Decadent literature in Britain blossomed in the 1890s around such figures as Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley, Max Beerbohm, Ernest Dowson and Arthur Symons. Under the maxim 'Art for Art's Sake' they oft
All his stories are amusing, intriguing, and he is a master of the final twist' - Agatha Christie'One of the most stunning trick stories in the history of detective fiction' - Julian SymonsGraham and
The Haunted Library is a new collection of classic ghost stories many of which have never before been anthologized from the golden age of the genre in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each of t
This is a compendium of story starters taken from the very best stories ever written. Bewitching lines from Macbeth, magical songs from A Midsummer Night s Dream and lover s talk from Romeo and Juliet
This is a compendium of story starters taken from the very best stories ever written. Mysterious lines from Treasure Island, illustrations from Alice s Adventures in Wonderland and scenes from The Wiz
This is a compendium of story starters taken from some of the very best stories ever written. Bewitching scenes from Hansel and Gretel, magical transformations from the Ugly Duckling and happy endings
My Book of Stories: Write Your Own Myths is a compendium of story starters taken from some of the very best stories ever told. Explosive creation myths, tales of gods at war and awesome acts of braver
Arthur Simpson - 'British to the core', but without a passport to prove it - lives in Athens, scraping by as a driver, journalist and petty thief. When Simpson spots Harper at the airport he recognise
The English country house is an iconic setting for some of the greatest British crime fiction. Short stories are an important part of this tradition, and writers from Agatha Christie to Margery Alling
Christmas is a mysterious, as well as magical, time of year. Strange things can happen, and this helps to explain the hallowed tradition of telling ghost stories around the fireside as the year draws
Mr Wills Crofts is deservedly a first favourite with all who want a real puzzle' - Times Literary Supplement 'He always manages to give us something that really keeps us guessing' - Daily Mirror Georg
Dr James Earle and his wife live in comfortable seclusion near the Hog's Back, a ridge in the North Downs in the beautiful Surrey countryside. When Dr Earle disappears from his cottage, Inspector Fren
The Female Detective was published in 1864 and it introduces the first professional female detective in British fiction, Mrs Gladden. Typical of detective fiction of its time, Forrester's book feature
Never, even in his most optimistic moments, had he visualised a scene of this nature - himself in one arm-chair, a police officer in another, and between them - a mystery.' The Reverend Dodd, vicar of
The vampire is one of the great enemies of humanity, a nightmarish figure who feeds on the living in order to sustain themselves. Born from ancient folklore, writers in the nineteenth century gave for
Howling down the tunnels comes a new collection showcasing the greatest stories of strange happenings on the tracks, many of which are republished here for the first time since their original departur
In this richly visual narrative, acclaimed historian Susan Schulten explores five centuries of American history through maps. From the voyages of European discovery to the digital age, she reveals the
The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used an
Festive cheer turns to maddening fear in this new collection of seasonal hauntings, presenting the best Christmas ghost stories from the 1850s to the 1960s. The traditional trappings of the holiday ar
A strange figure fortells tragedy on the railway tracks. A plague threatens to encroach upon an isolated castle. The daughter of an eccentric scientist falls victim to a poisonous curse. The stories i
The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used an
A figure emerges from a painting to pursue a bitter vengeance; the last transmission of a dying man haunts the airwaves, seeking to reveal his murderer; a treasure hunt disturbs an ancient presence in
The possibilities of flight have long fascinated us. Each innovation captivated a broad public, from those who gathered to witness winged medieval visionaries jumping from towers, to those who tuned i
Lady Wainwright presides over the gothic gloom at Belting, in mourning for her two sons lost in the Second World War. Long afterwards a stranger arrives at Belting, claiming to be the missing David Wa
From the once-popular yet unfairly neglected Victorian writer Charlotte Riddell comes a pair of novels which cleverly upholster the familiar furniture of the haunted house story. In An Uninhabited Hou
The second in a series of republished classic literature, The Ghost Stories of M. R. James collects the tales that best illustrate his quiet mastery of the ghost story form.Running through each of the
Science fiction (SF) has existed as a popular genre for around 150 years. This book offers a survey of the genre from nineteenth-century pioneers to contemporary authors, introducing the plural versio
A masquerade ball in a secluded abbey; a vendetta settled in the wine cellars of an Italian palazzo; a gloomy castle in a desolated landscape; the beating of a heart beneath the floorboards: the plots
A car hurtles down the driveway of a luxury villa in Switzerland. The driver is a young woman, Lucia Bernardi. Inside the house, police find the body of her lover on the bedroom floor. The dead man -
When Professor Julius Arnell breathes his last in the hushed atmosphere of the British Museum Reading Room, it looks like death from natural causes. Who, after all, would have cause to murder a retire
Death of an Airman is an enjoyable and unorthodox whodunit from a writer whose short life was as remarkable as that of any of his fictional creations. When an aeroplane crashes, and its pilot is kille
Holidays offer us the luxury of getting away from it all. So, in a different way, do detective stories. This collection of vintage mysteries combines both those pleasures. From a golf course at the En
Beautifully illustrated, large format volume accompanying the British Library’s major autumn exhibition. Through a selection of expert essays and lushly illustrated features, the cartographic historie
Illuminated manuscripts from England and France are among the greatest masterpieces of medieval European art. This beautiful new book showcases dozens of the finest examples, many of which have never
