Publisher: Project Gutenberg
The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.
Dive into the enigmatic world of Franz Kafka and Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol with the digital audiobook version of "A Hunger Artist and Other Works." This collection is a literary tapestry woven with three remarkable stories: "A Hunger Artist," "The Cloak," and "The Mantle." A Hunger Artist: Experience the haunting tale of a man who turns starvation into an art form. As the hunger artist voluntarily withers away in a cage, the story explores the blurred lines between art, sacrifice, and the quest for meaning. Kafka's narrative delves deep into the psyche of the artist, unveiling layers of existential contemplation and societal scrutiny. The Cloak: Gogol's satirical masterpiece, "The Cloak," takes you into the life of Akaky Akakievich, a humble civil servant whose world revolves around his worn-out cloak. When tragedy befalls him, the story becomes a poignant commentary on societal hierarchies, the absurdity of bureaucracy, and the human need for dignity. The Mantle: In "The Mantle," Gogol weaves a tapestry of absurdity and tragedy as the protagonist, Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, experiences a surreal journey after acquiring a new overcoat. This tale explores themes of identity, social class, and the consequences of one's desires, blending humor with a deep exploration of the human condition.Show book
The Russian novel has a reputation that is immense, both in narrative and in length. Unquestionably though the ideas, themes and characters make many novels rightly revered as world class, as icons of literature. Perhaps an easier way to enjoy a wider selection of the Russian heritage, with its varied and glorious literary talents, is with the short story. These gems sparkle and beguile the mind with their characters and narrative, exploring facets of society and the human condition that more Western authors somehow find more difficult to navigate, or to explore, explain and relate to. The Russian short story is, in many respects, in a genre of its own. It is at its captivating best whether it’s an exploration of real-life experiences, through fantasy and fables and on to total absurdity. In a land so vast it is unsurprising that it is a world almost unto itself. Cultures and landscapes of differing hues are packed together bound only by the wilful bonds and force of Empire. The stories in this collection traverse the decades where one might be a serf under an absolute monarch, and the reality of that was pretty near to slavery, into an emancipation of sorts in the fields, or towns under the despotic will of landowners and the rich into the upheavals of Empire and then the overthrow of the ruling class and its replacement by the communists, who promised equality for all and delivered a society where the down-trodden remained the lowest yet vital cog of the state machine and its will. Whilst Tolstoy, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Chekhov are a given in any Russian collection we also explore and include Andreyev, Korolenko, Turgenev, Blavatsky and many others to create a world rich and dense across a sprawling landscape of diverse people, riddled with the class and unfairness in perhaps some of the most turbulent times that Russia has ever experienced. 01 - The Russian Short Story - Volume 4 - An Introduction 02 - The Sentry by Nikolai Lyeskov 03 - A Witch's Den by Helena Blavatsky 04 - The General's Will by Vera Jelihovsky 05 - The Old Bell Ringer by Vladimir Korolenko 06 - The Shades, A Phantasy by Vladimir Korolenko 07 - The Signal by Vsevolod Garshin 08 - Dethroned by I N Potapenko 09 - The Kiss by Anton Chekhov 10 - The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov 11 - The Bet by Anton Chekhov 12 - Gooseberries by Anton ChekhovShow book
The Piazza Tales is a collection of six short stories by American writer Herman Melville, published by Dix & Edwards in the United States in May 1856 and in Britain in June. Except for the newly written title story, "The Piazza," all of the stories had appeared in Putnam's Monthly between 1853 and 1855. The collection includes what has long been regarded as three of Melville's most important achievements in the genre of short fiction, "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno", and "The Encantadas", his sketches of the Galápagos Islands. (Billy Budd, arguably his greatest piece of short fiction, would remain unpublished in his lifetime.)Melville had originally intended to entitle the volume Benito Cereno and Other Sketches, but settled on the definitive title after he had written the introductory story. The book received largely favorable reviews, with reviewers especially praising "The Encantadas" but did not sell well enough to get Melville out of his financial straits, probably because short fiction for magazines had little appeal to bookbuyers. From after Melville's rediscovery to the end of the twentieth century, the short works that attracted the most critical attention were "Bartleby," "Benito Cereno" and "The Encantadas," with "The Piazza" a little behind those.Show book
As work begins to rebuild planet Earth after the devastation of the robot invasion, Dare and his friends in Space Fleet remain vigilant, certain that it is only a matter of time before the Mekon launches a fresh attack. When the wreck of the Nautilus - an experimental ship lost over a decade before - appears in orbit of the moon, Dare, Digby and Peabody are sent to investigate. They find the ship and its crew were destroyed by advanced alien weapons. All clues lead them to Saturn's moons. With Earth still vulnerable, our heroes must journey to an unknown world - to discover who sent the Nautilus back, not realizing that for once the source of their latest conflict comes from a lot closer to home. Not all would-be conquerors of planet Earth are alien.... ©2017 Dan Dare Corporation Limited (P)2017 B7 ProductionsShow book
A shy young woman discovers her true power in this poignant love story from one of the world’s most cherished authors The eldest of nine children born to a naval lieutenant with a meager pension, Fanny Price is sent to live with wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park. Only ten years old, she is nervous around her rich cousins and uncomfortable in their grand house. And as the years pass, Fanny comes to believe that she will never truly feel at home. Only Edmund Bertram makes life worth living. He is the only one of her cousins who is kind to her, a gentle soul whom she has loved since childhood. But when the worldly and charismatic Crawford siblings, Henry and Mary, arrive from London and ensnare the Bertram family in a complicated web of romance and intrigue, Fanny worries that her relationship with Edmund will never be the same. To win his heart, she must keep her head—a task that becomes all the more difficult when her family pressures her to accept Henry Crawford’s unexpected marriage proposal. Widely regarded to be Jane Austen’s first mature novel, Mansfield Park subtly critiques the snobbery of English society by celebrating the virtues of its unassuming yet profoundly compelling heroine. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.Show book
Matthew Arnold was born on the 24th December 1822 in Laleham, Surrey. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby school. In 1836, Arnold was sent to Winchester College, but the following year he was enrolled in the fifth form at Rugby. In the sixth form he came under the tutelage of his father. Whilst there Arnold won many school prizes for English essay writing, together with Latin and English poetry. His first volume, ‘The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems’ was published in 1849. Wishing to marry, but unable to on the meagre wages of a private secretary, Arnold sought, and was appointed, in April 1851, as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. It was a necessary sacrifice and overall he found the work miserable. However, the income and security enabled him to marry Frances Lucy in June, 1851. They would have six children. In 1852, Arnold published ‘Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems’ followed in 1853 by ‘Poems: A New Edition’ that included his epic ‘Sohrab and Rustum’. In 1854, ‘Poems: Second Series’ was published. Arnold was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1857, and was the first incumbent to deliver his lectures in English rather than in Latin. He was re-elected in 1862. Matthew Arnold died on 15th April, 1888 of heart failure whilst running to catch a train that would have taken him to see his daughter, who was visiting from the United States. He was 65. Arnold is often referred to as the third great Victorian poet, along with Tennyson and Browning. He was also keenly aware of his stature. In a letter in 1869 to his mother, he wrote: ‘’My poems represent, on the whole, the main movement of mind of the last quarter of a century, and thus they will probably have their day as people become conscious to themselves of what that movement of mind is”.Show book
