John Richardson was a British Army officer and the first Canadian-born novelist to achieve international recognition.

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Three little girls sat in a row on the top step of a beautiful home in Louisville. At the right was a dark-haired, fairylike child on whose docked hair a velvet berét, or French officer’s cap, sat jauntily. Her dark eyes were round and thoughtful as she gazed into space. There was a little wrinkle between her curved black brows. Beside her, busily knitting on a long red scarf, sat a sparkling little girl whose hazel eyes danced under a fringe of blond curls.

Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive collection. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. Whilst the books in this collection have not been hand curated, an aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature. As a result of this book being first published many decades ago, it may have occasional imperfections. These imperfections may include poor picture quality, blurred or missing text. While some of these imperfections may have appeared in the original work, others may have resulted from the scanning process that has been applied. However, our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. While some publishers have applied optical character recognition (OCR), this approach has its own drawbacks, which include formatting errors, misspelt words, or the presence of inappropriate characters. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with an experience that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic book, and that the occasional imperfection that it might contain will not detract from the experience.

The House of Strange Secrets CHAPTER I THE STRANGE AFFAIR ON THE LONELY MOOR SQUIRE CARRINGTONS carriage, this way, please, proclaimed this magnificent powdered footman wearing theM arquis of Moorland slivery. His stentorian tones echoing from the porch, over which were suspended the noblemans arms, interrupted an edifying conversation betweenS quire Carrington scoachman and the individual who presided over another local dignitarys stables, both of whom, with their carriages, had taken refuge from the inclement weather beneath the stately ash trees which were the pride of their noble owner and his gardener (by the way, a far more important personage). Well, goode ning to yer, Mr.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org

Chapter XXII. A victim of treachery. Once more 'King Foo-foo the First' was roving with the tramps and outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo when the Ruffler's back was turned. None but Canty and Hugo really disliked him. Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck and spirit. During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge the King was, did what he covertly could to make the boy uncomfortable; and at night, during the customary orgies, he amused the company by putting small indignities upon him—always as if by accident. Twice he stepped upon the King's toes—accidentally—and the King, as became his royalty, was contemptuously unconscious of it and indifferent to it; but the third time Hugo entertained himself in that way, the King felled him to the ground with a cudgel, to the prodigious delight of the tribe. Hugo, consumed with anger and shame, sprang up, seized a cudgel, and came at his small adversary in a fury. Instantly a ring was formed around the gladiators, and the betting and cheering began. But poor Hugo stood no chance whatever. His frantic and lubberly 'prentice-work found but a poor market for itself when pitted against an arm which had been trained by the first masters of Europe in single-stick, quarter-staff, and every art and trick of swordsmanship. The little King stood, alert but at graceful ease, and caught and turned aside the thick rain of blows with a facility and precision which set the motley on-lookers wild with admiration; and every now and then, when his practised eye detected an opening, and a lightning-swift rap upon Hugo's head followed as a result, the storm of cheers and laughter that swept the place was something wonderful to hear. At the end of fifteen minutes, Hugo, all battered, bruised, and the target for a pitiless bombardment of ridicule, slunk from the field; and the unscathed hero of the fight was seized and borne aloft upon the shoulders of the joyous rabble to the place of honour beside the Ruffler, where with vast ceremony he was crowned King of the Game-Cocks; his meaner title being at the same time solemnly cancelled and annulled, and a decree of banishment from the gang pronounced against any who should thenceforth utter it. All attempts to make the King serviceable to the troop had failed. He had stubbornly refused to act; moreover, he was always trying to escape. He had been thrust into an unwatched kitchen, the first day of his return; he not only came forth empty-handed, but tried to rouse the housemates. He was sent out with a tinker to help him at his work; he would not work; moreover, he threatened the tinker with his own soldering-iron; and finally both Hugo and the tinker found their hands full with the mere matter of keeping his from getting away. He delivered the thunders of his royalty upon the heads of all who hampered his liberties or tried to force him to service....

