Penny Bloods: Gothic Tales of Dangerous Women edited by Nicole C. Dittmer, 240 pages

 Her cheeks were pale, and her eyes had the wild and stolid glare which Rodolph had observed when she awakened from the slumber of the grave; she quitted the castle, and after gazing around her, as if uncertain which way to go, she proceeded towards the village.

In the mid 1800s, the inexpensive publications known as penny bloods were all the rage in Britain. Spinning tales of high Gothic drama, violence and monstrosity, this literary phenomenon was significant for its depictions of dangerous and transgressive women which inspired such milestone Gothic works as Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla .

Collecting ten tales from classic – and truly obscure – penny publications and featuring newly edited text and insights from Dr Dittmer’s research, this new volume revives a company of witches, femme fatales, vampire mistresses and deadly criminals to enthrall a new generation of readers.

Jolly Festive, Jeeves: Seasonal Short Stories by P. G. Wodehouse, 322 pages

 A joyous romp through a year of Wodehouse's most treasured stories, month by month. The ultimate gift for anyone who needs cheering throughout the year. All of his treasured characters are here, Jeeves, Smith and, of course, the Empress of Blandings herself.'

The World's Greatest Christmas Stories by Eric Posselt, 426 pages

 Book of short stories about Christmas from many different countries. Black and white illustrations.

A Great Treasury of Great Ghost Stories, 256 pages

 Come into the haunted garden of ghastly, ghoulish delight. Here you will find the greatest ghost stories ever written- all woven from the stuff that nightmares are made The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Markeim by Robert Louis Stevenson The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe Who Knows? by Guy de Maupassant The Portrait by Nikolai Gogol and other masterpieces of sheer, shivering horror.

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis by Max Shulman, 211 pages

 Including stories first published in Cosmopolitan and theSaturday Evening Post, this bestselling collection follows the romantic escapades of Max Shulman’s famed collegiate Don Juan. Like most undergraduates, Dobie Gillis is a bit scattered―sometimes he’s as quick as a whip, other times dull as a doorstop, and his major keeps changing from chemistry to law to journalism. But no matter what subject he should be studying, Dobie always has a girl on his mind.

Ancient Ghost Stories, 256 pages

 Ghosts and apparitions abound across the peoples of the early civilizations, from the Ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and the Vikings too.

Phantoms of the dead, warning apparitions and necromancy – there are many stories of ghosts to be found in the retold literature of ancient ‘Khonsemhab and the Ghost’ and ‘The Adventure of Setne Khamwas with the Mummies’, both from Ancient Egypt; ‘Philinnion and Machates’ from Ancient Rome; spirits featured in Homer’s Odyssey , from Ancient Greece; tales of Babylonian demons and the netherworld; and stories of fire apparitions from Japan. The Vikings too had their fair share of ghosts, such as crop up in the 13th-century Icelandic Laxdaela Saga . These stories are all brought together in this new collection for an intriguing insight into the spirit world of early cultures.

Some Awfully Tame But kinda funny stories about early Missouri's Ladies of the Evening by Bruce Carlson, 169 pages

 Missouri's Ladies-Of-The-Evening is a book about those girls back around the turn of the century who practiced that age-old profession in Missouri. This isn't a book of passion, lust, or heavy breathing. It's simply a collection of stories about incidents, situations, and people of a couple of generations ago. These aren't profound stories of historical significance or cosmic importance. They're just stories that would have gotten lost if I hadn't gotten 'em down here. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed collecting and writing them.

Tales From Missouri by V. G. Taylor, 135 pages

 Old tales of Missouri's past.

A Garland for Girls by Louisa May Alcott, 286 pages

 

Mischief in the Mountains by Walter R. Hard Jr and Janet C. Greene, 174 pages

 Strange Tales of Vermont & Vermonters. From deep within the Green Mountains: 13 incredible true tales of mystery, criminality, hardship & humor from Vermont Life Magazine.

Prologue, L.G. Blochman
The man who wouldn't be bored, S. Greene & W. Hard, Jr
Where did the sailor die? R.N. Hill
Fall of the House of Hayden, L.A. Lamoreux
The deep frozen folk of Farmer Morse, W.S. Griswold
The sad fate of John O'Neil, G.G. Connelly
The vampire's heart, R. Stephens
Money, injustice & Bristol Bill, S. Greene
Eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death, S.L. Vigilante
The Boorn mystery, R.S. Allen
The strange wedding of the Widow Ward, N.C. Stevenson & M. Hoyt
The money diggers, S. Green
Odd men out, L.C. Moore
Case of the rejected hero, A.H. Blackington
Epilogue, C.T. Morrisey

Carry on, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse, 235 pages

 

The Peerless Jeeves makes his first appearance in this magical collection of ten short stories, in which he extricates the chronically befuddled Bertie Wooster from countless jams with formidable aunts, brainy girls, unbidden guests, and pals in a bind.

Kate's Choice by Louisa May Alcott, 121 pages

 In "Kate's Choice" a young English girl inherits a financial windfall when she is suddenly orphaned. Per her father's wish, she is sent to America to live with the families of each of her four uncles in order to choose where she will live. Each family is full of wonderful, prosperous interesting people, all of them anxious that Kate should choose their family to stay with. But at Christmastime, Kate surprises them all by announcing whom she shall stay with.

The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story by Louisa May Alcott, 122 pages

 Introducing a newly discovered original Christmas story from Louisa May Alcott -- the beloved author who has entertained generations of readers with Little Women, Little Men, and other enchanting tales. The Quiet Little Woman is about a lonely orphan girl named Patty, whose only desire is for a family to love her. Her tender story will warm the hearts of readers young and old alike. Two bonus stories -- Tilly's Christmas and Rosa's Tale -- are included in this exquisite edition. The message of hope and love makes this book an ideal Christmas gift, sure to become a family tradition and treasured keepsake.

