Classic Noir Fiction

This collection includes five of the greatest stories of American classic horror. The richest of language is used to create extraordinary atmosphere - gloom, darkness, solitude, despair - and the relentless feeling of impending doom. Includes: "The Oval Portrait", by Edgar Allan Poe; "Ethan Brand", by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Yellow Sign", by Robert W. Chambers; "The Upper Berth", by F. Marion Crawford; and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce.

Charlie Rutland, a womanizing journalist, is found brutally murdered. He worked for a muck-raking gossip magazine and therefore had many enemies. Detective Crow is assigned to Yorkshire where he must eliminate a long list of suspects. And where does the German businessman Conrad Gunther fit in? Mysterious lights at Lockyer Tarn, a homeless man hiding out on the Yorkshire Dales, a stolen Volvo, and a former Gestapo officer are all seemingly linked in some manner. And then the British spy services get involved....

Poe is widely known as a classic master of horror storytelling. His work has not been fully appreciated, neither during his lifetime nor now, as we approach the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of his death. It is challenging for most of us to excel in even a single field in life, and Poe was an undisputed genius in all the fields of literature he worked on. Particularly noteworthy is his role in the construction of various genres. Poe is the father of the detective novel. Few doubt that "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" from 1841 and "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" from 1842, both ...

L'histoire, racontée à la première personne, est l'autobiographie d'un cheval nommé Prince Noir qui commence sa vie poulain dans une ferme anglaise. Le roman raconte les mésaventures de ce cheval, vendu par ses premiers propriétaires, jusqu'à devenir cheval de fiacre dans les rues de Londres. Tout au long de l'histoire, Prince Noir est confronté à la cruauté ou la sympathie des hommes, et continue à faire le travail qu'on lui demande avec courage.

Der in Prag aufgewachsene Karl Rossmann wird im Alter von sechzehn Jahren von seinen Eltern nach Amerika geschickt. Auf seiner unfreiwilligen Reise durch das Land trifft er Heizer, Bankiers und Senatoren, trunkene Maschinenschlosser, Liftboys, einsame Mädchen, Studenten und Laufburschen. Wie ein Blatt im Wind wird der junge Karl durch alle Gesellschaftsklassen Amerikas geweht, immer abwärts geht die Reise.

"L'ho scarabocchiato col sangue - la tua vita dipende dal restare nascosto." "Forse il vocabolo fiction trova qui una delle massime espressioni proprio perché la genialità di Edgar Allan Poe, lo scrittore, sta nell'affidare al giovane Arthur Gordon Pym il resoconto di una vicenda che il signor Arthur Gordon Pym affida al signor Edgar Allan Poe (quello dentro il romanzo) per renderla, da un certo punto in avanti, credibile al grande pubblico. […]

Frankie Machine (Sinatra), a recovering heroin addict and illegal card dealer, returns home to his squalid neighborhood in Chicago after six months in prison. He is hoping to go straight and find a job as a drummer, but when both his ex-drug pusher, Louie, and his ruthless former employer, Schwiefka, show up, Frankie is in trouble.

To Florence Hackett and her daughters Elinor and Louisa, Richard Baurie, a handsome young bookstore clerk and aspiring poet, seems a little odd but harmless enough. With his amusing conversation and his eager-to-please attitude, Richard works his way into the Hacketts' confidence until he is almost one of the family. When he suggests they rent Wisteria Cottage, a charming seaside residence, it seems to promise a summer of pleasant companionship and fun.

As his 18th birthday approaches, the only thing that Xander Stryker wishes for is death. Yet, he wakes up each morning, forced to go on living and remembering the image of his stepfather murdering his mother. Instead of dying, he is thrown into a supernatural world and offered a choice: Continue his sorry life or start anew. For Xander, the choice is obvious. In the new world, life is just as unforgiving. Horrors from his past lurk from the shadows. As they fuel a fresh legacy, Xander has to stand tall and show old monsters a stronger, better version of himself.

"The Sheridan Road Mystery" (1921) is a novel by Paul and Mabel Thorne. Excerpt from the story: "Policeman Murphy stopped for a moment, as was his custom, at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Sheridan Road. He knew that it was about two o’clock in the morning as that was the hour at which he usually reached this point.

