Verlag: Fractal Press
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson receive a letter from an informant known by the pseudonym Fred Porlock. Porlock is part of Professor Moriarty's criminal organization. The letter is written in a numeric code, and Holmes decodes the letter, which warns that John Douglas of Birlstone House is about to be murdered.
Frank Richard Stockton was born in Philadelphia on 5th April 1834. His father, a Methodist minister, discouraged Stockton’s literary career from an early age. Feeling unable to go against those wishes it was for many years that Stockton’s income was maintained as a wood engraver. His first work was published in 1867 and his first collection only appeared in 1870. Despite this late arrival Stockton’s innovative and often far-fetched stories, with a gentle ‘poking fun’ humour were very popular. Like his contemporary Mark Twain he avoided the scolding, hectoring and moral tones of many other authors and instead gently teased and cajoled his reader to open their eyes to the ills, the greed and the ambitions of the world around them. His sci-fi stories in particular were far-seeing and inventive including a tale of negative gravity and a bloodless Anglo-US war won by technological feats. Perhaps his most enduring tale though is ‘The Lady, or the Tiger?’ from 1882. A condemned man is given a choice of being eaten alive or marrying his princess lover. But he has to choose which door each is behind. Frank R Stockton died in Washington, DC, on 20th April 1902, of a cerebral haemorrhage. He is buried at The Woodlands in Philadelphia.Zum Buch
"I am no longer a man. I am a gambler." Set in the fictional European spa town of Roulettenburg, The Gambler follows Alexei Ivanovich, a young tutor serving a dysfunctional aristocratic family. Alexei is consumed by two equally destructive passions: his unrequited love for the enigmatic Polina and his growing obsession with the roulette table. As the family awaits the death of their wealthy "Grandmother" to inherit her fortune, the old woman arrives in town—only to discover the thrill of the game herself. Dostoevsky provides a terrifyingly visceral look at the mechanics of addiction, where the spin of the wheel becomes the only thing that makes a man feel truly alive. The Psychology of the Spin: Dostoevsky, a lifelong gambler himself, captures the "fever" with haunting accuracy. He explores the gambler's fallacy—the irrational belief that one can master chance through sheer will. Through Alexei's eyes, we see how the casino floor levels all social distinctions, turning princes and paupers alike into slaves of the "zero." A Tragedy of Character: While the plot is a frantic "whodunit" of financial and romantic ruin, the core is a character study of a man losing his soul. Alexei begins the novel as a cynical observer of the upper class, but ends as a man who has traded his dignity, his love, and his future for one more turn of the wheel. It is a cautionary tale that remains startlingly relevant in an age of modern speculation. Place your bets on a masterpiece. Purchase "The Gambler" today and experience Dostoevsky's most fast-paced and personal work.Zum Buch
Anne of Green Gables is a timeless tale of self-discovery, imagination, and belonging. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Avonlea, this audiobook follows the journey of Anne Shirley, a spirited and talkative orphan mistakenly sent to live with the Cuthbert siblings, Marilla and Matthew, who intended to adopt a boy to help with farm work. Anne’s arrival transforms their quiet lives with her vivid imagination, dramatic flair, and heartwarming determination to find her place in the world. Through challenges and triumphs, she wins the hearts of the people around her, from strict Marilla to her school rival, Gilbert Blythe. This story brims with wit, charm, and lessons about friendship, resilience, and the power of dreams. Perfect for listeners of all ages, it’s a journey into a world where the ordinary is made extraordinary through the eyes of a girl who dares to dream big. Prepare to laugh, cry, and fall in love with the unforgettable Anne of Green Gables.Zum Buch
The extraordinarily evocative stories depict the generation born in a small-town America during the Depression and growing up in a world where the old sexual morality was turned around and material comforts were easily had. Yet, as these stories reflect so accurately, life was still unsettling, and Updike chronicles telling moments both joyful and painful. The texts are taken from his recent omnibus, The Early Stories, 1953-1975. In describing how he wrote these stories in a small, rented, smoke-filled office in Ipswitch, Massachusetts, he says, ""I felt that I was packaging something as delicately pervasive as smoke, one box after another, in that room, where my only duty was to describe reality as it had come to me -- to give the mundane its beautiful due.""Zum Buch
"The Viy" is a horror novella by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, first published in the first volume of his collection of tales entitled Mirgorod (1835). The title is also the name of the demonic entity central to the plot. Every summer, there is usually a large procession of all the students moving around the area as they travel home. However, the group is reduced to three students: the theologian Khaliava, the philosopher Khoma Brut, and the rhetorician Tibery Gorobets. As the night draws in, the students hope to find a village near the main road where they can find some rest and food. However, they become lost in the wilderness, eventually coming upon two small houses and a farm. An older woman there tells them she has a little room and cannot accommodate any more travelers, but she eventually agrees to let them stay. At night, the woman comes to Khoma. At first, he thinks she is trying to seduce him, but then she draws closer and he sees that her eyes are glowing strangely. She leaps on his back, and he reluctantly finds himself galloping with her all over the countryside with a strength he previously never knew. He eventually slows the witch by chanting exorcisms out loud, and then rides on her back and later picks up a piece of wood and beats her as punishment. The older woman later collapses, and he discovers she has turned into a beautiful girl. Khoma runs away to Kyiv and resumes his easy life, when a rumor reaches his dean that a rich cossack's daughter was found crawling home near death, her last wish being for Khoma the philosopher to come and read psalms over her corpse for three nights after her death.Zum Buch
The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is Clara Venn.Zum Buch
