Other books that might interest you

• 

  Walden

  Henry David Thoreau

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Originally published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature. This new paperback edition-introduced by noted American writer John Updike-celebrates the 150th anniversary of this classic work. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as "Reading" and "The Pond in the Winter" Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden-as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows. For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent.

  Show book

• 

  Love in a Cold Climate

  Nancy Mitford

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars.Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as Viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs.The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother’s dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end all find happiness in their own unconventional ways.

  Show book

• 

  The Queen of Spades

  Alexander Pushkin

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Alexander Pushkin's greatest short story. Hermann, a young German officer serving in the Engineers regiment, is obsessed by gambling, although he never indulges in it himself. One night he hears a tale about how a wealthy 87-year-old Countess in St. Petersburg once learned the secret of how to win on three cards from the Duc d'Orleans. He becomes obsessed with learning the secret himself.In pursuit of this aim, he becomes enamoured of the Countess' companion, the beautiful Lizaveta. A nocturnal visit to his paramour, however, turns to tragedy as he finds himself in the chamber of the Countess and tries first by persuasion and then by force to get her to reveal the secret of the cards. The denouement of the story is uncanny and captivating.

  Show book

• 

  The Mayor of Casterbridge

  Thomas Hardy

  • 0
  • 2
  • 0

  A captivating story of love and regret from the author of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and The Return of the Native Young farm worker Michael Henchard arrives in Casterbridge, Wessex, with his wife and child, looking for a job. Instead, he finds rum. At the town fair, Henchard quarrels with his wife and drunkenly auctions her and his daughter to the assembled crowd. He sells his family to a sailor for five guineas, a monstrous crime that marks him for a lifetime of guilt and pain.   The next morning, Henchard swears off drink. Eighteen years later, he is the wealthy—and sober—mayor of Casterbridge, his terrible secret buried deep in the past. But when Henchard falls in love with a young woman on a trip to the island of Jersey, his inability to marry her threatens to destroy her reputation. The sudden return of his wife and daughter presents Henchard with a chance to finally make things right—or doom himself forever.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

  Show book

• 

  Bartleby the Scrivener - Unabridged

  Herman Melville

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The narrator, an elderly, unnamed Manhattan lawyer, already employs two scriveners to copy legal documents by hand. An increase in business leads him to hire a third: the forlorn-looking Bartleby. At first, Bartleby produces a large volume of high-quality work. But one day, when asked to proofread, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his perpetual response to every request: "I would prefer not to." From that point Bartleby performs fewer and fewer tasks and eventually none. The narrator makes several futile attempts to reason with him and to learn something about him, and one Sunday morning he discovers that Bartleby has started living in the office. The lawyer cannot bring himself to remove Bartleby from his premises, and moves his office instead, but the new proprietor removes Bartleby to prison, where he perishes…

  Show book

• 

  Wood Beyond the World The...

  William Morris

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  When the wife of Golden Walter betrays him for another man, he leaves home on a trading voyage to avoid the necessity of a feud with her family. However, his efforts are fruitless, as word comes to him en route that his wife's clan has killed his father. As a storm then carries him to a faraway country, the effect of this news is merely to sunder his last ties to his homeland. Walter comes to the castle of an enchantress, from which he rescues a captive maiden in a harrowing adventure (or rather, she rescues him). They flee through a region inhabited by mini-giants, and eventually reach the city of Stark-wall, whose custom, when the throne is vacant, is to take the next foreigner to arrive as ruler. The late king having died, Walter and his new love are hailed as the new monarchs. The two are married and presumably live happily ever after.

  Show book