On July 28th 1914, World War I began in Europe. Let’s look back at what happened 100 years ago with 10 gems from our catalog.

Many soldiers of all nations documented the Great War in diaries, drawings and photographs, and poetry. One of the most famous war poems, For the Fallen, was written by Robert Laurence Binyon, and is included in The Winnowing Fan – Poems on the Great War.

When the Great War began, people were almost enthousiastic and thought it would not last long. Legends like The Angels of Mons, written down by Arthur Machen, where angels supposedly protected British soldiers, did their part in strengthening people’s convictions.

Of course, reality was much different, as the Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front 1914 – 1915 shows. An anonymous nurse writes about her routines caring for the wounded in France from the beginning of the war until she went back home in May 1915.

Everybody out there In the Field went through the same, regardless of where and for which side they were fighting. Marcel Dupont wrote about his impressions of the nine months he spent on the front line as an officer in the French light cavalry.

Soon it became clear that the war was here to stay. The Pretty Lady, tells about Christine, a French prostitute who fled Ostend and set up her business in London. Written in the typical style of Arnold Bennett, the novel gives an excellent insight into how the war affected the daily life of civilian society.

At this time, in all nations there was the fear of foreign spies infiltrating the country. In the short pamphlet Spy Proof America! J. Francis Logan urges American civilians to volunteer for an anti-spy organisation to help the war effort from within the country.

However, it is decidedly too late for that in England, where a vast German spy network is operating practically openly, in E. Phillips Oppenheim’s novel. After falling afoul of his superiors, the British diplomat Francis Norgate is recruited by the Germans – and becomes The Double Traitor.

He may have been one of the spies The Brighton Boys in the Radio Service had to deal with, along with other enemy soldiers. The novel by James. R. Driscoll tells of three American college friends who enter the military and work as radio operators all over Europe.

When the men are gone, the women have to do their work. Four girls, called The Friendly Terrace Quartette prepare for the war by joining the Land Army, and work in the fields. More and more girls arrive on the scene in Harriet Lummis Smith’s novel to do their bit for the war.

Much more dark is “the bit” that Amelia is to do for her country. She is expected to join the ranks of the War Brides: marry a soldier, get pregnant before he leaves, and soon bear a boy to repeat the cycle. Her sister Hedwig though, is determined to break the chain and thus send a sign to all other women in the short drama by Marion Craig Wentworth from our One-Act Play Collection 004.

Remember – and do not forget!

This June is all about the World Football Championship in Brazil. If you are not that much of a fan, get your sporty kick of a different variety with 10 gems from our catalog.

When Americans speak about Football Days, they mean what the rest of the world calls American Football. William Hanford Edwards gives an interesting account of how this sport came to the US and the beginnings of its popularity.

Another popular American sport is baseball, and it is played at Oakdale Academy, of course. This year, three boys want to become starting pitcher, which leads to not so nice scenes between the Rival Pitchers of Oakdale, as told by Morgan Scott.

Now it’s Casey at the Bat, and he is going to do his very best, won’t he? Listen to what is probably the best known poem about baseball, written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.

For a long time, golf has been a pastime for the rich, but it is now becoming more and more popular as a mass sport. P.G. Wodehouse wrote ten short stories revolving around golf and collected them in The Clicking of Cuthbert.

Only one of the privileges of the gentry was hunting, especially when it came to hunting with animals. James Campbell wrote A Treatise on Modern Falconry, a book that, although from the 18th century, is still one of the main sources for falconers.

Hunting is only one of the activities Our Little Canadian Cousin can pursue. Canoeing, camping, skating, snowshoeing,… and many more are described in Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald’s book about children in the great Canadian outdoors.

A 500 miles racetrack must be covered by Tom Swift and his Electric Runabout, a prototype electric race car. But first, he has to find the criminals that plot to bankrupt many people dear to him. Find out if he will succeed – and if he can win the race – in Victor Appleton’s novel.

Cashel Byron is a world champion prize fighter, but, infatuated with aristocrat Lydia Carew, he does everything to prevent her from finding that out – afer all, he wants to marry her… In The Admirable Bashville, a play by George Bernard Shaw, this is probably not as straightforward as it seems.

Jack London’s novel The Game has a similar topic, but is written from a woman’s perspective. Tomorrow is the day on which she will marry a boxer. Tonight is his last fight. But was it really such a good idea of hers to go and watch it?

