Editora: Diwan
Characters in From Madid to Heaven unexpectedly find themselves in impossible circumstances. In fourteen short stories, set between Iberia and North Africa, they come nevertheless to face the strange possibility that when nothing is possible, everything may suddenly be possible.
A graceful Southern plantation bathed in soft sunlight. In the foreground, a young woman in 19th-century dress holds a baby close to her chest, her expression both tender and troubled. Behind her, an imposing mansion looms, framed by Spanish moss and towering oaks. Désirée’s Baby by Kate Chopin is a powerful and poignant short story that explores themes of identity, race, motherhood, and societal expectation in the Antebellum American South. First published in 1893, this literary classic weaves emotional depth and social commentary into a gripping tale of love, prejudice, and tragic irony. Set on a Louisiana plantation, the story follows Désirée, a young woman of unknown heritage, who is adopted by a wealthy family and later marries the aristocratic Armand Aubigny. But when their newborn baby’s skin tone raises questions about its ancestry, Armand’s affections vanish, and Désirée’s world begins to unravel—leading to a heart-wrenching and unforgettable conclusion. This full audiobook brings Chopin’s eloquent and emotionally charged prose to life with a tender, thoughtful narration. A must-listen for fans of American literature, Southern Gothic, and short fiction that challenges norms with quiet power.Ver livro
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language. Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer. As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment. In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865. A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871. They had a child, Day, the following year. In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published. They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner. Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’. Success and further works including poetry followed. Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”. He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899. But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism. He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’. At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.Ver livro
The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is Clara Venn.Ver livro
Little information survives on Catherine’s life. She was born Amy Catherine Robbins in 1872. In about 1892 she was a student in a biology cramming class where the teacher was H G Wells. Though married he was quickly attracted to his student and within a short time they were living together in Woking, Surrey. He then divorced his first wife and married Catherine in October 1895 at St Pancras register office. In the early years they were poor to the point that they could not afford to start a family. When they did they had two children; Philip in 1901 and Frank two years later. For much of her life she seemed to pursue other interests, being a mother, a gardener, running much of her husband’s business affairs and this seemed to leave little time for her own literary pursuits. She published little during her lifetime apart from a few poems and some short stories. Indeed her prodigiously talented husband even referred to her as ‘Jane’ and soon all around her did too, her writing life seemingly in another personality far, far away. By the mid 20’s she was ill with cancer and succumbed to its advance in 1927. Wells, although wayward and promiscuous during much of the marriage, now attempted to put his wife’s literary merits into book form and published ‘The Book of Catherine Wells’, a collection of short stories and poems.Ver livro
Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author? The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. In this volume the wonders of Sci-Fi and its inventions are twisted with the darkness of horror to reveal narratives that grip us in inventive ways. Perhaps only pens of the calibre of Lovecraft, Stevenson, Wells and their literary colleagues can so easily lure our senses into dark and terrifying times. 1 - The Top 10 Short Stories - Classic Sci Fi Horror - An Introduction 2 - Re-Animator - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft 3 - Re-Animator - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft 4 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson 5 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson 6 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London 7 - The Operation by Violet Hunt 8 - Moxon's Master by Ambrose Bierce 9 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson 10 - Carnivorine by Lucy Hamilton Hooper 11 - The Blue Laboratory by L T Meade 12 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne 13 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel HawthorneVer livro
Nerves is a story by Anton Chekhovs, first published: 1895. Three friends, Mayer (a medical student), Rybnikov (a student of the arts), and Vassilyev (a law student), decide to go out one night to get some girls. Mayer and Rybnikov had to spend some time convincing Vassilyev to come along, as he was far more fastidious and cautious than his friends. Vassilyev himself is envious of his friends, who live their lives in a much more carefree fashion. The three friends visit several different houses containing the girls, but Vassilyev finds himself more eager to talk to the girls and treat them to fancy drinks than to pay his money to get something more. He tries to understand the lives the fallen women are living, but he grows more and more disgusted with them...Ver livro
