Miscellaneous Books

“Gallegher and Other Stories” — The leading reporter (Richard Harding Davis) for the New York Sun in the 1890’s published this collection of stories about an intrepid newspaper copyboy with a talent for crime detection, which helped make Davis one of the most popular authors in America during the decade. This book also introduces Courtlandt Van Bibber the wealthy man-about-town.

“Van Bibber and Others” — This book collects stories concerning Davis’s most popular creation, the wealthy man-about-town Courtlandt Van Bibber, who provides a lens on the often ridiculous antics of the rich and famous in Newport and along New York’s Park Avenue at the turn of the 20th Century.

What the critics sa­­id: As pictures of human life in a great city, these ... stories are simply unique. —Newark Advertiser.

Mr. Davis is a writer of unquestioned genius. His sketches of city life in the poorer districts have a force which makes them exceptionally vivid and inspiring. —Albany Express.

... remarkable newspaper and magazine stories. They will make capital winter reading, and the book is one that will find a welcome everywhere. —N. Y. Journal of Commerce.

The freshness, the strength, and the vivid picturesqueness of the stories are indisputable, and their originality and their marked distinction are no less decided. —Boston Saturday Gazette.

His figures stand forth clear cut, and marvelously truthful and lifelike. Their wholesome tone is in grateful contrast to the false and exaggerated note so often struck by young authors. — Philadelphia Ledger.

“Gallegher And Other Stories” has the stories: Gallegher: A Newspaper Story; A Walk Up the Avenue; My Disreputable Friend, Mr. Raegen; The Other Woman; The Trailer for Room No. 8; “There Were Ninety and Nine”; The Cynical Miss Catherwaight; Van Bibber and the Swan-Boats; Van Bibber’s Burglar; and Van Bibber as Best Man.

“Van Bibber and Others” has the stories: Her First Appearance; Van Bibber’s Man-Servant; The Hungry Man was Fed; Van Bibber at the Races; An Experiment in Economy; Mr. Travers’s First Hunt; Love Me, Love My Dog; Eleanore Cuyler; A Recruit at Christmas; A Patron of Art; Andy M’gee’s Chorus Girl; A Leander of the East River; How Hefty Burke Got Even; Outside the Prison; and An Unfinished Story.

“Gallegher And Other Stories” and “Van Bibber and Others,” were published in 1891 and 1892, respectively, and this volume includes the original illustrations from those editions.

“Captain Macklin” — Royal Macklin is tossed out of West Point because of a minor infraction. This displeases the father of his sweetheart Beatrice and he forces the young couple to break up. But as he says good-bye, Macklin swears that he will make good. He decides to travel to Honduras to join up with soldier of fortune General Laguerre, fighting for the freedom of the Honduran citizens.

“Ranson’s Folly” — Lt. Ranson, an army officer, out of boredom, bets his friends that he can successfully pull off a stagecoach robbery armed with nothing more than a pair of scissors. Disguised as the notorious masked bandit “the Red Rider,” Ranson makes good his wager. Unfortunately, the army paymaster is shot shortly thereafter. All evidence points to the Red Rider — and, of course, to the innocent Lt. Ranson. It appears as though the genuine culprit is the father of Ranson’s sweetheart...

“The Bar Sinister” — Told from a dog’s point of view, this Horatio Alger-style rags-to-riches story is about “The Kid,” a street bull-terrier and his rise to “Best in Show” (based on the life of a real dog).

“In the Fog” — One of Davis’ most famous works: While dining at a club, four gentlemen begin spinning murder stories in an attempt to detain Sir Andrew from speaking at the House of Commons (Sir Andrew frequently forgets what he’s doing and where he’s going when reading crime novels). One starts off by relating how one night he got lost in a thick London fog.  He stumbled upon a house where a a young nobleman and a Russian princess had just been murdered.  He escaped from the house and reported the killings to Scotland Yard.  But they were unable to find the location of the dwelling.  The next speaker relates that the murdered Princess, was known to him personally. And the next claims to know the family of the murderer. Will the four men succeed in making Sir Andrew miss his engagement at the House of Commons?

