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  The Black Book - A Novel

  Lawrence Durrell

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  “The first piece of work by a new English writer to give me any hope for the future of prose fiction.” —T. S. Eliot As over-the-top as it is inventive, Durrell’s breakthrough novel is a series of sordid vignettes drawn from the lives of decadent artists, doomed bohemians, and continental rascals inhabiting a shabby London hotel, narrated in turns by the unforgettable Lawrence Lucifer and Gregory Death. Together, these characters seek to escape the absurdity of a Europe haunted by devastating war, yet beginning to pitch toward another apocalypse. First published in 1938, and influenced by Henry Miller and the sincere pranksterism of the surrealist movement, The Black Book marks the emergence of one of the most revolutionary voices in twentieth-century English literature. This ebook contains a new introduction by DBC Pierre.

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  There Is Confusion

  Jessie Redmon Fauset

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  Jane Austen meets the Harlem Renaissance in this novel of three young, ambitious Black Americans striving for love and success in the big city. Set in 1920s New York City, There Is Confusion tells the story of three friends who grew up supporting one another’s dreams. But now that they are young adults, things are not so simple . . . First, there is Maggie Ellersley, who is eager to marry up and be free of her blue-collar background. Then, there is Peter Bye, an intelligent aspiring surgeon motivated by his love for Joanna Marshall. Joanna is a talented and driven dancer, who is about to make a decision that will change all their lives . . . Originally published in 1924, There Is Confusion received critical acclaim for its portrayal of middle-class Black America. Author Jessie Redmon Fauset served as literary editor of the NAACP’s official magazine, The Crisis, from 1919 to 1926 and fostered the careers of such Harlem Renaissance authors as Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes. “An important book.” —The New York Times

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  Adventure of the Copper Beeches...

  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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  "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the last of the twelve collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in Strand Magazine in June 1892. Violet Hunter visits Holmes, asking whether she should accept a job as governess; a job with very strange conditions. She is enticed by the phenomenal salary which, as originally offered, is £100 a year, later increased to £120 when Miss Hunter baulks at having to cut her long hair short (her previous position paid £48 a year). This is only one of many peculiar provisos to which she must agree. The employer, Jephro Rucastle, seems pleasant enough, yet Miss Hunter obviously has her suspicions.

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  The Uttermost Farthing - Unabridged

  Richard Austin Freeman

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  The Uttermost Farthing is a mystery by R. Austin Freeman.Excerpt from the book:Humphrey Challoner was a great savant spoiled by untimely wealth. When I knew him he had lapsed into a mere dilettante; at least, so I thought at the time, though subsequent revelations showed him in a rather different light. He had some reputation as a criminal anthropologist and had formerly been well known as a comparative anatomist, but when I made his acquaintance he seemed to be occupied chiefly in making endless additions to the specimens in his private museum. This collection I could never quite understand. It consisted chiefly of human and other mammalian skeletons, all of which presented certain small deviations from the normal; but its object I could never make out—until after his death; and then, indeed, the revelation was a truly astounding one.

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  Robert Falconer

  George MacDonald

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  The story of a boy’s spiritual transformation in the shadow of the Scottish Highlands—from the 19th-century author of David Elginbrod.   In George MacDonald’s most well-known novel, published in 1868, the quest of young Robert Falconer for his father becomes a parallel quest to break free from the oppressive Calvinist theology of his grandmother. As he struggles to come to terms with the strict orthodoxy prevalent in Scotland for two centuries, the doctrine of hell looms as the great stumbling block in Robert’s mind. His lifelong search reveals to Robert the groundbreaking truth that hell is remedial not punitive, designed to produce ultimate repentance not everlasting punishment.   This highly autobiographical work offers a rare glimpse into MacDonald’s own youthful quandaries, and a window into the development of his faith, which would turn generations toward the Fatherhood of a loving God. After the book’s publication, as a result of the bold themes running through the narrative, MacDonald came to be considered a “universalist” and “heretic” in some circles—grievous mischaracterizations that persist to this day. This new edition by MacDonald biographer Michael Phillips streamlines the occasionally ponderous Victorian narrative style and updates the thick Doric brogue into readable English.

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  A Christmas Carol A Dramatic...

  Charles Dickens

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  A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. It recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella and was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London's street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this is a fully secular story, or if it is a Christian allegory.Published on December 19, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella favorably. The story was illicitly copied in January 1844; Dickens took legal action against the publishers, who went bankrupt, further reducing Dickens's small profits from the publication. In 1849 he began public readings of the story, which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870, the year of his death. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages; the story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera and other media.

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