Publisher: Sovereign
An incomplete drama based on the life of Demetrius, briefly Russian czar between 1604 and 1605. It is a reflection on the individual's responsibility in history and on the rule of Napoleon.
"In place of happy love, lonely pain. In place of motherhood, disease. Misery and shame, child. Medicine and surgery, and never any possibility of any child for me." First published in her magazine The Forerunner, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Crux is an emotive tale on the nuances of female independence, social expectation and love in early 20th century America. Following an all-female group who move west to open a boarding house for men, The Crux focuses on the experience of Vivian ― and her desire for the undesirable. Deeply in love with Morton, a charismatic young man infected with both syphilis and gonorrhoea, Vivian's expected journey through her 'marriage' years is abruptly turned upside down. Torn by her personal intuition, the advice provided by her female companions and the knowledge that Morton will never give her healthy children, Vivian is faced with a permanent choice ― to forfeit love for the benefit of future generations. Balancing female and male perspectives on illness, personal preservation and nationalism, The Crux tracks Vivian's path through heart break, emotional development and female camaraderie. As an allegory for Gilman's own branch of utopian feminism, The Crux is a story of sacrifice and partnership deliberation within the framework of 20th century disease hysteria, eugenic ideology and developing modernism. Often omitted from her writing canon, The Crux is an integral aspect to understanding not only Gilman's own writing ― but the history of feminism as a whole. "The Crux is essentially a seminar in biological, feminine and social correctness. As stated in the original Forerunner publication, the novel was intended for a specific set of people - young and impressionable women primarily, followed by men and anyone else willing to listen. The Crux, in its barebones, is a nationalist parable for all of America to heed." from Ambrose Kelly's new introduction to The Crux * * * Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 – 1935) was an American humanist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle.Show book
What if your house pet could talk? It has probably seen and heard quite a few things that you would not want spread around at a dinner party of your friends and acquaintances. Well that is exactly what happens in this short story. Listen in to see how quick the conversation can take a bad turn and how a houseful of guests handle the stress of a cat named Tobermory that can speak it's mind.Show book
One of the most famous poems of all time. An Edgar Allen Poe classic.Show book
The complete unabridged version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of "pirates and buried gold".Show book
"For sheer storytelling delight and pure adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil - but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring. Designed to forever kindle a dream of high romance and distant horizons, Treasure Island is, in the words of G. K. Chesterton, 'the realization of an ideal, that which is promised in its provocative and beckoning map; a vision not only of white skeletons but also green palm trees and sapphire seas.' G. S. Fraser terms it 'an utterly original book' and goes on to write: 'There will always be a place for stories like Treasure Island that can keep boys and old men happy.'Show book
The story of a young Englishman who becomes a teacher at a Belgian girls’ school from the author of Jane Eyre.An orphan taken in by his uncles and educated at Eton, William Crimsworth rejects his relatives’ plans to marry him off to his cousin and set him up with a career in the church, so he leaves to make his own way in the world. Unfortunately, William’s attempt to become a tradesman leads to unhappiness—but when he makes his way to Belgium and finds a place at a girls’ school as a teacher, his future is irrevocably changed. Though it remained unpublished until after her death, The Professor was Charlotte Brontë’s first novel, inspired by her own experiences as a student and teacher, which lend the story the emotional power for which her fiction is so well known.Show book
