by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

What happens when science makes life bigger—but the world refuses to grow with it?

In The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth, H. G. Wells transforms a seemingly absurd scientific experiment into a sweeping and surprisingly modern story about progress, fear, power, and humanity’s resistance to change.

Two scientists, Mr. Bensington and Professor Redwood, develop an extraordinary substance—Herakleophorbia, soon known simply as “the Food”—capable of producing astonishing growth. Intended as little more than an improved food supply, their invention quickly escapes the laboratory. The consequences are spectacular: gigantic plants, monstrous wasps, enormous rats, and eventually human children who grow to dimensions that make ordinary society seem absurdly small.

At first, the giants are treated as curiosities and inconveniences. But as the children mature, their extraordinary strength and intelligence threaten a civilization constructed—physically, politically, and socially—for smaller people. The new generation can lift enormous weights, cross great distances, and contemplate achievements beyond the abilities of ordinary humanity.

Fear soon becomes political. Caterham, the self-proclaimed “Jack the Giant-killer,” rises to power as hostility toward the giants intensifies. Laws restrict their movement, society demands their submission, and the conflict between the old world and the new moves inexorably toward confrontation.

First published in book form in 1904, The Food of the Gods is one of Wells’s most imaginative works of speculative fiction—a novel he described as a “fantasia on the change of scale in human affairs.”Beneath its giant insects, colossal children, scientific mishaps, and dark comedy lies a serious question: When something new outgrows the society that created it, should humanity suppress it—or make room for the future?

This Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint preserves the novel’s original three-book structure and presents Wells’s remarkable vision for a new generation of readers. It includes a new Introduction by Colin Heston.

A classic of early science fiction filled with giant creatures, scientific catastrophe, political satire, social conflict—and H. G. Wells’s unmistakable fascination with the terrifying possibilities of the future.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 176p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

What if you fell asleep—and awoke more than two hundred years later to discover that you owned the world?

Graham, an exhausted nineteenth-century man, falls into a mysterious cataleptic trance. When at last he awakens, London has become an immense mechanized metropolis of moving walkways, towering structures, mass communications and flying machines. But the greatest shock is not technological. During his extraordinary sleep, Graham's modest fortune has multiplied through compound interest until he has become the richest man alive—and, at least in name, the Master of the World.

Yet ownership is not power. Graham discovers that a ruling Council has governed in his name while millions of ordinary people live under a rigid system of economic and political control. His awakening threatens the entire structure. Revolution erupts, and Graham is forced to choose between the calculating Ostrog, who believes the masses must be controlled, and a population determined to overthrow its masters.

First published in 1899 as When the Sleeper Wakes, Wells substantially revised the novel in 1910 under the title The Sleeper Awakes. He removed much of the original romantic subplot, tightened the later chapters, reconsidered the story's flying machines, and gave the struggle between rulers and ruled a darker and more ambiguous conclusion.

More than a century later, Wells's vision remains startling. Concentrated wealth, manipulation of public opinion, mass entertainment, technological surveillance, economic inequality and political elites who claim to know what is best for the people make The Sleeper Awakes one of the great precursors of modern dystopian fiction.

This new Read-Me.Org edition presents Wells's revised text, newly reset and lightly corrected for typographical consistency, while retaining the language and character of the original. It also includes a new Introduction by Colin Heston and five public-domain period illustrations by Henri Lanos, the celebrated illustrator of the original 1899 publication.

For readers of The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and other classics of speculative and dystopian fiction, The Sleeper Awakes reveals H. G. Wells not merely as a prophet of technology, but as a remarkably prescient critic of wealth, power and the politics of the modern mass society.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 174p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

H. G. Wells imagined the nightmare of modern aerial warfare before the modern airplane had truly arrived.

First published in 1908, The War in the Air: And Particularly How Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While It Lasted is one of Wells’s most startling works of speculative fiction—a sweeping story of technological progress, global conflict, and the terrifying consequences of inventions that humanity may be clever enough to create but not wise enough to control.

