Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Beetle
    The Beetle
    The Beetle
    Ebook416 pages17 hours

    The Beetle

    By Richard Marsh

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A mysterious oriental man known only as 'the Beetle' terrorises london with his unearthly powers of hypnosis and shape-shifting. Written by British author Richard Bernard Heldmann under the pseudonym of Richard Marsh, this book was published in the same year as 'Dracula', and was initially more successful than Bram Stoker's now more famous work. Like Dracula, and other books of the time such as Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu novels, this was also of the 'sensation novel' genre, building up the suspense surrounding a mysterious villain by narrating the story from several viewpoints.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAUK Classics
    Release dateJun 20, 2012
    ISBN9781781668085
    Author

    Richard Marsh

    Richard Marsh (1857-1915) was the pseudonym of bestselling English author Richard Bernard Heldmann. Born in North London to Jewish parents, he began publishing adventure stories for boys in 1880. He soon found work as co-editor of Union Jack, a weekly boy’s magazine, but this arrangement ended by June 1883 with his arrest for cheque forgery. Sentenced to eighteen months of hard labor, Heldmann emerged from prison and began using his pseudonym by 1888. The Beetle (1897), his most commercially successful work, is a classic of the horror genre that draws on the tradition of the sensation novel to investigate such concerns of late-Victorian England as poverty, the New Woman, homosexuality, and empire. Published the same year as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Beetle was initially far more popular and sold out on its first printing almost immediately. His other works, though less successful, include The Goddess: A Demon (1900) and A Spoiler of Men (1905), both pioneering works of horror and science fiction. A prolific short story writer, he was published in Cornhill Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Belgravia.

    Read more from Richard Marsh

    Related to The Beetle

    Related ebooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The City Of Dusk

      Mar 23, 2022

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 576 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Tara Sim Publisher Hodder & Stoughton City Of Dusk is deceptive; it starts off relatively fluffy and ends elbows-deep in blood. It’s told from the perspectives of a number of characters, t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Why Did The Salem Witch Trials Happen?

      Mar 17, 2022

      The trials are so well documented that it’s fairly easy to say what happened at Salem in 1692. What’s much harder to explain is why. Over the centuries, a variety of theories have been put forward as to what led to this outbreak of paranoia. Some hav

      1 min read

    • Article

      Shards Of Earth

      May 19, 2021

      Shards Of Earth
      2 min read

    • Article

      Simon

      Aug 10, 2023

      Simon killed the Devil. It wasn’t an easy feat to kill something immortal, but Simon had been up to the task. “I thought I was giving a gift to all humanity,” Simon said at his trial, his orange jumpsuit glowing like a sun under the neon lights. “I r

      9 min read

    • Article

      Never Have I Ever…

      Apr 21, 2021

      Never Have I Ever…
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Symposium

      Jun 15, 2021

      THE ANCIENT GREEK AND HELLENISTIC WORLD: ca. 700 BC – AD 100 Symposia varied significantly, from friendly gatherings to political events and venues of intrigue. They also became sites for self-positioning and self-identification. Depictions and retel

      8 min read

    • Article

      A New Look at Frog and Toad

      May 5, 2023

      A New Look at Frog and Toad
      3 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Can Be Murder

      Dec 1, 2022

      Christmas Can Be Murder
      3 min read

    • Article

      Richard Armitage Baring All

      Apr 10, 2023

      He’s known for his action-filled roles in such shows as Spooks and The Stranger, but when it comes his own TV tastes, Richard Armitage prefers the aristocratic glamour of Bridgerton. “I love that the show is doing so well for Netflix and I’m excited

      2 min read

    • Article

      Camping In Siberia: On The Trail Of The World’s Largest Owl

      Aug 4, 2020

      American biologist Jonathan C. Slaght joins Russian ornithologists in studying the habitat of the endangered Blakiston’s fish owl.

