Showing results by author "J. S. Fletcher" in All Categories

'The Other Sense' is the story of a young man, Angus MacIntyre, whose ability to see phenomena - ghosts in particular - which other people cannot has caused his guardian to think he is insane and send him to stay with Dr. Schreiber, who is specialised in mental disorders. While there, Angus begins to see the spectre of a pale young man who appears to be seeking something in the doctor's house and garden. Together with the doctor, Angus sets out to solve the mystery.

"The Rayner-Slade Amalgamation" is a detective novel by J. S. Fletcher. Excerpt from the book: About eleven o'clock on the night of Monday, May 12, 1914, Marshall Allerdyke, a bachelor of forty, a man of great mental and physical activity, well known in Bradford as a highly successful manufacturer of dress goods, alighted at the Central Station in that city from an express which had just arrived from Manchester, where he had spent the day on business.

A delightful collection of light-hearted classic stories from some of the greatest Victorian and Edwardian-era writers.

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian golden age of the short story. This collection brings together some of the finest and most diverse examples of Fletcher's genius.

Skinflint is a bittersweet tale of an embittered middle-aged woman who has never recovered from being jilted as a young woman. Since that sorry episode she has thrown herself into the micro-management of her grocery and drapery business. Then one day she learns that her former lover is on the brink of ruin...and the memories of her youth come surging back....

The Secret of the Barbican is the story of a small-town solicitor who on a chance visit to a local museum in a distant town discovers a set of rare siege coins. He instantly recognizes them as the set of coins which had been stolen from his own town corporation many years previously. He immediately sets out to investigate...and the thief's trail takes him to some quite extraordinary places....

'Room 53' tells the story of Beatrice, a bookaholic hotel chambermaid. When a guest at the hotel wakes late one morning to discover he has been robbed of his collection of valuable diamonds, Beatrice discovers a clue to the whereabouts of the suspected thief. She sets off to London to track the mysterious stranger down....

'The Permanent Tenant' is the story of a loyal dog, Boris, whose master disappeared suddenly under mysterious circumstances three years earlier. The faithful hound sits day after day in the garden of a cottage, looking out at the sea. Every evening Boris wanders down to the seaside cove where his master vanished in search of him. Clearly the dog is convinced that his master will one day return. And then one day something astounding happens....

'The Man in the Fur Coat' is a fast-paced adventure in which a young journalist on the verge of destitution is picked out of the crowd by a well-dressed stranger in a fur coat. The wealthy man has a very strange proposition for the young writer. But first he must perform a bizarre treasure hunt through London collecting clues from mysterious strangers. Eventually he finds the meaning of the whole weird tale...and it is stranger than he could ever have imagined.

'The Influence Fails' is a mystery story involving a dastardly plot. A young man finds himself suddenly and unexpectedly in a strange dining room in a house he has never been to before, with no memory of how he came to be there. A moment later, the owner of the house enters the room...and is naturally suspicious about the man's motives. But how did he get there? Why did he come? What can it all mean?

'Green Ink' is a classic Victorian detective story. Carsdale the solicitor receives a mysterious visit from Mr. Flapp, an old Wrychester resident who has just returned from years of travel overseas. The purpose of the visit remains mysterious, although Grice, the clerk, believes that Mr. Flapp left something with Carsdale. When next day Mr. Flapp is found drowned in the canal, Carsdale is surprisingly silent on the subject of his business with Flapp.

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian golden age of the short story. The eminent Doctor Clement Holford has a strange artifact in his study. A glass-fronted wall cabinet containing many rare books about poisons and a hermetically sealed glass box in which is a single white kid glove. The story behind these objects is an uncanny one.

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863 - 1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian "Golden Age" of the short story. 'The Vengeance of La Maraye' is the terrible tale of a cruel feudal lord, the Sieur de Brieux, who behaves like a tyrant towards his serfs on the island of La Maraye. This is the story of how the islanders finally get their awful revenge.

'The Registered Packet' is the story of Martineau, a young man returning home by ship after a two-year absence. On the ship he meets a stranger and volunteers to deliver a small parcel for him to the nearest post office, in order that his fellow traveller might catch his train. But on arrival in Hull, Martineau inadvertently leaves his bag in the cab. He is able to track down the vehicle and find his bag again, but to his horror the packet which was entrusted to him has disappeared.

'Mr. Leggatt Leaves His Card' tells the story of a robbery. The famous and invaluable Hislip Chalice is stolen from the safe of the parish church at Meddersley, and the Reverend Francis Leggatt, Vicar of Meddersley, sets quickly out to solve the mystery before the ecclesiastical authorities get wind of it.

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863-1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and nonfiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian 'golden age' of the short story. 'Against Time' is the adventure of a young clerk, Ledbitter, who realises, to his horror, that he has forgotten to post an important letter from his employer to a prospective client containing a valuable tender.

'Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea' is the tale of two enemies abandoned on a deserted island. Pierre Rochelle, a convict escaped from a French penal colony, has been living alone on a remote Pacific island for the past three years, with no means of escape. Then one day he finds a man asleep on the beach on the far side of the island. The new arrival has just been marooned by his mutineering shipmates. Even as he still sleeps, Rochelle recognizes him as Gaston Charette - his own mortal enemy, the man whose false testimony had sent him to the penal colony in the first place.

Joseph Smith Fletcher (1863 - 1935) was a British journalist and author. He wrote more than 230 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the Victorian 'Golden Age' of the short story. The Lighthouse on Shivering Sand is the macabre tale of a new man arriving to work as assistant keeper at a remote lighthouse.

As the sun lengthens its days to summer, so a sport begins to dominate the thoughts and actions of many people. This game, which so encapsulated the village greens and evening song of Middle England, has now spread across the world.