Mary Noailles Murfree (January 24, 1850 – July 31, 1922) was an American fiction writer of novels and short stories who wrote under the pen name Charles Egbert Craddock. She is considered by many to be Appalachia's first significant female writer and her work a necessity for the study of Appalachian literature, although a number of characters in her work reinforce negative stereotypes about the region. She has been favorably compared to Bret Harte and Sarah Orne Jewett, creating post-Civil War American local-color literature. The town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is named after Murfree's great-grandfather Colonel Hardy Murfree, who fought in the Revolutionary War.Murfree was born on her family's cotton plantation, Grantland, near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a location later celebrated in her novel, Where the Battle was Fought and in the town named after her great-grandfather, Colonel Hardy Murfree. Her father was a successful lawyer of Nashville, and her youth was spent in both Murfreesboro and Nashville. From 1867 to 1869 she attended the Chegary Institute, a finishing school in Philadelphia.[citation needed] Murfree would spend her summers in Beersheba Springs. For a number of years after the Civil War the Murfree family lived in St. Louis, returning in 1890 to Murfreesboro, where she lived until her death.

Leopold is delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. This means that we have checked every single page in every title, making it highly unlikely that any material imperfections – such as poor picture quality, blurred or missing text - remain. When our staff observed such imperfections in the original work, these have either been repaired, or the title has been excluded from the Leopold Classic Library catalogue. As part of our on-going commitment to delivering value to the reader, within the book we have also provided you with a link to a website, where you may download a digital version of this work for free. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience. If you would like to learn more about the Leopold Classic Library collection please visit our website at www.leopoldclassiclibrary.com

Life is complicated when you are pregnant at 17. But when the father doesn’t know and he is marrying another right in front of you, it is bound to break your heart. What does Ellie do? Cry on her daughter’s shoulders?Alexandra’s world is shattered when the only family she has is brutally murdered. A series of strange encounters, and her relentlessly curious nature, lead her into the woods where she meets a destiny that has been chasing her since birth. She is brought into a world of demons that is fraught with turmoil and deadly power struggles. Lord Balthazar, a demon prince trying to hold his new kingdom together, seizes the opportunity, taking her hostage in a bid to gain the power he so badly needs. Alexandra’s strong-willed, defiant personality not only gets her into heaps of trouble, but also manages to gain the unlikely affections of the handsome demon prince that is holding her captive. As time begins to run out for both of them, sacrifices must be made. By the time they realize their true desires, it may be too late.

Fourteen year-old Peter Campbell and his four classmates are stuck on a sentient starship during a class trip when the base is attacked. The quirky ship has yet to develop his full personality, yet must escape the battle - until he is knocked off-line.The kids send the ship into hyperspace, coming out lost and with no adults left alive. Thus begins the 1,000-year Tales of the Antares Rangers.Book One of the award-winning Tales of the Antares Rangers Series ...Life is a challenge when you are one of only five children living on a secret research and development base in a star system filled with asteroids. Each day begins when an engineer turns on the overhead lights; it ends when the lights go out. There are no forests or parks to wander within; no mountains or hills to climb. The warmth of the white-hot sun called Vega can't even be felt on your face. The highlight of each day is attending class with four friends chosen for you by circumstance, but even the pleasures of school are reduced to the impersonal lesson plans received from a programmed computer.This is the life of Peter Rising Sun Campbell and his four classmates, stuck within a web of tunnels inside a sterile asteroid orbiting among millions, simply because an alien race is trying to exterminate your species. How could life get any more difficult?Peter, Stiles, Henrietta, Ali, and Jimmy are about to find out.

