Editora: Arcadia Press
"As Rochefoucauld his maxims drew From Nature—I believe them true. They argue no corrupted mind In him; the fault is in mankind." —Swift. "Maxims are the condensed good sense of nations." —Sir J. Mackintosh.
A wise man once said ‘The safest place for a child is in the arms of his mother’s voice’. This is a perfect place to start our anthology of female short stories. Some of our earliest memories are of our mothers telling us bedtime stories. This is not to demote the value of fathers but more to promote the often-overshadowed talents of the gentler sex. Perhaps ‘gentler’ is a word that we should re-evaluate. In the course of literary history it is men who dominated by opportunity and with their stranglehold on the resources, both financial and technological, who brought their words to a wider audience. Men often placed women on a pedestal from where their talented words would not threaten their own. In these stories we begin with the original disrupter and renegade author Aphra Behn. A peek at her c.v. shows an astounding capacity and leaves us wondering at just how she did all that. In those less modern days to be a woman, even ennobled, was to be seen as second class. You literally were chattel and had almost no rights in marriage. As Charlotte Smith famously said your role as wife was little more than ‘legal prostitute’. From such a despicable place these authors have used their talents and ideas and helped redress that situation. Slowly at first. Privately printed, often anonymously or under the cloak of a male pseudonym their words spread. Their stories admired and, usually, their role still obscured from rightful acknowledgement. Aided by more advanced technology, the 1700’s began to see a steady stream of female writers until by the 1900’s mass market publishing saw short stories by female authors from all the strata of society being avidly read by everyone. Their names are a rollcall of talent and ‘can do’ spirit and society is richer for their works. In literature at least women are now acknowledged as equals, true behind the scenes little has changed but if (and to mis-quote Jane Austen) there is one universal truth, it is that ideas change society. These women’s most certainly did and will continue to do so as they easily write across genres, from horror and ghost stories to tender tales of love and making your way in society’s often grueling rut. They will not be silenced, their ideas and passion move emotions, thoughts and perhaps more importantly our ingrained view of what every individual human being is capable of. It is because of their desire to speak out, their desire to add their talents to the bias around them that we perhaps live in more enlightened, almost equal, times. Within these stories you will also find very occasional examples of historical prejudice. A few words here and there which in today’s world some may find inappropriate or even offensive. It is not our intention to make anyone uncomfortable but to show that the world in order to change must reconcile itself to the actual truth rather than put it out of sight. Context is everything, both to understand and to illuminate the path forward. The author’s words are set, our reaction to them encourages our change. 01 - The Female Short Story. A Chronological History - An Introduction - Volume 1 02 - The Unfortunate Bride or The Blind Lady a Beauty by Aphra Behn 03 - Fantomina or, Love in a Maze by Eliza Haywood - Part 1 04 - Fantomina or, Love in a Maze by Eliza Haywood - Part 2 05 - The Story of Sir Bertrand by Anna Laetitia Barbauld 06 - Betty Brown, the St Giles Orange Girl by Hannah More 07 - The Changeling by Mary Lamb 08 - The White Pigeon by Maria Edgeworth 09 - Cousin Mary by Mary Russell Mitford 13 - The Mourner by Mary Shelley 11 - The Prediction by Mary Diana Dods writing as David Lyndsey 12 - The Quadroons by Lydia Maria Child<pVer livro
This well-known short story tells of an adulterous affair between a Russian banker, Dmitry Gurov and a young lady he meets while vacationing in Yalta, Anna Von Diederitz. The couple spend much time together but since Anna is married and lives far away, Gurov has obstacles to overcome in formalizing this relationship.Ver livro
In extraordinary times, twelve-year-old boys must act like men. Greece 562 BC. For insolvent debtors, the price of bankruptcy is slavery. When his mother and siblings are seized for unpaid debts, little Diossos must run to fetch help. He must cross mountains, forests, and stormy seas, brave wild animals, slave catchers, pirates, and the power of the state. He has a month to complete his quest, only days to grow up. The Heroes of Out of the Lion’s Maw return for an encore in this stand-alone classic tale of high adventure, full of white-knuckle cliffhangers and last-minute escapes, engaging characters, and sparkling humor. Continuously in print since 1946 across Eastern Europe, the book has been compared for its tempo and style to Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers. If you liked those, you will like this. Enter the adventure!Ver livro
William Henry Giles Kingston writer of tales for boys, William Henry Giles Kingston was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant.His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844. His first book for boys, Peter the Whaler, was published in 1851, and had such success that he retired from business and devoted himself entirely to the production of this kind of literature, in which his popularity was deservedly great; and during 30 years he wrote upwards of 130 tales.THE LOSS OF THE ROYAL GEORGE: I am not likely to forget that next morning, the 28th of August, (17). It was a fine summer's morning, and there was just a little sea on, with a strongish breeze blowing from the eastward, but not enough to prevent boats coming off from Portsmouth. I counted forty sail-of-the-line, a dozen frigates and smaller ships of war, and well-nigh three hundred merchant vessels, riding, as of course we were, to the flood with our heads towards Cowes.Ver livro
William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. No story captures the uneasy feeling of being in a strange new world quite like Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The beloved tale, read by the iconic Jane Asher, sees Alice following a peculiar White Rabbit into the bizarre world of Wonderland, where nothing seems to make sense and everything she knows is turned on its head. For fans of Kenneth Grahame (Pagan Papers), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), Majestic Classics (Dracula Illustrated), Jane Austen (Mansfield Park), and Rocket Classic Collection (Emma).Ver livro
When the prematurely middle-aged J.P. Huddle is recommended to take an “unrest-cure” by a friend, he little realizes that the other passenger in the railway compartment, the prank-loving Clovis, will take this as a personal challenge. The havoc which Clovis’s macabre and at times shocking practical joke causes is beyond anything that the sleepy hamlet of Tilfield has seen before. Hector Hugh Munro at his most macabre.Ver livro