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Dark Age Beacon

      Dec 6, 2018

      A Dark Age Beacon
      7 min read

    • Article

      Two Sides To A Story: Why Feminist Retellings Are Filling Our Bookshelves

      Mar 24, 2023

      From Circe to Medusa via Persephone, Electra and the women of Troy, it seems there are few characters from Greek mythology left who haven’t been the subject of a feminist retelling in recent years. This year, the world of such reimaginings is expandi

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Woman At Home

      Jan 29, 2019

      From the journals of Samuel P. Perceval,bookseller: Covent Garden, Dec. 15, 1974 This spring, I found a curious letter sewn into the hem of a coat belonging to my late great-aunt Florence. Crudely enveloped in what appeared to be a page torn from

      5 min read

    • Article

      Dark Tales

      Dec 2, 2021

      Dark Tales
      6 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Mar 1, 2024

      I was trying to look a little less like myselfand more like other humans, humans who belonged, so I put on a skort.Purchased in another life, when I had a husband and wrote thank-you notes and held dinner parties,the skort even had its own little poc

      6 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      Prohibition

      Sep 10, 2021

      It had been ten days since my last fix. I knew what I was going to do was wrong, but unless you knew the yearning that your body exerts, the internal pull which strangles your very soul into submission, then you cannot judge me. Yes, it was wrong. Ye

      15 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      Nick Laird

      Dec 15, 2017

      I was trying to write like an adult.I had children.I was at the end of something. As I waited at my table by the window for the coffee,I saw that the sirocco had depositeda scrim of dust on the sill overnight,and it was the dark red of powdered blood

      3 min read

    • Article

      Sweet Sorrow

      Aug 19, 2019

      Sweet Sorrow
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Beetle

    3.5/5

    109 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      An excellent creepy tale. Not hard to see why it competed with Dracula for a while, though also not too hard to see why the other ended up winning out in the end.
    • 5/5
      I came across this book quite by accident, and I'm rather glad I did. I really enjoyed it. It's written from the viewpoint of several characters, very successfully. The story is engrossing, and original, and the older-style language is still easy to read. Definitely worth reading if you like this genre.
    • 3/5
      First published in 1897, The Beetle is a strange little mystery adventure story. I mistakenly went into it thinking it was a horror or dark fiction tale. And while I guess it could be considered horror, only the very first portion was the least bit scary.

      A blend of Isis worship, mystery, Keystone Cop chases, hypnosis, politics, humor and romance, it's difficult to categorize The Beetle. It is well written-it's just all over the place. Even though it wasn't horror, I did enjoy this book-uneven though it was, but I only recommend it to those that think this description sounds interesting. I don't regret reading it, but in all honesty? I'm glad that it's over.

    • 4/5
      As he came on, something entered into me, and forced itself from between my lips, so that I said, in a low, hissing voice, which I vow was never mine, “THE BEETLE!”
      ***
      Paul Lessingham! Beware! THE BEETLE!

      Poisoned Pen Press is an American publisher of (primarily) crime and detection novels, including the US editions of the highly successful British Library Crime Classics series which is resurrecting many forgotten classics of the Golden Age of crime fiction. Poisoned Pen has recently embarked on a new project which promises to be just as exciting Together with the Horror Writers Association, it is launching The Haunted Library of Horror Classics, a collection of classic horror novels presented in new editions, with commentaries and notes to introduce the contemporary reader to the historical and cultural context of the featured works.

      One of the first publications in the series is The Beetle by Richard Bernard Heldmann, better known by his pen-name Richard Marsh. The novel was originally issued as “The Beetle: A Mystery” in 1897. This was the same year which saw the publication of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and it may come as a surprise that The Beetle initially outsold Stoker’s cult vampire novel, going into no less than 15 editions before the Great War. Like Dracula, Marsh imagines a supernatural entity unleashed in Victorian London, except that the monster here is no vampire, but an entity rather more difficult to pin down: a “Nameless Thing” which, although vaguely bearing the features of a hideous man, scarcely seems to be human and, if it is, is of indeterminate sex. This Being, which calls itself one of the “Children of Isis”, and I therefore, presumably, of Egyptian origin, appears to have mesmeric powers and the magical ability to turn into a beetle – or rather THE BEETLE. Indeed, the characters who come across this infernal monster tend to lose their composure as soon as they hear the said two words, which Marsh generally expresses in GARISH CAPITAL LETTERS whenever they appear in the text. Although it is not clear how THE eponymous BEETLE ended up in Kensington, it seems that the main purposes of its City sojourn is to haunt one Paul Lessingham, an upcoming politician who, in younger days, made the fatal mistake of visiting a dubious Egyptian establishment, ending up a prisoner of an ancient esoteric cult. Lessingham’s past has caught up with him with a vengeance and threatens to put his and his fiancée’s life in mortal danger.

