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The Eight Strokes of the Clock is a collection of eight short stories by Maurice Leblanc. The stories have his most famous creation, Arsène Lupin, gentleman-thief, as main character. The eight stories, even though independent, have a leading thread: Lupin, under the name of Serge Rénine, trying to conquer the heart of a young lady, travels with her, solving eight mysteries on the way. (Summary by Leni)...

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Fiction, Short stories, Mystery

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The book was written by Tom Bullock, a well-known bartender at the St. Louis Country Club. His skills as a bartender were so remarkable that a libel suit hinged on the excellence of his drinks. In The Ideal Bartender, Tom collects some of his best known beverage recipes....

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Cookery

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A classic ghost story of a haunted house, and the haunted man who lives in it.

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Horror/Ghost stories

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First published in 1881, Eight Hundred Miles on the Amazon is an adventure novel in two parts by Jules Verne, having elements of codes and cryptography. Unlike many of his other stories, it is not a work of science fiction. Rather, it describes a voyage down the Amazon River on a large raft, or jangada). Many aspects of the raft, scenery, and journey are described in detail. - Written by not.a.moose, based (exclusively) on information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_Hundred_Leagues_on_the_Amazon...

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Adventure

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Buck Duane, son of a famous gunfighter, falls prey to the old problem - called out by a cowboy who wants to make trouble, Duane kills him and then must ride off to the lawless country near the Neuces River to escape being arrested and perhaps, hanged. His brief encounter with deadly gunplay has ignited a deep urging to repeat the adrenaline rush but is tempered by ghosts that haunt his sleep. He only dares to release his inner demon when he is taking down an outlaw who is particularly known for his brutality. He develops a reputation for killing the most notorious Texas outlaws, which draws an unexpected interest: a captain of the Texas Rangers offers him a pardon and a ranger's badge if he will infiltrate the gang of the shadowy figure known as Cheseldine who wields vast power in West Texas, and make it possible for the Rangers to break the gang's hold on the region's towns. Duane accepts, never guessing in his wildest nightmares that he would sniff out this Cheseldine, his hideouts, his lieutenants... and fall in love with his daughter! (Summary by Mark F. Smith)...

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Westerns, Adventure

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Uncle Remus tells these 11 stories but to the son of the original little boy who is visiting his grandmother on the plantation. As always Uncle Remus can be relied upon to provide funny and pointed insight into human personalities through his story telling. These were all published in the Uncle Remus magazine from 1905 and 1906 and gathered together in this book by the author. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)...

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Children, Humor

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The scene of the story is laid partly in Milwaukee, partly in New York. It describes the trials of the orphaned Lachance children. The boy hero is of a loving and lovable disposition and wins the hearts of all. The author has combined pathetic incidents with religious consolations, and gives zest to the whole by diffusing his genial humor throughout. From the author of Tom Playfair, Percy Wynn, But Thy Love and thy Grace, and many more. (Summary from Dominicana Magazine, 1900)...

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Children, Fiction, Teen/Young adult

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Brief Encounter meets Tristan und Isolde - on the Isle of Wight, under a vast sky florid with stars. The consequence is tragic indeed for one of the parties, Siegmund, when he sacrifices family life for a few days’ transcendent rapture. His lover, the self-contained Helena, is strong enough to bear a return to the scruffy suburbs. Redemption of a kind is granted to the deserted wife, Beatrice. But between these robust Lawrentian women Siegmund is cancelled out. His love-death is no cosmic swoon but a sordid exit in an unkempt box-room. In this very British romance, there is no earthly escape from outworn attachments and life’s deadening routine... (Summary by Martin Geeson)...

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Fiction

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Toshisyun was published on Akaitori (a magazine for children) in 1920. It's based on a story in China. (Summary by ekzemplaro) 『杜子春』（とししゅん）は、芥川龍之介の短編小説。1920年（大正9年）に雑誌『赤い鳥』にて発表された。中国の古典、鄭還古の『杜子春伝』を童話化したもの。 (ウィキペディア)...

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Children, Fiction

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The Diary of a Nobody is the fictitious record of fifteen months in the life of Charles Pooter, his family, friends and small circle of acquaintances. It first appeared, serialised in Punch magazine and might be regarded as the first ‘blog’; being a record of the simplicities and humiliations in the life of this mundane, but upright, city clerk, who had an incontestable faith that a record of his daily life was worth preserving for posterity. Set in about 1891 in Holloway, which was then a typical suburb of the impecuniously respectable kind, the authors contrive a record of the manners, customs and experiences of the late Victorian era. The bare record of facts, simply recorded, manages to be humorous rather than dull, no doubt because of the usual occupations of the authors. George Grossmith (1847-1912) was an actor and comedian. Weedon Grossmith (1852-1919) was an entertainer and illustrated the original work. (Summary by Martin Clifton)...

