The Master Key. An Electrical Fairy Tale

L. Frank Baum

The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale was one of Baums earliest full length fantasy books for children, published in 1901 just one year after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Rob Joslyn is in most respects an ordinary American teenager; his one distinguishing peculiarity is his passion for the new science and craft of electricity. He has his own laboratory in the attic of the family home, and has rigged the house with his electrical gadgets. One day, amid the bewildering cluster of circuits and wires in his workshop, Rob causes a blinding flash of light from which emerges the Demon of Electricity. A young boy receives a series of gifts, electrical gifts, and has a series of unusual adventures. Rob travels the world, rendering assistance to European heads of state and narrowly escaping disaster at the hands of primitive cannibals, Turks and Tatars, pirates, and evil scientists who try to steal his inventions.

The Pearl Lagoon

Charles Nordhoff

Very engaging tale of the South Seas, by the author of Mutiny on the Bounty, who was quite familiar with the area. This book has the same seafaring merit but is set in the pearl atolls of the southwestern Pacific. Into The Pearl Lagoon Charles Nordhoff wove his love and knowledge of the South Pacific islands and their people. It is his only story written through the eyes of young people. It is an adventure story about a California young boy, Charlie Selden who leaves his fathers ranch and is taken by his sailor uncle to the South Pacific on a pearl-hunting trip: encounters with sharks and pirates ensue. The Pearl Lagoon is an adventure book for boys especially, furnished with semi-autobiographical details. The story rings true today and is in all ways entertaining!

The Way of These Women

E. Phillips Oppenheim

England has not been invited to attend a conference of European nations in the Hague. Some think war is about to break out. The Vanished Messenger presents the international intrigue and conspiracy of the Powers against England to separate her from her colonies. Mr. John P. Dunster, an American, is traveling to the Hague with an important document that may prevent the outbreak of war when he mysteriously disappears after a train wreck in England. Richard Hamel is asked by the British government to attempt to solve the mystery of Dunsters disappearance and prevent the outbreak of war in Europe. Intriguing spy novel with a murder, espionage and dramatic denouement nicely plotted and fully developed characters.

Au Bonheur des Dames

Émile Zola

Cest lhistoire de lentrepreneur Octave Mouret, qui a créé un grand magasin florissant dans le centre de Paris. Il existe une technologie de pointe qui vous permet dattirer des acheteurs. Denise est une vendeuse discrete qui essaie désespérément de sortir de la pauvreté et de nourrir ses deux freres. Il y a un prince, Cendrillon et de nombreux autres personnages magnifiquement écrits.

Spawn of the Comet

Otis Adelbert Kline

Silently, without warning they came, those fishermen of deep space who spread their net for man living flying saucers the Earth must destroy yet who multiplied by dying! Spawn of the Comet is a short alien invasion story by Otis Adelbert Kline. Otis Adelbert Kline (18911946) born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. He is best known for his interplanetary adventure novels set on Venus and Mars, which instantly became science-fiction classics. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine Weird Tales. Kline was an amateur orientalist and a student of Arabic, like his friend and sometime collaborator, E. Hoffmann Price. Recommended for lovers of the offbeat.

War in Heaven

Charles Williams

War in Heaven is a horrific romance, with many mythical creatures present. Instead of creating a unique secondary fantasy world or switching between two universes, Williams allows the supernatural to invade his modern world. This allows him to explore the influence of another reality on different characters. The object that guides the supernatural to the natural in this novel is the Holy Grail

The Measure of the Rule

Robert Barr

Robert Barr has been almost completely overlooked by critics and anthologists of Canadian literature, in part because, although he was educated in Canada, he spent most of his life in the United States and England. However, since most of his serious novels are either set in Canada or have some Canadian connection, Barr deserves attention. The Measure of the Rule is a 1907 coming-of-age novel about a country teacher who migrates to the city to study engineering, but is forced by dint of circumstance to go to a teachers training college, where he meets his wife-to-be. In this novel, Barr is exorcising unhappy memories and is ironic, even bitter, about the schools system and schools quality of education, the rigid discipline observed by its staff and their indifference to their students, and the sexual segregation practiced. A number of men under whom Barr actually studied are vividly caricatured.

