Best of
Fiction

1955

J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings


J.R.R. Tolkien - 1955
    Tolkien's epic masterworks The Hobbit and the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King).In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in Hobbiton by the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves. He finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon.The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the dwarf; Legolas the elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider. J.R.R. Tolkien's three volume masterpiece is at once a classic myth and a modern fairy tale—a story of high and heroic adventure set in the unforgettable landscape of Middle-earth

The Lord of the Rings


J.R.R. Tolkien - 1955
    But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

Hinds' Feet on High Places


Hannah Hurnard - 1955
    In this moving tale, follow Much-Afraid on her spiritual journey as she overcomes many dangers and mounts at last to the High Places. There she gains a new name and is transformed by her union with the loving Shepherd. Included in this special edition (February 2009 release) is Hannah Hurnard’s own account of the circumstances that led her to write Hinds’ Feet, and a brief autobiography. Special edition also features a new cover design.

The End of Eternity


Isaac Asimov - 1955
    But when Harlan meets and falls for a non-Eternal woman, he seeks to use the awesome powers and techniques of the Eternals to twist time for his own purposes, so that he and his love can survive together.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories


Flannery O'Connor - 1955
    Her apocalyptic vision of life is expressed through grotesque, often comic situations in which the principal character faces a problem of salvation: the grandmother, in the title story, confronting the murderous Misfit; a neglected four-year-old boy looking for the Kingdom of Christ in the fast-flowing waters of the river; General Sash, about to meet the final enemy. Stories include:"A Good Man Is Hard to Find""The River""The Life You Save May Be Your Own""A Stroke of Good Fortune""A Temple of the Holy Ghost""The Artificial Nigger""A Circle in the Fire""A Late Encounter with the Enemy""Good Country People""The Displaced Person"©1955 Flannery O'Connor; 1954, 1953, 1948 by Flannery O'Connor; renewed 1983, 1981 by Regina O'Connor; renewed 1976 by Mrs. Edward F. O'Connor; (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe / The Magician's Nephew


C.S. Lewis - 1955
    The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe: Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist its ruler, the golden lion Aslan, in defeating the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

The Recognitions


William Gaddis - 1955
    Gaddis anticipates by almost half a century the crisis of reality that we currently face, where the real and the virtual are combining in alarming ways, and the sources of legitimacy and power are often obscure to us.

The Spear: A Novel of the Crucifixion


Louis de Wohl - 1955
    For this is the full story of the world's most dramatic execution, as it affected one of its least-known participants-the man who hurled his spear into Christ on the Cross.Among his many successful historical novels, Louis de Wohl considered The Spear the magnum opus of his literary career.

The Last Temptation of Christ


Nikos Kazantzakis - 1955
    This literary rendering of the life of Jesus Christ has courted controversy since its publication by depicting a Christ far more human than the one seen in the Bible. He is a figure who is gloriously divine but earthy and human, a man like any other—subject to fear, doubt, and pain. In elegant, thoughtful prose Nikos Kazantzakis, one of the greats of modern literature, follows this Jesus as he struggles to live out God’s will for him, powerfully suggesting that it was Christ’s ultimate triumph over his flawed humanity, when he gave up the temptation to run from the cross and willingly laid down his life for mankind, that truly made him the venerable redeemer of men. “Spiritual dynamite.” —San Francisco Chronicle “A searing, soaring, shocking novel.” —Time

The Good Shepherd


C.S. Forester - 1955
    A convoy of thirty-seven merchant ships is ploughing through icy, submarine-infested North Atlantic seas during the most critical days of World War II, when the German submarines had the upper hand and Allied shipping was suffering heavy losses. In charge is Commander George Krause, an untested veteran of the U.S. Navy. Hounded by a wolf pack of German U-boats, he faces 48 hours of desperate peril trapped on the bridge of the ship. Exhausted beyond measure, he must make countless and terrible decisions as he leads his small fighting force against the relentless U-boats.

Run Silent Run Deep


Edward L. Beach - 1955
    Set in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the tension-filled story focuses on an American submarine captain given orders to destroy Japanese shipping in the Pacific. At first his missions go well, but when he takes on an infamous Japanese destroyer, nicknamed Bungo Pete, a terrifying game of cat and mouse begins. From the training of the crew right through to the breathtaking climax, this tale is absolutely riveting, and will have fans of military writers such as Tom Clancy cheering.Edward L. Beach graduated from the U.S. Navy's submarine school just two weeks after Pearl Harbor, and fought in the Pacific for the rest of the war. Run Silent, Run Deep was his first novel and became an immediate bestseller.

The October Country


Ray Bradbury - 1955
    Both sides of Bradbury's vaunted childhood nostalgia are also on display, in the celebratory "Uncle Einar," and haunting "The Lake," the latter a fine elegy to childhood loss. This edition features a new introduction by Bradbury, an invaluable essay on writing, wherein the author tells of his "Theater of Morning Voices," and, by inference, encourages you to listen to the same murmurings in yourself. And has any writer anywhere ever made such good use of exclamation marks!? (Illustrated by Joe Mugnaini.)Contents:· The Dwarf · ss Fantastic Jan/Feb ’54 · The Next in Line · nv Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947 · The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse · ss Beyond Fantasy Fiction Mar ’54 · Skeleton · ss Weird Tales Sep ’45 · The Jar · ss Weird Tales Nov ’44 · The Lake · ss Weird Tales May ’44 · The Emissary · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947 · Touched with Fire [“Shopping for Death”] · ss Maclean’s Jun 1 ’54 · The Small Assassin · ss Dime Mystery Magazine Nov ’46 · The Crowd · ss Weird Tales May ’43 · Jack-in-the-Box · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947 · The Scythe · ss Weird Tales Jul ’43 · Uncle Einar · ss Dark Carnival, Arkham House: Sauk City, WI, 1947 · The Wind · ss Weird Tales Mar ’43 · The Man Upstairs · ss Harper’s Mar ’47 · There Was an Old Woman · ss Weird Tales Jul ’44 · The Cistern · ss Mademoiselle May ’47 · Homecoming · ss Mademoiselle Oct ’46 · The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone · ss Charm Jul ’54

