Books published by publisher Horse's Mouth

Francis Bret Harte was born on August 25, 1836 in Albany New York. As a young boy Harte developed an early love of books and reading. He first published at the tender age of 11; a satirical poem titled "Autumn Musings." Expecting praise he encountered anything but and was later to write "Such a shock was their ridicule to me that I wonder that I ever wrote another line of verse." By age 13 his formal education was at an end and four years later, in 1853, the family moved to California. Here the young man worked in a variety of capacities; miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. But it was also here on the West coast that he found the stories and inspiration for the works that would endure his fame across the literary world. He championed the early writings of Mark Twain. He was instrumental in propelling the short story genre forward and brought tales of the Old West and the Gold Rush to a greater audience. At the height of his fame we would entertain staggering monetary offers to write for monthly magazines. His talents extended to poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches. As he moved location initially further east to New York and then through Consular appointments to Europe and finally to settle in England his audience diminished but he continued to experiment, to write and to publish. Bret Harte died of throat cancer on May 5th 1902 and is buried in St Peter’s Church in Frimley, Surrey, England. Here we publish another very fine novel "The Three Partners".

Lucy Fitch Perkins was forty-eight when she was approached by a publisher friend who, impressed by her talents as both an illustrator and writer, which he knew through correspondence, urged her to write. He was so earnest that she thought of an idea for a children’s book the next morning, and she immediately set to work making sketches and preparing the idea for presentation. The publisher came to dinner at their house the next evening and she showed him the idea. His response was immediate “go ahead and write it, and I want it”. That book was The Dutch Twins, the first in what became a long running and wildly popular series. Here we publish another in that series 'The Italian Twins'.

Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci, or more familiarly known as Baroness Emmuska Orczy, was born on September 23rd, 1865, in Tarnaörs, Heves County, Hungary. The family lived in their ancestral home; a great, rambling farmhouse on the river Tarna. Emmuska’s memories of the time were of sophisticated parties, sparkling conversation, joyful dancing and gypsy music. But soon fear of a peasant uprising meant their moving to Budapest and then 12 years of semi-nomadic travels across Europe. Arriving in London in 1880 Emmuska, aged 15, was studying painting and, a few years later, had them chosen for exhibition at the Royal Academy. London, she felt, was home, her spiritual birthplace. Art school also provided a husband. It was here she met a young illustrator, Montague Barstow, the son of an English clergyman. Fearful of mediocrity she plunged headlong into a writing career. And in the weeks after the birth of her son wrote the adventure classic for which she is so famed: The Scarlet Pimpernel. Originally rejected, after being re-worked as a successful play it was published as a book in 1905 and was an instant best-seller. In the coming years they lived on an estate in Kent, a busy and tasteful London home and an extravagant villa in Monte Carlo. All the while Emmuska’s pen continued to write adventures for that elusive hero; Sir Percy Blakeney. In 1934, the famed movie producer Alexander Korda turned it into a film starring Leslie Howard. The quintessential Pimpernel of everyone’s imagination now made visual reality. Baroness Orczy at the age of 82, died on November 12th, 1947 at Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire.

Andrew Lang was born in Selkirk on 31st March 1844. He was the eldest of eight children.Lang was educated at Selkirk Grammar School, Loretto, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and finally Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College.He was first published in 1863 and from then on was a prolific writer and editor. Although mainly known for his Fairy Books he tackled everything from translations of Homer to Histories, Poetry, Romances and much else besides.On 17th April 1875, he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados. She was an integral part of the production on the Fairy Books adding her talents as author, collaborator, or translator of the Fairy Books which he edited.Lang was one of the founders of "psychical research" (that is the understanding of events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal) and his other writings on anthropology include The Book of Dreams and Ghosts (1897), Magic and Religion (1901) and The Secret of the Totem (1905). He served as President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911.Lang was active as a journalist in various ways, ranging from sparkling leader columns for the Daily News to miscellaneous articles for the Morning Post. For many years he was the literary editor of Longman's Magazine. At this point there was no critic more requested, whether for occasional articles and introductions to new editions or as editor of dainty reprints than one Andrew Lang.Andrew Lang died of angina pectoris at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel in Banchory on 20th July, 1912. He was buried in the cathedral precincts at St Andrews.