Nena Sahib

John Retcliffe

Sir John Retcliffe, eigentlich Hermann Ottomar Friedrich Goedsche (1815-1878), war ein deutscher Schriftsteller. Er benutzte auch das Pseudonym Theodor Armin. Die Historisch-politischen Romane aus der Gegenwart von Sir John Retcliffe sind mit Abenteuern angereicherte Tendenzromane, die das gesamte politische Geschehen seiner Zeit zum Inhalt haben. Der indische Aufstand war ein Medienereignis, über das 1857 weltweit berichtet wurde. Indien wird einerseits als tropisches Paradies, andererseits als ein höllischer Ort blutrünstiger Menschenopfer dargestellt. Zum Rückfall Nena Sahibs kommt es, als ein britischer Major seine Frau vergewaltigt. Er wird der Agent der Vergeltung, indem er eine Mörderbande in den Kampf gegen die Kolonialherren führt. Retcliffes Roman orientalisiert die Rebellen zu unbeherrschten Gewalttätern, deren angeblich essenziell rachsüchtige und sadistische Natur in der Revolte durchbricht. Nena Sahib mutiert zum radikalen Terroristen, der antikoloniale Aufstand wird auf einen Ausbruch der wilden Natur gegen die Zivilisation reduziert.

Księżniczka

Zofia Urbanowska

Tytułowa księżniczka to Helenka Orecka, córka zubożałego szlachcica. Wychowywana pod kloszem dziewczynka jest rozpieszczona i oderwana od realiów życia. Po śmierci ojca musi sama wkroczyć w dorosłe życie i nauczyć zasad w nim panujących. Przekonuje się, że dotąd wyznawane wartości nie przysparzają jej szczęścia. Pod wpływem pracy w firmie ogrodniczej przechodzi wewnętrzną przemianę, dzięki której zaczyna cenić pracowitość i samodzielność.

Master Humphreys Clock

Charles Dickens

Originally a regular magazine written entirely by Charles Dickens from April 4, 1840-December 4, 1841, Master Humphreys Clock uses an elderly gentleman named Master Humphrey as a frame for a number of stories. He is a lonely, crippled old man who lives in London. He keeps manuscripts in an antique clock by the chimney. He decides to start a little club, Master Humphreys Clock, at which the members eventually six in total, including Mr. Pickwick would write and read out their manuscripts to the others. A mirror club in the kitchen, Mr. Wellers Watch, includes Master Humphreys maid, the barber, and Sam Weller. Ultimately, the periodical included the complete novels The Old Curiosity Club and Barnaby Rudge. These two novels are, however, referenced in the recording, when Master Humphrey and his friends refer to them. This recording presents all the published material except for the two novels.

The Uphill Climb

B.M. Bower

Beloved Western author B. M. Bower is back with another classic yarn of the Old West. Much like her best-known works, The Uphill Climb showcases the inner lives of the cowhands and ranchers who made the region livable and whose rough-and-tumble lifestyles all too often exacted a harsh toll. Also this story deals with one mans fight to overcome alcohol addiction. Still very relevant to today. But it also has romance and a good bit of humor from supporting characters. Bower knows the West of the cowboys, as do few writers... the writing is realistic, and strongly suffused with local color. One of many recommended Westerns by this prolific author.

Szaleństwo Almayera

Joseph Conrad

Debiut powieściowy Josepha Conrada. Tytułowemu Almayerowi, Holendrowi mieszkającemu na wyspie Borneo, nie wiedzie się zbyt dobrze. Jest niezaradny, zacietrzewiony i podejmuje nie do końca przemyślane decyzje. Odstaje od ludności tubylczej, która naśmiewa się z jego nieprzystosowania. Aby odwrócić swój los, Almayer podejmuje szaleńczą wyprawę po legendarne złoto.

