Beatrix

Honoré de Balzac

This novel opens in the old town of Guerande which still enclosed by mighty walls and possesses moats still full of water. The houses have not changed and the streets are as they were one hundred years in the past. It is the family seat of the de Guenics. The old society of the town gather here to play cards and gossip, often about the younger generations. The son of the house, Calyste, is going to visit one of the main objects of this gossip and we learn of this persons past. While on this visit, Calyste hears of Beatrix de Rochefide who is coming to Guerande on a visit. Béatrix is an 1839 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scenes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Balzac based the characters in this novel on real figures: Félicité des Touches, a celebrated musician and writer, is based on George Sand. Béatrix de Rochefide is based on Marie dAgoult (who wrote under the pen name of Daniel Stern); Gennaro Conti is based on Franz Liszt; Claude Vignon is based on Gustave Planche.

The Lone Wolf Returns

Louis Joseph Vance

This book is more a study of character than a mysterious genre by which the character is otherwise known. The book begins with the interaction of the characters with a love story, which leads to an unexpected meeting. In the end, there is a surprise involving several characters, but this should be opened by another reader.

Die Abenteuerin. Roman

Edgar Wallace

Caroline Smith wird von Joe Grandman beauftragt. Detektivin Caroline Smith, die den kostbaren Schmuck der Gäste vor einer berüchtigten Juwelendiebin schützen soll. Joe Grandman gibt auf seinem Landsitz bei London einen Galaempfang. Doch Miss Smith kann ihren Auftrag nicht ausführen denn sie wird vergiftet...

Venus im Pelz

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Der aus österreichisch-ungarischem Adel stammende Leopold von Sacher-Masoch schrieb zunächst Erzählungen aus dem ländlichen Galizien, bevor er 1870 mit dem Roman Venus im Pelz einen Klassiker der erotischen Literatur veröffentlicht. Erzählt wird die sadomasochistische Beziehung zwischen dem jungen Severin und seiner herrischen Geliebten Wanda. Severin trifft als junger Mann in einem Karpatenbad die junge und reiche Witwe Wanda von Dunajew, von deren Schönheit und Ähnlichkeit zur schon seit seiner Kindheit verehrten griechischen Venus ist er fasziniert. Nach mehreren Anfragen von Severin stimmte Wanda zu, sein Liebhaber zu werden. Ein abgründiges Liebesspiel beginnt. Zunächst zögerlich, findet Wanda auf Severins Drängen hin zunehmend Gefallen am Auspeitschen und Demütigen. Schließlich jedoch liefert sie ihn ihrem neuen Geliebten Alexis aus, der Severin fast zu Tode prügelt und damit seelisch zerstört.

The Lieutenant and Others

H.C. McNeile

The Lieutenant and Others a collection of stories written during the First World War. A novella written and published at the height of the war in 1916 by a soldier is approaching a real deal in its self-deprecating and ironic views on life in wartime. Here we can see a lot of dangerous moments that soldiers went through in the First World War. The book will not leave anyone indifferent.

The Black Rider

George Owen Baxter

The Black Rider, originally published in 1925, is set in Spanish California at the time when the eastern colonies of this country were still ruled by Great Britain. In the novella The Black Rider," a Navajo named Taki is fluent in four languages, a skilled knife-thrower, a consummate horseman, and can outwit any opponent. It is a tale of intrigue and revenge, where a mysterious Navajo becomes more than just a nemesis to a brutal landowner and his simpering son. But a woman named Lucia dArquista will test him to his limits. An arranged marriage, a murder, an arrogant duelist and several false identities combine to provide muscular action and some delightful surprises.

The Babe, B.A

E.F. Benson

The story Babe, B. A. contains a large amount of wit, brightness and a sharp charm. All characters have a strong family resemblance to each other. Although the story seems so easy and relaxed, in short frivolous. However, readers will be able to see a really difficult choice for the main character, so young but brave. He faced the criminal world. He has a choice: to betray his friend or not.

Thorley Weir

E.F. Benson

This story is about becoming an artist. A surprisingly joyful path to this goal. Too much information in one direction. However, for the attentive reader, it will be useful and interesting. All actions take place in England at the beginning of the 20th century. This novel contains everything: luxury and poorness, romance and art.