Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island

Herbert George Wells

Often called the father of science fiction, British author Herbert George Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island is a 1928 novel by H. G. Wells. It tells the story of a young Englishman Arnold Blettsworthy who, after being betrayed by a business partner, is advised to go travelling in an attempt to recover from his severe disillusionment. During the voyage the ship is wrecked and Mr. Blettsworthy gets on Rampole island inhabited by unfriendly savages. However, instead of being full of relaxation and recuperation his trip is filled with nautical mutinies, cannibals, and much that is not what it seems. The novel combines several authors favorite themes, namely, love, marriage, politics, adventure and science fiction.

The Yellow Face

Fred M. White

A young, ambitious lawyer, Jack Masefield has his own problems and suspicions. He is in love with a beautiful young Clair and is convinced that her guardian, the famous criminologist Spencer Anstruther, is himself a criminal and plays some kind of mysterious game, and that posters on the streets are part of his scheme. This book captures from the start. And each page that you flip reveals new and new secrets.

The Loudwater Mystery

Edgar Jepson

This novel was first published in 1920 and is along the lines of a classic whodunnit. Lord Loudwater is brash, short tempered and always bullying people. He was loved by none, feared by many and hated by all. When he is inexplicably found fatality stabbed with a letter opener, the list of suspects seems endless. Unfortunately for Detective Flexen, who is to investigate the case, Lord Loudwater was not a very agreeable sort of fellow and almost every person in his vicinity had a motive for the crime. Was it his young wife or her lover, his former fiancé or even one of the servants? If you like the old style crime novels where you are presented with a puzzle and have to try and work out who the killer is, then you should like this.

Na kresach lasów. Powieść

Wacław Sieroszewski

Na kresach lasów to powieść Wacława Sieroszewskiego prezentująca obraz życia mieszkańców Jakucji krainy w północnej Rosji na tle syberyjskiej przyrody. Do małej wioski dociera polski zesłaniec, którego tubylcy biorą na Rosjanina. Wraz z nim poznajemy obyczaje Jakutów i przekonujemy się, jak hermetyczna jest to społeczność, jak bardzo odmienna i jak trudno czasem znaleźć zrozumienie.

As You Like It

William Shakespeare

One of the earliest comedies of Shakespeare. And at the moment one of the most relevant. The plot of the play is built on dressing a woman into a man, on the love of a man for a woman, a woman for a disguised woman, and so on. The second comedy plan shows how different family relationships can be one step from love to hate. And the fact that you are one blood does not mean anything, good relations are more important.

Na srebrnym globie. Rękopis z Księżyca

Jerzy Żuławski

Pierwsza część Trylogii księżycowej Jerzego Żuławskiego jednego z pionierów polskiej fantastyki naukowej. Napisana w formie pamiętnika z wyprawy, opowiada o misji kolonizacyjnej na Księżyc i tworzeniu tam nowego społeczeństwa. Fantastyczny sztafaż pozwala snuć refleksję o zmaganiach człowieka z własnymi słabościami i mechanizmach rządzących ludzkimi relacjami społecznymi.

Faraon

Bolesław Prus

Starożytny Egipt, XI wiek przed naszą erą. Państwem zarządza młody faraon Ramzes XIII. Następca tronu zamierza przeprowadzić reformy, które poprawią los poddanych. Tymczasem skarbiec faraona jest pusty, rośnie też zadłużenie państwa pożyczającego ogromne sumy od Fenicjan. Niezbędne do reform środki młody władca zamierza zdobyć podczas wojny z bogatą Asyrią. Planom Ramzesa sprzeciwiają się jednak kapłani, którzy mają znaczący wpływ na politykę państwa i którzy posiadają bogactwa ukryte w podziemnym labiryncie. Ramzes podejmuje walkę z kapłanami, której celem jest przywrócenie pełni władzy faraonom. Nie docenia jednak wiedzy i siły swych przeciwników...

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Charles Dickens

As in many of Dickenss greatest novels, the gulf between appearance and reality drives the action. Set in the seemingly innocuous cathedral town of Cloisterham, the story rapidly darkens with a sense of impending evil. Charles Dickenss final, unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly atmospheric tale of murder, The Mystery of Edwin Drood foreshadows both the detective stories of Conan Doyle and the nightmarish novels of Kafka. Though The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one of its authors darkest books, it also bustles with a vast roster of memorable-and delightfully named-minor characters: Mrs. Billikins, the landlady; the foolish Mr. Sapsea; the philanthropist, Mr. Honeythunder; and the mysterious Datchery. Several attempts have been made over the years to complete the novel and solve the mystery, but even in its unfinished state it is a gripping and haunting masterpiece.

