Verlag: Bu Classics Books
The dense fog of London mirrors the impenetrable web of the Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit, which devours the lives of all involved. Amidst the legal decay, a secret involving an aristocratic lady and a lost love comes to light. A biting critique of a broken system where justice is delayed until it is denied.
Bernard Edward Joseph Capes was born on the 30th August 1854 in London. He was one of 11 children. His early work was as a journalist and this developed into writing many short stories for the periodicals of the time including Blackwood's, Cassell's, Cornhill Magazine, Illustrated London News, Macmillan's Magazine, Mall Magazine, Pearson's Magazine, The Idler, and The Queen. It took him many years to decide that writing full-time could be a sustainable career path. His initial success came with ‘The Mill of Silence’. As well as being published it garnered second prize at a competition sponsored by the Chicago Record. He exceeded that by winning it the following year with ‘The Lake of Wine’. Capes quickly became both prolific and popular. As well as his stories and articles for the periodicals he wrote around 40 volumes across novels, poetry, history as well as romance and mystery novels. Bernard Capes died on 2nd November 1918 in the flu epidemic.Zum Buch
"The Garden Lodge" is a short story by Willa Cather, first published in 1905. It tells the story of a woman asked by her husband if she would agree to tear down their garden lodge and build a new summer house there instead. She grows nostalgic as she remembers spending fond times there with tenor Raymond d'Esquerre when he was visiting. Although a moderate and no-nonsense woman, the singer rekindled her passion for music during his stay. She had to let go of it after her lazy brother killed himself and her father was crippled with debts. She then proceeds to go to the garden lodge and plays a piece of opera that she played with the tenor the previous summer. However, after a night's sleep she comes around and tells her husband she agrees the lodge should go.Zum Buch
"What if my whole life has been wrong?" Ivan Ilyich is a high-court judge who has lived his life exactly as society expected: "decorously" and "pleasantly." But after a seemingly minor injury leads to a terminal illness, his world of status and social climbing collapses. As he lingers in pain, Ivan is struck by the terrifying realization that his family and colleagues view his dying as a mere inconvenience. Isolated by their hypocrisy, he begins a grueling spiritual journey, searching for meaning in his final hours. It is only through the genuine compassion of his humble servant, Gerasim, that Ivan finds the path to true redemption and peace. A Fierce Critique of Superficiality: Tolstoy delivers a brutal dissection of middle-class values, exposing how the pursuit of material success can lead to spiritual starvation. The novella serves as a powerful mirror, asking readers to examine the authenticity of their own lives before it is too late. A Literary Landmark: Universally praised for its precision and honesty, this work is more than a story about death; it is a profound lesson on how to live. Its brevity belies its immense power, making it an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of the human soul. Confront the truth that changes everything. Purchase "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" today.Zum Buch
"Josephine the Songstress, or the Mouse Folk" is the last short story written by Franz Kafka.The story was included in the collection A Hunger Artist published by Verlag Die Schmiede soon after Kafka's death.Franz Kafka's "Josephine the Songstress, or The Mouse Folk" follows the attempts of a member of a community to understand and explain the art of their only singer, Josephine, and the powerful effect that her singing has on the community that ordinarily has no use for song or diversion.Zum Buch
Gian-Luca has a rocky start in life, his mother dying in childbirth, his father unknown, and he is sent to grow up with his grandparents amongst an Italian immigrant community on Old Compton Street. He becomes a waiter, where he learns the value of hard work, and soon lands a promotion to head waiter in a fine-dining restaurant. He excels in this position, and it is not long before he meets Maddelena, to whom he gets married. It seems he has found a happy ending. However, despite his marriage to Maddelena and his achievements in his work, he finds he is not happy, after all. Life loses its joy, and he comes to despise those he serves in the restaurant, seeing in the diners the ugly side of society. Disconsolate, he sets out to seek a more fulfilling life, and becomes a hermit, trying to reconnect with nature, and hoping to find peace outside of society. Despite winning awards upon its publication, Adam's Breed sank into obscurity following the censorship of Hall's later novel The Well of Loneliness. An early example of immigrant narratives, yet still relevant today, it is time Gian-Luca's stirring tale found its way back to the canon.Zum Buch
Burning Daylight, Part 2: Burning Daylight takes place in the Yukon Territory in 1893. The main character, Elam Harnish, nicknamed "Burning Daylight" was the most successful entrepreneur of the Alaskan Gold Rush. The story of the main character was partially based upon the life of Oakland entrepreneur "Borax" Smith. Bringing his fortunes to the States he is cheated out of it by a crowd of money kings, and recovers it only at the muzzle of his gun. Embarking on a new life in California, he makes another fortune by underhanded means . . . only to find his corrupt life suddenly turned around by the love of a woman.Zum Buch
