The book concerns recently demobbed and down on his luck Major Owston, who becomes the bodyguard of the deformed amoral art collector Martin Hews, Hews is plunged into a bitter rivalry with a gang leader simply known as "Joseph."

Spy thriller fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder 'The men who work for you, General', he observed, 'should rid themselves of any fear of death'. Rome, 1934. Martin Fawley leaves the American secret service and is recruited by General Berati, the most feared man in fascist Italy, as a spy. After a brief encounter with a glamorous yet murderous Italian princess, Fawley's mission takes him undercover to Monaco. Suave and worldly, Fawley is quite at home in the casinos and golf courses of Monte Carlo--but he is soon entangled in a game with higher stakes. As the nations of Europe vie for power, Fawley discovers the secret weapon that will determine the outcome of the looming war. This classic thriller--undoubtedly an influence on Ian Fleming's James Bond novels--is now republished for the first time since the 1930s. With its yachts and cocktail parties, its steely hero and brutal assassins, and its cinematic range across the cities of Europe, this is a gripping and sophisticated tale of a spy who saves the world.

The Passionate Quest

Book by Oppenheim, E. Phillips

The Amazing Judgmentby E. Phillips OppenheimTHE AMAZING JUDGMENT The world-weary Lord Hildyard, Marquis of Esholt, is on a yachting tour with a group of friends, including his kept lover, Pauline Owston. When Hildyard spies an apparently uninhabited island, he slips off the ship in search of adventure. What he finds is the exotic woman-child, Bertha, and her guardian, Stanley Owston, estranged husband of Pauline. Before the yachting party returns, Hildyard discovers himself in love with Bertha, and vows to return for her. But when the Owstons are dramatically reunited, Stanley confesses to his wife that Bertha is the daughter whom she has not seen in twelve years.We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Joseph P. Cray is an American manufacturer who has just completed a year serving coffee to the troops in France during World War 1. He worked in a YMCA canteen as a volunteer. He is motivated by good will, and also to escape his American second wife who is the head of a temperance organization. With sybaritic glee, he returns to London, dons civilian garb, and enjoys his first cocktail. He is soon joined by his daughter, the beautiful Lady Sara Sittingbourne, who lives in London. Together the two seek "adventure" in the form of crimes foiled, jewels recovered, spies uncovered, and plots smashed. Mr Cray is accosted at a costume ball by the fey spirit of a medium, Christine Seboa, who turns out to be even cleverer than he. The adventures continue on the Riviera and back in New York. E. Phillips Oppenheim, in full Edward Phillips Oppenheim (born Oct. 22, 1866, London, Eng.-died Feb. 3, 1946, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, U.K.), internationally popular British author of novels and short stories dealing with international espionage and intrigue.After leaving school at age 17 to help in his father's leather business, Oppenheim wrote in his spare time. His first novel, Expiation (1887), and subsequent thrillers caught the fancy of a wealthy New York businessman who bought out the leather business at the turn of the century and made Oppenheim a high-salaried director. He was thus freed to devote the major part of his time to writing. The novels, volumes of short stories, and plays that followed, totaling more than 150, were peopled with sophisticated heroes, adventurous spies, and dashing noblemen. Among his well-known works are The Long Arm of Mannister (1910), The Moving Finger (1911), and The Great Impersonation (1920).--Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Enoch Strone is a book-loving rustic loner who lives in a remote hand-built cabin. He works as a mechanical engineer in the industrial town of Gascester. One evening he meets a poor factory girl, Milly, who has been abandoned by her friends during a walk in the woods. On the same day he is accosted by the Reverand Martinghoe who introduces Strone to his beautiful, widowed, wealthy sister Lady Malingcourt. Strone is bewitched by her lovely singing and the seductive manners of the jaded upper class widow.