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Comedy

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The mask is the one which we all wear, even though unconsciously, to hide our thoughts and feelings. Alison Terry wore one, though she had never realized it until she faced a crisis in her life. Alison, a girl of sympathetic mood and action whose keen intelligence is overbalanced by the inexperience of innocence and a sheltered upbringing, goes to New York with her erratic husband, Phil Howland. She passes through various stages of disillusionment inevitably resulting from cheap boarding-house life, association with the undesirable friends of her husband, and the discovery that Phil himself is selfish and lacking in ambition, a man whose chief interests seem to lie in restaurant-life and gambling. Then comes tragedy in the loss of their little child in a horrible accident for which Phil is responsible. The splendid strength with which Alison forces him to forgive himself and the subsequent loneliness and suffering, lead to the establishment of a mutual bond of sympathy, understanding and encouragement which starts them on the road to their ultimate happiness. Miss Irwin has written a story that rings true, and its publishers recomme...

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Romance

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I am very glad that The Story of the Seven Who Were Hanged will be read in English. The misfortune of us all is that we know so little, even nothing, about one another—neither about the soul, nor the life, the sufferings, the habits, the inclinations, the aspirations of one another. Literature, which I have the honor to serve, is dear to me just because the noblest task it sets before itself is that of wiping out boundaries and distances. -- Leonid Andreyev, in a letter to Herman Bernstein...

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Fiction

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White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a compilation published in 1918 by The MacMillan Company, NY (USA) and Heinemann (UK). It contains these 7 works: - White Nights - Notes from the Underground - A Faint Heart - A Christmas Tree and a Wedding - Polzunkov - A Little Hero - Mr. Prohartchin...

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Short stories

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The story told in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel, A Little Princess , was first written as a serialized novella, Sara Crewe, or What Happened at Miss Minchin’s , and published in St. Nicholas Magazine , in 1888. It tells the story of Sara Crewe, an intelligent, wealthy, young girl at Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Sara’s fortunes change when her father dies, and she goes from being a show pupil and parlor boarder at the school to a drudge, but eventually she finds happiness and a home again. (Summary by Treesh)...

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Children

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The Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge is historical fiction based on the the life of Richard, Duke of Normandy. He assumes the title of Duke at only 8 years of age, after his father is murdered. The story first appeared in her magazine, The Monthly Packet, as a serial. (summary by Laura Caldwell)...

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Historical Fiction, Children

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Genesis (Greek: birth, origin) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah. It recounts the world from creation to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and contains some of the best-known accounts of the Old Testament, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical Patriarchs. (From Wikipedia, modified by Sam Stinson)...

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Religion

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It was before the Idiot's marriage, and in the days when he was nothing more than a plain boarder in Mrs. Smithers-Pedagog's High-class Home for Single Gentlemen, that he put what the School-master termed his alleged mind on plans for the amelioration of the condition of the civilized. This humorous story by the editor of Puck magazine describes how the Idiot sets out to improve the lot of civilized man through his inventions - the lot of barbarian man already being well tended to by missionaries and other do-gooders. (Introduction by peac) CAST: Narrator - peac The Idiot - Algy Pug Mr. Pedagog(aka The Schoolmaster) - Adam Bratcher Mrs. Smithers Pedagog - TriciaG The Doctor - Raken The Bibliomaiac - Availle Mr. Poet - Matthew Reece Mr. Whitechoker(aka The Minister) - Aidan Brack The Genial Old Gentleman who occasionally imbibed - om123 Edited by - peac...

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Washington Square is a short novel by Henry James. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father. The book is often compared to Jane Austen's work for the clarity and grace of its prose and its intense focus on family relationships. James was hardly a great admirer of Jane Austen, so he might not have regarded the comparison as flattering. In fact, James was not a great fan of Washington Square itself. He tried to read it over for inclusion in the New York Edition of his fiction (1907-1909) but found that he couldn't, and the novel was not included. Other readers, though, have sufficiently enjoyed the book to make it one of the more popular works of the Jamesian canon....

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Literature

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A collection of children's alphabet rhymes including Footsteps On the Road to Learning - a short text from 1850 which teaches children the English alphabet in rime--so that a child may not become a dunce! The Anti Slavery Alphabet - a book prepared to encourage young children to speak against the institution of slavery in 19th century United States. The method used is an alphabetical listing of the evils of slavery. The Peter Pan Alphabet and The Alphabet of Celebrities - Oliver Herford's teaching guides to the English alphabet--using Peter Pan and famous names! (Summary by Sam Stinson and Wikipedia)...

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Children, Instruction, Poetry

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Henry Louis H. L. Mencken (1880 – 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a student of American English. Known as the Sage of Baltimore, he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century. Mencken is perhaps best remembered today for The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States, and for his satirical reporting on the Scopes trial, which he named the Monkey trial....