Tekla. A Romance of Love and War

Robert Barr

Written in 1893, Tekla: A Romance of Love and War is a novel by Robert Barr. Great fun if you like a bit of chivalry and men in tights. Strongly recommended this book for every teenager who wants to discover the exciting world of reading medieval stories and for their parents! 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. He relocated to London in 1881 where he founded the magazine The Idler in 1892 in collaboration with Jerome K Jerome. In 1895 he retired from its co-editorship and became a prolific novelist. Some of his works include: In the Midst of Alarms, a story of the attempted Fenian invasion of Canada in 1866; A Woman Intervenes, a story of love, finance, and American journalism and others.

The Shadow of the Wolf

R. Austin Freeman

This novel is an excellent example of the inverted detective story, a modern form that R. Austin Freeman is credited with inventing. You know from the beginning who the guilty party is, but watching Dr. Thorndyke figure it out is amazing. And watching the perpetrator think that he is getting away with his crime, while watching Dr. Thorndyke close in on him is well-done literary irony. The fun comes not from being baffled, but from watching Thorndykes mind at work and observing his scientific methods which include, in this case, geology, petrology, psychology, marine biology, handwriting analysis, and chemical analysis. The crime takes place in a yacht off the coast of Penzance in Cornwall, where a circle of friends are vacationing. The victim is a boorish, overbearing, dishonest brute with money. The murderer is a likable, gentlemanly, talented artist of modest means. Every one likes the murderer, including Dr. Thorndyke.

Quatrevingt-treize

Victor Hugo

Lanéé 1793, Bretagne du nord. Quatre-vingt-treize est un récit de lépoque de la Révolution française et aussi une histoire de trois personnages symboliques: un vieil aristocrate, le marquis de Lantenac, son neveu, Gauvain, un noble rattaché aux humbles Cimourdain, pere adoptif de Gauvain. Ici il y a les situations angoissantes et beaucoup de rebondissements. Pris en presse entre la loi et la raison, que décident Tellmarch, Gauvin, Cimourdain? Suis je hors la loi? Je nen sais rien. Mourir de faim, est ce tre dans la loi?

Descent into Hell

Charles Williams

It is possible only on the fingers to list the authors who can write really ingenious novels. One of these authors is Charles Williams. Descent into Hell one of his greatest novels. The story of the people who struggle with the inner I, they are closed in themselves. The story of how a person can choose their happiness in exchange for the misfortune of another.

Mary of Marion Isle

H. Rider Haggard

Mary of Marion Isle the penultimate novel by Henry Rider Haggard, which he wrote before his death. The young socialist doctor faced a series of obstacles in his life, and learned what unhappy love is. Then he found himself on a desert island. What will he do in this situation? By the way, Marion Isle is a real place and one of the Prince Edward Islands.

The Handsome Young Men

Hulbert Footner

A historical romance and tale of adventure, set in England during the fourteenth century. Descendent of a noble family, Nigel Loring is the last of his race, and living alone with his aged grand-mother, upon a small remnant of their great estate. In service to King Edward III, Sir Nigel Loring must prove himself worthy of the hand of his the Lady Mary by performing three deeds in her honor. On his way to the altar, Nigel rescues a woman from dishonor, fights a pirate leader, and battles against the Spanish at sea, among other heroic feats. Set against the fourteenth-century war between England and France, Sir Nigel is an action-packed adventure classic, filled to the brim with history, conflict, chivalry, and a dash of romance.

Beatrix

Honoré de Balzac

This novel opens in the old town of Guerande which still enclosed by mighty walls and possesses moats still full of water. The houses have not changed and the streets are as they were one hundred years in the past. It is the family seat of the de Guenics. The old society of the town gather here to play cards and gossip, often about the younger generations. The son of the house, Calyste, is going to visit one of the main objects of this gossip and we learn of this persons past. While on this visit, Calyste hears of Beatrix de Rochefide who is coming to Guerande on a visit. Béatrix is an 1839 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scenes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Balzac based the characters in this novel on real figures: Félicité des Touches, a celebrated musician and writer, is based on George Sand. Béatrix de Rochefide is based on Marie dAgoult (who wrote under the pen name of Daniel Stern); Gennaro Conti is based on Franz Liszt; Claude Vignon is based on Gustave Planche.

The Lone Wolf Returns

Louis Joseph Vance

This book is more a study of character than a mysterious genre by which the character is otherwise known. The book begins with the interaction of the characters with a love story, which leads to an unexpected meeting. In the end, there is a surprise involving several characters, but this should be opened by another reader.

