Other books that might interest you

• 

  The Professor's House

  Willa Cather

  • 1
  • 0
  • 0

  “An inquiry into the nature of civilization, of man’s impulse to civilize and create,” from the beloved author of O Pioneers! (The New Criterion).After completing his masterwork and garnering a great deal of money for it, history professor Godfrey St. Paul has purchased a new house. But when the time comes to move, he cannot bring himself to do so. Sitting in his comfortable study in his current house near the shore of Lake Michigan—and on the verge of a midlife crisis—he reflects on his past.At fifty-two, he has dedicated himself to his work, his garden, and his wife and two daughters, but despite all of his successes, he is unhappy with the course of his future. He retreats into his memories—his career and fond recollections of Tom Outland, his most outstanding student and once his son-in-law-to-be, who was lost in the Great War. He also thinks of his present and the daunting mystery of what lies ahead. And soon the introspection takes over . . . “The Professor’s House is Cather’s masterpiece. It is almost perfectly constructed, peculiarly moving, and completely original.” —A. S. Byatt, The Guardian

  Show book

• 

  The Suicide Club

  Robert Louis Stevenson

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  First published in 1878, The Suicide Club is a collection of three gruesome adventure stories which combine into a single narrative, recounting the exploits of Floritzel, Prince of Bohemia and his trusty confidante Colonel Geraldine as they infiltrate a secret society of dubious individuals intent on losing their own lives. 
  
  
  The stories are: 
  
  
  Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts 
  The Prince and the Colonel are out incognito in London, when they meet a strange young man giving free cream tarts to all he meets. He introduces them to the Suicide Club, a horrific society whose members gamble with their own lives each night. Our heroes succeed in disbanding the club and its president is sent abroad "for disposal" with Geraldine's brother. 
  
  
  Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk
  In the Latin Quarter of Paris, an unsuspecting American tourist finds himself at the heart of a dastardly plot. He is lured away by an attractive countess, only to discover a dead body in his bed on his return. His kind neighbour, Dr. Noel, arranges to hide the body in a trunk which is smuggled to London in the baggage of Prince Floritzel and Colonel Geraldine. When Floritzel discovers the plot, he also finds that the body is that of Geraldine's brother - and the President of the Suicide Club has escaped. 
  
  
  The Adventure of the Hansom Cab 
  In London, Lieutenant Brackenbury Rich is taken by a mysterious hansom cabman to a house where an odd party is underway. The host turns out to be Colonel Geraldine in disguise, who whisks him off to a secret location where Prince Floritzel and the President of the Suicide Club are to fight a final duel to the death.

  Show book

• 

  Four Discourses Against The Arians

  Athanasius of Alexandria

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In spite of Nicea's condemnation of Arius in 325, Arianism was far from dead. For decades after Nicea, political intrigue and personality clashes continued to confuse the doctrinal issues. Additionally, the line separating othodoxy from Arianism was blurred by a number of "semi-Arians" who agreed with the theology of orthodoxy but continued to object to the "homoousios" of the Nicene Formula. In this milieu, Athanasius of Alexandria tirelessly worked to cut through the confusion and restore unity. Sometimes alone against the world, Athanasius rejected all attempts at unity through ambiguity and strove for unity through clarity. His Four Discourses Against the Arians are the culmination of these efforts. By these, Athanasius successfully defended the theology of the Nicene Formula and united the orthodox Church. For doing so, Athanasius holds an honored place in Church history. (summary by Jonathan Lange)

  Show book

• 

  In The Coach House

  Anton Chekhov

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Three men, Mihailo the porter, Nikandr the fish merchant, and Stepan the coachman, sit around a table in the coach-house playing a game of "kings" with Stepan's eight-year old grandson, Alyoshka. While each card player competitively tries to win the coveted position of "king" in the game, a more serious atmosphere casts a sad shadow over the estate in which the coach-house is situated. The man of the house, for whom the porter and coachman work, has attempted suicide, and he lies in the estate house struggling somewhere between life and death. Although the card game had been light-hearted, the exit of the doctors, for whom the porter must open the door, turns the card players' conversation to the religious implications of suicide, which Nikandr relates in a similar experience he had. The ghostly ramifications in Nikandr's story frighten young Alyoshka, whose fright becomes worse when the men learn the fate of their boss.

  Show book

• 

  Four Adventure Stories

  Joseph Conrad

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Four gripping tales by the master of Adventure Stories, Joseph Conrad. "The Tale", "The Inn of the Two Witches", "The Secret Sharer", "The Idiots".

  Show book

• 

  Last Man Volume 2 The (Unabridged)

  Mary Shelley

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The Last Man is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The novel was harshly reviewed at the time, and, except for a 1924 silent film based on it, was virtually unknown - having been eclipsed by Shelley's more popular works - until a scholarly revival in the 1960s. It contains semi-biographical portraits of Romantic figures in Shelley's circle, particularly Shelley's late husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.

  Show book