Bøger af Michael C Cox

In these short stories I combined, in varied proportions, figments of my imagination and actual events set in real locations. I have tried accurately to reveal the facts underlying all the stories but my memory is not what it was. Where appropriate I have also tried to conceal the identities of the people involved. If I failed to do so and thereby upset any family members, friends, colleagues or acquaintances, may I point out I never intended to embarrass and, more often than not, the law seems to benefit lawyers rather than litigants. Eight stories (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14 and 15) are largely biographical. Story number 6 is a fond recollection of my father and relates actual events that still have me shaking my head and thinking, "What are the chances?" Behind story number 7 are real people and events. but the consequence of my crime is fictional albeit the logically expected result of a chemical reaction.Story number 8 describes an actual incident involving real people I knew but whose actual names I have not disclosed. If by my descriptions I have unwittingly disclosed the identities of my former neighbours, I hope they will not be embarrassed or upset by my portrayal of them. 1. The lawnA well-paid chemist quits his job. On the road to earning a living he meets frustration, laughter, joy and sorrow.2. The Axeman comethA dangerous criminal is on the loose. A front door is ajar and the house a shambles. The police are called.3. A tick in a boxAn official form is carelessly completed. The bureaucratic consequences will make you laugh or go insane.4. The journey of a canvas bagFive passengers share a compartment on a train, unaware of the danger lurking inside a student's canvas bag.5. The best laid schemesTwo door-to-door brush salesmen conspire to boost sales but the conscience of one gets the better of him.6. What are the chances?The author tells the curious affair of a petrol cap, fondly recalls his father and confirms that old habits die hard.7. A mixed blessingThe author confesses a crime he committed long ago in Britain out of false pride and in a moment of weakness.8. The lawnmowerA lawnmower is belching smoke and its owners have vanished. The neighbours gather to solve the mystery.9. Deception and a deadly switchThree teachers invest in a former colleague's business. A faulty switch leads to tragedy and a police investigation. 10. A gorilla in the cupboardThe bizarre tale of a gorilla hiding in the cupboard of a school's music department.11. Water of lifeWhat was the author to do when even arsenic failed to solve the problem. The answer lay in a bottle in France.12. What the eye does not seeTwo people staying at the same resort meet. They have something in common that could prove disastrous. 13. The apple cartA Indian carpet dealer is worried. His daughter is seeing a greengrocer who employs his son. He consults a lawyer.14. Across a crowded roomOne enchanted evening, the author saw a stranger across a crowded room and has been in love with her ever since.15. The disappearing chemistry teacherA chemist demonstrates a chemical reaction and vanishes in a cloud of smoke before the very eyes of his students.16. An alarming businessA policeman investigates the unexpected increase in local burglaries and the sale of his relative's burglar alarms.

This is the fourth of four volumes of delightful tales, every one written and illustrated by the author himself. The stories vary in length. They also vary in the proportion of imagination and actuality. All were inspired by real people and events sharply recalled by Dr Cox as he reflected upon his past eighty years. If you enjoy these tales, you will enjoy the author's first full length novel Once Upon A Term published this year and available as a Kindle Edition. You can't help getting older but you don't have to get old - George Burns The four stories in this volume: 1. The apple cart An Indian carpet dealer considers himself a cut above a Panjabi greengrocer. The greengrocer becomes friendly with the dealer's daughter and employs the dealer's son in his business. Afraid that the carpets he imports from India may have been the product of illegal child labour, the carpet dealer consults a lawyer. 2. Across a crowded room One enchanted evening, almost fifty-six years ago, the author saw a stranger across a crowded room. He has been in love with her ever since. 3. The disappearing chemistry teacher While demonstrating a chemical reaction, a teacher disappears in a cloud of smoke before the very eyes of his students. 4. An alarming business Crime may not pay for some but without criminals who would need policemen? And without burglars what would the manufacturers and salesmen of burglar alarms do for a living?

This is the third of four volumes of delightful tales, every one written and illustrated by the author himself. The stories vary in length. They also vary in the proportion of imagination and actuality. All were inspired by real people and events sharply recalled by Dr Cox as he reflected upon his past eighty years. If you enjoy these tales, you will enjoy the author's first full length novel Once Upon A Term published this year and available as a Kindle Edition. You can't help getting older but you don't have to get old - George Burns The four stories in this volume: 1. Deception and a deadly switch Three teachers invest in the business of a former colleague. Their unsecured loans and a faulty electrical switch lead to a tragedy and a police investigation. 2. A gorilla in the cupboard The bizarre tale of a gorilla in the cupboard of a school's music department. 3. Water of life What was one to do when even arsenic failed to solve the problem? The answer lay in a bottle in France. 4. What the eye does not see Ernest and Florence Broadbent encounter Janet and Geoffrey Walters at a resort in the Canary Islands. Florence and Geoffrey learn Spanish at the same evening class. Their meeting at the resort was no accident. Janet and Ernest had never met before but they have something in common that could prove disastrous.

