Editorial: Bu Classics Books
A young telegraphist monitors the secrets and scandals of London’s elite from her cramped wooden station. Through the snippets of messages she processes, she constructs a vivid, imaginary world of romance and intrigue. This atmospheric novella examines the boundaries between observer and participant in the modern urban landscape.
The first great Western, a story of courage and adventure in Utah canyon countryWhen Jane Withersteen’s father dies, he leaves her in sole possession of the family’s cattle ranch, situated on one of the most valuable pieces of land in Utah. The river that runs through the property gives Jane control of the local water supply—and the great power that comes with it. Coveting the property, a local Mormon leader named Tull tries to force Jane into a polygamous marriage—a fate that she resists. As Jane’s defiance grows stronger, so does the ire of the townsfolk, and the marriage seems all but inevitable until the infamous gunslinger Lassiter rides into town, bringing a quick trigger and frontier-hardened bravery that just may be Jane’s last great hope.Renowned for its rich depiction of the West, Riders of the Purple Sage is an unforgettable adventure story of love, honor, and courage, and perhaps the most popular Western of all time.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.Ver libro
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on 29th January 1860 in Taganrog, on the south coast of Russia. His family life was difficult; his father was strict and over-bearing but his mother was a passionate story-teller, a subject Chekhov warmed to. As he later said; ‘our talents we got from our father, but our soul from our mother’. At school Chekhov was distinctly average. At 16 his father mis-managed his finances and was declared bankrupt. His family fled to Moscow. Chekhov remained and eked out a living by various means, including writing and selling short sketches to newspapers, to finish his schooling. That completed and with a scholarship to Moscow University obtained he rejoined his family. He was able to help support them by selling satirical sketches and vignettes of Russian lifestyles and gradually obtained further commissions. In 1884, he qualified as a physician and, although it earned him little, he often treated the poor for free, he was fond of saying ‘Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress.’ His own health was now an issue as he began to cough up blood, a symptom of tuberculosis. Despite this his writing success enabled him to move the family into more comfortable accommodation. Chekhov wrote over 500 short stories which included many, many classics including ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Lady with a Dog’. His collection ‘At Dusk’ won him the coveted Pushkin Prize when was only 26. He was also a major playwright beginning with the huge success of ‘Ivanov’ in 1887. In 1892 Chekhov bought a country estate north of Moscow. Here his medical skills and money helped the peasants tackle outbreaks of cholera and bouts of famine. He also built three schools, a fire station and a clinic. It left him with less time for writing but the interactions with real people gained him detailed knowledge about the peasantry and their living conditions for his stories. His most famous work, ‘The Seagull’ was received disastrously at its premiere in St Petersburg. It was later restaged in Moscow to highlight its psychological aspects and was a huge success. It led to ‘Uncle Vanya’, ‘The Three Sisters’ and ‘The Cherry Orchard’. Chekhov suffered a major lung hemorrhage in 1897 while visiting Moscow. A formal diagnosis confirmed tuberculosis and the doctors ordered changes to his lifestyle. Despite a dread of weddings the elusive literary bachelor quietly married the actress Olga Knipper, whom he had met at rehearsals for ‘The Seagull’, on 25th May 1901. By May 1904 with his tuberculosis worsening and death imminent he set off for the German town of Badenweiler writing cheerful, witty letters to his family and assuring them his health was improving. On 15th July 1904 Anton Chekhov died at Badenweiler. He was 44.Ver libro
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5th, 1850 near Dieppe in France. Maupassant’s early life was badly torn when at age 11 (his younger brother Hervé was then five) his mother, Laure, a headstrong and independent-minded woman, risked social disgrace in order to obtain a legal separation from her husband. After the separation, Laure kept custody of her two boys. With the father now forcibly absent, Laure became the most influential and important figure in the young boy's life. Maupassant’s education was such that he rebelled against religion and other societal norms but a developing friendship with Gustave Flaubert began to turn his mind towards creativity and writing. After graduation he volunteered for the Franco-Prussian war. With its end he moved to Paris to work as a clerk in the Navy Department. Gustave Flaubert now took him under his wing. Acting as a literary guardian to him, he guided the eager Maupassant to debuts in journalism and literature. For Maupassant these were exciting times and the awakening of his creative talents and ambitions. In 1880 he published what is considered his first great work, ‘Boule de Suif’, (translated as as ‘Dumpling’, ‘Butterball’, ‘Ball of Fat’, or ‘Ball of Lard’) which met with a success that was both instant and overwhelming. Flaubert at once acknowledged that it was ‘a masterpiece that will endure.’ Maupassant had used his talents and experiences in the war to create something unique. This decade from 1880 to 1891 was to be the most pivotal of his career. With an audience now made available by the success of ‘Boule de Suif’ Maupassant organised himself to work methodically and relentlessly to produce between two and four volumes of work a year. The melding of his talents and business sense and the continual hunger of sources for his works made him wealthy. In his later years he developed a desire for solitude, an obsession for self-preservation, and a fear of death as well as a paranoia of persecution caused by the syphilis he had contracted in his youth. On January 2nd, 1892, Maupassant tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat. Unsuccessful he was committed to the private asylum of Esprit Blanche at Passy, in Paris. It was here on July 6th, 1893 that Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant died at the age of only 42.Ver libro
Two student anatomists purchase the remains of humanity in the small hours of the morning. The shadowy men who bring the bodies seldom speak, and the suspicions of the students are never spoken aloud.Until one morning, when the drapery is lifted from the face of a new acquisition and one student recognizes it as the face of a dear friend, alive and well only yesterday.Ver libro
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a haunting psychological short story that explores isolation, mental health, and the constraints placed on women in the 19th century. Through the unsettling diary of a woman confined to a room with disturbing yellow wallpaper, Gilman crafts a chilling descent into obsession that remains one of the most powerful feminist works in American literature. Perfect for readers of classic psychological fiction and gothic literature.Ver libro
In this fascinating memoir, Matthew Henson describes the incredibly dangerous, exhausting, and bone-chilling trip to what was until then the never-before reached point on earth, the North Pole."Robert Peary is remembered as the intrepid explorer who successfully reached the North Pole in 1909. Far less celebrated is his companion, Matthew Henson, a black man from Maryland. Henson's gripping memoir, first published in 1912, tells this unsung hero's story in his own words. Henson...was indispensable to the famous explorer's journey; he learned the language of the Eskimos, was an expert dog-sled driver and even built the sleds...." (Publishers Weekly) "An original document.... One of the giants of polar exploration, Henson had the graceful modesty of genuinely big men.... The world would know even more about him now if his commander, Peary, had been less an egotist and more generous in sharing credit for his discovery of the North Pole." (Washington Post Book World)"A really valuable addition to the literature of [polar exploration].... Filled with incident, occupation, description, emotion, [and] comment." (The New York Times)Ver libro