An Episode of Sparrows


Rumer Godden - 1955
    But Angela's sister Olivia isn't so sure. Olivia wonders why the neighborhood children—the “sparrows” she sometimes watches from the window of her house —have to be locked out of the garden. Don't they have a right to enjoy the place, too? But neither Angela nor Olivia has any idea what sent the neighborhood waif Lovejoy Mason and her few friends in search of “good, garden earth.” Still less do they imagine where their investigation of the incident will lead them—to a struggling restaurant, a bombed-out church, and at the heart of it all, a hidden garden.

To Tame a Land


Louis L'Amour - 1955
    Taken in by a mysterious stranger with a taste for books and an instinct for survival, Rye is schooled in the hard lessons of life in the West. But after killing a man, he is forced to leave his new home. He rides lonely mountain passes and works on dusty cattle drives until he finds a job breaking horses. Then he meets Liza Hetrick, and in her eyes he sees his future. After establishing himself as marshal of Alta, he returns, only to discover that Liza has been kidnapped. Tracking her to Robbers’ Roost, Rye is forced to face the man who taught him all he knows about books, guns, and friendship. Two old friends—one woman: Who will walk away?From the Paperback edition.

Karlsson on the Roof


Astrid Lindgren - 1955
    Soon Smidge and Karlson are sharing all sorts of adventures, from tackling thieves and playing tricks to looping the loop and running across the rooftops. Fun and chaos burst from these charming, classic stories.

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction


J.D. Salinger - 1955
    Whatever their differences in mood or effect, they are both very much concerned with Seymour Glass, who is the main character in my still-uncompleted series about the Glass family. It struck me that they had better be collected together, if not deliberately paired off, in something of a hurry, if I mean them to avoid unduly or undesirably close contact with new material in the series. There is only my word for it, granted, but I have several new Glass stories coming along ? waxing, dilating ? each in its own way, but I suspect the less said about them, in mixed company, the better. Oddly, the joys and satisfactions of working on the Glass family peculiarly increase and deepen for me with the years. I can't say why, though. Not, at least, outside the casino proper of my fiction.

Something Of Value


Robert Ruark - 1955
    It is a powerful, gripping, and sometimes shocking novel that presents an enlightening glimpse into the lives of all sections of the population in Colonial Kenya fifty years ago.

Andersonville


MacKinlay Kantor - 1955
    The 1956 Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the Andersonville Fortress and its use as a concentration camp-like prison by the South during the Civil War.

Papa Married a Mormon


John D. Fitzgerald - 1955
    Mamma's Boarding House and Uncle Will and the Fitzgerald Curse followed soon after, but good luck finding either of them.Born in Price, Utah, in 1907 to a Scandinavian Mormon mother and an Irish Catholic father, he grew up influenced by both cultures. He left Utah behind at age eighteen, working at such varied jobs as playing in a jazz band, working in a bank, and serving as an overseas newspaper correspondent. At the time of his first break into the national literary scene, he was a purchaser for a steel company in California. Fitzgerald began writing Papa Married a Mormon, a family history about his boyhood, to fulfill a promise made to his mother on her death-bed. She implored him to tell the story of those who settled the west. Not so much a story of the Mormons, but of the people themselves – specifically Fitzgerald’s family and members of the Mormon/Gentile community in which they lived.Set in the fictional southern Utah community of Adenville, Fitzgerald creates a nostalgic picture of small town life in early 1900s. The story tells of the conflicts between the Mormons and gentiles within the community, and how leaders on both sides managed to unify the town, despite their differences and animosities. Because many parts of the book are similar in prose to Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn novels, Papa Married a Mormon fits the mold of a Victorian look at an era long gone.Reference: The Promise Is Fulfilled: Literary Aspects of John D. Fitzgerald's Novels, by Audrey M. Godfrey. Retrieved February 11, 2008 from: http://mldb.byu.edu/94/godfrey.htm

Cross of Iron


Willi Heinrich - 1955
    A resourceful and cynical commander somehow manages to coax his men through the bitter hand-to-hand fighting in forests, trenches and city streets until eventually they regain the German lines. But safety is only temporary. After the tension of waiting for the last overwhelming Russian advance the platoon is forced into futile counter-attacks and murderous house-to-house fighting until its final decimation becomes inevitable.A modern classic of war fiction both as a book and a film, this is a strikingly realistic story of action on the Eastern Front, where the grimness of combat seems to have neither pity nor end.Author Willi Heinrich (1920-2005) served in the heavily mauled 101st Jager Division, and was himself wounded five times during the war.Cross of Iron was also made into a film of the same name by Sam Peckinpah in 1977.

Papa's Wife


Thyra Ferré Björn - 1955
    This novel follows the lives of a conservative, Swedish minister, Pontus Franzon, and his pretty young wife, Maria, through their years in a parsonage in Lapland, their eight children, and their journey to a new life in America.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof


Tennessee Williams - 1955
    The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt. In spite of the public controversy Cat stirred up, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle Award for that year. Williams, as he so often did with his plays, rewrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for many years—the present version was originally produced at the American Shakespeare Festival in 1974 with all the changes that made Williams finally declare the text to be definitive, and was most recently produced on Broadway in the 2003–2004 season. This definitive edition also includes Williams&rsquoi; essay “Person-to-Person,” Williams’ notes on the various endings, and a short chronology of the author’s life. One of America’s greatest living playwrights, as well as a friend and colleague of Williams, Edward Albee has written a concise introduction to the play from a playwright’s perspective, examining the candor, sensuality, power, and impact of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof then and now.

