Dorothy L Sayers was born on the 13th June 1893 in Oxford.Her early years were spent in the Fens of East Anglia, where her father served as rector.In 1912, she won a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford, to study Modern Languages and Medieval Literature. At the time women could not officially be granted degrees but she was among the first to receive her Master of Arts when the policy was belatedly changed in 1920.Her career began as a copywriter for S H Benson,...

In the intriguing anthology 'Madam Sara,' the stories weave a tapestry of mystery and suspense within the genre of detective fiction. The collection is rooted in the late Victorian era, inviting readers into a world where the line between the occult and the logical is perpetually blurred. Each narrative offers a distinct approach to detective storytelling, from the slow unfurling of a psychological thriller to the electric tension of a classic whodunit. This compendium stands out not only ...

The name L T Meade, a pseudonym for Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, rarely brings a sign of recognition.Although she wrote mainly for young girls she also wrote across many genres including sensational, religious, historical, adventure and romances. In all, her credits add up to over 300 titles.Born in Brandon, County Cork in Ireland in 1844 she began her prolific career as a writer when she was a mere 17 years of age and was first published in 1872.In 1879 she mar...

From the moment Madame Sara arrived on the scene, she has taken London society by storm. Madame is both beautiful and mysterious, but it soon becomes clear to both Dixon Druce and his friend, police surgeon Eric Vandeleur, that there is something sinister about the woman and the goings on at her shop on the Strand. They soon become obsessed with proving her guilty of the many crimes that follow in her wake!

In 'Bloodstone', Dixon is visiting his friend Lady Violet Bouverie, who is in some financial strait that she does not want her husband to know. When their esteemed visitor Mirza Ali Khan's 'Bloodstone' goes missing, suspicion falls on Violet. How will Vandeleur prove her innocence when Dixon is an eyewitness?

She reads palms and communes with the dead—but the Oracle of Maddox Street is no mere charlatan. A palmist and spiritualist by profession, she moves through Edwardian London’s fashionable drawing rooms with her barrister brother at her side, unraveling mysteries where the uncanny brushes against cold reason. Where other investigators dismiss the supernatural, she embraces it as both her method and her gift.In four complete adventures—three classic tales from the pages of Pearso...

Writing can be a lonely art. Distractions and writers block are just two of the many impediments to a burnished stream of prose. But sometimes two heads really can be better than one. When one author decides to team up with another, either occasionally or full time, their new creations seem to amplify and encourage the words and ideas of each writer, helping to create narratives that are both new, and perhaps beyond the scope of just one of them. Collaborating and sounding off of one anoth...

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestion from an everyday event?Perhaps in the case of their darker, more malevolent stories, other forces are at work. They help to nourish single words into sentences and paragraphs that ease themselves from the shadows and are sudden...

An author’s talents may seem obvious and indisputable as they move words and ideas into gathered phrases and stories.But where do these ideas and stories come from? A lonely thought that suddenly gathers form? An inspiration from a Muse? A suggestion from an everyday event?Perhaps in the case of their darker, more malevolent stories, other forces are at work. They help to nourish single words into sentences and paragraphs that ease themselves from the shadows and are sudden...

In these more welcome days of equality between the sexes we usually forget that the often cited ‘Gentler Sex’ can have dark and disturbing trains of thought that are more than the equal of their male brethren. Indeed, they can manipulate words in a matter of lines from comforting and loving to dark, foreboding and utterly terrifying. These femme fatales really do create stories that leech vile characters into dark and disturbing quite horrific narratives.

Mysteries come in all shapes and sizes. Some are simple to solve, others are fiendishly complex to work our way through. With many a red herring, McGuffin or dead end our authors take us on many a merry waltz through narratives and characters that ensure our literary adventures with them are entertaining to say the least.01 - A Myriad of Mysteries - An Introduction02 - The Mystery of Marie Rogêt - Part 1 by Edgar Allen Poe03 - The Mystery of Marie Rogêt - Part 2 by ...

The stories typically involve a protagonist detective or amateur sleuth who confronts various enigmatic situations, such as mysterious disappearances, puzzling crimes, or perplexing occurrences. As the narrative unfolds, readers are presented with clues and red herrings, leading them on a journey of deduction and suspense as they attempt to unravel the mysteries alongside the protagonist.Robert Eustace and L. T. Meade were skilled storytellers who specialized in crafting engaging and suspe...