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Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian golden age of the short story. In 'The Secret of the Strong Room', three young men of unimpeachable character are planning to commit the perfect heist on the safe of the Illysium Theatre. But they have planned without the greater cunning of the theatre's owner, Markenstein.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer, now best remembered for his science fiction novels, and is often credited as being the father of science fiction. 'Aepyornis Island' is the strange tale of a naturalist who finds himself adrift in a canoe in the Indian Ocean, with three mysterious rare giant eggs which he has collected. He knows they are the eggs of the aepyornis - a bird which has been extinct for hundreds of years. He is amazed, when hunger forces him to try one of the eggs, to find that it is fresh.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) began writing when he was stationed in the Caucasus in the Russian army. After fighting in the Crimean war, he settled in St. Petersburg, where he wrote a number of stories which reveal an increasing disillusionment with society and the military. "The Empty Drum" is an antiwar story adapted from a Russian folk tale.

Edward Frederic Benson (1867-1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer, best known for his evocative and beautifully narrated ghost stories. Caterpillars is the story of a strange visit to the mysterious Villa Cascana, where one bedroom is inexplicably always kept empty. The visitor feels uneasy immediately on arriving, although there is no obvious reason why he should. And then the nightmares begin.

When Paul Forsyth and his archeologist friend Professor Niles are exploring the Cheops pyramid in Egypt, they become separated from their guide and lose their way in the labyrinthine tunnel network. Finding themselves close to a female mummy, they decide to create a fire using the wooden case in the hope of attracting the attention of the Egyptian guides. Professor Niles is keen to unwrap the mummy and see what items may have been hidden in the bandages. They do indeed find treasures...one of which is a golden box containing some mysterious seeds...and another is a scrap of parchment casting a curse on anyone who disturbs the rest of the mummy....

The Voice in the Night is an uncanny story about a ship becalmed in fog in the middle of the Pacific. In the night, the watch hears a voice hailing the ship. It would seem to be a lone man in a rowing boat, but the individual does not wish to be seen. He is starving and urgently wants food - but despite this, he will not approach the ship and vehemently rejects the idea of being rescued. Instead they have to float some provisions out to him in a crate, which he takes off to a nearby island where his fiancée is dying of hunger.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer of science fiction stories and novels and is frequently credited as being the father of science fiction. The Sea Raiders is a gruesome tale of a rapacious shoal of cephalopods which attack the coast of Southern England.

Herbert George Wells (1866 - 1946) was a prolific English writer best known for his outstanding science fiction stories and novels. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. 'The Crystal Egg' is a science fiction short story about an antiquarian dealer, Mr. Cave, who discovers that a crystal egg in his shop has strange properties. In certain light conditions it functions as a window on the planet Mars and he is able to observe the Martians and their bizarre cities and machines.

William James Wintle (1861-1920) was already a recognised writer before he became an Oblate for the Abbey of Caldey Island in Wales. It was there that he wrote a series of horror stories for the entertainment of eight boys who attended the abbey. In the foreword of this collection, Wintle explains that the stories were originally told on Sunday nights while "crouching over a wood fire on a wind-swept island off the Western shore."

Mary Wilkins Freeman (1852-1930) was an American writer best known for her stories reflecting the world of women fighting for dignity and independence from men. Her tales typically describe domestic settings and intimate relationships and are told with sensitivity and a poignancy which illuminates a bygone era in vivid detail. 'The Lost Ghost' is a supernatural story told by one woman to another about a child ghost who wanders around an old house in search of her mother.... The story has an extraordinary ending.

Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in West Africa in his novels. The Case of the White Footprints is a murder mystery set in Margate. A lady has been found dead in her room in a boarding house.

O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories, known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings. This collection contains twelve of his best loved tales: 1. 'The Cactus' 2. 'The Gift of the Magi' 3. 'One Thousand Dollars' 4. 'The Marionettes' 5. 'The Furnished Room' 6. 'The Unknown Quantity' 7. 'Memoirs of a Yellow Dog' 8. 'The Venturers' 9. 'The Ransom of Red Chief '10. 'The Last Leaf '11. 'The Cop and the Anthem' 12. T'he Clarion Call'

O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories, known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.The Clarion Call tells of the chance encounter between two old childhood friends. One, Kernan, is now a burglar who three weeks ago committed his first murder. The other, Woods, is a New York detective. Woods is faced with a terrible dilemma....

Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was an American author famous for his weird tales and horror stories. Sea Curse is the tale which starts with a village tragedy. A local girl who lives with her elderly aunt has been seduced and deflowered by a swaggering, drunk sailor. In despair she drowns herself in the ocean. The sailor mocks her aunt over the girl's washed-up body on the beach. The old aunt retaliates by putting an awful, terrible curse upon the sailor and his mate....

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937), who wrote as H. P. Lovecraft, was an American writer who achieved fame only posthumously for his influential horror stories. "The Cats of Uthar" is a strange tale about the village of Uthar, which is known for its law that no man may kill at cat. This is the peculiar story of the terrible events that led to this law being passed.

Barry Eric Odell Pain (1864-1928) was an English journalist, poet, and writer best known for his outstanding ghost and horror stories. This selection gives a marvellous insight into the strength and diversity of Pain's writing. The collection includes "The Missing Years", "Rose Rose", "Miracles", "The End of a Show", "The Giraffe Problem", "The Green Light", "The Tree of Death", "The Case of Vincent Pyrwhit" and "The Magnet".

Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) was a South African author, suffragist and political activist. She is best known for her novel The Story of an African Farm, but some of her most haunting and memorable works are her short stories. This collection presents four drealike short stories with multilayered meaning and allegorical significance: "A Dream of Wild Bees", "Life's Gifts", "The Artist's Secret" and "In a Far-Off World".

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863 – 1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian "Golden Age" of the short story. "The Earl, the Warder and the Wayward Heiress" is the story of a ten thousand pound bet between young gentlemen in their club.

Robert O'Hara Burke (1821-1861) was one of the great Victorian explorers. In 1860 he was appointed to lead the Victorian Exploring Expedition, which aimed to cross the Australian continent from south to north. The expedition left Melbourne on Monday, 20 August 1860 with a total of 19 men, 27 (rum fuelled) camels, and 23 horses. The expedition was dogged by disputes and poor leadership decisions from the start. Even at the first staging post the second in command and the medical officer resigned.

When the body of the eccentric painter Sir Owen Cram is found on a deserted beach next to his easel, a murder enquiry is launched. It is clear that the injury which has killed him could not have been self-inflicted. Nor is the murder weapon anywhere to be found. But most mysterious of all, there is only one set of footprints in the sand leading up to the body, and these are Sir Owen's own. Even the scientists and police investigators are struggling to conceive how the murder has been committed.