Pedro Páramo


Juan Rulfo - 1955
    Time shifts from one consciousness to another in a hypnotic flow of dreams, desires, and memories, a world of ghosts dominated by the figure of Pedro Páramo - lover, overlord, murderer.Rulfo's extraordinary mix of sensory images, violent passions, and unfathomable mysteries has been a profound influence on a whole generation of Latin American writers, including Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Gabriel García Márquez. To read Pedro Páramo today is as overwhelming an experience as when it was first published in Mexico back in 1955.

Amberwell


D.E. Stevenson - 1955
     There had been a raid in the Midlands and the station was blacked-out and in chaos. Nell ran wildly from one side of the enormous station to the other, despair clutching at her heart. How on earth was she to find an unknown woman in the milling crowds? And would she have Roger’s baby safely tucked away with her? Nell is just one of the Aryton’s in trouble as the Second World War looms. Amberwell, an estate on the west coast of Scotland, has been in the Ayrton family for several generations... descending from father to son in an unbroken line. By family tradition, each new owner was to add to the amenities of the place and in this way Amberwell grew larger and more beautiful as the years went by, endowed with gardens and terraces and orchards. The five young Ayrtons who grew up at Amberwell have now ventured out into the world. They may have been brought up by cool, distant parents, but the bonds between these children are strong. Now they must fight to hold on to what they see dear as the threat of war emerges. Will the war drastically alter their destinies? What will become of the Amberwell children, their complex relationships, and the place they call home ...? “Consistently charming” The Times 
 “D. E. Stevenson shows a warm, human understanding … in this delicately written tale of family life.” Birmingham Mail “A delightful story” Edinburgh Evening News 

D. E. Stevenson (1892–1973), Dorothy Emily Peploe (married name) was a Scottish author of more than 40 light romantic novels. Her father was the lighthouse engineer David Alan Stevenson, first cousin to the author Robert Louis Stevenson. 

 Endeavour Press is the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Madam, Will You Talk?


Mary Stewart - 1955
    But when Charity arrived at their hotel in the picturesque French town of Avignon, she had no way of knowing that she was to become the principal player in the last act of a strange and brutal tragedy. Most of it had already been played. There had been love--and lust--and revenge and fear and murder.Very soon her dreams turn into a nightmare, when by befriending a terrified boy and catching the attention of his enigmatic, possibly murderous father, Charity has inadvertently placed herself center stage. She becomes enmeshed in the schemes of a gang of murderers. And now the killer, with blood enough on his hands, is waiting in the wings.

Village School


Miss Read - 1955
    This is the English village of Fairacre: a handful of thatch-roofed cottages, a church, the school, the promise of fair weather, friendly faces, and good cheer -- at least most of the time. Here everyone knows everyone else's business, and the villagers like each other anyway (even Miss Pringle, the irascible, gloomy cleaner of Fairacre School). With a wise heart and a discerning eye, Miss Read guides us through one crisp, glistening autumn in her village and introduces us to a cast of unforgettable characters and a world of drama, romance, and humor, all within a stone's throw of the school. By the time winter comes, you'll be nestled snugly into the warmth and wit of Fairacre and won't want to leave.

Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade


Patrick Dennis - 1955
    It was made into a play, a Broadway as well as a Hollywood musical, and a fabulous movie starring Rosalind Russell. Since then, Mame has taken her rightful place in the pantheon of Great and Important People as the world's most beloved, madcap, devastatingly sophisticated, and glamorous aunt. She is impossible to resist, and this hilarious story of an orphaned ten-year-old boy sent to live with his aunt is as delicious a read in the twenty-first century as it was in the 1950s.

HMS Ulysses


Alistair MacLean - 1955
    Now reissued in a new cover style.The story of men who rose to heroism, and then to something greater, HMS Ulysses takes its place alongside The Caine Mutiny and The Cruel Sea as one of the classic novels of the navy at war.It is the compelling story of Convoy FR77 to Murmansk – a voyage that pushes men to the limits of human endurance, crippled by enemy attack and the bitter cold of the Arctic.

The Iron King


Maurice Druon - 1955
    He governs his realm with an iron hand, but he cannot rule his own family: his sons are weak and their wives adulterous; while his red-blooded daughter Isabella is unhappily married to an English king who prefers the company of men.A web of scandal, murder and intrigue is weaving itself around the Iron King; but his downfall will come from an unexpected quarter. Bent on the persecution of the rich and powerful Knights Templar, Philip sentences Grand Master Jacques Molay to be burned at the stake, thus drawing down upon upon himself a curse that will destroy his entire dynasty ...

The Lark Shall Sing


Elizabeth Cadell - 1955
    Head of the household is Lucille, red-headed, forceful, determined to make this family a going concern.As a year’s experiment, Lucille parcels everyone out, while she herself takes a job as companion to an old lady. Eleven-year-old Simon and nine-year-old Dominic go to an aunt and uncle. Ten-year-old Julie is popped into convent school. Nicholas is finishing off his army service and gentle, whimsical Roselle is making a muddle of being a secretary.Suddenly news from Lucille throws all the other Waynes into an uproar and precipitates a sensational family reunion. Converging on Lucille by bus, foot and bike, they proceed to shatter one of her dreams and help her to start another.Young and unexpected loves paves some of the way; an Italian Fuller Brush man and a retired school matron add a bit; and the indomitable small-fry clean up what’s left.

The Magician's Nephew


C.S. Lewis - 1955
    Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to...somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis before they finally return home.

