The Floating Press: 2252 books

Though regarded as a significant literary figure in the genre of realism, Archibald Marshall was also a pioneer of science fiction. Upsidonia is a perfect embodiment of this seeming contradiction. In the novel, Marshall creates a richly imagined world and populates it with compelling characters and details. It's a fascinating read for fans of golden-age science fiction.

Though he would later achieve widespread acclaim as a popular minister and writer, when he was a young man serving in the Union army, Russell Conwell had a chance encounter with then-President Lincoln. Over the course of their conversation, Conwell was able to gain a great deal of insight into Lincoln's...

Think of As a Matter of Course as a philosophical manifesto for women who embrace traditional roles and values in the family and in the wider world. In this collection, the popular nineteenth-century magazine columnist Annie Payson Call addresses a broad range of issues and matters spiritual and practical in nature, issuing advice that is both thought-provoking and timeless in its wisdom.

Henry James' adept skill at probing the darkest depths of human psychology is on full display in this complexly layered tale. The stunningly beautiful Flora Saunt is rapidly losing her eyesight and refuses to wear the ugly eyeglasses that can help her see. Will she maintain her claw-like grip on superficial beauty?

Edwardian author Hector Hugh Munro wrote under the cryptic pseudonym Saki, producing a diverse and robust body of work. This collection includes a story that follows Reginald, a recurring character in Saki's writing, to the frosty burgs of early twentieth-century Russia.

American author and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. draws on his medical background to lend credence to the creepy central premise of his novel Elsie Venner. When a woman suffers a snakebite during pregnancy, the trauma leads to unforeseen -- and horrific -- consequences.

One of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman's most popular short stories, "Evelina's Garden" tells the tale of two cousins -- one an elderly recluse, and one a beautiful young woman -- who are drawn together by a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind garden. Young Evelina is prepared to devote her life to caring for the extraordinary oasis, but when romance intervenes, everything begins to fall apart.

A novelist of remarkable subtlety and skill who was widely renowned in his era, Leonard Merrick brings nuance and humanity to this portrait of an honest, respected, well-meaning man, Dr. Kincaid, and his tormented love for Mary Brettan, a woman who can never truly be his.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but that adage is put to its test in Molly Make-Believe, a charming romance novel from Eleanor Hallowell Abbott. When up-and-coming businessman Carl Stanton falls ill and is prescribed weeks of bed rest, his fiancee Cornelia decides to go ahead with her plans...

A significant figure in American literature, William Dean Howells was a proponent of social realism, and he grapples with issues of class and cultural clashes in the novel Annie Kilburn. After many years abroad, a family tragedy brings Annie back to her small hometown in New England. She finds that her...

Xenie Carroll has had her heart broken by her one true love. In the aftermath of that romance's failure, she decides to give up on love and marry for money. But when even her new-found fortune proves to be insufficient to take her mind off her pain, Xenie cooks up a nefarious plot to get back at the man who rejected her.

Sometimes, a seemingly trivial turn of events can spiral into a huge mess. That's exactly what happens in Stanley J. Weyman's story "The Snowball," in which a casually tossed clod of ice and snow sets off an international incident. Packed with political intrigue from start to finish, fans of fast-paced historical fiction will thoroughly enjoy it.

Fans of high-quality Western tales will cherish this collection from the renowned chronicler of California's misfits, outcasts, and rebels. Several of the stories collected resurrect some of Harte's most popular characters; widely reviled blowhard Colonel Starbottle is featured in "What Happened at the Fonda," and grizzled stage driver Yuba Bill shows up in "A Niece of Snapshot Harry's."

This thought-provoking short story from the golden age of science fiction features a rocket scientist from mid-20th-century America who finds himself thrust hundreds of years into the future -- where he discovers that his life's work of achieving the goal of interplanetary travel has long since been abandoned.