The Golden Triangle. The Return of Arsene Lupin

Maurice Leblanc

The story takes place in 1915, WWI has just started, Arsene Lupin returns as war veteran Don Luis Perenna. He is called to uncover the details of the mysterious murder of a Moroccan man, Essares Bey, the disappearance of 300 Million Francs in Gold, and the connection between another war veteran, Captain Patrice Beval and a volunteer nurse working in a military hospital in Paris, affectionately known as Mother Coralie. But their lives are in danger, and Arsene takes it upon himself to play detective and find the culprit, and more importantly, the gold! Lupin is smarter, stronger, wittier, more invulnerable than ever. Will he be able to derail the dastardly plan before it unfolds?

A Prince of the Captivity

John Buchan

A classic John Buchan story of espionage during World War I. It contains several familiar Buchan elements: a motley cast of characters, Great War intrigue, the use of disguises and linguistic talents, the concept of gaining inner strength from a beloved spot in nature, man against the forces of nature in less benign settings, a race against time and evil, and sacrifice for a greater good. This is the epic story of one mans courage. Adam Melfort released from jail just before the outbreak of World War I and becomes involved in intelligence work behind enemy lines. After the war he carries on seeking adventure and tries to prevent the assassination of the German Chancellor. A Prince of the Captivity is not a story about external events, but about what happens in Adams mind and soul as he tries to rebuild his life in a new pattern. However, the external events that forge Melforts soul are drawn from the toolbox of a skillful writer of thrillers.

Straszny dziadunio

Maria Rodziewiczówna

Petersburg, koniec XIX wieku. Polikarp Białopiotrowicz jest właścicielem rozległego majątku Tepeniec w powiecie mozyrskim i osobą niezwykle majętną. Stroni od ludzi. Obaj jego synowie już nie żyją. Straszny dziadunio ma dwóch wnuków: Alberta, zwanego Wojcieszkiem i Hieronima, zwanego Ruciem. Pierwszy z nich prowadzi w Petersburgu rozrzutne życie za pieniądze dziadka. Drugi studiuje na petersburskiej politechnice. Obaj są szpiegowani przez służących Polikarpa Białopiotrowicza, który otrzymuje regularne sprawozdania z tego, co robią wnuki. Niepewny charakteru swoich spadkobierców dziadek poddaje ich najrozmaitszym próbom. Bezwzględne eksperymenty niemal doprowadzają do śmierci Hieronima...

The Green Goddess

Louise Jordan Miln

The vicar suffered almost the same way he suffered the night his wife, Elena, died and because he suffered, he put his beautiful cameo-like face in the sunniest smile. It was his path part of his daily life, an integral part of himself. A pious man, in the strongest senses of this over-used word, Philip Reynolds possessed a noble talent for the things of the earth that at the same time soften human life and give it a poignancy.

The Captives

Hugh Walpole

Strikingly bright characters. Such a well-designed image of moods, places and feelings. Maggie Cardinals father dies very suddenly, leaving her alone, not very upset, since he never showed special love for her. She is strange, misunderstood a captive in a world in which others fit in, but she does not.

Love Insurance

Earl Derr Biggers

The basic plot of this book is built around the reputation the Lloyds of London insurance firm had for ensuring all manner of unlikely propositions. Lord Harrowby is advised to marry a wealthy heiress. Luckily he meets Cynthia. She is rich, beautiful and willing to marry him. But, since he comes from a family of gamblers, he goes to Lloyds of London and takes an insurance policy to ensure his bride makes to the alter. Lloyds sends a handsome young man to make sure nothing stops the wedding. But, handsome young man meets beautiful young woman and falls in love, only to discover she is the bride to be. What follows is a comic novel of improbable dimensions, by the world-famous creator of Chinese detective Charlie Chan!

Bez dogmatu

Henryk Sienkiewicz

Leon Płoszowski pochodzi z bogatej szlacheckiej rodziny. Jest to człowiek inteligentny, utalentowany i wszechstronnie wykształcony. Nie może jednak znaleźć miejsca w życiu. Upływa mu ono bezproduktywnie na rozrywkach, bywaniu w towarzystwie i podróżach po Europie. W swoim dzienniku nieustannie analizuje własne postępowanie i przeżycia. Niespodziewanie poznaje piękną Anielkę. Zakochuje się w niej i zaczyna zabiegać o jej względy. Kobieta odwzajemnia jego uczucie. Leon nie skrywa swoich zabiegów o serce dziewczyny, więc wkrótce wszyscy nabierają przekonania, że stara się o jej rękę. Niespodziewanie przychodzi wiadomość o śmiertelnej chorobie ojca bohatera, który wyjeżdża do niego za granicę. Tam, daleko od Anielki, nabiera do niej dystansu i zaczyna dziwić się swojemu zachowaniu... Historia dekadenta Płoszowskiego miała być w intencji autora atakiem na chorobę wieku, objawiającą się zanikiem woli, znużeniem i niechęcią do działania. Powieść Bez dogmatu zyskała sobie jednak popularność wśród młodych ludzi, którzy wbrew autorowi utożsamiali się z dekadencką postawą głównego bohatera.

A Start in Life

Honoré de Balzac

By the French author, who, along with Flaubert, is generally regarded as a founding-father of nineteenth-century realism in European fiction. His large output of works, collectively entitled The Human Comedy (La Comedie Humaine), consists of 95 finished works and 48 unfinished works. The novel A Start in Life is part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Balzacs masterpiece. In much of Balzacs work, the aristocracy is portrayed as vain, duplicitous, and greedy. But in this novel, it is members of the working class who are mercilessly skewered when what starts out as a harmless prank rapidly snowballs into a comedy of errors with profound consequences. A comic novel in which an intrigue about property serves as the excuse for a trip in a public diligence, where a group of people try to mystify each other with strange tales of their lives.