J.R.R. Tolkien Audio CD Collection


J.R.R. Tolkien - 1955
    Tolkien's words have brought to thrilling life a world of hobbits, magic, and historic myth, woken from its foggy slumber within our minds. Here, he tells the tales is his own voice.Of historic note, these selections from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are based on a tape recording Tolkien made in 1952, which inspired him to continue his own quest to see his vision in print. Also included is a never-published poem, "The Mirror of Galadriel," originally intended for inclusion in the trilogy, yet edited out. And, finally, Tolkien's son, Christopher, reads selections from his father's The Silmarillion, the epic foundation upon which rests the whole of his work.

A Thing of Beauty


A.J. Cronin - 1955
    The title is a reference to John Keats' 1818 poem, Endymion, which begins: “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever…”

The Lost Wagon


Jim Kjelgaard - 1955
    Every member of the family will enjoy this tale of wagon trains, cowboys, settlers, love, romance, and did I mention wagons?

Citizen in Space


Robert Sheckley - 1955
    ContentsThe Mountain Without a NameThe AccountantHunting ProblemA Thief in TimeThe Luckiest Man in the WorldHands OffSomething for NothingA Ticket to TranaiThe BattleSkulking PermitCitizen in SpaceAsk a Foolish Question

A Ticket to Tranai


Robert Sheckley - 1955
    Beautiful, perfect Tranai, a perfect utopia, where wealth is distributed without governmental intervention, based on individual choice, and there is no poverty…

Fresh from the Country


Miss Read - 1955
    Anna Lacey, a young country girl, is given her first job in Greater London, and as she learns to cope with the challenges of her new life, we share with her the delights and pleasures of teaching "those dear, devilish, delicious, disarming, infuriating and exhausting creatures" who are her young pupils.

Requiem for a Wren


Nevil Shute - 1955
    title The Breaking Wave) is one of Nevil Shute's most poignant and psychologically suspenseful novels, set in the years just after World War II.Sidelined by a wartime injury, fighter pilot Alan Duncan reluctantly returns to his parents' remote sheep station in Australia to take the place of his brother Bill, who died a hero in the war. But his homecoming is marred by the suicide of his parents' parlormaid, of whom they were very fond. Alan soon realizes that the dead young woman is not the person she pretended to be. Upon discovering that she had served in the Royal Navy and participated along with his brother in the secret build-up to the Normandy invasion, Alan sets out to piece together the tragic events and the lonely burden of guilt that unravelled one woman's life. In the process of finding the answer to the mystery, he realizes how much he had in common with this woman he never knew and how a war can go on killing people long after it's all over.

Horatio Hornblower Goes to Sea


C.S. Forester - 1955
    Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower.

Beezus and Ramona


Beverly Cleary - 1955
    Sure, other people have little sisters that bother them sometimes, but is there anyone in the world like Ramona? Whether she's taking one bite out of every apple in a box or secretly inviting 15 other 4-year-olds to the house for a party, Ramona is always making trouble--and getting all the attention. Every big sister can relate to the trials and tribulations Beezus must endure. Old enough to be expected to take responsibility for her little sister, yet young enough to be mortified by every embarrassing plight the precocious preschooler gets them into, Beezus is constantly struggling with her mixed-up feelings about the exasperating Ramona.

The Mouse That Roared


Leonard Wibberley - 1955
    The tiny Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides the only way to survive an economic downturn is to declare war on the United States and lose to get foreign aid - but things don't go according to plan.The Mouse That Roared was originally published as a six-part serial in the Saturday Evening Post, and was made into a successful feature film starring Peter Sellers.

Guns of the Timberlands


Louis L'Amour - 1955
    But Jud Devitt, a ruthless speculator from the East, now threatens everything Clay has worked for. Devitt, holding a contract with the Mexican Central to deliver railroad ties, wants to harvest timber off the land where Clay grazes his cattle. Backing Devitt are shady politicians, a dishonest banker, and fifty of the toughest lumberjacks in the county. But as Colleen Riley, Devitt’s fiancée, realizes the brutal game he’s playing, her disapproval of his actions, and Clay Bell’s obvious integrity and charm, pull her toward a destiny that will tip the scales in their bloody battle over timber and cattle.

The Shiralee


D'Arcy Niland - 1955
    He takes the child on the road with him to spite his wife, but months pass and still no word comes to ask for the little girl back. Strangers to each other at first, father and daughter drift aimlessly through the dusty towns of Australia, sleeping rough and relying on odd jobs for food and money. Buster's resilience and trust slowly erode Macauley's resentment, and when he's finally able to get rid of her, he realises he can't let his shiralee go. In evocative prose that vividly conjures images of rural Australia, The Shiralee reveal an understanding of the paradoxical nature of the burdens we carry, creates a moving portrait of fatherhood, told with gruff humour and a gentle pathos.

The Hill of the Red Fox


Allan Campbell McLean - 1955
    Soviet spies are feared and secrets traded. And people disappear. Thirteen-year-old Alasdair lives in London and knows nothing of that world. He can't wait to begin his long summer holiday on the Isle of Skye, away from his mother and aunt.But things don't go quite as planned. On the journey, a stranger gives him a mysterious note before jumping from the train. Even worse, he immediately suspects the sinister Murdo Beaton, the man with whom he's staying. Gradually adjusting to life on the small farm, Alasdair is unprepared for the web of danger and espionage that begins to unfold around him.(Ages 10-13)

The Little Bookroom


Eleanor Farjeon - 1955
    Her selection of her favorite stories describes powerful—and sometimes exceedingly silly—monarchs, and commoners who are every bit their match; musicians and dancers who live for art rather than earthly reward; and a goldfish who wishes to “marry the Moon, surpass the Sun, and possess the World.”

