Books with author J. Meade Falkner

The village of Moonfleet lies half a mile from the sea on the right or west bank of the Fleet stream. This rivulet, which is so narrow as it passes the houses that I have known a good jumper clear it without a pole, broadens out into salt marshes below the village, and loses itself at last in a lake of brackish water. The lake is good for nothing except sea-fowl, herons, and oysters, and forms such a place as they call in the Indies a lagoon; being shut off from the open Channel by a monstrous great beach or dike of pebbles, of which I shall speak more hereafter. When I was a child I thought that this place was called Moonfleet, because on a still night, whether in summer, or in winter frosts, the moon shone very brightly on the lagoon; but learned afterwards that 'twas but short for 'Mohune-fleet', from the Mohunes, a great family who were once lords of all these parts.My name is John Trenchard, and I was fifteen years of age when this story begins. My father and mother had both been dead for years, and I boarded with my aunt, Miss Arnold, who was kind to me in her own fashion, but too strict and precise ever to make me love her.

A thrilling adventure story of smuggling, cursed treasure, code-cracking, injustice, revenge and friendship.Orphaned John Trenchard grows up in the vollage of Moonfleet with his aunt, entranced by the local legend of the ghostly Blackbeard, who rises each winter night to search for his lost diamond. While conducting his own hunt for the treasure, John is trapped in the church crypt and discovers the true secret of the village: smuggling. Taken under the wing of the gruff innkeeper and chief smuggler, Elzevir Block, John begins a dangerous adventure which will see him in a hair-raising chase along a precarious cliff path and deciphering a hidden code in an ancient castle. Moonfleet is a thrilling story of revenge and betrayal, of loyalty and great sacrifice, but is above all a story about friendship.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner Moonfleet is a tale of smuggling by the English novelist J. Meade Falkner, first published in 1898. The book was extremely popular among children worldwide up until the 1970s, mostly for its themes of adventure and gripping storyline. It remains a popular story widely read and is still sometimes studied in schools. Plot: In 1757, Moonfleet is a small village near the sea in the south of England. It gets its name from a formerly prominent local family, the Mohunes, whose coat of arms includes a symbol shaped like a capital 'Y'. John Trenchard is an orphan who lives with his aunt, Miss Arnold. Other notable residents are the sexton Mr Ratsey, who is friendly to John; Parson Glennie, the local clergyman who also teaches in the village school; Elzevir Block, the landlord of the local inn, called the Mohune Arms but nicknamed the Why Not? because of its sign with the Mohune 'Y'; and Mr Maskew, the unpopular local magistrate and his beautiful daughter, Grace. Village legend tells of the notorious Colonel John "Blackbeard" Mohune who is buried in the family crypt under the church. He is reputed to have stolen a diamond from King Charles I and hidden it. His ghost is said to wander at night looking for it and the mysterious lights in the churchyard are attributed to his activities. As the main part of the story opens, Block's youthful son, David, has just been killed by Maskew during an attack by the authorities on a smuggling boat. One night a bad storm hits the village and there is a flood. While attending the Sunday service at church, John hears strange sounds from the crypt below. He thinks it is the sound of the coffins of the Mohune family. The next day, he finds Elzevir and R

A thrilling Victorian adventure story of smuggling, cursed treasure, code-cracking, injustice, revenge, and friendship Beginning as a mystery and an adventure story, this tale of smuggling is set among the cliffs, caves, and downs of Dorset. What will be the outcome of the conflict between smugglers and revenue men? How can the hero, John Trenchard, discover the secret of Colonel John Mohune's treasure? As the book progresses these two interwoven themes resolve themselves into a third and richer one, with the friendship and suffering of both John Trenchard and the craggy, taciturn Elzevir Block. Falkner's feeling for history and for the landscape of his Dorset setting combine with his gift for storytelling to turn this ripping yarn into a historical romance of moving intensity.

While studying at Oxford, John Maltravers, a talented musician, notices a strange phenomenon: his playing a certain air on his violin brings an invisible guest to his room. The ghostly visits become more frequent, until he eventually sees the figure of a man sitting and listening to his playing. His subsequent discovery of an old Stradivarius violin hidden in a secret cupboard in his room, while improving his skill as a musician, seems to cause a change in his character. As his violin playing becomes an obsession he is drawn away from his old values, his family and even his faith, towards more sinister interests. The tale of the possession of a young man by the restless spirit of an eighteenth century necromancer, "The Lost Stradivarius" is a classic work of supernatural literature. “The Lost Stradivarius is sometimes described as the novel that MR James never wrote. There are similarities, but to make such a comparison diminishes Falkner's achievement. It is, in fact, a good deal better than James (who I greatly admire). The characters are more rounded, the set pieces more frightening, and the principal themes more ambitious. Much of the narrative is underpinned by Neo-Platonist mystical philosophy and Falkner explores late 19th-century preoccupations such as the relationship between beauty and morality. Music is crucial to the plot, treated not merely as organised sound but as a means of opening channels between our world and the supernatural.” -F R Tallis, The Independent, July 12, 2013 “Mr. Falkner is a master of the art of suspense, and relies for his most impressive effects on the exercise of a discreet reticence. If, however, he stimulates the imagination by his artistic omissions, he is indefatigable in the patient elaboration of details which go to the creation of the environment and atmosphere by which his dramatis personae are affected. “ -The Spectator, Volume 91, July 4, 1903 “A downright mystical story, ingeniously constructed, cleverly written, and liberally permeated by the supernatural element” – Daily Telegraph “Narrated with much literary skill, and in a vein that has not been worked so well since ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ thrilled us so delightfully.” -Illustrated London News