      As is common in many Gothic and sensation novels of the era, each one of The Beetle’s four “books” features a different first-person narrator. In “The House with the Open Window”, unemployed clerk Robert Holt seeks shelter in a seemingly abandoned house, only to fall under the mesmeric powers of the Egyptian fiend. In “The Haunted Man”, the story is taken up by eccentric, hyperactive inventor Sydney Atherton, an acquaintance of Lessingham and his rival in love. The object of their attention is Miss Marjorie Lindon, who seems to be the most wanted young woman in London and is also being pursued by the monster him/her/itself. Marjorie is also the narrator of the third Book: “The Terror by Night and the Terror by Day”. The novel ends with notes “extracted from the Case-Book of the Hon. Augustus Champnell, Confidential Agent”, a Sherlock-Holmes-like figure who tries to bring his detective skills to bear on the lurid mystery of THE BEETLE and leads a feverish hunt all over London for the elusive Egyptian insectoid.

      This edition opens with a rather convoluted warning that THE BEETLE and novels of its ilk might “exemplify ideas that are no longer current, attitudes and behaviours that are no longer tolerated, standards that are no longer judged valid”. You don’t say so! Like most examples of “Egyptian Gothic”, Marsh’s novel relies for its effect on racist and xenophobic fears, much as first and second-wave Gothic was often decidedly prejudiced against Southern Europeans and Roman Catholics. Knowing the cultural context helps one to turn a blind eye on ideas which are past their sell-by date. Even so, the constant references to “that Arab” and “diabolical Asiatic” and the idea that the civilised Western world is under threat from a creature hailing from the “dirty streets and evil smells” of Egypt starts to become jarring. And, frankly, the very thought that an ancient cult favours as choice cuts for human sacrifice, not just “white women” but, more specifically, fine examples of English maidenhood, is frankly ludicrous.

      Marsh’s attitudes to women and the working classes are not much better. In that respect, however, the narrative has several redeeming features, not least the strong character of Marjorie Lindon (so much more than just a demure “damsel in distress) and the fact that he lampoons all sectors of society (the farcical figure of Marjorie’s politician father is a case in point).

      This brings me to another aspect of Marsh’s novel which might be puzzling to a modern reader. Horrific though it is, THE BEETLE has an underlying comedic streak, which is particularly evident in Atherton’s narrative segment. This ambivalence might not be to everyone’s taste and, to be honest, I found that the changes in tone dampened the more horrific aspects of the novel and sometimes hovered towards self-parody. To a generation used to explicit horror or, on the other hand, to subtly unsettling psychological thrills, THE BEETLE might seem like a madcap roller-coaster ride.