This volume includes the complete text of all four novels, published in 1902, 1902, 1903, and 1901, respectively. Also included are the original full-page illustrations that graced those volumes.

“The King’s Jackal” —  Richard Harding Davis’s daring adventure set in a dangerous, foreign land. The exiled King of Messina, and Baron Kalonay, plot to re-establish the king’s financial fortunes by purchasing arms and invading his former country! The only one standing in the way of the diabolical plans of the bankrupt exiled King is a courageous American reporter. But is the King really planning an invasion? If he isn’t, what is his plan?

“Once Upon a Time” — A collection of eight of Davis’s short stories, drawn from his experiences abroad as a correspondent. “A Question of Latitude” deals with European cruelty and misrule in the Congo. “The Spy” visits the South America of dictators, revolutions, and corrupt financial schemers from the U.S. Also included are “The Messengers,” “A Wasted Day,” “A Charmed Life,” “The Amateur,” “The Make-Believe Man,” and “Peace Maneuvers.”

“Cinderella and Other Stories” — Five stories, starting with the one naming the book: “Cinderella,” an outing with Van Bibber in which he and a friend think the have found a Cinderella, but discover it is not as easy as the fairy tale makes it sound. “The Reporter Who Made Himself King” follows a reporter who wants to cover a war but is posted to a remote island; the appearance of a German ship provides him an excuse to write a thrilling report, but then things go wrong, very wrong. “Miss Delamar’s Understudy,” “The Editor’s Story,” and “An Assisted Emigrant” round out the collection.

This volume includes the complete text of all three novels, published in 1902, 1902, and 1901, respectively (“The Reporter Who Made Himself King” appeared in both “The King’s Jackal” and “Cinderella and Other Stories,” but is included here only in “Cinderella and Other Stories.”)  Also included are the original 15 full-page illustrations that graced those volumes.

“The Scarlet Car” — Written in 1906, when automobiles were still something of a novelty, this is a set of three stories based on the adventures of Winthrop, Sam, Beatrice, and Peabody. First , they get accused of speeding in a small town, then the car breaks down on a remote country lane, and finally, they accidentally run down a man in the street while helping Peabody, an aspiring politician, run up the vote on election day. Can they keep this from costing Peabody the election?

“The White Mice” — Four Americans make a solemn pact to combat tyranny and save human lives. Thus begins the Secret Order of the White Mice.  Roddy Forrester’s father owns the Forrester Construction Company, a big concern which builds lighthouses. To give his son a taste of business, he sends him to Venezuela as a foreman. But he doesn’t want Roddy to know too much about company policy—least of all its political intrigues. Once there Roddy finds Don Miguel Rojas, a patriot unfairly put in prison. It’s unlikely that anyone will bust him out, until White Mouse Roddy hears about his plight and decides to do something.

“A Derelict” — Judged to be Davis’ best short story, “A Derelict” is based on the battle of Santiago Bay (July 3, 1898) in which the American fleet destroyed the Spanish fleet. The story is in part an attack on Consolidated (Associated) Press, and a contrast between two newspapermen — a drunken CP man whose talent has been repressed by the CP’s demand for cold, colorless “facts” and a ne’er-do-well free-lancer who is nevertheless a genius writer.

“La Lettre d’Amour” — The lover who will take no, and goes on his way disconsolate, may live to love another day, and everyone is content; but the one who will not have no, who will not hear of it, nor consider it, has much to answer for in making life a burden to himself and all around him. This is the story of one such lover, and how Edouard, the second violinist, showed him the hopelessness of his position.

This volume includes the complete text of all the stories, published in 1907, 1909, 1902, and 1902, respectively. Also included are the original 23 full-page illustrations that graced these stories.

