A Hansom pulled up in front of 799, Park Lane, and a slim figure of a woman, dressed in deep mourning, ran up the broad flight of marble steps leading to the house. Her features were closely concealed by a thick veil, so that the footman who answered the ring could makenothing of the visitor. Her voice was absolutely steady as she asked to see Lord Ravenspur at once. "That is impossible, madam," the footman protested; "his lordship is not yet down, and besides----" "There is no 'besides' a...

A collection of 12 stories published serially in The Ludgate, London, Jun 1897 to May 1898, in which the criminal mastermind, Felix Gryde, conducts his nefarious criminal work -- theft, kidnapping, ransom, assassination, fraud -- and he never gets caught. The author's introduction:"The history of famous detectives, imaginary and otherwise, has frequently been written, but the history of a famous criminal—never."This is a bold statement, but a true one all the same. The most...

A brilliant light streamed from the open doorway of No. 1, Lytton Avenue, making a lane of flame across the pavement, touching pinched gaunt faces that formed a striking contrast to the dazzling scene within. Outside it was cold and wet and sodden, inside was warmth, the glitter of electrics on palms and statuary and flowers, a sliding kaleidoscope of beautiful dresses. A touch of this grateful warmth came soft and perfumed down the steps, and a drawn Lazarus huddled in his rags and shiver...

A collection of 12 stories published serially in The Ludgate, London, Jun 1897 to May 1898, in which the criminal mastermind, Felix Gryde, conducts his nefarious criminal work -- theft, kidnapping, ransom, assassination, fraud -- and he never gets caught. The author's introduction:"The history of famous detectives, imaginary and otherwise, has frequently been written, but the history of a famous criminal—never."This is a bold statement, but a true one all the same....

Another in the "Doom of London" series, in which the author sounds a clarion call of potential disasters that may fall upon the great city. Here he relates a tale of environmental contamination leading to a medical panic.London in a year of severe drought; water level in the Thames river extremely low, blazing heat wave for 3 weeks in August; a Portuguese cargo ship sinks and contaminates a tributary of the Thames; 3 of the crew members are discovered to be dying of some disease; t...

smothered mourning rose the wail of the organ chanting dirges for the departed. The candles guttered and smoked, as the waves of hot air drifted over them. The very solemnity of the place carried awe into the hearts of the spectators. The sudden bang and jar of a falling chair came with a startling echo.

This collection contains an active table of contents (HTML), which makes reading easier to make it more enjoyable.The first table of contents lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC.This book contains the following works arranged alphabetically by authors last namesA Royal Prisoner [Marcel Allain]The Tha...

A collection of 12 stories published serially in The Ludgate, London, Jun 1897 to May 1898, in which the criminal mastermind, Felix Gryde, conducts his nefarious criminal work -- theft, kidnapping, ransom, assassination, fraud -- and he never gets caught. The author's introduction:

Fred M. White published this fictional story in 1903 about London in the grip of a severe 4-day arctic snow-storm, showing the hardships and consequences for which the city was unprepared, including price gouging and angry mobs.Actually, the "The history of British winters" page at www.netweather.tv shows many severe winters, including this dramatic entry: "25th December 1836, roads impassable, snow depths reached a staggering 5-15 feet in many places, and most astonishingly, drift...

A Story of What Might Happen In the Days to Come, When Underground London is Tunnelled In all Directions for Electric Railways, If an Explosion Should Take Place In One of the Tubes. A short story in the "Doom of London" series. Excerpts:There was a sudden splitting crack as if a thousand rifles had been discharged in the ballroom. The floor rose on one side to a perilous angle, considering the slippery nature of its surface. Such a shower of white flakes fell from the cei...

How a Stock Exchange Scare Dislocated the Life of the Empire For Two Days, a story in the "Doom of London" series in which the author sounds the clarion call of potential disasters that my befall the great city. Here, it is the tale of an investment "bubble", an irrational exuberance for buying shares of South African gold mining stocks. Excerpts:"From the highest to the lowest everybody was investing their savings in South Africa. ... In other words, there was a tremendou...

Here, it is the tale of an investment "bubble," an irrational exuberance for buying shares of South African gold mining stocks.