Showing results by publisher "Assembled Stories" in All Categories

Bobby, a sparky, silver-haired Skye terrier, adopts Auld Jock, a worn-out simple shepherd, as his master. Jock is let go by the farmer and dies in poverty, having suffered one winter too many. The farmer tries to reclaim Bobby as a pet for his daughter, but the dog owes allegiance only to Auld Jock, guarding his grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard. His devotion changes the lives of those around him and ultimately the conditions of the poor in Edinburgh. Bobby's loyalty is eventually rewarded, and he becomes a famous dog indeed!

This comprehensive novel consists of three subplots which interlink to form the whole and supply a trio of targets at which Trollope aims his proselytising pen. The first treats on the courtship of a woman by a man whom she does not love and with whom she is not compatible. Mary Lowther will not accept such a marriage of dishonesty. The second deals with the plight of a young woman who has fallen prey to the wiles of an evil seducer and subsequently adopts a life of prostitution.

It is 1919 shortly after the termination of the 1st European holocaust. Henry Earlforward, a middle aged North London Bookseller, courts and marries Violet Arb, a widow who has inherited the confectioners shop opposite his own premises in Riceyman Square. Henry and Violet engage the services of Elsie as ‘charwoman’.

Arnold Bennett's... splendidly comic portrayal of Edward Henry Machin, known as Denry to his mother to save time, is set in Bursley, one of the author's Five Towns of Staffordshire. Starting in 1897, when Denry first saw the smoke of the potbanks, the tale chronicles his rise to fame and wealth including such events as improving his exam results to guarantee success, adjusting the guest list of the municipal ball to include himself and then daring to ask the Countess of Chell to dance!

Charles Dickens started his literary career as a journalist reporting for ‘The Morning Chronicle,’ a profession which encouraged his observing eye. This collection of essays and short stories was first published in that journal and anticipates, and frequently demonstrates, the genius that was to come.

Among the first espionage thrillers and an acknowledged classic, The Thirty-Nine Steps well deserves its accolades as one of the best adventure stories of all time. Leaving aside the improbable denouement, the fast paced, brilliantly conceived narrative still excites and carries one along with the sheer suspense of the manhunt - a recurring theme in literature - and Hannay’s struggle against the evil that is the ‘Black Stone'.

John Buchan's hero Edward Leithen chances upon a worldwide plan for domination. With his own life (and the lives of his friends) depending on the outcome of his struggle, he engages in combat with the anarchic brain behind The Power-House. The author, despite being very busy in public service, wrote over 50 books during his life, but his particular talent was for writing fast-moving adventure stories. The Power-House, a good example of this genre, was first published in 1916.

The last of John Buchan’s thrillers and the final appearance of Richard Hannay now in retirement reverie deep in the comfortable Cotswolds.However, he and Sandy [Lord Clanroyden] are roused to action once more to help the son of a recently deceased treasure hunter, called Haraldsen. The heir is receiving threats from Lancelot Troth, a man who believes himself ill treated financially by Haraldsen’s father and seeks revenge and reparation.

Once again Brigadier General Hannay is taken from the trenches of the front line to save his country on a desperate mission. This time he must find the genius behind a vast network of spies infiltrating English pacifists and conscientious objectors. Hannay finds the man only to have him evade capture at the last moment.

Hannay to the rescue once more! This time...our hero is summoned from his tranquil life in rural Oxfordshire to save the world from a financial conspiracy which threatens the global economy. Hannay comes to believe that the villain behind all this must be Dominick Medina. But can such a brilliant, charming idol of the nation be using Eastern magic to suborn industrialists, magnates and other such pillars of society as his slaves?

Revolutionary for the time in encouraging children to think like children, the adventure of Princess Irene and Curdie, the boy miner, was to influence generations of writers, including Chesterton and Tolkien. Overflowing with fantastic ideas and images to delight the young and allegory to inspire their morality ‘The Princess and the Goblin’ has remained one of the most exciting tales for over 100 years.Irene lives in a castle on a mountain under which there is a labyrinth of tunnels inhabited by Goblins.

A tale of smuggling and mystery on the Dorset coast as told by John Trenchard, a boy obsessed with discovering the secret of Colonel 'Blackbeard' Mohune's hidden treasure. One night, trapped in the Mohune family vault beneath the church, John finds a locket round the Colonel's neck which contains verses from the Psalms of David. What could it mean?

The enigmatic Mr Reeder investigates eight cases involving baffling burglary and blackmail, mendacious and merciless murderers, and cruel convicts and convincing cons, using his criminal mind to solve these unusual and peculiar mysteries. A lot of his inquiries involve Margaret Belman, a very pretty and appealing young lady who lives nearby, and the detective finds himself more and more attracted to this femme fatale. Surely these feelings cannot be mutual....

What is sinister preacher John Laputa doing on a remote Scottish shore in the moonlight hours? Young David Crawfurd and his friends are lucky to escape with their lives when they disturb his rituals. Years later David travels to Africa and meets the minister again, this time in company with the evil Henriques.

The story chronicles the class movement of the time and gives us a remarkable description of social, political and industrial change. Set in Gloucestershire in the heart of England and told by Phineas, his soul mate and lifelong friend, who observes John through all his glorious moments, self-doubt and resolution, the story is simple, uplifting and heroic. It is a detailed study of a man and his family that also presents the listener with a broad view of Britain during one of its most troubled times.

Ludwig Horace Holly, a Cambridge professor, travels to Africa with his adopted son Leo to investigate the death of Kallicrates, Leo’s ancestor, who was murdered by an unknown woman centuries before.They encounter the Amahagger, a fierce tribe of cannibals who live in the caves of Kôr, a huge burial ground of an ancient civilisation decimated by plague

The second of Richard Hannays’ adventures takes him from the trenches of the First World War on a mission of vital importance to the British campaign in the East. In an attempt to manipulate their Turkish allies the Germans have created a religious figurehead, a prophet of a new order to unify the disparate tribes of Asia and crush the allied offensive.

Set in stifled, industrial Staffordshire in the late 19th century, against a strong evangelical background, Anna of the Five Towns tells of the courting of hard businessman Ephraim Tellright's daughter by prosperous and accomplished Henry Mynors. As her father's fortune grows, so does Anna understanding. She realises her legacy and responsibility for the possible ruination of her father's tenants, Titus Price and his son, Willie, who also loves her.

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Sir Edward Leithen is told that he has but one year left to live. He relinquishes his law practice and resigns from public office in order to make peace with himself and to reconcile himself with his maker. However, he also wants to die standing, not to creep into the 'bleak bag's end of life'. This will involve one last physical challenge.

Heroes Ralph, Jack and Peterkin set sail on the Arrow and are the only three survivors of a fearful shipwreck. They are washed ashore on a seemingly idyllic coral island.This tranquillity is violently disturbed, first by a tribe of bloodthirsty cannibals and then by the invasion of a vicious pirate and his gang of cut-throats. Will the boys thwart their enemies and live to see England again?