The Detective has been a mainstay of fiction writing ever since we can remember.Their deductive powers, their intuition and fleet-footed grasp of every detail can often turn the unlikeliest situation, or bunch of red herrings, into a breakthrough to capture even the most ingenious and dastardly of criminals.In this series our classic authors explore not only various themes, such as Occult Detectives, Female Detectives, Curious Crimes and a whole host more, but also bring a ...

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society.In literature the ambition is much narrower. In order to be known, to be popular, you had to be published. And for that people had to know you existed and your ideas worth reading. Obviously for most of humanity’s time people couldn’t read and texts couldn’t be publishe...

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society.In literature the ambition is much narrower. In order to be known, to be popular, you had to be published. And for that people had to know you existed and your ideas worth reading. Obviously for most of humanity’s time people couldn’t read and texts couldn’t be publishe...

The Ultimate Submarine Compendium: 36 Captivating Reads charts the submarine's emergence as both technological marvel and literary emblem of modernity. Ranging from technical exposition, naval history, and eyewitness-inflected discussion to adventure fiction, juvenile serials, and speculative romance, the volume reveals how undersea navigation inspired dreams of scientific mastery alongside anxieties about war, secrecy, and the unknown. Particularly striking are its encounters between prac...

The Ultimate Pirate Saga: 43 Storybooks of Swashbuckling Adventures assembles a capacious maritime archive in which piracy becomes a lens for adventure, empire, commerce, captivity, and moral ambiguity. Ranging from historical romance and boys' adventure fiction to detective tales, sea yarns, satire, and speculative voyages, the volume traces the changing literary uses of the pirate across centuries. Familiar figures of hidden treasure, mutiny, naval pursuit, and perilous coastlines appear...

Ancient Egypt, a land of mystery and wonder, often conjures images of mighty pharaohs, towering pyramids, and powerful gods. Yet, beyond the grandeur, lies a rich tapestry of daily life, of farmers toiling in the fields, of families working together to ensure their survival, and of conflicts arising from the competition for resources.In this story, we venture into the heart of ancient Egypt's agricultural society to explore a simple yet profound conflict: the struggle between human...

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians.When you consider the depth of literary talent available over the extraordinary length of Queen Victoria’s reign, allied to the fascination with their all things spiritual on ‘the other side’, then perhaps it’s simply right place, right time.Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that if you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chi...

Richard Barham Middleton was born on the 28th October 1882 in Staines, Middlesex.His education was primarily at Cranbrook School in Kent before he began work as a clerk, in 1901, at the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation in London. There he struggled with constraints and boundaries and by night he took to a bohemian lifestyle.Middleton moved into rooms in Blackfriars and joined the New Bohemians club where his literary contacts grew.He became an editor at Vanity F...

Lettice Galbraith is yet another of those mysterious women of British literature of whom little was recorded.Lizzie Susan Gibson was born on the 27th January 1859 in Kingston-Upon-Hull in Yorkshire into a comfortable middle-class family.Her education was primarily private but at fifteen her father died, and life became rather different.After several years in London, she moved with her mother to Reigate in Surrey.In 1885 she published her first story anonymou...

Lettice Galbraith is yet another of those mysterious women of British literature of whom little was recorded.Lizzie Susan Gibson was born on the 27th January 1859 in Kingston-Upon-Hull in Yorkshire into a comfortable middle-class family.Her education was primarily private but at fifteen her father died, and life became rather different.After several years in London, she moved with her mother to Reigate in Surrey.In 1885 she published her first story anonymou...

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on the 1st April 1875 in Greenwich, London. Leaving school at 12 because of truancy, by the age of fifteen he had experience; selling newspapers, as a worker in a rubber factory, as a shoe shop assistant, as a milk delivery boy and as a ship’s cook.By 1894 he was engaged but broke it off to join the Infantry being posted to South Africa. He also changed his name to Edgar Wallace which he took from Lew Wallace, the author of Ben-Hur.In ...

Leslie Harrison Lambert was born on 11th November 1883 in Nottingham.After attending Rugby School he trained to be a surveyor. One of his passions was magic and such was his prowess that he joined The Magic Circle, and performed at society events.By the beginning of World War I he was an amateur radio ham and volunteered to work at a coastguard station in Norfolk to intercept German radio transmissions. By November 1914 he was with the Admiralty at Naval Intelligence Room 4...