Edgar Rice Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. His early career was unremarkable. After failing to enter West Point he enlisted in the 7th Calvary but was discharged after heart problems were diagnosed. A series of short term jobs gave no indication as to a career path but finally, in 1911, married and with two young children, he turned his hand to writing. He aimed his works squarely at the very popular pulp serial magazines. His first effort 'Under The Moons Of Mars' ran in Munsey's Magazine in 1912 under the pseudonym Norman Bean. With its success he began writing full time. A continuing theme of his work was to develop series so that each character had ample opportunities to return in sequels. John Carter was in the Mars series and there was another on Venus and one on Pellucidar among others. But perhaps the best known is Tarzan. Indeed Burroughs wanted so much to capitalise upon the brand that he introduced a syndicated Tarzan comic strip, movies and merchandise. He purchased a large ranch north of Los Angeles, California, which he named "e;Tarzana."e; The surrounding communities outside the ranch voted in 1927 to adopt the name as their own. By 1932 Burroughs set up his own company to print his own books. Here we publish the second in the Barsoom series and its enduring hero John Carter 'The Gods of Mars'. Another cultural classic.

Thomas Patrick Betterton was born around 1635 in London.As can be understood exact records of much of his early life do not exist.We know he was apprenticed to John Holden, Sir William Davenant's publisher, and later John Rhodes, a bookseller, whose previous career was that of wardrobe-keeper at the Blackfriars Theatre. In 1659, Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane; and when the theatre re-opened the following year Betterton made his first stage appearance.By all accounts he was talented and was soon performing the leads. In 1661 a new theatre opened in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Davenant, the patentee of the Duke's Company, engaged Betterton and Rhodes's company to perform his 'The Siege of Rhodes'. Betterton was by now a public favourite and a royal favourite and keen on improving the presentation of plays and the management of theatres. Charles II sent him to Paris to examine stage improvements and then introduced the shifting scenes that replaced the tapestry backgrounds of English theatre.In 1662 Betterton married the actress Mary Saunderson. She and Betterton played opposite each other in a production of Hamlet' she played Ophelia, to his Hamlet. They were also invited to teach the children from noble and royal families to perform John Crowne's 'Calisto', 1675, in the last Stuart court Masque.Betterton was taller than average, athletic, with a strong rather melodious voice which was wonderfully dexterious. His repertory included Shakespearian roles, in versions adapted by Davenant, Dryden, Shadwell and Nahum Tate. In them his performances were praised. He played Lear opposite Elizabeth Barry's Cordelia in Tate's modified version of Shakespeare's 'King Lear'. Betterton was also the author of several popular adaptations.After Davenant's death in 1668, Betterton was the manager and director of the Duke's Company, and from the merger of London's two theatre companies in 1682, he continued these functions in the new United Company. However, in 1695, as this theatrical monopoly worsened conditions of the actors they all walked out. They set up a co-operative company in Lincoln's Inn Fields under Betterton's leadership. The first production was the premiere of Congreve's 'Love for Love' with Betterton as Valentine and Anne Bracegirdle as Angelica. After several years, audiences dwindled, profits fell and Betterton now older and stricken with gout decided to retire from the stage. At his benefit performance, where he again played Valentine in 'Love for Love, the profits are said to have been over GBP500.Betterton's career behind the stage was almost transformative. He invented new stage machines at Dorset Garden Theatre, transposed 'The Prophetess' into an opera, and introduced French singers and dancers to the Restoration stage. He also built the first permanent theatre fully equipped with Italianate machinery. Additionally, he invested in remodeling the tennis court in the Lincoln's Inn Fields and built a new theatre there. His salary was now topped up by a small "e;rent"e; fees for each performance played there.Betterton worked with all of the most significant playwrights of his age and performed with the first generation of English actresses. It is said that Betterton had more than 120 different roles at his command from heroic drama, Jonsonian comedy, comedies of manners, tragicomedies by Beaumont and Fletcher, and tragedies, comedies and histories by Shakespeare. At the age of seventy-five, he claimed, "e;He was yet learning to be an actor."e; Three days before his death at seventy-five, he made his last appearance on the stage in 1710, as Melantius in 'The Maid's Tragedy'. Thomas Betterton died on April 28th 1710. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