Venus im Pelz

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Der aus österreichisch-ungarischem Adel stammende Leopold von Sacher-Masoch schrieb zunächst Erzählungen aus dem ländlichen Galizien, bevor er 1870 mit dem Roman Venus im Pelz einen Klassiker der erotischen Literatur veröffentlicht. Erzählt wird die sadomasochistische Beziehung zwischen dem jungen Severin und seiner herrischen Geliebten Wanda. Severin trifft als junger Mann in einem Karpatenbad die junge und reiche Witwe Wanda von Dunajew, von deren Schönheit und Ähnlichkeit zur schon seit seiner Kindheit verehrten griechischen Venus ist er fasziniert. Nach mehreren Anfragen von Severin stimmte Wanda zu, sein Liebhaber zu werden. Ein abgründiges Liebesspiel beginnt. Zunächst zögerlich, findet Wanda auf Severins Drängen hin zunehmend Gefallen am Auspeitschen und Demütigen. Schließlich jedoch liefert sie ihn ihrem neuen Geliebten Alexis aus, der Severin fast zu Tode prügelt und damit seelisch zerstört.

The Black Rider

George Owen Baxter

The Black Rider, originally published in 1925, is set in Spanish California at the time when the eastern colonies of this country were still ruled by Great Britain. In the novella The Black Rider," a Navajo named Taki is fluent in four languages, a skilled knife-thrower, a consummate horseman, and can outwit any opponent. It is a tale of intrigue and revenge, where a mysterious Navajo becomes more than just a nemesis to a brutal landowner and his simpering son. But a woman named Lucia dArquista will test him to his limits. An arranged marriage, a murder, an arrogant duelist and several false identities combine to provide muscular action and some delightful surprises.

The Babe, B.A

E.F. Benson

The story Babe, B. A. contains a large amount of wit, brightness and a sharp charm. All characters have a strong family resemblance to each other. Although the story seems so easy and relaxed, in short frivolous. However, readers will be able to see a really difficult choice for the main character, so young but brave. He faced the criminal world. He has a choice: to betray his friend or not.

Thorley Weir

E.F. Benson

This story is about becoming an artist. A surprisingly joyful path to this goal. Too much information in one direction. However, for the attentive reader, it will be useful and interesting. All actions take place in England at the beginning of the 20th century. This novel contains everything: luxury and poorness, romance and art.

Men Like Gods

Herbert George Wells

Towards the end of his career, Wells write this book, in which he outlined his vision of Utopia. This is the story of a Mr. Barnstaple, an everyday man, who finds himself propelled into a parallel universe with a group of famous politicians, aristocrats, and their chauffeurs. The world they find themselves in has abolished all disease, and everyone only works at what takes their fancy. The inhabitants of this world speak telepathically, and recognise that the Earth is currently going through a phase akin to a part of their history called the age of confusion which happened some 3000 years before. But despite being surrounded by such beauty and elegance, some of the earthlings rebel and attempt to conquer this new world.

The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil

Talbot Mundy

From the point of view of a serious expert on the events, Jimmarg holds control over the situation to try and prevent bloody fighting in Jerusalem and elsewhere. It involves some trick, which makes some deals that you can not abandon with Ali Baba, the descendant of different generations. Lots of tension, a lot of camels and James Shuiller Thunder coolly do their thing.

Hector Servadac

Jules Verne

Roman daventures du grand écrivain Jules Verne sur le capitaine des troupes françaises Hector Servadac et ses amis qui, la suite dune catastrophe sans précédent, se sont retrouvés dans une comete survolant la Terre, capturant une petite partie de la terre et de locéan. Lintrigue du roman la maniere de Jules Verne est pleine dévénements qui menacent la vie des héros. Mais, comme toujours, le dévouement, le sens commun et lérudition menent les héros la fin heureuse dun extraordinaire voyage dans lespace.

The Casual Murderer and Other Stories

Hulbert Footner

Narrated by the character for whom the title is named and set in the late 1600s, Micah Clarke describes the battle of peasants against the existing king of England in the hopes that they can replace the monarch with his brother who feels he has been unjustly denied the throne. Micah Clarke, a young, innocent peasant joins forces with other peasants, among the Puritans, to fight for this pathetic dukes cause. It was attempt by Conan Doyle to present the story of the Puritans in a more favorable light than generally thought of in England at the time the book was written a historical romance about the Monmouth rebellion and Hanging Judge Jeffries told by a humble adherent of the Duke of Monmouth the whole story of the rising in Somerset, the triumphant advance towards Bristol and Bath, and the tragic rout at Sedgemoor (1685).