The Torrents of SpringErnest Hemingway
A hilarious parody of the Chicago school of literature. Poking fun at that "great race" of writers, it depicts a vogue that Hemingway himself refused to follow. In style and substance, it is a burlesque of Sherwood Anderson's Dark Laughter, but in the course of the narrative, other literary tendencies associated... read more »
Red AcesEdgar Wallace
J. G. Reeder is a shabby little man with red hair and weak eyes. However, his extraordinary mind is rapier sharp. Red Aces is the fourth and last of Edgar Wallace's JG Reeder books, featuring the diffident sleuth with the furled umbrella in three novelette-length adventures. Here are three thrilling episodes torn... read more »
Last Men in LondonOlaf Stapledon
Last Men in London follows an Englishman named Paul, from childhood through service with an ambulance crew in the First World War (mirroring Stapledon's own personal history) to adult life. Olaf Stapledon's previous science-fiction novel, Last and First Men, envisioned two billion years of history, from the 1930s... read more »
Biggles in the Cruise of the CondorW. E. Johns
Biggles and Algy visit the elderly Dickpa only to find his English house under armed siege by a gang allied to Silas Blattner who are determined that Dickpa will give them the location of Incan treasure in Ecuador. Escaping from the house, Biggles returns in an aircraft to rescue his friends and they organise an... read more »
Five On Kirrin Island AgainEnid Blyton
Uncle Quentin is busy working on Kirrin Island - and it's all top secret! He doesn't want anyone to visit. Not even the Famous Five. But the island is full of hiding places and Uncle Quentin is not alone. Someone wants to steal his ideas and ruin his plans. George is determined to find her father and save her... read more »
A Backward GlanceEdith Wharton
Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, vividly reflects on her public and private life in this stunning memoir. With richness and delicacy, it describes the sophisticated New York society in which Wharton spent her youth, and chronicles her travels throughout Europe and her literary success as an... read more »
The Narrow CornerW. Somerset Maugham
Island hoping across the South Pacific, the esteemed Dr. Saunders is offered passage by Captain Nichols and his companion Fred Blake, two men who appear unsavory, yet any means of transportation is hard to resist. The trip turns turbulent, however, when a vicious storm forces them to seek shelter on the remote... read more »
Commodore HornblowerC. S. Forester
1812 and the fate of Europe lies in the hands of newly appointed Commodore Hornblower. Dispatched to northern waters, Hornblower will protect Britain's Baltic interests and halt the advance of Napoleon's empire into Sweden and Russia.\n\nFirst he must battle the terrible Baltic weather; fog, snow and icebound... read more »
The SquealerEdgar Wallace
Both Scotland Yard and the criminal community of London are trying to discover the identity of "the Squealer". This mysterious fence forces criminals to sell him their wares for a pittance. When some object, he "squeals" to the police. The story is based on the age-old saw ‘Thou shalt not blab’. The main... read more »
ThunderballIan Fleming
Upon M’s insistence, James Bond takes a two-week respite in a secluded natural health spa. But amid the bland teas, tasteless yogurts, and the spine stretcher the guests lovingly call “The Rack,” Bond stumbles onto the trail of a lethal man with ties to a new secret organization called SPECTRE. When SPECTRE... read more »
Vile BodiesEvelyn Waugh
The Bright Young Things of 1920s Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade, whether it is promiscuity, dancing, cocktail parties or sports cars. A vivid assortment of characters, among them the struggling... read more »
The Secret of KillimooinEnid Blyton
An exciting invitation to spend the summer in Baronia, the home of Prince Paul, takes Mike, Peggy, Nora and Jack to a land of lakes and mountains, where statues in a ruined temple are said to come alive. When they encounter a band of robbers, the friends find themselves on a dangerous adventure. But will they... read more »
Heaven & HellAldous Huxley
In 1953, in the presence of an investigator, Aldous Huxley took four-tenths of a gramme of mescalin, sat down and waited to see what would happen. When he opened his eyes everything, from the flowers in a vase to the creases in his trousers, was transformed. Huxley described his experience with breathtaking... read more »
Flying ColoursC. S. Forester
Forced to surrender his ship, the Sutherland, after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, are to be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating... read more »
Lady Windermere's FanOscar Wilde
