Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania is the only major fictional work of Sir Winston S. Churchill. The story describes events in the capital of Laurania, a fictional European state, as unrest against the dictatorial government of president Antonia Molara turns to violent revolution. – Summary by Wikipedia [chương_files]
Said to be the first detective novel ever written, it is wonderful for its blending of the intrigues of romance with the conventional sleights of hand of the mystery novel. Marvellous also for its sensitive portrayal of traditionally outsider characters – the hunchbacked girl who dies for love, the dying Jewish doctor who enables resolution of the mystery, the tricky Hindu conjurors who only seek the restoration of their sacred gem. Hilarious at times, The Moonstone is also a deeply felt example of the storyteller’s art. – Summary by Tony Addison [chương_files]
Former gentleman thief Cuthbert Vanardy, alias The Gray Phantom, must abandon his new life as a horticulturalist after he is implicated in the murder of an old rival. With the evidence stacked against him, the feared “man of mystery” must use his sleuthing skills to deduce the true killer’s identity while staying one step ahead of the New York police. – Summary by Amy Dunkleberger [chương_files]
When a group of Russian anarchists kidnap a Russian prince in Vienna there are repercussions. On learning that the Cardinal d’Orsay has agreed to convey some hollow candlesticks from the Emperor to the Princess Marionoff in St Petersburg, two spies both see the possibility of using them to convey messages safely into Russia. One is an eager young idealist involved in the plot against the prince, the other is Madame Demidoff, a beautiful agent of the Tsar. When the candlesticks go missing at the border, the two engage in a race to get them back, both realizing that their very lives could depend on the retrieval. (Summary by Wikipedia) [chương_files]
The Secret Agent is Conrad’s dark, and darkly comic story of a band of spies, anarchists, agents-provocateurs plotting and counter-plotting in the back streets of London in the early 20th Century. The novel centers on Verloc, a shop-owner, phony-anarchist and double-agent, who becomes embroiled in an ambitious terrorist plan to bomb the Greenwich Observatory. (Summary by Hugh McGuire) [chương_files]
Hannay is called in to investigate rumours of an uprising in the Muslim world and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet his friend Sandy in Constantinople. Once there, he and his friends must thwart the Germans’ plans to use religion to help them win the war, climaxing at the battle of Erzurum. [chương_files]
The Zeppelin’s Passenger is a tale of German espionage in England during World War I. Dreymarsh is a fictional “backwater” area in England with no apparent military value. The story begins with Dreymarsh residents discovering an observation car from a German zeppelin along with a Homburg hat near Dreymarsh. The mystery is further complicated when an Englishman, Mr. Hamar Lessingham, presents himself at Mainsail Haul which is the residence of Sir Henry Cranston. Lessingham bears with him, hand-carried letters from Major Richard Halstead, and a British prisoner of war in Germany. He presents them to Halstead’s sister, Phillipa and Helen, Halstead’s fiancée who have had no word of Richard’s fate and are deeply concerned. Phillipa, Sir Henry’s wife, is smitten with Lessingham, after Sir Henry appears to her to be a coward since he will not become involved in the war effort. Lessingham appears to be the perfect gentlemen but he is not who he pretends to be. Eventually, Phillipa and Helen discover that the delivery of Halstead’s letters come with a price. All becomes clear near the end to discover the secret of Lessingham, Sir Henry, and Mainsail Haul. (Summary by Tom Weiss) [chương_files]
Elusive Isabel is a novel by Jacques Futrelle (April 9, 1875 – April 15, 1912) first published in 1909. Set in Washington, D.C., it is a spy novel about an international conspiracy of the “Latin” countries against the English-speaking world with the aim to take over world control (Summary from Wikipedia) [chương_files]
“In this little volume are brought together a number of sketches and memoranda, illustrating the history of discovery, and the lives and labours of inventors and explorers, not of our own country alone, but of others, for knowledge is of no country, but of all. The object of the collector has been rather to present the popular than the strictly scientific side of his subject, to furnish materials of interest and amusement, as well as instruction; and if now and then he has been tempted to stray into bye-paths of anecdote and gossip, excuse may readily be found in the fact that the private life of our men of science, often singularly noble and full of character, is apt to be altogether obscured by the brilliancy of the results of their secret and silent toil. This volume will have served its purpose, if it excites an appetite for fuller and deeper inquisition into the sources of British greatness and of modern civilization.” Since there are no chapter or other divisions of these anecdotes, the reader has chosen to read entries for about thirty minutes per section. There is an index of topics in the printed book available on gutenberg.org. (From Book Introductory Note and David Wales) [chương_files]
This is a volume of exploration into the newest inventions of the turn of the previous century. Journalist Archibald Williams walks the reader through diverse inventions which were changing the world at just that point in time. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]
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