Did She Fall?

Thorne Smith

This early work by Thorne Smith was originally published in 1930. James Thorne Smith, Jr. was an American author who specialized in supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. Did She Fall? (1930) is a straight murder mystery whose dialogue shows occasional traces of Smiths wisecracking energy. Americas bawdiest, wittiest writer turns his talents to a startling novel of murder, suspense and brilliant detection. Welcome to the Crewe house, where it is one for all and all for one. Unless, of course, you are the beautiful blonde, Emily-Jane. When she was bad, she was very, very bad, and when she was good, she was luscious until somebody killed her, or did she fall? So many would-be murderers, but only one would get to her first. Who will win out in the end?

Alls Well That Ends Well

William Shakespeare

This is the story of a simple girl Helena without titles and inheritance. She is the daughter of a talented but poor healer. After the death of her father, the girl becomes a pupil of the Countess of Roussillon. She falls in love with the son of her benefactress Bertram, but he does not want to look at her either, for him only the wealth and high origin is important. To win the favor of her lover, Helen goes to Paris to cure the sick king of France with her fathers recipes.

Dubliners

James Joyce

Life is full of missed opportunities and hard decisions. Sometimes its difficult to know what to actually do. Dubliners creates an image of an ever movie city, of an ever moving exchange of people who experience the reality of life. A collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce all set in Dublin and first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish Middle class life in around Dublin in the early years of the 20th Century. There are two types of stories in Dubliners. The first, and by far the most effective, are those associated with despair, nihilism and death. The second type deals with more ordinary aspects of modern life, the representation of the city and social exchanges. As a collection they provide an image of dark, murky city struggling to cope with the problems associated with rapid urbanisation.

When the World Shook

H. Rider Haggard

When the World Shook is a classic story, written by H. Rider Haggard, telling about the horror of a ghost town. The plot revolves around three friends one absolutely unshakable skeptic, the other an absolutely believer, and the third and central character is a person who is looking for meaning in life. A hurricane shipwrecks them on an unknown island in the Pacific inhabited by a degenerating people who worship an ancient god called Oro. Three men experience all sorts of difficulties and find all kinds of miracles on the island.

A House to Let

Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, Adelaide Ann Procter

A House to Let is a novella originally published in 1858 by Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter. Each of the contributors wrote a chapter (stories within a story, and in the case of Adelaide Anne Procter, as a story in verse) and the whole was edited by Dickens, making it fit together seamlessly as a whole. This novella is a composite tale of mystery and intrigue set amid the dark streets of Victorian London. It is about a house that has remained vacant for several years which as come to the notice of an elderly woman named Sophonisba. She wants to know why the house is vacant, which is what the various chapters set out to explain, through the histories of various tenants. A House of Let is a seriously underrated novella that captures the mystery and humor of a fabulous story of bygone days.

Roping Lions in the Grand Canyon

Zane Grey

Powells Plateau was the most distant, inaccessible corner of the Grand Canyon, when Zane Gray went there with a hunter to the buffalo, camp, a cowboy from Utah and a scout from Navajo State. With the help of ropes and rifles, five men traveled to Mustangs. They were not disappointed. Different paths penetrated through the brush of forest and rocks from all sides.

The Beast in the Jungle

Henry James

At the reception in the rich manor there are not the first youth mister and also not a young lady anymore. Both belong to the same circle of birth, but the financial affairs of a man are in somewhat better condition. It all seems to him that he is meant for something great and terrible that will destroy his own life and the lives of loved ones like a sudden fit of madness or, yes, how many anything can be options. It is like seeing yourself as a thicket in which the beast is hiding for the time being.

Pride and Prejudice. A Novel

Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice a novel about Elizabeth Bennet, who is a witty and independent young girl, lives in England with her four sisters, her mother, and her father. When Mr. Bingley, a handsome, rich, young bachelor, arrives to stay briefly in Hartfordshire (where the Bennets live), Mrs. Bennet immediately tries to get one of her daughters to marry him. Bingley is a charming young man and quickly falls in love with the eldest Bennet sister, the beautiful Jane. It is a guarded relationship, so Jane and Bingley dont express outright their mutual feelings for each other, though Bingley obviously shows favor to Jane. Meanwhile, Bingleys proud friend Darcy meets Elizabeth. Elizabeth loathes Mr. Darcy, and avoids him as much as possible. Though Darcy is proud and reserved at first, it becomes obvious of his fondness for Elizabeth.