Publisher: Charles River Editors
Booth Tarkington was a Pulitzer Prize winning American author best known for writing historical novels such as The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. Many of Tarkington’s books are set in fictional towns in the Midwest near the turn of the 20th century. This edition of The Man from Home includes a table of contents.
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in Treasure Island.MY FIRST BOOK: 'TREASURE ISLAND': It was far indeed from being my first book, for I am not a novelist alone. But I am well aware that my paymaster, the Great Public, regards what else I have written with indifference, if not aversion; if it call upon me at all, it calls on me in the familiar and indelible character.Show book
An iconic early feminist utopian novel. This work was one element in the major wave of utopian and dystopian literature that marked the later nineteenth and early twentieth century. A man previously lost to the world is found by his sister and tries to re-enter society. He had amnesia so he is now 55 in body, but 25 in his own mind. The book delves into how the man accommodates to the progress in industry and society; but most of all - and most importantly - it is a fascinating study of how he reacts to and deals with the significant changes and progress regarding the position of women in the society.Show book
William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. When good friends J., George and Harris decide that a boating holiday is in order to cure them of the ails and illnesses of the modern age, they set off up the Thames with dog Montmorency at their side. They could never predicted, however, the set of obstacles and mishaps that await them… This supremely English novel has delighted audiences for over a hundred and thirty years, having never been out of print since its publication. Star of British television, Jeremy Nicholas, expertly brings to life the hilarity of the group’s adventures. For fans of P. G. Wodehouse (Carry On, Jeeves), Evelyn Waugh (Brideshead Revisited), Kenneth Grahame (Pagan Papers), Anthony Trollope (The American Senator), and Herman Melville (Bartleby, the Scrivener).Show book
Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer of science fiction stories and novels and is frequently credited as being the father of science fiction.'The Hammerpond Park Burglary' is a tongue in cheek story about a burglary which initially goes badly wrong...but then unexpectedly goes extraordinarily right.Show book
A wise man once said ‘The safest place for a child is in the arms of his mother’s voice’. This is a perfect place to start our anthology of female short stories. Some of our earliest memories are of our mothers telling us bedtime stories. This is not to demote the value of fathers but more to promote the often-overshadowed talents of the gentler sex. Perhaps ‘gentler’ is a word that we should re-evaluate. In the course of literary history it is men who dominated by opportunity and with their stranglehold on the resources, both financial and technological, who brought their words to a wider audience. Men often placed women on a pedestal from where their talented words would not threaten their own. In these stories we begin with the original disrupter and renegade author Aphra Behn. A peek at her c.v. shows an astounding capacity and leaves us wondering at just how she did all that. In those less modern days to be a woman, even ennobled, was to be seen as second class. You literally were chattel and had almost no rights in marriage. As Charlotte Smith famously said your role as wife was little more than ‘legal prostitute’. From such a despicable place these authors have used their talents and ideas and helped redress that situation. Slowly at first. Privately printed, often anonymously or under the cloak of a male pseudonym their words spread. Their stories admired and, usually, their role still obscured from rightful acknowledgement. Aided by more advanced technology, the 1700’s began to see a steady stream of female writers until by the 1900’s mass market publishing saw short stories by female authors from all the strata of society being avidly read by everyone. Their names are a rollcall of talent and ‘can do’ spirit and society is richer for their works. In literature at least women are now acknowledged as equals, true behind the scenes little has changed but if (and to mis-quote Jane Austen) there is one universal truth, it is that ideas change society. These women’s most certainly did and will continue to do so as they easily write across genres, from horror and ghost stories to tender tales of love and making your way in society’s often grueling rut. They will not be silenced, their ideas and passion move emotions, thoughts and perhaps more importantly our ingrained view of what every individual human being is capable of. It is because of their desire to speak out, their desire to add their talents to the bias around them that we perhaps live in more enlightened, almost equal, times. Within these stories you will also find very occasional examples of historical prejudice. A few words here and there which in today’s world some may find inappropriate or even offensive. It is not our intention to make anyone uncomfortable but to show that the world in order to change must reconcile itself to the actual truth rather than put it out of sight. Context is everything, both to understand and to illuminate the path forward. The author’s words are set, our reaction to them encourages our change. 01 - The Female Short Story. A Chronological History - An Introduction - Volume 3 02 - A Witch's Den by Helena Blavatsky 15 - The Ghost in the Clock Room by Hesba Stretton 04 - The Last of Squire Ennismore by Charlotte Riddell 05 - The Brothers by Louisa May Alcott 06 - Carnivorine by Lucy Hamilton Hooper 04 - The Face in the Glass by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 08 - The Moonstone Mass by Harriet Prescott Spofford 09 - The General's Will by Vera Jelihovsky 10 - The Story of the RipplingTrain by Mary Louisa Molesworth 11 - The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth by Rhoda Broughton 12 - A Twin Identity by Edith Stewart Drewery&Show book
Ludwig Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) was a German poet and novelist from a Prussian noble family, and one of the most notable writers in German Romanticism.The Mad Veteran of Fort Ratonneau, written in 1881, is an engaging story which combines humour, sentiment, the eternal struggle between good and evil, and a rattling good storyline all in one.When the Commandant at Marseille learns that an invalid veteran is being transferred to his region, and that this brave soldier has suffered a head injury which causes him to behave like a madman...indeed his own wife believes him possessed by the devil...he decides to appoint him head of a tiny remote fort above the city. This fort is the depository for the regiment's supply of gunpowder. The Commandant also deploys the powder to create fireworks, and one of the tasks of the garrison is to manufacture rockets, roman candles, and Catherine wheels, which will be used for the display at the King's birthday. The invalid veteran turns out to have a great interest in pyrotechnics...and takes on his task with great enthusiasm. But then, one of his psychotic episodes sets in...and a madman in charge of a castle packed with gunpowder threatens the safety of the entire city.After all, what could possibly go wrong?Show book