Bert Smallways is no soldier, statesman, or scientific genius. He is an ordinary, ambitious young bicycle mechanic whose enthusiasm for the new age of machines leads him into an extraordinary adventure. By accident, Bert finds himself swept into the world of experimental aviation and then carried aboard a German aerial armada crossing the Atlantic to attack the United States.

What begins with the excitement and comedy of early flight rapidly becomes something much darker.

Wells imagines fleets of gigantic airships, military aeroplanes, battles fought above oceans and cities, the destruction of New York, international retaliation, and finally a conflict so widespread that the political, commercial, and technological foundations of civilization begin to collapse.

Written years before the First World War demonstrated the military importance of aviation, The War in the Air is remarkable for the questions it asks. What happens when technological change moves faster than political institutions can respond? Can a weapon that can destroy an enemy actually secure victory? What becomes of civilians when the battlefield expands into the sky above their homes? And what happens when every great power possesses the ability to strike beyond traditional frontiers?

Yet this is not simply a novel of machines and warfare. At its center is Bert Smallways—bewildered, resourceful, comic, frightened, and unmistakably human—trying to survive a catastrophe whose causes are far beyond his understanding or control.

More than a century after its first appearance, Wells’s warning has lost little of its force. Aircraft, missiles, nuclear weapons, drones, cyberwarfare, and autonomous military technologies have changed the instruments, but the fundamental problem remains: human beings continually acquire new powers before they have necessarily acquired the wisdom to govern them.

This new Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint reproduces Wells’s historic novel in a freshly reset edition, supplemented by period public-domain aviation illustrations and a new Introduction by Colin Heston that places the book in its historical setting while examining its continuing relevance to warfare, technology, and the uncertain future of civilization.

A classic of early science fiction, future-war literature, and political prophecy, The War in the Air remains both a gripping adventure and one of H. G. Wells’s most disturbing warnings about the price of uncontrolled progress.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 210p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

H. G. Wells takes humanity beyond Earth in one of the earliest—and still one of the most imaginative—novels of lunar exploration.

When the eccentric scientist Mr. Cavor invents Cavorite, an extraordinary substance capable of shielding matter from gravity, his commercially minded neighbor Mr. Bedford immediately recognizes its possibilities. Together they construct a spherical spacecraft and embark upon an experiment that carries them farther than either man intended: all the way to the Moon.

But Wells's Moon is no lifeless wilderness. Beneath its strange surface lies an enormous subterranean world of caverns, vegetation and astonishing forms of life. Most remarkable of all are the Selenites, an advanced insect-like civilization whose society has developed along principles utterly different from those of humanity.

What begins with the exuberance of scientific discovery gradually becomes something much more unsettling. Bedford sees opportunity, wealth and conquest; Cavor seeks knowledge and understanding. Their reactions to the Selenites allow Wells to turn the adventure back upon its readers. Who, after all, is truly alien? What happens when one civilization encounters another that it neither understands nor controls? And what might an intelligent extraterrestrial species conclude after learning about human warfare, greed and empire?

First published in book form in 1901, The First Men in the Moon was the culmination of the extraordinary sequence of scientific romances that included The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. It combines humor, adventure, speculation and social criticism with an imaginative vision of extraterrestrial life that helped shape modern science fiction.

This Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint presents Wells's original narrative for a new generation of readers, together with an introduction placing the novel in its literary and historical setting. The edition preserves Wells's extraordinary mixture of Victorian adventure and remarkably modern speculation about alien intelligence, specialization, colonialism and humanity's place in the universe.

A classic voyage beyond Earth—and an encounter with a world stranger, larger and more sophisticated than its human visitors ever imagined.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 184p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

What separates the human being from the animal—and what happens when science attempts to erase the boundary?

Shipwrecked and close to death, Edward Prendick is rescued from the Pacific and carried aboard a strange schooner transporting an assortment of animals to an unnamed island. His relief at surviving soon gives way to suspicion. The island is inhabited by the mysterious Doctor Moreau, a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments forced him to abandon civilized society.

Then Prendick discovers what Moreau has been doing.

Hidden within the island is the terrible House of Pain, where Moreau has attempted to transform animals into beings resembling men and women. His creations walk upright, speak, obey commandments and struggle to suppress their animal instincts. They call themselves the Beast Folk.

