The Magnificent Hoax

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Captain Jan Henderson master of the cargo ship Henrietta Anne trading between London and Holland is working with mysterious conspirators (Sir Gregory Fawsitt and Lady Judith Martellon) to smuggle goods from Holland to London. His deck boy, David, falls in love with Judy, a pretty dancer. When Anthony Loman, an haggard traveler, staggers up the stairs of the tenement house at Bunters Buildings, Judy listens while he is flung to his death. As Police Sergeant Sanders investigation draws closer to the truth, will the killers be brought to justice? The Magnificent Hoax is a novel of drug-smuggling with yacht cruises to the Orient, Scotland Yard, aristocratic beauties and Londons waterfront.

The Little Gentleman from Okehampstead

E. Phillips Oppenheim

The Little Gentleman from Okehampstead is a collection of connected stories about Mendel Honeywood, a diminutive insurance agent who skips out on his family and his hometown of Okehampstead, Massachusetts, and arrives in England, without a cent, to enter into a life of crime. He meets up with James Van Clarence Smith, disinherited scion of the wealthy American millionaires, and Lady Felicia Lakenham, upper-class, with a very small income. These three engage in somewhat shady adventures in the art world, politics, and international finance, as they seek to make their fortunes. Its all great fun and Oppenheim keeps the action moving along swiftly, as he always did. If you havent discovered the joys of Oppenheims mysteries there is a good place to start.

Island Nights Entertainments

Robert Louis Stevenson

The famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson tells about the exciting and dangerous adventures of young Jim and his older comrades who set off in search of a pirate treasure. Jim had to face such serious tests that an adult could not stand. But the courage, nobility, honesty and kindness of this wonderful boy helped him cope with all the difficulties!

Pogrobek. Powieść z czasów przemysławowskich

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski

Akcja powieści toczy się podczas rozbicia dzielnicowego Polski. Fabuła skupia się wokół postaci Przemysława Wielkopolskiego. Kraszewski opisuje dzieje małżeństwa króla z Ludgardą księżniczką szczecińską. W tle powieści autor ukazuje sytuację polityczną Polski, jednak na pierwszy plan wysuwa nieszczęśliwy związek władcy, zakończony śmiercią Ludgardy. Do śmierci kobiety, poprzez nieumiejętnie dobrane słowa, przyczynił się sam małżonek.

The Virgin of the Sun

H. Rider Haggard

Haggard explores love, friendship, and women during an adventure across the Atlantic and South America. In The Virgin of the Sun, the author also explores the Inca myth associated with the rise of one of Americas greatest pre-Columbian leaders, Pachacuti. After several small adventures and misfortunes, our hero, Hubert, meets and befriends a strange man from a strange land. This story is filled with murder, intrigue, adventure and betrayal. It will definitely be remembered by readers for a long time.

Charles the First

Jacob Abbott

Jacob Abbott was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographieHistory of King Charles the First of England is a simple and sympathetic story of the life and reign of Charles I. Thanks to the simple writing, Abbott immerses us in historical times. This book is unique in that at one moment you can find answers to long-standing questions or get new knowledge, and at another time you have new questions.

Omyłka

Bolesław Prus

Akcja utworu Omyłka toczy się w małym miasteczku w przededniu powstania styczniowego oraz w jego trakcie. Nastoletni Antek mieszka wraz ze swoją matką i opiekunką, jego starszy brat Władek studiuje medycynę w Warszawie. Matka chłopców cieszy się dużym autorytetem w miasteczku. Jej dom jest miejscem spotkań miejscowej inteligencji, prowadzącej rozmowy polityczne. Niedaleko domu Antka stoi chata, w której mieszka starszy człowiek, od którego wszyscy stronią. Uważają go za zdrajcę i szpiega. Wkrótce wybucha powstanie, a Antek i jego matka otrzymują list od Władka z wiadomością, że zaciągnął się do powstańczego wojska. Także mieszkający w chacie starszy człowiek, uznawany za zdrajcę, rozgłasza w mieście, że idzie do powstania. Wkrótce finguje swoją śmierć, a następnie powraca jako bohater i opowiada zmyślone historie o walkach. Tymczasem powstanie dociera do miasteczka i rozpoczyna się prawdziwa bitwa.

