Other books that might interest you

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  Villette

  Charlotte Brontë

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  The story of Villette is told in flashback by Lucy Snowe, who tells of the trials of her young self first in England, and then in Belgium. Charlotte Bronte does not paint a romantic picture of an unsupported woman's life ? her heroine has to endure straitened circumstances, insecurity and humiliation. However, despite everything that happens to her, Lucy is a warm and courageous character who makes the most of the opportunities that occur. The love and fulfilment which are readily available to her younger, prettier and richer charges are not quite outside her reach, but it is clear to the reader that for her to achieve them cannot be easy.

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  The New Atlantis

  Francis Bacon

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  Journey to the utopian island of Bensalem in this novel by the influential English philosopher and scientist.A group of Europeans leave South America by boat and, after a bout of dangerous weather, find refuge on an island where a society like none other exists. Here, the travelers find themselves welcomed by a people who, thanks to a long-ago miracle, received the message of Christ, and practice the virtues neglected by so many others. They also practice the scientific method (established by Sir Francis Bacon himself in real life), using empirical knowledge for human advancement. This work by one of the geniuses of his time reveals his vision of what our world could be—and makes for a thought-provoking journey for the modern reader.

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  Father Brown: The Flying Stars...

  G. K. Chesterton

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  The Flying Stars" is one of Chesterton's mysteries featuring Father Brown. It's actually the first of these short stories I've read and I picked it up more because it's a Christmas mystery than to meet Father Brown, even though he is a character I'd like to read more of.The story takes place at an English manor home on Boxing Day. A young lady and the young man who lives next door are present, as is the girl's father, Colonel Adams, a newly arrived uncle and a quite rich godfather. Also present, in addition to the servants, simply because the Colonel likes his company is the local priest, Father Brown. The godfather has brought a gift for the young lady, a set of three gorgeous, large diamonds, which he has tucked away in his coat pocket.

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  The Return of the Native

  Thomas Hardy

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  One of Thomas Hardy's classic statements about modern love, courtship, and marriage, The Return of the Native is set in the pastoral village of Egdon Heath. The fiery Eustacia Vye, wishing only for passionate love, believes that her escape from Egdon lies in her marriage to Clym Yeobright, the returning "native," home from Paris and discontented with his work there. Clym wishes to remain in Egdon, however-a desire that sets him in opposition to his wife and brings them both to despair. Surrounding them are Clym's mother, who is strongly opposed to his marriage; Damon Wildeve, who is in love with Eustacia but married to Clym's cousin Thomasin; and the oddly ambiguous observer Diggory Venn, whose frustrated love for Thomasin turns him into either a guardian angel or a jealous manipulator-or perhaps both. This stew of curdled love and conflicting emotions can only boil over into tragedy, and the book's darkly ironic ending marks it as both a classically Victorian novel and a forerunner of the modernist fiction that followed it.

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  Lifted Veil The (Unabridged)

  George Eliot

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  The tale of a man who is incapacitated by visions of the future and the cacophony of overheard thoughts, and yet who can't help trying to subvert his vividly glimpsed destiny, it is easy to read The Lifted Veil as being autobiographically revealing of Eliot's sensitivity to public opinion and her awareness that her days concealed behind a pseudonym were doomed to a tragic unveiling (as indeed came to pass soon after this novella's publication). But it is easier still to read the story as the exciting and genuine precursor of a moody new form, as well as an absorbing early masterpiece of suspense.

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  Julius Caesar

  William Shakespeare

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  Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare’s most compelling Roman plays. The plot against Caesar and the infamous assassination scene make for unforgettable listening. Brutus, the true protagonist of the play, is mesmerising in his psychological state of anguish, forced to choose between the bonds of friendship and his desire for patriotic justice.

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