Not since Orpheus was murdered by maenads has there been such mass hysteria as that resulting from the sudden death of Rudolph Valentino at age 31. Dubbed "The Great Kisser," Valentino was "Hero of the Flappers," the matinee idol in a string of silent movie hits. He introduced the Apache dance in 1919's The Eyes of Youth, the tango in 1921's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the flamenco in 1922's Blood and Sand. His two turbulent marriages were fodder for Photoplay readers, with his masculinity regularly critiqued and lampooned in newsprint. Nevertheless, no one expected his death to...

Greater Tthan the Booths. Better than the Barrymores. More popular than the Redgraves. They were the glorious Kembles, a family of actors who controlled British theater throughout the seventeen and eighteen hundreds and whose influence extended throughout the Industrial Revolution into the mid-twentieth century. This is the story of the family whose extraordinary careers helped reassure the British and American public through the shocks and changes of the Industrial Revolution by creating a community within the theater where past and future could meet in the liminal performance of the...

Did Oscar know Jack the Ripper? Was this the secret that caused his downfall? Like an Irish bard of old, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) showed England how to have the last word. From the grave, he shed light on England's theater, popular writers, and even the hypocritical homosexuals of Queen Victoria's court--as well as on the mysterious Cleveland Street Scandal and the motive and identity of Jack the Ripper himself.

The critics called H.P. Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) one of the worst writers of the twentieth century. But his cult of fans thought his weird tales made him one of the most compelling writers of all time. Born into an insane family, haunted by night terrors, Lovecraft led a double life. Read how he used his Cabalistic writing to find the silver key to his own dream city outside time and space.

This short story collection presents outrageous adventures from the most low-down town in the old west.

It's still there: the city of Sam Spade, of the illusive Maltese falcon. Through the decades the beatniks, hippies, and yuppies have all come and gone. But Dashiell Hammett's San Francisco is still there--not only in street names, but in the buildings, alleyways, and timeless atmosphere of this city by the Bay. Join us in our quest to find what remains of Dashiell Hammett's San Francisco and to record it by photographing the very addresses that appear in his immortal crime stories. It started as a literary treasure hunt. It ended up a grail quest, like the search for the Maltese falcon...