Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton
Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton's Books(2)
Zanoni
Modern One of the peculiarities of Bulwer was his passion for occult studies. They had a charm for him early in life, and he pursued them with the earnestness which characterised his pursuit of other studies. He became absorbed in wizard lore; he equipped himself with magical implements,— with rods for transmitting influence, and crystal balls in which to discern coming scenes and persons; and communed with spiritualists and mediums. The fruit of these mystic studies is seen in “Zanoni” and “A strange Story,” romances which were a labour of love to the author, and into which he threw all the power he possessed,— power reenforced by multifarious reading and an instinctive appreciation of Oriental thought. These weird stories, in which the author has formulated his theory of magic, are of a wholly different type from his previous fictions, and, in place of the heroes and villains of every day life, we have beings that belong in part to another sphere, and that deal with mysterious and occult agencies. Once more the old forgotten lore of the Cabala is unfolded; the furnace of the alchemist, whose fires have been extinct for centuries, is lighted anew, and the lamp of the Rosicrucian reillumined. No other works of the author, contradictory as have been the opinions of them, have provoked such a diversity of criticism as these. To some persons they represent a temporary aberration of genius rather than any serious thought or definite purpose; while others regard them as surpassing in bold and original speculation, profound analysis of character, and thrilling interest, all of the author’s other works. The truth, we believe, lies midway between these extremes. It is questionable whether the introduction into a novel of such subjects as are discussed in these romances be not an offence against good sense and good taste; but it is as unreasonable to deny the vigour and originality of their author’s conceptions, as to deny that the execution is imperfect, and, at times, bungling and absurd. You might like
Sanders of the River
Edgar Wallace
Mr. Commissioner Sanders had graduated to West Central Africa by such easy stages that he did not realise when his acquaintance with the back lands began. Long before he was called upon by the British Government to keep a watchful eye upon some quarter of a million cannibal folk, who ten years before had regarded white men as we regard the unicorn; he had met the Basuto, the Zulu, the Fingo, the Pondo, Matabele, Mashona, Barotse, Hottentot, and Bechuana. Then curiosity and interest took him westward and northward, and he met the Angola folk, then northward to the Congo, westward to the Masai, and finally, by way of the Pigmy people, he came to his own land. The Bride of the Sun
Gaston Leroux
1915. Written by the author of Phantom of the Opera,this tale takes us to Peru where Dick Montgomery hopes to marry his fiance, Maria-Teresa de la Torre, the daughter of a Spanish marquis. Because of their disrespectful manner, Maria-Teresa discharges a group of Quichua Indians working in the household, including Huascar. It is heard that the Indians have found an Incan king and are going to celebrate an ancient ceremony wherein a virgin bride is sacrificed to the Sun King. Maria-Teresa is the chosen victim and is kidnapped. Dick and Maria-Teresa's father attempt to save her, but are unsuccessful. Huascar comes to them, saying he will save Maria-Teresa, but is he to be trusted? Left with no choice, they take Huascar at his word, and the rescue begins. 