This is the second of four volumes of delightful tales, every one written and illustrated by the author himself. The stories vary in length. They also vary in the proportion of imagination and actuality. All were inspired by real people and events sharply recalled by Dr Cox as he reflected upon his past eighty years. If you enjoy these tales, you will enjoy the author's first full length novel Once Upon A Term published this year and available as a Kindle Edition. You can't help getting older but you don't have to get old - George Burns The four stories in this volume: 1. The best laid schemes Alan and Rupert are door-to-door salesmen for different brush companies. One of them devises a scheme that boosts their sales. The other participates in the conspiracy but his conscience eventually gets the better of him. 2. What are the chances? This memoir confirms the sayings 'old habits die hard' and 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks.' The author relates the curious affair of a petrol cap and recalls his father with fondness. 3. A mixed blessing From the safe haven of his home in Canada, the author confesses to a crime he committed in Britain more than forty years ago out of false pride and in a moment of weakness. 4. The lawnmower Something is wrong. An unmanned lawnmower is belching smoke. Its owners have disappeared. Their bungalow is deserted. The neighbours gather to solve the mystery.

This is the first of four volumes of delightful tales, every one written and illustrated by the author himself. The stories vary in length. They also vary in the proportion of imagination and actuality. All were inspired by real people and events sharply recalled by Dr Cox as he reflected upon his past eighty years. If you enjoy these tales, you will enjoy the author's first full length novel Once Upon A Term published this year and available as a Kindle Edition. You can't help getting older but you don't have to get old - George Burns The four stories in this volume: 1. The lawn A well-paid chemist quits his job. On the road to earning a living he meets frustration, laughter, joy and sorrow. 2. The Axeman cometh It's 6 o'clock on Boxing Day morning. The front door is ajar and the house is a shambles. Frank Mitchell, a dangerous criminal has escaped from Dartmoor prison and is reported to be in the neighbourhood. The police are called to investigate. 3. A tick in a box Read this story and you will think twice about filling in an official form. When it comes to bureaucracy, British or Canadian, remember the words of Robert Frost, "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." 4. The journey of a canvas bag Six passengers share a compartment on a train unaware of the danger that lurks inside a canvas bag one of them has placed on a table by the window.

A headmaster not always in the best of health or in touch with reality. A bursar cashiered from the army for fiddling the books. A computing scientist planning to rob a bank. A former major in the Black Watch investigating the bursar and the scientist. A group of staff wives making a killing on the stock market. A bullying pupil meeting his match. A former pupil returning to seek his revenge on one of the teachers.It is the summer term at Beaumont Abbey, a fictitious private independent boarding school for boys. Founded by Sir Athelstan de Beaumont in 1587 during the reign of Elizabeth I and located on the border of the northern counties of Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland, the school is on the brink of becoming co-educational.Beaumont's modern buildings contrast sharply with its ancient stone buildings that are listed to protect them from man but not the elements. Its academic all-male staff are highly qualified individuals bordering upon the eccentric. Its pupils come from the British Isles and other parts of the globe to be educated and steeped in its ancient traditions.Although this is a work of fiction, Michael C. Cox draws upon his and colleagues' actual experiences of real people and their actions to bring to life the characters and events in this story. As Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."Readers' comments: I've just finished reading your book and I must say it really held my attention. In spite of the lack of thrills and spills it kept rolling nicely along taking the reader with it, rather like an Ealing film of the fifties. Another way to describe it, is to compare it with a high-quality fruit cake. Again no surprises, only enjoyment upon tasting the rich ingredients, knowing that the quality will be maintained until the last bite and will leave a lingering taste in the memory, which will more than compensate for the lack of cheap sensationalism. - Patrick Brown (Almere, Holland)Reading this, I was immediately transported to my boarding schooldays, my visits to my brother at a famous English public school - and my more recent visits to a university college. The well-researched detail makes the building and the characters spring to life. I enjoyed reading this book and admired the craftsmanship of the author. I look forward with anticipation to exploring the writer's short stories which is an even more challenging genre. A really worthwhile read. - Georgigirl