And they live according to the Law.

First published in 1896, The Island of Doctor Moreau followed The Time Machine and became one of H. G. Wells's most disturbing scientific romances. Written during the fierce Victorian controversy surrounding vivisection and experimental biology, the novel pushes scientific ambition to its most horrifying conclusion. Moreau is not simply a conventional mad scientist. He is more frightening than that: an intelligent investigator who has convinced himself that knowledge justifies suffering and that scientific curiosity need recognize no moral boundary.

Yet Wells's real target extends far beyond the laboratory. The Beast Folk imitate humanity through speech, ritual, prohibition and fear. When Moreau's authority begins to collapse, so does the Law that has restrained them. The resulting nightmare forces Prendick to confront an even more disturbing possibility—that civilization itself may be only a thin covering over humanity's own animal inheritance.

More than a century after its publication, the questions raised by Doctor Moreau have become more rather than less provocative. Genetic engineering, biotechnology, animal experimentation and the power of scientists to manipulate living organisms give Wells's nightmare a striking contemporary resonance.

Part science fiction, part Gothic horror and part philosophical investigation, The Island of Doctor Moreau asks questions that remain profoundly uncomfortable: How far should science be permitted to go? Does the ability to alter life confer the right to do so? And how certain are we that the boundary between civilization and savagery is as secure as we imagine?

This Read-Me.Org Classic Reprint presents Wells's original 1896 narrative, together with a new introduction exploring the scientific, ethical and evolutionary questions behind one of the darkest masterpieces of early science fiction.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 135p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

They came from Mars—and suddenly humanity was no longer the dominant species on Earth.

When a strange cylinder crashes into the English countryside, curious spectators gather around the crater. What emerges changes the world forever.

The Martians have arrived.

Armed with terrifying technology, towering fighting machines, deadly Heat-Rays, and poisonous Black Smoke, the invaders sweep aside human resistance with shocking ease. Soldiers, artillery, cities, governments, and the certainties of Victorian civilization collapse before an enemy whose scientific superiority appears overwhelming.

Through the experiences of an unnamed narrator struggling across a devastated England, H. G. Wells creates one of literature’s greatest stories of invasion, survival, panic, and social breakdown.

First published in 1898, The War of the Worlds helped establish the modern alien-invasion story, but Wells intended much more than spectacular science fiction. Behind the Martian machines lies a provocative reversal of imperial power. What does conquest look like when the technologically superior invader is no longer European—and humanity itself becomes the apparently inferior population?

Wells strips civilization of its confidence with astonishing speed. Refugees choke the roads. Authority disintegrates. Ordinary people flee for their lives. Humanity discovers that intelligence, technology, and military power do not necessarily guarantee survival.

More than a century after its publication, The War of the Worlds retains its extraordinary power because its central question remains unsettlingly simple:

What if something arrived that we could not defeat?

This Read-Me.Org edition brings Wells’s revolutionary scientific romance to contemporary readers while preserving the extraordinary imagination, urgency, and menace of the original.

.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 207p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

In 1914 H. G. Wells imagined the atomic bomb—and a world forced to confront what such a weapon would mean.

Among Wells’s extraordinary works of scientific speculation, The World Set Free occupies a unique place. Written in 1913 and published in 1914, the novel imagined the release of atomic energy and weapons Wells explicitly called “atomic bombs” decades before Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But Wells was interested in far more than predicting a new weapon.

Beginning with humanity’s long struggle to harness energy, the novel moves toward the discovery of practical atomic power—and then toward catastrophe. The new energy promises abundance on an unprecedented scale, but nations quickly transform scientific achievement into military power. Atomic war follows, devastating cities and demonstrating that the traditional international order can no longer survive the destructive capacities science has placed in human hands.

From that destruction Wells develops his larger and more controversial argument. If technology has made war potentially catastrophic for civilization itself, must humanity eventually abandon competing sovereign states and construct some form of world government?

The World Set Free is therefore simultaneously scientific romance, future history, political argument, and warning.