Andrew Lang was born in Selkirk on 31st March 1844. He was the eldest of eight children.Lang was educated at Selkirk Grammar School, Loretto, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and finally Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College.He was first published in 1863 and from then on was a prolific writer and editor. Although mainly known for his Fairy Books he tackled everything from translations of Homer to Histories, Poetry, Romances and much else besides.On 17th April 1875, he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados. She was an integral part of the production on the Fairy Books adding her talents as author, collaborator, or translator of the Fairy Books which he edited.Lang was one of the founders of "psychical research" (that is the understanding of events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal) and his other writings on anthropology include The Book of Dreams and Ghosts (1897), Magic and Religion (1901) and The Secret of the Totem (1905). He served as President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911.Lang was active as a journalist in various ways, ranging from sparkling leader columns for the Daily News to miscellaneous articles for the Morning Post. For many years he was the literary editor of Longman's Magazine. At this point there was no critic more requested, whether for occasional articles and introductions to new editions or as editor of dainty reprints than one Andrew Lang.Andrew Lang died of angina pectoris at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel in Banchory on 20th July, 1912. He was buried in the cathedral precincts at St Andrews.

Andrew Lang was born in Selkirk on 31st March 1844. He was the eldest of eight children.Lang was educated at Selkirk Grammar School, Loretto, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and finally Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College.He was first published in 1863 and from then on was a prolific writer and editor. Although mainly known for his Fairy Books he tackled everything from translations of Homer to Histories, Poetry, Romances and much else besides.On 17th April 1875, he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados. She was an integral part of the production on the Fairy Books adding her talents as author, collaborator, or translator of the Fairy Books which he edited.Lang was one of the founders of "psychical research" (that is the understanding of events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal) and his other writings on anthropology include The Book of Dreams and Ghosts (1897), Magic and Religion (1901) and The Secret of the Totem (1905). He served as President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911.Lang was active as a journalist in various ways, ranging from sparkling leader columns for the Daily News to miscellaneous articles for the Morning Post. For many years he was the literary editor of Longman's Magazine. At this point there was no critic more requested, whether for occasional articles and introductions to new editions or as editor of dainty reprints than one Andrew Lang.Andrew Lang died of angina pectoris at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel in Banchory on 20th July, 1912. He was buried in the cathedral precincts at St Andrews.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, on November 30, 1874. Her mother died when she was a toddler and her devastated father asked her grandparents to raise her. Her childhood years in Cavendish were very lonely. Lucy’s solution at this early age was to create imaginary worlds and people them with imaginary friends. Her creativity was beginning to establish itself in her life. With her studying days over Lucy began a career as a teacher and worked at various Prince Edward Island schools. It was soon obvious to her that she did not enjoy teaching but the benefit was that it gave her time to write. That was now her real passion. Much of her early career was spent writing short stories. Indeed in the decade from 1897 magazines and newspapers published over 100 stories from the prolific young writer. In 1908, Lucy published her first book, the classic, Anne of Green Gables. It was an immediate success and quickly established her career. During her lifetime, Lucy published 20 novels, 530 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays. Aware of her fame, by 1920 Lucy began editing and recopying her journals, reframing her life as she wanted it remembered. Lucy Maud Montgomery died on April 24, 1942 in Toronto. A note was found beside her bed, "I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best." The official cause of death was a coronary thrombosis.

George Robert Gissing was born on November 22nd, 1857 in Wakefield, Yorkshire.He was educated at Back Lane School in Wakefield. Gissing loved school. He was enthusiastic with a thirst for learning and always diligent. By the age of ten he was reading Dickens, a lifelong hero.In 1872 Gissing won a scholarship to Owens College. Whilst there Gissing worked hard but remained solitary. Unfortunately, he had run short of funds and stole from his fellow students. He was arrested, prosecuted, found guilty, expelled and sentenced to a month's hard labour in 1876. On release he decided to start over. In September 1876 he travelled to the United States. Here he wrote short stories for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers. On his return home he was ready for novels. Gissing self-published his first novel but it failed to sell. His second was acquired but never published. His writing career was static. Something had to change. And it did. By 1884 The Unclassed was published. Now everything he wrote was published. Both Isabel Clarendon and Demos appeared in 1886. He mined the lives of the working class as diligently as any capitalist. In 1889 Gissing used the proceeds from the sale of The Nether World to go to Italy. This trip formed the basis for his 1890 work The Emancipated. Gissing's works began to command higher payments. New Grub Street (1891) brought a fee of £250. Short stories followed and in 1895, three novellas were published; Eve's Ransom, The Paying Guest and Sleeping Fires. Gissing was careful to keep up with the changing attitudes of his audience. Unfortunately, he was also diagnosed as suffering from emphysema. The last years of his life were spent as a semi-invalid in France but he continued to write. 1899; The Crown of Life. Our Friend the Charlatan appeared in 1901, followed two years later by The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft. George Robert Gissing died aged 46 on December 28th, 1903 after catching a chill on a winter walk.

