For The Defence. Dr. Thorndyke

R. Austin Freeman

Dr. Thorndyke is the CSI of his day. Most of the book is taken up with the account of how an innocent man gets himself thoroughly entangled in what looks like the certainty that he will be hanged, either for the death of a man he saw only once, or amazingly, for his own death! But, of course, Dr. Thorndyke is able to extricate him from this awful situation and triumph yet again. This is the amazing story of a polite, artistic gentleman who, by a series of mistakes, accidents, bad decisions and bad luck finds himself accused of two murders and a fraud. One of the murder victims is himself! No one but Dr. Thorndyke could possible clear up the confusion.

The Haunted Man and the Ghosts Bargain

Charles Dickens

The Haunted Man and the Ghosts Bargain is an 1848 ghost story by Charles Dickens. It is the final novella in Dickens series of five Christmas Books, the first and best known of which is A Christmas Carol. For Victorians these ghost stories began to be associated with Christmas time, and the end of the year. In this story, Dickens narrates the hair-raising experiences of a teacher of chemistry Redlaw. As the protagonist dwells on his past sorrows and mistakes, a phantom visits him. It offers him a bizarre escape from painful recollections of yesteryear by offering to eradicate his memory. Where he once felt interest, compassion, and sympathy, he is filled with selfishness and ingratitude, and this affliction spreads to everyone the man has contact with. The only one not affected by this is Milly. In this, like Mr. Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, the man learns some important life lessons and is given another chance at life and being a better person.

Mazepa. Tragedia w 5 aktach

Juliusz Słowacki

Głównym bohaterem dramatu jest młody Iwan Mazepa, paź i dworzanin królewski, przyszły hetman kozacki. Akcja utworu rozgrywa się w XVII wieku na zamku pewnego wojewody. Punkt wyjścia stanowi wizyta króla Jana Kazimierza wraz z dworem. Na czas jej trwania zamek staje się areną dworskich gierek, mniej lub bardziej wyrafinowanych zalotów oraz skandali, które prowadzą do tragedii.

Consuelo. Tome 13

George Sand

George Sand le pseudonyme de lécrivain français Aurora Dupin-Dyudevan. Dans ses nombreuses uvres, les idées de libération de la personnalité se combinent une recréation psychologique de talent de personnages idéalement sublimes, de conflits damour complexes. Le roman Consuelo est une histoire fascinante de la vie dun jeune chanteur qui doit surmonter des épreuves difficiles en donnant son art aux gens. Il sagit dun livre sur le destin dun véritable artiste, sur le lourd fardeau du talent accordé par le destin, sur le choix difficile et parfois mme tragique entre la gloire et le bonheur personnel.

The Great Reward

Edgar Wallace

The Great Reward is thirteen quirky short stories from the master of mystery Edgar Wallace. Fast-paced, with good classic twists and turns, an unusual criminal scheme and a little romance. Edgar Wallace was a British novelist, playwright, and journalist who produced popular detective and suspense stories and was in his time the king of the modern thriller. Wallaces literary output 175 books, 24 plays, and countless articles and review sketches have undermined his reputation as a fresh and original writer. Moreover, the author was a wholehearted supporter of Victorian and early Edwardian values and mores, which are now considered in some respects politically incorrect. In England, in the 1920s, Wallace was said to be the second biggest seller after the Bible.

La Clique dorée

Émile Gaboriau

Quon naccuse personne. Je meurs volontairement. Je prie Mme Chevassat de porter leur adresse les lettres jointes. Henriette. Une jeune fille du comte de la Ville-Handry, Melle Henriette, vaincue par une vie difficile et dans une misere extreme décide de mourir. Un vieux brocanteur sauve la fille et trouve deux lettres quelle a laissé avant de mourir. Il les récupere discretement et cela va changer la destin tous les deux...

The Crimson Blind

Fred M. White

Many people go through financial difficulties. The popular detective novelist David Steele finds himself in a difficult financial situation and accepts an invitation from an unknown mysterious lady who offers to help with his debts. Instead, she wants him to solve her unpleasant situation. He performs his part of the deal. Upon arrival home, he discovers a corpse.

Gobseck

Honoré de Balzac

Originally published in 1830, here we have perhaps Balzacs best short work, named simply Gobseck. Gobseck is a marvelous sketch of a money-lender and miser in Paris during the early part of the nineteenth century who is a font of psychological insight when it comes to humankinds greed, vanity and other dark motives. His philosophy of never helping anyone because adversity is the greatest of all teachers was well known. He also believed that all the peoples of the world were really very much alike because money was the greatest common denominator. It gives us Gobsecks history through the eyes of Derville who later becomes the attorney for Colonel Chabert. Episodic in nature, the story moves rapidly, touching not only on Gobseck but on other characters of The Human Comedy, a collection of over 90 novels and stories in which Balzac attempts to depict all the myriad aspects of French society.