This early work by W. W. Jacobs was originally published in 1894 and we are now republishing it as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Rival Beauties' is a short story about a mysterious creature of the deep. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant...

Our mission is to provide the world with beautiful, accessible, illuminating editions of classic horror fiction, introducing these chilling gems to new generations, making them gorgeously illustrated and giving you critical, historical, and artistic insights with every single story. This is one of those books. The definitive collection of W. W. Jacob's macabre tales, and one of only two editions of Jacobs' horror stories available in the English-speaking world, this brand new anthology is replete with informed annotations, expository commentary, and chilling illustrations that shed light on...

Mr. and Mrs. Zhang live with their grown son Guisheng who works at a factory. One day an old friend of Mr. Zhang comes to visit the family after having spent years traveling in the mysterious hills of China's Yunnan Province. He tells the Zhang family of a monkey's paw that has magical powers to grant three wishes to the holder. Against his better judgment, he reluctantly gives the monkey paw to the Zhang family, along with a warning that the wishes come with a great price for trying to change ones fate...

Mandarin Companion is a series of easy-to-read novels in Chinese that are fun...

What is the price of greed? What is the cost of desire? The White family have come to possess a relic of supernatural power, a monkey's paw that grants three wishes....but at what price? How far must they journey down the path of terror to undo what they have done? Based on the short horror tale by W.W Jacobs, "The Monkey's Paw" is a story that will have you sitting on the very edge of your seat. This resource includes: -The full short screen play for "The Monkey's Paw," the gothic horror masterpiece that can be performed and filmed in the classroom. -The comic or graphic novel of "The...

William Wymark Jacobs was born on September 8th, 1863 in the Wapping district of London, England. Jacobs grew up near the docks, where his father was a wharf manager. The docks and river side would be a constant theme of his writing in years to come. Although surrounded by poverty, he received a formal education in London, first at a private prep school and later at the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institute. His working life began with a less than exciting clerical position at the Post Office Savings Bank. Jacobs put his imagination to good use writing short stories, sketches and...