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  Divine Comedy The (Unabridged)

  Dante Alighieri

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  The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia Italian pronunciation is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature[1] and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it had developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

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  The Chimes

  Charles Dickens

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  Book #2 in Dickens' Christmas Books series.
  The Chimes is Charles Dickens 1844 novella that concerns the disillusionment of Toby "Trotty" Veck, a poor working-class man. When Trotty has lost his faith in Humanity and believes that his poverty is the result of his unworthiness he is visited on New Year's Eve by spirits who collectively help restore his faith and show him that nobody is born evil, but rather that crime and poverty are man-made creations.

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  The Secret Sense

  Isaac Asimov

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  "The Secret Sense" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in Cosmic Stories in March 1941. It takes place against the background of an ancient and highly developed culture living in large underground cities on Mars.The Martians couldn't taste and their hearing was bad, but they had a secret sense all their own.

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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 Queen of Spades - The...

  Alexander Pushkin

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  Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was born on 26th May 1799 in Moscow into a family of Russian nobility. 
   
  Raised by nursemaids and French tutors in French he learnt Russian only via the household staff. 
   
  He graduated from the prestigious Imperial Lyceum, near St Petersburg and plunged into the vibrant and raucous intellectual youth culture of what was then the capital of the Russian Empire.  
   
  In 1820, he published his first long poem, ‘Ruslan and Ludmila’, with much controversy about both subject and style.  Pushkin was heavily influenced by the French Enlightenment and gravitated, with other literary radicals, towards social reform angering the Government. 
   
  His early literary work and reputation was poetic and written as he travelled around the Empire or engaged himself in various rebellions against the Ottoman Empire.  A clash with his own government after his poem, ‘Ode to Liberty’, was found among the belongings of the Decembrist Uprising rebels meant two years of internal exile at his mother's rural estate.  His friends and family continually petitioned for his release, sending letters and meeting with Tsar Alexander I and then Tsar Nicholas I.   
   
  In 1825, whilst at his Mother’s estate, Pushkin wrote his most famous play, the drama ‘Boris Godunov’.  
   
  Upon meeting with Tsar Nicholas I, Pushkin obtained his release and began work as the Tsar's Titular Counsel of the National Archives.  However, because of the earlier problems the tsar retained control of everything Pushkin published, and he was banned from travelling at will. 
   
  Around 1828, Pushkin met the 16-year-old Natalia Goncharova, one of the most talked-about beauties of Moscow.  After much hesitation, Natalia accepted his marriage proposal after she received assurances that the government had no intentions to persecute the libertarian poet.  When the Tsar gave Pushkin the lowest court title, Gentleman of the Chamber, he became enraged, feeling that the Tsar intended to humiliate him. 
   
  In the year 1831, during Pushkin's growing literary influence, he met Nikolai Gogol.  Recognising his gifts Pushkin supported him and published his short stories in his own magazine ‘The Contemporary’. 
   
  By the autumn of 1836, Pushkin was falling into greater and greater debt and facing scandalous rumours that his wife was having an affair.  
   
  In January 1837, Pushkin sent a ‘highly insulting letter’ to his wife’s pursuer, Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès.  The only answer could be a challenge to a duel. 
   
  It took place on 27th January.  D'Anthès fired first, critically wounding Pushkin; the bullet entered at his hip and penetrated his abdomen.  Two days later Alexander Pushkin died of peritonitis.  He was 37. 
   
  One of Pushkin’s most lauded stories ‘The Queen of Spades’ takes on gambling and the need for just a tiny piece of information that will turn the game in his favour and take life to a level that is sure to be both deserved and his by right.

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  Tom Sawyer Abroad

  Mark Twain

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  "Tom Sawyer Abroad" by Mark Twain is a lively and imaginative adventure that sends two of Twain's most beloved characters—Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn—on a thrilling journey beyond the familiar banks of the Mississippi River. Blending humor, fantasy, and travel adventure, the novel expands the world of Tom Sawyer into a globe-trotting tale filled with wonder and satire.
  
  Narrated by Huck Finn, the story follows Huck, Tom, and Jim as they embark on an unexpected voyage in a mysterious hot-air balloon. Swept across the Atlantic and into Africa and the Middle East, the trio encounters exotic landscapes, ancient ruins, and unfamiliar cultures. Along the way, Tom's boundless imagination—fed by adventure books and romantic notions—clashes amusingly with Huck's practical common sense.
  
  As the boys explore deserts, pyramids, and foreign lands, Twain playfully mocks exaggerated adventure stories and romanticized travel literature. Tom's tendency to dramatize every situation becomes a source of comedy, while Huck's plainspoken observations ground the story in realism and humor.
  
  Though lighter in tone than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad continues Twain's exploration of curiosity, friendship, and the contrast between imagination and reality. Jim's presence adds warmth and humanity to the journey, reinforcing themes of loyalty and shared experience.
  
  Entertaining, whimsical, and rich with satire, Tom Sawyer Abroad is a delightful companion to Twain's earlier novels. It is a perfect read for fans of classic adventure stories, young readers discovering Mark Twain for the first time, and anyone who enjoys humorous tales of exploration and imagination.

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