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The Devil's Spectacles by Wilkie Collins


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The Wasp Factory


Iain Banks - 1984
    Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return - an event that explodes the mysteries of the past and changes Frank utterly.The Wasp Factory is a work of horrifying compulsion: horrifying, because it enters a mind whose realities are not our own, whose values of life and death are alien to our society; compulsive, because the humour and compassion of that mind reach out to us all. A novel of extraordinary originality, imagination and comic ferocity.

The Victorian Chaise Longue


Marghanita Laski - 1953
    This is the story of a trip backward in time in which a nostalgia for the quaint turns into a hideous nightmare.

The Great God Pan


Arthur Machen - 1890
    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. The title was taken from the poem "A Musical Instrument" published in 1862 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in which the first line of every stanza ends "... the great god Pan.

Mama's Bible


Mildred Colvin - 2012
    Leaving everything behind. What more is there to lose? Katie Donovan soon learns she has much to lose, but even more to gain on the long journey to Oregon in 1850. Two men vie for Katie's affection. Clay Monroe is ready to marry and vows he will win Katie's heart before they reach Oregon. His proposal has her head and her heart spinning. Jason Barnett is attracted to Katie, but her rebellion against God keeps him from pursuing her. As he grows closer to her and her family, can he turn away once they reach the land of their dreams? Cross the wilderness with Katie as she travels The Oregon Trail. Christian inspirational Romance - About 55,000 words

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" (Screen Adaptations)


R. Barton Palmer - 2008
    Literature and film adaptations studies students will find plenty of material to support their courses and essay writing on how the film versions provide different readings of the original text. Focussing on several film versions and adaptations, the book discusses: the literary text in its historical context, key themes and dominant readings of the text, how the text is adapted for screen and how adaptations have changed our reading of the original text. There are many references to the literary text and screenplays and the book also features quotations from directors, critics and others linked with the chosen film and text.

Mitford Years 6-9 / Home to Holly Springs (Mitford Years, #6-9)


Jan Karon - 2011
    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Jan Karon, this is the new ecollection of novels six through nine in the beloved Mitford Years series, plus Home to Holly Springs, the first novel in the Father Tim series. Readers have come to feel at home in Mitford, the little town with the big heart. As this charming mountain village works its magic, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll quickly make friends who feel like family—for the residents of Mitford are the most ordinary people who live the most extraordinary lives. And in Home to Holly Springs, you will travel back with Father Tim to his childhood Mississippi home, where he discovers the awesome power of love and forgiveness.

Forbidden Beginnings: Jacqueline's Tragedy


William Rubin - 2017
    An agonizing, life-threatening decision. In the moment of truth, with countless lives at stake, how can justice hope to prevail? New York City trauma surgeon, Dr. Christopher Ravello, has it all. A breathtaking, vivacious wife. Lovely children. Life-saving work, and a beautiful home in one of the City's most coveted neighborhoods. But in an instant, Chris' world is shattered. The brutal and senseless assault of his mother, Jacqueline, leaves her barely alive. Consumed with anguish and fear, battling time and circumstances, Chris' search for a life-saving treatment leads to an agonizing decision and takes him down a path of no return. In the wake of his mother’s assault, Chris and life-long friend, Detective Kevin Kennedy, risk their lives and livelihoods tracking down Jacqueline’s attacker. When Ravello, driven by an all-consuming rage, at last comes face-to-face with his mother's assailant, every fiber of his being calls out for vengeance. In the moment of truth, with so much at stake for he and his family, what will Chris choose?

