful career as a thief before her crimes catch up with her, and she is transported to the colony of Virginia in the New World. The bawdy story of Moll Flanders vividly illustrates Defoes themes of social mobility and predestination, sin, redemption, reward and womans struggle for independence.

The Fortune-Telling House

Aidan de Brune

Another breathtaking novel by the master of mystery Aidan de Brune. What is the secret of the derelict mansion in the Australian countryside? The Fortune-Telling House is a fast-paced mystery, with good twists and turns where you can find the answer. Aidan de Brune provides a thrill of another sort! The author has acquired an admirable technique of the sort demanded by the novel of intrigue and mystery. De Brune is one of those thriller writers who were in their day wildly popular, but are today little read. He was a prolific author who wrote in a variety of genres.