Jonas


Jens Bjørneboe - 1955
    With this unpromising start, Mr Bjørneboe was able, by his second novel, a study of collaboration in wartime Norway, to make himself even less popular in his home country. With the publication of The Least of These, called by Sigurd Hoel, "the most important Norwegian novel since the war", the author completed the process of making himself persona non grata in the Scandinavian countries. The Least of These has been printed in six languages, and although he enjoys a considerable reputation as a poet, Mr Bjørneboe's book has been roundly condemned by educators wherever it has appeared. The fate of the little boy, Jonas, crushed by the enforced conformity of his education, is not, the author says, the central theme of the novel. "All the important persons in this novel are different variations of Jonas - all of them are Jonases. The theme of the book is not the boy Jonas, but the 'being a Jonas.'"

Pick-Up


Charles Willeford - 1955
    Harry just wants to help, but before long he and Helen are both adrift in a sea of alcohol - until Harry conceives the ultimate crime...

Proud Beggars


Albert Cossery - 1955
    But the real mystery at the heart of Albert Cossery's wry black comedy is not the cause of this death but the paradoxical richness to be found in even the most materially impoverished life. Chief among Cossery's proud beggars is Gohar, a former professor turned whorehouse accountant, hashish aficionado, and street philosopher. Such is his native charm that he has accumulated a small coterie that includes Yeghen, a rhapsodic poet and drug dealer, and El Kordi, an ineffectual clerk and would-be revolutionary who dreams of rescuing a consumptive prostitute. The police investigator Nour El Dine, harboring a dark secret of his own, suspects all three of the murder but finds himself captivated by their warm good humor. How is it that they live amid degrading poverty, yet possess a joie de vivre that even the most assiduous forces of state cannot suppress? Do they, despite their rejection of social norms and all ambition, hold the secret of contentment? And so this short novel, considered one of Cossery's masterpieces, is at once biting social commentary, police procedural, and a mischievous delight in its own right.

The Golden Book of 365 Stories


Kathryn Jackson - 1955
    Richard Scarry's distinctive artwork decorates every page of this family treasure.

The Martian Way and Other Stories


Isaac Asimov - 1955
    Each of the long stores also shows his considerable skill in fully fleshing out a speculative scientific or social possibility.Contents:· The Martian Way · na Galaxy Nov ’52 · Youth · nv Space Science Fiction May ’52 · The Deep · ss Galaxy Dec ’52 · Sucker Bait [Troas] · na Astounding Feb ’54

My Bones And My Flute


Edgar Mittelholzer - 1955
    

These Lovers Fled Away


Howard Spring - 1955
    

Thurber's Dogs: A Collection of the Master's Dogs, Written and Drawn, Real and Imaginary, Legends All


James Thurber - 1955
    A collection of the master's dogs, written and drawn, real and imaginary, living and long ago

The Spider's House


Paul Bowles - 1955
    Exploring once again the dilemma of the outsider in an alien society, and the gap in understanding between cultures—recurrent themes of Paul Bowles's writings—The Spider's House is dramatic, brutally honest, and shockingly relevant to today's political situation in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century


Donald Keene十返舎 一九 - 1955
    Every genre and style, from the celebrated No plays to the poetry and novels of the seventeenth century, find a place in this book. An introduction by Donald Keene places the selections in their proper historical context, allowing the readers to enjoy the book both as literature and as a guide to the cultural history of Japan. Selections include “Man’yoshu” or “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” from the ancient period; “Kokinshu” or “Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry,” “The Tosa Diary” of Ki No Tsurayuki, “Yugao” from “Tales of Genji” of Murasaki Shikibu, and “The Pillow Book” of Sei Shonagon from the Heian Period; “The Tale of the Heike” from the Kamakura Period; Plan of the No Stage, “Birds of Sorrow” of Seami Motokiyo, and “Three Poets at Minase” from the Muromachi Period; and Sections from Basho, including “The Narrow Road of Oku,” “The Love Suicides at Sonezaki” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, and Waka and haiku of the Tokugawa Period.

The Tontine


Thomas B. Costain - 1955
    It begins with the Day the Battle of Waterloo was fought and ends at the closing of the 19th Century. Its cast includes Actors, Kings, Sailors, Artists, etc. It is filled with romance.

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne


Brian Moore - 1955
    First published in 1955, it marked Brian Moore as a major figure in English literature (he would go on to be short-listed three times for the Booker Prize) and established him as an astute chronicler of the human soul.Judith Hearne is an unmarried woman of a certain age who has come down in society. She has few skills and is full of the prejudices and pieties of her genteel Belfast upbringing. But Judith has a secret life. And she is just one heartbreak away from revealing it to the world.

Mrs. Duck's Lovely Day (A Rand McNally Junior Elf Book)


Vivienne Blake - 1955
    

The Casket and the Sword


Norman Dale - 1955
    Clive Palfrey and his sister Sally, arrive back from abroad to find the family mansion in the hands of unfriendly strangers, and determine to restore the fortunes of the house by endeavouring to break in and find the casket and the sword, hidden there by a piratical ancestor in the 17th century.

Big Woods


William Faulkner - 1955
    An avid hunter as well as one of America's greatest writers, Faulkner spent many days hunting in the big woods near Oxford, Mississippi.Included here is his most famous hunting story, "The Bear", as well as "The Old People", "A Bear Hunt", and "Race at Morning". Together, these four stories are considered to be the finest hunting stories ever written. Each is introduced with a prelude that weaves these tales together into a modern American classic.This book, a classic collection of sporting literature, belongs in the library of every sportsman. Big Woods was published in 1955. It has long been out of print in hard cover, and a copy of the book commands up to $175 if you can find one. We are honored to offer you a special edition of Big Woods.This edition of 1,200 copies is bound in rich cloth on 70-pound acid-free paper, with a silk ribbon and a handsome slipcase.

