Naszyjnik królowej

Aleksander Dumas ojciec

Dalsze dzieje Józefa Balsamo i rodziny Taverney. Historia wydarzeń zwanych aferą naszyjnikową, które pomogły w wybuchu wielkiej rewolucji francuskiej. Wątek historyczny powieści skupia się na postaci Marii Antoniny i jej trzech adoratorów: młodzieńca, kardynała i oficera.

Der Prozess

Franz Kafka

Joseph K. wird am Morgen seines dreißigsten Geburtstags von einem Gericht angeklagt, ohne dass er erfährt, was ihm zur Last gelegt wird. Jemand mußte Joseph K. verleumdet haben, denn ohne daß er etwas Böses getan hätte, wurde er eines Morgens verhaftet In den Fängen einer surrealen Bürokratie, versucht Joseph K. in Erfahrung zu bringen, welches Verbrechens er überhaupt angeklagt wird. Joseph K., dessen eigenes Verhalten Rätsel aufgibt, verstrickt sich in die hohle Form einer Gerichtsadministration, deren Rechtsgrundlagen nebulös bleiben. Auch Joseph K.s Vorstellungen von Recht und Gesetz erscheinen so abwegig, dass seine schließliche Exekution den erlösenden Schlusspunkt unter das Scheitern eines Individuums setzt, das es nicht geschafft hat, sich vom vorausgesetzten Vorwurf einer generellen Schuld zu befreien. Die beklemmende Geschichte um den Protagonisten Joseph K., den eine undurchschaubare Anklage und ein rätselhafter Rechtsapparat Schritt für Schritt aus seinem geregelten Leben bringt, hat bis heute nichts an Aktualität verloren.

Behind a Mask. Or, A Womans Power

Louisa May Alcott

Originally published in 1866 under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard. Louisa May Alcotts novel of romance and sexual intrigue is one of her lesser-known gems. Behind a Mask, or A Woman Power is a controversial novella; its tone and characterizations strike a markedly different chord from her best-known works, such as Little Women and Little Men. The plot of the novella is focused upon Jean Muir, who works as a governess for one of the rich families of Coventry to their sixteen-year-old daughter. She employs intrigues and manipulation to gain success in the society, starting from the family she works for. But is the beguiling Miss Muir all that she seems to be? Alcott beautifully delivers a sick and twisted tale of a woman and her arts. She put a completely new spin on Victorian literature, which could only be accomplished in American.

Square Deal Sanderson

Charles Alden Seltzer

First published in the year 1922, Square Deal Sanderson was written by one of twentieth centurys most prolific authors Charles Alden Seltzer. This novel was written in the Western genre of writing and marks the latters mastery in the genre. Mary, our heroine, is running the ranch alone waiting for her brother, whom she has not seen in years, to come and help as she is about to loose the ranch to the bad guys. Square Deal Sanderson was a son of the great uncultured primitive West. An old time cowboy, his code was the knightly code of a man of honor. For the sake of Mary, he braved successfully the persecution of a trio of land grabbers who had threatened to wrest her ranch from her. The story throbs with the excitement of the wild life of the range.

The Glenlitten Murder

E. Phillips Oppenheim

Glenlitten Manor is the home of Andrew, Marquis Glenlitten, and his lovely, tiny, vivacious French wife, Felice. On the night of a small game hunt, the unsavory Baron de Bresset is murdered and the priceless Glenlitten diamond is stolen. Who stole the necklace and killed de Bresset? The subplot around the origins of Felice, who was orphaned in a French chateau at a very young age, form an interesting side story. Suspects include Sir Richard Cotton, the famous London criminal lawyer, Sir Richard Haslam, the African colonial administrator, and Prince Charles de Seuss, the impoverished Russian nobleman. Very formulaic, with some interesting descriptions of English country house life just prior to the Great Depression.

David Blaize and the Blue Door

E.F. Benson

To forget about the real world the dream of every person. There are times when you want to feel something fantastic. A little boy had this dream. In a dream, he wanted to see his living parents and enjoy this time. The boys began to experience drowsiness around the time when they were ten years old, although they could still have random waking moments, and soon after that they would fall asleep and lose all chance of ever seeing the real world.

Hard Times

Charles Dickens

This is one of the most uplifting of Dickenss novels. This book is certainly different from all the other books by Charles Dickens as it has no particular central character. Well all the other novels by Dickens have a strong connection with London but this story depicts Coketown and Coketown only, a typical red-brick industrial city of the north. Hard Times is a very tragic and wonderfully described story of human oppression. Dickenss brilliant use of characterization can be seen in high form here and as always, his naming of his storys populace is entertaining by itself.

The Man from Morocco

Edgar Wallace

James Lexington Morlake, gentleman of leisure, Lord of the Manor of World and divers other titles which he rarely employed, unlocked the drawer of his elaborate Empire writing-table and gazed abstractedly into its depths. It was lined with steel and there were four distinct bolts. Slowly he put in his hand and took out first a folded square of black silk, then a businesslike automatic pistol, then a roll of fine leather... Suspense novel which takes the reader from London to Sussex and then to Tangier. Edgar Wallace, at the turn of the century and the next two decades, was a writing machine. He wrote scores of novels, plays, short stories, articles, and his most incredible popular work, the screenplay to the famous "King Kong".