Ivan Chervyakov, a petty government official, while in the theatre, sneezes right upon the head of a man sitting in front of him, who happens to be a high-ranking government official. He spends the evening and the next day fawning before his sneeze victim trying to extract forgiveness, but what he succeeds instead is only bringing out a fit of rage in him. Shocked, Chervyakov returns home to lie there and die, due to the sheer stress of having endured such horror.

Dostoevsky was 27 years old when he wrote this story. It revolves around two young men, true soul mates, who live in each other's pockets, sharing a flat, social and emotional joys and setbacks. They are young professionals of the time contemplating life, happiness, unexplored joys. One of the two friends develops a vision of universal happiness conflicting with his individual pleasures, and preventing him from marrying a beautiful young girl.

The mysterious narrator is the owner of a pawnshop, and one of his repeated customers was a young girl of sixteen who always pawns items to earn money to advertise as a governess in the newspaper. The narrator could see that she was in a dire financial situation, and he often gave her much more for her pawned items than they were reasonably worth. The narrator slowly develops an interest in the girl.

Original tales and stories from Edith Nesbit to stimulate your imagination with most enigmatic and mysterious creatures including the arithmetic fairy, the king who became a charming villa residence, the dreadful automatic nagging machine, the blue mountain, fortunatus, the cockatoucan and many others.

The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale, Founded Upon the Mysteries of Electricity and the Optimism of Its Devotees is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. ? The protagonist is a boy named Rob Joslyn. His age is not specified. Baum dedicated the book "To My Son, Robert Stanton Baum," who was born in 1886 and would thus have been about fifteen at the time it was published. ? Rob is an electrical experimenter whose father encourages him and sees that he "never lacked batteries, motors or supplies of any sort." A "net-work[sic] of wires soon ran throughout the house". He loses track of the elaborately interconnected wires, and trying to get a cardboard house to light up, he "experimented in a rather haphazard fashion, connecting this and that wire blindly and by guesswork, in the hope that he would strike the right combination." There is a bright flash, and a being who calls himself the Demon of Electricity appears. He tells Rob that he has accidentally "touched the Master Key of Electricity" and is entitled to "to demand from me three gifts each week for three successive weeks." Rob protests that he does not know what to ask for, and the Demon agrees to select the gifts himself.

This volume of Chekhov stories offers a unique selection each touching upon fundamentally important subjects such as the purpose and value of life, what it takes to be human, eternal life and higher objectives of human life, happiness, guilt and romance. Through the eyes of Chekhov's characters we see Chekhov's own views on life. These profound wisdoms shine so bright that we can consider them a guiding star of life itself. In The Bet we meet a young man who trades fifteen years of his life for two million. He leaves his notes and shares with us his thoughts and conclusions of this bet. In the Death of a Government Clerk we discover how words and misunderstanding can kill, literally. And in the Black Monk we go on a journey of self discovery, we meet a bight man of learning who offers an insight into the world of ideas, intellectual advancement, and what this can mean for everyday life.

Do honest thieves even exist? Dostoyevsky takes us through a journey of psychological exploration and discovery.

Ivan Ivanovitch is a frustrated writer. One day he attends the funeral of a casual acquaintance and falls to contemplation in the graveyard. He hears the voices of the recently deceased and buried, and he listens to their conversation. They discuss card games and political scandals. As the deceased prepare to entertain themselves by revealing all of the shameful details of their earthly lives, Ivan Ivanovitch sneezes. The dead go silent afterward.

Strizhin, who normally leads a sober and regular life, comes home from a christening party where he had permitted himself to drink four glasses of vodka and a glass of wine, the taste of which suggested something midway between vinegar and castor oil. And of course spirituous liquors being like sea-water and glory: the more you imbibe of them the greater your thirst, Strizhin felt an overwhelming craving for another drink. He accidentally downed a glass of paraffin instead of vodka, and in desperate search for a doctor at 4 a.m. he found that a doctor is only readily found when he is not wanted.

A selection of horror stories for adults from the master of mystery and fantasy storytelling Edith Nesbit. This selection includes: The Ebony Frame, John Charrington's Wedding, Uncle Abraham's Romance, The Mystery of the Semi-detached, From the Dead, Man-size in Marble, The Mass for the Dead.

A boy of two years and eight months makes his first foray into the outside world in a company of his somewhat wayward nanny and is quite overwhelmed, having got even his first taste of alcohol. In the evening he cannot get to sleep. The soldiers with the brooms, the big cats, the horses, the bit of glass, the tray of oranges, the bright buttons, all gathered together, weigh on his brain. He tosses from side to side, babbles, and, at last, unable to endure his excitement, begins crying.

Pussy Tales offers unique insight into hidden lives of our feral friends. Adventures, misadventures, and even darkest secrets revealed in this collection of tales told through the eyes of the animal. Mother cats share their life wisdoms and tricks with their kittens. We learn how cats observe humans and try to imitate them. Cats share their observations about human people and offer humorous remarks about human manners.

