A unique collection of Dickens stories, rarely seen in print, establishing him as one of the masters of the detective genreCharles Dickens was one of the great pioneers of detective fiction. While the larger-than-life characters in his novels have settled themselves in the public imagination, his detectives have had a profound effect on the development of crime fiction, and Dickens is now seen as the first major publicist for the police detective. Here, Peter Haini...

Over a century after the debut of the intrepid hunter explorer Allan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines, he remains one of the great heroes of literature whose adventures have been adapted for cinema and television. This new anthology brings to light a novelette and four short stories which have never been collected in one volume. Introducing the tales with a detailed resume of the author's life and career, this compendium provides information about the inspiration and creation of...

An in-depth biographical study, rare essays by and about Wain, and 60 of his best-loved illustrations make this a must-have for fans of the cult cat artistWith a wealth of Wain's most famous drawings, as well as rare writings by and about the artist, this is an ideal book for both Wain fans and cat-lovers in general. Louis Wain drew cats: cats playing poker, boxing, playing cricket, and doing almost any human activity. His pictures are widely available today as dec...

Expanded and with great new stories, this is the biggest and best anthology of ghostly hauntings ever. Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead - from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent, including the erotic. This new edition includes a selection of favourite haunted house tales chosen...

Over 25 short story masterpieces from writers such as Louis de Bernières and Ian Rankin - modern literary tales to chill the blood.This spine-chilling new anthology of 20th and 21st century tales by big name writers is in the best traditions of literary ghost stories. It is just a little over a hundred years ago that the most famous literary ghost story, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, was published and in the intervening years a great many other distinguishe...

Fergus Hume was renowned as the bestselling mystery writer of Victorian times after his first book, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, broke all records. In 1901 he returned to form with this ingenious tale, selected to represent Hume’s prolific output by Collins’ Detective Club panel in 1930.Cicero Gramp was, according to himself, a ‘professor of elocution and eloquence’ – to anyone else he was no more than an engaging and extremely craft vagabond. Hence it was that he found himself awa...

This giant collection includes a huge range of 20th-century first-hand accounts of hauntings, such as the American troops who repeatedly saw the ghosts of a dead platoon of men while on patrol in Vietnam; and the witnessed haunting of a house near Tintagel in Cornwall that led actress Kate Winslet to pull out of buying the property.It covers the full spectrum of credible hauntings, from poltergeists (the noisy, dangerous and frightening spirits that are usually associated with pube...

Of all the airplanes that defended Britain during World War Two, none inspired as much affection as the Spitfire, the plane that became a symbol of courage and determination during the Battle of Britain. Today, over sixty years later, it is still one of the world's most loved planes. This splendidly illustrated tribute to the fighter and the men who flew her is essential reading. It brings together a fascinating collection of writings from Allied aces such as Air Vice Marshal James Johnson...

Following on from the hilarious collection of typos, gaffes and howlers in Portico’s A Steroid Hit the Earth, comes Wrotten English – a fabulously funny collection of literary blunders from classic, and not-so classic, works of literature. This book is an anthology of side-splitting authors' errors, publishers' boobs, printers' devils, terrible titles, comical clangers and all manner of literary lunacy dating back since the invention of the printing press.Painstak...

In "True Irish Ghost Stories," readers are invited on a chilling exploration of Ireland's rich tapestry of supernatural tales. This anthology navigates through the haunting corridors of Irish folklore, presenting an array of spectral narratives that capture the eerie essence of Ireland's storytelling heritage. Through a diverse collection of ghostly anecdotes and spine-tingling tales, the anthology showcases the depth and breadth of Irish spectral lore. The collection is woven together by ...

22 November 1963: Dallas, Texas. US President John F Kennedy is assassinated as his motorcade passes through the city's streets. The assassin is soon captured, and revealed to be disaffected Communist sympathizer Lee Harvey Oswald. Did Oswald act alone, or did he have help? Is the Bilderberg Group simply a group of international financiers concerned with promoting democracy throughout the world, or is there a more sinister power at work? And what really happened to Princess Diana's Mercede...

Join paranormal expert and storyteller extraordinaire Hans Holzer as he investigates the most famous, and infamous, real-life haunted housesPerhaps no other paranormal situation captures our imagination more than a haunted house. The idea of sharing a home with the dead is unsettling for the current inhabitants, but according to professor Hans Holzer, it can be equally as upsetting to the ghost. In The House Is Haunted, Holzer explores more than eighty haun...