Its historical significance is remarkable. Physicist Leó Szilárd, who later played an important role in the development of nuclear physics and the history of the atomic bomb, acknowledged Wells’s novel as an influence on his thinking about atomic chain reactions.

Yet the book’s greatest interest today may lie in the question Wells asks beyond the bomb itself: Can humanity develop political institutions rapidly enough to control the destructive technologies its scientists create?

The uploaded Read-Me.Org edition includes Wells’s important 1921 preface, in which he reconsidered his predictions after the catastrophe of the First World War.

More than a century after Wells wrote it, The World Set Free remains an extraordinary encounter between science fiction and history—a novel that did not merely imagine atomic warfare but helped place the idea into the intellectual world from which the nuclear age eventually emerged.Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 216p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

A hidden garden behind a green door. A valley where the blind rule. A magic shop where every trick is real. A crystal window onto Mars.

H. G. Wells is celebrated for The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man, but his short fiction reveals the full breadth of his imagination. In these pages, ordinary men and women stumble across impossible discoveries, strange inventions, terrifying creatures, and worlds that exist just beyond the boundaries of everyday experience.

The Door in the Wall and Other Stories brings together forty of Wells's finest short stories, including every story from his definitive 1911 collection The Country of the Blind and Other Stories together with the additional tales from The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents that Wells himself later left behind. The result is the most complete single-volume gathering of his greatest short fiction from the remarkable decade in which he transformed modern speculative storytelling.

Here are unforgettable classics such as:

• The Door in the Wall

• The Country of the Blind

• The Crystal Egg

• The Magic Shop

• The New Accelerator

• The Star

• The Man Who Could Work Miracles

• The Empire of the Ants

• The Red Room

• The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes

Alongside these famous masterpieces are comic tales, Gothic horrors, scientific romances, social satires, mysteries, and fantasies that display Wells at his most inventive and entertaining.

Whether imagining alien visions, miraculous powers, invisible thresholds, or the unexpected consequences of scientific discovery, Wells continually asks a question that became the foundation of modern science fiction: What would happen if the impossible were suddenly true?

Complete, authoritative, and newly introduced for modern readers, this volume is an essential collection for fans of classic science fiction, fantasy, horror, and one of the greatest imaginative writers in English literature.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 172p.

by H.G. Wells. Edited with an Introduction by Colin Heston.

A hidden garden behind a green door. A valley where the blind rule. A magic shop where every trick is real. A crystal window onto Mars.

H. G. Wells is celebrated for The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man, but his short fiction reveals the full breadth of his imagination. In these pages, ordinary men and women stumble across impossible discoveries, strange inventions, terrifying creatures, and worlds that exist just beyond the boundaries of everyday experience.

The Door in the Wall and Other Stories brings together forty of Wells's finest short stories, including every story from his definitive 1911 collection The Country of the Blind and Other Stories together with the additional tales from The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents that Wells himself later left behind. The result is the most complete single-volume gathering of his greatest short fiction from the remarkable decade in which he transformed modern speculative storytelling.

Here are unforgettable classics such as:

• The Door in the Wall

• The Country of the Blind

• The Crystal Egg

• The Magic Shop

• The New Accelerator

• The Star

• The Man Who Could Work Miracles

• The Empire of the Ants

• The Red Room

• The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes

Alongside these famous masterpieces are comic tales, Gothic horrors, scientific romances, social satires, mysteries, and fantasies that display Wells at his most inventive and entertaining.

Whether imagining alien visions, miraculous powers, invisible thresholds, or the unexpected consequences of scientific discovery, Wells continually asks a question that became the foundation of modern science fiction: What would happen if the impossible were suddenly true?

Complete, authoritative, and newly introduced for modern readers, this volume is an essential collection for fans of classic science fiction, fantasy, horror, and one of the greatest imaginative writers in English literature.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 360p.

by Dick Donovan (Author), Colin Heston (Introduction)

The original Stormlight—reborn under the title that captures its true subject.

