This book contains two works by the English writer, recognized as a classic of adventure literature, Thomas Mayne Reid. The famous novel "The Headless Horseman" (1865–1866), which glorified its creator, and the story "The Sea Wolf Cub" (1859).
Infused with impressions and moods from the author's young years spent in the USA, the romantic story about the noble Texas mustanger Maurice Gerald and the beautiful daughter of a planter, Louise Poindexter, whose love is thwarted by the schemes of an envious rival and the ominous mystery of the headless horseman, who terrifies the inhabitants of the savannah, continues to captivate the imagination of readers both in Mayne Reid's homeland and around the world. The hero of "The Sea Wolf Cub," twelve-year-old Philip Forster, is driven by a boyish desire for journeys and adventures, leading him to sneak aboard the next trading ship from England to Peru named "Inca." Hiding in the hold, buried alive among bales of cargo, crates, and barrels, young Philip is forced to constantly fight for survival—overcoming thirst, hunger, loneliness, fear of darkness, seasickness, and battling with ship rats. He must use all his knowledge, skills, and resourcefulness to make his way up to freedom.
The works are published with classic illustrations by Nikolai Koechergin ("The Headless Horseman") and Leon Bennett ("The Sea Wolf Cub").
