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  Gulliver's Travels into Several...

  Jonathan Swift

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  Dive into the heart of satire with Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, a timeless masterpiece that has captivated readers for centuries. Beyond the surface of this enchanting tale of shipwrecks and fantastical realms lies a sharp critique of society, politics, and human nature. Through the extraordinary voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, Swift takes us on an adventure to the tiny world of Lilliput, the giant lands of Brobdingnag, and beyond, each a mirror reflecting the absurdities of our own world. 
  Swift's brilliant satire has not only defined a genre but also influenced countless works of literature and philosophy. Gulliver's Travels is more than just an adventure story; it’s a profound commentary on the human condition, power, and pride, all delivered with Swift’s signature wit. This edition not only brings the classic tale to life but also includes critical essays that illuminate Swift's enduring relevance and the depth of his critique on the societal constructs of his time and ours. 
  Whether you’re drawn to epic tales, intrigued by satire, or seeking insight into humanity's complexities, Gulliver's Travels is an unforgettable journey that promises to entertain, challenge, and provoke thought long after the final page is turned. 
  This audiobook was narrated and produced by RAM Studios, where humans and artificial intelligence collaborate to create an excellent listening experience. (The reading is done primarily by AI)

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  A Diagnosis of Death - From...

  Ambrose Bierce

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  Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language.  
  Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. 
  At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. 
  His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer.  As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  
  In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865.  
  A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871.  They had a child, Day, the following year.  
  In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published.  
  They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.  
  Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. 
  In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.  Success and further works including poetry followed.  
  Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”.  
  He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899.  But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism.  
  He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.  
  At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.

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  Here We Are - From their pens to...

  Dorothy Parker

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  The bookshelves of American 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 Dorothy Parker.

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  Oliver Twist

  Charles Dickens

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  Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boy's Progress was Charles Dickens' second novel, following The Pickwick Papers , and was published as a serial in the magazine Bentley's Miscellany between 1837 and 1839. It details the misadventures of its eponymous character, Oliver Twist, born in a Victorian-era workhouse, his mother dying within minutes of his birth. He is raised in miserable conditions, half-starved, and then sent out as an apprentice to an undertaker. Running away from this situation, he walks to London and falls under the influence of a criminal gang run by an old man called Fagin, who wants to employ the child as a pickpocket. The novel graphically depicts the wretched living conditions of much of the poor people of Victorian times and the disgusting slums in which they were forced to live. It has been accused of perpetrating anti-Semitic stereotypes in the character of Fagin, almost always referred to as "the Jew" in the book's early chapters. Interestingly, while the serial was still running in the magazine, Dickens was eventually persuaded that he was wrong in this and removed many such usages in later episodes. He also introduced more kindly Jewish characters in such later novels as Our Mutual Friend . Oliver Twist was immediately popular in serial form, with its often gripping story and lurid details. It has remained one of Dickens' best-loved novels, and the story has often been made into films and television series, as well as into a very popular musical, Oliver! .

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  Clayhanger

  Arnold Bennett

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  A novel about a boy growing to manhood in the last quarter of the 19th century. The first in a trilogy, it includes a portrait of an autocratic father.

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  The Lazy Detective

  George Dilnot

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  We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age. Will you support our efforts with a donation ? Harry Labar is lazy—at least he thinks so, and so do his peers in the Grape Street division. His boss has alluded to early retirement for Harry unless he can improve his clear-up rate. But Harry's rate is impeded by Larry Hughes, an untouchable criminal kingpin suspected of being behind most of the local crime. When a millionaire, Solly Gertstein, is robbed of precious jewels and objets d'art, the crime carries all the hallmarks of Larry Hughes. Hughes isn't one to get his hands dirty; consequently Harry needs to be industrious to gather enough evidence to link the crime to Hughes, all the while trying to control his romantic feelings for one of the witnesses, Miss Penelope Noelson … George Dilnot (died 1951) was an influential writer of the modernist period. Their work has endured across generations and continues to be read and studied worldwide. As a work of classic literary fiction, The Lazy Detective exemplifies the narrative craft and social insight that defined great storytelling of its era. Literary fiction of this period was characterized by careful attention to character psychology, social milieu, and the moral questions that animated public discourse.

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