Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  A Journey of Little Profit -...

  John Buchan

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  The Scottish novelist John Buchan enjoyed a remarkable career as politician, historian and Governor General. He was born John Buchan on 26th August 1875 and later added 1st Baron Tweedsmuir PC GCMG GCVO CH to his name.  
  Buchan studied at Hutchesons’ Grammar School, Glasgow and at seventeen won a scholarship to the University of Glasgow to study classics. There he began to write poetry. In 1895 he transferred to Oxford to continue his study of Classics and in 1896 ‘Sir Quixote of the Moors’ was published followed by the non-fiction ‘Scholar-Gipsies’. His prolific literary output now hardly faltered. 
  He graduated in 1900 and became the private secretary to Alfred Milner, the High Commissioner for Southern Africa and other colonies. Buchan found the same inspiration in the African landscape as he had in the Scottish Borders, and would later set many works here. Returning to London he became a partner in a publishing house, and garnered an editorial role at The Spectator. He also completed his law studies. He was called to the bar in 1901 but never practiced.  
  On 15th July 1907 Buchan married Susan Charlotte Grosvenor, the cousin of the Duke of Westminster. In 1910 he wrote ‘Prester John’, the first of a series set in South Africa.  
  In 1911 Buchan entered politics as a Unionist candidate in the Scottish Borders advocating the support of free trade, women’s suffrage, national insurance, and reducing the power of the House of Lords.  
  The Great War saw Buchan writing for the War Propaganda Bureau and as Times correspondent in France. In 1915, he published ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’, his most famous book and a follow-up Richard Hannay novel, ‘Greenmantle’, in 1916.  
  In 1916 Buchan enlisted in the Intelligence Corps which included writing speeches for Sir Douglas Haig. By 1917 he was Director of Information under Lord Beaverbrook. Buchan called it “the toughest job he ever took on”. He somehow found time to assist in a history of the war magazine. This was later published in 24 volumes: Nelson’s History of the War. 
  After the war his writing focused on historical studies. In 1927 Buchan became the Unionist Party Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities. In a speech to Parliament he said “I believe every Scotsman should be a Scottish nationalist. If it could be proved that a Scottish parliament were desirable… Scotsmen should support it.”  
  Over the next decade he continued to distinguish himself politically and in literature.  On the 1st June 1935 he became 1st Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in the County of Oxford.  
  He was now also given the position of Governor General in Canada and resolved to travel all over Canada to gain a better insight of the country. Having crossed both length and breadth he saw the cultural shift between areas and their common ground and helped bring about a clear national Canadian identity. 
  On the 6th February 1940 he collapsed from a stroke and sustained a very serious head injury in falling. Two rounds of surgery to stabilise his condition were unsuccessful and Buchan died on the 11th February. After a state funeral in Ottawa his ashes were returned to his estate in Oxfordshire.

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  Raven The - and Other Tailfeathers

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  A collection of six Edgar Allan Poe short stories. 
   
  Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, and literary critic of the early 19th century. He is widely regarded as a central figure in the development of the American Romantic movement and is known for his dark, macabre tales and poems, including "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Black Cat." Poe's works have had a lasting impact on American literature and popular culture, and his writing style, which often features atmospheric suspense and the supernatural, continues to be imitated and referenced today.

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  Sea Stories (Unabridged)

  Cyrus Townsend Brady, Frank...

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  SEA STORIES, tells the entire tale. You will find excerpts of some of the most famous nautical stories of all time. Most of us have passed through a period of life during which we have ardently longed to be, if not actually a rover, a buccaneer, or a pirate, at least and really a sailor! To run away to sea has been the misdirected ambition of many a youngster, and some lads there are who have realized their desire to their sorrow. The boy who has not cherished in his heart and exhibited in his actions at sometime or other during his youthful days, a love of ships and salt water, is fit for-well, he is fit for the shore, and that is the worst thing a sailor could say about him! The virile nations, the strong peoples, are those whose countries border on the sea. They who go down to the great deep in ships are they who master the world. On the ocean as well as on the mountain top dwells the spirit of freedom. When men have struggled with each other in the shock of war, or the emulation of peace, when they have matched skill against skill, strength to strength, courage with courage, the higher quality of manhood in each instance has been required upon the sea; for there the sharp contention has been not only between man and man but between nature and man as well. A double portion of heroic spirit is needed to meet the double demand. That is the reason we love the sea. It is this Homeric spirit of the Ocean Masters that fills the dreams of youth and stirs the memories of old age. In these dreams and memories the veriest boy catches glimpses of the perpetual Titanic struggle of, and on, the deep; dimly discerning in his youthful way, a thousand generations of heroic achievement before, and through which, he begins to be; and he realizes that the ocean affords such a field for the exhibition of every high quality that goes to make a man as may be found nowhere else.

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  Taras Bulba and Other Tales...

  Nikolai Gogol

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  Nikolai Gogol was one of the first to use the technique of the grotesque. According to Viktor Shklovsky, Gogol's strange style of writing resembles the "ostranenie" technique of defamiliarization. His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (The Government Inspector, Dead Souls). The novel Taras Bulba (1835), the play Marriage (1842), and the short stories "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", "The Portrait" and "The Carriage", are also among his best-known works.

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  Ancient Egyptian Legends

  Margaret Alice Murray

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  Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media and narrated by Matthew Schmitz. 
  "Ancient Egyptian Legends" by Margaret Alice Murray is a collection of mythological tales written in the early 20th century. The book recounts the rich legends of ancient Egyptian gods and their exploits, offering readers an accessible retelling of stories that have captivated scholars and enthusiasts alike. Aimed at a general audience, it presents narratives of legendary figures such as King Rameses, Osiris, and Horus, highlighting their adventures and relationships within a vibrant mythological context. The opening of the work introduces the premise and intentions behind the narratives presented. The author explains her approach to retelling these legends, maintaining the essence of the Egyptian stories while adapting them for English readers. The first story, "The Princess and the Demon," features King Rameses, who is beset with challenges surrounding his newfound love, Queen Neferu-Ra, and her family. As the tale unfolds, it explores themes of love, duty, and supernatural intervention, setting the stage for the epic conflicts and divine interactions that characterize the subsequent stories in the collection. Overall, this introduction promises a rich exploration of Egyptian mythology, inviting the reader into a fascinating world of gods, kings, and enchanted beings.  
  Eleven tales of mythology concerning the Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. Stories such as The Princess And The Demon, The King's Dream, The Book Of Thoth, The Scorpians Of Isis, The Battles Of Horus, The Name Of Ra and The Regions Of Night And Darkness.

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  In Trouble

  Anton Chekhov

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  When several employees of the bank are arrested for corruption, the merchant Avdeyev doesn't give the ordeal much thought, figuring the men going to jail deserve it. His opinion changes however when he returns home to find his wife and son very upset - his house had just been searched by officials in connection to the bank corruption. Avdeyev had signed papers for the bankers without knowing what they were and so had essentially signed his life away by his carelessness. During the following trial, he learns the danger of being a "sheep" and just following along without a mind of his own.
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