Short Stories by Louisa May Alcott, 55 pages

 Before she wrote Little Women — one of the most popular books for children ever written — Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) served during the Civil War as a volunteer nurse in Washington, D.C. Drawing on that episode in her life, she produced Hospital Sketches, a fictionalized account of her experiences at the military hospital in Georgetown.

This collection of five poignant short stories contains two pieces from Hospital Sketches, published in 1863: "Obtaining Supplies," recounting the obstacles Alcott's fictionalized persona, Tribulation Periwinkle, faced in gaining her independence and getting to Washington; and "A Night," a moving account of her encounter with a dying soldier. Also included are "My Contraband," a gripping tale of vengeance involving a Civil War nurse, her Confederate patient and his former slave; "Happy Women," a fictionalized essay about four "spinsters" with a positive attitude toward their marital status; and "How I Went Out to Service," an autobiographical sketch of a young woman's undaunted pursuit of financial independence.

Rich in their simple eloquence, these stories provide revealing glimpses of the concerns and literary techniques of one of America's most admired authors.

Stinetinglers by R. L. Stine, 210 pages

 A boy who hates bugs starts to see them everywhere. A basketball player’s skin starts to almost drip off his hands―but no one else can see it. Three friends find a hole in the ground that just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger... And each story is introduced by Stine himself, providing a personal touch sure to delight fans.

Laced with Stine’s signature humor and a hefty dose of nightmarish fun, Stinetinglers is perfect for fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Stine’s own Goosebumps books. These chilling tales prove that Stine’s epic legacy in the horror genre is justly earned. Dive in, and beware: you might be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

The Necklace and Other Short Stories by Guy de Maupassat, 119 pages

 The French author Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) was a master of the short story, creating detailed character studies and brief but moving dramas well suited to the genre.

The nine stories in this collection provide a vivid portrait gallery of his typical subjects — from simple peasants and prostitutes to soldiers, government clerks, and provincial bourgeois. Brilliantly naturalistic, these short works also reveal Maupassant's ability to observe the innumerable details of everyday life and reproduce them artfully and accurately, often with a caustic sense of humor.

His literary talents are amply displayed in this volume, which includes the memorable tale "Ball-of-Fat," regarded by many as technically one of the finest short stories ever written.

Ball-of-Fat (Boule de Suif)
The Necklace
A Piece of String
Mme. Tellier's Establishment
Mademoiselle Fifi
Miss Harriet
A Way to Wealth
My Uncle Jules
The Horla

Dubliners by James Joyce, 152 pages

 This work of art reflects life in Ireland at the turn of the last century, and by rejecting euphemism, reveals to the Irish their unromantic realities. Each of the 15 stories offers glimpses into the lives of ordinary Dubliners, and collectively they paint a portrait of a nation.

The Arabian Nights: The Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor and Other Stories, 347 pages

 Having invited his brother, Schahzeman, to pay a royal visit, Schahriar finds his fraternal guest sadly out of humour. The cause of Schahzeman's ailment is his wife's infidelity, which he has remedied by smiting her and her lover. His mood improves when he discovers that Schahriar is being similarly duped, that faithless spouses are commonplace; but explaining his miraculous recovery leads his brother to take drastic action regarding the occupants of the royal bed.

To ensure his consorts' chastity, Schahriar has each new bride executed on the morning after the nuptials. Eventually, the stock of eligible females is depleted, leaving Wazir - the supplir of fresh maidenhood - in despair. Wazir's daughter, Scheherazade, volunteers herself for the task, armed with nothing but the countless tales she has collected over many years. The stories, always left tantalizingly unfinished at dawn, ensure her safety and that of all the virgins of the kingdom.
The Arabian Nights tales, including the adventures of Sindbad and Aladdin, are full of wonder and exotic charm, transporting readers to distant lands that have become part of our imaginative landscape.

Pearl S. Buck's Book of Christmas, edited by Lyle Engel, 507 pages

A collection of Christmas stories that had been selected by Pearl Buck and was published after her death. Features authors such as O. Henry, Frank Baum, Hans Christian Anderson and a multitude of other authors. 

The Doll's Alphabet by Camilla Grudova, 162 pages

 Surreal, ambitious, and exquisitely conceived, The Doll's Alphabetis a collection of stories in the tradition of Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood. Dolls, sewing machines, tinned foods, mirrors, malfunctioning bodies - many images recur in stories that are in turn child-like and naive, grotesque and very dark.

In Unstitching, a feminist revolution takes place. In Waxy, a factory worker fights to keep hold of her Man in a society where it is frowned upon to be Manless. In Agata's Machine, two schoolgirls conjure a Pierrot and an angel in a dank attic room. In Notes from a Spider, a half-man, half-spider finds love in a great European city.
By constantly reinventing ways to engage with her obsessions and motifs, Camilla Grudova has come up with a method for storytelling that is highly imaginative, incredibly original, and absolutely discomfiting.

Content:
- Unstitching (2017)
- The Mouse Queen (2017)
- The Gothic Society (2017)
- Waxy (2016)
- The Doll's Alphabet (2017)
- The Mermaid (2017)
- Agata's Machine (2015)
- Rhinoceros (2017)
- The Sad Tale of the Sconce (2017)
- Edward, Do Not Pamper the Dead (2017)
- Hungarian Sprats (2017)
- The Moth Emporium (2017)
- Notes from a Spider