The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
"Who is he, sir, exactly, this Dr. Fu-Manchu?"
"I have only the vaguest idea, Inspector; but he is no ordinary criminal. He
is the greatest genius which the powers of evil have put on earth for
centuries. He has the backing of a political group whose wealth is enormous,
and his mission in Europe is to PAVE THE WAY! Do you follow me? He is the
advance-agent of a movement so epoch-making that not one Britisher, and not
one American, in fifty thousand has ever dreamed of it."
"Imagine a person, tall, lean, and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like
Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic
eyes of the true cat-green: invest him with all the cruel cunning of an
entire race, accumulated in one giant intellect. . ."
Join Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie as they attempt to bring master murderer
Dr. Fu Manchu to justice.
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The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
This novel is part of the Professor Challenger series. Follow Professor
George E. Challenger, Lord John Roxton, Professor Summerlee, and Mr. E.D.
Malone, as they explore The Lost World and encounter creatures of all sorts.
Doyle states his purpose at the beginning of the book:
"I have wrought my simple plan
If I give one hour of joy
To the boy who's half a man,
Or the man who's half a boy."
The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle
This novel is part of the Professor Challenger series. After an illness
breaks out in Sumatra the professor solves the mystery of the cause in a
letter to the London Times. The cause of the illness and unexplained
"deaths" is the earth's passing through a "poisonous belt of Ether" that
surrounds the universe. The hero reflects on life and ponders the meaning
death while awaiting the his inevitable death from the belt.
One of Doyle's Science fiction novels written in the tradition of Jules Verne
but with a surprise ending.
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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This novel is set in 19th Century London. It concerns the reaction of
young aristocrat Dorian Gray to a painting of himself. Dorian gradually
begins to see strange emotions and events reflected in his self-portrait.
"Had the portrait really changed? or had it been simply his own imagination
that had made him see a look of evil where there had been a look of joy?"
Eventually Dorian confronts Basil Hallward, the painter of the portrait,
saying, "So you think that it is only God who sees the soul, Basil? Draw that
curtain back, and you will see mine."
An exclamation of horror broke from the painter's lips as he saw in the dim
light the hideous face on the canvas grinning at him. There was something in
its expression that filled him with disgust and loathing. Good heavens! it
was Dorian Gray's own face that he was looking at!
Still, it was his own picture. He knew it, and he felt as if his blood had
changed in a moment from fire to sluggish ice. His own picture! What did it
mean? Why had it altered? He turned and looked at Dorian Gray. "What does
this mean?" cried Hallward.
"Years ago, when I was a boy, in a mad moment that, even now, I don't know
whether I regret or not, I made a wish, perhaps you would call it a prayer. .
. ."
Here is the wish of Dorian Gray:
"I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain
always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . .
If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and
the picture that was to grow old! For that--for that--I would give
everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I
would give my soul for that!"
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The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
This novel tells the story of Rudolf Rassendyll, an English gentleman who
bears a striking resemblance to the about-to-be-crowned King of Ruritania.
The King's enemy, Black Michael, kidnaps the King and Rudolf Rassendyll must
take his place until the King can be rescued. In the meantime, the princess
Flavia falls in love with Rudolf, thinking he is the king. It is a classic
adventure novel that will keep you turning the pages.
Rudolf Rassendyll's adventures continue in the sequel: Rupert of Hentzau.
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Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope
This novel was originally published in 1898 as a sequel to The Prisoner of
Zenda. It continues the story of Rudolf Rassendyll, an English gentleman who
bears a striking resemblance to the King of Ruritania, and who loves the
unhappily married Queen. Flavia, the queen, sends a love letter to Rudolf,
but Rupert of Hentzau intercepts it. Rudolf must return to Ruritania to try
and foil Rupert's plot against Flavia, and has a chance for the kingdom and
marriage to the queen.
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The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The year is 1792. The place is France. The guillotine is kept busy at its
ghastly work: executing descendants of the NOBLESSE of France. Their
ancestors had oppressed the people, had crushed them under the scarlet heels
of their dainty buckled shoes. Now the people are the rulers of France and
they crush their former masters beneath the knife of the guillotine. Daily,
hourly, the hideous instrument of torture claims its many victims--old men,
young women, and tiny children.
Enter the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a band of brave Englishmen who
help the innocent escape from France. No one has seen these mysterious
Englishmen; as for their leader, he is never spoken of, save with a
superstitious shudder.
Whenever they help someone escape, they send a note to the French Committee
of Public Safety letting them know it, signed with a device drawn in red--a
little star-shaped flower-the Scarlet Pimpernel.
end of electronic book descriptions
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