Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  The Death Room - Former soldier...

  Edgar Wallace

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  Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on the 1st April 1875 in Greenwich, London.  Leaving school at 12 because of truancy, by the age of fifteen he had experience; selling newspapers, as a worker in a rubber factory, as a shoe shop assistant, as a milk delivery boy and as a ship’s cook.  
   
  By 1894 he was engaged but broke it off to join the Infantry being posted to South Africa. He also changed his name to Edgar Wallace which he took from Lew Wallace, the author of Ben-Hur.  
   
  In Cape Town in 1898 he met Rudyard Kipling and was inspired to begin writing. His first collection of ballads, The Mission that Failed! was enough of a success that in 1899 he paid his way out of the armed forces in order to turn to writing full time.  
   
  By 1904 he had completed his first thriller, The Four Just Men. Since nobody would publish it he resorted to setting up his own publishing company which he called Tallis Press. 
    
  In 1911 his Congolese stories were published in a collection called Sanders of the River, which became a bestseller. He also started his own racing papers, Bibury’s and R. E. Walton’s Weekly, eventually buying his own racehorses and losing thousands gambling.  A life of exceptionally high income was also mirrored with exceptionally large spending and debts.  
   
  Wallace now began to take his career as a fiction writer more seriously, signing with Hodder and Stoughton in 1921. He was marketed as the ‘King of Thrillers’ and they gave him the trademark image of a trilby, a cigarette holder and a yellow Rolls Royce. He was truly prolific, capable not only of producing a 70,000 word novel in three days but of doing three novels in a row in such a manner. It was estimated that by 1928 one in four books being read was written by Wallace, for alongside his famous thrillers he wrote variously in other genres, including science fiction, non-fiction accounts of WWI which amounted to ten volumes and screen plays. Eventually he would reach the remarkable total of 170 novels, 18 stage plays and 957 short stories. 
   
  Wallace became chairman of the Press Club which to this day holds an annual Edgar Wallace Award, rewarding ‘excellence in writing’.  
   
  Diagnosed with diabetes his health deteriorated and he soon entered a coma and died of his condition and double pneumonia on the 7th of February 1932 in North Maple Drive, Beverly Hills. He was buried near his home in England at Chalklands, Bourne End, in Buckinghamshire.

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  Anna Karenina part 8 - The epic...

  graf Leo Tolstoy

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  In the aftermath of unimaginable tragedy, the quest for meaning becomes a matter of life and death. 
  The eighth and final part of Tolstoy's monumental epic opens under the shadow of loss and the looming drums of the Serbo-Turkish War. Moscow society is swept up in patriotic fervor, but for the shattered Count Vronsky, the military campaign offers merely a dignified way to face death. Haunted by the horrifying memory of a love that ended in ultimate despair, he boards a train headed toward the battlefield, desperate to silence the agonizing guilt that pursues him. Meanwhile, in the quiet solitude of the Russian countryside, Konstantin Levin wrestles with his own existential crisis. Surrounded by his loving wife, Kitty, and their newborn child, Levin finds himself tortured by the terrifying question of life's purpose—until a chance conversation with a peasant sparks a spiritual awakening that will change him forever. 
  Listeners seeking the profound depths of Classic Literature will be utterly captivated by this majestic conclusion. Balancing philosophical inquiries, political tension, and sweeping character arcs, this audio edition immerses you in a rich tapestry of 19th-century Russian society, existential themes, and the breathtaking realism that continues to define the historical fiction genre. 
  About the Author: Graf Leo Tolstoy was a towering Russian novelist and philosopher whose works transcend their era. Renowned for his complex characters and sweeping portrayals of societal shifts, his masterpieces remain foundational pillars of global literature.

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  Pickman’s Model

  H. P. Lovecraft

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  Widely regarded as one of the one of the greatest horror writers of the twentieth century, H. P. Lovecraft's stories are known for their profound indifference to human beliefs and affairs. Here is "Pickman's Model," one of his more terrifying stories.  
  Richard Upton Pickman is a Bostonian painter, notorious for creating horrifying paintings. His ghoulish works are brilliant, but they're so graphic that his membership in the Boston Art Club is revoked and he finds himself shunned by his fellow artists. Then Pickman mysteriously disappears, and his friend finds himself on a mission of horror and evil to discover the truth. 
  Proceeds from sale of this title go to Reach Out and Read, an innovative literacy advocacy organization.

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  The Altar of the Dead - From...

  Henry James

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  Henry James was born 15th April 1843 in New York City. 
  His youth was spent travelling with his family receiving what was an "extraordinarily haphazard and promiscuous" education as they journeyed through London, Paris, Geneva, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Newport, Rhode Island, according to the father's current interests and publishing ventures. James studied primarily with tutors and only briefly attended schools.    
  Undoubtedly the quality of his writing has ensured his name is enshrined in the American literary tradition.  
  James was a committed Anglophile and spent most of his adult life as an expatriate in Europe.  Many of his novels juxtapose the Old World with the New World. Classics such as ‘The Portrait of a Lady’, ‘Daisy Miller’ and ‘The Ambassadors’, display the entanglement between American and European cultures and mentalities. They highlight the differences between the two worlds through following the experiences of American expatriates in Europe.  
  A prolific author he was able to easily move across genres to create vivid and totally real worlds and situations and to offer sophisticated observations of human relations as well as realistic, social criticism.  
  As a critic James was unafraid to venture into reviews and essays of those other literary giants around him.  These together with his short stories and, of course, classic novels, make Henry James an author to be not only admired but read, and read often.  
  In 1915 Henry James became a British citizen. 
  On 28th February 1916, at the age of 72, Henry James died in Chelsea, London. 
  He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912 and 1916. He never won.

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  The Big Four

  Agatha Christie

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  Detective Hercules Poirot is put to the test in this fast-moving tale of skulduggery and intrigue. He needs all his skills to not only solve murder but to survive as well! Accompanied and supported by the inimitable Captain Hastings, Poirot once again shows why he is considered the greatest detective in the world!

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  Anne of Green Gables

  Lucy Maud Montgomery

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  Anne of Green Gables is a timeless tale of self-discovery, imagination, and belonging. Set against the picturesque backdrop of Avonlea, this audiobook follows the journey of Anne Shirley, a spirited and talkative orphan mistakenly sent to live with the Cuthbert siblings, Marilla and Matthew, who intended to adopt a boy to help with farm work. 
  Anne’s arrival transforms their quiet lives with her vivid imagination, dramatic flair, and heartwarming determination to find her place in the world. Through challenges and triumphs, she wins the hearts of the people around her, from strict Marilla to her school rival, Gilbert Blythe. 
  This story brims with wit, charm, and lessons about friendship, resilience, and the power of dreams. Perfect for listeners of all ages, it’s a journey into a world where the ordinary is made extraordinary through the eyes of a girl who dares to dream big. Prepare to laugh, cry, and fall in love with the unforgettable Anne of Green Gables.

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