Books published by publisher The Echo Library

Loudon (nee Webb, 1807-58) was an English author and early pioneer of science fiction before the term was invented. She also created the first popular gardening manuals, as opposed to specialised horticultural works, aimed at making gardening an accessible pastime for women. Her father having died penniless in 1824 when she was only 17, Loudon turned to writing as a means of supporting herself. Her first novel The Mummy!, or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century was published anonymously in 1827. It relates the story of the Egyptian mummy of Cheops who is is brought back to life in 2126 and describes a future filled with advanced technology. The book drew many favourably reviews, including one in 1829 in The Gardener's Magazine written by John Claudius Loudon noting the author's invention of a steam plough. Author and reviewer eventually met in 1830 and were married a year later. After her marriage Loudon turned to writing about gardening and domestic affairs, publishing a number of books on the subject.

In Penrod and Sam, the imaginative adventures of Tarkington's 10-year-old Penrod Schofield continue. Penrod's sidekick is Samuel Williams, and together they improvise, causing general mischief and disorder wherever they go. In picaresque fashion, a fencing battle takes them all through the neighborhood; they narrowly escape serious injury while making boastful demonstrations with a loaded gun; they indulge in dubious "'nishiation" practices for their secret society; they steal food for the starving horse concealed in the Schofields' empty stable; they attempt to fish a cat out of a cistern using a pair of trousers; and they cause general chaos at Miss Amy Rennsdale's dance. Familiar characters from the earlier Penrod volume—Maurice Levy, Georgie Basset, Roddy Bitts, Herman and Verman, and Marjorie Jones—make their appearance in Penrod and Sam. This is a delightfully nostalgic look at Tarkington's turn-of-the-century Indiana.