Beth Danson was about twenty-five and, besides her deep auburn-brown hair and lovely face, she boasted an equally attractive body. He found himself captivated by the warm thrust of her breasts beneath the silk blouse. The clear milk of her flesh, at the “V” of her throat excited him in a strange way. When he thought of her as his wife, it was frightening. It was as though someone had tossed him a woman and expected him to just fall into the routine of marriage. It wouldn’t be hard to come to love this woman, but it would take awhile...

This is a collection of well known fairy tales by various authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and many others.

On the steamer on his way to London, Austin Ford meets a young woman, who is going to London to find her missing husband. Being a specialist in finding people, Mr. Ford agrees to help her in her quest. However, something appears to be not quite right about the lady and her story...

The love story between a nobleman and a beautiful lady whom he meets in church leads both of them to unexpected places, as many people would not put up with their love. This novel is considered to be one of the best Gothic novels ever written, by one of the first (and best) writers of the genre. How does an “indecent” love story become a Gothic tale? What is the outcome of this love story? If you want to know, read this book.

A collection of classic mystery and detective stories, collected and edited by Julian Hawthorne. Note: the second chapter of Dickens’ The Haunted House is not included in this edition.

A collection of spooky stories hand picked from a variety of sources.

THE STORY OF PETER PAN RETOLD FROM THE FAIRY PLAY BY SIR J.M. BARRIE BY DANIEL O'CONNOR. Basically, Daniel O'Connor took the story from the original play, with the approval of Barrie, and shortened it into a book with music and beautiful illustrations. This shorter book was published before Barrie wrote the longer novel using the same plot and characters.

The Galactic Empire is slowly 'welcoming' into the family of civilized worlds those systems so far off in the backwater of the galaxy that they have been overlooked and ignored for the past 500 years or so. This is purely routine work because every planet offered the chance has eagerly accepted the invitation. Mainly because the enlightened Empire lets the planetary government continue to rule and do whatever it wants...with a few minor restrictions of course; and because the they are shown what happens to planets who decide not to accept the invitation...

A Historical Novel about the Salem Witch Trials. A fantastic illustrated historical novel by the prolific American author John R. Musick From the author’s preface: The "Witch of Salem" is designed to cover twenty years in the history of the United States, or from the year 1680 to 1700, including all the principal features of this period. Charles Stevens of Salem, with Cora Waters, the daughter of an indented slave, whose father was captured at the time of the overthrow of the Duke of Monmouth, are the principal characters...

My series of stories dealing with the wars of England would be altogether incomplete did it not include the period when the Romans were the masters of the country. The valour with which the natives of this island defended themselves was acknowledged by the Roman historians, and it was only the superior discipline of the invaders that enabled them finally to triumph over the bravery and the superior physical strength of the Britons. The Roman conquest for the time was undoubtedly of immense advantage to the people -- who had previously wasted their energies in perpetual tribal wars -- as it introduced among them the civilization of Rome...

The human race has reached the stars, colonized many planets and done amazing things in all areas of scientific progress. But humans are still humans and remain both honorable and not so honorable; some with high ideals and others with very low ones indeed. So why hasn't war occurred in several centuries among the hundreds of planets? Has man really changed? Not on your life it hasn't! Read how science has given man peace but at what cost?

Here we were, only a month married, and spending our honeymoon at a most charming summer resort, where there was no excuse for getting out of patience. Everything was beautiful and attractive: Little hotel, strange to say, quite delightful; no fault to find with surroundings and accommodations; my darling Bessie, as sweet as an angel and determined to be happy and to make me happy; everything, in short, calculated to give us a long summer of delight. That is, if Bessie had only been an orphan. But there was her mother, who had joined us on our summer trip, after the first two weeks of unalloyed happiness, and threatened to accompany us through life. (excerpt from chapter 1)

"The Great God Pan" is a novella written by Arthur Machen. A version of the story was published in the magazine Whirlwind in 1890, and Machen revised and extended it for its book publication (together with another story, "The Inmost Light") in 1894. On publication it was widely denounced by the press as degenerate and horrific because of its decadent style and sexual content, although it has since garnered a reputation as a classic of horror. Machen’s story was only one of many at the time to focus on Pan as a useful symbol for the power of nature and paganism...

Set in the picturesque wilds of a Midwestern resort town at the height of the tourist season, Sister Simon’s Murder case begins with the murder of a terrified elderly lady, Dannie Grear. But what was she so afraid of? And who is the killer who keeps attacking anyone he thinks may know too much?The opinionated local police ran into one obstacle after another in their attempts to find the elusive killer. But the menace was effectively removed by the independent investigation of Sister Simon, a very proper nun who had learned from her policeman father never to take anything for granted in a murder case and how to fire a gun with deadly accuracy.

A book of short fables with morals.