The play examines the precarious relationship between three women and sheds some light on the complexities of psychiatric care in the 21st century... poetic and often distressing... --The Stage Sean Burn's plays (www.gobscure.info) have been staged by a number of companies across Europe and in the UK. His thirty short films have received screenings worldwide, as well as at Tate Modern and National Film Theatre Studios, London. The latest - Widescream - was joint winner of 2010's Old Vic short monologue competition. His latest solo show - Bastilles England - taking poet John Clare's asylum break out and five day walk to freedom in 1841 has toured internationally.? He was shortlisted for a Dadafest Disability Arts Award 2009 for next swan down the river might be black and this play was also shortlisted for the BBC's Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2011. It toured the UK nationally in 2012.

Zainab, a name which aptly reflects the beauty of this tale's protagonist is also the title of the first modern Egyptian novel written in native vernacular. Crafted in 1910 by a privileged member of society and a student at the time living in Paris, Mohammed Hussein Haikal later rose through the ranks of Egyptian politics and media. The writer, journalist and politician also holds a number of written works to his name, including?The House of Revelation?(1939) and?Thus was I Created?(1955). Haikal?successfully humanises and contextualises Egypt's societal issues without too reproachful a voice. As the great poet, Ahmed Fouad Negm said, 'it is better to wake your child up through laughter, rather than shouting at him'. Haikal?expresses his sympathies with the fellah of Egypt, who despite the apparent reverence with which they are looked upon by society are still obliged to bear extreme difficulties, which they do so with great dignity. Their suffering remains unchallenged as they are routinely exploited by their employers, the state, 'religious leaders' and cheated out of education which results in the demise of their mental and physical wellbeing. Illnesses may be treated as a metaphysical phenomenon, rather than with a trip to the doctor, whilst depression is treated as a headache. Zainab, a hardworking farmer girl, is to be married to a son of the landowner despite her love for another named Ibrahim. Haikal?is highly critical of this traditional marriage practice, where young men and women are picked off by families and pushed together into marriage to suit the requirements of the parents over the needs of the young couple. This message is clear throughout the book but appears most starkly in an open letter from Haikal?to the public, guised as a note written by the character Hamid to his own father. Hamid states, 'To this day I consider the institution of marriage defective, on account of the conditions that are attached to it. Indeed I believe a marriage which is not based on love and does not progress with love to be contemptible.' As Haikal?wrote in his room in Paris he was undoubtedly influenced by his nostalgia, describing scenes in Egypt in a way that only an Egyptian could. He is a man who has succeeded in writing for the woman, and his critiques of society are logical and empathetic. Few are painted as evil in Zainab but the writer warns that as with most of society's ills, our failures are the consequence of apathy, silence and the desire to fulfil what is expected of us through convention, culture and our own ignorance.

This exciting adventure story follows a family of slaves in the USA in 1860 as they escape from a cotton plantation via the legendary Underground Railroad. An enthralling story of courage and resilience, centring on 10-year-old Tommy, it will fascinate children who might not know much about this secret escape route into Canada that was used by as many as 100,000 people. Ten-year-old Tommy roams the cotton fields of Alabama owned by the notorious Captain Archer. Intimidating guards with fierce dogs protect the land to prevent any slaves from leaving. That is until a supernatural spirit visits Tommy offering a way out. With his banjo slung over his shoulder, Peg Leg Joe guides Tommy, his family and other slaves out of Southern USA, and into Canada through the legendary Underground Railroads. Stretched for miles across the country's vastness, the network famously facilitated more than 100,000 slaves to a new life. For Tommy and his family, the escape is far from an easy ride. The young boy is forced to mature through this testing period and allow his strong will to guide himself and others to safety under the guidance of Peg Leg Joe. Set in the 19th century, D'Adamo's well-constructed novel tells a story distant in time, remains grounded in a reality that still exists today. Millions of people across the globe continue to be enslaved, including children.

Set in the inter-war period, between the late 1920s, when Italy began solidifying its power in its new Libyan colony, and the end of World War II, when control of the country passed into British hands. Spina's chief subjects in these stories are Italian military officers who idle their time away at their club or exploring the strange lands where they have been posted, always at odds between the jingoistic education they received at home and the lessons they've learned during their time in Libya. These short stories map the transformation of the Libyan city of Benghazi from a sleepy Ottoman backwater in the 1910s to the second capital of an oil-rich kingdom in the 1960s. Employing a cosmopolitan array of characters, ranging from Ottoman functionaries, to Sanussi aristocrats and Italian officers, Spina chronicles Italy's colonial experience from the euphoria of conquest - giving us a front row seat to the rise and subsequent fall of Fascism in the aftermath of World War II - to the country's independence in the 1950s. Spina continues his narrative with the discovery of Libya's vast oil and gas reserves, which triggered the tumultuous changes that led to Muammar Gaddafi's forty-two-year dictatorship.

