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  History

  Isaac Asimov

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  "History" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1941 issue of Super Science Stories and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.

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  His Wife's Deceased Sister -...

  Frank R Stockton

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  Frank Richard Stockton was born in Philadelphia on 5th April 1834.  
  His father, a Methodist minister, discouraged Stockton’s literary career from an early age.  Feeling unable to go against those wishes it was for many years that Stockton’s income was maintained as a wood engraver.   
  His first work was published in 1867 and his first collection only appeared in 1870.  Despite this late arrival Stockton’s innovative and often far-fetched stories, with a gentle ‘poking fun’ humour were very popular.  Like his contemporary Mark Twain he avoided the scolding, hectoring and moral tones of many other authors and instead gently teased and cajoled his reader to open their eyes to the ills, the greed and the ambitions of the world around them.  His sci-fi stories in particular were far-seeing and inventive including a tale of negative gravity and a bloodless Anglo-US war won by technological feats.  
  Perhaps his most enduring tale though is ‘The Lady, or the Tiger?’ from 1882.  A condemned man is given a choice of being eaten alive or marrying his princess lover.  But he has to choose which door each is behind. 
  Frank R Stockton died in Washington, DC, on 20th April 1902, of a cerebral haemorrhage.  He is buried at The Woodlands in Philadelphia.

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  The Mysterious Affair at Styles

  Agatha Christie

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  Step into the grand yet treacherous halls of Styles Court, where secrets lurk behind every locked door. In The Mysterious Affair at Styles—Agatha Christie's dazzling debut novel—the sudden death of wealthy matriarch Mrs. Inglethorp sends shockwaves through a household simmering with tension. Captain Arthur Hastings, home from the front lines of World War I, is drawn into the mystery, quickly realizing that everyone at Styles has something to hide. Enter Hercule Poirot, the brilliant Belgian detective, whose keen observations and masterful deductions will untangle a web of jealousy, greed, and betrayal. Narrated by Mike Polischuk, this timeless whodunit introduces listeners to Poirot’s signature flair and sets the standard for classic detective fiction.

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  E F Benson - A Short Story...

  E F Benson

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  Edward Frederic Benson was born in Berkshire, England on 24th July 1867. 
   
  Educated at Marlborough and Kings College Cambridge he began his career as a writer at an early age and was published whilst still studying. 
   
  Benson was also a gifted athlete and represented his country at figure skating. 
   
  His career was prodigious and widely acknowledged.  Perhaps he is best known for his collection of novels about ‘Mapp & Lucia’ which have proved very popular throughout the decades.   
   
  Benson was also well regarded as a writer of ghost stories—‘spook stories’ in the then vernacular—as well as biographies.  His ghost and supernatural fiction covered a range of subjects but all were exceptionally well-written, drenched in atmosphere, riven with chills and have stood the test of popularity over the decades as testament to his literary talents.  
   
  Benson was never married and practised his homosexuality discreetly. 
   
  E F Benson died on 29th February 1940 at University College Hospital, London of throat cancer.  He was 72. 
   
  1 - E F Benson - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction 
  2 - Caterpillars by E F Benson 
  3 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson 
  4 - The Bus Conductor by E F Benson 
  5 - The Face by E F Benson 
  6 - The Room in the Tower by E F Benson 
  7 - The Terror by Night by E F Benson

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  The Time Machine The Lost...

  H. G. Wells

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  Herbert George Wells was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, history, satire, biography, and autobiography. His work also included two books on recreational war games. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is often called the "father of science fiction", along with Jules Verne.During his own lifetime, however, he was most prominent as a forward-looking, even prophetic social critic who devoted his literary talents to the development of a progressive vision on a global scale. A futurist, he wrote a number of utopian works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television, and something resembling the World Wide Web. His science fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, invisibility, and biological engineering. Wells's earliest specialized training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context. He was also an outspoken Socialist from a young age, often (but not always, as at the beginning of the First World War) sympathizing with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote little science fiction, while he sometimes indicated on official documents that his profession was that of a journalist. Novels such as Kipps and The History of Mr. Polly, which describe lower-middle-class life, led to the suggestion that he was a worthy successor to Charles Dickens, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted a diagnosis of English society as a whole.

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  The Sign Of Four

  Arthur Conan Doyle

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  "The Sign of Four" is the second novel featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his friend Dr. John Watson. Published in 1890, this mystery novel weaves a complex tale of love, betrayal, and colonial treasure. The story begins when Mary Morstan seeks Holmes's help in solving the mystery of her father's disappearance a decade earlier and a mysterious gift of pearls she has received each year since. The investigation reveals a twisted tale of a stolen treasure, a pact between convicts, and a secret pact symbolized by the "sign of four." The chase through London, a climactic boat chase, and Holmes's deductive powers make this an engaging read.

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