Dickson McCunn, a respectable, newly retired grocer, plans a walking holiday in the hills of south-west Scotland. He meets a young English poet and finds himself in the thick of a plot involving the kidnapping of a Russian princess, who is held prisoner in the rambling mansion, Huntingtower. This modern fairy-tale is also a gripping adventure story.

A dozen assorted articles from British and American periodicals, including The Atlantic Monthly, Punch, The Chicago Record-Herald, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, The Library, St. Nicholas, American Missionary, The Great Events by Famous Historians, and The Continental Monthly.

"Everything in life has a price. May be, telling a Secret has the highest. However, not telling may be worse. What will Sarah choose? will she tell the Secret which destroyed her life?"

The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel" (24b). "Apology" here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the word "apologia") of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions (from the Ancient Greek ἀπολογία).

Some day an enterprising editor may find time to glean from the whole field of Canadian literature a representative collection of wit and humour. . . . The present little collection obviously makes no such ambitious claim. It embraces, however, what are believed to be representative examples of the work of some of our better-known writers, many of which will no doubt be quite familiar to Canadian readers, but perhaps none the less welcome on that account.

Handsome young Tryon Dunham has just returned home on the train from a business trip one evening when he's accosted by a beautiful young woman at the station. She's terrified that she's being followed and asks Dunham if she may walk with him away from the station. Her manner and appearance are those of a well-dressed and well-bred lady. However, she refuses to tell Tryon her real name or why she is running away. He feels a responsibility for her and arranges for her to accompany him to a dinner party where she delights everyone there with her exceptional musical talent at the piano...

William is a mischievous eleven year old who is puzzled by the adult world, which is no less puzzled by him. The humor is gentle and pleasing. The series of books is better known in the United Kingdom than in the U.S. (

These articles, pamphlets, and stories relating to the Girls Scouts of America touch on the history, activities, ideals, and traditions of this remarkable girls' organization. Though some of the articles appear redundant, they were selected to represent a contemporary view spanning five years of the organization's early popularity (1917-1921). Of significance are the detailed descriptions of Girl Scout involvement in war work during what is now known as World War I. Girl Scouts were prepared through their training for merit badges to be independent, resourceful, reliable, and helpful...

Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk: A Romance is a story of frustrated and unrequited desire between mentor and pupil mixed with elements of the supernatural. It includes several subplots: rape, torture and incest. It is the old story of the forces of good versus the forces of evil, except that in this one evil comes out ahead. When The Monk was first published in 1795, it was received well by readers and reviewers causing a second edition to be printed the following year. But by the third year, there began a growing criticism of the book and of Lewis mostly on the basis of immorality...

This is a collection of city stories, fiction or non-fiction, in English and published before 1923. Contributions have been chosen by the reader himself.

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes was a British TV series from the early 70s that dramatized stories written contemporaneously with the Sherlock Holmes stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This anthology contains stories adapted as episodes for the second season.

A 1908 NaNoWriMo forerunner, told in twelve chapters, each with a different author. The basic plot was to show how an engagement or marriage would affect and be affected by an entire family. The project became somewhat curious for the way the authors' contentious interrelationships mirrored the sometimes dysfunctional family they described in their chapters. The collaboration may have been an uncomfortable one, but a final product did emerge with some clever and entertaining contributions from its often squabbling authors.

Colonel Ashley is confronted with a difficult case: The proprietor of a jewelry shop is found murdered, and a valuable diamond cross is stolen. Whodunnit, and how can the Colonel's expertise in fishing help to solve the case?

Set in the Louisiana bayou country, here is a drama rich with suspense...the story of lovely Trillium Pierce powerless at the mercy of a murderer who believes that he has no power over himself - that his determination to kill is written in the stars. The frightened girl is helpless, as her friends at Aurelian College are victimized by the menace who stalks the swampland in a nun's habit.Margaret Ann Hubbard was a writer of various genres: historical novels, Catholic children's books, and several crime mysteries written during the 1950's and 1960's.

A mysterious woman is found murdered in a yellow boudoir. Who is she and where does she come from? Detective Absalom Gebb is on the case. (Introduction by MaryAnn)

Lord Loudwater is found murdered in his house one evening. Unfortunately for Detective Flexen, who is to investigate the case, Lord Loudwater was not a very agreeable sort of fellow and almost every person in his vicinity had a motive for the crime. Was it his young wife or her lover, his former fiance or even one of the servants?

If you're a Jane Austen fan, you'll enjoy Emily Eden's comic novels of manners, The Semi-Detached House (1859) and The Semi-Attached Couple (1860). At the opening of The Semi-Detached House, the beautiful (but rather petulant) Lady Blanche Chester, newly married and pregnant, is being installed in a suburban house while her husband is away. Her encounters with her neighbors, and the intrigues of the neighborhood, soon come to absorb and annoy her.