Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  The Iron Heel

  Jack London

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  The Iron Heel is a science fiction novel novel by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908. 
  It is considered to be "the earliest of the modern dystopian" fiction, it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. In The Iron Heel, Jack London's socialist views are explicitly on display. A forerunner of soft science fiction novels and stories of the 1960s and 70s, the book stresses future changes in society and politics while paying much less attention to technological changes.
  The Iron Heel is cited by George Orwell's biographer Michael Shelden as having influenced Orwell's most famous novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell himself described London as having made "a very remarkable prophecy of the rise of Fascism", in the book and believed that London's understanding of the primitive had made him a better prophet "than many better-informed and more logical thinkers." Specifically, Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith, like London's Avis Everhard, keeps a diary where he writes down his rebellious thoughts and experiences. However, while Everhard's diary remained hidden during the centuries of tyranny to be discovered and published later, Smith's diary falls into the hands of the book's harsh Thought Police, whose interrogator tells Smith not to expect posterity to vindicate him: "Posterity will never hear of you, we will vaporize you".

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  Pride and Prejudice

  Jane Austen

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  Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London. Page 2 of a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra (11 June 1799) in which she first mentions Pride and Prejudice, using its working title First Impressions. (NLA) Though the story is set at the turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of "most loved books" such as The Big Read.[1] It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature and receives considerable attention from literary scholars. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes. To date, the book has sold some 20 million copies Worldwide

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  3 Audiobooks Joseph Conrad

  Joseph Conrad

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  Joseph Conrad, crafted a trilogy of literary works that delve into the complexities of human nature and the intricacies of colonialism. In "Nostromo," Conrad navigates the treacherous waters of political upheaval and greed in a fictional South American country. The tale follows Nostromo, a skilled and enigmatic sailor, as he becomes embroiled in the struggle for power and wealth, revealing the corrosive effects of ambition and the blurred lines between personal gain and loyalty. 
   
  "Heart of Darkness,", is a haunting exploration of the human psyche set against the backdrop of the brutal colonization of Africa. The novella follows Marlow, a sailor journeying up the Congo River, as he encounters the enigmatic Kurtz, a figure whose descent into madness and depravity serves as a reflection of the dark underbelly of European imperialism. Through vivid and often harrowing imagery, Conrad scrutinizes the moral and psychological toll of colonial exploitation, challenging readers to confront the shadows that lie within civilization's hearts. 
   
  In "Chance," Conrad shifts focus to the complexities of love, fate, and society. The novel centers on Flora de Barral, whose life is marred by her father's scandalous reputation and her own struggles for independence. As she navigates societal expectations and personal desires, Conrad weaves a narrative that illuminates the interplay between individual choices and the unpredictable twists of destiny. With his intricate prose and keen observations, Conrad crafts a tale that underscores the fragility of human connections and the role of chance in shaping lives. 
   
   Conrad demonstrates his profound understanding of human psychology, his critique of colonialism's ethical dimensions, and his exploration of the capricious nature of fate.

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  Benediction - From their pens to...

  F. Scott Fitzgerald

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  Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on 24th September 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota into an upper-middle class family. Whilst his mother was pregnant with him, his two young sisters tragically died.  Fitzgerald once said this was when his destiny as a writer was ordained. 
  His intelligence and talent was recognised from an early age, with his first story, about a detective being published in the school magazine when he was just 13.   
  In 1913 he enrolled at Princeton but his devotion to his own literary pursuits resulted in him leaving and, rather bizarrely, joining the Army.  In 1918, stationed at Fort Sheridan near Montgomery, Alabama he met and became infatuated and then inseparable from Zelda Sayre.  Initially though she refused to marry him but with the success of ‘This Side of Paradise’, the fame and the flow of money enabled them both to begin a gilded life.  For them this was The Jazz Age.  For Fitzgerald he was already an alcoholic. 
  He continued to write with great mastery and the titles of his novels and many of his 164 short stories are household names.  The Great Gatsby, often cited as The Great American Novel was published to mixed reviews.  As America moved from the Great Depression to the slaughter of the Second World War his works and himself were seen as far too entwined with the decadent twenties. The world had moved on and he hadn’t.   
  Further tragedy was never far from his life. Zelda after years of erratic and now intolerable behaviour was committed to an institution in 1936.  His own sales began to decline and he became a hack for hire in Hollywood, dependent on increasing amounts of booze and the weekly pay check.  His drunken state had often resulted in arrest or hospitalisation, further imperiling his talents.   Despite his contribution to many MGM films he received only one credit. 
  The end came all too soon for one of America’s greatest ever writers.  On 21st December 1940, at only 44 years of age in Hollywood, F Scott Fitzgerald succumbed to a heart attack.

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  A Funny Man's Dream

  Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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  Dostoyevsky was never shy to play with the issues of human mind in his work. A funny man's dream is one of his shorter pieces that, nevertheless, lacks none of the profundity or the mind-bending power of his larger works.

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  The Monkey's Paw

  W.W. Jacobs

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  The Monkey's Paw is a classic horror short story written by author W. W. Jacobs, published in England in 1902. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an enormous price.

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