Publisher: Interactive Media
The story follows a young man's journey to find himself. It is written in nine letters, which the protagonist sends to his loved ones. The letters chronicle his experiences and inner thoughts as he travels across Europe. Dostoyevsky's writing is complex and rich, and the novella is a beautifully written exploration of self-discovery.
Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov is a profound exploration of indolence and the human condition, centered on Ilya Oblomov, a Russian nobleman whose defining trait is his overwhelming lethargy. Unable to muster the energy for work or ambition, Oblomov spends his days in bed or lost in nostalgic reveries of his idyllic childhood estate. His apathy contrasts sharply with his pragmatic friend Stoltz, who strives for progress and success. When Oblomov falls in love with Olga, her attempts to inspire him initially spark change, but his inertia ultimately prevails. Goncharov’s novel critiques societal stagnation and the feudal system while painting Oblomov’s passivity as both tragic and universal. A poignant blend of humor and pathos, Oblomov examines the tension between dreams and reality, leaving readers to ponder the fine line between contentment and complacency.Show book
A turn-of-the-century book, In the Wilds of Florida is a tale of an Irish schoolboy who leaves school and his struggling family in Ireland to come to America. He experiences a Florida where fighting still erupts between Cherokee and Seminole Indians, where white people are under threat of Indian attack, and the landscape is mostly swamp or plains of dense brush.Show book
Persuasion by Jane Austen is a tale of love, regret, and second chances. Anne Elliot, a young woman, was once convinced to break off her engagement with Frederick Wentworth, a naval officer, due to societal pressures. Years later, Wentworth returns as a successful and wealthy man, and Anne finds herself drawn to him once more. As they navigate the complexities of their past and the challenges of their present, they must confront their unresolved feelings and decide if their love can withstand the test of time.Show book
Herbert George Wells was born on September 21st, 1866 at Atlas House, 46 High Street, Bromley, Kent. He was the youngest of four siblings and his family affectionately knew him as ‘Bertie’. The first few years of his childhood were spent fairly quietly, and Wells didn’t display much literary interest until, in 1874, he accidentally broke his leg and was left to recover in bed, largely entertained by the library books his father regularly brought him. Through these Wells found he could escape the boredom and misery of his bed and convalescence by exploring the new worlds he encountered in these books. From these humble beginnings began a career that was, after several delays, to be seen as one of the most brilliant of modern English writers. Able to write comfortably in a number of genres he was especially applauded for his science fiction works such as The Time Machine and War of the Worlds but his forays into the social conditions of the times, with classics such as Kipps, were almost as commercially successful. His short stories are miniature masterpieces many of which bring new and incredible ideas of science fiction to the edge of present day science fact. Wells also received four nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature Despite a strong and lasting second marriage his affairs with other women also brought the complications of fathering other children. His writings and work against fascism, as well as the promotion of socialism, brought him into increasing doubts with and opposition to religion. His writings on what the world could be in works, such as A Modern Utopia, are thought provoking as well as being plausible, especially when viewed from the distressing times they were written in. His diabetic condition pushed him to create what is now the largest Diabetes charity in the United Kingdom. Wells even found the time to run twice for Parliament. It was a long, distinguished and powerfully successful career by the time he died, aged 79, on August 13th, 1946.Show book
A rooster and hen go to eat nuts. They make a carriage of nutshells to come back in; the hen rides and the rooster draws it. The duck attacks them for eating nuts, but the rooster defeats him, and he lets himself be harnessed to the carriage instead. A pin and needle join them. They offer an innkeeper the hen's egg and the duck to let them stay, but in the morning, they eat the hen's egg, stick the needle in the innkeeper's chair and the pin in his towel. The duck also goes off. The innkeeper is pricked by both the needle and pin and the eggshell from the hen flies at his eyes. He resolves to never have such ragamuffins in his inn again.Show book
Edith Nesbit was born on the 15th August 1858 in Kennington, then part of Surrey. Due to the health issues and tuberculosis of her sister Mary, Nesbit’s early life was one of constant changes of house both in England and on the continent. At age 17, Nesbit met Hubert Bland and they married three years later―whilst she was 7 months pregnant. Bland also kept his affair with another woman going throughout their marriage and the two children of that relationship were raised by Nesbit as well as her own three with Bland. Together they were founder members of the Fabian Society in 1884 naming their son Fabian in its honour. They also edited the Society's journal; ‘Today’. Nesbit was an active lecturer and prolific writer on socialism during those years but gradually her work for them dwindled as her career as a children’s writer grew. Her most famous success was ‘The Railway Children’ but she was also very prolific and greatly accomplished in poetry, short stories―especially her macabre ghost and supernatural stories―and novels for adults. In February 1917, some three years after the death of Bland she married Thomas ‘the Skipper’ Tucker in Woolwich, where he was a ship's engineer on the Woolwich Ferry. Edith Nesbit died from lung cancer on the 4th May 1924 at her house ‘The Long Boat’ at Jesson, St Mary's Bay, New Romney in Kent. She was 65.Show book