The Mischief Maker

E. Phillips Oppenheim

This story takes place before WWI and follows the adventures of a disgraced English politician who hasnt given up on his country in her hour of need. His nemesis is a suave but evil German prince who is plotting the downfall of he British empire. The only thing that stands in his way is our hero... and two beautiful women. The Mischief-Maker presents a fascinating picture of the political mindset of the day to go along with the twists and turns of the story. And so on, and with the material of conspiracies, politics, love and adventure the story is woven around the atmosphere of the early 20th century in London and Paris with that peculiar polish in dialogue and fascinating coloring characteristic of the popular author.

Dziennik Franciszki Krasińskiej

Klementyna Hoffmanowa

Akcja tej powieści historycznej umiejscowiona jest u schyłku panowania Augusta III Sasa. Autorka skupia się na przedstawieniu sylwetki głównej bohaterki Franciszki Krasińskiej. Utwór ma formę listów i pamiętników. Na pierwszy plan wysuwa się emocjonalność i wewnętrzne przeżycia bohaterki, natomiast wydarzenia historyczne i polityczne są tylko tłem dla rozterek kobiecego serca.

The Lighted Way

E. Phillips Oppenheim

A mystery story that involves the revolution in Portugal. Arnold Chetwode never intended to become involved in international intrigue. Arnold, a gently born young man in impecunious circumstances, toils as a lowly, ill-paid clerk in the prosperous London firm run by Mr. Weatherley, he is industrious but common merchant. A surprising invitation puts him at the right time and place to be a witness to a public murder. His employer and employers family are involved in the aftermath. Even Ruth, the poor invalid who befriended him when he was penniless. Full of descriptions of London settings, society, restaurants, country houses, and early motorcars, the novel careens back and forth between politics and romance. The reader is kept in complete mystery until the whole story is explained.

Skin and Bones

Thorne Smith

Thorne Smiths imaginative novel Skin and Bones takes the concept of suffering for ones art to a whole new level. This classic book contains the humorous and fantastical story of Mr. Quintus Bland, the eminent photographer, whose efforts to perfect X-ray film had, one evening, the unfortunate effect of leaving Mr. Bland in the position of an X-ray film himself; in other words, him found himself no more than a walking skeleton. Blands flesh does not merely become invisible but intangible. Can he make a life worth living with this condition? A great read, this book is thoroughly recommended for inclusion on the bookshelf of any home, where it is sure to become a family favorite.

The Sea Lady

Herbert George Wells

This charming, little-known fantasy by the author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds is also a sharply satirical look at the mores and moral of Edwardian England. During a family outing at the beach a family sees a young woman struggling further out in the water. Its only when they rescue her that they see that shes a mermaid. They quickly take her into the beach house, still unaware that the mermaid has planned the whole incident in order to meet a young man. Her motives are not quite clear; nor are her intentions of what she plans to do with the young man after she gets him, since she lives beneath the sea. On occasion she drops her guard and lets it be known she is death underwater. Will she be stopped in time from committing this dastardly deed? The Sea Lady takes a pretty good subject mermaid turned siren in proper British society and totally drops the ball.

Hushed Up!. A Mystery of London

William Le Queux

An interesting classic mystery, yes, I guess I could say enjoyable but to a certain extent... At first you are dragged to the edge of your seat wondering whats going to happen next or what the hell does this unusual introduction mean, then youre hit with a bunch of senarios that keep you wanting to just continue to the next chapter to see what will happen, then you realise that some of what you may have suspected in the beginning IS the conclusion to the plot...

Twixt Land & Sea Tales

Joseph Conrad

There are collected 3 stories. One of the stories has a distinctly ironic accent. In Smile of Fortune, the young captain landed his ship on a tropical island. He is met by a trader named Jacobus, whom he regards as luck. Then he falls in love with the girl Jacobus. By luck, the captain arrives on another island, where there is hunger, and he can sell potatoes.

Kiwony

Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz

ózef Domaszko właśnie zdał maturę. Ma romans z córką swej ciotki Natalką. Dewizą życiową tego zdolnego i ambitnego młodzieńca jest ulubione motto jego stryja Cezarego: Trzeba zawsze w życiu stosować się do tego, co jest przyjęte i uznawane przez szanowanych, poważnych i spokojnych ludzi. Stryj, który łożył na naukę Józefa, chce, żeby ten został literatem, ma w sobie wszak krew wieszcza Słowackiego. Powikłane losy naszego bohatera przedstawione są w książce Kiwony na niezwykle interesującym tle wydarzeń rozgrywających się w stołecznych redakcjach prasowych, salonach warszawskiej inteligencji i domach zamożnej burżuazji. Kiwonowatość, czyli lizusostwo przedstawicieli ówczesnych elit, ludzi pozbawionych inicjatywy i bezwolnie poddających się biegowi wydarzeń, to typowe zjawisko tamtych czasów.