The Island of Yew is set at some undisclosed place in the Earth’s global ocean – „in the middle of the sea.” A fairy has become bored with her life, and convinces some young girls to transform her into a human boy so she can go on fast and furious adventures. Transformed, he is Prince Marvel, but he keeps his fairy powers, as they might prove handy in a world where you will quite likely encounter giants, dwarves, wizards, rowdy robber gangs, talking dragons, damsels in dist...
The brother and sister of the poor nobleman settle in a simple town and bring a new element to the quiet life of this place, which gives many opportunities for comedy. Ginny Avesham is an attractive heroine, but the author tries so hard to show her kindness to the reader that she overdoes her and makes her a little theatrical. A simple story, with many good characters, but also with life features. Benson gave us a small but pleasant exploration of life in a small town....
Every child knows about Santa Claus, the jolly man who brings gifts to all on Christmas. There are many stories that tell of his life, but the delightful version relayed in „The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” is by far the most charming and original of all. Orphaned at an infant Claus is found and raised in the magical Forest of Burzee by a wood-nymph Necile, who convinces the great Ak to allow her to raise Claus for her own. As he grows older he meets his fellow human...
The author tells the story of the twins Martin and Helen Challoner and their relationship against their father priest. Benson has a more serious purpose here and less superficial savvy than in some of his stories. His main theme is the absolute necessity of individual character and independent action. He depicts the sufferings of a holy and spiritual priest in relation to art, literature, and imagination when his son becomes a professional musician and Catholic.
When Gerald Winston, an English Egyptologist travelling on the Nile, meets Kara, who claims to be the last descendant of a royal Egyptian family, the scientist’s curiosity is sparked by the story Kara tells. Is it true that Kara’s ancestor Ahtka-Ra, High Priest of Ămen, ruled Rameses II as his puppet? As Winston tries to learn more about the strange Egyptian and his mysterious tale, he is drawn into Kara’s insidious intrigues. A complex tale of embezzlement, forgery, arrang...
The Blotting Book ends with a murder story, but this is not a detective story. There is one amazing feature of this story that sets it apart from the others. The focus of the work is the human character and state, not action and history. This is an older writing style, and the author makes a compassionate analysis of human weakness, without being picky and offering no excuse for bad moral behavior.
Enchanting fantasy novel from creator of beloved „Oz” stories L. Frank Baum whisks young readers away on an exciting underwater adventure! „The Sea Fairies” (1911) was designed as the first volume in a new series for children, to replace the „Oz books”. It was followed by „Sky Island” in 1912. Trot, the hero of the tales is a girl, like Dorothy in the „Oz” stories. An old captain, peg-legged Cap’n Bill taught her to love the sea. The sailor told her that „mermaids is fairie...
„The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale” was one of Baum’s earliest full length fantasy books for children, published in 1901 just one year after „The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. Rob Joslyn is in most respects an ordinary American teenager; his one distinguishing peculiarity is his passion for the new science and craft of electricity. He has his own laboratory in the attic of the family home, and has rigged the house with his electrical gadgets. One day, amid the bewildering...
The sequel to „The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, set shortly after the events in the first book. A fantastical tale of endless imagination, „The Marvelous Land of Oz” follows the adventures of a young boy named Tip, who, for as long as he can remember has been under the guardianship of a witch named Mombi in the Land of Oz. When Tip’s prank, in creating a pumpkin-headed man to frighten Mombi backfires, and he is threatened with the terrible fate of being made into a statue as pu...
Meet Dorothy’s new friends, the Shaggy Man, Button Bright and Polychrome, as you travel with them to the Emerald City. Share their adventures with the Musicker and the Scoodlers. See how they escape from the Soup-Kettle and what they found at the Truth Pond. Their adventures include: the secret behind the love magnet, entering the town of Foxville, the queen of the Scoodlers, the Truth Pond, Ozma’s birthday party, why the way to Butterfield got split 7 ways, etc.... Find ou...
The fourth in a series, „The Boy Fortune Hunters in China” appeared in 1909, published by Reilly & Britton under Baum’s pseudonym, Floyd Akers. Unlike most of L. Frank Baum’s work, the series is told in first person narrative by the protagonist, 16 year-old Sam Steele. Sam’s father is a sea captain who was reported killed in a shipwreck. After being cheated of his inheritance, he finds his uncle and they set sail in the Pacific. Here, Sam Steele and his two pals, Joe an...
According to many people, true friendship lasts until the end of life. However, what happens if something goes wrong? The Laslett Affair novel was written on this subject. A story about friends who believe that there is nothing stronger than their friendship and nothing can prevent their friendship. However, everything changes with time...
