Casa editrice: Bu Classics Books
Richard Mutimer rises from the working class to lead a socialist movement, but sudden wealth tests his ideals and integrity. As industrial unrest boils over, personal ambition clashes with political cause, leading to a tragic unraveling of character. This narrative offers a searing critique of mob mentality and the corrupting nature of unearned power.
When Aldous Huxley's Brave New World first appeared in 1932, it presented in terms of purest fantasy a society bent on self-destruction. Few of its outraged critics anticipated the onset of another world war with its Holocaust and atomic ruin. In 1948, seeing that the probable shape of his anti-utopia had been altered inevitably by the facts of history, Huxley wrote Ape and Essence. In this savage novel, using the form of a film scenario, he transports us to the year 2108. The setting is Los Angeles where a "rediscovery expedition" from New Zealand is trying to make sense of what is left. From chief botanist Alfred Poole we learn, to our dismay, about the twenty-second-century way of life.Mostra libro
The Swing of the Pendulum is a short story by Katherine Mansfield: The landlady knocked at the door. - “Come in,” said Viola. - “There is a letter for you,” said the landlady, “a special letter” - she held the green envelope in a corner of her dingy apron. - “Thanks.” Viola, kneeling on the floor, poking at the little dusty stove, stretched out her hand. “Any answer?”Mostra libro
In the heart of London, during a chilly Christmas Eve, a tale of redemption and the transformative power of goodwill unfolds in Charles Dickens' timeless masterpiece, "A Christmas Carol." The story introduces us to Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who values wealth above all else and has long abandoned the joy and compassion of the holiday season. Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his long-deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, condemned to an eternity of torment for his own avarice in life, arrives weighed down by heavy chains made of cashboxes, ledgers, and padlocks, a grim testament to the price of a selfish existence. Marley warns Scrooge that he, too, is bound for a similar fate unless he changes his ways. To aid in this transformation, Scrooge will be visited by three more spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The story's power lies in the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge, as he confronts his own misdeeds and awakens to the true spirit of Christmas. As he witnesses the lives of those around him, his icy heart begins to thaw. The Cratchit family's humble celebration, despite their meager means, touches him deeply, and he is especially moved by the vulnerability of Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit's ailing son. Scrooge's transformation culminates when he is confronted with the vision of his own lonely death, unloved and unmissed. Filled with remorse and newfound understanding, he implores the spirit for a second chance, a chance to change his ways and embrace the spirit of giving, love, and compassion that embodies the true essence of Christmas. "A Christmas Carol" serves as a timeless reminder that it is never too late to change, to find the joy in life's simplest pleasures, and to share the wealth of kindness and goodwill with those around us, especially during the holiday season.Mostra libro
‘“Come along, Toto,” she said. “We will go to the Emerald City and ask the Great Oz how to get back to Kansas again.”’ Swept away from her home in Kansas by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto find themselves stranded in the fantastical Land of Oz. As instructed by the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to try and find her way to the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. With her companions the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy experiences an adventure full of friendship, magic and danger. A much-loved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz continues to delight readers young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and silver shoes.Mostra libro
Jerome Klapka Jerome was born on the 2nd May 1859 at Belsize House in Caldmore, Walsall, England. His family were reduced to poverty whilst he was a toddler owning to failed investments in the local mining industry. After several moves in declining circumstances Jerome became a pupil at St Marylebone Grammar School. His aim then was to go into politics, or even become a man of letters, but with the death of his father, when he was thirteen, and his mother two years later, now meant that he had to support himself and leave all thoughts of education behind. He spent four years working for the London and North Western Railway, initially collecting coal that fell along the railway lines. Thereafter, using the name Harold Crichton, he tried his hand at acting but the repertory company he joined was stretched in its resources and, at times, relied on the actors to purchase their own props and costumes. After three years he tried journalism, teaching and work as a solicitor’s clerk. All came to nothing. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with ‘On the Stage―and Off’, a comic memoir collection of his stage experiences and his early attempts at acting. Shortly thereafter he married and his honeymoon on the Thames became the inspiration for ‘Three Men in a Boat’. This of course was a wild success, both critically and commercially, but also his creative high point. Although he was now able to write full time, he was never able to attain all the heights of that classic humorous novel. He remained a prolific writer of novels, plays and short stories and its from those classic works that these stories have been mined. Jerome K Jerome died in Northampton General Hospital on the 14th June 1927 two weeks after suffering a paralytic stroke and a cerebral haemorrhage on a motoring tour. He was 68.Mostra libro
'Aepyornis Island' is the strange tale of a naturalist who finds himself adrift in a canoe in the Indian Ocean, with three mysterious rare giant eggs which he has collected. He knows they are the eggs of the aepyornis - a bird which has been extinct for hundreds of years. He is amazed, when hunger forces him to try one of the eggs, to find that it is fresh. When he opens the second egg several days later, he is horrified to find a still live embryo inside it. Before he is forced to eat the third and final egg, his canoe is cast up on a deserted atoll, where he finds fresh water and plenty of fish in the lagoon. Then the final egg hatches, and the strangest part of the adventure begins.Mostra libro