The Blue Mustang


Will Henry - 1955
    The only friend he can rely on is a blue mustang with the cunning and heart of a fighter.

Marjorie Morningstar


Herman Wouk - 1955
    Released from the social constraints of her traditional Jewish family, and thrown into the glorious, colorful world of theater, Marjorie finds herself entangled in a powerful affair with the man destined to become the greatest-and the most destructive-love of her life.Rich with humor and poignancy, Marjorie Morningstar is a classic love story, one that spans two continents and two decades in the life of its heroine. This unforgettable paean to youthful love and the bittersweet sorrow of a first heartbreak endures as one of Herman Wouk's most beloved creations.

The Old Order: Stories of the South


Katherine Anne Porter - 1955
    The Old Order brings these together in a single volume, including six stories from The Leaning Tower, three stories from Flowering Judas, and the short novel “Old Mortality” from Pale Horse, Pale Rider.The source --The old order --The witness --The circus --The last leaf --The grave --The jilting of Granny Weatherall --He --Magic --Old mortality

The Collected Short Stories


D.H. Lawrence - 1955
    It could be said that only in these short works, with their dramatic clarity and immediacy, did Lawrence fully realize his entirely original vision of the erotic and of the power of the irrational in human affairs.

The River Witch


Marjorie McIntyre - 1955
    Louis-St Joseph route on the Missouri River. Cordelia was in love with Josiah, but was jealous of his attention to the bawdy Red Maude who had saved Josiah's life after an attack by bandits. Out of spite Cordelia married Pierre de Vries. They had a daughter whom Cordelia adored. When the daughter died Cordelia sunk into a depression that turned to hate. Ultimately her husband taught Cordelia the true meaning of love.

Trial Run / Whip Hand / Twice Shy


Dick Francis - 1955
    Printed in Great Britan

Hornblower in Captivity: Ship of the Line & Flying Colours


C.S. Forester - 1955
    A stand-alone volume in the Hornblower Cadet Series, this issue is an abridged amalgum of 'A Ship Of The Line' and 'Flying Colours'.

Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day


Donald KeeneYasunari Kawabata - 1955
    Now considered the standard canon of modern Japanese writing translated into English, Modern Japanese Literature includes concise introductions to the writers, as well as a historical introduction by Professor Keene. Includes: Growing Up by Ichiyo, a lyrical story of pre-adolescence in the 90s; Natsume’s story of Botchan, an illustarred and ineffectual Huck Finn; Nagai’s The Sumida River; Kokomitsu’s Kafkaesque Time; Kawabata’s The Mole; Firefly Hunt; a glimpse into Tanizaki’s masterpiece Thin Snow; and the postwar work of such writers as Dazai and Mishima.

Powers Of Attorney


Louis Auchincloss - 1955
    

The Etruscan


Mika Waltari - 1955
    When she fell in love with another, he was forced to flee to Etruria & found a destiny beyond his wildest expectations & powers.

Yonder


Margaret Bell Houston - 1955
    "Yonder Key is like living in a shell, with the sound of the sea all around."But when Olive reached the luxurious, gloomy Croome mansion, where the family had isolated themselves for thirty years, she was struck by a sense of danger and evil in the household. Where did it come from? From Zoé, who seemd gentle, but who hid knives and ropes in her room when not watched? From Zoé's embittered sister Joanna, who didn't want Olive to try to cure Zoé? From the strangely silent servant Ezra?Alone in the world, Olive has no place else to go. She must stay at Yonder - to help Zoé, and save herself from the unseen danger of YONDER.

His Indian Brother


Hazel Wilson - 1955
    Close to starvation when his food is eaten by a bear in the woods, Brad finds himself depending on Chief Keneowa, his son Sabattis and the rest of the Penobscot tribe for survival. Developing a warm relationship into brotherhood with the Indians over the weeks that follow, Brad is faced with the difficult decision of which life he wants to leave from now on when his family eventually does return...

Star Ship on Saddle Mountain


Atlantis Hallam - 1955
    I'm dedicating this ebook to all the fans of Atlantis Hallam and Star Ship on Saddle Mountain fans who have been searching for this book for fifty years. The book is out of print but at least the ebook is now available to read and remember once again.

The Golden Argosy: A Collection of the Most Celebrated Short Stories in the English Language


Van H. Cartmell - 1955
    Cartmell, and published by Dial Press in 1955. It is famous for being the favorite book of novelist Stephen King.Stories• I'm a fool by Sherwood Anderson• The happy hypocrite by Max Beerbohm• The devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benét• The damned thing by Ambrose Bierce• The Chink and the child by Thomas Burke• Paul's case by Willa Cather• Back for Christmas by John Collier• Youth by Joseph Conrad• The bar sinister by Richard Harding Davis• The Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle• A rose for Emily by William Faulkner• Old Man Minick by Edna Ferber• The rich boy by F. Scott Fitzgerald• The celestial omnibus by E.M. Forster• The three strangers by Thomas Hardy• The outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte• The killers by Ernest Hemingway• The gift of the Magi by O. Henry• The Gioconda smile by Aldous Huxley• The monkey's paw by W.W. Jacobs• The man who would be king by Rudyard Kipling• The incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney by Rudyard Kipling• Champion by Ring Lardner• To build a fire by Jack London• The fly by Katherine Mansfield• Rain by W. Somerset Maugham• Big blonde by Dorothy Parker• The murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe• The gold-bug by Edgar Allan Poe• Flowering Judas by Katherine Anne Porter• Tobermory by Saki• The leader of the people by John Steinbeck• Markheim by Robert L. Stevenson• A lodging for the night by Robert L. Stevenson• The lady or the tiger? by Frank R. Stockton• Monsieur Beaucaire by Booth Tarkington• The secret life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber• The celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain• The other wise man by Henry Van Dyke• Chickamauga by Thomas Wolfe

The Killing


Lionel White - 1955
    The two million bucks should be enough to last him a lifetime or two. But a two-faced dame has another idea: Let Johnny do the work, then she'll grab the swag for herself and her boyfriend.