Hitting other people not your thing? Outdoors not appealing? Well, there are always mental sports. Paul Morphy the Chess Champion was hailed as the best player of his era. In 1958 he travelled to Europe to challenge the best players there. His secretary, Frederick Milnes Edge, records the journey and the matches.

Enjoy – and keep on scoring!

The 25th of May denotes International Geek Pride Day – what better way to celebrate that than with 10 gems from our catalog!

Nerds and geeks are rarely the center of a party. Nowadays it’s easy to stay connected without leaving the house, but when William Wordsworth penned his poem, it meant something when you were The Recluse.

Shut up in a room decorated only with white sheets, is how Chester Kent solves The Secret of Lonesome Cove. And that, although the case of a “drowned” woman in the novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams takes odd turns every few days…

Equally odd turns takes the life of Trilby, who virtually over night becomes a famous singer. However, this is only because she has been hypnotised by Svengali, a music geek… Read George du Maurier’s novel to find out if her secret will ever be revealed.

Tex has no secret, he is just happens to be awfully good at poker. But then, why is the PSI Lodge after him to unveil his Card Trick? John Berryman’s lighthearted story shows people with powers nobody has ever heard of before.

When Marie Curie started working on her thesis, she was not the first to discover Radioactive Substances. But she was the first to discover Radium and Polonium, and, subsequently, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in science.

H. G. Wells wrote the story about the scientist who invented The Time Machine. The man used it to explore humankind’s future up to the year 802.701 – where he promptly stumbled upon a war and had to choose sides…

Dr. Thomas Stockmann stands on his own side after he has been declared An Enemy of the People. A hot spring has been discoverd, but Stockmann says the water is contaminated and cannot be used. Which side will win in Henrik Ibsen’s drama – caution or commerce?

It is clear where Henry Ford stands: His invention of the asssembly line and the automation that followed shaped how large industries are working until today. A description of how he did it can be found in his memoirs My Life and My Work.

Friedrich Kerst writes about a genius of a different realm. His biography of Mozart: The Man and the Artist as Revealed in His Own Words, makes use of letters that have been written throughout his life by the famous musician himself.

Not all ingenuity is used for the advancement of society. A highly intelligent woman is the head of the secret Brotherhood of the Seven Kings, and their access to new scientific resources only heightens their threat to the people of London. Read the book by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustache to find out more.

Enjoy – and don’t forget where your towel is!

All over the northern hemisphere it is spring, traditionally the time for the ousting of the old to make place for the new. Celebrate the end of the cold with 10 gems from our catalog.

When, if not now, is the right time to start a Flower Garden? Ida D. Bennett explains all you need to know – from the right soil and fertiliser, to how to grow seeds in window boxes.

In The Enchanted Castle: Fairy Tales from Flowerland, we hear little stories of Spring and what happens when the flowers bloom again, collected for children by Hartwell James.

You don’t have to go far to find exciting stories, rural scenes, and interesting animals, as John Burroughs prooves in his book on natural history, Nature Near Home and Other Papers.

Springtime inspires a young chuck to travel and find a new home. Read about The Adventures of Johnny Chuck in the book by Thornton W. Burgess – especially the one where little Johnny falls in love…

Love – and sex – are the main themes of The Awakening of Spring. Frank Wedekind heavily criticises 19th century Germany in his play, focusing on sexual oppression and the fantasies this breeds.

No fantasy is the sudden appearance of Ben and his dog at a morning tea party Under the Lilacs of Bab and Betty. Read about how the young circus runaway changes their lives in the book by Louisa May Alcott.

The late spring of 218 saw the beginning of the second Punic war. Hannibal set out from Carthage towards Rome – and with a huge army and 37 elephants he crossed the alps. The biography of the great general by Jacob Abbott will tell you the details.

Conrad Aiken knows the desolation and loss brought upon people by war. He wrote Nocturne of Remembered Spring and Other Poems in 1915 at the height of the First World War.

He is only a small part of a little display for Easter, but still, in Laura Lee Hope’s Story of a Candy Rabbit, he has many exciting adventures with the children he was given to.

Do Lotus Blossom, Our Little Japanese Cousin, and her little brother Taro celebrate Easter as well? Learn about the traditional lives of the Japanese in the little book by Mary H. B. Wade.

Enjoy – and watch the blossoming!