Publisher: JH
Nathaniel Hawthorne is regarded as one of the masters of early American short fiction. Long-time fans and curious newcomers will appreciate this collection of Hawthorne's short stories, which brings together some of his most important early work and was praised by a chorus of illustrious contemporaries such as Melville, Poe, and Whitman.
Listen to a spellbinding version of the beloved classic Beauty and the Beast followed by two of Hans Christian Andersen's two classic fairy tales, The Tinderbox and The Princess and the Pea. Prepare yourself for an hour of fascinating stories and storytelling.Show book
Charles Dickens' classic morality tale for Christmastide, first published in 1843. Elderly miser Ebenezer Scrooge receives an unexpected visit from a series of otherworldly advisors... Narrated by Robin Reads.Show book
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events.Show book
One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the "Histories" describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus' natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colorful digressions - a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and far-fetched accounts of dog-headed men and gold-digging ants. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fact and legend, the "Histories" offers a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.BOOK 2: EUTERPE: On the death of Cyrus, Cambyses, his son by Cassandane, daughter of Pharnaspes, took the kingdom. Cassandane had died in the lifetime of Cyrus, who had made a great mourning for her at her death, and had commanded all the subjects of his empire to observe the like.Show book
E. Nesbit's entertaining and accessible retelling of Shakespeare's notable tragedies in short story form. An invaluable overview of Shakespeare's plays.Show book
Considered by many to be E. M. Forster's greatest novel, Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of "telegrams and anger." When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home-Howards End-to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.Written in 1910, Howards End is a symbolic exploration of the social, economic, and intellectual forces at work in England in the years preceding World War I, a time when vast social changes were occurring. In the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, Forster perfectly embodies the competing idealism and materialism of the upper classes, while the conflict over the ownership of Howards End represents the struggle for possession of the country's future. Forster refuses to take sides in this conflict. Instead he poses one of the book's central questions: In a changing modern society, what should be the relation between the inner and outer life, between the world of the intellect and the world of business? Can they ever, as Forster urges, "only connect"?Show book
