Publisher: Mustread Digital Books
"A Room with a View" is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. The novel is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century.
A Dusty Tomes Audio BookIn Cooperation with Spoken Realms Indian Legends of the Cuyamaca Mountains by Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Published in 1914 by Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Narrated by Joseph Tabler. This book is in the public domain. It is read ‘as written.'Audio copyright 2024 Contents of the booklet: ForewordHilsh Ki’e—Pine TreeHuts-tah’ Ta-mil ‘tah—Hanging HeadAh-ha’ Wi Ah-ha’—Water Colder WaterAh Kwer-rup’—Disease CureHul-ya-oo’ Nimoo-lu ‘kah—Phantom BasketNa-wa-Ti ‘e—Big HouseIn-yar’en Ah-ha’—No Eyes in WaterSeen-u-how ‘How-wak’—Old Woman’s TwinsSeen-u-how ‘Hum-poo’—Old Woman’s WhipKwut ah Lu ‘e-ah—Song DanceAh Kwir’—Red Paint (part missing) From the Author’s Foreword:Indian lore of the Cuyamaca Mountains and surrounding region in San Diego County, California, abounds in myths and legends handed down from generation to generation by tribal song and squaw-tale. Yet so swiftly has the hand of civilization wiped out the old traditions and customs, that but few Indians remain who remember them, and fewer still are those willing to divulge them. Only when one comes into intimate contact with them is one accorded the privilege and honor of hearing the tales of their ancestors. And it is through the friendship of some of the old-type Indians, that the author has been allowed a glimpse of the inner shrine of their lives. Cuyamaca is evidently a Spanish corruption of the Indian words Ah-ha’ Kwe-ah-mac’ (Water Beyond), a name used by the Indians, first to designate a location high on the middle mountain, but afterward applied to the entire group. These mountains had distinctive names also. The one farthest north, they called E-yee’ (Nest), because they believed that a big nest or den was on one of its slopes in which the wild animals disappeared when hunted, thus safely evading pursuit. The middle one, Hal-kwo-kwilsh’ (Tough Strong), gained this title in the battle of the peaks when he proved very formidable. The one known as the Cuyamaca Peak, acquired the name of Poo-kwoo-sqwee’ (Crooked Neck), in the same battle. And before the battle still another peak, Hilsh Ki’e (Pine Tree), belonged to the group, so the Indians say, but now lives far away. Pronunciation:The Indians accent their words strongly and enunciate with their teeth very nearly closed, which gives their language a rhythmical cadence quite pleasing to the ear. Dusty Tomes Audio Books are public domain books retrieved from history. If today’s technology had been available when first printed, they would be audio books already. I am grateful for the opportunity to record them now. Read online at archive.org and Hathitrust.org. Narrator’s note: I read only as written. These old books were once solid sellers for bookmen of their time. I believe they can shed light on their times and ours. Loving obscure and remote literature, they are a distinct pleasure for me to read to you. These turn out to be distant and unknown only so long as they remain unread, or unheard. Aloha.Show book
Considered to be one of America’s first ghost stories, the 1820 short story follows a schoolteacher who is competing against a farmer for a woman’s hand. One night, he is haunted by the ghost of a headless horseman. Inspired by folk stories he’d heard when traveling abroad, Washington Irving incorporated themes of superstition and greed into the short story. The legend has been celebrated for 200 years, and every Halloween, the headless horseman can be seen in the village of Sleepy Hollow.Show book
Returning to Russia from a Swiss sanatorium, the saintly Prince Myshkin finds himself entangled in a web of obsession, greed, and scandal. As he attempts to navigate the treacherous waters of St. Petersburg society, his innocence is tested by the dark passions of those around him. 'The Idiot' is a profound exploration of human nature and the conflict between spiritual purity and worldly vanity. Narrated with masterful sensitivity by George Baker.Show book
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone is one of 12 Sherlock Holmes short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle in The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in the Strand Magazine in October 1921.Watson arrives in 221B Baker Street where the page boy Billy shows him a wax effigy of Holmes placed near a curtained window in the sitting room. The effigy produces a shadow on the curtain that, when viewed from outside, is the unmistakable profile of Sherlock Holmes. Using this visual trick, Holmes aims to give a perfect target to a would-be murderer with a rifle. Holmes names his murderer as Count Negretto Sylvius, the diamond thief he has been following in disguise. He gives the criminal's address to Watson, then sends the doctor out the back for the police. As the