A fantastic collection of 16 classic legends from ancient mythology, compiled by American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer Hamilton Wright Mabie.

This is JESSIE'S STORY... The story of her life as seen through her own eyes and of SIMON'S STORY as he saw Jessie, because he was madly in love with her. It is also THE STORY OF ROMUEL, who lusted after Jessie, but was incapable of love... and concludes with THE STORY OF MOTHER BUDAPEST... commonly known only as 'THE PEST' and who hated everyone... and who was the mother of Romuel and Benjamin Bonfeze... BENJAMIN was unable to tell his story... he couldn't speak or write, but none of these stories would have been possible without him...

Lee Kennedy is the story of a boy who learns that his father is abusive. Being unable to deal with this he begins writing a diary, allowing the reader to understand how he is thinking. A mysterious young man called Tetra, who seems to only appear to attend math class, and then disappear afterwards, befriends Lee while in that class. becomes a support to Lee as the abusive behaviour of his father escalates, eventually causing Lee to have to leave his home and live with the Tetras and Lee's mother to be hospitalized. The story will follow Lee through his life, with support from and Holly, a girl concerned for young people living on the streets, will he get his life back together? And what secret is hiding?

Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop has been enjoyed by readers of all ages around the world for 170 years.Follow the story of little orphan Nell Trent, living in her grandfather's curiosity shop in London.

Fifteen classic Native American tales by Native American writer, physician, and reformer Charles Alexander Eastman.

A fascinating look at the life of Saint Mary by 19th century American minister Reverend Joseph Gale Hurd Barry.

Robert Peterson has had a troublesome time in the past few weeks... well, the past few years really. Until the day he met Freya he thought he would always have to get through tough times by himself. She had met a few chaps since her divorce but Robert was different somehow, although she couldn't understand why.

There's a new pupil at St Agnes' school in the historic city of Meresbury. She's a mysterious, otherworldly girl called Emerald Greene. A girl without a past, without a family or friends. When Jess and Richie decide to befriend her, they're in for a few shocks - for Emerald lives in a mansion which doesn't exist, and can see things nobody else can see. Meanwhile, Meresbury becomes home to a series of strange events. What is the secret of the tomb which the eccentric Professor Ulverston has unearthed in an ancient stone circle? Where does the talking cat come from? And why have Mr Courtney and his Special Measures operatives arrived in town? With unearthly apparitions stalking the land, Jess and Richie soon realise that their mysterious classmate might be the only one to know what's happening. But it seems Emerald Greene has her own secrets - and nobody is quite sure whose side she is really on...

Throughout history people have claimed, or have been claimed, to have magical powers through contacting dead spirits. This is a fascinating look at some of those people, from ancient times to the modern age.

This fantastic book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for the Incas. It gives an in-depth account of all aspects of life and people of the time - including sections about emperors, cities, religion, gods, everyday life and many more. The 'All About' series is an educational collection of books from P S Quick, and is targeted to interest 7 to 11 year olds - but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

A collection of Austen's earliest writings, written when she was very young. Many of these were written for the amusement of her family, and are reproduced here in their original form, with all misspellings and other inaccuracies intact.A fascinating look into the young mind of one of the world's greatest authors. You can already see in these writings the beginnings of what would become the unmistakable Jane Austen style.

Arr matey! Do you want to know all about the ten most fantastic, fearsome and famous pirates of all time? Dare you read of how Francois L'Olonnais ripped out a man's heart with his bare hands then gnawed at it like a ravenous wolf? And what of Sir Henry Morgan - callous pirate or loyal privateer? How did Cheung Po Tsai build up a fleet of six hundred ships, and what happened to Anne Bonny after she was caught? Suitable for sea-faring folk and land-lubbers alike, this fantastic book introduces the reader to the ten pirates throughout history who surely were the greatest of their age.

A fascinating apologetic work by writer of fiction and nonfiction Robert Hugh Benson.