One Thousand Beautiful Things


Marjorie Barrows - 1955
    

A Bullet for Cinderella


John D. MacDonald - 1955
    I watched her as she toyed with the man, laughing, her tumbled hair like raw blue-black silk, her brown shoulders bare. Eyes deep-set, a girl with a gypsy look. So this was the girl I had risked my life to find. This was the girl who was going to lead me to a buried fortune in stolen loot.

Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales Second Series


Hans Christian Andersen - 1955
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Cajun Folktales


J.J. Reneaux - 1955
    A collection of twenty-seven traditional Cajun tales, including animal stories, fairy tales, ghost stories, and humorous tales.

Guns for the Saratoga


Stephen W. Meader - 1955
    Then they got an order for nine-pounders for the Saratoga, the Navy's new sloop-of-war. When that order was ready to ship, Gid went with it and signed on as a midshipman on the new ship.

Homer's Daughter/The Anger of Achilles (Millennium Graves)


Robert Graves - 1955
    Given threads of internal evidence in the Odyssey, Robert Graves invents, or discovers, that the author of the poem was herself part of the epic action. He chooses the beguiling, clear-headed Nausicaa and re-visions the post-Trojan world through her eyes. This is the theme of Homer's Daughter, one of Graves's most daring fictional acts." The Odyssey has been described as a 'women's' epic, full of female characters and different in kind and colour from the Iliad with its tight focus and its largely male world. Graves's Nausicaa is a brilliant story-teller. She is a princess of mixed ancestry, combining in herself the various cultures that inform the language and folklore of the epic. She lives in a Greek-Trojan settlement in Sicily some time after the Trojan War. Graves makes it possible for us to believe that she tells her own, true story, buried within Homer's epic. There is adventure and intrigue; the book stands near the beginning of a tradition that includes Leonardo Sciascia's The Council of Egypt and Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Nausicaa is smart and resilient. She solves the mystery of her brother's disappearance, then organises a counterplot, recalling Odysseus's bloody, triumphal return to Ithaca.

The Tom Barber Trilogy: Volume I: Uncle Stephen, the Retreat, and Young Tom


Forrest Reid - 1955
    in 1908. He numbered among his many friends and acquaintances George William Russell (A. E.), E. M. Forster, Edmund Gosse, C. S. Lewis, and Walter de le Mare, as well as various Uranians such as Theo Bartholomew, Osbert Burdett, and Mark Andre Raffalovich.Despite his sixteen novels, his two autobiographies, and a range of other works, despite being a founding member of the Irish Academy of Letters and an honorary Doctor of Letters of Queen's University in Belfast, despite his novel "Young Tom" being awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Forrest Reid closely borders both oblivion and canonicity. However, this author, who has been aptly dubbed the "Arch-Priest of a Minor Cult," deserves reconsideration and perhaps a place in the pantheon of English letters."The Tom Barber Trilogy" - composed of the very distinct novels "Uncle Stephen" (1931), "The Retreat; or, The Machinations of Henry" (1936), and "Young Tom; or, Very Mixed Company" (1944) - is Forrest Reid's magnum opus. The present scholarly edition presents those three novels as clean texts (in Volume I), followed by a study of Forrest Reid and explanatory notes for the trilogy (in Volume II)."

A House on the Rhine


Frances Faviell - 1955
    The house itself, with paint peeling, tiles missing from the roof, its pretentious pillars pitted with gunfire, looked forlorn and neglected. But nothing could detract from the beauty of the acacia trees whose proud flowering dominated the scene and apologized for everything.Having made her publishing debut with The Dancing Bear, a superb memoir of life in Berlin immediately after World War II, Frances Faviell applied first-hand knowledge to fiction, telling the riveting, harrowing tale of one large, troubled family in Germany nearly a decade after the war's end.In a town near Cologne, rebuilding is proceeding at a frantic pace, factory work is plentiful and well-paid, and the dark days of near-starvation have ended. But Joseph, a former Allied prisoner of war, and his enormous brood--his wife having received a medal under the Nazis for bearing more than 10 children--face new problems ranging from the mother's infidelity, the oldest child's involvement with a brutal youth gang leader, and a beloved adopted daughter's plans to marry an American soldier.Vividly portraying the love and conflict of a large family and the dramatic, sometimes tragic social change of Germany's postwar recovery, A House on the Rhine is a powerful, heartbreaking tale from the author of the London Blitz memoir A Chelsea Concerto. This new edition includes an afterword by Frances Faviell's son, John Parker, and other supplementary material.

The Edwardian Scrapbook


Robert Opie - 1955
    Like the other vibrant titles in this series, The Edwardian Scrapbook offers a glimpse of cultural history using Robert Opie's unrivaled collection of ephemera and packaging. It contributes to our knowledge of the recent past and is a treasure trove of information and nostalgia. The Scrapbook series will eventually cover every decade of the twentieth century.

Selections from Gift From the Sea


Anne Morrow Lindbergh - 1955
    

5 Pennies to Spend


Miriam Young - 1955
    John has five pennies to spend on himself, but encounters some needy friends along the way.

The Shadow of Suspicion


Emilie Loring - 1955
    Within hours, the entire camp was plunged into a network of murder and mystery.