When Roric was born little did he know that his family would die violently as he watched and that his world would crumble only to later find himself chained into the life of a slave forced to survive in the world of the arena where every match meant death for someone, but he survived and one day he escaped.A Warrior’s Redemption is the beginning of a family saga that starts with a boy named Roric. He lives on a distant world that is full of unrest, where disputes are settled by the sword. Little is known of how they came to this world, only that they came from a place known as Earth, in the distant past. How they came is a mystery that some want to discover again while others would gladly die to keep those secrets from ever seeing the light of day. Roric’s father tired of keeping the secrets of his ancestors, from the people of his nation, forsakes his family’s oath, and leaves to find peace in another land. Little did he know that the wickedness of the land that he settles in would kill him and all his family, except for his oldest son, Roric. Roric, embittered by seeing the death of his family, finds himself sold into slavery. He becomes a survivor in the arena, where man is matched to the death against man and beast alike. He escapes only to pursue a life of vengeance against those who afflicted him and killed his family. Tormented by a life without peace, he remembers the guiding words of his mother, which open up a path of redemption that becomes the guiding influence of his life. Through acts of intrigue and deception he is lead to the awareness of the darker menace within a spiritual world that is unseen, but that he is no less involved in. He travels to the land of his ancestors, a place of majestic mountains and the valleys that lie between them that are settled by a people that exist in peace only because of the warriors that have fought and died to keep them so. It is in protecting these people that Roric finds a reason worth fighting for. He grapples with the long held secrets of his family and unlike his father before him, decides to fight so that his people can remain free. He rises above his humble past to become a leader that inspires a nation in its fight for survival and becomes a legend.

Edmond Eugne Alexis Rostand (1868 -1918) was a French poet and dramatist. Edmond Rostand's best-known work was Cyrano de Bergerac. In 1901, Rostand became the youngest writer to be elected to the Academie Francasie. Chantecter is a fantasy play about bird and animal life, with the characters being denizens of the farmyard and the woods.

In the future, telepathy is no longer a fantasy; it's a job. Gina is a woman with no future trying to make her way on the Street of Eyes, where people go to hire the desperate and the suicidal for their unique services. She is one of the new underclass, who use "Spice"- a powerful drug that gives them the ability to read minds. The drug has only one downside- it drives the user insane.The Civil War took Sonja Brooks' husband and left her alone. Unprotected and scared, she runs headlong into a life changing event when she's attacked by a pack of wolves. Her fate as a werewolf is sealed. When she stumbles upon Ty Loflin, a Rebel solider dying of his wounds, she nurses him back to health. He's the perfect mate, but will he want her once he knows the truth? In this sample at 7,000 words, Catherine Wolffe weaves a new blend of western romance with paranormal elements involving werewolves and vampires.

Includes 3 'terrorific' short stories.Playing hide-and-seek in a cemetery is disrespectful. When it happens to be cursed, it can be deadly.Includes bonus stories: Brother's Keeper - Zack would be wise to spend less time looking for his missing sled & more worrying about what's lurking outside.Grandpa's suits - A game of spin-the-bottle with the school pervert isn't a bright idea.Includes two free additional short stories.That's three 'terrorific' short stories for one low price.Playing hide-and-seek in a cemetery is disrespectful. When it happens to be cursed, the results can be deadly. Or even worse, as Jason finds out when he takes a bet to play an ill-fated game on Halloween.Includes the bonus short story: Brother's Keeper - Zack would be wise to spend less time looking for his missing sled and more time worrying about what is lurking outside. But he's not the only one who'll have to pay for his single-mindedness.Also includes the bonus short story: Grandpa's suits - A game of spin-the-bottle with the school pervert isn't a bright idea. Fortunately for Zoey, she's not quite alone.These stories are not recommended for kids under 8.

A secret wish, longing tears. Ems had given up on all hope she would ever find the right man. The man of her dreams. The one! When Max came along, she didn't realise he was for her! But the secret which he carried, was so deep, would she find out and would this destroy all of her hopes and dreams?A woman who wishes for love, falls for a man who isn't all he appears to be! He has a deep secret, one that will either ultimately destroy the relationship or make this a love beyond the universe, beyond a lifetime! What is the deep secret he wants to keep from her? What will happen? Will she find out? What then?

A book that instantly captured the hearts of readers across the country, An American Childhood is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard's poignant, vivid memoir of growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.