The Regents Daughter

Alexandre Dumas

Philippe dOrléans, regent of France, although having a hard time with his two daughters and a son, wants to take care of another young girl, his illegitimate and hidden daughter, Helene de Chaverny, raised in a convent as an orphan. Helene, who ignores his parentage, is in love with Chevalier Gaston de Chanley, a conspirator who has sworn an oath to a cabal of plotting Bretons to murder their enemy, the prince regent Philippe Duc DOrleans. Young lovers, eager to get married, head towards the Paris unaware of the dramatic tangle that is played around them. A sequel to The Conspirators, this thrilling romantic adventure is reminiscent of Dumass seminal Three Musketeers saga, and will not disappoint those looking for an exciting tale of adventure, romance, royalty, intrigue, misfortune, and love.

The Mill Mystery

Anna Katharine Green

Early detective novelist Anna Katharine Green was a unique writer in several respects, including the fact that many of the detectives featured in her novels are women. In this mystery, protagonist Constance Sterling takes on the seemingly impossible task of uncovering the true culprits behind the drowning death of a popular well-respected clergyman who is believed to have killed himself. The news is fatal to his fiancée. Why? And why are her two sons behaving in such a sinister manner? The Mill Mystery is a book that can be classified as a sensational novel, as highly spiced as readers of this kind of fiction can desire. Green does an excellent job of giving the readers clues, but not enough clues to make the mystery easily solvable.

Poezje. Wybór

Józef Czechowicz

Tom zawiera wybór poezji Józefa Czechowicza, polskiego poety awangardowego dwudziestolecia międzywojennego. Po latach odkrywany jest jako jeden z najbardziej oryginalnych i indywidualnych poetów swego okresu. Poeta stosował fonostylistykę dopiero później odkrytą w wierszach Mirona Białoszewskiego. W swoich wczesnych utworach tworzy atmosferę oniryczną i spokojną, niepozwalającą jednak zatopić się do szczętu w sensualistycznym świecie. W wierszach, które powstawały przed drugą wojną światową, ujawnia się atmosfera katastrofy i upadku. Poeta zginął pod gruzami kamienicy podczas bombardowania Lublina, zaledwie kilkaset metrów od domu rodzinnego, w okolicznościach łudząco przypominających śmierć podmiotu lirycznego w wierszu Żal (ja bombą trafiony w stallach).

The Lightning Warrior

George Owen Baxter

The Lightning Warrior is the name given to the great white wolf that is so swift in attacking its prey. A bounty is offered but no one can catch or kill the animal, that is until Cobalt arrives in the area. When Sylvia Baird, a proud woman determined not to marry Cobalt, a fierce warrior, tells him that she will consent to be his wife only if he brings her the pelt of this elusive white wolf, he succeeds much to her horror, and she must escape with the wolf at her side. Max Brands action-filled stories of adventure and heroism in the American West continue to entertain readers throughout the world. This is one of his Western fiction.

Alraune. Die Geschichte eines lebenden Wesens

Hanns Heinz Ewers

Hanns Heinz Ewers (1871-1943) war ein deutscher Schriftsteller, Filmemacher, Globetrotter und Kabarettist. Ewers Geschichten kreisen um die Themen Phantastik, Erotik, Kunst bzw. Künstler und Reisen in exotische Länder. Seine teils äußerst drastischen Darstellungen machten ihn zum skandalumwitterten Bestsellerautor. Eine Gruppe skrupelloser Menschen nimmt eine künstliche Befruchtung an einer Prostituierten vor und pflanzt ihr den Samen eines Gehängten ein. Der Samen stammt von einem Lustmörder und wurde ihm zum Zeitpunkt seiner Hinrichtung entnommen. Dies entspricht jenem Aberglauben, der um die Alraunenpflanze rankt. Die auf diese Weise erschaffene Alraune ist ein Geschöpf mit ganz besonderen Fähigkeiten. Das Mädchen Alraune selbst wird als promiskuitiv veranlagt beschrieben und verursacht den Suizid eines ältlichen Liebhabers. Dann wird sie die Geliebte des Professor Ten Brinken. Er war der Leiter jener künstlichen Befruchtung, die zu ihrer Erzeugung führte.

