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  The Stranger of the Night - A...

  Edgar Wallace

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  Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on the 1st April 1875 in Greenwich, London.  Leaving school at 12 because of truancy, by the age of fifteen he had experience; selling newspapers, as a worker in a rubber factory, as a shoe shop assistant, as a milk delivery boy and as a ship’s cook.  
   
  By 1894 he was engaged but broke it off to join the Infantry being posted to South Africa. He also changed his name to Edgar Wallace which he took from Lew Wallace, the author of Ben-Hur.  
   
  In Cape Town in 1898 he met Rudyard Kipling and was inspired to begin writing. His first collection of ballads, The Mission that Failed! was enough of a success that in 1899 he paid his way out of the armed forces in order to turn to writing full time.  
   
  By 1904 he had completed his first thriller, The Four Just Men. Since nobody would publish it he resorted to setting up his own publishing company which he called Tallis Press. 
    
  In 1911 his Congolese stories were published in a collection called Sanders of the River, which became a bestseller. He also started his own racing papers, Bibury’s and R. E. Walton’s Weekly, eventually buying his own racehorses and losing thousands gambling.  A life of exceptionally high income was also mirrored with exceptionally large spending and debts.  
   
  Wallace now began to take his career as a fiction writer more seriously, signing with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921. He was marketed as the ‘King of Thrillers’ and they gave him the trademark image of a trilby, a cigarette holder and a yellow Rolls Royce. He was truly prolific, capable not only of producing a 70,000 word novel in three days but of doing three novels in a row in such a manner. It was estimated that by 1928 one in four books being read was written by Wallace, for alongside his famous thrillers he wrote variously in other genres, including science fiction, non-fiction accounts of WWI which amounted to ten volumes and screen plays. Eventually he would reach the remarkable total of 170 novels, 18 stage plays and 957 short stories. 
   
  Wallace became chairman of the Press Club which to this day holds an annual Edgar Wallace Award, rewarding ‘excellence in writing’.  
   
  Diagnosed with diabetes his health deteriorated and he soon entered a coma and died of his condition and double pneumonia on the 7th of February 1932 in North Maple Drive, Beverly Hills. He was buried near his home in England at Chalklands, Bourne End, in Buckinghamshire.

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  The Discovery Of The Future

  H. G. Wells

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  The Discovery of the Future is a 1902 philosophical lecture by H. G. Wells that argues for the knowability of the future. It was originally delivered to the Royal Institution on January 24, 1902. Wells begins by distinguishing between "two divergent types of mind," one that judges and attaches importance principally to what has happened in the past and one that judges and attaches importance principally to what will happen in the future. To the former he attributes the adjectives "legal or submissive," "passive," and "oriental," and to the latter the adjectives "legislative, creative, organizing, or masterful," and "active," calling it "a more modern and much less abundant type of mind."... Confessing himself to be among "those who believe entirely in the forces behind the individual" rather than in individuals themselves as determining causes, Wells argues that there is "no reason why we should not aspire to, and discover and use, safe and servicable, generalizations upon countless issues in the human destiny." Wells devotes the last part of his text to speculations about "the question what is to come after man," considering it "the most persistently fascinating and the most insoluble question in the whole world." He concludes with a statement of personal faith "in the coherency and purpose in the world and in the greatness of human destiny.

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  Utopia

  Thomas More

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  Thomas More's Utopia stands out as one of the most striking political works ever written. Composed specifically as a response to Henry VIII's break with Rome, the book meditates on the perfect society, while indirectly critiquing the political and social ills of Tudor England. Containing thoughts on religious pluralism, a welfare state and women's rights, More's book was well ahead of its time, already hinting at later theories on communism and capitalism centuries before Marx, Engles and Smith.

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  A Midsummer Night's Dream

  William Shakespeare

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  Shakespeare combined his love of theater with Greek mythology and the supernatural to create what is arguably his most playfully imaginative work. From love potions to bizarre transformations to the unforgettable play-within-a-play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a non-stop delight, and remains one of the milestones of the Bard’s canon.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:Tara Barr as HermiaErin Bennett as Moth and Second FairyJamie Bamber  as OberonJanine Barris as Peaseblossom and First FairyBrendan Bradley as LysanderChris Butler as TheseusKyle Colerider-Krugh as Egeus and Robin StarvelingSue Cremin as HippolytaHector Elizondo as Peter QuinceLogan Fahey as Francis FluteGlenne Headley as TitaniaSimon Helberg as DemetriusStacy Keach as Nick BottomDavid Krumholtz as PuckDanny Mann as SnugJon Matthews as Cobweb and MustardseedKira Sternbach as HelenaAndré Sogliuzzo as Philostrate and Tom SnoutDirected by Martin Jarvis.

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  Hard Times

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens’s moral tale of utilitarian values run amok The industrial burg of Coketown is dominated by the philosophy of utilitarianism. The mill is the center of commerce. Students in the school are instructed to recite rote facts and figures while repressing any creative instincts. Thomas Gradgrind, the school superintendent, is a strict devotee of practicality and has raised his children, Tom and Louisa, according to this philosophy. It is only Sissy Jupe, a circus girl taken in by the Gradgrinds, who possesses the vision and wonderment to see past the rigid boundaries of cold, hard facts.   A paean to the human spirit, Hard Times is among Dickens’s most cutting works of social commentary.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

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  Jane Austen & Her Times

  Geraldine Edith Mitton

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  Here is a lively and highly accessible overview of the life and times of one of England's most beloved authors. Using excerpts from a wide variety of sources, such as Austen's own personal correspondence and the works of her contemporaries, Mitton chronicles her literary career and family life amidst the changing climate of the Georgian and Regency eras, giving the reader a sense of what it was like to live in her world. A must-read for the dedicated Austen aficionado! 
   
  "Jane Austen and Her Times," which was first published in 1905. The book provides a detailed look at the social and cultural context in which Jane Austen lived and worked, exploring topics such as fashion, food, travel, and leisure activities. 
   
  Mitton draws on a range of sources, including Austen's novels and letters, to paint a picture of life in Georgian England. She also provides biographical information about Austen and discusses the critical reception of her work. 
   
  This is considered an important work of Austen scholarship and provides valuable insights into the world in which Austen lived and wrote. The book has been reissued and reprinted several times since its original publication and remains a popular resource for Austen enthusiasts and scholars. 
    
    
   

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