The House in Dormer Forest

Mary Webb

In this dense novel, the house in which the Darke family exists apparently has its own impassive but claustrophobic influence on the family, which, in turn, tied itself up too quickly in its network of special hate agreements and connections. Jasper fights against his religion, Ruby is trapped between her need for conventions and her own desires, and Peter is forced to rebel.

The Country Doctor

Honoré de Balzac

The Country Doctor (Le Médecin de Campagne), by Honoré de Balzac, belongs to the series known as Scenes from Country Life; a part of his great cycle of fiction, The Comedy of Human Life. It is one of Balzacs noblest pieces of fiction, presenting beautiful traits of human nature with sympathy and power. The scene is laid in a village near Grenoble in France, and the story begins with the year 1829. Doctor Benassis is the title character of this novel. He is a compassionate and conscientious physician who ministers to the psychological and spiritual as well as physical needs of the villagers among whom he has chosen to practice medicine. A chance visitor is enchanted with the small, exceedingly well-run village and intrigued by the unparalleled popularity of Doctor Benassis. Slowly he learns the history, not only of the village but of the man himself, including why he buried himself in such a remote area.

The Crouching Beast

Valentine Williams

It is 1914, but war has not yet broken out. Olivia Dunbar, a young English woman, is working in Germany as a private secretary. She obtains secret military information, and becomes entangled in a British secret agent operation, and encounters the terrifying Dr. Grundt, head of German counter-intelligence: the crouching beast of the title. The Crouching Beast by Valentine Williams is an example of the reluctant spy sub-genre, in which an innocent civilian finds himself caught up in the dangerous game of espionage. The twist in this book is that the innocent civilian is a young woman. She is also the narrator of the tale. Third in the seven book series about the dreaded German Secret Service Chief Dr. Adolph Grundt. The Crouching Beast is an effective and enjoyable espionage thriller.

Romance. A Novel

Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Hueffer

This is a story about the adventures of the youth of the regency from the lower reaches of the British nobility in the harsh and capricious world of the Caribbean Sea, complete with pirates, romance and daring Spanish girls, as well as a few last minute escapes the clichés of romantic fantasies about adventures. There are several excerpts from Conrads beautiful memories. At that time, slavery was the basis of the Caribbean economy, and the hero for some time is the head of the slave-owning plantation.

The Bird Cage

Eimar ODuffy

Eimar Ultan ODuffy (29 September 1893 21 March 1935), born in Dublin in 1893, was a novelist, poet, playwright and satirist. The Irish Theatre Company produced two of his plays, and a later play Bricrius Feast was published, though not produced, in 1919. His other publications include The Wasted Island (1919), King Goshawk and the Birds (MacMillan, 1926) and a series of mystery novels including The Bird Cage, Asses in Clover and The Secret Enemy. In The Bird Cage, a murdered man is discovered in a bedroom at the Grand Hotel in Spurn Cove, an English seaside resort... This is the first American edition of a mystery novel by an Irish writer. Eimar ODuffys mysteries give you just enough information to get you drawn into the story and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Highly recommended for fans of mysteries!

The Forged Coupon and Other Stories

Leo Tolstoy

At the beginning of the story, walking along an incline, some of Tolstoys characters lie, commit robberies and even killings. The author allows his heroes to experience feelings of satisfaction and complete impunity, after they have committed terrible atrocities. Pelageyushkin, going to the massacres, is content with one own impunity. Tolstoy conducts his heroes in hellish circles: all terrible crimes are uncovered. The punishment for the crime hangs with a Damocles sword over the heads of Tolstoy literary characters. It is also interesting that the writer selects his heroes from each social group.

The Lone Hand

Harold Bindloss

Mark was an engineer and is currently out of work. The landscape was colorless and dreary, but Mark was young, and after the pulsating workshop he liked the space and tranquility. The Croziers owned the soil they cultivated on the hills. They held tenaciously everything that belongs to them

A Tale of Three Lions

H. Rider Haggard

Henry Rider Haggard wrote adventure novels. A Tale of Three Lions is an exciting story about the dangerous adventure of a young girl, Harry. She wants to join her father, who became a celebrity, thanks to the lion hunt. This novel, though not a fantasy, but still strikes a denouement.