Something Dark tells the true story of Lemn Sissay who as a baby was given up by his Ethiopian mother in the 1960s. He was renamed Norman Greenwood and nicknamed Chalky White throughout his turbulent childhood in care, only to find out his real name at the age of 18. No longer the possession of the social services, he left the brutal suburbs of Lancashire for the bright lights of Manchester where he became a celebrated performance poet. Aged 21 Lemn left for Gambia in search of his mother and the truth about his father. Something Dark is now a set text on Edexcel's Contemporary Black British Literature: A Guide.

An introduction to the Decadent writer Stanislaus Eric Stenbock for the general reader, offering morbid stories, suicidal poems, and an autobiographical essay. Described by W. B. Yeats as a "scholar, connoisseur, drunkard, poet, pervert, most charming of men," Count Stanislaus Eric Stenbock (1860-1895) is surely the greatest exemplar of the Decadent movement of the late nineteenth century. A friend of Aubrey Beardsley, patron of the extraordinary pre-Raphaelite artist Simeon Solomon, and contemporary of Oscar Wilde, Stenbock died at the age of thirty-six as a result of his addiction to opium and his alcoholism, having published just three slim volumes of suicidal poetry and one collection of morbid short stories. Stenbock was a homosexual convert to Roman Catholicism and owner of a serpent, a toad, and a dachshund called Trixie. It was said that toward the end of his life he was accompanied everywhere by a life-size wooden doll that he believed to be his son. His poems and stories are replete with queer, supernatural, mystical, and Satanic themes; original editions of his books are highly sought by collectors of recherché literature. Of Kings and Things is the first introduction to Stenbock's writing for the general reader, offering fifteen stories, eight poems and one autobiographical essay by this complex figure.

The first gay protest novel, first published by G.P. Putnam, May, 1971

Greedy, arrogant and fearless in his pursuit of gratification, Gerald Evans had few boundaries. But when he was careless with the money and wife of a major crime figure, consequences came in the form of underworld assassins. Although their first attempt to end Gerald's life was successful, doctors and an angelic spirit are able to pull him back from the death that embraced his body and soul. It's then that Gerald's family learns of the magnitude of his corruptions and also of the horrific story he relates about his journey to Hell, and the tortures he endured there during his brief but chilling death. Fearful of ever returning to that terrible place, Gerald is determined to repent his ways, but the killers are just as determined to complete their job. Suspicious of Gerald's story and intentions, his small and vulnerable family will reluctantly put themselves in harm's way to protect a man that has tested their love and violated their trust. At the head of the family, Gerald's brother-in-law, Jayme Harrison, will find himself caught between the influences of Heaven and Hell, assassins and police, while trying to keep the fractured family unified and the man he dislikes alive. Now with lives and souls at stake, they all have good reason to fear something in the dark.

The Black Star is a criminal mastermind who is pursued by Roger Verbeck and Muggs, a millionaire bachelor and his ex-thug partner. Black Star is a gentleman criminal in that he does not commit murder, nor does he permit any of his gang to kill anyone, not even the police or his arch enemy Roger Verbeck. He does not threaten women, always keeps his word, and is invariably courteous. He is always seen in a black cloak and a black hood on which is embossed a jet black star. The Black Star and his gang used "vapor bombs" and "vapor guns" which rendered their victims instantly unconscious.

Musaicum Books presents to you a meticulously edited Francis Marion Crawford collection. This ebook has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Content: Mr Isaacs With the Immortals Khaled: A Tale of Arabia The Witch of Prague The Upper Berth By the Waters of Paradise The Dead Smile Cecilia Man Overboard! For the Blood Is the Life The King's Messenger The Screaming Skull The Doll's Ghost

This meticulously edited Francis Marion Crawford collection is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Mr Isaacs With the Immortals Khaled: A Tale of Arabia The Witch of Prague The Upper Berth By the Waters of Paradise The Dead Smile Cecilia Man Overboard! For the Blood Is the Life The King's Messenger The Screaming Skull The Doll's Ghost

Guild Court is the 1869 novel by the famous Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister, George MacDonald. The story follows two families through a series of interconnected tales and several twists of fortune. A quaint story with unforgettable characters that made George MacDonald the great author he was know as.

A magazine of tales, travels, essays, and poems.