Andrew Lang was born in Selkirk on 31st March 1844. He was the eldest of eight children.Lang was educated at Selkirk Grammar School, Loretto, and at the Edinburgh Academy, St Andrews University and finally Balliol College, Oxford, where he took a first class in the final classical schools in 1868, becoming a fellow and subsequently honorary fellow of Merton College.He was first published in 1863 and from then on was a prolific writer and editor. Although mainly known for his Fairy Books he tackled everything from translations of Homer to Histories, Poetry, Romances and much else besides.On 17th April 1875, he married Leonora Blanche Alleyne, youngest daughter of C. T. Alleyne of Clifton and Barbados. She was an integral part of the production on the Fairy Books adding her talents as author, collaborator, or translator of the Fairy Books which he edited.Lang was one of the founders of "psychical research" (that is the understanding of events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal) and his other writings on anthropology include The Book of Dreams and Ghosts (1897), Magic and Religion (1901) and The Secret of the Totem (1905). He served as President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911.Lang was active as a journalist in various ways, ranging from sparkling leader columns for the Daily News to miscellaneous articles for the Morning Post. For many years he was the literary editor of Longman's Magazine. At this point there was no critic more requested, whether for occasional articles and introductions to new editions or as editor of dainty reprints than one Andrew Lang.Andrew Lang died of angina pectoris at the Tor-na-Coille Hotel in Banchory on 20th July, 1912. He was buried in the cathedral precincts at St Andrews.

Ernest William Hornung was born in Middlesbrough, England on 7th June 1866, the third son and youngest of eight children.Although spending most of his life in England and France he spent two years in Australia from 1884 and that experience was to colour and influence much of his written works.His most famous character A. J. Raffles, ‘the gentleman thief’, was published first in Cassell's Magazine during 1898 and was to make him famous across the world as the new century dawned.Hornung also wrote several stage plays and was a gifted poet.Spending time with the troops in WWI he published Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front during 1919, a detailed account of his time there. This was especially close to his heart as his son, and only child, was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres on 6th July 1915.Ernest William Hornung died in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in the south of France on 22nd March 1921.

Herbert George Wells was born on 21st September 1866 in Bromley, Kent. His enthusiasm for the literary world was ignited by the suffering of a broken leg as an 8 year old. As convalescence was boring to the young child he took refuge in the world of books and soon began to plan his own stories. His own education was interrupted constantly. After some years learning trade skills and copperplate handwriting he was teaching at Wookey, Somerset as a pupil-teacher the younger students. When he was dismissed from this he was a chemist’s assistant for a short time before he was apprenticed as a draper. The long days of learning and dormitory living lent much to experiences he could later use. However his family was beset by financial difficulties and soon had to split up and live in different locations in order to survive. However by 1895 Wells was to first have serialized and then published ‘The Time Machine’. It was a glorious creation and set him on the path to become the foremost science fiction writer of his age. His output was tremendous, almost methodical as though seizing every opportunity to unleash his fabulous ideas on a waiting public. Here we publish ‘The Secret Places Of The Heart’. An almost autobiographical novel that brings yet another side of his talents to the fore.

Talbot Mundy was born William Lancaster Gribbon on April 23rd 1879 in London. After a particularly undistinguished record at Rugby School, he ran off to Germany and joined a circus. After his return, from Germany, he left Britain to work as a relief worker in Baroda in India, followed by further adventures in Africa, the Near East and the Far East. His initial inclination was to be a con artist, a confidence trickster and exploit other areas of petty criminality. However with a change of location to the United States and a near fatal mugging he decided that life as an upright citizen was now more to his liking. At age 29 he had decided on Talbot Mundy as a name and three years later in 1911 he began his writing career. Obviously late but it was still to be prodigious none the less. Many of his novels including his first ‘Rung Ho!’ and his most famous ‘King - Of the Khyber Rifles are set during the British Raj in India. In early 1922, Mundy moved to San Diego, California and in late 1923 began writing perhaps his finest novel, Om, the Secret of Ahbor Valley. Whilst much of Talbot’s early life was used in his work it seems he was not particularly proud to return to these places or indeed say to much more about his earlier escapades. Although his writing was to prove very popular over the years and has been revived on many occasions since his death it is fair to say that both his writing and his life were colourful. He married a number of times and still believed that his business dealings would make him very rich. However much of his life would not go as planned and it took several marriages in the hope of finding true happiness. His sixth wife, Dawn, gave birth to a girl on 26 February 1933 shortly after their return to England. Unfortunately the child died shortly after birth. Thereafter he wrote little but much of his work was republished and his name kept in print. On 5 August 1940 Talbot Mundy died from complications associated with diabetes.