Publisher: JH
Opening with the famous line "This is the saddest story I have ever heard", The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion is Ford Madox Ford's 1915 novel. Set at the dawn of World War I, it tells of the lives of two seemingly perfect couples; with the result that neither the characters nor their relationships are what they seem.
Arthur George Morrison (1863-1945) was an English writer and journalist known for his realistic novels and stories about working-class life in London's East End. Cap'n Jollyfax, a retired sea captain, has a brass cannon which he likes to fire on special occasions. New Year, Waterloo day, the anniversary of Nelson's funeral, Trafalgar day, everyone's birthdays, weddings, christenings and every other occasion. His neighbour, the widow Mrs Billing, has a great dislike for the gun. So when Cap'n Jollyfax and Mrs Billing become engaged to be married it is perhaps not suprising that there is a dispute about the future of the gun.... a dispute with hilarious consequences.Show book
Hundreds of books and articles have been written about Edgar Allan Poe. Even so, no one is really sure who Poe was. Many people say that he was as crazy as the characters he wrote about. Others say that Poe was a driven man with a simple wish. He wanted to write and to make a living by his writing. Even though Poe lived a miserable life, he wrote some of the most interesting and original literature ever created. Edgar Allan Poe was born in January of 1809, the son of Boston actors. He was orphaned before he was three and was taken in by his godfather, John Allan, a merchant of Richmond, Virginia. After incurring gambling debts at the University of Virginia, he joined the army where, at eighteen, he published his first poems. He was dismissed from West Point, and then worked for various literary magazines. In 1836, while living in Baltimore, he married his fourteen-year-old cousin. He achieved acclaim for the Raven in 1845; two years later his wife died. In October of 1849, shortly after his engagement to a love of his youth, Poe was found semiconscious in the streets of Baltimore. He died days later. Stories and poems included in this collection are: "The Raven", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat", "The Bells", The Fall of the House of Usher", "Manuscript Found in a Bottle", "The Sleeper", "The Man of the Crowd", "The Pit and the Pendulum", "Annabel Lee", "The Man That Was Used Up", "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether", "The Oval Portrait", "Eleonora", "The Facts in the Case of Monsieur Valdemar", "Berenice", and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".Show book
"Her First Ball" is a 1921 short story by Katherine Mansfield. It was first published in The Sphere on 28 November 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories.A young girl called Leila has come to the city to stay with her cousins. They are going to a ball. Leila is very excited: this is her first ball. Once there, she is both excited and terrified. After dancing with several young boys her own age, she dances with a wrinkly balding man who has been coming to balls for a while. This spoils her mood until she dances with a good looking young gentleman where her worries disappear.Show book
Margery Williams Bianco's classic story of a stuffed rabbit who longs to be real has been one of the world's most beloved children's books for the past 100 years. Chosen as one of the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children," it is published here in its original and unabridged format. Adapted over the years many times for stage, screen and television, The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless tale of love, loss, friendship and what it means to triumph over adversity.Show book
This survey of ancient Greece introduces students to the myths of Icarus and Oedipus, as well as historical figures like Socrates and Alexander the Great.In The Story of the Greeks, historian and mythologist H. A. Guerber presents an engaging overview of ancient Greek life, from the earliest inhabitants of the Greek peninsula to its eventual conquest by Rome. Written specifically for students, Guerber focuses her narrative on significant individuals and the roles they played in history. She also covers important Greek myths and the meanings they had for the people of the time. From mythical origin stories to the founding and development of Greek city-states, Guerber tells of the Peloponnesian War and Spartan military domination; the great Athenian philosophers, Socrates and Plato; the rise of Macedon under Philip and his son Alexander the Great; Ancient Greek drama; the Olympic Games; the Colossus of Rhodes; and much more.Show book
Ki no Tsurayuki was a Japanese waka poet of the Heian period. In 905, he was one of the poets ordered to compile the "Kokinshu - Collected Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times". He is also one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals of Japan. The Tosa Diary, written in 935, is considered the major work of Tsurayuki. It is an account of his return to the capital Kyoto from Tosa province, where he had served as governor since 930. The journey is by boat, and Tsurayuki tells about his sea sickness and fear of pirates, his impressions of the coast, and the various offerings to placate the gods of the sea. The Tosa Diary is written entirely in kana (the women's alphabet) and contains many poems composed by Tsurayuki during the journey.Show book