In 1896 JM Synge met W. B. Yeats, who encouraged Synge to live for a while in the Aran Islands and then return to Dublin and devote himself to creative work. In 1897 Synge suffered his first attack of Hodgkin's disease, a form of untreatable cancer at the time, and also had an enlarged gland removed from his neck. In 1898, he spent his first summer on the Aran Islands and then continued for the next five collecting stories and folklore and perfecting his Irish but continued to live in Paris for the rest of the year. During this period, Synge wrote his first play, When The Moon Has Set. In 1903, Synge left Paris and moved to London. He had written two one-act plays, Riders to the Sea and The Shadow of the Glen the previous year. The Shadow of the Glen was performed at the Molesworth Hall in October 1903. Riders to the Sea was performed at the same venue in February the following year. The play widely regarded as his masterpiece, The Playboy of the Western World, was first performed in the Abbey on 26 January 1907. The comedy attracted a hostile reaction from the Irish public and thereafter a riot ensued. Described as "e;an unmitigated, protracted libel upon Irish peasant men, and worse still upon Irish girlhood"e;. Yeats returned from Scotland to address the crowd on the second night, and decided to call in the police. Press opinion soon turned against the rioters and the protests petered out. Synge died of Hodgkin's disease just weeks short of his 38th birthday on March 24th 1909 trying to complete his last play, Deirdre Of The Sorrows. He was buried in Mount Jerome Graveyard, Dublin.

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.

James Shirley was born in London in September 1596. His education was through a collection of England's finest establishments: Merchant Taylors' School, London, St John's College, Oxford, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in approximately 1618. He first published in 1618, a poem entitled Echo, or the Unfortunate Lovers. As with many artists of this period full details of his life and career are not recorded. Sources say that after graduating he became "e;a minister of God's word in or near St Albans."e; A conversion to the Catholic faith enabled him to become master of St Albans School from 1623-25. He wrote his first play, Love Tricks, or the School of Complement, which was licensed on February 10th, 1625. From the given date it would seem he wrote this whilst at St Albans but, after its production, he moved to London and to live in Gray's Inn. For the next two decades, he would write prolifically and with great quality, across a spectrum of thirty plays; through tragedies and comedies to tragicomedies as well as several books of poetry. Unfortunately, his talents were left to wither when Parliament passed the Puritan edict in 1642, forbidding all stage plays and closing the theatres. Most of his early plays were performed by Queen Henrietta's Men, the acting company for which Shirley was engaged as house dramatist. Shirley's sympathies lay with the King in battles with Parliament and he received marks of special favor from the Queen. He made a bitter attack on William Prynne, who had attacked the stage in Histriomastix, and, when in 1634 a special masque was presented at Whitehall by the gentlemen of the Inns of Court as a practical reply to Prynne, Shirley wrote the text-The Triumph of Peace. Shirley spent the years 1636 to 1640 in Ireland, under the patronage of the Earl of Kildare. Several of his plays were produced by his friend John Ogilby in Dublin in the first ever constructed Irish theatre; The Werburgh Street Theatre. During his years in Dublin he wrote The Doubtful Heir, The Royal Master, The Constant Maid, and St. Patrick for Ireland. In his absence from London, Queen Henrietta's Men sold off a dozen of his plays to the stationers, who naturally, enough published them. When Shirley returned to London in 1640, he finished with the Queen Henrietta's company and his final plays in London were acted by the King's Men. On the outbreak of the English Civil War Shirley served with the Earl of Newcastle. However when the King's fortunes began to decline he returned to London. There his friend Thomas Stanley gave him help and thereafter Shirley supported himself in the main by teaching and publishing some educational works under the Commonwealth. In addition to these he published during the period of dramatic eclipse four small volumes of poems and plays, in 1646, 1653, 1655, and 1659. It is said that he was "e;a drudge"e; for John Ogilby in his translations of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey, and survived into the reign of Charles II, but, though some of his comedies were revived, his days as a playwright were over. His death, at age seventy, along with that of his wife, in 1666, is described as one of fright and exposure due to the Great Fire of London which had raged through parts of London from September 2nd to the 5th. He was buried at St Giles in the Fields, in London, on October 29th, 1666.

