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  Winged Victory

  V.M. Yeates

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  Experience the chilling combat of World War I from inside an early biplane in this classic novel, by a pilot who lived through the war himself. France, 1914. The war on the land is taking to the skies . . . Pilot Tom Cundall is ready to take on the enemy in his trusty Camel fighter plane. But as he sees more and more planes shot down in flames, he begins to question the war, and what, or who, he is fighting for. There is no bitter snarl nor self-pity in this classic novel about the air war of 1914-1918, based very largely on the author’s experiences. Combat, loneliness, fatigue, fear, comradeship, women, excitement—they all are part of a brilliantly told story of war and courage by one of the most valiant pilots of the then Royal Flying Corps.Praise for Winged Victory“The greatest novel of war in the air.” —The Daily Mail (UK)‘Beautifully written with a poet’s eye as well as a pilot’s eye.” —Evening Echo (UK)“Not only one of the best war books . . . but as a transcription of reality, faithful and sustained in its author’s purpose of re-creating the past life he knew, it is unique.” —Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter

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  A Hunger Artist

  Franz Kafka

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  A Hunger Artist is a short story by Franz Kafka.     The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is an archetypical creation of Kafka: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. The title of the story has been translated also to "A Fasting Artist" and "A Starvation Artist".    A Hunger Artist explores the familiar Kafka themes of death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure and the corruption of human relationships.    There is a sharp division among critical interpretations of "A Hunger Artist". Most commentators concur that the story is an allegory, but they disagree as to what is represented. Some critics, pointing to the hunger artist's asceticism, regard him as a saintly or even Christ-like figure. In support of this view they emphasize the unworldliness of the protagonist, the priest-like quality of the watchers, and the traditional religious significance of the forty-day period. Other critics insist that A Hunger Artist is an allegory of the misunderstood artist, whose vision of transcendence and artistic excellence is rejected or ignored by the public. This interpretation is sometimes joined with a reading of the story as autobiographical. According to this view, this story, written near the end of Kafka's life, links the hunger artist with the author as an alienated artist who is dying.    The moral of the story, says literature critic Maud Ellmann, is that it is not by food that we survive but by the gaze of others and "it is impossible to live by hunger unless we can be seen or represent doing so".

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  The Enchanted Knife - A Fairy...

  Andrew Lang

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  The Enchanted Knife' is the story of a young man who seeks to marry the princess. Her father sets him an impossible task to perform before he will grant the suit - but with the aid of the cunning princess and a magic knife, the youth is able to win his bride.

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  Mrs Zant and the Ghost

  William Wilkie Collins

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  Supernatural short story written especially for the young Anne (Nannie) Wynne. It was originally published as The Ghost’s Touch in The Irish Fireside, 30 September – 14 October 1885; Harper’s Weekly, 23 October 1885; and in The Ghost’s Touch and Other Stories (with My Lady’s Money and Percy and the Prophet, Harper’s Handy Series, no 30, 1885). 
  Mr Rayburn, a widower, and his young daughter, Lucy, meet Mrs Zant in Kensington Gardens while she is experiencing a vision of her dead husband. The ghost warns her against his brother, who aims to force her into an illegal marriage. Rayburn rescues Mrs Zant, hoping to marry her himself, while the supernatural force returns to strike her brother-in-law with fatal paralysis.

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  Saki's Short Stories

  Hector Hugh Munro

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  Immerse yourself in a world where the wonderful Stephen Fry reads some of the more memorable short stories of our time. A brilliant combination of reader and writer come together in these seven short stories available on digital download only. 
  Stephen writes “Saki remains, from a distance of a hundred years, just about the sharpest, cruellest, funniest and most elegant short story writer in our language. Hector Hugh Monro, to give him his real name, was an English writer and journalist whose life was cut short by the Great War. His stories often oppose nature and civilisation, with the more macabre elements of nature usually rising to victory. My favourite of his stories is Sredni Vashtar, as perfect a symbolic tale of the power of adolescence as is imaginable. The triumph of imagination, sexuality and life over the repressive forces of conventionality has never been more perfectly or shockingly expressed. The excellence of Tobermory, the talking cat, of The unrest Cure and the Open Window all reveal that unique blend of Wodehousian social comedy with wicked cruelty. 
  Saki is like a perfect martini but with absinthe stirred in…heady, delicious and dangerous. Enjoy” Stephen Fry 2009 
  The Short Stories by Saki by Hector Hugh Munro, narrated by Stephen Fry, is a top choice for fans of classic fiction. The tales are a brilliant combination of reader and writer, showcasing the best of Saki's sharp, cruel, and funny writing.

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  Story of the Late Mr Elvesham...

  H. G. Wells

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  The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham is a short story by H. G. Wells. Herbert George "H. G." Wells (21 September 1866 - 13 August 1946) was an English writer, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing textbooks and rules for war games. Wells is sometimes called "The Father of Science Fiction", as are Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback.

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