Colonial Literature

Professor Augustus Van Dusen, the 'Thinking Machine,' is an eccentric scientist with superior mental powers, who insists that logic will solve any problem. He has an assistant, the clever newspaper reporter Hutchinson Hatch, who brings him cases. the escapades of Professor Van Dusen provide a splendid romp for all lovers of traditional mysteries.

Farah Ibn al-Umda's dramatic historical Sa`idian novel takes place during the period of the English occupation of Egypt. The novel follows the adventures of a young doctor who is assigned to join a battalion of doctors heading to Upper Egypt to confront the deadly cholera epidemic sweeping the region. The young doctor faces many challenges and internal conflicts during his journey, with the mayor and his assistants confronting their underestimation of the epidemic and their desire to hold a celebration for the mayor’s son so that all the villagers can gather at the same time in one place.

When America’s first President, George Washington, was13 years of age, he penned 110 rules of civility. Some believe he was simply transcribing something he had read, but no one seems to know exactly what that may have been.

On Christmas Eve, a traveler finds himself waiting out a snowstorm at the Holly Tree Inn. While passing the hours waiting for the weather to pass so his coach can continue its journey, the warm hearth of the inn brings his mind to roam to pass recollections, both happy and grave. He also ponders the true meaning of his current journey and reason for his melancholy: the woman he planned on marrying is, instead, going to marry his best friend. However, the delay at the inn is about to bring him a miraculous discovery.