      There’s no doubt however that at its best, as in Holt’s encounter with the fiend, or the final, thrilling chapters, THE BEETLE still packs a punch and is a worthy addition to The Horror Library. This edition features an introduction by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, together with biographical details about Richard Marsh (including the fact that he is the grandfather of Robert Aickman, celebrated author of ‘weird fiction’), questions for discussion and suggestions for further “horrific reading”.
    • 4/5
      It is easy to see how Richard Marsh’s The Beetle: A Mystery was so wildly popular upon its publication in 1897, as it was quite different, in its horror and supernatural elements, than anything that had come before. Also, the public fascination with mesmerism (and its characteristic theories of mind control and animal magnetism), which is central to the action, was in full bloom at that time. This bizarre story of a repulsive man (or perhaps a woman?)/creature who can suddenly change into a giant beetle, control minds, and reduce his victims to zombie-like slaves, is told in four parts, each with a series of events from a different character’s point of view. While Marsh can get a little wordy in his narrative and a bit repetitive with dialogue, The Beetle still manages to move at a fairly brisk pace, though the story’s central love triangle inevitably slows things down occasionally. That said, the climax is perhaps a bit too melodramatic, a la “ The Perils of Pauline”, and Marsh doesn’t offer much of an explanation of the creature’s origin or motives, but overall it’s an entertaining book, and remains a classic of early weird fiction.
    • 3/5
      Classic Victorian horror, replete with racism, colonialism, English supremecy, xenophobia. It quite literally posits that the evil Isis worshipers want our (i.e., white, English) women. I prefer Dracula or H. Rider Haggard’s She. The Victorians must have found it very titillating: the most lurid of topics treated in the coyest way possible (e.g., more than one reference to the fate “worse than death”).
    • 4/5
      This is a very entertaining book. It is regarded as a classic horror but it is also a mystery and a romantic comedy of the Victorian era. I would describe it as a cross between Dracula and The Importance of Being Earnest with a tiny bit of Sherlock Holmes thrown in.The book also provides me with more supporting evidence for my “Do not read the introduction to fiction until after having read the book” belief. While I agree with most of what David Stuart Davies has to say about the novel, I would not have enjoyed the story half as much as I did had I read the introduction first.
    • 5/5
      A most outstanding Victorian horror story. I must dig up more of Richard Marsh's work.
    • 4/5
      Apparently, this novel once outsold Bram Stoker's Dracula, and it is easy to see why. It tells the strange tale of the creature called The Beetle that plays tricks on and catch with London's polite society, a secret and ancient Egyptian cult, human sacrifice of innocent maidens, mesmerism, a nobody rising to political power who might be hiding a mysterious secret in his past, and you can see why it may have intrigued and fascinated its readership. It does have its faults: its language and settings feel quite old-fashioned today and some of the plot developments are full of melodrama and incredible coincidences. That said, it is still a cracking good read, with the plot gathering pace after the first third of the book, and the passages where the heroine, Marjorie Lindon, is left alone with the creature in her room are truly terrifying.
    • 4/5
      A rollicking read, complete with creepy chills and a good story - in fact, the story moved along so quickly that I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd been told it was a modern pastiche of the Victorian sensational novel. Also very much of its time with the evil Oriental villain and the terrible fear that a young white woman is going to be robbed of her virtue... Truly brilliant.
    • 4/5