The Snow Creek Hauntings: A Riveting Haunted House Mystery Boxset


Roger Hayden - 2021
    After an unspeakable tragedy, its doors close. Decades later, a tabloid TV host investigates the vacant lodge with his production crew in search of supernatural evidence. Their show ends in disaster. In the years that follow, family man Greg Barrett purchases the property with dreams of running his own business. But his presence awakens a dormant curse and unleashes a terror from beyond.The Haunting of the Silver Creek LodgeIn a small town rests an old lodge with a big secret.Maxine Finch and Simon York, a recently married couple with little money, use their limited honeymoon funds to buy a foreclosed inn in the tiny snowy town of Silver Ridge, Colorado. But when strange things start happening in the middle of the night, Maxine and Simon wonder if their investment is a dangerous mistake.The Haunting of the Briar RoseJules is recovering from a recent failure when her mysterious uncle makes her an offer she can’t refuse: restore his bed and breakfast the Briar Rose.When Jules inherits the Briar Rose bed and breakfast from her strange and mysterious uncle, she thinks it will be the opportunity of a lifetime for her and her husband, Paul. But Jules and Paul soon discover that the Briar Rose holds many secrets: one of them about the murders that took place a year prior, when two of the guests never checked out.

A Thin Ghost and Others


M.R. James - 1919
    He is best remembered today for his ghost stories in the classic Victorian Yuletide vein.

The Floating Admiral


The Detection ClubAnthony Berkeley - 1931
    But when an old sailor lands a rowing boat containing a fresh corpse with a stab wound to the chest, the Inspector's investigation immediately comes up against several obstacles. The vicar, whose boat the body was found in, is clearly withholding information, and the victim's niece has disappeared. There is clearly more to this case than meets the eye - even the identity of the victim is called into doubt. Inspector Rudge begins to wonder just how many people have contributed to this extraordinary crime and whether he will ever unravel it. . .In 1931 Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and 10 other crime writers from the newly formed Detection Club collaborated in publishing a unique crime novel. In a literary game of consequences, each author would write one chapter, leaving G.K. Chesterton to write a typically paradoxical prologue and Anthony Berkeley to tie up all the loose ends. In addition, all of the authors provided their own solutions in sealed envelopes, all of which appeared at the end of the book, with Agatha Christie's ingenious conclusion acknowledged at the time to be 'enough to make the book worth buying on its own'. The authors of this novel are G.K. Chesterton, Canon Victor Whitechurch, G.D.H. Cole and Margaret Cole, Henry Wade, Agatha Christie, John Rhode, Milward Kennedy, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Edgar Jepson, Clemence Dane and Anthony Berkeley.©1931, 2011 The Detection Club (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

The Tutor: A Ghost Story


Rod A. Galindo - 2016
    His teenage friend Claire is an ace with numbers, and is always eager to help him with his homework. Max adores her, and loves when she visits him in the old house on Hollow Street. Claire can also weave a ghost story like no one else. But her favorite tale always sends chills down his spine, and hits a little too close to home...

Adventures of a Black Bag


A.J. Cronin - 1943
    The famous Dr Finlay stories.Adventures of a Black Bag represents a selection of A J Cronin's best stories - stories which are tragic, funny and wry, each revolving around two doctors whose tremendously popular TV and radio series have made them household names: Dr Cameron and Dr Finlay.These stories have that universal appeal which has become A J Cronin's trademark, established by bestsellers such as Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down and The Citadel.

The Pearl-fishers


Robin Jenkins - 2007
    But how will they respond when love seems to blossom between local man Gavin Hamilton and the beautiful pearl-fisher Effie? The Pearl-fishers is a classic love story and the master storyteller’s last novel.

One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts


Shirley Jackson - 1955
    Each book in the series has been designed with today's young reader in mind. As the words come to life, students will develop a lasting appreciation for great literature.The humor of Mark Twain...the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe...the danger of Jack London...the sensitivity of Katherine Mansfield. Creative Short Stories has it all and will prove to be a welcome addition to any library.

The Wanting Seed


Anthony Burgess - 1962
    Eventually, their world is transformed into a chaos of cannibalistic dining-clubs, fantastic fertility rituals, and wars without anger. It is a novel both extravagantly funny and grimly serious.