Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow -...

  Washington Irving

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  Washington Irving was born on 3rd April, 1783, the youngest of 11, in New York. 
    
  Irving found his real interests away from school in literature and the theatre.  An outbreak of yellow fever at 15 moved him away from Manhattan and into the surrounding countryside providing valuable settings for later works such as ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’. 
   
  By 19 Irving was writing regularly to the New York Morning Chronicle, commenting on the theatrical and social scenes.  When his health began to fail, he was sent on the Grand Tour of Europe.  Bizarrely he ignored most of the great sights on offer to concentrate on developing his social and conversational powers.  His health, though, did improve.  
   
  In 1806, back in New York to study law, he scraped a pass at the bar and then founded with several others the literary magazine Salmagundi. Irving nicknamed the city ‘Gotham City’, a name still in use today.  Moderately successful, the magazine spread Irving’s reputation beyond New York. 
   
  In 1809 while mourning the death of his teenage fiancée Irving finished his first significant book, ‘A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynsasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker’.  It satirised local history, local historians and politics.  It received great critical acclaim. 
   
  Unfortunately his family’s established trading company was now facing great upheavals and Irving was dispatched to England to try to sort it out.  After two years he could see no way out but bankruptcy.  This left him in England with no real employment prospects, and so he returned to writing.  
   
  He sent some short stories back to New York to be published as ‘The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent’.  The first part included ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and was extremely successful.  The sixth part contained ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’.  
   
  Beset by literary piracy, with no copyright law at the time, he set about publishing legitimate copies in England to outwit the bootleggers.  From now on Irving published concurrently in America and England in order to render piracy obsolete.  
   
  In August 1824, he published ‘Tales of a Traveller’, which included the famed ‘The Devil and Tom Walker’.  
   
  In 1826, the American Minister to Spain, invited him to Madrid where he could examine the many historical documents that he had access to.  Irving reveled in both the size of the libraries he was granted access to and their rich quality.  Historical works flowed from his pen further enhancing his reputation and fortune.   
   
  Following the completion of ‘Tales of the Alhambra’ in 1832, Irving returned to America after 17 years abroad. He was now a figurehead of American literature and dispensed advice to Edgar Allan Poe amongst others.  Irving also became an advocate for American copyright legislation.  
   
  A later appointment as Minister to Spain in 1842 left him disheartened at the antics of the various political factions he encountered.  It also afforded him no time to write as he had hoped.  
   
  On his return home he began an ‘Author’s Revised Edition’ of his works agreeing an unprecedented deal for 12 per cent of the retail profits.  
   
  Washington Irving died of a heart attack at his ‘Sunnyside’ home on the 28th November 1859 at the age of 76, a few months after completing his five volume George Washington biography, in whose honour he had been named.  
   
  ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ is a story almost everyone has encountered.  An enormous success at the time it is now an undeniable American Spooky classic.

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  A Study in Scarlet - Classic...

  Arthur Conan Doyle

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  Dr. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes meet and set up their lodgings at 221B Baker St. Over the course of several weeks, the good doctor finally persuades his mysterious roommate to reveal what exactly is his occupation. It seems that Sherlock Holmes is a self-proclaimed consulting detective. And as incredible as it sounds, the facts prove it to be true. A Study in Scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes story/novella. Also included is the Edgar Allan Poe story: "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", generally considered the very first detective story. In this audiobook you get a firsthand glimpse into the very roots of detective fiction.

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  Unnamable The (Unabridged)

  H. P. Lovecraft

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  "The Unnamable" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in September 1923, first published in the July 1925 issue of Weird Tales, and first collected in Beyond the Wall of Sleep. The corrected text appears in Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, (revised ed, 1986). The story's locale was inspired by the Charter Street Historic District Burying Ground in Salem.

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  Mansfield Park - Full Cast Drama

  Jane Austen

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  Jane Austen's novel "Mansfield Park" is a rich tapestry of characters, relationships, and societal norms. Published in 1814, it stands as one of Austen's most intricate and morally complex works. At its heart, the novel is a nuanced exploration of morality, social class, and the individual's place within a rigidly stratified society. 
   
  The story revolves around the character of Fanny Price, a poor young girl who is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, at Mansfield Park. Fanny's humble background sharply contrasts with the opulence of her new home, and she occupies a unique position within the Bertram family. As an outsider, Fanny serves as a keen observer of the behaviors, attitudes, and moral values of those around her. 
  Central to the novel is the idea of morality and virtue. Fanny is portrayed as a paragon of moral integrity, while other characters, like her cousin Maria Bertram and her brother Henry Crawford, reveal moral shortcomings. The contrast between Fanny's unwavering moral compass and the moral lapses of those around her highlights Austen's examination of the consequences of one's actions and the moral decay that can occur within a society obsessed with appearances and social status. 
   
  The novel also delves into the rigid social hierarchy of early 19th-century England. The Bertrams, as members of the landed gentry, occupy the highest rungs of the social ladder, while Fanny, a poor relation, occupies the lowest. Through Fanny's eyes, readers witness the subtle but significant ways in which social class impacts every aspect of life, from marriage prospects to personal worth. This social commentary forces readers to confront the inherent inequalities of the era and consider the moral implications of a society that values wealth and social standing over character and virtue.

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  Jemina The Mountain Girl

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  Jemina, The Mountain Girl - one of the stories, which entered in a collection of eleven short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald "Tales of the Jazz Age" (1922). 
  In the story of "Jemina, The Mountain Girl", Jemina Tantrum is a teenage girl who lives on a mountain. She takes care of her 'pappy' and 'mappy' and basically runs the family business. Thing is, there's a feud between her family and the family who lives across the stream. A long time ago, one of Jemina's ancestors and one of the Doldrum's (the family across the stream) ancestors fought over a card game. Their families have hated each other ever since. Anyways, one day a stranger came to the Tantrum's house to attempt to buy it. Gold was found on their property and the stranger wanted to buy it... 
  Just a few of the themes found in "Jemina" are ignorance, nature, the power of tradition, and of course, love.

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  The First Men in The Moon

  H. G. Wells

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  Britain won the Moon Race! Decades before Neal Armstrong took his "giant leap for mankind" two intrepid adventurers from Lympne, England, journeyed there using not a rocket, but an antigravity coating. Mr. Bedford, who narrates the tale, tells of how he fell in with eccentric inventor Mr. Cavor, grew to believe in his research, helped him build a sphere for traveling in space, and then partnered with him in an expedition to the Moon. What they found was fantastic! There was not only air and water but the Moon was honeycombed with caverns and tunnels in which lived an advanced civilization of insect-like beings. While Bedford is frightened by them and bolts home, Cavor stays and is treated with great respect. So why didn't Armstrong and later astronauts find the evidence of all this? Well, according to broadcasts by Cavor over the newly-discovered radio technology, he told the Selenites too much about mankind, and apparently, they removed the welcome mat! Herbert George Wells was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography, and autobiography.

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