Before spies wielded secret codes and modern thrillers explored political terrorism, Dick Donovan (J. E. Muddock) wrote one of the Victorian era's most compelling tales of conspiracy, espionage, and betrayal. First published in 1885 as Stormlight, this remarkable novel now appears under the more revealing title Nihilists in Russia Beware!, restoring its focus on the shadowy world of Russian revolutionary movements and the deadly struggle between political idealism and ruthless violence.

Set against the turbulent backdrop of late nineteenth-century Europe, the novel follows a web of exiled Russian revolutionaries, secret societies, hidden identities, assassinations, and impossible moral choices stretching from Geneva to Russia and beyond. At its heart lies not merely an adventure story, but an exploration of loyalty, sacrifice, justice, and the devastating personal cost of political extremism. Donovan combines the suspense of a detective novel with the pace of a spy thriller decades before either genre reached its modern form.

This new Read-Me.Org edition has been completely edited and modernized for today's readers while preserving the style, atmosphere, and dramatic power of the original Victorian narrative. Obsolete typography, OCR errors, and distracting nineteenth-century conventions have been carefully removed, allowing the story to unfold with clarity while remaining faithful to Donovan's voice.

The volume also includes an extensive new Introduction by Colin Heston, placing the novel in its historical context and examining the rise of Russian Nihilism, the political anxieties of Victorian Europe, and the remarkable ways in which Donovan anticipated many themes that continue to dominate contemporary fiction: terrorism, state surveillance, political violence, international conspiracies, and the fragile boundary between justice and revenge.

Illustrated with newly commissioned period-style engravings, this edition offers both an engaging historical thriller and an important rediscovery of one of Victorian detective fiction's most accomplished authors.

Whether you enjoy classic mysteries, historical espionage, political thrillers, or forgotten literary treasures, Nihilists in Russia Beware!demonstrates why Dick Donovan deserves to stand alongside the great pioneers of crime and suspense fiction.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 309p.

by Colin Heston (Author), Arthur Machen (Author) Format: Paperback

Long before H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and modern psychological horror, Arthur Machen was redefining the boundaries of supernatural fiction. His stories blurred the line between science and mysticism, reality and nightmare, suggesting that beneath the familiar world lies an older, stranger, and infinitely more terrifying reality.

This definitive collection brings together Machen's five greatest longer works, spanning more than twenty years of his remarkable career:

• The Great God Pan (1894) – the classic novella that shocked Victorian readers and forever changed supernatural fiction.

• The Three Impostors (1895) – an ingenious web of mysteries containing some of the finest weird tales ever written, including The Novel of the Black Seal and The Novel of the White Powder.

• The House of Souls (1906) – haunting stories in which everyday life opens onto hidden worlds of wonder and terror.

• The Hill of Dreams (1907) – Machen's deeply psychological masterpiece, exploring genius, obsession, imagination, and madness.

• The Terror (1917) – a chilling wartime novel in which nature itself appears to declare war on humanity.

More than a collection of horror stories, Of God and Terror is an exploration of forbidden knowledge, ancient myths, hidden civilizations, spiritual mystery, and the fragile limits of human understanding. Machen's influence can be traced through more than a century of literature, inspiring writers from H. P. Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood to Ramsey Campbell, Clive Barker, and Stephen King.

This new Read-Me.Org edition features a substantial new preface by Colin Heston placing Machen's work in its historical context while examining its enduring relevance to modern readers. The text has been carefully modernized for readability while preserving the elegance, atmosphere, and distinctive voice of the original works.

Whether you are discovering Arthur Machen for the first time or returning to one of the founding masters of weird fiction, Of God and Terror offers an unforgettable journey into the mysterious territory where mythology, psychology, horror, and literature meet.

This volume includes:

• The Great God Pan

• The Three Impostors

• The House of Souls

• The Hill of Dreams

• The Terror

A landmark collection by one of the greatest—and most influential—writers of supernatural fiction ever to put pen to paper.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 470p.

Colin Heston (Editor and Preface). H. P. Lovecraft (author).

Enter the shadowed realms of H. P. Lovecraft—where the boundaries of reality unravel, and humanity stands helpless before forces older than time itself. Horrors of Madness brings together five of Lovecraft’s most iconic and unsettling works, newly edited and modernized for today’s reader.