Within the genre of financial self-help, ‘Trusts A Practical Guide’ is an invaluable and rare resource for financial experts and members of the public alike who need a reference work on a subject that is, on the face of it, complex but which undeniably affects many people’s lives at one point or another. Whatever your occupation or background, you are almost certain at some time to need some understanding of this subject, whether in your own financial planning or in advising those around you – and this guide is particularly helpful when dealing with a relative’s probate or the complex issues arising from an inheritance. After thirty-five years at the top of his profession, FSA member Terry O'Halloran writes passionately and informatively, not only about his subject but also about the importance of spreading the word to others. He has seen many times first hand the benefits of well-organized and implemented financial planning on people’s lives. More poignantly, he has seen what can happen when such matters are left to chance. Using famous historical characters, placing them in recognizable situations and using real life case histories, he explains the organization and procedure of Trusts simply and easily bringing his subject alive by putting it in a perspective that is easily assimilated by the layman. Terry O'Halloran clearly explains the intricacies of Trusts and confronts their realities with real-life examples such as a family case involving a number of ex-wives, a business partnership that goes very expensively wrong and even the attempted murder of a director and removal of the would-be assassin (as a Trustee). Building the full picture from simple steps, the author explains the merits or otherwise of trusts and their uses with life assurance and pension products. “Trusts are the most important adjunct to life assurance, business protection, estate planning and pension provision. A basic understanding is essential,” he insists. After searching in vain for a book for his own use, the need for a reference book on this subject was clear. “I needed a reference book that I could refer to during the working day but which would also be simple enough for any of my clients to understand. So I wrote one – in fact I had to write it because there was simply nothing suitable in existence. Moreover, I use it all the time. My own copies are dog-eared from use. “I believe,’ Trusts’ is a practical tool for the professional’s everyday use and a good guide for the layman.” "

Charles Dickens’ timeless story is brought to life in this vibrant new version by the award-winning playwright Neil Duffield. Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year! Well, it is for everyone except the miserable Scrooge. He prefers to spend Christmas all alone in his large house, instead of celebrating with mistletoe and merriment. Bah, humbug! But one cold, dark Christmas Eve Scrooge is surprised by the ghost of Marley, his former business partner. Marley warns Scrooge that he will be called upon by three spirits – each will take him on a mysterious and magical journey to show him the error of his ways… Can Scrooge discover the true wonder and meaning of Christmas before it’s too late?

It is the year 1852, and the origin of species remains a mystery. In a primitive hut in the remote Amazonian jungle, Alfred Wallace, a brilliant young collector of scientific specimens, lies wasted by tropical illness. He does not expect to survive. Healed by a village shaman, Wallace continues his pioneering fieldwork in the Malay archipelago, crystalising his ideas about evolutionary theory, which Charles Darwin had also secretly formulated but was reluctant to publish. In this new novel based on the scientist's extraordinary life, what unfolds is a dramatic tale of money, class, faith and discrimination.

“Humanity built its monolithic spires of hopes and dreams and tried to believe that the whole sordid mess actually meant something.” Terapolis is an urban sprawl of global proportions. The vast city state has smothered whole nations, liberated humanity from the tides of history; the place is ripe with secrets... Here, billions of people live only to give themselves to The Gestalt. An esoteric technology, said to unlock the secrets of creation, it offers humanity the chance to realise its most-cherished and forbidden desires. For Silas Morlock, enigmatic Master of MorTek, The Gestalt is his greatest achievement, but little time remains to fulfil his purpose and save Mankind from itself; death gathers, an ancient struggle between good and evil nears its peak. On the other side, the Incunabula ; bibliophiles who refuse to stop peddling the items most poisonous to the hold The Gestalt has on human minds. And then there’s Adam, the misfit dreamer pulled into a conflict beyond his understanding. His own desire will take him on a terrifying journey into the heart of darkness. Poor Adam, he will learn the secrets of Terapolis; if they don’t shatter his mind, he’ll become the unlikely saviour for good… or ill. It’s a struggle played out in the shadows, where the lines are blurred, and nothing is quite as it seems. For the lost souls embroiled, the stakes are the very highest. But secrets are for keeping, in the dark places…

A sparkling collection of three new plays by distinguished children’s playwright Charles Way. They have been successfully produced by professional theatre companies for children in the UK, the US and Germany. These plays work equally well for use in schools, colleges or youth theatres. With contemporary themes and challenging roles, this is a collection that offers enjoyable theatre for young people of all ages to perform. MISSING – a modern take on Hansel and Gretel, about the nature of poverty. This play won the German Children’s Theatre Prize 2010 and has had eight productions in Germany alone. NIVELLI’S WAR – about a six-year-old German Evacuee and his journey home at the end of WW2. PIRATES! – about a boy at sea, this was nominated both for the Writer’s Guild Best Children’s Play award and a Helen Hayes Award in America for ‘Outstanding New Play’. Winner of the the American Alliance for Theatre and Education ‘Distinguished Play’ Award 2012.