Verlag: Classica Libris
The romance of a man who slipped and recovered…As dramatic and moving anything the author of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” has ever written… “And the story—the lovable Amos, the wicked Mr. Horfman, patient Blue Eyes and adorable Grey Eyes—all contrive to bring about the well-known Orczy mixture of love and adventure, laughter nad tears.”Daily Telegraph
"Billy Budd" is a novella written by Herman Melville, completed shortly before his death in 1891. It tells the story of Billy Budd, a handsome and popular sailor who becomes embroiled in a conflict with his ship's master-at-arms, John Claggart, on board a British naval vessel during the late 18th century. The novella explores themes of innocence, morality, justice, and the inherent conflict between good and evil.The narrative centers around the character of Billy Budd, a young and virtuous sailor admired by his peers for his exceptional charm and simplicity. However, his life takes a dramatic turn when he is falsely accused of inciting mutiny by Claggart, a malevolent and envious officer. The novella delves into the psychological dynamics between the two characters and the moral dilemmas faced by the ship's captain, Captain Vere, as he grapples with the decision of how to handle the situation."Billy Budd" explores the clash between absolute goodness and institutional authority, with Melville examining the complexities and ambiguities of human nature. The novella raises profound questions about the nature of justice, the corrupting influence of power, and the struggle to maintain one's moral integrity in a society driven by hierarchy and oppression.Melville's writing in "Billy Budd" is characterized by his rich prose, nuanced characterization, and philosophical inquiries. The novella incorporates nautical terminology and imagery, drawing on Melville's own experiences as a sailor, and employs a multi-layered narrative that invites readers to contemplate deeper moral and existential questions.Zum Buch
The bookshelves of European literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From this continent their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is the Irish writer Mary Anne Hoare.Zum Buch
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born on 3rd July 1860 in Hartford, Connecticut, to an unaffectionate mother and a father who abandoned her and her older brother to a life of poverty. Inevitably her schooling was limited and by 15 she had attended seven different schools but received only four years education. However Charlotte was resourceful and did spend time with her father’s aunts – the suffragist Isabella Beecher Hooker and the ‘Uncle Tom Cabin’s’ author, Harriet Beecher Stowe as well as many hours at the public library studying ancient civilisations. In 1878, she enrolled in classes at the Rhode Island School of Design where she met Martha Luther and they developed a close relationship until Luther married in 1881. Charlotte was devastated and detested romance and love until she met and married the artist Charles Walter Stetson. Their only child, Katharine Beecher Stetson, was born in 1885 but left Charlotte with post-natal depression, then often dismissed as a case of hysteria or nerves. Unsuited to domestic life she ruptured her life and moved to California with Katherine. She divorced in 1894 and then sent Katharine east to live with her father and his second wife confirming that his paternal rights be acknowledged and that Katherine establish a relationship with her father. After her mother died in 1893, Charlotte moved back east and became involved with her first cousin, Wall Street attorney, Houghton Gilman who she married in 1900. After his death she moved back to California, where Katherine now lived. Her most popular story is ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ which touched on her own post-partum depression and underlined the need for women to be responsible for their mental and physical well-being, as the narrator is ordered by her husband/doctor to take compete rest in her room where she is isolated and becomes obsessed with the revolting yellow wallpaper. She wrote other notable short stories the best of which we also include. Charlotte lectured widely for social reform, wrote important non-fiction works that questioned our patriarchal system and left a legacy as a leading and positive spokesperson for feminism. She was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer in 1932 and, as she wrote in her suicide note and autobiography, she ‘chose chloroform over cancer’ Charlotte Perkins Gilman took her own life on 17th August 1935, aged 75, in Pasadena, California.Zum Buch
Title: The Unnameable Author: H. P. Lovecraft Narrator: Jonathan Dunne Original Publication: 1923 Public Domain: Yes Series Placement: Number 49 in the Timeless Terrors series Description: The Unnameable is H. P. Lovecraft’s wry yet deeply unsettling meditation on the limits of language, the arrogance of rationalism, and the encroaching chaos of the ineffable. Set amid the decaying graveyards of New England, the tale follows two friends — one a writer of strange tales, the other a skeptic — as they debate the very existence of the “unnameable.” Their intellectual banter turns to horror when they confront the impossible firsthand, discovering that some horrors defy not only reason but description itself. Blending gothic atmosphere with cosmic dread, Lovecraft transforms a seemingly simple ghost story into a darkly humorous and deeply disquieting reflection on humanity’s need to name — and thereby contain — its fears. Narrated by Amazon-bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures both the sardonic wit and the creeping terror of Lovecraft’s vision — a world where words fail and madness begins. While the text is in the public domain, this narration is an original performance and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. Part of Timeless Terrors, a series devoted to resurrecting the masters of the macabre and uncanny, The Unnameable endures as one of Lovecraft’s most compact and haunting explorations of the indescribable — a tale that proves some things are better left unspoken.Zum Buch
Jane Eyre is not your typical romance. It is a story of a woman who struggles with a world in which she doesn't quite fit. Once finished with her schooling, and with no family that really cares of her she strikes out on her own as a governess. Jane Eyre searches for love, someone to care for her, and someone to care for, and finds it in unexpected places.Zum Buch
Karl Hans Strӧbl was born in Jihlava, Moravia in the Czech Republic, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on the 18th of January 1877. His education finished with his studies at the University of Prague, where he became involved in nationalist student politics, a precursor to his later right-wing and anti-semitic viewpoints. In 1910 he wrote an apocalyptic novel ‘Eleagabal Kuperus’, which was later adapted into a silent film. His literary output was prolific and ranged from macabre, supernatural and weird short stories, through fantasy novels to a trilogy of books about Otto von Bismarck. In 1919 he also founded the world’s first specialised fantasy magazine the short-lived ‘Der Orchideengarten’. Although highly regarded as one of the Dark Princes of Austrian literature his life outside literature is tainted by his fervent support of the Nazis. After the Second World War his work was briefly banned by Allied forces. He himself served a period of forced labour at the hands of the Red Army. Karl Hans Strӧbl died in a poorhouse in Perchtoldsdorf, Austria on the 10th March 1946. He was 69.Zum Buch
