Publisher: Project Gutenberg
Uncle Vanya (Russian: Дядя Ваня – Dyadya Vanya) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski.
The most famous of the three canticles that compose The Divine Comedy, "Inferno" describes Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasingly agonizing torture, Dante encounters doomed souls that include the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicidal Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, Dante must ultimately journey with Virgil to the deepest level of all-for it is only by encountering Satan himself, in the heart of Hell, that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin.This version of the classic poem is the translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poem's first American translator.Show book
The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BC[2] against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel" . "Apology" here has its earlier meaning of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions. The general term apology, in context to literature, defends a world from attack (opposite of satire-which attacks the world).the text is written in the first person from Socrates' point of view, as though it were Socrates' actual speech at the trial. During the course of the speech, Socrates twice mentions Plato as being present. There is, however, no real way of knowing how closely Socrates' words in the Apology match those of Socrates at the actual trial, even if it was Plato's intention to be accurate in this respect - Summary by WikipediaShow book
"Master and Man" (Russian: Хозяин и работник) is a story by Leo Tolstoy (1895).It happened in the 'seventies in winter, on the day after St. Nicholas's Day. There was a fete in the parish and the innkeeper, Vasili Andreevich Brekhunov, a Second Guild merchant, being a church elder had to go to church, and had also to entertain his relatives and friends at home. But when the last of them had gone he at once began to prepare to drive over to see a neighbouring proprietor about a grove which he had been bargaining over for a long time. He was now in a hurry to start, lest buyers from the town might forestall him in making a profitable purchase.Show book
Considered by many to be Charles Dickens's finest novel, Great Expectations traces the growth of the book's narrator, the orphan Philip Pirrip (Pip), from a boy of shallow dreams to a man with depth of character. From its famous dramatic opening on the bleak Kentish marshes, the story abounds with some of Dickens's most memorable characters. Among them are the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery, the mysterious convict Abel Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham and her beautiful ward Estella, Pip's good-hearted roommate Herbert Pocket, and the pompous Pumblechook. As Pip unravels the truth behind his own "great expectations" in his quest to become a gentleman, the mysteries of the past and the convolutions of fate through a series of thrilling adventures serve to steer him toward maturity and his most important discovery of all-the truth about himself.Show book
A collection of Shakespeare's poetry including A Lover's Complaint, The Passionate Pilgrim, and a selection from The Sonnets. Read by Sir John Gielgud, Dame Edith Evans, Robert Donat, Anthony Quayle and Claire Bloom.Show book
Dr. Marden tells how we can live up to our potential just by changing our attitude, from the normal attitude of I CAN'T to one of I CAN! To do this we need to have faith in ourselves and shut out the negative forces that come into our lives. We have to stop the negative thoughts and not listen to the nay sayers. Once we find what we want to do we can't think it to death, just take the chance and don't procrastinate, don't let doubt interfer. It's difficult to do in the beginning but will soon become a habit and will make our lives so much easier and fulfilling.Show book
