Outros livros que poderiam interessá-lo

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  Captain Rogers - From their pens...

  W Jacobs

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  William Wymark Jacobs was born on 8th September 1863 in Wapping, East London.  
  He was educated at a private school and then Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution, now part of the University of London. 
  In 1879, Jacobs began work as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank.  In 1885 his first short story was published but it was not until almost the turn of the century that he would abandon his post office career to that as a full-time writer. By then he was a very popular author, his collections selling extremely well and with an excellent income. 
  His best-known work is the macabre ‘The Monkey's Paw’ and he is also highly regarded for his ghost stories although much of his remaining short story output is streaked with humour.  His characters are immediately identifiable and we all know that life will take chunks out of them in no time at all.  
  Jacobs married the noted suffragette Agnes Eleanor Williams in 1900 at West Ham, Essex. They went on to have two daughters and three sons as they settled down to life.  
  By the outbreak of the First World War his literary output had declined and he now mainly spent his time rewriting his earlier stories for the stage.  In all he wrote 18 plays. 
  W W Jacobs died on 1st September 1943 at Hornsey Lane, Islington in London. He was 79.

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  Benediction - From their pens to...

  F Scott itzgerald

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  Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on 24th September 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota into an upper-middle class family. Whilst his mother was pregnant with him, his two young sisters tragically died.  Fitzgerald once said this was when his destiny as a writer was ordained. 
  His intelligence and talent was recognised from an early age, with his first story, about a detective being published in the school magazine when he was just 13.   
  In 1913 he enrolled at Princeton but his devotion to his own literary pursuits resulted in him leaving and, rather bizarrely, joining the Army.  In 1918, stationed at Fort Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama he met and became infatuated and then inseparable from Zelda Sayre.  Initially though she refused to marry him but with the success of ‘This Side of Paradise’, the fame and the flow of money enabled them both to begin a gilded life.  For them this was The Jazz Age.  For Fitzgerald he was already an alcoholic. 
  He continued to write with great mastery and the titles of his novels and many of his 164 short stories are household names.  The Great Gatsby, often cited as The Great American Novel was published to mixed reviews.  As America moved from the Great Depression to the slaughter of the Second World War his works and himself were seen as far too entwined with the decadent twenties. The world had moved on and he hadn’t.   
  Further tragedy was never far from his life. Zelda after years of erratic and now intolerable behaviour was committed to an institution in 1936.  His own sales began to decline and he became a hack for hire in Hollywood, dependent on increasing amounts of booze and the weekly pay check.  His drunken state had often resulted in arrest or hospitalisation, further imperiling his talents.   Despite his contribution to many MGM films he received only one credit. 
  The end came all too soon for one of America’s greatest ever writers.  On 21st December 1940, at only 44 years of age in Hollywood, F Scott Fitzgerald succumbed to a heart attack.

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  Carmilla

  Joseph Le Fanu, J. Sheridan Le Fanu

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  Sink your teeth into the cult classic vampire novella that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Fear sweeps the countryside as people fall victim to a strange illness.  After a peculiar accident, beautiful Mircalla becomes a ward at Laura’s family home.  Soon, friendship blooms between the mysterious Mircalla and curious Laura.  Love is in the air, but so is something deadly.  Will Mircalla’s secret cost Laura her life? Carmilla, originally published in 1872, is one of the first vampire novels ever written, predating Dracula by twenty-six years. Carmilla, with its themes of vampirism and homosexuality, shocked the standards and stereotypes for women set in the Victorian era. Today, Carmilla is considered the original archetype of female and LGBTQ vampires, and Le Fanu’s influence is seen throughout vampire fiction.

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  The Immortal A Christmas Carol

  Charles Dickens

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  "A Christmas Carol" follows the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly and cold-hearted old man, throughout one magical Christmas Eve. The narrative begins with Scrooge, a wealthy but stingy moneylender, dismissing the Christmas season with contempt and refusing to give to charity. He dislikes the idea of Christmas joy and generosity, considering them a waste of time and money. On Christmas Eve, as Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, burdened with heavy chains as punishment for his greed and selfishness in life, warns Scrooge that he will suffer a similar fate unless he changes his ways. 
   
  Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits that night. The first the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge on a journey through his childhood and early adulthood. Scrooge witnesses scenes from his past, including his lonely and neglected childhood, lost love, and moments when he chose money over relationships. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, shows Scrooge scenes of people joyfully celebrating Christmas in the present. Scrooge is particularly moved by the Cratchit family, especially Bob Cratchit and his son Tiny Tim, who is ill. Despite their poverty, the Cratchits find happiness in each other and embody the true spirit of Christmas. The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (or the Ghost of Christmas Future), shows Scrooge a bleak future if he continues on his current path. Scrooge sees his lonely death and the lack of mourning from those around him. He also witnesses Tiny Tim's death, which is a result of the family's inability to afford proper medical care. 
  Frightened and remorseful, Scrooge pleads for a chance to change. He promises to embrace the Christmas spirit and become a better person. Awakening on Christmas morning, Scrooge is overjoyed to discover that he has been given a second chance

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  War and Peace - Audiobook

  Leo Tolstoy, Classic Audiobooks,...

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  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a monumental novel that intertwines the lives of aristocratic families with the sweeping events of the Napoleonic Wars. Spanning years of political upheaval, personal transformation, and moral reflection, the novel explores the tension between individual freedom and historical inevitability. Through the eyes of unforgettable characters like Pierre Bezukhov, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, and Natasha Rostova, Tolstoy presents an epic portrait of Russian society in one of its most turbulent eras.At once a love story, a philosophical inquiry, and a historical chronicle, War and Peace challenges the very meaning of fate, power, and human agency. With its powerful psychological depth and richly detailed narrative, the novel remains one of the greatest achievements in world literature, offering timeless insights into the human condition.

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  North and South

  Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

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  North and South by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell: "North and South" follows the journey of Margaret Hale, a young woman who relocates from rural southern England to the industrialized northern town of Milton. As Margaret grapples with the stark contrasts between the two regions and the social issues arising from the industrial revolution, she becomes entangled with the enigmatic mill owner, John Thornton. The novel delves into the complexities of class struggle, workers' rights, and the clash between traditional values and the modern world. Elizabeth Gaskell's insightful portrayal of industrial life and her nuanced exploration of romance and social issues make "North and South" a compelling and thought-provoking work of Victorian fiction. 
  Elizabeth Gaskell, an English novelist, is known for her compassionate portrayals of Victorian social issues and her insightful examination of the human condition. Her works, such as "North and South," "Cranford," and "Wives and Daughters," explored the impact of industrialization on society and offered a nuanced understanding of class and gender dynamics during the 19th century.

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