“The Red Cross Girl” — Written in 1912, updated with two additional stories in 1919, and ranging from New York to Cuba to Britain, this is a collection of nine of Davis’s dramatic and gripping stories. An American sets out to fake a German invasion of England, a salesman missing his train ends up accidentally participating in an invasion of Cuba, a student who flunked a history course helps his professor regain his position after being unfairly booted from the college (by turning him into a world-wide celebrity!),  a man about to give up discovers he can actually read people’s minds, and five other tales will hold you riveted in this book. The stories included are: “The Red Cross Girl,” “The Grand Cross Of The Crescent,” “The Invasion of England,” “Blood Will Tell,” “The Sailorman,” “The Mind Reader,” “The Naked Man,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and “The Card-Sharp.”

“Vera the Medium” — The romance of Vera the Medium, a young woman who “speaks” to the spirits of the dead. Trapped in a profession of lies by something she did years before, Vera meets the District Attorney, Winthrop, who offers her hope of a way out. But will her compatriots and clients let her go? Full of tragedy and humor, a thrilling love story as only Richard Harding Davis can tell. The heroine is a kind new to fiction and the story is told with the vigor and skill.

This volume includes the complete text of all the stories, published in 1912, and 1919 editions. Also included are the original 14 full-page illustrations that graced these stories.

“The Princess Aline” — Morton Carlton, a portrait-painter of international reputation, is unlucky in love.  It’s not that he never meets the right women. It’s only that when the right “one” comes along, he changes his mind.  Indeed, it seems he is destined to forever wander like a lost votary through Venus’s domains.  But one day a change appears on the horizon.  He sees a portrait of the Princess Aline of Hohenwald in an illustrated newspaper, and falls madly in love with his artist’s conception of her.  Throwing all to the winds, he resolves to go to Europe and look her up.  The quest begins. As is usual with Davis’s stories, the plot moves right along.  There are interesting diversions in each of the major capitals at which the travelers stop, and these give unmistakable local color and interest to the whole.  However, the preservation of Imperial Europe’s unique flavor is what gives this novel its chief value. Published in 1895.

“The Man Who Could Not Lose” — Published in 1911 and updated with an additional story in 1917, these eight stories continue Davis’s fine tradition of dramatic and gripping writing. Beginning with a nearly destitute couple who risk their last savings on a race-track dream, then to a Foreign Service Civil Agent who risks his career refusing the demands of a powerful Senator, to a reporter who believes a story is hidden in a piece of paper found in a street gutter, these stories will keep you spell-bound in your seat. The stories included are: “The Man Who Could Not Lose,” “My Buried Treasure,” “The Consul,” “The Nature Faker,” “Billy and the Big Stick,” “The Frame-Up,” “The Lost House,” and “The Log of the ‘Jolly Polly’.” Includes a commemorative foreword written by Leonard Wood.

This volume includes the complete text of all the stories, published in 1895, 1911, 1915, and 1917. Also included are the original 18 full-page illustrations that graced these stories.

“The Lost Road” — Published in 1913 and updated with three additional stories in 1917, this is a collection of ten of Davis’s dramatic and gripping stories. From soldiers who never give up, to how a Boy Scout saved hundreds of jobs and large company from disaster, you will find these stories well worth your time. The stories included are: “The Lost Road,” “The Miracle of Las Palmas,” “Evil to Him Who Evil Thinks,” “The Men of Zanzibar,” “The Long Arm,” “The God of Coincidence,” “The Buried Treasure of Cobre,” “The Boy Scout,” “Somewhere in France”, and “The Man Who Had Everything” (also known as “The Deserter”). Includes a commemorative foreword written by John T. McCutcheon.

“The Lion and the Unicorn” — Published in 1899, these five stories continue Davis’s fine tradition of dramatic and gripping writing. A playwright goes to London to make his name, but finds love instead; A wounded soldier on a hospital ship struggles through hallucinations and delirium and refuses to die because his girl is on her way to care for him, she has promised so; a politician is placed in an awkward situation; a vagrant turns out to be more than he first appears; and three viewpoints on a rebellion in South Africa. The stories are: “The Lion and the Unicorn,” “On the Fever Ship,” “The Man with One Talent,” “The Vagrant,” and “The Last Ride Together — A Sketch Containing Three Points Of View.”

