Otros libros que te pueden interesar

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  The Signalman - From their pens...

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens is a name that dominates the landscape of English literature.  From his early years of hardship he rose to become one of the great novelists of any age.  But amongst his other talents were that of short story writer, turning his pen to many subjects and genres as well as travel articles, speaking tours and as an advocate for social justice.  He was also amongst the first to commercialise Christmas and a publisher of various periodical magazines for which he also contributed and encouraged the talents of very many others. 
  Dickens died at only 58 leaving an incredible legacy that is still admired to this day.

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  Jude the Obscure

  Thomas Hardy

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  A powerful critique of Victorian society's social constraints and the crushing weight of expectations. The story revolves around Jude Fawley, a working-class dreamer with aspirations of becoming a scholar at the prestigious university in Christminster. Hindered by societal norms, Jude's ambitions are thwarted at every turn, leading him into complicated relationships and heart-wrenching decisions. The novel explores themes of love, marriage, class divisions, and the limitations imposed by a rigid society. Hardy's unflinching portrayal of human struggles and the hardships of fate leaves a profound impact on readers, earning "Jude the Obscure" a reputation as one of the author's most powerful and controversial works. 
   
  Thomas Hardy, an English novelist and poet, is celebrated for his poignant and often tragic depictions of rural life in England during the 19th century. His works, including "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," "Far from the Madding Crowd," and "Jude the Obscure," explored themes of fate, society's constraints, and the complexities of human relationships, making him one of the significant figures of English literature.

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  The Importance of Being Earnest...

  Oscar Wilde

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  "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a comedic play written by Oscar Wilde, first performed in 1895. Regarded as one of Wilde's masterpieces, the play is celebrated for its wit, humor, and satirical examination of the social conventions and manners of the Victorian era. The plot revolves around the lives of two friends, Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing. To escape social obligations and responsibilities, both men create fictional identities. Algernon invents an imaginary friend named "Bunbury," whom he uses as an excuse to avoid unwelcome social events. On the other hand, Jack assumes the identity of "Ernest" whenever he wishes to engage in more adventurous and carefree pursuits in the city.The central conflict arises when both Algernon and Jack become romantically involved with women who are attracted to the name "Ernest." Gwendolen Fairfax, Jack's love interest, is enamored with the idea of marrying a man named Ernest, while Algernon's romantic pursuit, Cecily Cardew, shares the same sentiment. The play cleverly exploits the comedic potential of mistaken identities, love affairs, and the absurdity of social expectations. Wilde's razor-sharp wit is evident in the dialogue, filled with epigrams, puns, and clever wordplay. The characters engage in delightful banter, and the play satirizes the trivialities of upper-class society while highlighting the importance placed on appearances and social status. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is known for its comedic absurdity, intricate plot twists, and exploration of the theme of identity. Beyond the surface-level humor, Wilde uses the play to critique the hypocrisy and artificiality of societal norms, exposing the ridiculousness of the characters' obsessions with names and titles.

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  Head & Shoulders - A coming of...

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on 24th September 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota into an upper-middle class family. Whilst his mother was pregnant with him, his two young sisters tragically died.  Fitzgerald once said this was when his destiny as a writer was ordained. 
   
  His intelligence and talent was recognised from an early age, with his first story, about a detective being published in the school magazine when he was just 13.   
   
  In 1913 he enrolled at Princeton but his devotion to his own literary pursuits resulted in him leaving and, rather bizarrely, joining the Army.  In 1918, stationed at Fort Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama he met and became infatuated and then inseparable from Zelda Sayre.  Initially though she refused to marry him but with the success of ‘This Side of Paradise’, the fame and the flow of money enabled them both to begin a gilded life.  For them this was The Jazz Age.  For Fitzgerald he was already an alcoholic. 
   
  He continued to write with great mastery and the titles of his novels and many of his 164 short stories are household names.  The Great Gatsby, often cited as The Great American Novel was published to mixed reviews.  As America moved from the Great Depression to the slaughter of the Second World War his works and himself were seen as far too entwined with the decadent twenties. The world had moved on and he hadn’t.   
   
  Further tragedy was never far from his life. Zelda after years of erratic and now intolerable behaviour was committed to an institution in 1936.  His own sales began to decline and he became a hack for hire in Hollywood, dependent on increasing amounts of booze and the weekly pay check.  His drunken state had often resulted in arrest or hospitalisation, further imperiling his talents.   Despite his contribution to many MGM films he received only one credit. 
   
  The end came all too soon for one of America’s greatest ever writers.  On 21st December 1940, at only 44 years of age in Hollywood, F Scott Fitzgerald succumbed to a heart attack.

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  My Next Door Neighbour - From...

  Louisa Baldwin

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  Louisa MacDonald was born in 1845, one of eleven children of part Scottish descent.  Together with three of her sisters they were known as the ‘MacDonald sisters’ primarily because of their marriages to well-known men.   
  In 1866 she married the wealthy industrialist Alfred Baldwin in a double wedding with her sister Anne.   
  After giving birth to Stanley on the 3rd August 1867, who would go on to become Prime Minister, she drifted into an unhappy life in her then residence in Worcestershire.  She had at least one miscarriage and days alone depressed and in darkness. 
  During the 1870’s the couple travelled to find a lasting cure and tried a variety of treatments which led to her recovery in 1883.  She now became a leading figure in her local village of Wilden, near Stourbridge. 
  Her writing career of novels, short stories and poetry is often overlooked, as was the case with so many women, yet her works reveal many talents and a gift for melding odd and weird circumstances into seemingly everyday life.   
  Louisa Baldwin died in 1925.

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  The Brickfield

  L. P. Hartley

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  Richard Mardick is an elderly man with a secret that he has kept since his youth. He recounts his memories to his young protégé and secretary so that his story can be preserved. Faced with illness, the teenage Richard was sent to live with different relatives while being trained as a farmer. Lonely and stifled by family life, he then met a girl and his life changed… with shattering significance for his future. Haunting and subtle, L.P. Hartley’s The Brickfield is a beautifully crafted companion to The Go-Between, exploring childhood and adolescence through the eyes of an adult.

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