Publisher: Charles River Editors
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American writer best known for his classic Tarzan and John Carter stories. Burroughs was a prolific writer in many genres and is one of the most widely read authors of the 20th century. This edition of The Oakdale Affair includes a table of contents.
One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank. He pricked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony. A gig was coming along the road; it was driven by Mr. McGregor, and beside him sat Mrs. McGregor in her best bonnet. As soon as they had passed, little Benjamin Bunny slid down into the road, and set off—with a hop, skip, and a jump—to call upon his relations, who lived in the wood at the back of Mr. McGregor's garden.Show book
Candide is characterized by its tone as well as by its erratic, fantastical, and fast-moving plot. A picaresque novel with a story similar to that of a more serious coming-of-age narrative, it parodies many adventure and romance clichés, the struggles of which are caricatured in a tone that is bitter and matter-of-fact. Still, the events discussed are often based on historical happenings, such as the Seven Years' War and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. As philosophers of Voltaire's day contended with the problem of evil, so does Candide in this short theological novel, albeit more directly and humorously. Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers. Through Candide, he assaults Leibniz and his optimism. Candide has enjoyed both great success and great scandal. Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was widely banned to the public because it contained religious blasphemy, political sedition, and intellectual hostility hidden under a thin veil of naïveté. However, with its sharp wit and insightful portrayal of the human condition, the novel has since inspired many later authors and artists to mimic and adapt it. Today, Candide is considered as Voltaire's magnum opus and is often listed as part of the Western canon. It is among the most frequently taught works of French literature. The British poet and literary critic Martin Seymour-Smith listed Candide as one of the 100 most influential books ever written.Show book
Perhaps the most famous and most accessible of Dickens' stories which can be enjoyed every year afresh at Christmas time, as we never tire of the inspirational story of Scrooge's redemption and transformation. Here performed with warmth and compelling narrative skill by Simon HesterShow book
Paul Scofield, Siobhan McKenna and John Neville perform Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth NightShow book
This classic of Robert Louis Stevenson, charts the tale of David Balfour in the Year 1751: Who upon arriving at his uncles house after his Fathers death, is then promptly kidnapped on his orders. All seems lost until a chance encounter with one Alan Breck, which leads to adventure, shipwreck, and a journey across the Highlands of Scotland, pursued by Redcoats in a land still rife with unrest in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Believed to based in parts on the real life drama of James Annesly from 1731 this story has remained a well known and regarded fiction classic across the years and centuries since it's first publication. Narrated by Michael WardShow book
In the story, Tom, Huck, and Jim travel to Africa in a futuristic hot air balloon, where they survive encounters with lions, robbers, and fleas to see some of the world's greatest wonders, including the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Detective, the story is told using the first-person narrative voice of Huck Finn. It is a sequel, set in the time following the title story of the Tom Sawyer series.Show book
