Maison d'édition: Bu Classics Books
A middle-aged American is sent to Paris to retrieve a wealthy widow's son, only to fall under the spell of European sophistication. As his rigid moral code begins to dissolve, he discovers a late-blooming appreciation for the beauty of life. This masterpiece captures the delicate tension between duty and the pursuit of personal happiness.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. He was a mere four years old when his father died and his mother took him and his two sisters to live with her family and then on to their own home in Raymond, Maine. The young Hawthorne had a passion for fiction and poetry and voraciously read the works of Ann Radcliffe, Henry Fielding and Lord Byron. He was sent to college at his maternal uncle’s insistence. During these years he met and befriended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future U S president Franklin Pierce. These friendships were lifelong and to have a crucial impact on his writings and career. At college Hawthorne had made attempts at writing short stories and essays but without opportunities to publish. It was only in 1828 that he finally published his novel ‘Franshawe’ to little success and so he began work as editor for the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. They moved to live in ‘The Old Manse’ at Concord, Massachusetts. Finally. in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter’ followed by ‘The House of the Seven Gables’ the following year. In 1852, Hawthorne published a biography of presidential candidate Franklin Pierce. After Pierce’s victory he was appointed consul in Liverpool, a position that offered prestige, money and fame. At the end of this appointment he returned several times to Europe before settling in Massachusetts and resuming writing and publication. During the early 1860’s his health declined and on 19th May 1864 during a trip to Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was 59 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.Voir livre
Villette is a deeply psychological and emotionally complex novel by Charlotte Brontë, widely regarded as one of her most mature and profound works. First published in 1853, the novel offers an intimate exploration of loneliness, identity, faith, and unspoken love, drawing heavily on Brontë's own experiences abroad. The story follows Lucy Snowe, a quiet, intelligent, and inwardly passionate woman who leaves England to seek independence and purpose in the fictional city of Villette. There, she finds employment as a teacher in a girls' school, navigating a foreign culture, religious tension, and profound emotional isolation. Lucy's inner life—marked by restraint, longing, and resilience—forms the heart of the novel. As Lucy encounters friendship, temptation, and romantic attachment, she struggles to reconcile her need for emotional connection with her fierce self-control and moral convictions. Brontë masterfully uses Lucy's perspective to explore themes of gender, power, faith, and the cost of emotional repression. Subtle, intense, and hauntingly honest, Villette is a landmark of Victorian literature. Its psychological depth, unconventional heroine, and exploration of inner strength make it a powerful and enduring novel that continues to resonate with readers seeking insight into the complexities of the human heart.Voir livre
She tells the mesmerizing tale of Ayesha, an immortal queen ruling a lost African kingdom, and the men who encounter her. When Professor Holly and his ward Leo Vincey follow an ancient clue, they discover not only a hidden civilization but a woman whose beauty and power defy time itself.This novel mixes fantasy, mythology, and philosophical themes. Both mysterious and tragic, She is one of Haggard's most influential works—an exploration of immortality, obsession, and colonial imagination. Ayesha remains one of the most iconic figures in adventure literature.Voir livre
Song: Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories. I saw thee on thy bridal day— When a burning blush came o’er thee, Though happiness around thee lay, The world all love before thee;Voir livre
“The Young Girl” is a 1920 short story written by Katherine Mansfield. Mrs. Raddick’s and her beautiful daughter waited on the steps of the casino. The daughter was incredibly beautiful with flushed cheeks, blue eyes, and golden curls. She “might have just dropped from this radiant heaven” (79), and Mrs. Raddick seemed to think so too - if her appreciative glances were any indication. The girl; however, appeared only bored as if heaven had been full of casinos and they no longer held any interest for her.Voir livre
Sometimes, the greatest rebellion is simply choosing to see the world as it truly is. Lucy Honeychurch has always done exactly what is expected of her. Accompanied by her prim, endlessly proper cousin Charlotte Bartlett, her grand tour of Italy was supposed to be an exercise in cultured refinement—studying guidebooks, admiring approved Renaissance art, and mingling with respectable British tourists. But the enchanting, chaotic city of Florence has other plans. When a mix-up at the Pension Bertolini leaves the ladies with dreary courtyard views, a boisterous, freethinking stranger named Mr. Emerson offers to trade his sun-drenched rooms. From this single breach of etiquette, a fissure opens in Lucy’s carefully constructed world. Enter George Emerson, a brooding, unconventional young man who refuses to play by the rules of polite society. After a shocking event in a Florentine piazza throws Lucy into George's arms, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about life, love, and her own hidden desires. E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View is a legendary comedy of manners, a biting social satire, and a sweeping, unforgettable romance. It is the story of a young woman caught between the stifling conventions of Edwardian England and the fierce, liberating call of her own heart. Will Lucy retreat to the safety of what she knows, or will she finally throw open the window and embrace the view?Voir livre
