Pirate girls in various states of undress.

The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

The worlds great fantasy artists show their visions of savage jungle women and animals.

The Tickencote Treasure (1903) is a work of adventure fiction by Anglo-French writer William Le Queux. Published at the beginning of Le Queux’s career as a leading author of popular thrillers, The Tickencote Treasure is a story of piracy, mystery, and suspense on the high seas. Using his own research and experience as a journalist and adventurer, Le Queux crafts an accessible, entertaining tale for readers in search of a literary escape. Known for his works of fiction and nonfiction on the possibility of Germany invading Britain—a paranoia common in the early twentieth century—William Le Queux also wrote dozens of thrillers and adventure novels for a dedicated public audience. Although critical acclaim eluded him, popular success made him one of England’s bestselling writers. In The Tickencote Treasure, a struggling doctor gets the chance of a lifetime when an old sea captain recruits him for a voyage to Africa. Unsure at first, Paul Pickering accepts his offer, embarking on a journey that brings him to the coast of Algeria. After several uneventful days at sea, the crew is surprised to discover a strange ship floating toward them. Although it resembles an old Elizabethan vessel, the hull looks relatively new. Thinking it abandoned, a group of sailors boards the phantom ship to find it hermetically sealed. Hoping for treasure, they go below deck to find a strange old man instead. As the story unfolds, an atmosphere of mystery and an ancient legend threaten to overwhelm Pickering and his comrades. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Le Queux’s The Tickencote Treasure is a classic work of adventure fiction reimagined for modern readers.

After entering into a marriage of convenience in order to save her family's estate when her brother loses it in a card game, Isobel Rose finds herself falling for her new husband as he is targeted by a ruthless enemy.