The Mirror of Kong Ho

Ernest Bramah

Ernest Bramah was an English author who wrote popular books in many different genres including humor, detective fiction and science fiction. A lively and amusing collection of letters sent from a highly bemused Chinaman sojourning amongst the English barbarians in the first decade of the 19th century to his revered father back home, with a view to coming to grips with their inferior culture, which he singularly fails to do, resulting in much loss of gravity. These are things such as the motor car and the piano; unknown in China at this time. Satirical novel about present-day England, following the time-tested strategy of showing a familiar world through the eyes of a foreigner, thus affording rich opportunity for lampooning both cultures. In a few words, it is a comic novel about a stereotyped Chinaman in London.

Pigeons From Hell

Robert E. Howard

Pigeons from Hell is a short story by Robert E. Howard written in late 1934 and published posthumously by Weird Tales in 1938. The story title derives from an image present in many of Howards grandmothers ghost stories, that of an old deserted plantation mansion haunted by ghostly pigeons.

The Duchesse de Langeais

Honoré de Balzac

This is one of the three novelettes that are grouped together as The History of the Thirteen, along with Ferragus: Chief of the Companions of Duty and The Girl with the Golden Eyes. The whole notion is that there is a secret society of wealthy gentlemen in Paris called The Thirteen which has powers approaching the supernatural. General Armand de Montriveau, a war hero, is enamored of Duchess Antoinette de Langeais, a coquettish, married noblewoman who invites him to a ball but ultimately refuses his sexual advances and then disappears. Assisted by the powerful group known as The Thirteen, who subscribe to an occult form of freemasonry, General Montriveau finds the duchess in a Spanish monastery of Discalced Carmelites under the name of Sister Theresa. The ending is romantic and highly tumultuous. Highly recommended!

Jimgrim

Talbot Mundy

There is a good belief that journalists can do exactly as they like and whenever they like. The fun with purple eyes was in Chicago. My passport describes me as a journalist. My employer said, Go to Jerusalem, and I went, it was in 1920. I was there several times before the start of World War II, when the Turks were in control. Therefore, I knew about the bugs and the stench of the citadel moose; pre-war price of camels; it is enough Arabic to speak freely and sufficiently of the Old Testament and the Quran to guess Arabic motives, which important words and things like lies.

The Casino Murder Case

S.S. Van Dine

Independent, rich, educated, amateur detective, Vance uses his deductive skills and psychological knowledge to help his friend, New York County Attorney, solve the murder and attempt to poison others. The killer laid an intricate conspiracy that Vance cannot solve. As usual, the action takes place in New York. Vances methods are unconventional and run counter to the more stringent police investigation methods and legal requirements of a lawyer.

Jeremiah and the Princess

E. Phillips Oppenheim

American Millionaire meets Ruritanean Princess, Jeremiah Vavasour Strole meets the Princess Marya of Pletz at a weekend party in the Hamptons on Long Island. The year is 1933. Much of the world has been plunged into economic ruin by the stock market crash. Maryas country, Jakovia, is ruled by a playboy monarch who would rather spend his nights with courtesans in Paris, than pay attention to the starving people of his homeland. Michael Grogner, the chief of police and son of the Prime Minister, Nicholas Grogner, has followed the Princess to America to prevent her from seeking funds to overthrow her cousin, the King.

Turfschwindel

Edgar Wallace

Die junge Edna Gray kommt nach dem Tod ihres Vaters aus Argentinien zurück nach England. Edna möchte ihr Leben auf dem Landsitz Ihrer Familie verbringen, doch es gibt Personen, die etwas dagegen haben. Das gefällt dem bisherigen Pächter Elijah Goodie überhaupt nicht. Der skrupellose Rennstallbesitzer versucht Ednas Pläne zu durchkreuzen. Dafür ist jedes Mittel recht.

Die Schatzinsel. Roman

Robert Louis Stevenson

Wer weiß, ob sich Jim Hawkins auf dieses Abenteuer eingelassen hätte, wenn er geahnt hätte, in welche Gefahr ihn die geheimnisvolle Landkarte bringt, die er bei dem toten Käpten fand. Zusammen mit seinen Freunden Dr. Livesey und dem Friedensrichter Trelawney begibt sich der mutige Junge auf eine gefährliche Reise auf der Hispaniola in die Südsee doch sie sind nicht die Einzigen, die es auf den sagenumwobenen Goldschatz des berüchtigten Piratenkäptns Flint abgesehen haben: Denn auf dem Schiff hat auch die halbe ehemalige Mannschaft dieses Korsaren angeheuert, unter ihnen der einbeinige Long John Silver. Auf der geheimnisvollen Schatzinsel angekommen, beginnt eine abenteuerliche und gefährliche Jagd in der Südsee und ein unerbittlicher Kampf um Leben und Tod.