SPOZZ Books
911 books
E-Book · Free to read · English
Moods is Mercedes de Acosta’s first volume, made up of brief prose fragments or vignettes that resist easy classification. The pieces are described as vivid, singable, and atmospheric, combining mystery with an intense human feeling and a direct interest in ordinary people and situations. The book is presented as a collection of short glimpses of experience rather than traditional poems.
E-Book · Free to read · English
Set in one of Salem’s oldest and most neglected cemeteries, the story follows caretaker Old Masson as he wages a losing battle against unusually large rats that have colonized the graves. His attempts to trap, poison, and shoot them fail, while rumors about hidden burrows, stolen bodies, and darker forces beneath the cemetery deepen the unease. As Masson works a rain-soaked grave at night, he discovers the rats have reached the coffin before he can.
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A biography of Mata Hari presents her as a dancer and vaudeville star whose beauty and personality drew unusual public sympathy, even as she became identified with espionage. It frames her as a figure wrapped in romantic legend and disputed stories, while insisting on a factual account of her life and the wartime intelligence world around her. The book also reflects the author’s experience with counter-espionage and his effort to avoid revealing details that could endanger people still involved in such work.
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Set in early 1777 amid Washington’s army at Morristown, the novel follows young Lieutenant Jeffry Peale as he sits in a drafty hut studying military law and wrestling with ambition, discipline, and the hardships of a winter campaign. A summons takes him to Brigadier Maxwell’s quarters, where the general sizes him up for qualities such as strength, boldness, and swimming ability, hinting at a special assignment connected to the war around New York and the Hudson shore.
E-Book · Free to read · English
Set in an English private hotel, the novel introduces Hester Cawthorn, a reserved visitor who prefers solitude and keeps her plans to herself. Around her are the chatty Mrs. Blackwood, her family and acquaintances from Eastwold, a theatrical holiday company, and an exchange arrangement involving Ottilie, a German girl staying with the Blackwoods while Doreen is to visit Heidelberg. The opening also shows the social bustle of the hotel, with a performance in preparation and the eccentric, informal world surrounding the guests.
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The novel opens in western Maryland in September 1755, as young Lieutenant Orville Deville and his servant Nero climb the Ridge of Spears after a day of travel. Orville is introduced as an aristocratic provincial officer and heir to River-view, while Nero serves him with familiar loyalty and sharp wit. From the summit they survey the surrounding wilderness, see no sign of shelter, and realize that a storm is approaching, forcing them to consider camping out overnight.
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Hamed bin Ayyub, an elderly dragoman in the Holy City, recalls his earlier life as Hamed the Attar, a successful perfumer whose customers were largely women. Shaped by his father’s warnings, he becomes deeply distrustful of women even as his business prospers, until an evening on his rooftop leads him to overhear the song and conversation of a beautiful neighbor named Salamah Khatun. The story then turns toward her reluctance about marrying her cousin, Sheik Ali ben Mohammed, as Hamed begins to be drawn into this situation.
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This short story centers on a woman’s long friendship with Thalia Corson and the marriage around her to Winchester Corson, a businessman whose moods and flirtations strain the household. The narrator recalls summers on the Cape and later visits to the Corsons’ Long Island home, where Thalia’s composure and distance conceal much of her life. The story also brings in the couple’s children and the narrator’s reflections on different kinds of love and the uneasy history that resurfaces in New York.
E-Book · Free to read · English
Eyrie is a once-booming mining town that rises and falls with placer and hardrock strikes, then lies nearly deserted and forgotten. In that empty setting, longtime enemies Jake Trotter and Bill Weaver are left as the only residents, each suspecting the other of spying or encroaching on his claims. Their daily encounters turn into a guarded routine of insults, weapons, and mutual distrust.
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Helen R. Hull’s short story follows Marcia, a farm woman living in a cabin after the death of her husband Bill. As spring returns, she thinks back on her hard marriage, her attraction to her neighbor Stanley Douglas, and the moment their closeness was abruptly checked after a brief physical encounter. The story centers on rural labor, loneliness, and a troubled triangle shaped by duty, desire, and loss.
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In Helada, Sonny Holman arrives with a bounty on him and finds a crowd gathered around an untamed horse named Gunpowder. After learning that no rider has stayed on the animal, he volunteers to try, and the story centers on his tense ride as Gunpowder bucks, rolls, and tries to throw or crush him. The passage also shows the wary town watching closely while Sonny handles the horse with stubborn skill and determination.
E-Book · Free to read · English
Virginia Lauriston, a young woman in an English aristocratic circle, debates with Sir Charles Gillespie over what life is open to her, insisting that she wants a real career rather than an ordinary marriage. Her banter with Charles reveals both her wit and her uneasy position as his ward, while Rupert Frack’s arrival brings in a foreign-office problem tied to an important visit and arrangements at Wynwood. The setting is a wealthy country house world shaped by money, titles, and political connections.
E-Book · Free to read · English
In early Victorian England, Mrs. De Grey speaks with her six-year-old son Ernest about inheritance, wealth, and the duties of those who need not work for their living. Ernest, a spirited child who often draws battle scenes, is puzzled by the idea that he may have no trade, while he also longs to become a soldier. When he asks permission, his mother firmly refuses, showing the tension between his youthful ambitions and her concerns.
E-Book · Free to read · English
This issue of a monthly magazine of original short stories opens with publishing and copyright notices, followed by an advertisement-filled front matter. The fiction text begins in San Francisco at the Bohemian Club, where three men watch a police escort of handcuffed Chinese men accused of opium smuggling. One man then starts telling an adventure set in Jerusalem’s ancient underground caverns, where an explorer and his dragoman guide venture into the tunnels and face danger as the guide refuses to go farther.
E-Book · Free to read · English
Lady Emily Ponsonby’s novel is set in nineteenth-century England and follows social and domestic conversation among people in close acquaintance. In this volume, the new year brings a walk between Camilla and Reginald, during which he questions her attachment to Sophia Vincent, a lively but worldly friend. Their exchange also touches on Ernest De Grey, revealing tensions over judgment, influence, and what kind of companion is fit to trust.
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