Genre Other. Page - 366
Description
“This shop is haunted” reads the sign on the front of the bookshop; not by the ghost of a person from the past, but by the ghosts of all great literature which haunt all libraries and bookstores.
The owner of the bookshop is so focused on his books that he cannot see the unusual things that are going on in his shop. It takes a young advertising salesman who is seeking new business and the daughter of a rich client who has been sent to earn a living for herself in the bookshop to discover the plot that’s brewing amongst the bookshelves.
The Haunted Bookshop is a gentle mystery story which is full of wonderful literary references. It is set in the aftermath of the First World War before the Paris Peace Conference took place in an age where the “Lost and Found” columns are the place to look for significant information.
Description
It’s 1913, and war is on the horizon. The disgraced English aristocrat, Everard Dominey, is stumbling through East Africa when he comes across his old classmate and lookalike—the German Baron von Ragastein. Shortly after their chance encounter, Dominey returns to England. But is it really him, or a German secret agent, looking to infiltrate English society?
As Dominey attempts to resume his life, he must reacquaint himself with his insane and murderous wife, the passionate ex-lover that recognizes him, and uncover the mystery of the death that led to his exile.
Oppenheim’s classic spy-thriller was enormously popular when it was first published in 1920, selling over a million copies, and leading to three major motion pictures. It is featured on The Guardian’s list of “1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read.”
Description
Written in 1886, Kidnapped is an adventure novel set in Scotland in the mid-1700s, not long after the Jacobite rebellion in the Highlands which had attempted to set Bonnie Prince Charlie on the throne. This rebellion was put down brutally and afterwards the Government imposed strict controls on Highlanders, outlawing many clan leaders.
The protagonist of Stevenson’s novel is young David Balfour, who is in his late teens. David sets off from his hometown after the death of both of his parents to seek out his sole remaining relative, his uncle Ebenezer. Expecting to be welcomed, he is shocked by the hostile reception he is given by the old man, who is a hermit much despised by his neighbours. Ebenezer tricks young David and arranges for him to be kidnapped and taken to be sold into slavery. A series of unexpected events occur, however, and David finds himself at large in the Highlands, seeking the help of the outlaw Alan Breck Stewart, who entangles him in further complications.
Kidnapped is one of Stevenson’s most popular novels for young people, and has been adapted several times for movies and television.
Description
Originally published as a serial, Nostromo is set in a fictional South American country where the outbreak of civil war puts the mining town of Sulaco in turmoil. Giovanni Battista Fidanza, known as Nostromo, is given the task of smuggling out a large amount of silver to keep it from the revolutionaries.
Conrad was inspired to write the book when he read, in a sailor’s memoir, the tale of a man who singlehandedly stole a boatload of silver. He had first heard the same story a quarter of a century earlier as a young sailor.
Nostromo has met with critical acclaim: it is often regarded as Conrad’s greatest novel and Francis Scott Fitzgerald said he would rather have written Nostromo than any other novel.
Description
Published in 1920, The Forerunner: His Parables and Poems is the second collection of philosophical poetry and short stories by Lebanese author Khalil Gibran. A spiritual successor to The Madman, The Forerunner consists of 25 poems and parables relating to spirituality, love, our greater selves.
Description
Released in 1911, When God Laughs, and Other Stories is the eleventh collection of short stories by Jack London. In contrast with most of his other work that had been released at the time, When God Laughs is set in Polynesia. The book consists of twelve short stories that range from humorous to shocking.
Description
Conan, the Cimmerian barbarian, romps across the pages of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian adventures, slicing down enemy after enemy and trying not to fall too hard for a succession of ladies in need of rescue. Although very much a product of the pulp fantasy magazines of the 1930s, Conan has surpassed his contemporaries to become the quintessential barbarian of the fantasy genre: the muscle-bound and instinct-led hero, always willing to fight his way out of any fix.
Collected here are Howard’s public domain short stories, including ten Conan short stories and the history of Hyboria that Howard wrote as a guide for himself to write from. Gods of the North originally was a Conan story, but after being rejected by the first publisher was rewritten slightly to a character called Amra; it was later republished as The Frost-Giant’s Daughter with the name changed back. The stories were serialised (with a couple of exceptions) in Weird Tales magazine between 1925 and 1936, and have gone on to spawn multiple licensed and unlicensed sequels, comics, films and games.
Description
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 and the first edition, published on 19th December, was so successful that it sold out in just six days. The publishers had to produce two further editions between Christmas and the new year to meet the demand, and the novella has never been out of print.
A Christmas Carol tells the story of a greedy money-lender, Ebeneezer Scrooge, who is first visited by the ghost of his former business partner and then by three spirits—the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge’s lack of compassion to him, compelling him to act more compassionately in the future and to honor Christmas in his heart.
Description
The Sign of the Four, initially titled just The Sign of Four, is the second of Doyle’s novels to feature the analytical detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion and chronicler Dr. Watson. The action takes place not long after the events in A Study in Scarlet, the first Holmes novel, and that prior case is referred to frequently at the beginning of this one.
Holmes is consulted by a young woman about a strange communication she has received. Ten years previously her father Captain Morstan went missing the night after returning from service in the Far East before his daughter could travel to meet him. He has never been seen or heard of ever since. But a few years after his disappearance, Miss Morstan was startled to receive a precious pearl in the mail, with no sender’s name or address and no accompanying message. A similar pearl has arrived each subsequent year. Finally, she received an anonymous letter begging her to come to a meeting outside a London theater that very evening. She may bring two companions. Naturally, Holmes and Watson accompany the young woman to the mysterious meeting, and are subsequently involved in the unveiling of a complex story of treasure and betrayal.
Description
Published in 1918, The Madman: His Parables and Poems is the first collection of philosophical poetry and short stories by Lebanese author Khalil Gibran. The Madman is the first work by Gibran that was originally published in English, as compared to his earlier works which were written originally in his native Arabic. The Madman deals with themes of love, loss, spirituality, and the nature of truth.