Thirty Shades of Red Sheryl has lost her mojo Sheryl has seen better days, and now, on the wrong side of thirty-five she has lost it all and must start again. Not alone; but under the watchful eye of her mother. A woman with as much sensitivity as a comedian at a hen do.? Where does she start? With a newly discovered passion for belly dancing, Sheryl sets out to chase her fantasies. But, with a teacher like Nefertiti, and mother like Beatrice chasing your fantasies is easier said than done… Sheryl’s Last Stand is a Bridget Jones type comedy with a heroine we can all relate to and a great read if you’re having one of those "stick your head in the sand-I don’t want to get out of bed" days. Sheryl makes you laugh, cry but most of all not give up. She is the first in the Belly Dancing and Beyond series- laugh out loud stories about a group of women who have at one time or another danced with the great Nefertiti.? Each book is a stand-alone tale jam packed with familiar characters you will grow to love, maybe hate but will definitely want to read about again.? ?

Mark Hersch’s life changed for the better when he met Beth Azen. Except for those long drives from Richmond to Hartstown, Virginia, to see her. Mark jumps at a surprise trip for a routine investigation of a polluted stream, never expecting anything out of the ordinary. But a bizarre secret from before the town’s founding awaits. Can Mark, Beth, and their shared magic solve the deadly mystery before all of Hartstown runs out of time? An excerpt from Secrets in the Land: Sometimes, you need to leave the bad things in the past. Art smiled, but it didn’t get anywhere within a mile of his eyes. “I have to ask if this is something you’re willing to take on, Mark. I’m not fibbing or lying or anything else when I say I’d understand if you’re not. Whatever’s up there half scared the life out of me. You ever feel that way about a place?” This time Mark did shiver, and he didn’t try to hide it. Maybe it was time he admitted at least a bit of what he and Beth (and Clina) had actually gotten into back in December. “Just one time. When we were taking your lost miner’s bones out of that old house pit. I was sure then and I’m more sure now that he dropped the rock that hit Beth on purpose. Thing is, I know in my bones that the rock was really aimed at me.”

The Storm Breaks Alex Collins and Etan Griffith thought love, hard work, and magic protected them from the end of the world. Until heartbreak struck much closer to home. Picking up the pieces brings new friends and new challenges. Threats unseen and unexpected. Will the power of family bring them all through, together? An excerpt from Fighting the Storm: Etan didn’t have to look at Alex to know he was biting his tongue, dying to say something. He could feel how tense Alex’s leg was against his own, could just about hear?his agitation. “What are you wanting to say, Alex?” “I don’t want to be an asshole, but if we have to set you up as a prophet, that’s what we need to do. I hated what happened in Maple Ridge and everywhere else. But we can’t have gone through so much hell to get here and let everything fall apart again. If people will follow the Great Prophet Etan and that lets us survive, then that’s who you need to be.” Etan did groan then, closing his eyes for a second. Not only because this was what he’d been afraid of. Because the words and the ideas sounded true. They felt?true, no matter how much he might dislike them. “I don’t know if I can agree to that, not right now. I have no idea how to do any?of this, much less create a new religion. I’m scared to death of making a hard situation worse.”

