Other books that might interest you

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  Our Vestry (Unabridged)

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
  OUR VESTRY: We have the glorious privilege of being always in hot water if we like. We are a shareholder in a Great Parochial British Joint Stock Bank of Balderdash. We have a Vestry in our borough, and can vote for a vestryman-might even be a vestryman, mayhap, if we were inspired by a lofty and noble ambition. Which we are not.

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  Peer Gynt

  Henrik Ibsen

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  Peer Gynt is a five-act play written by Henrik Ibsen, a renowned Norwegian playwright. First published in 1867, it tells the adventurous and introspective journey of the title character, Peer Gynt. The play follows Peer's exploits, starting from his youthful escapades in a small Norwegian village to his encounters with trolls, a seductive woman named Solveig, and various characters he meets along the way. Peer Gynt is known for its vivid imagery, symbolic language, and exploration of themes such as identity, self-discovery, and the nature of human existence. 
   
  At the heart of Peer Gynt is the character of Peer himself, a complex and multi-faceted individual. He is portrayed as a dreamer and a wanderer, constantly seeking meaning and purpose in life. Peer's journey is marked by his encounters with different aspects of himself and society, allowing the audience to reflect on the nature of human behavior and the consequences of one's actions. The play challenges conventional ideas of morality and societal norms, presenting Peer as a character who moves between selfishness and selflessness, illusion and reality, and ultimately learns the importance of personal responsibility and authenticity. 
   
  One of the notable aspects of Peer Gynt is its use of fantasy and folklore elements, particularly in Peer's encounters with trolls and other mythical creatures. These episodes provide a surreal and symbolic backdrop for Peer's psychological and spiritual journey. Through these encounters, Ibsen delves into themes of illusion versus reality, the human capacity for self-deception, and the consequences of chasing after superficial desires. The play also incorporates elements of Norwegian culture and folklore, adding a distinct national flavor to the story.

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  The Fall of the House of Usher

  Edgar Allan Poe

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  Title: The Fall of the House of Usher 
  Author: Edgar Allan Poe 
  Narrator: Jonathan Dunne 
  Original Publication: 1839 
  Public Domain: Yes 
  Series Placement: Number 45 in the Timeless Terrors series 
  Description: 
  The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe stands as one of the defining masterpieces of gothic horror — a tale where decay, madness, and the supernatural intertwine within the crumbling walls of a doomed mansion. When an unnamed narrator visits the melancholic Roderick Usher and his ailing sister Madeline, he becomes ensnared in a world where the line between reality and delusion dissolves, and the very house itself seems alive with a malignant sentience. 
  Poe’s prose conjures an atmosphere of suffocating dread, exploring the collapse of body, mind, and bloodline. Every shadow, every whisper within the Usher estate echoes the inevitability of ruin — a meditation on mortality, isolation, and the inescapable power of fear. 
  Narrated by Amazon bestselling horror author Jonathan Dunne, this performance captures the story’s haunting rhythm and the slow, irresistible descent into terror that has enthralled readers for nearly two centuries. While the text is in the public domain, this narration is an original performance and copyright © 2025 Jonathan Dunne. 
  Part of Timeless Terrors, a series devoted to resurrecting the masters of the macabre and uncanny, The Fall of the House of Usher endures as one of Poe’s most enduring works — a symphony of melancholy and madness that reminds us: when the house falls, it takes the soul with it.

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  Rainbow Valley

  L. M. Montgomery

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  "“It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter.”In the seventh book of the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne and Gilbert Blythe have been happily married for over a decade and have six children. The children take center stage in this story, as they befriend the four children of a new minister in tow, John Meredith. After John’s wife died, he has buried himself into theological studies, and lets his children run free. And though the children are generally kind and loyal, the townsfolk only really notice them on the occasions where they’re getting into trouble.The Blythe children focus helping the Meredith children parent themselves while their father still mourns. The children spend a lot of time together in Rainbow Valley, forming a “Good-Conduct Club” and attempting to self-discipline for any wrongdoings. Eventually, John Meredith begins to see that his children need actual parents, though, and decides it is time to find love again. In typical Anne of Green Gables fashion, this book contrasts the idyllic environment of the town of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley with the difficulties of the townspeople’s lives. But through all of the personal turmoil and difficulties, the sunny world of Prince Edward Island and its warm-hearted inhabitants bring hope to each person with time. "

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  The Horse Dealer's Daughter

  D H Lawrence

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  ‘The Horse Dealer's Daughter’ is a story, gripping in its content. It encompasses the terror of death and disgrace which is  redeemed by passion and sexuality. The question Lawrence leaves open is whether the doctor's avowal of love is genuine or driven by the awakening of his own sexuality and pity for the woman.

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  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

  Agatha Christie

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  Despite his best efforts to retire, the fourth book in Agatha Christie's famous detective series sees Detective Hercule Poirot returning for his next intriguing case.Detective Poirot is enjoying a quiet, peaceful retirement in a small village where he can focus on gardening and daily life. His plans are rudely disrupted when Roger Ackroyd, a wealthy widower, is murdered in his study shortly after the suspicious death of his fiancée. Ackroyd's niece and Poirot's new neighbor, Flora, begs for the detective's help on the investigation, and he can't bring himself to refuse. Poirot quickly finds himself pulled into another intriguing case filled with impossible alibis and dark secrets that he will have to unravel if he wants to discover who killed Roger Ackroyd.

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