Maison d'édition: Interactive Media
A Little Hero is a novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that tells the story of a young boy's journey to find his place in the world. The story is full of complex characters and intricate plot lines, and it is written in a dense, intriguing style. It is considered to be one of Dostoyevsky's most underrated works, and it is not widely read or studied today.
"Cleopatra" is a historical novel by the German Egyptologist and writer Georg Ebers, published in the late 19th century. Ebers, renowned for his knowledge of ancient Egyptian culture and history, paints a vivid portrait of the legendary Queen Cleopatra. The novel delves into her relationships, particularly with the Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, and showcases the political and personal struggles she faced as one of history's most iconic rulers. Ebers intertwines accurate historical facts with fictional details, providing readers with an immersive glimpse into ancient Egypt and Rome.Voir livre
The story opens with the narrator on his way home from the theatre one evening, when his attention is drawn to a crowd gathered around a road accident in the West End of London. A taxi has hit a pedestrian. Out of the crowd emerges Charles, an old friend, supporting a fainting women. They had been the passengers in the taxi, and Charles now charges the narrator with seeing the lady home.This is the start of a highly eventful evening, in which the husband of the woman dies in a mysterious manner and the two of them agree to collude over the evidence to be given at the inquest. The most important thing, however, is to keep Charles's name out of it.Voir livre
A powerful critique of Victorian society's social constraints and the crushing weight of expectations. The story revolves around Jude Fawley, a working-class dreamer with aspirations of becoming a scholar at the prestigious university in Christminster. Hindered by societal norms, Jude's ambitions are thwarted at every turn, leading him into complicated relationships and heart-wrenching decisions. The novel explores themes of love, marriage, class divisions, and the limitations imposed by a rigid society. Hardy's unflinching portrayal of human struggles and the hardships of fate leaves a profound impact on readers, earning "Jude the Obscure" a reputation as one of the author's most powerful and controversial works. Thomas Hardy, an English novelist and poet, is celebrated for his poignant and often tragic depictions of rural life in England during the 19th century. His works, including "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," "Far from the Madding Crowd," and "Jude the Obscure," explored themes of fate, society's constraints, and the complexities of human relationships, making him one of the significant figures of English literature.Voir livre
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. Scholars call the anonymous author the "Beowulf poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a dragon but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory. Scholars have debated whether Beowulf was transmitted orally, affecting its interpretation: if it was composed early, in pagan times, then the paganism is central and the Christian elements were added later, whereas if it was composed later, in writing, by a Christian. Beowulf is written mostly in the West Saxon dialect of Old English, but many other dialectal forms are present, suggesting that the poem may have had a long and complex transmission throughout the dialect areas of England.No definite sources or analogs of the poem can be proven, but many suggestions have been made, including the Icelandic Grettis saga, the Norse story of Hrolf Kraki and his bear-shapeshifting servant Bodvar Bjarki, the international folktale the Bear's Son Tale, and the Irish folktale of the Hand and the Child. Persistent attempts have been made to link Beowulf to tales from Homer's Odyssey or Virgil's Aeneid. More definite are Biblical parallels, with clear allusions to the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Daniel.Voir livre
My young readers ought to be told that the poem of the ' Mad Orlando ' is a continuation by Ariosto of a poem by Boiardo, an earlier poet, called ' Orlando in Love.' This helps to account for the abruptness with which the characters appear on the scene, and for the allusions to adventures in which they have taken part in an earlier period of their history. I have been obliged to retain some few of these, which abound in Ariosto — such as the allusions to an earlier visit of Angelica to Europe with her brother Argalia, who was slain by Terrau, and whose helmet was carried off by that knight; to the magic ring stolen from Angelica in Albracca bv Brunello, who also on that occasion committed the thefts mentioned in the story of ' Ruggiero and Bradamante'; and others which refer to a time when Angelica loved Rinaldo and he disliked her, a state of things completely changed before the first story opens. This little explanation may, I hope, make all such allusions tolerably intelligible.Voir livre
Charles Dexter Ward is a young man from a prominent Rhode Island family who has disappeared from a mental asylum. He had been incarcerated during a prolonged period of insanity, during which he exhibited minor and inexplicable physiological changes. His empty cell is found to be very dusty. The bulk of the story concerns the investigation conducted by the Wards' family doctor, Marinus Bicknell Willett, in an attempt to discover the reason for Ward's madness and physiological changes. Willett learns that Ward had spent the past several years attempting to discover the grave of his ill-reputed ancestor, Joseph Curwen. The doctor slowly begins to reveal the truth behind the legends surrounding Curwen, an eighteenth-century shipping entrepreneur and alleged alchemist, who was in reality a necromancer and mass murderer. A raid on Curwen's farm was remarkable for the shouted incantations, lights, explosions, and some not-quite-human figures shot down by the raiders. The raiders swore any witnesses to strict secrecy about what they saw and heard. As Willett's investigations proceed, he finds that Charles had recovered Curwen's ashes, and through the use of magical formulae contained in documents found hidden in Curwen's home in Providence, was able to call forth Curwen from his "essential saltes" and resurrect him. Willett also finds that Curwen, who resembles Charles enough to pass for him, murdered and replaced his modern descendant and resumed his evil activities. Although Curwen convinces onlookers that he is Charles, his anachronistic mindset and behavior lead authorities to certify him insane and imprison him in an asylum.While Curwen is locked up, Willett's investigation leads him to a bungalow in Pawtuxet Village, which Ward had purchased while under the influence of Curwen. The house is on the site of the old farm which was Curwen's headquarters for his nefarious doings; beneath is a vast catacomb that the wizard had built as a lair during his previous lifetime. During a horrific journey through this labyrinth, in which Willett sees a deformed monster in a pit, he discovers the truth about Curwen's crimes and also the means of returning him to the grave. It is also revealed that Curwen has been engaged in a long-term conspiracy with certain other necromancers, associates from his previous life who have somehow escaped death, to resurrect and torture the world's wisest people to gain knowledge that will make them powerful and threaten the future of mankind. While in Curwen's laboratory, Willett accidentally summons an ancient entity who is an enemy of Curwen and his fellow necromancers. The doctor faints, awakening much later in the bungalow. The entrance to the vaults has been sealed as if it had never existed, but Willett finds a note from the being written in Latin instructing him to kill Curwen and destroy his body. Willett confronts Curwen at the asylum and succeeds in reversing the resurrection spell, returning the sorcerer to dust. News reports reveal that Curwen's prime co-conspirators and their households have met brutal deaths, and their lairs have been destroyed.Voir livre