This volume includes the complete text of all the stories, published in 1899, 1913, 1915, and 1917. Also included are the original 14 illustrations that graced these stories.

“Stories for Boys” — Published in 1891, this is a collection of six of Davis’s dramatic and gripping stories for boys. These are from early in his career and focus on boys and young adults, including two stories featuring one of Davis’ most popular characters: Van Bibber. The stories range from a boat race between rival hotels; a baseball star who injures a bystander at a game; a tennis star who runs up against some dishonest players and judges; kids playing a dangerous game of “I dare you;” a Circus outing with Van Bibber, and a novice jockey hit with temptation to throw a race. The stories included are: “Midsummer Pirates,” “Richard Carr’s Baby,” “The Great Tri-club Tennis Tournament,” “The Jump at Corey’s Slip,” “The Van Bibber Baseball Club,” and “The Story of a Jockey.”

“The Exiles and Other Stories” — Published in 1894, this is a collection of seven stories, one of which is a record of one of Davis’ real experiences in England breaking the law, and continue Davis’s fine tradition of tight writing, including another Van Bibber story where he is the victim of a slanderous letter. The stories are: “The Exiles,” “The Writing on the Wall,” “The Right of Way,” “His Bad Angel,” “The Boy Orator of Zepata City,” “The Romance in the Life of Hefty Burke,” and “An Anonymous Letter.”

This volume includes the complete text of all the stories, published in 1891 and 1894. Also included are the original 17 illustrations that graced these stories.

“The Confidence Man: His Masquerade” was the last major novel by Herman Melville, the American writer and author of “Moby-Dick,” and was the first to portray that American icon —  the con-man. More than just a thief, the con-man uses the victim’s own greed (or desperation) to trick or trap the victim into giving the con-man what he wants.

Published on April 1, 1857 (presumably the exact day of the novel's setting), “The Confidence-Man” was Melville’s tenth major work in eleven years. The novel portrays an episodic series of vignettes of various passengers — some dupes, some tricksters — told as they travel down the Mississippi River toward New Orleans on that day. 

The novel’s title refers to its central character and his equally shifty victims, characters in a satirical allegory that is meant to expose what Melville saw as the smug, mindless materialism of mid-century America — a gullible greedy American public that can be deceived by charlatans with the lure of easy money. The events take place on a Mississippi steamboat on April Fool’s Day, reinforcing Melville’s remark (in a letter to his friend Henry Savage) that “all that happens to a man in this life is only by way of a joke.” Melville’s 1857 black comedy was inspired by the story of a New York City swindler he read about in a newspaper.

“The Confidence-Man” uses the Mississippi River as a metaphor for those broader aspects of American and human identity that unify the otherwise disparate characters. Melville also employs the river’s fluidity as a reflection and backdrop of the shifting identities of his “confidence man.”

Elizabeth Keckley’s rise from slave to White House confidante makes for an involving story that details the cruel and terrible life for those in slavery, and the drive and determination of a woman who would not let others destroy her will. “Behind the Scenes — Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House” provides an honest and accurate portrayal of the life of a Negro both as a slave and as a freed-woman.

Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave in 1818. She endured 37 years of hard abuse, including whippings that left her bedridden for days and forced sexual relations (and a resulting pregnancy), before buying freedom for herself and her son through her skills as a Modiste, or dressmaker.

Once free, she used her sewing skills to become one of Washington D.C.’s most successful dressmakers. She even worked for Senator Jefferson Davis, the future President of the Confederate States of America. She came to the attention of Mrs. Lincoln through one of her clients, and then became Mrs. Lincoln’s exclusive dressmaker, as well as her close confidante.