In these pages, you will confront:

• The Dunwich Horror – A remote, decaying village hides a secret too monstrous to remain unseen.

• The Colour Out of Space – A mysterious entity from beyond the stars corrupts the very fabric of life.

• The Call of Cthulhu – Fragments of forbidden knowledge reveal a sleeping god beneath the sea.

• At the Mountains of Madness – A scientific expedition uncovers an ancient, alien civilization in the Antarctic wastes.

• The Shunned House – A cursed dwelling reveals horrors buried under generations of decay.

These tales form the dark heart of Lovecraft’s legacy—stories of forbidden knowledge, cosmic insignificance, and the fragile edge of sanity.

This edition has been carefully edited and modernized, with a thoughtful preface by Colin Heston, offering insight into Lovecraft’s enduring influence and the deeper themes behind his most chilling works.
Perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Cosmic horror and existential dread

• Gothic and supernatural fiction

• Dark, atmospheric storytelling

• Classic literature with modern readability

Dare to look beyond the veil.
Because once you understand the universe Lovecraft reveals… there is no going back.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 208p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author) Format: Paperback

Modernized and Edited with a Preface by Colin Heston

What if the man you trust to solve crime… knows exactly how to commit it?

From the celebrated author of Raffles, the Gentleman Thief, Ernest W. Hornung delivers a masterfully crafted collection of suspenseful tales centered on one of his most intriguing creations—the Crime Doctor.

In this newly modernized and carefully edited edition by Colin Heston, Hornung’s classic stories are brought vividly to life for today’s readers, preserving their original charm while enhancing readability and flow. With an insightful new preface, this edition invites you to rediscover a lesser-known but fascinating figure from the golden age of crime fiction.

Inside this volume you will discover:

• A series of gripping mysteries steeped in psychological intrigue

• A brilliant and unconventional mind operating on both sides of the law

• Atmospheric storytelling from the late Victorian and Edwardian eras

• A unique blend of deduction, deception, and moral ambiguity

Why readers love The Crime Doctor:

• A compelling precursor to modern antiheroes in crime fiction

• Written by the creator of the iconic A. J. Raffles

• Rich in wit, tension, and clever plot twists

• Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and classic detective tales

About this Edition

This edition has been thoughtfully modernized for clarity and enjoyment, making Hornung’s sharp prose accessible without losing its original tone. Editor Colin Heston provides context and insight, making it ideal for both longtime admirers of classic crime fiction and new readers alike.

Step into a world where intellect is the ultimate weapon and justice is never quite what it seems…
The Crime Doctor awaits.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 275p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author)

Step into the shadowy world of London’s most charming criminal.

The Cracksmen brings together two classic collections—The Amateur Cracksman and Further Adventures of the Amateur Cracksman—introducing readers to A. J. Raffles, the original gentleman thief, and his loyal yet conflicted companion, Bunny Manders. In these unforgettable stories, high society elegance collides with daring crime, and the line between hero and villain is never quite clear.

When Bunny, ruined by debt and desperation, turns to his old schoolmate for help, he finds not a savior—but a mastermind. Raffles lives by wit alone, a celebrated cricketer by day and a cunning “cracksman” by night. What begins as a desperate alliance soon evolves into a thrilling partnership, plunging both men into a world of audacious burglaries, elaborate disguises, and razor‑sharp escapes.

From glittering Bond Street jewels to dangerous encounters with rival thieves and Scotland Yard detectives, each episode blends suspense, psychological tension, and dark humor. Whether infiltrating country estates, outmaneuvering rivals, or narrowly avoiding capture, Raffles treats crime as an art—beautiful, precise, and dangerously addictive. [The Cracksmen.docx  Word]

But beneath the glamour lies a deeper conflict. Through Bunny’s eyes, readers experience the intoxicating thrill of crime alongside its moral cost, as loyalty, fear, and admiration blur into something far more complicated.

Why readers love The Cracksmen

• A timeless anti‑hero who inspired generations of modern thieves and rogues

• Clever, fast-paced stories filled with twists and ingenious schemes

• Sharp wit and psychological depth beneath the adventure

• A fascinating exploration of morality, identity, and friendship

Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes (with a criminal twist), Arsène Lupin, classic crime fiction, and character-driven adventure.

