A true rarity, “A History of the Rod” published in 1870 is an ultimate dream of many bibliophiles published nowadays. This book has only been issued in Russia twice or thrice. And that is hardly surprising, as it is dedicated to flagellation, or scourging, a subject unusual for a modern reader.

There is little known about the life of its author, a Swedish historian and writer James Glass Bertram (1824 – 1892), who wrote this book under the pseudonym of Doctor Cooper. However, it is hardly disputable that he created one of the most extraordinary works ever. This gift book will make an interesting gift for a doctor, a lawyer, a historian, or a connoisseur of rare editions.

Édouard Schuré (1841 – 1929), a French writer, philosopher, and music expert, author of novels, plays, as well as historic, poetic, and philosophic works, created his major work “The Great Initiates” to share his thoughts on the possibility and need of reconciliation between science and religion as related to esotery. In his work, he considers the matters of conflicts between religion and science, aberrant concepts of truth and progress, unity of the theory of mysteries and unconscious progression of science toward theosophy. Schuré described the way that ancient philosophers and old masters have followed in pursuit of truth: Ramah, Krishna, Hermes, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, and even Jesus Christ.

This work is dedicated to the author’s lady friend Margaret Albana Mignaty.

“Life cannot be squeezed into any framework, and people should refuse such attempts once and for all,” – these words from the brilliant, in its historical authenticity, novel “The Financier” is the keynote of the book. A collector’s volume, it will bring pleasure both by its design and content. Theodore Dreiser (1871 – 1945) explores his favourite topic of big business and people in it. The plot revolves around a successful businessman with a huge fortune and supernatural power over people. For him, wealth is not a goal, but a means to live according to the principle “My desires first and foremost.” This is a story about a world where the strongest survive – those who can in spite of everything pursue their ambitions.

The book with a rich design will not only become a worthy adornment of a private library, but will also allow you to get an insight into the entire range of philosophical views of François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) (1694 – 1778), of whom Pushkin himself wrote: “every line written by him comes as a treasure for posterity”. Letters Concerning the English Nation encloses the most important treatises and dialogues and new translations of articles from the Philosophical Dictionary. Voltaire began working on the book at the end of 1727, while being in England, but the most important thoughts were contributed the return to his homeland in 1729. The later additions to the book are dated late 1732.

There are fairy tales for adults, and an immortal classical example of that is Little Zaches, nicknamed Zinnober by the German writer Ernst Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann (1776 – 1822). Full of irony, the book tells the story of the author’s epoch, it describes the ugliness of absolutism, loyalty of contemporaries, bare lawlessness. The protagonist is grotesquely ridiculous, ugly and stupid, but the merciful fairy Rosabelverde endowed him with a unique ability. Whatever good happens in the presence of Zaches – it is always attributed to him, and any shameful thing done by him goes to someone else’s account. Everyone bows to Zaches, he rises as high as to become a minister. But the magician Prosper Alpanus turns up to help a young student Balthazar to remove the spell and expose the truth to ordinary people.

Well-informed people agree that “Main Problems of Civil Law” is one of the most bright and significant works for the Russian civil law. Professor Iosif Pokrovsky (1868 – 1920), a Russian legal expert, answers the key questions of the law science that generations of masterminds have been tackling. The author displays a tight connection of the global civil law history and Russia’s civil law, demonstrating not only his professionalism, but deep insights in regard to the problem. Significance of this book can hardly be overestimated. It is definitely worthy its valuable collectors’ cover, and any lawyer or legal expert will gladly enrich their home library with this book.

The compilation work of the 19th century historian Alexander Arsenyev (1818 – 1872) contains stories and essays from the judicial practice of the Preobrazhensky Department and the Secret Office. Everything in it is based on real cases and the judicial practice of secret investigative institutions of the 18 – mid 19th centuries, from Peter the 1st to Paul the 1st. The book even includes stories about women involved in the Pugachev rebellion. At the same time, the book is read easily and with pleasure, with archive documents interspersed with colourful descriptions of the mores of that era and vernacular vocabulary. Irrefutable facts coexist with humor, sarcasm and glimpses of national epic. The reader learns a lot not only in terms of historical facts, but also a great deal about the values of ancestors.

Every meeting with heroes of Anton Chekhov (1860 – 1904) brings peaceful and tranquil pleasure. His characters are ordinary people with their own concerns and reflections, hopes and worries, with their personal present and future. The Russian classic, being a subtle psychologist and a master of implication, ingeniously combines lyrics and drama. All his works are beautiful thanks to their good humor, biting social context, and artistic performance. In the collection edition “Humdrum” you will find some familiar stories and works that have been published in magazines.