In the darkening days of November, we shine a light at those who had to suffer unjust accusations. Let’s look at people who were wronged by the law (or others) with 10 gems from our catalogue.

The classic story of a man wrongly imprisoned is by Alexandre Dumas. Edmond Dantes is sent to the Château d’If for a crime he didn’t commit. Years later, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo shows up to avenge him… We also have several English versions of this book.

Accusing a woman of witchcraft often also was done for revenge. When Mother Elizabeth Sawyer is thus accused, she takes the devil by the horns and truly turns into The Witch of Edmonton. Find out what happens next in the play by Thomas Dekker, based on a true story.

Religious zealotry hardly has positive outcomes, as The Spanish Brothers Juan and Carlos get to realize. The novel by Deborah Alcock details the horrendous tortures meted out to so-called heretics by the Spanish Inquisition.

Herman Merivale was not mentally ill when he was committed to a madhouse in 1860. His Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum are riddled with episodes of physical and psychological abuse by his appointed caretakers.

In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to 2 years of hard labour for his crime of homosexuality. His Ballad of Reading Gaol is probably the best known meditation on capital punishment ever written.

Capital punishment by the government is bad enough, even worse if it handed out by your fellow citizens. June 1900 saw Mob Rule in New Orleans after a black man shot a white policeman. Ida B. Wells-Barnett reports on the incident and the aftermath of a week’s violence.

Col. Hetherbill of the confederate States has just taken a new POW and holds him at Fort Defiance. Arthur West is nonplussed, after all, the Civil War ended 30 years earlier… Find out more about The Last Rebel in the novel by Joseph A. Altsheler.

In 1719, Princess Clementina is on her way to England, when she is kidnapped by Emperor Charles VI, to prevent her marrying James Stuart. A. E. W. Mason spins a gripping yarn based on a true story.

Equally true and no less gripping is the story of the American suffragettes. Starting around 1840, they campaigned for the right to vote, which was finally granted in 1920. Doris Stevens recalls the years from 1912 to 1919 in her book Jailed For Freedom.

Not quite for freedom, but because he has discovered a dark secret of his master, is Caleb Williams imprisoned. See how much further the English squire Ferdinand Falkland will go to protect his name in the novel by William Godwin.

Enjoy – and stay on the “right” side…

The winners of the 2021 Nobel Prizes will be announced this month. What a great opportunity to look back at winners from the prize’s early years with 10 gems from our catalogue.

The earliest laureate on our list is Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. He tells the story of Oyvind, who is in love with Marit, who only has eyes for Jan. When Oyvind decides to go to agricultural school like Jan did, he is on track to become A Happy Boy.

Happy together are Pierre and Luce, who meet in Paris, the city of love, and, in 1918, of war. Will the newly conscripted pacifist and the free-spirited artist see the end of it, together? Find out in the novella by Romain Rolland.

Berta von Suttner was one of the greatest figures of the pacifist movement. She makes her sentiments clear in Die Waffen nieder!, a story of the noble Althaus family, who is involved in no less than 4 wars between 1859 and 1870. We also have an English translation of this novel.

Another important peace activist was Jane Addams, the first female American laureate. Her memoir Twenty Years at Hull House details the founding of this important charity for immigrants in Chicago.

Most immigrants are looking for The New Freedom. This was also the name of the political program of US president Woodrow Wilson. In this book, however, he goes beyond a mere explanation of his political views.

Zenon reaches far beyond the natural world at his first spiritistic meeting, and he’s not stopping there. When he meets the Wampir in Wladyslaw Reymont’s novel, he must fear for his life’s blood – in a metaphysical sense. We also have this book in a German translation.

If you’ve now become interested in An Introduction to Metaphysics, look no further than the book by French philosopher Henri Bergson. According to him, reality is fluid and can only be grasped through intuition.

It is only intuition that tells Dona Mercedes that her friend Teodora is unfaithful to her husband. But even though Don Julian trusts his wife, their marriage is going downhill quickly in the play The Great Galeoto by José Echegaray y Eizaguirre.

Jenny also knows many ups and downs. She’s happy as an art student in Rome, but upon her return to Norway, she gets involved with the wrong man… Find out if there’s a happy ending in the early novel by Sigrid Undset.

Giosue Carducci goes back in time to life in ancient Rome with his poetry. His Odi Barbare is the first book in a cycle of poems, and our edition comes with a special note from the author.

Enjoy – and check out the other Nobel Prize winners in our catalogue!