Alice runs from a life at Border rather than facing it to make it better. Instead, it's all about school and grades so she can finally escape to the Academy and learn how to cure the Veldt: her one dream. Then she meets Gau and discovers not only what she really wants, but what she is truly afraid of.*(this is a work of fan-fiction; events take place after those of Final Fantasy VI)Alice lives in a new town on the outskirts of the Veldt: Border. You could say she's a botanist, of sorts. A teen.Alice runs from a life at Border rather than facing it to make it better. Instead, it's all about school and grades so she can finally escape to the Academy and learn how to cure the Veldt: her one dream. Alice wants to be more than what she is; more than what the small town of Border can offer.As one of the people who battled against Kefka and won, Gau has already experienced a life of adventure. He wants nothing more than to sit back and relish the simple life. When Gau and Alice meet, they strike an instant friendship--and an immediate bargain: Alice agrees to get him into the local school.Through friendships and comradeship Gau learns what it means to be a teenager, and Alice discovers what she truly wants--and what she is afraid of.*(this is a work of fan-fiction; events take place after those of Final Fantasy VI)

Ferus Olin's allegiance is to the Jedi. But when he's summoned to see the Emperor, the Sith Lord makes him an offer he can't refuse. If he can manage to prevent a planet from plunging into chaos, the Empire will spare Ferus's captured friends. And if he doesn't . . . they'll die. Another heart-stopping Jedi adventure from bestselling author Jude Watson.

Tyler Bailey is bored and weary of his workaday life, so naturally he jumps at the chance to relive just one day of his wonderful, carefree life as a teenager. Will it be as wonderful as he imagines?Shakespeare called his play ‘Richard III’ a tragedy. Its centre is the disappearance of 12 year-old Prince Edward and 10 year-old Prince Richard, the sons of King Edward IV, from the care of their uncle, King Richard III. Shakespeare and history accuse Richard of murdering the Princes, within months of their father’s death, in April 1483, but in each century since, starting in the 1490s, there have been dissenting voices.By 2012 many millions of words have been written about what happened to the Princes, yet no-one has ever offered a satisfactory or complete explanation, at least not until now. The problem with the explanation is it has magic at its heart, the magic of the necromancer, and historians won’t allow themselves to believe in magic.Amongst all the fantasy of Horror and Sci-Fi on our bookshelves there is room for a little medieval High Magic; the more so since it may be true.The author and narrator does undertake psychic investigations, as mentioned in the book. The Arthur Findlay College at Stansted Hall, where the story opens, is a World centre for psychic studies and mediumship. Does it matter whether The Necromancer is a true story or fiction? If you accept there is no such thing as ‘single-pointed reality,’ there are many different realities, that miracles and other impossibilities are a good deal more common than people think, and that what people believe is what really matters; you may conclude simply The Necromancer is a good story.Because this is an interactive eBook you have free access to the full text of three important books of history, not to mention the Odyssey, two major books on magic and many other materials. In all there are 54 hyperlinks to relevant pages on the Internet.Leave historical authority and extended backgrounds to the hyperlinks. They allow you and the author to get on with the story in all its twists and turns. The strengths and weaknesses of historical figures are shown; the character of the little known Thomas Nandyke, the necromancer, is brought to light and brought to life.If you’re hooked, and you will be, Parts II & III go on to put right the world we live in, they deal with King Louis XI and bishop Morton; Part III restores Hastings and Rivers, not to mention the Princes, of whom there are three, including Richard III’s own son.As is usual with Mike Voyce, this story stands on the boundary between Truth and Fiction; it’s as true as you want it to be. If you take the insights into the nature of realities, the ‘After Word on Truth,’ right at the very end of the whole book, will clear the mists which still seem to cloud our own world.

Cradled in swords, the war-child comes October. When the leaves turn blood and the wind turns bone: a time for doings dark and strange. The princess bears a child to the winged thing and the cries are heard far beyond the peaks of Dragon's Teeth, at the end of the world's Beginning, where Nepanthe and Mocker wait for the war that wizard's dread.

A woman has second thoughts on her wedding day when she discovers disturbing information about her husband to be. (Short Fiction)This first collection of contemporary poems includes works previously published in the USA and New Zealand. The collection uses narrative, prose, Fibonacci sequences, odes, and open forms to describe experiences from a range of socio cultural perspectives. The collection explores composition, childhood freedoms, the complexities of intimacy, and short pieces about moveable objects.