The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins

A diamond is stolen from the English country estate of Lady Verinder and the renowned Sergeant Cuff is brought in from London to help solve the case. The diamond, said to bring bad luck to its owner because it was stolen from a temple in India, was given to Lady Verinders daughter, Rachel, on her 18th birthday. It was bequeathed to Rachel from her uncle (who stole it when he was a young soldier) on his death. The story unfolds through several narrators, all of whom know a piece of what happened. As each of them writes his or her side of the story, the reader gets just a little more information that helps to solve the mystery. You can see things invented here that were directly borrowed by future writers: Holmes overconfidence (and his use of London urchins as agents); Agatha Christies exploration of narrative reliability.

The Old Man in the Corner

Emmuska Orczy

The late nineteenth and early twentienth century were a fecund period for classical mystery writers. Among the most popular was Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The Old Man in the Corner contains twelve of the stories by Baroness Orczy featuring the mysterious man who sits in the corner of the ABC tea shop fiddling with a piece of string whilst working our the solutions to crimes that have baffled the police. Each case is unfolded during the course of a conversation between the man in the corner and a lady journalist, an ingenious method that avoids the necessity of a clumsy tacked-on explanation of the crime. Relying solely on his vast Holmesian powers of deduction, the strange looking sleuth never deigns to visit the scene of the crime, question a suspect, or examine clues. Nor does he have much faith in conventional police methods and crime solving capabilities.

Pożary i zgliszcza. Powieść na tle powstania styczniowego

Maria Rodziewiczówna

Aleksander Świda to człowiek dumny, hardy i honorowy, acz porywczy. Dla idei i miłości swojego serca jest gotów poświęcić życie. Pewnego dnia zostaje fałszywie oskarżony przez swego sąsiada, Dominika Czaplica, o podpalenie zabudowań sąsiedzkiego majątku. Aleksander na wiele lat znika z okolicy. Tymczasem wybucha powstanie. Rząd Narodowy wzywa Świdę do udziału w walce. W pierwszej chwili Aleksander odmawia, uznając ten zryw za źle przygotowany i groźny dla Polski. Słucha jednak głosu jedynego człowieka, któremu wierzy bezgranicznie: ukochanej kobiety. Angażuje się w walkę. Los ponownie styka go z Czaplicem, który kolaboruje z wrogiem... Pożary i zgliszcza to ciekawa i wciągająca od pierwszego akapitu lektura.

Frank Merriwell, Juniors, Golden Trail

Burt L. Standish

Frank Merriwell, Juniors, Golden Trail- the story is not much different from other authors stories. The plot is based on the adventures of the protagonist. Frank tries to talk about a dream that has been tormenting him for a long time. All this is not just so, the dream has a great value on the further development of the plot. Such an intriguing development of the plot doesnt let the reader get bored.

The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii

Jack London

This is a small storybook. Events that mostly revolve around one person. All his life in Hawaii, Percival Ford lived in the belief that he was following the path of his father, and there was nothing better than missionary virtue and moderation. But his pride was hit by that knowledge of which he had no idea, although it had been with him since childhood.

The Glimpses of the Moon

Edith Wharton

Set in the 1920s, Glimpses of the Moon details the romantic misadventures of Nick Lansing and Susy Branch, a couple with the right connections but not much in the way of funds. They are in love and decide to marry, but realize their chances of happiness are slim without the wealth and society that their more privileged friends take for granted. Nick and Susy agree to separate when either encounters a more eligible proposition. Their conditional marriage begins to falter as Susy grows jealous of her husbands attentions to a wealthy young woman and Nick becomes increasingly disgruntled by the moral compromises arising from his wifes social negotiations. An expertly drawn portrait of two young lovers, caught between bright-eyed passion and the bitter allure of wealth.

Constance Dunlap

Arthur B. Reeve

A charming thief rescues the not-so-innocent in this delightful crime novel from the creator of the Craig Kennedy detective series. Constance Dunlap is a young woman who turns amateur criminal in order to save her husband from disgrace and imminent arrest. When this sadly doesnt work out exactly as planned, Constance goes on to embrace a new life. More antiheroine than heroine, she uses her photographic memory and her sharp wit to help amateur criminals get back on the right track. From one escapade to the next, Dunlap eludes Drummond, a crooked private detective who preys on the weak and unfortunate. Even he cant help but admire the pluck and intelligence of this irresistible scofflaw.

The Dutchess of Wrexe, Her Decline and Death

Hugh Walpole

An energetic girl enters society and must choose between her rebellious and exiled cousin or an ordinary young man. Rachel chooses an ordinary young man, but when their marriage begins to degenerate, she again comes into contact with her cousin. She falls in love with him will she leave her husband and run away with her romantic but weak lover?