A Cabinet Secret

Guy Boothby

The city itself, climbing a hillside almost at the waters edge, was painted pale pink at sunset, and even the old Vesuvius, from the top of which a thin column of black smoke seemed a little less gloomy than usual. Because of heaven, the sky was a mass of golden and raspberry-colored, and this was reflected in the calm waters of the bay until the whole world turned into a real radiance. The evening could hardly be desired. And yet this is not the city, mountain or sunset that we must make, but the first movement of the conspiracy, which was ultimately destined to shake one of the greatest Empires that the Earth has ever seen.

A Certain Dr. Thorndyke

R. Austin Freeman

John Osborne is a young gentleman who has left England for some, as of yet, unknown reason. He settles in Adaffia, an ends-of-the-earth type of town on the Gold Coast. Almost immediately he gets into a fight defending the only other white man in town, a drunken trader. And we see that Osborne is a tremendous fighter skilled at ju-jitsu, boxing, wrestling and strategy. These skills will come into play again and again, in a mutiny, a rebellion and other struggles with formidable opponents. His adventures at one point throw him into the company of a willful young lady who has an appetite for danger, and she and Osborne fall in love. Meanwhile back in England, a certain Dr. Thorndyke is investigating the crime that Osborne is supposed to have committed. This second half of the book is just as much fun as the first, involving bizarre searches for clues and meticulous examinations of minutiae, from mustache hairs to wormwood dust.

A Changed Heart. A Novel

May Agnes Fleming

A good, old-fashioned story that would appeal to any fan of Jane Austen or Bronte. This takes place in St. John, NB. There are enough love interests, mysterious meetings, solemn balls and the necessary beautiful bouncer to pat all the hearts of young ladies. Indecision and murder provide the backdrop for this gothic novel.

A Changed Man and Other Tales

Thomas Hardy

The stories that make up The Changed Man were written at different points in Hardys life, but this collection was not published until 1913. Hardy wrote really excellent short stories many of his stories had the scope and complexity of a full-length novel. This collection of twelve stories; Tales of soldiers, shepherds, milkmaids and dukes often contain some elements of the creepy or supernatural to some extent.

A Chicago Princess

Robert Barr

The Chicago Princess is a historical novel with a romantic line, written by Robert Barr. Robert Barr (1849-1912) was a British-Canadian short story writer and novelist, who published the first Holmes parody, The Adventures of Sherlaw Kombs in 1892. A novel The Chicago Princess first published in 1904. After working several years in foreign affairs, and after winning and then losing a fortune, Rupert Tremorne is stranded in Nagasaki, at the end of his wits and in some debt. His only chance is to take the post as private secretary to the Millionaire Mr. Hemster, and to sail on with him on his yacht. Sailing around Asia is big adventure for anyone, but it is a special one for Tremorne, because besides Mr. Hemster and his staff, there are the beautiful Miss Gertrude Hemster and her companion Hilda Stretton on board. And suddenly, Tremorne has his hands full with those two ladies.

A Child of the Jago

Arthur Morrison

A Child of the Jago is London-born journalist Arthur Morrisons best known novel. It was first published in November 1896 and is set in a fictional East End slum known as the Jago, which Morrison based a real district called the Old Nichol. The novel recounts the brief life of Dicky Perrott, who is at heart full of humane instinct but his environment ensures his down fall. The Perrott family, and their friends and enemies, must struggle for their very survival in the harsh environment they live within. Tension and desperation amid the crime and roughness is constant in the overcrowded slums of the East End, with fortune hard to come by and danger ever present. The author, who rejected the label realist, doesnt minimize the violence of the community and A Child of the Jago is an exciting tale indeed.

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol - a novella by Charles Dickens, an English writer who is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.   A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.  

A Christmas Carol - With Audio Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library

Dickens, Charles

A level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library graded reader. This version includes an audio book: listen to the story as you read. Retold for Learners of English by Clare West. Christmas is humbug, Scrooge says - just a time when you find yourself a year older and not a penny richer. The only thing that matters to Scrooge is business, and making money. But on Christmas Eve three spirits come to visit him. They take him travelling on the wings of the night to see the shadows of Christmas past, present, and future - and Scrooge learns a lesson that he will never forget. . . .