      Published in the same year as Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, and incidentally, more popular at the time, ‘The Beetle’ is an atmospheric and chilling piece of gothic Victorian Literature that is often (and unjustifiably) usurped by its literary cousin.In writing ‘The Beetle’ and giving life to an evil protagonist, eminent Victorian novelist Richard Marsh created a despicable embodiment of horror quite equal to Stoker’s blood-sucking vampire. Plunged straight into a world of gloomy horror from off, the initial pages reveal a vivid and genuinely disturbing account of terror that remains as fresh and effective as it did 112 years ago.Taking up the multi-narrative format indicative of the period, the novel proceeds to build nicely, weaving a complex yet easy-to-follow plotline that points towards the mysterious past of an eminent politician – a shady past that is evidently to account for the current morbid occurrences that plague our cast of likeable characters.Unravelling mystery after mystery, the book reads extremely well and Marsh has to be credited with building an exceptional state of tension and anticipation. The finale is nothing short of epic, clawing at and subsequently shredding the reader’s senses and nerves as it reaches its dramatic, evocative and rewarding ending.Having consumed this book avidly over a week, I have to say that ‘The Beetle’ is an excellent piece of literature that remains able to cause chills despite the desensitised nature of modern readers. Another example of late Victorian / early Edwardian fascination with all things Eastern and oriental (see Stoker’s ‘The Jewel of Seven Stars), this is a thoroughly readable member of the gothic school, and fully deserves a reputation equal to ‘Dracula’. Highly, highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      It's just a personal opinion, but classic Gothic horror should not be this dryly amusing - the tongue in cheek tone really makes it difficult to appreciate the otherworldly threat.There's plenty that's sinister in this novel; however, with the exception of the first narrator (who has good reason not to be cheerful), nearly all points of view are rather too smug for the storyline. That aside, this is quite an entertaining yarn, with some snort-out-loud moments and one cannot help admiring the choice of villianous aspect... beetles are not normally considered a proper manifestation of evil (a harbinger, on occasion) and the melding of an Egyptian sect with Victorian life one of those surreal touches that make Gothic horror work.The author does take a while to get to the point; pieces of information that would not have given away the plot but might have made the story stronger in the middle were tacked onto the end in a sudden change of pace. The less said about the romantic theme the better.
    • 4/5
      Great writing with a thrilling build-up but it lost me a bit at the end. From the descriptions I read of this novel, and with my previous experience with Richard Marsh, I was expecting a big twisty shocking climax at the end but instead was left feeling a bit disappointed. It didn't have that same oomph you get at the end of Dracula, but the rest of the story was quite enjoyable. My favorite character was Sydney Atherton. Of all the characters, he was the most fleshed out and was surprisingly funny with his cynical personality and hyper activity. I agree with other reviews that Paul Lessingham and Marjorie were less interesting characters. I found I didn't really care what Marjorie's fate was in the end and Paul Lessingham came off as one note. Even Robert Holt (who was hypnotized through most of the novel) was more interesting. But everything that remained was still quite enjoyable. I thought Marsh did an excellent job setting the stage, building the suspense and drawing the reader in. I also liked that it was told from four different perspectives and thought they each transitioned well from one to the other. I think anyone in gothic literature would enjoy this novel and should give it a read. My copy was published by Valancourt Books and they have provided a fantastic edition with all sorts of helpful footnotes and references.
    • 4/5
      So frustratingly nearly brilliant - the writing is thrilling, the idea is wonderful, the villain is horribly odd and bizarre and the climax is certainly one of the best of it's kind (also helps that I know the trainline in question from childhood)... yet... yet... so many flaws! Firstly the victim of sorts - Lessingham - comes across as a complete knob. The hero of a kind, Atherton, is a less likeable character in many ways but is also far more believable and enjoyable a figure to spend time with compared to the prissy politician. Certainly the major female lead comes across as even duller than the love interest in "The Woman in White" which I never thought to be possible. And similarly the final revelation of the link between the Beetle and Lessingham is a bit of a let down as well... good god, Marsh could have managed something *brilliant* if Lessingham were more flawed, Marjorie closer to Marion Halcombe than to Laura Fairlie and the Beetle had a bit more of a reason to commit his/ her/ it's reign of terror. As it is... it never quite worked. Close - so close - but so frustratingly far as well. Heigh ho.