The Scandal of Father Brown

G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton again allows us to accompany Father Brown, preternaturally-unbiased master of human nature, as he stumbles across another series of murders and mysteries. These stories in this series are not as compact as those in other books, notably The Innocence of Father Brown, but they have the same magnetic power to draw the reader in. As ever, Chesterton is interested not only in delivering first rate detective stories, but of describing human nature. His characters are flawed and biased, all blind in their own way, which is what makes it so difficult to see the truth that lies before them. Father Brown, ever kind and imperturbable, nearly always sees right through to the heart of the matter. Posing as a humble parish priest, which he is, he somehow sees beyond the class boundaries which it is Chestertons special gift to point out and puncture.

Cousin Pons

Honoré de Balzac

Cousin Pons is one of the last and greatest of Balzacs novels of French urban society: a cynical, pessimistic but never despairing consideration of human nature. The book tells the story of Sylvain Pons, a poor moderately successful musician who is swindled by his wealthy relatives when they learn that his collection of art and antiques is worth a fortune. In contrast to his counterpart Cousin Bette, who seeks revenge against those who have humiliated her, Cousin Pons suffers passively as his health deteriorates and he eventually dies. The forces that come into play as Pons end approaches reveal the worst sides of the people around him, and give Balzac ample room to show the rougher side of his Parisians. The author shows how a person without means can be crushed by a society that has no values except material ones.

Crucial Instances

Edith Wharton

Originally published in 1901, Crucial Instances is the second collection of six short stories connected, as the title suggests, by a hinging moment in the narrative through which the plot alters dramatically. The contents included the following: The Duchess at Prayer, The Angel at the Grave, The Recovery, Copy: A Dialogue, The Rembrandt, The Moving Finger and The Confessional.This is a great collection of stories, where Edith Wharton shows her wide range of talents, from those with a bit of a horror feel, to ones which just make the reader feel good. There is one Dialogue or play, several written in third person, several in first person, written from a mans point of view and some from a womans. All of them are carefully crafted to show a particular attitude or character or scene in great detail. Highly recommended!

Pieśń przerwana

Eliza Orzeszkowa

Dziewiętnastoletnia Klara Wygrycz zostaje uwiedziona przez młodego, przystojnego Juliusza, który sprawia wrażenie zakochanego i troskliwego mężczyzny. Na początku ich przygody dba o nią, przysyła prezenty, spełnia jej marzenia. Wrażenie jednak okazuje się złudne, a młodzieniec pokazuje swoją prawdziwą twarz.

Winston of the Prairie

Harold Bindloss

This is a story about good and evil. Before each person in life is a difficult choice. And he decides which way to choose. So our main character made a choice that changed his whole life. Farmer Witham worked like a dog for about six years. Corthorne offers Witham a $ 1000 deal. As a result of which a small number of people suffered. The deal ends badly. At the end of the main character regretted it.

The Ghost Kings

H. Rider Haggard

Haggard was a great popularizer of the story about the lost world, and his The Ghost Kings are an interesting addition to dozens of others in the authors pantheon. We meet Rachel Dove, the daughter of a British missionary who has traveled through the wilds of Africa for most of her young life. Her life turned upside down when another teenager Richard Darrien saved her from sudden flooding. These two are another pair of Haggards predestined lovers.

Pan Geldhab. Komedia w trzech aktach wierszem

Aleksander Fredro

Geldhab próbuje wydać swoją córkę za zbankrutowanego księcia. Chce w ten sposób zdobyć tytuł i awans do elit społecznych. Typowa komiedia z nietypowym zakończeniem. Lektura warta polecenia.

A Witch Shall Be Born

Robert E. Howard

Taramis, Queen of Khauran, awakened from a dream-haunted slumber to a silence that seemed more like the stillness of nighted catacombs than the normal quiet of a sleeping place. She lay staring into the darkness, wondering why the candles in their golden candelabra had gone out. A flecking of stars marked a gold-barred casement that lent no illumination to the interior of the chamber.

Una of the Garden

Lucy Maud Montgomery

It was pleasant to look at Eric Murray himself, a tall, broad-shouldered young guy that he had stable grayish-blue eyes and thick wavy brown hair. He was the most popular member of his graduation class and the most enviable because his father was a millionaire and Eric was his only son. Mr. Murray was a kind-hearted, old gentleman who loved his boy. This is a good story with its own morality.