Jack-o'-lantern House


Francena H. Arnold - 1955
    Though she quickly adapts to her new surroundings, Kathy is sorely disappointed in the rude, sulky boy who also lives at her cousins' house. In this story of companionship, family, and trust, a mystery is solved.

A Swarm in May


William Mayne - 1955
    This means he must also be Beekeeper - a traditional role. One of the traditional duties of the Beekeeper is to sing a solo in the Cathedral. Owen hates and dreads the prospect, so he persuades the smallest boy in the school, Iddingley, to take his place. Then, while exploring one of the Cathedral towers without permission, Owen finds something which makes him change his mind, and solves a mystery which has been baffling people for hundreds of years...

Sabrina Fair


Samuel Taylor - 1955
    It is set on Long Island in the 1950s, and deals with the involvement of a very rich family named Larrabee with Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of their family chauffeur. She is bright, well-educated, and has just returned from five years in Paris, where she has done a brilliant job as an executive in a U.S. government overseas office. She has come home to find out if she is still in love with the younger Larrabee son, David. The elder son, Linus, a cynical, good-humored tycoon who has taken control of the family fortune, detects Sabrina's feeling for his brother, and for his own amusement lays a trap to bring them together. It works: David falls in love with Sabrina and wants to marry her. At the same time, a rich young Frenchman who has known Sabrina in Paris turns up and asks her to marry him. Faced with this dilemma, Sabrina discovers it is really Linus she wants. After an amusing scene in which Sabrina's father, the chauffeur, makes a rather amazing revelation, Sabrina breaks down Linus' resistance and gets her man. An unusual number of fine character parts for actors: the beautiful mother of wit and perception; the father, whose one passion is attending funerals; the chauffeur who has been dabbling in the stock market and likes his job because it gives him time to read; the smart magazine editor who, as a house guest, is the interested observer. "SABRINA FAIR is a delightful, sparkling hit." Robert Coleman, NY Mirror.

Masters of the Modern Short Story


Walter Havighurst - 1955
    

Shad Run


Howard Breslin - 1955
    It was a time of decision for many people, among them young Lancey Quist, daughter of the best fisherman on the river. Half tomboy and half the eternal Eve, she was torn between two lovers--Dirck van Zandt, the wealthy, assured son of a patroon; and Justin Pattison, the rebel and rogue, tempered by war and trouble.Their love story is played out against the background of the scheming and the tensions before the Constitutional Convention. Lancey's two suitors are in opposing camps, and it isn't until a bloody duel between them that she knows where her true love lies.The high-spirited Lancey is as enchanting a heroine as you'll ever encounter; and even the most minor characters, from the Dutch landed gentry to the poorest fishermen, are drawn in the round in this immensely readable and appealing novel.

Another Kind


Chad Oliver - 1955
    Truly exceptional science-fiction stories.Contents:The Mother of NecessityRite of PassageScientific MethodNightTransformerArtifactA Star Above It

The Weapon Shops of Isher / Gateway to Elsewhere


A.E. van Vogt - 1955
    Into this epoch, the most scientifically powerful period humanity ever knew, a time-staggering bombshell was tossed. It came in the form of a man from today, a victim of a conflict which was as old as that empire and which now threatened to be the end of both Isher and its worlds.Gateway to Elsewhere - 139 ppTony Gregg was just an ordinary everyday American until the day he came into possession of an old Barkut coin. He knew that it was more than just a collector's curio because there was no such place on any map of Earth, past or present. He learned then that it could be used as a key - a key to a GATEWAY TO ELSEWHERE.

Ann and the Island Storm


Elspeth Bragdon - 1955
    She is the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, and the cry of seagulls, the wild foaming sea, and the sturdy lighthouse tower are all she’s ever known. She resents the “summer people” who come to picnic on the island because they don’t know anything about the sea or her way of life. Ann’s world gets turned upside down when Betsy comes to the island to stay with her grandmother. Betsy is a timid city girl who knows much more about apartments and traffic than crabs and boats. Together, Ann and Betsy learn that the world is much bigger than they thought, and that friendship can be found in the most unlikely places.

The Oracles


Margaret Kennedy - 1955
    Possibly they are not to be blamed for failing to see that it is, in fact, only a commonplace garden chair that has been struck by lightning and twisted radically out of shape. However, under a delusion, The Oracles endeavour to force their fellow townsmen to purchase the 'work' with public money. This comedy of suspense, tension and confusion presents yet another splendid demonstration of Margaret Kennedy's remarkable storytelling gift.

San Francisco Boy


Lois Lenski - 1955
    Felix Fong and his family just moved to San Francisco from a town in the countryside, and they have never seen so many people. Felix’s siblings are thrilled by the constant hustle and bustle, but he misses their old house. He liked having grass to play in and a pond to swim in. The city is overwhelming, and it doesn’t feel like home.   But soon Felix begins to have adventures in San Francisco. He makes friends and even gets a job. Before he knows it, he forgets about being homesick and learns to fall in love with the city.

Fripsey Fun


Madye Lee Chastain - 1955
    A lively story of what happens when the Fripsey family (and next door neighbor Marcy) turns musical and learns to play recorders.

On the Waterfront


Budd Schulberg - 1955
    Suspenseful and emotional, the novel presents a more complex—and perhaps bleaker—portrait of ex-boxer Terry Malloy’s corrupt and stunted world on the docks of Hoboken. Narrated by Father Pete Barry, the novel shifts focus to the courageous priest who stands up to the Mob, as well as his own church, in order to redeem the souls of his hardscrabble and unloved constituents. On the Waterfront is a potent retelling of an iconic American story that stands apart as an unforgettable vision of crime, politics, and class in the twentieth century. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Budd Schulberg including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.