Nienasycenie

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

Powieść Witkacego, której głównym bohaterem jest Genezyp Kapen de Vahaz. Poznajemy go, gdy wkracza w dorosłość i usiłuje budować samodzielne życie. Poszukuje w nim sensu i treści, usiłując zaspokoić tytułowe nienasycenie. Świat, w którym żyje, stanowi przewrotną wizję zwycięstwa komunizmu, któremu opiera się jedynie Polska i to tylko z powodu wszechogarniającego marazmu.

The Postmaster of Market Deignton

E. Phillips Oppenheim

This early work from the prince of storytellers E. Phillips Oppenheim published as a novel in 1897. Mr. Norman Scott is a young, hardworking, distinguished physician with a busy practice in London. He is called to visit a patient, Mr. Humphrey Deignton, who suffers from gout and who is murdered later. Dr. Scott is suspected. Two years later, we meet Mr. John Martin, postmaster and chemist in Market Deignton. A lonely, bitter, impoverished man. He is living near the home of Lady Deignton, seeking revenge upon the person who killed Lord Deignton, and ruined his name and career. There are lots of unexpected turns and twists to the adventure of poor John and the local color of the setting is extremely charming.

A Silent Witness

R. Austin Freeman

All the Dr. Thorndyke books are outstanding. This one is no exception. In this installment, the action centers on one Dr. Humphrey Jardine, who is the narrator of the story, and who himself is the focus of several strange events. Jardines troubles begin with a casual walk, where he comes across the body of a man and runs to fetch the police, only to come back and find that the dead man has disappeared. The police can find no trace that the man was ever there, so Jardine takes it upon himself to examine the scene for clues. His findings lead him into a very strange adventure which can only be solved with the technical expertise of Dr. Thorndyke, but not before Jardine finds his life in danger, and not just once.

The Vicomte de Bragelonne

Alexandre Dumas

The dArtagnan Romances are a set of three novels by Alexandre Dumas telling the story of the musketeer dArtagnan from his humble beginnings in Gascony to his death as a marshal of France in the Siege of Maastricht in 1673. It is May 1660 and the fate of nations is at stake. Mazarin plots, Louis XIV is in love, and Raoul de Bragelonne, son of Athos, is intent on serving France and winning the heart of Louise de la Valliere. DArtagnan, meanwhile, is perplexed by a mysterious stranger, and soon he learns that his old comrades already have great projects in hand. Athos seeks the restoration of Charles II, while Aramis, with Porthos in tow, has a secret plan involving a masked prisoner and the fortification of the island of Belle-Ile. DArtagnan finds a thread leading him to the French court, the banks of the Tyne, the beaches of Holland, and the dunes of Brittany. The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is the 3rd and largest continuation of the Musketeer saga, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After.

Beniowski

Juliusz Słowacki

Beniowski, poemat dygresyjny Juliusza Słowackiego, przybliża wydarzenia konfederacji barskiej zbrojnego wystąpienia szlachty polskiej w obronie wiary katolickiej i niepodległości Rzeczpospolitej. Fabuła skupia się na podróżach awanturnika Maurycego Beniowskiego, przerywana jest jednak często uwagami narratora komentującymi różne sprawy publiczne.

Wehikuł czasu

Herbert George Wells

Wehikuł czasu, powieść science fiction Herberta Georgea Wellsa, opowiada o naukowcu, któremu udało się skonstruować maszynę do przenoszenia się w czasie. Dzięki niej odbywa podróż do odległej przyszłości. Na Ziemi żyją wtedy dwie rasy Ejolowie, mieszkający na powierzchni, oraz Morlokowie, zamieszkujący podziemia. Odkrycie skłania naukowca do refleksji nad kolejami ludzkiej ewolucji.

ClarencePrivate

Edgar Wallace

Edgar Wallace was an English writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, joining the army at 21, he was a war correspondent during the Second Boer War for Reuters and The Daily Mail. During the First World War Edgar Wallace wrote a number of morale-boosting tales about the skill and derring-do of the British military and intelligence services, mostly in the form of series published under such titles as Clarence-Private. Several series were published in the form of dramatic pseudo-documentary accounts of what he claimed to be true stories. Clarence-Private is a fine series of Wallace stories about wartime espionage.