Centering around the arrival of a mysterious woman hoping to break into London's society, this was Wilde's first great stage success. Lady Windermere learns from a friend that Lord Windermere is spending a great deal of time with a Mrs. Erlynne, and fearing that he is being unfaithful to her, she decides that their... read more »
The Story of Dr. WassellJames Hilton
The Story of Dr. Wassell is a moving account of the trials of a Navy field doctor, Corydon Wassell, during the outbreak of WWII on Java in the South Pacific. read more »
The Woman Who Rode AwayD. H. Lawrence
A dispirited, unnamed woman decides to leave her ordinary and unfulfilling life to ride out into the lands of the Chilchui Indians and get in touch with their spiritual and ancient ways. While her quest brings physical danger, it also becomes a journey of deep self-discovery and self-acceptance. D.H. Lawrence’s... read more »
Fifty CandlesEarl Derr Biggers
50 Candles starts in a courthouse in Honolulu, moves to China, then to fog-shrouded San Francisco. Many of the elements used in the Charlie Chan series are present: Chinese characters (both sinister and sympathetic), the Honolulu legal system, a shrewd detective (in this case, the lawyer Mark Drew rather than a... read more »
Sam Steele's Adventures on Land & SeaL. Frank Baum
Sam Steele, sixteen years old, is the son of a sea captain. His father is reported killed in a shipwreck, and Sam is quickly cheated of his inheritance. Now an orphan, Sam meets his maternal uncle, Naboth Perkins, another sea captain and ship-owner; together, the two set sail in the Pacific trade. From San... read more »
Five Go Off in a CaravanEnid Blyton
The Famous Five are thrilled to go on a caravanning holiday with no parents and only Julian in charge. They all head off to Merran Lake, where a circus is camping nearby! But two of the circus performers start acting suspiciously; they've got something to hide. What could it be - and can the Five solve the mystery... read more »
Henry VIICharles Williams
Henry VII is less spectacular than his descendants, but not less interesting or even exciting. The first of the Tudors has been less written about than any (except Edward VI). He supplanted a dynasty and subordinated an aristocracy; he collected a treasure and created a fleet. But he created also the engine of... read more »
The Murder on the LinksAgatha Christie
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with an urgent cry for help. Upon his arrival in Merlinville-sur-Mer, the investigator finds the man who penned the letter, the South American millionaire Monsieur Renauld, stabbed to death and his body flung into a... read more »
Till we have FacesC. S. Lewis
In this timeless tale of two mortal princesses - one beautiful and one unattractive - C. S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche. Much to... read more »
Odd JohnOlaf Stapledon
John Wainwright is a freak - a human mutation with an extraordinary intelligence which is both awesome and frightening to all who come into contact with him. Ordinary humans were just playthings to John - subjects for an endless chain of experiments. Their feelings, and sometimes even their lives, are expendable... read more »
The Golden PerilLester Dent
Few had known of the ancient Mayan kingdom which provided Doc Savage with billions of dollars in precious gold to finance his unceasing fight against evil. Threatened by THE LEADER and his international band of cutthroat warriors, the amazing Man of Bronzed cunningly battles for the financial security and future... read more »
Five Go To Smuggler's TopEnid Blyton
The Five find adventure, when they spend Easter vacation at Mr. Lenoir's sinister house Smuggler's Top. Set high above an eerie marsh, the house is honeycombed with hidden staircases and tunnels that once served as a hideaway for smugglers. When strange lights begin to appear, the Five suspect that the tunnels are... read more »
Biggles in the BlueW. E. Johns
Biggles is sent to Jamaica to recover a cache of secret papers -- blueprints of German secret weapons under development at the end of World War II. Their owner, Werner Wolff, had been living in Jamaica under an assumed name for many years. Unfortunately, Wolff had died without revealing where he hid his papers... read more »
By the Shores of Silver LakeLaura Ingalls Wilder
The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house. Laura takes her first train ride... read more »
The Doors of PerceptionAldous Huxley
'The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out'. Aldous Huxley first took mescalin in 1953 and continued his experiments with hallucinogenic drugs until 1963 when, on his deathbed, he asked for and was given LSD. Huxley explores the effects of the mescalin... read more »
A Passage to IndiaE. M. Forster
When Adela Quested and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr... read more »