Items related to The Mystery Box
An illustrated collection of twenty tales of suspense, adventure, and history. Bringing together education and entertainment, each story is followed by a well researched discussion on the historical, cultural, or philatelic items in the story. There are also 5 non-fictional essays the author calls Engimas, mysteries of the real world dealing with subjects as diverse as symbols that speak to us from the past nearly unimaginable events in history and, in the case of the stamps in The Philatelic Hall of Shame, the seemingly quixotic process of selecting what goes into the stamp image. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap:
A vanished ship and a fabulous cargo await the reader in The Mystery Box. Drawing upon a real-life encounter with a tantalizing legend, Frederick Highlands' The Mystery Box offers an illustrated story collection that carries us to exotic places and across the boundaries of time. Each mystery tale is inspired by images from world wide postage stamps discovered by the author in a mystery box while in the Portuguese colony of Macao during the Vietnam War. This box has a curious link with the 1851 disappearance of a merchant vessel belonging to Sir James Brooke, the legendary White Rajah of Sarawak, a remote and fabled kingdom on the north coast of Borneo. I held onto the mystery box through many years of sailoring and travel, and I would go back to ponder the curiosities it contained. Each time I would linger longer, for it seemed these arresting images from places as remote as Nyasaland and Aden, from the Maldives and Paraguay, were instilled with a curious hold on me, a power to transport me to different lands and climes Each stamp was a miniature puzzle with a mystery inside, adds the author. It was as if the strange box had been placed in my hands to write down the stories it contained. The stories are as diverse as the postage stamps that inspired them. A murderous alter ego pursues his victim across time in Chain Letter. An escaped slave makes a plea for freedom in Never, a story that takes us to the African nation of Sierra Leone and the conundrum of nineteenth century abolitionist law. In The Emperor's Tomb, a former Maoist Red Guard has a terrifying encounter with the past. Included with the collection are several non-fiction pieces, or enigmas, based on provocative images collected in the Mystery box from Macao. Enter the legend. With fine repro-ductions of the stamps in each story, and commentary on the stamps themselves, The Mystery Box is an original blend of memorable writing and evocative imagery that will be treasured by all those who enjoy well-told tales.
About the Author:
Frederick Highland has lived in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and has been, according to the seasons and the tides, an agriculturist, a university educator, and a merchant mariner.
He is an active member of the Mystery Writer's of America and his mystery tales are a regular feature of Global Stamp News. A member of the American Philatelic Society and the American Topicals Association, he brings his storytelling gifts to the lore of stamp collecting in the The Mystery Box.
An editor and founder of several literary journals, his writings credits include publication of fiction and poetry and articles. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Highland has taught courses in World Literature, Mythology, Humanities, and Philosophy.
The author makes his home in Washington state.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherAna Libri Press
- Publication date1998
- ISBN 10 0965940969
- ISBN 13 9780965940962
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages240
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantIf you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!
Create a Want