Cirrus@Austlit

Satirical romance of London society. A chorus girl wins her prospective mother-in-law's consent to her wedding with Lord Romblow by threatening to reveal Lady Underdyn's habit of stealing old lace ... Includes commentary on the Earl of Underblow's shady business dealings as a company director. Humorous. (PB)

A bluebird remains in the country throughout a January winter because of its mate's broken wing. (PB)

Domestic tale of a London social marriage of convenience and its demise. A dissipated young man married to a buxom older widow loses his comfortable position when she discovers - through private detectives - his gambling debts, his showgirl mistress, and his theft of jewels and money from her own bedroom. Slight; rousing speech of farewell by the widow ... (PB)

Domestic tale of a husband and wife forced into petty crime through want and lack of saving and foresight. A clerk cannot account for a £10 loss and - fearful of losing his position - he and his wife forge a relative's signature to obtain it. They are eventually forced to repay that theft, and two years of hardship follow until his employer's kindness makes good their sufferings. Moral tale, a little stilted but not too heavy handed. (PB)

A stranger learns from the Temple prophet's visions that happiness lies in loving and serving others. Decorative exemplary tale. (PB)

French romance of woman and the military machine. A woman's attempts to save her sentinel fiancee from dying of cold on a severe winter's night in the French town of Metz almost costs him his life. She saves him from execution for desertion of his post only by her public pleading on his behalf. Slight. (PB)

Tragedy of English society and gambling. Account of the narrator's three encounters with the inveterate gambler Lord Eythorne and the beautiful heiress who became his wife: - in Dover; a London mansion; and a Paris gaming house in the slums. His increasing obsession and her declining health and happiness are obvious. Well-constructed if clichéd in parts. (PB)

Domestic tale of jealousy in marriage. Mrs Lovel's friendship with handsome Captain Trefusis grows until her neglect of her child leads to his fall from high bannisters. Reconciliation with her husband happens through the tragedy aided by a warning to her husband from his elderly uncle. Well-written if predictable study. (PB)

Romantic tragedy of faithful love betrayed. Tom Beresford's departure to set himself up in business leaves behind fragile Muriel Gower waiting for him. When he finds new love her heart breaks - and her deathbed is his punishment. Slight. (PB)

Domestic satire. Two London bachelors decide to rent a house together and immediately fall into difficulties over their kitchen stove and their cook. Humour. (PB)

Gambling and fortune in Spain. A rich gentleman in Madrid relates how he won his fortune two years before when as a poor journalist having lost all of his own and some of his friend's money at the gaming tables, he broke the bank. Only later did the initial stake of a silver pesata he had seen on the floor resolve itself into a drop of water ... Supernatural or not? Narrative of the 'man's club' genre (cigars and after dinner bonhomie.) (PB)

Terrible story of a sub-inspector and his daughter murdered most cruelly by Brennan and his mother in retaliation for the wrongful imprisonment of Ned Brennan. Sinclair is one of the investigators of the girl's death, witnesses the father's recognition of the body, and Mrs Brennan's tortured death caused by alcoholism years later. (PB)

Tale of an old miser, his affection for his adopted son and a mysterious note written on his deathbed. Eventually the son - through a dream - finds the old man's will hidden behind a painting by 'Milly' (Millais). (PB)

Romance resuscitated through a mother's intervention. A young woman's refusal to marry a suitor because she believed she was not first in his heart is changed through a visit to his invalid Quaker mother. Sentimental. (PB)

A romance separated by a rival's duplicity is renewed after six years through a dream, a letter, and an illness. Slight, pleasant tale of woman's perfidy and lover's misunderstanding. (PB)