Did you know that Queen Victoria could speak five different languages? Or that her closest childhood friend was a King Charles spaniel by the name of Dash? What did she ask staff to do instead of knocking on her door? And how did she deliberately annoy Prime Minister William Gladstone? All of these facts and more can be found in this fantastic guide to the long-reigning monarch and Empress of India. This book is perfect for those studying Queen Victoria at school, or even for those who are just interested in learning more about one of history's most fascinating figures.

These ten gymnastic lessons are designed to motivate children to develop their fundamental movement skills. They will help them to develop positive attitudes that enable them to become more confident and competent in their agility, balance and co-ordination while working alone or with others. Each lesson includes lesson objectives, a list of resources, a warm-up activity, an introductory floor work activity, suggestions for activities using apparatus and a cool-down activity. There are also ideas for extension activities, assessment cues and ICT opportunities with web links where appropriate.

If ever a writer needed an introduction Arthur Conan Doyle would not be considered that man. After all, Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the foremost literary detective of any age. Add to this canon his stories of science fiction and his poems, his historical novels, his plays, his political campaigning, his efforts in establishing a Court Of Appeal and there is little room for anything else. Except he was also an exceptional writer of short stories of the horrific and macabre. Something very different from what you might expect. Born in Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1876 - 1881 he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh following which he was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, after his graduation, as a ship's surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast in 1881. Arriving in Portsmouth in June of that year with less than GBP10 (GBP700 today) to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Conan Doyle again began writing stories and composed his first novel The Mystery of Cloomber. Although he continued to study and practice medicine his career was now firmly set as a writer. And thereafter great works continued to pour out of him.

Henry Fielding was born at Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury, in Somerset on April 22nd 1707. His early years were spent on his parents' farm in Dorset before being educated at Eton.An early romance ended disastrously and with it his removal to London and the beginnings of a glittering literary career; he published his first play, at age 21, in 1728.He was prolific, sometimes writing six plays a year, but he did like to poke fun at the authorities. His plays were thought to be the final straw for the authorities in their attempts to bring in a new law. In 1737 The Theatrical Licensing Act was passed. At a stroke political satire was almost impossible. Fielding was rendered mute. Any playwright who was viewed with suspicion by the Government now found an audience difficult to find and therefore Theatre owners now toed the Government line.Fielding was practical with the circumstances and ironically stopped writing to once again take up his career in the practice of law and became a barrister after studying at Middle Temple. By this time he had married Charlotte Craddock, his first wife, and they would go on to have five children. Charlotte died in 1744 but was immortalised as the heroine in both Tom Jones and Amelia. Fielding was put out by the success of Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. His reaction was to spur him into writing a novel. In 1741 his first novel was published; the successful Shamela, an anonymous parody of Richardson's novel. Undoubtedly the masterpiece of Fielding's career was the novel Tom Jones, published in 1749. It is a wonderfully and carefully constructed picaresque novel following the convoluted and hilarious tale of how a foundling came into a fortune.Fielding was a consistent anti-Jacobite and a keen supporter of the Church of England. This led to him now being richly rewarded with the position of London's Chief Magistrate. Fielding continued to write and his career both literary and professional continued to climb. In 1749 he joined with his younger half-brother John, to help found what was the nascent forerunner to a London police force, the Bow Street Runners. Fielding's ardent commitment to the cause of justice in the 1750s unfortunately coincided with a rapid deterioration in his health. Such was his decline that in the summer of 1754 he travelled, with Mary and his daughter, to Portugal in search of a cure. Gout, asthma, dropsy and other afflictions forced him to use crutches. His health continued to fail alarmingly.Henry Fielding died in Lisbon two months later on October 8th, 1754.

Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH was born on 6th June 1862 in Bilston, Wolverhampton, the son of the vicar of St Mary's Church, the Rev. Henry Francis Newbolt, and his second wife, Emily nee Stubbs. After his father's death, in 1866, the family moved to Walsall.There Newbolt attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, and Caistor Grammar School, from where he gained a scholarship to Clifton College, where he was head of the school and editor of the school magazine. Upon graduation from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1887 and practised until 1899.He married Margaret Edwina nee Duckworth, of the prominent publishing family, and they had two children: Margaret Cecilia (1890) and Arthur Francis (1893).Behind the steady Edwardian facade lay intimate complications; a menage a trois. His wife had a long-running affair with her cousin, Laura Isabella 'Ella' Coltman to whom Newbolt had dedicated one of his own poems and was also involved with. Newbolt divided his time between the two women so there was no jealousy. Although it could equally be argued they divided their time.His first book was a novel, 'Taken from the Enemy' (1892), and this was followed in 1895 by a play, the tragedy, 'Mordred'. But it was with 'Admirals All' (1897), that his reputation was set. There followed further volumes of uplifting verse, including 'The Island Race' (1898), 'The Sailing of the Long-ships' (1902), 'Songs of the Sea' (1904) and 'Songs of the Fleet' (1910). Among the most stirring and patriotically heroic of his poems are the often anthologised 'Vitai Lampada' and 'Drake's Drum'.As well as writing he was also, from October 1900 to September 1904, the editor of the Monthly Review. In 1914, Newbolt published Aladore, a fantasy novel about a bored, dutiful knight who abandons his estate to pursue his heart's desire and woo a half-fae enchantress. As the First World War engulfed Europe, Newbolt, and another 20 British writers, were absorbed into the War Propaganda Bureau. Their talents were put to use promoting Britain's interests and to maintain public opinion in favour of the war.He was knighted in 1915 and became the Controller of Telecommunications at the Foreign Office. Among his war poems was 'The War Films', printed in The Times on 14th October 1916, in reference to the shock cinema audiences felt on seeing footage of the Battle of the Somme.Newbolt was knighted in 1915 and was appointed Companion of Honour in 1922.In 1921 he authored the government Report 'The Teaching of English in England' which helped to establish the foundations for modern English Studies and professionalised the teaching of English Literature. With it he established a canon, and was unequivocal that English must become the linguistic and literary standard throughout the Empire.Newbolt was also part of an inner advisory circle of Asquith's government and also advised on policy in Ireland.Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH died at his home in Campden Hill, Kensington, London, on 19th April 1938, at the age of 75. He is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's church on an island in the lake on the Orchardleigh Estate of the Duckworth family in Somerset.

The reality is that little is known of Aristophanes actual life but eleven of his forty plays survive intact and upon those rest his deserved reputation as the Father of Comedy or, The Prince of Ancient Comedy. Accounts agree that he was born sometime between 456BC and 446 BC. Many cities claim the honor of his birthplace and the most probable story makes him the son of Philippus of gina, and therefore only an adopted citizen of Athens, a distinction which, at times could be cruel, though he was raised and educated in Athens. His plays are said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more realistically than any other author could. Intellectually his powers of ridicule were feared by his influential contemporaries; Plato himself singled out Aristophanes' play The Clouds as a slander that contributed to the trial and condemning to death of Socrates and although other satirical playwrights had also caricatured the philosopher his carried the most weight. His now lost play, The Babylonians, was denounced by the demagogue Cleon as a slander against the Athenian polis. Aristophanes seems to have taken this criticism to heart and thereafter caricatured Cleon mercilessly in his subsequent plays, especially The Knights. His life and playwriting years were undoubtedly long though again accounts as to the year of his death vary quite widely. What can be certain is that his legacy of surviving plays is in effect both a treasured legacy but also in itself the only surviving texts of Ancient Greek comedy.

The Da Vinci Code is one of the best selling books of all time. With it's tangled web of conspiracies and characters with hidden motives it keeps readers intrigued from start to finish. In this quiz book your knowledge will be tested on the story of the Holy Grail and those that seek it. There are questions about the characters, the locations, the theories to test even the keenest of memories so be ready to see what you know about this timeless tale of secrets and those that seek them.

A fascinating look at Canada under the control of the United Kingdom in the years 1760-1900, written by Canadian journalist, historian, and civil servant John George Bourinot.