Publisher: Benjamin
Best Collection of Arthur Ransome Old Peter's Russian Tales Oscar Wilde Pond and Stream Russia in 1919 The Child's Book of the Seasons The Crisis in Russia The Soldier and Death
Facing harsh adult realities, a young English girl in India must leave childhood behind, in this masterful tale from a New York Times–bestselling author. The Ganges River runs through young Harriet’s world. The eleven-year-old daughter of the British owner of a successful jute concern, she loves her life in Bengal, India, on the river’s edge, so far removed from the English boarding school she attended before the outbreak of hostilities in Europe. Often left alone by an overworked father and preoccupied mother, Harriet is enchanted by the local festivals, colors, and vibrant life surrounding her. Now, as she stands on the brink of adulthood—too old to play childish games with her reckless little brother, Bogey, yet too young to be touched by such grown-up concerns as the faraway Second World War—a stranger’s unexpected arrival will rock her world. When Captain John, a handsome soldier returning wounded from the battlefield, becomes her family’s new neighbor, Harriet is instantly entranced, beset by a rush of unfamiliar emotions: longing, jealousy, infatuation. But the inevitable change inherent in growing older may be too heavy a burden for a young girl to bear when it carries with it disappointment and heartbreaking loss. Inspired by the author’s personal experiences as a child raised in India—and the basis for the acclaimed classic motion picture of the same name from French film director Jean Renoir—Rumer Godden’s The River is a lovely, moving portrayal of childhood’s end. Evocative, heartfelt, and bittersweet, it is a coming-of-age story without equal from a major twentieth-century novelist. This ebook features an illustrated biography of the author including rare images from the Rumer Godden Literary Estate.Show book
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
"Misery" by Anton Chekhov is a short story that explores the working-class, human despair, and suffering in Tsarist Russia. Chekhov's brief portrait of working-class life follows a sledge driver named Iona as he attempts to process his grief about his son's untimely death.Show book
Set in 17th century England, this marvelous tale is about Mistress Clorinda, a tempestuous stable brat born out of wedlock. It’s a story of rebellion, dark secrets and great love. At a young age Mistress Clorinda inspires her father, Sir Jeoffry Wildairs to publicly acknowledge her. She grows to be a strong, defiant, aggressive woman of great beauty, who triumphs over all. She survives her mother’s attempt to murder her, her nurses neglect, and her own checkered past, to become, at last, a lady of quality.Show book
Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 - 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote abundantly in an exceptional variety of genres: lyrics, satires, epics, philosophical poems, epigrams, novels, history, critical essays, political speeches, funeral orations, diaries, and letters public and private, as well as dramas in verse and prose.BOOK 10. THE 5TH OF JUNE, 1832: Of what is revolt composed? Of nothing and of everything. Of an electricity disengaged, little by little, of a flame suddenly darting forth, of a wandering force, of a passing breath. This breath encounters heads which speak, brains which dream, souls which suffer, passions which burn, wretchedness which howls, and bears them away.Show book
"I found it terrible, yet at the same time touching, for in all the years of the war I had not seen so perfect and pure an expression of bliss on any German face." An ostensibly whimsical story about the adventures of a Berlin art dealer, Stefan Zweig's The Invisible Collection is a powerful evocation of the condition of Germany between the wars. When Zweig's anonymous narrator sets off to the provinces in search of a lucrative bargain, he finds himself caught up in the slow unfolding of a family tragedy—and is confronted with a unique reminder of the power of art…Show book
