Translator Horace B. Samuel
Publisher: Charles River Editors
Chios Classics brings literature's greatest works back to life for new generations. All our books contain a linked table of contents. The Red and the Black is a classic psychological novel written by the French author Stendhal. The story details the life of Julien Sorel as he tries to rise from his poor upbringing by any means necessary.
A legendary pool hustler tries to make a comeback in the novel that inspired the Martin Scorsese film: “A great read, entertainment of a high order” (Los Angeles Times). Fast Eddie Felson was the best in the country. Then he walked out on his talent. He ran a poolroom for the next twenty years, got married, and watched pool games on television. One evening he watches a pool player who reminds him of his old rival, Minnesota Fats, and it sparks something in him. Feeling a sudden grief at the loss of his old self and his old life, he leaves behind his business—and his marriage—and finds Fats, now retired in the Florida Keys. Now the pair is about to embark on a tour of the country together. Eddie hopes to recapture his glory days, but the journey will come with a price . . . The author of the classic The Hustler, which also features Fast Eddie Felson, “is unequaled when it comes to creating and sustaining the tension of a high stakes game. Even readers who have never lifted a cue will be captivated” (Publishers Weekly). “Tevis writes about pool with power and poetry and tension. From the opening scene of this fine book, the reunion between Eddie and Fats twenty years after, the staccato beat of the prose and finely drawn characters grab the reader and don’t let go. You don’t have to like pool to like this book, to appreciate its sense of living on the edge.” —The Washington PostShow book
In Manhattan, an elderly lawyer's business is growing. Having two scriveners in his employ, the lawyer advertises for a third to meet demand. Enter Bartleby, a glum albeit quality scrivener. However, the lawyer quickly discovers that something is off with his new employee. When asked to perform any duties outside of copywriting, Bartleby responds with a canned 'I would prefer not to.' Soon Bartleby is living at the office and performing less and less at work. Finally fed up with his strange new scrivener, the lawyer asks Bartleby to leave, only to find himself on the receiving end of yet another 'I would prefer not to.'Show book
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account), commonly known as David Copperfield, is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to maturity. It was first published as a serial in 1849-50, and as a book in 1850.David Copperfield is also an autobiographical novel: "a very complicated weaving of truth and invention", with events following Dickens's own life. Of the books he wrote, it was his favourite. Called "the triumph of the art of Dickens", it marks a turning point in his work, separating the novels of youth and those of maturity.At first glance, the work is modelled on 18th-century "personal histories" that were very popular, like Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews or Tom Jones, but David Copperfield is a more carefully structured work. It begins, like other novels by Dickens, with a bleak picture of childhood in Victorian England, followed by young Copperfield's slow social ascent, as he painfully provides for his aunt, while continuing his studies.Dickens wrote without an outline, unlike his previous novel, Dombey and Son. Some aspects of the story were fixed in his mind from the start, but others were undecided until the serial publications were underway. The novel has a primary theme of growth and change, but Dickens also satirises many aspects of Victorian life. These include the plight of prostitutes, the status of women in marriage, class structure, the criminal justice system, the quality of schools and the employment of children in factories.Show book
In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery,” Poirot must prove the innocence of a young bank manager who has had a million dollars in bonds stolen from him while on a boat voyage to New York. Could it be one of his superiors? And why were the bonds being sold in New York before his ship arrived? This short story originally appeared in the May 2, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.Show book
E. Nesbit’s beautiful story of The Railway Children has faired well in many excellent and faithful adaptations on stage and screen. It is always refreshing however to return to the original book. The story has a charm and a depth which raises it, like all the best children’s literature, to something which can be appreciated by all ages. Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter, through their adventures on the railway begin to come of age as they face thrilling adventures and meet new friends. Nothing is sugar coated by Nesbit; there is real danger, there are real human conflicts to be navigated and over it all hangs the dark cloud of their missing father. Head Stories Audio presents The Railway Children narrated by Simon Hester. With original music.Show book
In The Valley of Fear, the great detective Sherlock Holmes has been summoned by a coded message to the house of a man called Douglas. But he and his faithful friend Dr. Watson arrive to find they are too late-Douglas has been murdered, with a mysterious calling card left by his side. Scotland Yard is stumped, but Holmes, detecting the diabolical workings of his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty, has some ideas of his own. Central to the novel lies the story of a terrorist brotherhood and the hold it acquired over an American mining valley.This audiobook includes the bonus Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem."Show book
