Publisher: Mary Cholmondeley
Mary Cholmondeley (8 June 1859 – 15 July 1925) was an English novelist. Her best-selling novel, Red Pottage, satirised religious hypocrisy and the narrowness of country life.
Before he was 21 George Gissing conceived the ambition of writing a long series of novels, somewhat in the manner of Balzac, whom he admired. The first of these, Workers in the Dawn, appeared in 1880, to be followed by 21 others. Between 1886 and 1895 he published one or more novels every year. He also wrote Charles Dickens: A Critical Study (1898), a perceptive piece of literary criticism.Gissing's work has a good deal of documentary interest for its detailed and accurate accounts of lower-middle-class London life. On the social position and psychology of women, he is particularly acute: The Odd Women is a powerful study of female frustration. He did not lack human sympathies, but his obvious contempt for so many of his characters reflects an artistic limitation. Gissing was deeply critical, in an almost wholly negative way, of contemporary society. Of his novels, New Grub Street, considered by some critics to be his only great book, is unique in its merciless analysis of the compromises required by the literary life.Gissing's 1893 novel takes on the 19th century "Woman Question" by looking at themes of feminism, marriage, and love. The novel raises these issues through the lives of several contrasting women: Mary Barfoot, a feminist philanthropist who helps train women for careers; her close friend Rhoda Nunn, who believes marriage is a disastrous choice for women; and Monica Madden, who starts out as one of their protegees but chooses to marry a seemingly kind older man. As Monica experiences the challenges of married life, Rhoda finds herself drawn to Mary's cousin, the charming but apparently profligate EverardShow book
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”“More is thy due than more than all can pay.”"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, and has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, and other media.Show book
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884-1941) was a New Zealand-born English novelist famous for his skill at scene setting and vivid plots. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s and remains popular to this day."Seashore Macabre" tells the story of a curious boy who inexplicably follows a sinister-looking man at a seaside resort. The old man goes to a remote cottage on the edge of the sand dunes. The boy follows and enters the cottage, where he sees something so terrifying that the memory stays with him for the rest of his life.Show book
The top 10 short stories of all time written by Edgar Allan Poe. 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. Among those we call the dark masters, one name glimmers with a more ready menace: Edgar Allan Poe who can, in an instant, unleash and surround our fears with unspeakable torment. His words also bring careful consideration as his detective stories reveal the hidden clues. Whatever the genre Poe is almost unrivalled in both story and solution. 1 - The Top 10 - Edgar Allan Poe - An Introduction 2 - The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 3 - The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe 4 - The Premature Burial by Edgar Allan Poe 5 - By the Facts in the Case of Monsieur Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe 6 - Hop Frog by Edgar Allan Poe 7 - The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe 8 - The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe 9 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe 10 - The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe 11 - The Black Cat by Edgar Allan PoeShow book
On Christmas Eve, a traveler finds himself waiting out a snowstorm at the Holly Tree Inn. While passing the hours for the weather to pass so his coach can continue its journey, the warm hearth of the inn brings his mind to roam to pass recollections, both happy and grave. He also ponders the true meaning of his current journey and reason for his melancholy… the women he planned on marrying is, instead, going to marry his best friend. However, the delay at the inn is about to bring him a miraculous discovery. With a full cast, sound effects, and a majestic score by Jeffrey Gage, THE HOLLY TREE INN is the fifth Dickens Christmas story to be produced by the award winning Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. THE HOLLY TREE INN.Starring The Colonial Radio PlayersExecutive Producer Mark Vander Berg. Produced by M.J. Cogburn. Dramatized for Audio by Barry M. Putt Jr. From the short story by Charles DickensMusic by Jeffrey Gage. Directed by Jerry RobbinsCover Illustration by Jeff HayesShow book
A series of charming short stories by this celebrated author of the classic novel Little Women.Show book
