Publisher: Sovereign
The story follows unconventional love and marriage of a young girl, Masha aged 17, and the much older Sergey Mikhaylych , an old family friend. The story is narrated by Masha. After a courtship that has the trappings of a mere family friendship, Masha's love grows and expands until she can no longer contain it. She reveals it to Sergey Mikhaylych and discovers that he also is deeply in love.
a collection of short stories by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories: "The Happy Prince," "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Selfish Giant," "The Devoted Friend," and "The Remarkable Rocket."Narrated by Michael WardShow book
O. Henry (real name William Sydney Porter) is famous for his many short stories of everyday life America, full of wit, charm and inventiveness. “The Gentle Grafter” contains fourteen tales relating the questionable exploits of “Jeff Peters” (the gentle grafter) and his several “partners in graft.”Show book
A heartless convict. The devil's fairy godmother. A beautiful girl with eyes of stone. A spectral benefactor. These and many others shape the fortunes of young Pip, as he is transformed from a blacksmith's apprentice to a young gentleman with Great Expectations.Show book
This landmark book is a founding work in the literature of black protest. W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated early 20th-century black protest in America. In this collection of essays, first published together in 1903, he eloquently affirms that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to beg for those rights that belong inherently to all mankind. He also charges that the strategy of accommodation to white supremacy advanced by Booker T. Washington, then the most influential black leader in America, would only serve to perpetuate black oppression. Publication of The Souls of Black Folk was a dramatic event that helped to polarize black leaders into two groups: the more conservative followers of Washington and the more radical supporters of aggressive protest. Its influence cannot be overstated. It is essential reading for everyone interested in African-American history and the struggle for civil rights in America.Show book
The only novel Poe ever completed, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket tells of the story of Gordon Pym, a sailor whose misadventures take him across the globe. Experiencing mutiny, shipwreck, and even cannibalism, Pym’s outrageous adventures find him as far as the South Pole. While Poe felt his novel was silly in many respects, it remains notable for serving as inspiration to Melville and Verne for Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, respectively.The longest piece of fiction Poe wrote, Pym contains one of the most thrilling and enigmatic conclusions ever written. If you enjoy mystery, horror, and an ending that takes you into the embraces of a cataract and leaves you with half a dozen unanswered questions, this is the book for you!Show book
"What’s done cannot be undone." The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, Macbeth most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death. Shakespeare's source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth. The events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, and will not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish Play". The play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.Show book