Looking for a walk on the dark side? These three suspenseful tales of the future might be best read with all of the lights on. No Walls A man discovers that he has the ability to pass through walls, but finds it’s more of a curse than a gift, only useful for petty crime. Then a secret intelligence organization gets its hooks into him, and his troubles have only begun. (First published in “Neo-opsis” Issue #18, 2009.) ? Lockdown In a future society, criminals on parole don’t even dare to think about committing a crime or their bodies could go into complete lockdown. So how does a guy get revenge on those who’ve wronged him? ? Body Of Opinion For a dying man, a replacement body is a godsend. Unless the body turns out to be a used model with some serious glitches. Can the new “tenant” discover what killed its first owner before it fails completely? Praise for Scott Overton: “A storyteller of boundless skill…a writer to watch.” “A gifted wordsmith.”

This unique book is an intensive combination of three asset classes, forex, futures, and cryptocurrencies. You begin in the world of currencies, travel to commodities and ending?in cryptocurrencies.?As with all of Wayne's books, the emphasis is on practical applications with a personal touch.?The results from past students and readers confirms their effectiveness. The book includes the following and much more! - Step-by-step guide to understanding from beginner forex into?advanced technical analysis indicators - Strategic trading tactics - Using crops and energy sector seasonality to your advantage - Beginner to advanced commodities trading strategies - Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Trading Tactics - Trader psychology (bonus chapter) - Using multiple time frames -Selecting the correct trading partner This is a combination of?Wayne's books: Tested Forex Strategies, Futures Trading Strategies, and The Guide To Mastering Bitcoin & Cryptocurrencies.

Born under mysterious circumstances, Grey, Pocket, Roots, Dew, Nuts, and Titch are not your ordinary squirrels. Using a tourist map and led by the charismatic Grey, the teenage squirrels embark on a breathtakingly hilarious adventure as they make their way from London’s Greenwich Park to Hyde Park to meet the Wise Owl.But the squirrels are not alone. As time ticks and darkness beckons, they are being stalked by the dangerous Rat King and his vicious sewer army.What is the secret of their origins? What did the Wise Owl tell them? And, most importantly, will they make it back to Greenwich Park in time to save their families?

In the uneasy aftermath of WWII in Bavaria, Laura Schreiner must choose whether to help her father nurse an American GI back to health.The decision she makes changes the course of her life, drawing her into a web of evil spun by a man who learned from the masters.In the face of his cruel obsession, can she free herself from the entanglement of the tower and embrace a life of love and freedom? If you love suspense steeped in romance, you’ll revel in The Tower. Get your copy today!"Superb with beautiful imagery, and so much tension it hurt to swallow." ~ MC Dalton, author of Epona and Iron Heart"In the movie Field of Dreams, there is a now famous line, “If you build it, they will come."?Apply this sentiment to Joslyn Chase--if she writes it, we will come and read it.? A marvelous journey." ~ William DeProspo, author of Unlikely Outcome"The flow of her writing is a delight to me, elegant and soothing, woven like fine linen." ~ Margherita Crystal Lotus, author of The Color Game

Called to a crime scene, caught in a pursuit that will change his life forever. Or end it. Chief Deputy Randall Steadman knows how to read people, making him tough to face in the interrogation room. He learns the hard way those tactics don't apply at the poker table. Watching the last of his money disappear in a pile of plastic chips, Steadman thinks it can’t get worse. Then new disaster strikes, spinning him off on a quest to catch a killer and protect an innocent girl, aided only by his new and untried partner, Detective Cory Frost. Extortion, a deadly volcano, and a triple homicide mark the beginning of a long and winding road for Steadman and Frost. If you like books by C.J. Box, Thomas Perry, and Jeffery Deaver, you’ve just found a new favorite in Steadman’s Blind!

Greg Heffley has always been in a hurry to grow up. But is getting older really all it’s cracked up to be?   Greg suddenly finds himself dealing with the pressures of boy-girl parties, increased responsibilities, and even the awkward changes that come with getting older—all without his best friend, Rowley, at his side. Can Greg make it through on his own? Or will he have to face the “ugly truth”?