„Sky Island” was the second of three titles written by Baum featuring a spunky girl from California, Trot, and her companion, the old sailorman, Cap’n Bill. L. Frank Baum had hoped to end the Oz series and introduced Trot and Cap’n Bill in „The Sea Fairies”. In „Sky Island”, Button Bright has found a magic umbrella, which allows him to go anyplace in the world in seconds. He meets Trot and Cap’n Bill during his adventures, and the three decide to go to „Sky Island”, and sma...
Writing under a pseudonym, the prolific „Wizard of Oz” author created a series of far-flung adventure tales starring Sam Steele, a resourceful young sailor. In this story of mystery, deceit, and murder, Sam and his companions seek the legendary wealth of Karnak – a 2,000-year-old treasure buried in the desert sands. The adventure begins when Sam rescues an escaped cabin boy from a sinking dinghy in Boston Harbor. Runaway Joe Herring, along with pampered aristocrat Archie Ac...
”Equality” is a utopian novel, and the sequel „Looking Backward: 2000-1887.” The main character from 1897 wakes up in 2000. Everything seems unusual to him. He learns that women are free to participate in the same auction as men. Gold coins become useless. Now vegetarians, and the thought of eating meat is perceived with disgust. How now to go back and whether to return at all?
Lyman Frank Baum penned fourteen novels in his famous „Oz” chronology. For the second time a little girl from the United States comes to Oz. The story begins in a faraway corner of Oz, in the small country of Oogaboo. There, Queen Ann Soforth musters an unlikely army and sets off to conquer the rest of Oz. Meanwhile, a girl Betsy Bobbin from Oklahoma and her companion, Hank the mule, are shipwrecked in the Nonestic Ocean. The two drift to shore in the Rose Kingdom, a magica...
In the first of L. Frank Baum’s time-Honoréd „Oz” novels, country girl Dorothy Gale and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to the fantastical Land of Oz where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule, wild beasts talk, silver shoes have magic powers, and good witches offer protection with a kiss. Desperate to return to her native Kansas, and, aided by the Good Witch of the North, she and Toto – to...
Ojo the Unlucky, a Munchkin boy raised in isolation in the Blue Forest by his taciturn Unc Nunkie, finds himself setting out on a quest through the wider world of Oz in this seventh entry in L. Frank Baum’s series about that magical country. The reader accompanies Ojo, the Glass Cat and the Patchwork Girl on a journey to find five magic items in the wonderful Land of Oz to restore to life Ojo’s Uncle Nunkie and the Crooked Magician’s wife, Margolotte, who turn to marble whe...
In this witty and imaginative tale, the Royal Historian of Oz, L. Frank Baum, takes young readers back across The Great Sandy Desert for more exciting adventures in the wondrous Land of Oz. Old friends such as Dorothy, the Wizard, and the Cowardly Lion reappear, along with endearing new characters – the Glass Cat, the Hungry Tiger, Little Trot, Cap’n Bill, the Lonesome Duck, and others. In this story, Ozma’s kingdom is threatened once again by Nome Ruggedo, the dastardly fo...
The Tin Woodman, assisted by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow of Oz, and Polychrome, the Rainbow’s Daughter are on an adventure searching for the pretty Munchkin girl that the Tin Woodman loved before the Old Witch of the East turned his body to tin, causing him to lose his heart. In a series of adventures sure to thrill „Oz” fans both old and new, these beloved friends face such challenges as a selfish giantess and a group of quarrelsome dragons – all to fulfill a promise ...
The ninth book the action of which takes place in the wonderful Land of Oz is indeed a masterpiece. The mix of Oz and non-Oz characters into one story was the result of the request made by Baum’s readers and a great invention that gave birth to a story that captivates any reader, child and adult alike. This was published in July 16, 1915 and has been on record as being Baum’s personal favorite of his series. The story this time around revolves around Scarecrow and his adven...
Finally, I met with one of the most famous plays of Shakespeare. In this work, important and interesting topics are touched: the hypocrisy of people in pursuit of wealth and power, blinding deceitful speeches and disregard for the true virtues of the soul, cruelty and hot temper, deceived hopes and disappointment in loved ones. As for the king himself, Lear appears to be a rather absurd, selfish and domineering old man, who is too used to universal worship and has lost touc...
A diamond is stolen from the English country estate of Lady Verinder and the renowned Sergeant Cuff is brought in from London to help solve the case. The diamond, said to bring bad luck to its owner because it was stolen from a temple in India, was given to Lady Verinder’s daughter, Rachel, on her 18th birthday. It was bequeathed to Rachel from her uncle (who stole it when he was a young soldier) on his death. The story unfolds through several narrators, all of whom know a ...
