The Mysterious Rider

Zane Grey

Readers with a taste for classic Westerns will appreciate this storys spirited, well-drawn characters and its evocative descriptions of the frontiers natural beauty. Hell-Bent Wade arrives at a Colorado homestead where a young woman is being pressured into matrimony. The plot centers around this young woman, an orphan named Columbine, who is entrapped by her allegiances into considering marriage to the drunkard son of her adopted father. Columbine is torn between her feelings of duty and affection for the old man, who raised her as his own child, and her blossoming love for a young ranch hand, Wilson Moore. Columbines dilemma seems impossible to resolve until tragedy, fate, and the mysterious rider intervene.

The Chinese Parrot

Earl Derr Biggers

Earl Derr Biggers second Charlie Chan novel took the detective to the California desert where he uncovers the reason for the mysterious disappearance of a millionaire. Biggers was always a great romance writer who simply incorporated mystery into his books to propel the story forward. The story concerns a valuable string of pearls which is purchased by a wealthy and eccentric financier. Charlie Chan embarks on an incognito journey across the desert to find the answer to a question a question posed by a dead parrot who spoke in Chinese. Chan goes undercover to solve a complex triple intrigue of fake identity, kidnapping and murder. Charlies first trip to the mainland is a sparkling adventure full of mystery and old-fashioned romance.

The Hillman

E. Phillips Oppenheim

John Strangeways lives the life of a country Gentleman farmer with his puritan brother in the hills of Cumberland. Far from the world of cities and noise he lived the clean, healthy, out-of-door life. When actress Louise Maurels car breaks down near their farm, she is forced to seek refuge with the misogynist brothers. Love ensues. Life no longer was quite the same to him, and in a short time he followed her to London. The coming of an unsophisticated though well educated, handsome young man into the semi-Bohemian circle brings about dramatic situations which the author knows well how to handle. Some wonderful minor characters aid the story also.

The Canterville Ghost

Oscar Wilde

A family of flag-flaunting United States acquire an historic English mansion from the thoroughly prim, thoroughly British Lord Canterville. Throw in a murderous, aesthetically-minded ghost with a penchant for high drama and theater, and you have a classic, joy-inducing tale of clashing cultures, progress vs. tradition, and Wildes self-mockery of his own philosophy of decadent aestheticism. Wilde emphasized differences in culture by creating special characters and then pitting the unsophisticated tastes of the patriotic Americans patriotic as their children are named Washington and Virginia against the Brittish esteem of traditions. More telling, given the storys ending and that the events are closely placed within the historical context of conflicting views and several wars, the overall theme of forgiveness reads surprisingly fresh, even in todays time.

Prince Roman

Joseph Conrad

Prince Roman is a Pole who relinquishes his comfortable position in the aristocracy to fight as an unknown soldier, resisting Russian oppression. In captivity, he has every opportunity to avoid punishment, but he declares his unconditional commitment to the liberation of Poland. As a result, he suffers a quarter century in the imperial equivalent of the Gulag Siberian mines in the ninth century, before returning to live in modest conditions in what should have been his own property, before devoting his life to helping other people.

The Evil Genius

Wilkie Collins

There is literally no such thing as an evil genius, just a lot of depressed people who were not lucky enough to live in the 1800s. This is a historical family drama. A very abrupt end. Its never quite clear who the evil genius is. But he certainly gave us a clear idea of just how devastating adultery can be.

Powrót

Jerzy Żuławski

Powrót to pierwsza część dylogii Laus feminae. Znany i ceniony w środowisku artystycznym literat Roman Turski powraca do Krakowa jako majętny biznesmen, co wzbudza duże zamieszanie wśród miejscowych artystów. Szczególne zainteresowanie okazuje mu Helena Hazarapelianowa, znana femme fatale i łamaczka serc, otoczona licznym gronem adoratorów. Niegdyś należał do nich również główny bohater. To właśnie księżna Helena stanowiła przyczynę wyjazdu Turskiego. Mężczyzna jednak wierzy, że ten etap w jego życiu jest już zakończony i wyrusza do Zakopanego, aby rozpocząć tam interesy.

The Years

Virginia Woolf

The action of the novel Years, one of the most significant works of W. Woolf, takes place over fifty years from the 1880s to the mid 30s of the twentieth century. Victorian traditions are breaking down, cars and planes are appearing, the First World War is covering Europe... All this serves as the backdrop for the family saga the history of the Pargiter family: Colonel Abel Pargiter, his wife, lover, seven children, their wives, husbands, numerous relatives...