Publisher: Interactive Media
The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle is an example of a Victorian-era detective novel. The novel follows the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson as they solve various crimes. The novel is notable for its use of complex plot devices and its focus on character development.
As Agnes navigates her professional struggles, she also grapples with matters of the heart. Her encounters with Mr. Weston, a curate, and Mr. Hatfield, a wealthy suitor, bring both joy and heartache as she navigates the complexities of love, social class, and personal integrity. Throughout the novel, "Agnes Grey" explores themes of class distinction, gender roles, and the plight of women in Victorian society. Anne Bronte offers a compassionate critique of the treatment of governesses and the limited opportunities available to women of the time. Through Agnes's experiences, the novel examines the importance of individuality, moral integrity, and the pursuit of personal happiness against societal expectations.Show book
The Voyage is a 1921 short story by Katherine Mansfield. It was first published in The Sphere on 24 December 1921, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories. At the harbour Fenella and her grandmother say goodbye to Fenella's father and board the Picton boat; a number of everyday situations are described during the journey, which highlight a degree of tension between the rather religious grandmother and staff on the boat. At Picton they are met by Mr Penreddy with a carriage. They arrive at the grandparents's house and meet Fenella's grandfather. It becomes apparent slowly as the story develops that Fenella's mother has recently died, and she is being taken to live in Picton for an unknown length of time.Show book
Mary Frances Butts was born on 13th December 1890 in Poole, Dorset. Her early years were spent at Salterns, an 18th-century house overlooking Poole Harbour. Sadly in 1905 her father died, and she was sent for boarding at St Leonard's school for girls in St Andrews. Her mother remarried and, from 1909, Mary studied at Westfield College in London, and here, first became aware of her bisexual feelings. She was sent down for organising a trip to Epsom races and only completed her degree in 1914 when she graduated from the London School of Economics. By then Mary had become an admirer of the occultist Aleister Crowley and she was given a co-authorship credit on his ‘Magick (Book 4)’. In 1916, she began the diary which would now detail her future life and be a constant reference point for her observations and her absorbing experiences. During World War I, she was doing social work for the London County Council in Hackney Wick, and involved in a lesbian relationship. Life changed after meeting the modernist poet, John Rodker and they married in 1918. In 1921 she spent 3 months at Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema in Sicily; she found the practices dreadful and also acquired a drug habit. Mary now spent time writing in Dorset, including her celebrated book of short stories ‘Speed the Plough’ which saw fully develop her unique Modernist prose style. Europe now beckoned and several years were spent in Paris befriending many artists and writing further extraordinary stories. She was continually sought after by literary magazines and also published several short story collections as books. Although a Modernist writer she worked in other genres but is essentially only known for her short stories. Mary was deeply committed to nature conservation and wrote several pamphlets attacking the growing pollution of the countryside. In 1927, she divorced and the following year her novel ‘Armed with Madness’ was published. A further marriage followed in 1930 and time was spent attempting to settle in London and Newcastle before setting up home on the western tip of Cornwall. By 1934 the marriage had failed. Mary Butts died on 5th March 1937, at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, after an operation for a perforated gastric ulcer. She was 46. In ‘Angèle Au Couvent’ Butts takes up the story of a young school girl desperate for friendships but wrestling with her fluid interpretation of religion.Show book
Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. LECTURE TO ART STUDENTS: Delivered to the Art students of the Royal Academy at their Club in Golden Square, Westminster, on June 30, 1883. The text is taken from the original manuscript. In the lecture which it is my privilege to deliver before you to-night I do not desire to give you any abstract definition of beauty at all.Show book
In this chapter, the story shifts to Dr. John Seward’s perspective as he grows alarmed over Lucy Westenra’s rapidly worsening condition. Despite care and rest, Lucy grows paler and weaker by the day, her vitality draining as if from some unseen nightly visitor. Seward’s medical expertise cannot explain the strange marks on her throat, nor her unsettling habit of wandering in her sleep. Desperate to help her, Seward writes to his friend — Lucy’s fiancé, Arthur Holmwood — urging him to return to Whitby at once. But Arthur is tied up with his gravely ill father, leaving Seward to act alone. Recognizing that Lucy’s illness lies beyond conventional medicine, he sends for his old mentor, the brilliant and enigmatic Professor Abraham Van Helsing. A sense of dread deepens as nightfall continues to bring danger. Something sinister is feeding on Lucy’s life, and the arrival of Van Helsing marks the beginning of a new battle — one waged not only with science, but with ancient forces that defy reason. This is Chapter 10 of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne — part of a complete chapter-by-chapter audiobook experience capturing the Gothic suspense, emotional stakes, and creeping supernatural terror of this classic novel. 📖 Public domain text. Original publication: 1897.Show book
What if an entire society could be captured in fiction? The Collected Works of Honoré de Balzac brings together the monumental writings of one of the greatest novelists in literary history. Through La Comédie Humaine, Balzac set out to portray French society in all its complexity—ambition and failure, wealth and poverty, love, power, corruption, and desire—across interconnected novels and stories. Balzac's characters move through salons, streets, courts, and country houses, reappearing across works to form a living, breathing portrait of nineteenth-century France. His sharp observation, psychological depth, and social insight laid the groundwork for modern realism and influenced writers from Dickens to Proust. This comprehensive collection reveals Balzac not only as a storyteller, but as a historian of human ambition and social struggle. Inside this eBook, you'll explore: The complete scope of La Comédie Humaine Interconnected novels and stories portraying French society Foundational works of literary realism One of the most ambitious projects in world literature Studied in universities worldwide and admired for nearly two centuries, Balzac's collected works remain essential reading for anyone interested in classic fiction, social history, and the art of the novel. Enter a world where every ambition leaves a trace. Buy now and experience the collected works of Honoré de Balzac.Show book