Rediscover one of literature’s most iconic rogues in this modernized edition—where crime is a game, danger is ever-present, and charm may be the greatest weapon of all.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 238p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author), George W. Lambert (Illustrator) Format: Paperback

Modernized and Edited with a Preface by Colin Heston.

Outlaw. Gentleman. Mystery. Legend.

In the rugged vastness of the Australian frontier, a name is whispered with both fear and admiration—Stingaree. A bushranger of rare cunning and unexpected honor, Stingaree is no ordinary criminal. He robs, yes—but with purpose. And those who cross his path soon learn that nothing about him is what it seems.

From the acclaimed creator of Raffles, the Gentleman Thief, E. W. Hornung crafts a thrilling tale of deception, justice, and disguise. Filled with sharp wit, daring exploits, and shifting identities, Stingaree stands as one of Hornung’s most intriguing and unconventional works.

Inside this edition:

• A suspenseful adventure set in the wild Australian outback

• A compelling antihero who challenges the line between crime and justice

• Twists, disguises, and clever reversals at every turn

• Vivid storytelling rich in atmosphere and tension

About this Edition

This version has been modernized and expertly edited by Colin Heston, making Hornung’s classic prose clear and engaging for contemporary readers while preserving its original spirit. A thoughtful new preface provides context and insight into the story’s enduring appeal.
Perfect for fans of classic adventure, literary antiheroes, and timeless crime fiction, Stingaree delivers a gripping journey into a world where appearances deceive—and justice wears many masks.
Meet the outlaw who plays by his own rules.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 138p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author) Format: Paperback

Edited and Modernized with a Preface by Colin Heston

A haunting tale of justice, guilt, and the thin line between innocence and condemnation.

In The Shadow of the Rope, E. W. Hornung—best known for creating the gentleman thief Raffles—turns his keen eye to a darker, more psychological mystery. When a man stands accused of a brutal crime, the evidence seems damning, the verdict all but certain. Yet beneath the surface lies a web of doubt, fear, and moral complexity that refuses to be neatly untangled.

As the shadow of the noose looms ever closer, questions of truth and justice take center stage. Is the law infallible? Can appearances deceive even the most seasoned observers? Hornung crafts a tense and atmospheric narrative that keeps readers guessing until the final page.

This edition has been carefully edited and modernized for today’s readers while preserving the tone and power of the original text. It also features a thoughtful and engaging preface by Colin Heston, offering fresh insight into Hornung’s work and its enduring relevance.

Perfect for fans of classic British mysteries, courtroom drama, and psychological suspense, The Shadow of the Rope remains a gripping exploration of the human conscience under pressure.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 176p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author) Format: Paperback

Step into the shadowy world of gentleman thieves and glittering deception with Raffles, a captivating collection featuring two classic novels by E. W. Hornung: Mr. Justice Rafflesand A Thief in the Night. Elegantly brought together in this edition and enriched with a thoughtful introduction by Colin Heston, this volume revives one of literature’s most charismatic antiheroes for a new generation of readers.

A. J. Raffles—cricketer, clubman, and master burglar—moves effortlessly between high society and the criminal underworld, stealing jewels and slipping past suspicion with charm, wit, and daring. Narrated by his loyal but conflicted companion, Harry “Bunny” Manders, these stories explore the moral ambiguities of crime, loyalty, and identity in late Victorian England.

In A Thief in the Night, readers witness Raffles at the height of his audacity, executing ingenious heists under the noses of the elite. In Mr. Justice Raffles, the stakes rise dramatically as consequences close in, leading to one of the most gripping conclusions in classic crime fiction.

This carefully edited edition includes:

• The complete texts of two full-length Raffles novels

• A fresh and engaging introduction by Colin Heston, offering insight into the character, themes, and literary legacy

• Clean, reader-friendly formatting perfect for modern audiences

Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and classic detective fiction, Rafflesstands as a brilliant portrait of charm, danger, and the irresistible allure of the outlaw gentleman.

