Dashiell Hammett was already a well-established hard-boiled mystery writer by the time he released what would turn out to be his masterpiece, "The Maltese Falcon" in 1930. But with the release of this novel, Hammett would be catapulted to the forefront of American crime writers. The novel has been adapted several times for the screen and the 1941 film version - starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor - has become a film noir classic.The story opens in the offices of Spade and Arche...

Presented here are the first three books of the Sherlock Holmes canon: the novels "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Sign of the Four" and the first collection of short stories, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," all written by Holmes' legendary creator, the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. From the alkali plains of Utah to the battlefields of colonial India and back to the confines of 221B Baker Street in London, the stories in this collection are among the favorites of Sherlockians the world o...

William Shakespeare, long hailed as the history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters. These skills are perhaps best exemplified in the monologues he gives his various protagonists, villains and bit players.From King Henry V's inspiring speech to his soldiers on the field of Agincourt to the villainous Merchant of Venice Shylock...

This is a SoundCraft Audiobooks production featuring digitally enhanced performances of some of history's greatest speeches - all presented as they might have originally been heard.The immersive audio experience presented here - complete with sound effects, music, and atmospherics - allows the listener to feel as if they were in attendance when these speeches were first delivered. The orations are performed by a select group of amazing actors who uniquely capture the essence, power...

A towering adventure story set in the wilds of Mexico after the First World War, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is B. Traven's much-beloved and thrilling tale of three desperate men who set out to make their fortune in the gold-filled Sierra Madre Mountains...and wind up confronting their own greed and paranoia along the way.The basis for the 1948 John Huston film of the same name (which featured Humphrey Bogart as Dobbs and an Oscar-winning performance by Walter Huston as the o...

Every great hero has an origin story and for the legendary Sherlock Holmes, it is "A Study in Scarlet," Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novel which introduced the world's leading (and only) consulting detective to the reading public. Though not an immediate sensation (the novel was received with moderate acclaim), it has gone on to become one of the most revered detective novels in history and its protagonists - Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes - are easily the most recognized and celebrated ...

"The Sign of the Four" is the thrilling follow-up to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's premiere novel, "A Study in Scarlet" in which he introduced the world's first consulting detective, the legendary and brilliant Sherlock Holmes.In this tale, young Mary Marston seeks out Holmes' assistance in unraveling a strange mystery: ten years earlier, her father - a Captain in the army - went missing after arriving back in London after a long overseas posting. Four years after her father's disappeara...

"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is the first short story collection published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring his greatest creation: the legendary and brilliant consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes.Written between July 1891 and June 1892 and originally published in The Strand Magazine, this collection features some of the most beloved early Holmes tales, including "The Red-Headed League," "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" and perhaps his most famous short story, "A Scan...

Presented here are the final twelve tales (of fifty-six) featuring Sherlock Holmes and John Watson as penned by their creator, the legendary Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These stories appeared between 1921 and 1927 in The Strand and Liberty Magazines and Collier's Weekly and represent the last time Doyle would set pen to paper to describe the adventures of his greatest characters. From Holmes' confrontation with the charming and murderously evil Baron Gruner in "The Adventure of the Illustrious...

William Shakespeare, long hailed as the history's greatest dramatic writer, has been lauded for his mastery of poetic expression, his insight into the human condition and his deep exploration into the psyche and motivations of his characters.These skills are perhaps best encapsulated in the monologues he gives his various protagonists, villains and bit players. From the murderous Lady Macbeth, planning to assassinate the king to advance her husband's career, to the droll, melanchol...

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" heralded the triumphant resurrection of the world's greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, after his apparent (and untimely) demise in the story "The Final Problem." Under intense pressure from his fans to bring him back after having killed off Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle finally relented and, in "The Adventure of the Empty House," explains how Holmes escaped the same, dismal fate as his nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

In "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes," Sir Arthur Conan Doyle attempted a feat that even the greatest criminal minds in England could not accomplish: He tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes. (And he very nearly succeeded.)Doyle's 1894 collection of short stories - which featured some of the most enoyable tales in the Holmes canon, including "Silver Blaze," "The Musgrave Ritual" and "The Crooked Man" - concludes with what was meant to be the last Sherlock Holmes story, "The Final Problem....