After President Lincoln’s assassination she closed her dress shop to care for the first lady, and she lost many valuable customers. Sadly, a misguided attempt to help save Mrs. Lincoln’s reputation with the publication of this very book ended the friendship, as Mrs. Lincoln viewed the release of her private conversations and personal letters to be a cruel betrayal of their relationship.

They never reconciled.

Biography of a Slave — Being the Experiences of Rev. Charles Thompson, a Preacher of The United Brethren Church, While a Slave in the South. Together With Startling Occurrences Incidental To Slave Life. — Charles Thompson was born in Atala County, Mississippi, near the town of Rockford, on March 3, 1833. The son of slaves, he spent most of his life as a slave. This book covers the first half of Thompson’s life, when all he knew was slavery, and the hope for freedom and the right to determine his own fate was a bitter dream. He intended to write another volume covering his life as a minister and the coming of the Civil War but this was never published.

Reverend Charles Thompson provides a first-hand account of life during slavery in Mississippi and how he helped grow an informal community of Christian worshipers among the slaves on his master’s plantation and neighboring estates. His account uses a conversational style that Thompson describes as “being much better suited to the tastes and capacities of my colored readers.” And he is frank with the terrible state of affairs that the slaves contended with on a daily basis, from jealous overseers who abused their authority, to cruel masters who vented their rage on their possessions, much as a spoiled child will break a toy when angered.

Thompson’s “church” was able to rise and flourish because it was supported and overseen by his master and mistress, and he recalls the growth of the congregation and the building of an official place of worship, in spite of the terrible conditions of slavery.

Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave — First published in 1849 and largely unavailable for many years, “Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave” is among the most remarkable slave narratives. Born on a Kentucky plantation in 1815, Bibb first attempted to escape from bondage at the age of ten. He was recaptured and escaped several more times, in several different states, with different masters, before he eventually settled in Detroit, Michigan, and joined the antislavery movement as a lecturer.

Bibb’s story is different in many ways from the widely read “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave” and Harriet Jacobs’ “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” He was owned by a Native American; he is one of the few ex-slave autobiographers who had labored in the Deep South (Louisiana); and he writes about folkways of the slaves, especially how he used conjure magic to avoid punishment and to woo the hearts of women (unsuccessfully). Most significant, he is unique in exploring the importance of marriage and family to him, recounting his several trips to free his wife and child, several of which resulted in his own recapture by slavers.

For a true and accurate picture of the life of a slave, and the huge societal pressure against slaves seeking freedom, both north and south, read this book.

First published in 1906, “Geronimo’s Story of His Life” is the true account of the life of Geronimo, in his own words, narrated in the style of his people.

In the annals of the Wild West, the one named Geronimo was the most feared of all Indians. While he preferred peace, he was unafraid to go to war when he deemed it necessary. He led both the Mexican army, and later the American, on wild chases across the southwest, and was known as a fierce fearless fighter who neither asked nor gave any mercies.

Goyahkla was born to the Apache Bedonkohe band, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in what is today the state of New Mexico, but was then part of Mexico.  He considered the area to be their homeland and never desired to leave it. His grandfather (Mako) had been chief of the Bedonkohe Apache. He had three brothers and four sisters.

After the death of his father, his mother took him to live with the Chihenne (red paint people) and he grew up with them. When he was 17 he married a woman (Alope) from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache; they had three children. On March 6, 1858, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora attacked Geronimo’s camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. Among those killed were Geronimo’s wife, his children, and his mother. His chief, Mangas-Coloradas, sent him to Cochise’s band for help in revenge against the Mexicans. It was the Mexicans who named him Geronimo. This stemmed from a battle in which, ignoring a deadly hail of bullets, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, causing them to utter appeals to Saint Jerome (“Jeronimo!”).

For the first time, in one, book, are the three most popular English translations of the Qur’an: the ones by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, and Muhammad Habib Shakir. Two of them, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Habib Shakir are Arabic scholars with impressive credentials, while the third is an English convert to Islam, with equally impressive credentials. For the first time, the Qur’anic reader can compare different translations of the  Qur’an, and come away with a better understanding of the Arabic original.