Rediscover the thief who steals not just valuables—but the reader’s admiration.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 275p.

by Colin Heston (Author), E. W. Hornung (Author) Format: Paperback

Secrets do not die. They wait.

In this gripping new edition of Dead Men Tell No Tales, now featuring a compelling preface by Colin Heston, readers are invited deeper than ever into a world where truth is buried, evidence is manipulated, and silence is enforced at any cost.

When investigative journalist Elias Harrow receives a message from a man officially declared dead, he is drawn into a mystery that defies logic and threatens everything he believes about justice. What begins as a single anomaly soon reveals a chilling pattern—records rewritten, witnesses erased, and deaths that appear far too convenient.

As Elias digs deeper, powerful forces close in, determined to keep their secrets buried. In a system designed to protect itself, truth becomes dangerous, and survival demands impossible choices. With every step forward, Elias finds himself isolated, unsure who he can trust in a world where even the dead are used as tools.

In his thought-provoking new preface, Colin Heston explores the enduring relevance of the novel’s themes, reflecting on the uneasy relationship between power, truth, and the stories we are told—and those we are not meant to hear.

Tense, intelligent, and unflinchingly dark, Dead Men Tell No Tales is a suspenseful exploration of corruption, courage, and the cost of uncovering the truth. Perfect for readers who crave layered mysteries and moral complexity, this is a novel that lingers long after the final page.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 173p.

Colin Heston (Editor) Nikolai Gogol (Author) , J. Hogarth (Translator).

A swindler arrives in a sleepy provincial town with a scheme so absurd it just might work: buying up the names of serfs who have died but remain on the official census, "dead souls" that still carry value on paper. From this single, brilliant premise, Nikolai Gogol built one of the great comic novels of world literature — a rollicking journey through greed, vanity, and bureaucratic absurdity that is as sharp and funny today as it was in Tsarist Russia.

As Chichikov travels from estate to estate, charming and conniving his way past a gallery of landowners — the sentimental and useless Manilov, the suspicious and miserly Sobakevich, the chaotic and reckless Nozdryov — Gogol turns a simple con into something far larger: a portrait of a society built on appearances, paperwork, and self-deception. It is satire of the highest order, but never cruel; beneath the comedy runs a current of genuine tenderness for the country and the people Gogol is mocking, culminating in one of the most famous passages in Russian literature, the image of Russia itself as a speeding troika racing into an unknown future.

This edition includes:

• The complete text of Part One, in the D. J. Hogarth translation

• An introduction by John Cournos

• A new preface by editor Colin Heston, exploring the novel's history, its unfinished second part, and what makes Gogol's voice so distinct

• Two original illustrations depicting key scenes from the novel

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. p.297.

by Colin Heston (Author), Alexandre Dumas (Author)

Against All Odds: The Black Tulip is a timeless historical novel by Alexandre Dumas that blends romance, suspense, and moral courage into a quietly powerful tale of perseverance in the face of injustice.

Set in the Dutch Republic during the political chaos of 1672, the story unfolds as fear and intrigue tear a nation apart. While violence and ambition dominate public life, Cornelius van Baerle pursues a far more fragile dream: to cultivate the world’s first perfect black tulip. His devotion to this ideal—symbolizing beauty, patience, and order—sets him apart in a society consumed by suspicion.

Betrayed by jealousy and falsely accused of treason, Cornelius is cast into prison, where his future appears lost. Yet even behind stone walls, hope survives. With the help of Rosa, the jailer’s daughter, he continues his delicate work in secrecy, risking everything to protect his dream. As rivalry intensifies and danger closes in, the black tulip becomes more than a prize—it becomes a testament to integrity, love, and resilience against overwhelming odds.

Edited and introduced by Colin Heston, this paperback edition places Dumas’s novel in its historical and literary context, illuminating its enduring relevance and emotional depth. Elegant, moving, and rich with meaning, Against All Odds: The Black Tulip is a compelling story of quiet heroism—proof that even in the darkest times, hope can still bloom.

Read-Me.Org Inc. New York-Philadelphia-Australia. 2026. 261p.