In her autobiography, Annie Besant poignantly writes of her search for the truth of what she believed in, leaving Christianity behind to embrace Atheism, and ultimately finding her peace in Theosophy, which she became interested in after meeting Helena Blavatsky. She moved to India to better study Theosophical ideas and this is where she made her home until her death. She was a gifted orator and writer, often speaking and writing on her religious beliefs, as well as women's rights and social reform...

My Path to Atheism is a remarkable document in many ways, not least that it was written by a woman in Victorian England, not the most open free-thinking of societies, especially for women at that time. It needed a remarkable woman to write such a revolutionary and to 19th century minds, heretical document in a society where the Church had such a stronghold. Besant herself was originally married to a clergyman, but her increasingly anti-religious views and writings led to a legal separation. She went...

A lively, interesting and important collection of 17th century love-letters written by an English lady, against the background of the Civil War and the Restoration

A detective novel set in turn-of-the-century New York City, in which a young lawyer plays the sleuth. Packed with plot twists (and the ubiquitous romantic complication, of course). (

Mr. Lester, a private investigator, and his friend Godfrey are caught up in a strange case that takes them to a large estate in the country where at midnight they witness a mysterious "falling star" that appears to burst into a shower of sparks over two white robed figures standing in the air. There is a young lady in a flowing white dress and many more twists and complications before the mystery is solved.

Stevenson's introduction of the protagonist Lester (law clerk with New York firm Graham & Royce) finds him occupying a front row seat in the murder trial of Wall Street multi-millionaire Hiram Holladay. Scandalously, suspicion points very solidly on the banker's loving daughter, Frances. Lester proves himself a useful aide to the firm's senior partner, Mr. Royce, in his attempt to prove the lovely Frances innocent.

Three men are dead. Killed by a very powerful poison. Their deaths seem to be connected to a very old cabinet purchased in France and a notorious French criminal. What is the link? It is up to the lawyer Lester and the newspaperman Godfrey to pool their talents and solve the mystery.

In this book, Burton Egbert Stevenson writes a brief biography of some of the most noteworthy men in American history. He begins at the very beginning of the history of America with Christopher Columbus and proceeds forward with the story of people who made America what it is today by their respective vocations. It is interesting to note that the vast majority of the subjects started in poverty and excelled financially and in stature.He makes something that could be very dull, a very readable and enjoyable book.

“American Men of Mind” is a collection of short biographies of men of note in various disciplines. It is an absorbing collection of short biographies of men who made a difference in American history; most beginning life in very humble circumstances, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Although “men” is mentioned in the title, Mr. Stevenson also relates biographies of several women.This is a most interesting read.(William Tomcho)

Torn between her love for her aging father, a minister steeped in the puritanical values of old New England, and the young Virginian who was born and raised of southern chivalrous tradition, the many and conflicting emotions which stir deep within Conscience Williams envelop this tale of desire, devotion, inner strength, devious treachery, and individuality of spirit.

How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (1890) was a pioneering work of photojournalism by Jacob Riis, documenting the squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. It served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums to New York City’s upper and middle class. The title of the book is a reference to a phrase of François Rabelais, who wrote in Pantagruel: "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives".

A tale of cattle duffing, horse stealing and bushranging in the New South Wales outback with Captain Starlight.To quote the author "though presented in the guise of fiction, this chronicle of the Marston family must not be set down by the reader as wholly fanciful or exaggerated. Much of the narrative is literally true, as can be verified by official records. A lifelong residence in Australia may be accepted as a guarantee for fidelity as to local colour and descriptive detail."

This is a textbook on the science of blood and bloodwork by (1908) Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Paul Ehrlich. Should appeal to hematologists, phlebotomists, and just plain folks interested in how our bodies work.

The Milky Way - F. Tennyson Jesse's first novel - began life as a 1913 magazine serial called The Adventures of Viv. In it, poor-but-plucky Cornish painter/model Vivian Lovel recounts events of her twenty-first year: en route from Penzance to London by steamer, she catches a baby dropped over the side of a sinking ship - and decides to keep it. Penniless, however, she "platonically" pairs up with pan-like fellow passenger Peter Whymperis, an actor and aspiring writer, and together they find work with a fifth-rate repertory troupe...

‘Sapper’, the pseudonym of Colonel. H.C. McNeile M.C. was one of the most popular English writers of thrillers between the two world wars. And Hugh (Bulldog) Drummond was his most popular leading character. This book, the first of the series, is of its time. Opinions are expressed which would not pass muster today and the books are strongly laced with jingoism, racial stereotypes and hostile references to foreigners. Naturally all the villains are masters of disguise and invariably put off murdering the hero until later whist they think of something absolutely beastly. Nevertheless the story is a good one and well told.