Along with the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible, the Islamic Koran (Al-Qur’an) is one of the most important books in the world, with over 1.5 billion followers across the globe. Unlike the Torah and the Bible, though, the Qur’an has rarely been translated to other languages. While there are several English translations of the Qur’an, most bookstores carry only one, not realizing that others are available.

Why is this important? Because translating between languages is as much an art as a linguistic science. Certain Arabic phrases and words have no direct translation to English and the translator must carefully choose how he translates that phrase or word, lest the reader come away with an incorrect understanding of what was written originally.

If you really want to understand how the average Islamic believer thinks, then you must read Al-Qur’an, buy your copy today!

Published near the beginning of World War I “The Thirty-Nine Steps” is one of the earliest examples of the ‘man-on-the-run’ thriller archetype in which the author, John Buchan, holds up Richard Hannay as an example to his readers of an ordinary man who puts his country’s interests before his own safety. Movie-maker Alfred Hitchcock was the first director to see the potential appeal of this novel, which has been made into four movies and a play.

“The Thirty-Nine Steps” — It is May 1914 and Europe is close to war with spies everywhere. Richard Hannay has just returned to London from Rhodesia in order to begin a new life, when a spy called Franklin P. Scudder calls on him for help. Scudder reveals that he has uncovered a German plot to murder the Greek Premier and steal British plans for the outbreak of war. Scudder claims to be following a ring of German spies called The Black Stone. A few days later, Hannay returns to his flat to find Scudder murdered. If Hannay goes to the police, he will be arrested for Scudder’s murder. Hannay decides to continue Scudder’s work and his adventure begins, pursued by both the spies and the police.

“Greenmantle” — Greenmantle continues the adventures of Richard Hannay as he is called in to investigate rumors of an uprising in the Muslim world, and undertakes a perilous journey through enemy territory to meet up with his friend Sandy in Constantinople. Once there, he and his friends must thwart the Germans’ plans to use religion to help them win the war.

“Mr. Standfast”  — Mr. Standfast is set in the later years of World War I, Richard Hannay, now a Brigadier-General, is recalled from active service on the Western Front to undertake a secret mission hunting for a dangerous German agent at large in Britain. He is forced to work undercover disguised as a pacifist, roaming the country incognito to investigate the deadly spy and his agents.

This volume has two of the early novels of P.C. Wren, the author of the famous Beau Geste soldier of fortune series.

“Cupid in Africa” — Bertram Walsingham Greene is a clever and studious young man who is a sad disappointment to his father, Major Walsingham Greene. Bertram, who worships the Major, resolves to go to war and enlists as a Second-Lieutenant in the Indian Army Reserve. He does his training (such as it is) in India but is soon sent to Africa to take part in the bloody fighting there. He changes from a wet-behind-the-ears, but thoroughly nice man into a battle-hardened fighter and learns a lot about himself as he goes along. The early stages of the story are rather funny, but as Bertram battles his way through the jungle and swamp of Africa, leading his men, things become much more serious in tone. The descriptions of the fighting between the mostly native troops under British command and the askaris who, under their German leaders, oppose them are wonderfully done.

“Snake and Sword” is a powerful book. A pregnant woman, terrified of poisonous snakes, is stuck in a dark room with one trapped under her foot. The mental shock is so great that she transmits it to her unborn child. The child, Damocles de Warrenne, or Dam, as everyone calls him, grows up the typical all around British empire builder, except that he collapses in a “fit” at the sight of any snake. This causes people to think he is a coward. Instead of becoming an officer in the army he becomes a private and hides his identity, losing, he fears, the respect and love of the woman he loves. With a large touch of realism it is the story of a “fallen gentleman” who remains a “British” gentleman even in the adversity of the private ranks. Wren  is very forthright and critical of the life of a private soldier—he describes it as being unnecessarily cruel and tough—and after quite adequately describing the difficulties of a private in the British cavalry, he mentions that the only worst military life is the French Foreign Legion. 