Natalia ha diciassette anni, studia al liceo, è una ragazza graziosa, con una vita normale. Ma il dolore bussa alla sua porta: il padre, un medico di Lugano, muore d'infarto e lei, per affrontare il lutto, si rifugia con la madre nella loro casa di Corvesco, tra le montagne del Canton Ticino. E lì un delitto sconvolge il suo già difficile equilibrio. Natalia, di colpo, smette di parlare. I suoi ricordi sono confusi, forse ha visto qualcosa, ma non riesce a esprimersi: lo shock le ha chiuso la bocca.

Le Chat noir (The Black Cat), publié en 1843, est une autre des nouvelles emblématiques d'Edgar Allan Poe. Comme dans Le Cœur révélateur, cette histoire plonge dans les thèmes de la folie, de la culpabilité et de la violence, tout en explorant les conséquences de l'alcoolisme et du mal-être psychologique. C’est un récit d’horreur qui examine la dégradation d’un homme sous l’influence de ses obsessions et de ses vices.

Stories of Crime & Detection Volume Four contains a novel and three short stories: They Can't Hang Me Lucius Marplay has spent twenty years hidden away in an asylum, making countless threats against the four men who took over The Echo, the London newspaper he once owned. A visit from an old friend gives Marplay the chance to escape, and soon he begins a scheme of revenge. His daughter Joan tries to track him down but is unsuccessful. As the four newspaper men begin to die one by one, can anyone catch this clever murderer - a man capable of vanishing into thin air? They Can’t Hang Me was ...

San Francisco 1947: Es kommt nicht jeden Tag vor, dass eine rätselhafte, anmutige Blondine namens Stilton (ja, wie der Käse) in den verlotterten Laden kommt, in dem Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin Gin ausschenkt. Es ist Liebe auf den ersten Blick. Aber bevor Sammy den ersten Schritt machen kann, betritt ein Air Force General mit einem eiligen Auftrag für ihn den Saloon. Doch Sammy hat eigentlich besseres zu tun: Er arbeitet an einer eigenen Geschäftsidee. Als aber an der Pazifikküste ein unbekanntes Flugobjekt gesichtet wird und Stilton plötzlich spurlos verschwindet, muss er sich seinen dunkelsten Geheimnissen stellen, um seinen Käse zu retten.

Nous retrouvons la Dame en noir 20 ans plus tard, toujours seule et cachée du monde. Son fils André a été élevé dans la Maison maternelle avec un orphelin devenu son frère d'adoption Edouard. André fait carrière dans l'administration tandis qu'Edouard essaye désespérément de devenir un peintre reconnu. Mais un sombre personnage revient en France: le comte de Simiane.

Nella sala d'aspetto dell'aeroporto di Francoforte, un gruppo di viaggiatori attende di partire per Londra. Tra costoro c'è anche Sir Stafford Nye, un diplomatico inglese noto soprattutto per il suo spirito caustico e i suoi atteggiamenti stravaganti. Mentre si guarda intorno in cerca di un diversivo, una giovane donna gli si avvicina e gli chiede di cederle mantella e passaporto: potrà così imbarcarsi al suo posto, per sfuggire a un misterioso assassino.

Le Chat noir relate l'implacable chute d'un homme. C'est l'une des nouvelles qui ont assuré la célébrité d'Edgar Poe, et ont décidé Charles Baudelaire...

Dans les houillères épuisées d'Aberfoyle en Ecosse, ne vivent plus que le vieux contremaître Simon Ford, sa femme et son fils.

Questo romanzo viene considerato il primo romanzo giallo della storia, oltre che il migliore, secondo T.S. Eliot. Nel 1987 il critico inglese Keating ha inserito "The Moonstone" nella lista dei 100 migliori gialli letterari. Scritto nel 1868 a puntate è un appassionante romanzo a più voci in cui si narra di un prezioso gioiello andato perso e dell'onore di una ragazza che rischia di essere macchiato.

Film noir is a genre that reached its peak in the 1940s and 1950s. Characterized by dark lighting and inspired by crime fiction, it often features characters such as a tough-guy hero, mysterious beauties who may or may not be on the level, and prominent people with crimes to hide.The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) is a beloved film in this exciting genre, and in this audio adaptation you will experience the same thrill, as the characters come alive in your mind as you hear their voices from the original motion picture.