The pressure’s really piling up on Greg Heffley. His mom thinks video games are turning his brain to mush, so she wants her son to put down the controller and explore his “creative side.”   As if that’s not scary enough, Halloween’s just around the corner and the frights are coming at Greg from every angle.   When Greg discovers a bag of gummy worms, it sparks an idea. Can he get his mom off his back by making a movie . . . and will he become rich and famous in the process? Or will doubling down on this plan just double Greg’s troubles?

Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor (1869) by Richard Doddridge Blackmore (1825- 1900) is a romance novel set in 17th century England in the region of Exmoor. The story follows a farmer named John Ridd who falls in love with Lorna Doone (the granddaughter of the Lord of the Doones). The Doones are considered to be the most notorious and outlawed clan in the region and who also had murdered his father when he was just a boy. As John tries to prevent his feelings developing any further towards Lorna, he later learns that Lorna is not actually related to the Doone family but the long lost girl whos mother was robbed and murdered by the Doone family.Mermaids Classics, an imprint of Mermaids Publishing brings the very best of old classic literature to a modern era of digital reading by producing high quality books in ebook format. All of the Mermaids Classics epublications are reproductions of classic antique books that were originally published in print format, mostly over a century ago and are now republished in digital format as ebooks. Begin to build your collection of digital books by looking for more literary gems from Mermaids Classics.

A family road trip is supposed to be a lot of fun . . . unless, of course, you’re the Heffleys. The journey starts off full of promise, then quickly takes several wrong turns. Gas station bathrooms, crazed seagulls, a fender bender, and a runaway pig—not exactly Greg Heffley’s idea of a good time. But even the worst road trip can turn into an adventure—and this is one the Heffleys won’t soon forget.

The third volume in the New York Times bestselling Wes Anderson Collection series showcases the best artwork from ';Bad Dads,' an annual exhibition of art inspired by the films of Wes Anderson. Curated by Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco, ';Bad Dads' has continued to grow and progress as a dynamic group exhibition since its inaugural show in 2011, and has featured work from more than 400 artists from around the world. Those artworks range from paintings to sculptures to limited-edition screen prints and vary greatly in style, making for a diverse and lively show each year. Though each piece is distinct in its own right, the artworks' unifying element is the shared imagery and beloved characters from: Bottle Rocket Rushmore The Royal Tenenbaums The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou The Darjeeling Limited Fantastic Mr. Fox Moonrise Kingdom The Grand Budapest Hotel The book features an original cover by graphic artist Max Dalton, a foreword by writer and director Wes Anderson himself, and an introduction by TV and movie critic Matt Zoller Seitz, author of the bestselling Wes Anderson Collectionbooks. A visual treasure trove, Bad Dads grants fans of Wes Anderson another creative avenue to explore his inspired worlds and movies. Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience, Mad Men Carousel, The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Wes Anderson Collection.

Wimpy Kid Just Got a Lot Cheesier Now you can enjoy the bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in a whole new way with this Special CHEESIEST Edition! Relive your favorite moments from the book that started it all, with this collectible version printed on premium paper and with a bold new design. You'll never look at Greg, Rowley, Manny, Rodrick, and Fregley the same way again. This Special CHEESIEST Edition is a must-have for longtime fans of the series and new readers alike. But before you open this book, you might want to cross your fingers-you wouldn't want to get the Cheese Touch!

From such cult hits as Raising Arizona (1987) and The Big Lebowski (1998) to major critical darlings Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Ethan and Joel Coen have cultivated a bleakly comical, instantly recognizable voice in modern American cinema. In The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together, film critic Adam Nayman carefully sifts through their complex cinematic universe in an effort to plot, as he puts it, "e;some Grand Unified Theory of Coen-ness."e; The book combines critical text-biography, close film analysis, and enlightening interviews with key Coen collaborators-with a visual aesthetic that honors the Coens' singular mix of darkness and levity. Featuring film stills, beautiful and evocative illustrations, punchy infographics, and hard insight, this book will be the definitive exploration of the Coen brothers' oeuvre.

Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?