    Book preview

    The Beetle - Richard Marsh

    1^book_preview_excerpt.html}[6_a?KuOv!xF}vGrXU#D1͛yrןQ-F8*y08ms݆%Ώ~߫gS>Xy??z?nK.imU8šf=r'i9-i8W<5C5cW[uӏ}Ͽ)~??<]P}j:έǹJC_S_ ku /:!tձ/cՆXs'+m< ת,$_Zc6y[eIu4#xCtl;)-Ml<_쯋,?8ܯ=z槬E-e'QSon~e1 z^E#S׆^[F.rv J¾8qaEa3(*% ih(Pa Sk&(%oD +&^Vwjl_\w"m&TC+ַ/O;/6BR[y CQ8qQ/&:cSxod'^A/;Fqkf0~ FkhU<EJ (i( ggyPixq1 Imu]z iˀ'Dsќz-F|0t\ ߝa9Qx$"Uqi?_u7r֏%\. 3YUa ܼAЮq{ȋ3?(l`8`4`DO3۪2nvZ mʷCಝ_ `1 ~ ܢ2B 1'a)OSޕ*M X0+r R q, ЧM $<&F, YM0pa+&%=\]Tk̢|.Rψ [(>yn%Fٷ#@V1C1HkEՇTG5<roPȅT[_3jDMZ0Bl* Ue O/}pe bD:q&H\veQ' C7تM2v@Ą ̋{P͞ƂvBDI,u.Z[7$)ǡ&c b&`ȵ<$k԰4VݖA**ؖ[EmŸ`8rWzHa9a%dX72q&\D,RmstY0XZ.術P-4^Y2SEb߻GJ j2S#9xÊi*G:QF?hi_}17|5Z)m +':B/!fx#r|q"S(ɪܧmWO%]N%Dl~0C~ 4qp/ Ê{n{jnE>,ەW=ZuᝁyDXTqQUm͠ID-j@:jaE.ЧJX*[Ɛ8 gg8j8ͣR\ 2/h&\alP:.xUu#6(QeW./T[~%?aMQl;"ţ Q7؁N3Q1cЗq 4}3𒖶"f 6%VoZc "laOj^G(G+=jLX@%Yfs4/ [(Y Pg]nT ݯ7?||!>Ρנ=ŕ ][.JߔzXNjb(gø`R "l,s51x H{6/2wq9 o !ڜMƅQv&%Цd3qOXg3NN̚ 9z㾁Ӧ Q~GEvwEM d ᮒa No:s`T#>mRi 4jz5*6:+/ܰwbf5ui=GeIg6LBAVx<d?KLi1MY6 b5`KUN%u5 E %'bUD&'ъReD͎]P% uA &R[lD?B B_ \[WM!J{YGN~daC)Q\*rI`BޛQnW?> ;[aJ|73i}K"KVKE u]N櫄5 K+gX*G|)P,P˞bF`%hrBiԧMĻ%L ATǕI]o4eMTf݉a=#vhF c xr(5j1$`dHjդ=6/nVԪuۂIa;2cԘ޴Dn?*Dvw\wk$]R*Ӽ50'XO)ô]4#ŒQbn.0 Vx*t4=j"KjmW=ʺp ;#9G%VŜ5=l XB,XcQ ANmW9x>L)?DїC-M2J[[ W eƈX4w. eTosպY[F"n5*aޭE0> V/Sgc$IJN^vI]sɄ@"#W߬(̀iG\<# \g܂f BUktSGY "(0 f: dmтq'4 GWR x((=^ƩdNnFw VY +U S-:J,,LP)XK thtO!q2^&\Cg:Z89 \1u X+ e/C^l4Ò7rXtu$_4^ԴY=lv1:2ԨT6:jc7X#uaŏoo&Z+gVa/fFhxJ@ͤ%P^"+&io2EF+  3VyXL]\˨w07Eϰ]H=w@vc8;#8|6  (KRP+ d*.x!sIV KeINa@LޅoV_(ZaATxJlݚ e `pt[EBEW 1M>:]ݠBuVI6Q8.姑D9%oRGHV3^,TȌ@Zxs*nǓ"c0W\aoZy\$=*ʪ4 KQz jZVzY l$N/ic@ }eZpZi͞򹎘 R)w]XcqeF ΁~NAnjqO[#)Q*܎n ղ`ܰdC".{]xεa*JI覾Rx Hqs419b;1@&u U]T\lТ,{SiʹpCSg~P$ Ч"NB(J'\hwqG +Fkt!^4%1 `>Z@yKd/?hipȃP(,UX F_eج Y mrlRUj }ޤPEu>4"W@b \jS/FBb;gVLJ3bIp X^蚝 ^/yED@beH>3Chr^ Fopk9JpoBBw<'Uxj78Hx*]x`v_,P/btO#**}j#^VUN۰cbw*r\T"XL ?_K3>A]PT0΃2 jw=zPe (5ˌ8Bf[" ֦ ϺւٽX&V\IL~V?3+B8FyJxSIZ2eE ơ`. uC\x,se2VWJ˯ڬ@ ղGyCrd u'P2,-*ܣKZ1jCtZ5hBRkG`)ʴHkZꨈ2R,γ}%(tthT'h.g)xMcH*Ho&G&}HjL+ ݰEcCXuw-TU(djĜ]H#WN`*{cۻi[@eTXUզ@u_A<Tr y,{K&kD }Kka4kKE0F}K@Y= [.1ΜQK 'V6٫)Jkm5KicGu? 