London: 1793. Young firebrand John Pearce, on the run from the authorities, is illegally press-ganged from the Pelican tavern into brutal life aboard HMS Brilliant, a frigate on her way to war. In the first few days, Pearce discovers the Navy is a world in which he can prosper. And he is not alone; he is drawn to a group of men who eventually form an exclusive gun crew, the Pelicans, with Pearce their elected leader. During an action-packed two weeks, as HMS Brilliant chases a French priva...

Widely acknowledged as the first detective novel, this story is narrated by insurance investigator Ralph Henderson, who is building a case against the sinister Baron "R**", suspected of murdering his wife in order to obtain significant life insurance payments. Henderson descends into a maze of intrigue including a diabolical mesmerist, kidnapping by gypsies, slow-poisoners, a rich uncle's will and three murders. Presented in the form of diary entries, family letters, chemical analysis repo...

At the centre of The Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura del alma) is a poem written by the 16th-century Spanish poet and mystic St John of the Cross. Consisting of eight stanzas, each of five lines, the poem outlines the journey in pursuit of divine union, within which the only source of light comes from the soul. This recording in English includes the poem itself and St John’s two accompanying treatises (15845), essentially commentaries, which offer line-by-line explanations of the p...

1793: the onset of Britain's conflict with Revolutionary France. Ex-captain turned privateer, Harry Ludlow finds himself on board the naval 74-gun Magnanime, with his brother James. In command is Oliver Carter, a captain with whom Harry has an unfortunate history. But when James is found standing over the body of a dead officer, old scores appear to be put aside…at least for the time being. Blinded by his own prejudice, Harry sets out to prove his brother's innocence, but it is soon appare...

In 1885, Abigail Wilson participated in an archaeological excavation at Rome's Colosseum. Fifteen years later, now a distinguished archaeologist and one half of the Museum Detectives with her husband, Daniel, she returns to Rome as a speaker at the Conference on Ancient Roman Civilization. Their visit takes a perilous turn when a fellow archaeologist and his wife are discovered murdered within the Colosseum, propelling the Wilsons into a complex investigation amidst the Eternal City's hist...

After rising to prominence for his role investigating the case of Jack the Ripper, former Detective Inspector Daniel Wilson is now retired. Known for his intelligence, investigative skills, and most of all his discretion, he's often consulted when a case must be solved quickly and quietly. So when a body is found in the Egyptian collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Wilson is called in. As he tries to uncover the identity of the dead man and the circumstances surrounding his d...

Privateersman Harry Ludlow and his partner and younger brother, James, find that murder and intrigue take up more of their time than the hunt for fat trading vessels. Arriving in the squalid, seething port of Genoa, they find it a tinderbox of tension, fed by the discovery of a hanged British sea captain and packs of English and French sailors at each other's throats. At the behest of Admiral Hood, Harry is drawn into the midst of the lurid murder investigation, only to find himself mired ...

The Decline of the West - Volume 1 published in 1917, Volume 2 in 1922 - has exercised and challenged opinion ever since. It was a huge undertaking by Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), formerly an unpublished historian and philosopher who set out to radically reconsider history - the rise and fall of world civilisations and their cultures.His primary view was to reject the established Eurocentric paradigm (ancient/classical, Medieval - and, following the Renaissance - modern) and to tak...

John Wilkins meets a beautiful, irresistible girl, and his world is turned upside down. Looking at his wife, and thinking of the girl, everything turns red before his eyes – the colour of murder. But did he really commit the heinous crime he was accused of? Told innovatively in two parts: the psychiatric assessment of Wilkins and the trial for suspected murder on the Brighton seafront, this award-winning crime novel from 1957 is a gripping examination of the psychology of murder and the na...

Unbeknown to John Pearce, the private letter he is delivering on behalf of the prime minister carries the dismissal of the very man he is sailing to see. The need for a government majority to pursue the war with France means John Pearce must step down as Britain's best sailor, regretfully relinquishing the position to the incompetent Admiral Hotham. Hotham is equally less than pleased about John Pearce, as he is the one person who knows the truth about his dishonest naval career. Pearce kn...

New Orleans, 1795. The discovery of an abandoned Spanish merchant ship off the coast of America plunges the Ludlows into a far-reaching conspiracy fuelled by jealousy, ambition and nationalistic fervour. The Bucephalas lies trapped under the gaping muzzles of the 32-punder Spanish guns of New Orleans' harbour fort. It quickly becomes clear that the corridors of the governor's residence are just as busy with treachery, double-dealing and murder as the back alleys of the sweltering city outs...

John Pearce is hiding in Gravelines with his mysterious companion, known to him as Oliphant. Although they find a crew willing to take them back to England, they learn on the journey that Pearce's old enemies, the Tolland brothers, are still active on the route, and may have been responsible for the murder of Catherine Carruthers. Back in England their problems continue: Pearce must seek to mend fences with Emily Barclay, in a relationship in which nothing is simple. And just as things may...