Other books that might interest you

• 

  The House with the Mezzanine And...

  Anton Chekhov

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov was a physician by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." 
   
  Chekhov renounced the theatre after the reception of The Seagull in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and premiered his last two plays, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text". The plays that Chekhov wrote were not complex, but easy to follow, and created a somewhat haunting atmosphere for the audience. 
   
  Chekhov at first wrote stories to earn money, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations that influenced the evolution of the modern short story. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them. 
   
  Here is perhaps his finest collection. A true audiobook treasure!

  Show book

• 

  Typhoon and Other Stories

  Joseph Conrad

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In these four stories, written between 1900 and 1902, Joseph Conrad bid gradual farewell to his adventurous life at sea and began to confront the more daunting complexities of life on land in the twentieth century. In 'Typhoon' Conrad reveals, in the steadfast courage of an undemonstrative captain and the imaginative readiness of his young first mate, the differences between instinct and intelligence in a partnership vital to human survival. 'Falk', the companion sea-story, contrasts, as Conrad once put it, 'common sentimentalism with the frank standpoint of a more or less primitive man', a man with a conscience, however, about the girl he desires. In one of the 'land-stories' Conrad explores the utter isolation of an East European emigrant in England; in the other, the plight of a woman ironically trapped by the unwitting alliance of two retired widowers - each blind in his own way.

  Show book

• 

  A Madman's Diary

  Lu Xun

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “A Madman’s Diary” is a short story by Lu Xun first published in 1918. Written in vernacular Chinese, it is considered “China’s first modern short story” and the most influential modern work in the republican era. Lu was inspired by “Diary of a Madman" by Nicolai Gogol, both in the use of the diary form and in the idea that the madman sees things more clearly than others. The story comes about when the narrator decides to visit two friends with whom he has lost touch when he learns that one of them has fallen ill. When he arrives, he is met by the brother, who informs him that his brother is no longer ill and hands him a copy of his brother’s diary. It is immediately apparent that the diarist is indeed mad. He believes he is surrounded by cannibals and that everyone has cannibalistic designs on him. His paranoia grows and he begins to see threats everywhere. He even sees  the words “Eat People” between the lines of classic Confucian texts. He eventually suspects that his late sister had been eaten by his brother, and that he himself may have unknowingly done so. He ardently hopes that everyone will have a change of heart and change their ways. The story ends with a plea to “save the children”.The story is not readily comprehensible, and it took several years for it to be recognized as important. Gradually the madman is seen as a revolutionary contemptuous of Chinese tradition and its feudal society that “eats people”, people who themselves are corrupted by traditions they cannot escape.

  Show book

• 

  The Descent

  Mai Redding

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  On a late-night flight from New York to Seattle, Jonathan experiences an unsettling series of 
  events as turbulence escalates, throwing the plane into chaos. Amidst growing panic, he spots a 
  mysterious, ragged figure on board, and the descent takes a chilling turn. As the plane levels 
  out, Jonathan uncovers a horrifying truth about himself. 
  Mai Redding, both author and narrator of this chilling tale, weaves a haunting story. With a sharp 
  eye for gothic suspense and psychological horror, she brings stories to life, immersing readers 
  in a world where eerie tales make your spine tingle and the fight for survival is relentless.

  Show book

• 

  Wonder Of Women - Psychological...

  Edith Nesbit, Lady Eleanor...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Let’s be clear. We are all equal under the law.  However, even in these more modern times that is not an absolute and still remains a distant ambition for many.  
   
  In the days when Britain ruled the waves and bestrode the world as its policeman and plunderer in chief it also subjugated half of its own people to second class status.  Women were chattel and property.  There were some exceptions based on wealth and birthright but for the overwhelming majority your lot was to fall in with the rules and do as you were told.  Many did. 
   
  But whilst male society sought to place obstacles in the path to equality, it could not deny their literary talents, which many times they circumvented by using male pseudonyms.  However, the soaring sales of magazines and periodicals during the Victorian Age meant they had voracious appetites for literature, whatever the sex of its gender. 
   
  Dozens of authors appeared to fill the need.  Narratives had new ideas.  Characters were emboldened by societal changes and the female voice taking responsibility. 
   
  The women included here are talents that dazzle.  Put them up against anyone and they rise to the top.  Whether they remain with an avid readership today or faded to obscurity with the passing of the times their quality remains undimmed.   
   
  1 - Women of Wonder - Psychological Supernatural Thriller - An Introduction 
  2 - Man Size In Marble by Edith Nesbit 
  3 - Mrs Raeburn's Waxwork by Lady Eleanor Smith 
  4 - The Devil's Stone by Beatrice Heron-Maxwell 
  5 - Was It An Illusion. A Parson's Story by Amelia Edwards 
  6 - In the Séance Room by Lettice Galbraith 
  7 - The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth by Rhoda Broughton 
  8 - The Cold Embrace by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
  9 - Let Loose by Mary Cholmondeley.wav 
  10 - Dionea - Part 1 by Vernon Lee 
  11 - Dionea - Part 2 by Vernon Lee

  Show book

• 

  Terrifying Love - A Halloween...

  Helle Gade, Victoria Larque,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Come on a journey filled with witches, ghosts, hunters, and more. Our authors will thrill you, chill and keep you on the edge of your seat while keeping you reading well into the night.  
  Meet an artist who brings her creations to life, creatures who can save your soul, a desperate healer fighting to save humanity and a contemporary thriller involving fraud and murder and a cursed sailor looking for the reincarnation of his lost love - and these are just some of the stories contained within. 
  Join us on a voyage through the works of our wonderful authors and get a taste for their amazing talent in this collection of romance stories featuring scary encounters, obstacles, and chilling moments where we discern how love can conquer all. 
  Each story is accompanied by a poem written by award-winning poet - Helle Gade. 
  Included in this collection: 
  The Lighthouse by Elizabeth G. Ellis 
  Runes and Fangs by Victoria Larque 
  Imaginary Friends by Boris Bacic 
  The Spade and the Patio by Ada Rossi 
  Bloody Money by Annelie Janssen 
  Affliction by Cassandra Lyle

  Show book