6 0Qa *Rr8xuF !gGʲs>cà ly+UƔ%@Ph;VII|8Q1:2fkM0 BZ甃E8xd nCGfK='Su|j ^3O'2I19ejt,!$9EEEu& /fƳ(SWC#^2m t,_ d=hMOwzR+2U69`çˆĞ56gj1+k J̩x =^!_96&~I[K[K!.|/6\aXS]'eK8u^Cd io #Z I-aF)1׫3e!aGZJMbmEgѥCQ[k3+/mܵt ٹx^2TѺ2ڷ[e!@3B670ȡa U1g5gH]\#oI߅ѱ,ٌ2IeE !fk.[:eNP'7KђӈE`!}Z&vE W%@]r 7ml4"j a&uIA+b+MpQ~Xu`Nh6k}OݳZ-v͈yq+}srsálzi6QdA=B;f ڡ:{ASP?Zpu yӴUhGGXvL`V(Ь:5bfmP|0y[ 6!)D/{i@ fiҲ&:TQd> 1 E~}eA'@+SUԱYܧr"UD#] :e}) B%sĊp6K/Bh.\5 TM mJ6L,3R.GjZ{[X .†+{Bfs hKoS/?SSJw,d(Yj<)2a#yJ u=.]ޱ_ߓ7a0+q?eRR ۂ#N3u/fE̿HWLװWڈC`C+nث&>{FN9VUٚ&u5V&Ѱ␒|;Sj'M X{(0mbg+o ׊l~d`s:FiT R`Ц#!&+|BY.+sw-@7iɲ+(tճZeBq)bgQ!dH#3K-+u,n+$;b\6Ρ(ZpepdG b @@7 ZbXẄ́GM}޵!QСn ݠRuF>r2eX~<GլhrG/_i/gFܐUɎ[DX`0Dz"j2~f%y_̳Q7| [H$ஏ?e5M(ٲ#.K1L}aah \2EBOh}x/o-MN5 )Ԇ(-cbU$:T4MyGI5G)i s֛ٗVdr=':a]4y^4eYb g`*$er<=ý.&MxOC7xYe>54p\~ 'P9e^|Aޜg!N tfڕ+~4FbgpÆ7iA.^f_O+a^Py$n)/(qtn\ӞoW!zkNޚMSIj/.PJk)9v@AZ뢈.6+AQ~5N,r?[54GÛo"7.@бYfĊ@4؁2Z˦lpr.{#hxԨ-Ml 6$ pYނVQ$ɒFk.@pV(OMٮ,xl9=ṛ8cB&kv[I톄Bw=F0Wt ߭xCсܻ D/3?T{"m]m!k0Ȟd7m2^I:aـЉc/}cN#)gp.okg`'Ղk `=D3 eEDEs[Gٟ |^2n{!,zD%_۩T{x^0>|e`f\WqQ1冈LViN7q*ȼ6DLVؔesYo~'k4ꎔwR@ߖ|oFyiۨy\&Rc/lmq-5X$&^55ײywkhSX?jx,z: 4 XFވVQC!(]kK{3!b9~4Cp =\V:s_KY'9%%ڡF3)i}sUBY/Z˾ EռFDQleY@qq7%x"OUi=ؔ\m!'FҀ@ SG t2 F<SG.]OB9Aަڜz#ϹOo_9~ٷ؁#D\h0_j, sdS۱kiQY ޺k=b淘ڊX;c%t` @% _켷L[$C]iurjg|amIc9qłOA۫m ,k^7w҄[(F51k7L͊G gͭ괢Qj"D{C 5&/G/b~1ű[) jp$l' 5rMM%eMe=3nc#qA`nKZ*"J_T9bs4E'߻o{jg3@C,U| 5m`|Lc'5/%$9 /K[j[{ŁU(|ٗHpgy 6'{xW#6i HqӺ)QŶ\[߻=РI7[pK>HndK4L#JUÏ%!j=jY^LDQ!K\wO7y^jS^n'^sHx!x\Qlq.{\TVfk$]Ugn3neqjc-jK)'cs*@c,[%\όɣpZm P&, ^L8#*Dv!r|MES{ >3+:* rQTj"my\MN=_,j?أHQvB>d*a4d󗹹z獊26kvx:e}Oг*p~W!;IQo0;t#C`zNsVN(9/Y[OEOIA/Y㰩2;_hW͗δKCO Ȍ#EV@$_YE2E UEŋPd&^8E.rrYbL0>V@W}?mDyI?|{`H$^EQ"'+eJ$;)Hߜj|Pr&AKw|ntRq e xWUa%o#EKh%bBVg+bwPhN )sw}bD*V@weQWsA3=8o 9A+E.wqtXݭ?x)xy+[MK dqyYXj9nKO^qI1XJ3Qk@P^$X#z.lqw& ZiHj=K[f*"b皿 4&ާQ\ \^dxz |^/My̘8&z-2Th^c(o]Ɓ(kGن4U8? ڔ%Gu + ;0TkpMG4Y:!m yEVXgGK+f+zSG iJL h%`OUJBY|*ec,“Ȳ^;z8CJ,꓿.riO2I m{í(=#n-V@ N%7 ofһԼ *ۛ,j:%(#ZH75*X*~z u/g*N uMu xKWJWYAH[^fh7P9x.ژPd84/=[D03.ohӞ%}M2 O.w߻\ϱNAj\x4Լΐ f,H}흚qg P]{ ,{_U/a@xn~).o{Mf+ҩ z&x 0:ǽ_cgx✇}:Ox
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1