This volume includes the complete text of both books, published in 1920, and 1914, respectively.

The One-Hoss-Shay — Frustrated at the frequent breakdowns of his shay (a light, covered, two-wheeled carriage for two persons, drawn by a single horse), the fictional deacon in this poem built this wonderful, and perfect, one-horse shay from the very best of materials so that each part was as strong as every other part. In Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.’ humorous, yet “logical”, twist, the shay endures for a hundred years to the day, then it went to pieces all at once, and nothing first, — just as bubbles do when they burst.

The second poem, “How the Old Horse won the Bet”, tells the tale of the improbable, but not impossible, race of the Deacon’s old, but not yet retired, horse (unhitched from the shay, of course).

The last poem, “The Broomstick Train” whimsically explains the mystery of how electric trains (and trolleys) move without steam engines or horses to pull them. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was a physician by profession but achieved fame as a writer; he was one of the best regarded American poets of the 19th century. Included here are three of his most famous poems.

“The One-Hoss-Shay, How the Old Horse Won the Bet, & The Broomstick Train” was originally published in 1891. This edition contains the full text of the original poems and all fifty-nine original illustrations by Howard Pyle.

Every aspiring author hopes to become a published professional, but there are many pitfalls on the way. For every writer who successfully manages to get an article published, either fiction or fact, there are literally hundreds who tried and failed.

Emily Flora Klickmann was an English journalist, author, and editor. She was the editor of the “Girl’s Own Paper” for 23 years, from 1908 to 1931, as well as publishing numerous novels, advice books, children’s stories, and non-fiction on many topics including gardening, cooking, and needlework techniques.

From her unique position as both an editor and writer, her book “The Lure of the Pen,” provides the beginning writer with the advice and perspective needed to make the right decisions in creating an article or novel that is ready for publication.

For the fiction writer she doesn’t merely point out what needs to be done to make believable characters and situations, but also what needs to be avoided, such as “peculiarity is not originality” and “slang is quickly out-dated.”

Similarly, for the writer who specializes in the real world, she shows examples of how not to write an article (editors do not want repeat-subjects, verbosity is boring), as well as what will work in preparing a finished piece that is of interest not only to the editor, but also to the eventual reader (topicality is important, there is a time lag between when a magazine buys an article and when it is actually published).

For both writers, she offers advice on how to deal with an editor, what is reasonable to expect, what is not. For example, one of the surest ways to fail at getting published is to insult the editor, his magazine, or his company, and Flora Klickmann points out how many aspiring writers do this without even realizing it. If you’re trying to get what you write published, you need this book!

The “What I Read— My Book Reading Journal” is ideal for jotting down thoughts and keeping track of all the books you’ve read and the ones you can’t wait to start. Reread your summaries from previous books in a series to bring yourself up to speed on the characters and situations prior to launching into the latest release from one of your favorite authors.

The perfect portable companion, this 6"x9" (152x229mm) stylish journal is small and light enough to carry with you. Part journal and part wish list, this journal will help you keep track of your books with: Title, Author, Genre/Series, Characters, Plot, My Reaction/Favorite Quote/Best Scene, and a five star rating system on every page and in the table of contents.

The most essential thing in the world to any individual is to understand him/herself. The next is to understand the other people s/he meets. For life is largely a problem of running your own car as it was built to be run, plus getting along with the other drivers on the highway.

From this book you are going to learn which type of car you are and the main reasons why you have not been getting the maximum of service out of yourself.

Also you are going to learn the makes of other human cars, and how to get the maximum of co-operation out of them. This co-operation is vital to happiness and success. We come in contact with our fellowman in all the activities of our lives and what we get out of life depends, to an astounding degree, on our relations with our fellows.

As the Minneapolis News wrote in November 7, 1920, “Elsie Lincoln Benedict is a woman who has studied deeply under genuine scientists and is demonstrating to thousands at the Auditorium each evening that she knows the connection between an individual’s external characteristics and his inner traits.”