Martin Clifton
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an influential and prolific English writer of the early 20th century. He was a journalist, a poet a…
The Wisdom of Father Brown
This is the second of five books of short stories about G. K. Chesterton’s fictional detective, first published in 1914. Father Brown is a s…
The Diary of a Nobody
The Diary of a Nobody is the fictitious record of fifteen months in the life of Charles Pooter, his family, friends and small circle of acqu…
Crome Yellow
Crome Yellow, published in 1921 was Aldous Huxley’s first novel. In it he satirizes the fads and fashions of the time. It is the witty story…
Queen Lucia
E. F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, where his father, who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, was th…
The Vicar of Wakefield
Published in 1766, 'The Vicar of Wakefield' was Oliver Goldsmith's only novel. It was thought to have been sold to the publisher for £…
Tales of the Five Towns
This is a selection of short stories recounting, with gentle satire and tolerant good humour, the small town provincial life at the end of t…
Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures
Douglas William Jerrold (1803-1857) was the son of an actor manager. After some time in the Navy and as an apprentice printer he became a pl…
A Personal Anthology of Shakespeare
This personal anthology is my choice of speeches from Shakespeare that I enjoy reading (that I would like to have had by heart years ago!) a…
On the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery
Joseph Lister was born near London in 1827. He studied medicine at the University of London and pursued a career as a surgeon in Scotland. H…