Count arrives, Holmes has Billy invite him inside, then takes him by surprise when he attempts an assault on the effigy. Holmes then offers the Count and his helper, boxer Sam Merton, freedom if they give up the jewel, or jail if not.He invites them to discuss the deal while he plays violin in the next room. When the Count decides to double-cross Holmes and takes the stone from his secret pocket to show Sam in window light, the detective springs from the chair in place of his replica and grabs the £100K jewel. His bedroom has a gramophone and secret passage to behind the curtain.After the police take away the villains, Lord Cantlemere sweeps in. Unlike the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, he did not want Holmes. When tricked into insisting on arrest for whoever is found possessing the diamond, he finds the jewel in his pocket – where Holmes has placed it – and apologizes. Finally, Holmes can eat.Famous works of the author Arthur Conan Doyle: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, Stories of Sherlock Holmes, The Lost World.Show book
"The spirit of the forest speaks through those who know its secrets." It is 1757, the third year of the war between France and Great Britain for control of the North American colonies. In the dense wilderness of New York, the scout Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his Mohican companions—the wise Chingachgook and his valiant son Uncas—embark on a perilous mission. They must guide the daughters of a British commander, Cora and Alice Munro, through territory crawling with hostile Huron warriors. Their journey takes them through the blood-stained siege of Fort William Henry and into a tragic confrontation that will determine the fate of the "last" of the Mohican line. The Archetype of the American Hero: Hawkeye stands as one of literature's most enduring figures. A white man who has adopted the skills and philosophy of the Indigenous peoples, he represents the bridge between two worlds. His skill with his long rifle, "Killdeer," and his unwavering moral code make him the ultimate frontier protagonist. The Dual Duel: Uncas vs. Magua: The emotional weight of the novel rests on the rivalry between the noble Uncas and the vengeful Huron chief, Magua. Their conflict is more than a personal vendetta; it represents the clashing fates of different nations amidst the interference of European powers. Cooper's portrayal of Magua remains one of the most complex and terrifying villain archetypes in literary history. A Tragic Romanticism: Cooper's New York frontier is a place of breathtaking beauty and sudden, brutal violence. Through the tragic romance of Uncas and Cora Munro, the novel explores the social and racial tensions of the 18th century, culminating in a finale that has moved readers for two hundred years. Witness the birth of an American legend. Purchase "The Last of the Mohicans" today and experience the epic that defined a genre.Show book
Lafcadio Hearn was born on the 27th June 1850 on the Ionian isle of Levkás in Greece to a British Army officer and a Greek Mother. His father, fearing for his career prospects at being married to a Greek Orthodox wife, sent them to Dublin whilst he continued to advance his career with further postings. Life there was difficult for mother and son. His father returned, wounded and traumatised, when Lafcadio was three. He annulled the marriage and she remarried but had to give up care of Lafcadio to her sister-in law. After brief periods for Catholic education in England and France he emigrated to Ohio in the United States when he was 19, taking on a series of casual jobs before embarking on a career as a journalist, publishing poems and essays in Cincinnati. It was whilst here that he began a side-line in translating, starting with Gautier and Flaubert. He married in 1874 to a 20 year old African-American woman in violation of Ohio's anti-miscegenation law. The marriage soon failed. In 1877 he relocated to New Orleans to write on a variety of themes before picking up a two year assignment from Harper’s to write in the West Indies, where he also wrote his first novel. In 1890 Harper’s sent him to Japan. Here he left journalism and took the remarkable decision to become a schoolteacher in the north of Japan. Enraptured by the culture he was driven to explain it in various Western publications to those who had little, if any, knowledge of its culture. Within the year he had fallen in love with, and married, a high-born Japanese lady, together they would have four children. In 1895 he became a Japanese national and took the name Koizumi Yakumo, Koizumi being his wife’s family name. The following few years, whilst a professor of Literature at the Imperial University of Japan, were his most creative and admired period. Lafcadio Hearn died of heart failure on the 26th of September 1904, in Tokyo, Japan shortly before leaving to deliver a series of lectures at Cornell University in New York State. He was 54.Show book
