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1Beetle

By Richard Marsh

A story about a mysterious oriental figure who pursues a British politician to London, where he wreaks havoc with his powers of hypnosis and shape-shifting, Marsh's novel is of a piece with other sensational turn-of-the-century fictions such as Stoker's Dracula, George du Maurier's Trilby, and Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels. Like <em>Dracula</em> and many of the sensation novels pioneered by Wilkie Collins and others in the 1860s, <em>The Beetle</em> is narrated from the perspectives of multiple characters, a technique used in many late nineteenth-century novels (those of Wilkie Collins and Stoker, for example) to create suspense.<br /><br /> Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of the British author born Richard Bernard Heldmann. (Summary by Wikipedia)

2Amusement Only

By Richard Marsh

This is a collection of 12 short stories of mystery and humor, which are, as the title says, for amusement only. (Summary by Carolin)

3Tom Ossington's Ghost

By Richard Marsh

Madge and Ella have lived at Clover Cottage for six weeks when a series of strange events begin to occur. A gentleman who arrives asking for a piano lesson from Madge, suddenly bolts out the back door and over the hedge when he sees a rough-looking character watching him from the street in front of the cottage. This man in turn, runs away when he sees a shabbily dressed woman come around the corner. The woman, marches into the cottage, declaring that the cottage is haunted, and she is the wife of the ghost! An attempted burglary, and a cryptic note left at the scene, just add to the mystery. (Summary by ppcunnigham)

Silent film star, Mae Marsh, recounts her life as an actress in this publication, what she deems as being the answer to thousands of letters written to her over the years inquiring about what it takes to be a screen actor. As she states in the introduction, "So much ambition, so many questions!" - Summary by Amanda Friday

Mary Blyth, a sales clerk who is robbed, nearly murdered and then fired from her job, thinks her luck has changed when she inherits an old house from a distant relation, Benjamin Batters. This house holds dark secrets. Murderous thugs, a mysterious threat from the Far East let her know this is not the case. <i>The Joss, a Reversion</i> is from Richard Marsh, author of “The Beetle”. - Summary by Alan Winterrowd

6Datchet Diamonds

By Richard Marsh

Oh dear! The Duchess of Datchet's diamonds, worth a quarter of a million pounds, have been stolen. Just as Mr. Paxton, a ne'er do well gambler planning to leave the country to escape his losses, reads this news item on a train, he overhears, in the next compartment, the actual thief boasting of his accomplishment. Then, when he arrives at his hotel and opens his Gladstone bag, he finds the bag is not his -- and it contains the spoils of the robbery! Will our hero take them directly to the magistrate and tell all he knows? Or will things take another turn, leading to brigands, danger, and possibly romance? - Summary by Jacquerie

Is it true that people can literally be scared to death ? Is it possible to photograph astral projections ? What happens if you play with a pack of cards which belonged to a dead card-trickster ? These and more questions are raised and answered in ''The Seen and the Unseen'' (first published in 1900), a collection of twelve short stories of a supernatural and uncanny nature by English author Richard Marsh (1857-1915), famous for such mystery/horror novels as ''The Beetle'' and ''The Goddess: A Demon''. So if you feel you are ready for some goosebumps before bedtime, snuggle up and have a listen. - Summary by Sonia

After a night of drinking and gambling, John Ferguson has a terrifying dream of his neighbor being violently torn to shreds by an unknown attacker. When he wakes up, he sees a strange and bloodied woman climbing through his window, suffering from amnesia. These strange occurrences are brought to a chilling climax when, the next day, Ferguson learns that his dream came true, and his neighbor was indeed brutally murdered during the night! With suspicion mounting against the mysterious woman, Ferguson sets out to uncover her true identity and find the vicious killer in the process.<br>Originally serialized in the <i>Manchester Weekly Times</i> and <i>Salford Weekly News</i> in twelve installments, <i>The Goddess</i> is another vivid example of Richard Marsh's gripping Gothic style, combining elements of crime, romance, and the supernatural while commenting explicitly on many issues of its time, including imperialism, the <i>fin de siècle</i>, and the New Woman. - Summary by Tomas Peter

Clare awakens in the middle of the night with no idea why. Her husband is not in his bed and as she goes in search of him she runs into her cousin Elsie who's heard a terrified shout from Rupert. When Clare returns her husband is burning papers in the grate. Next morning they discover that Uncle John a very shady and disagreeable usurer has been murdered!! Who is the culprit and will the earlier interrupted kiss ever be completed? - Summary by Celine Major

Judith Lee is a young woman with an unusual gift, she can read lips at a distance as well as she can hear the person next to her. Her skill leads her into a number of adventures. Written by Richard Marsh (The Beetle, Joss: the Reversion) and published in the Strand Magazine in 1911, Marsh creates a strong independent female detective.

The House of Mystery is based upon the complicated plot involving two women who look exactly alike, one rich and one poor, and so mistaken identities bring about comic and tragic madness. (Summary by Jim Locke)

A collection of adult stories - sad, humorous, and adventurous - about Man's Best Friend. <b>NOTE</b>: Some of these selections contain violence and racial stereotypes that will be objectionable to some listeners. - Summary by TriciaG

Cyril Wentworth is a thoroughly nasty man, who has an effective means of controlling people and just wants to live a life of luxury. Unfortunately, a young woman seems to have made it her role in life to obstruct him at every turn. What is a villain to do? Richard Marsh, best known as the author of "the Beetle", brings another story of horror and humor, of crime, retribution and . . . zombies? This story is told in a fairly modern manner and features another of Marsh's interesting female protagonists. - Summary by Alan Winterrowd