Other books that might interest you

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  The Encased Man

  Anton Chekhov

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  Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) wrote of the Russian period of depression and pessimism and is the acknowledged leader of the realistic school of the Russian short story. He has been compared to Guy de Maupassant for the masterful way in which he creates an atmosphere and narrates his stories to a climax. No other writer has the same ability to reveal the characters' souls in just two or three pages. Central themes in his works re mediocrity, the tragedy of pettiness, commonplaceness, the meaninglessness and emptiness of everyday life. In "The Encased Man" he describes the life of a schoolmaster whose existence is limited by petty rules, morals, inhibitions and unconscious fears. Despite these traits, the man finds himself on the verge of an unforeseen marriage to a boisterous, energetic, positive woman - in short, his complete opposite. But his character traits rear their heads and destiny rushes in upon him.

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  Honest Thief An

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

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  Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821 to distinguished multi-ethnic parents from a Lithuanian background.   
   
  His childhood years were at the family home in hospital grounds which also contained an orphanage, an insane asylum and a cemetery for criminals.  The young Fyodor often disobeyed his father by talking to the ill in the hospital gardens.   
   
  His health was compromised at age 9 when he experienced his first epileptic fit. By the time he was a teenager both parents had died and he was now enrolled in a military academy where he graduated and eventually became a Lieutenant in 1842.  He left military service the next year. 
   
  In 1846 he published his first novel ‘Poor Cow’ to great literary acclaim.  His next was unable to emulate that success but his short stories helped provide an income.  Life as an author was definitely difficult. As he began his next work he was arrested and incarcerated for treason and participation in the political and literary Petrashevsky Circle. Although the case was weak and unjustified he was sentenced to 4 years of hard labour followed by 5 years of military service in a Siberian regiment.  
   
  Despite the undoubted hardships and setbacks in his life, and whether they helped or hindered his writing, his talents produced many exceptional works of literature including ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘The Idiot’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov’.   
   
  Dostoevsky’s ability to get under the skin of his characters and show the inner workings of their mind was hugely influential and ahead of its time.  Interwoven with this was the influence of the broader social, spiritual and political forces at work in a person's psyche.   
   
  Fyodor Dostoevsky struggled financially and remained in poor health for much of his adult life.  He died from a lung haemorrhage on 9th February, 1881. 
   
  An Honest Thief. In this tale a man buys a down-and-out a drink and so begins a tale of friendship, of manipulation and ultimately of the truth.

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  The Seventh Man

  Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

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  Six men, shipwrecked on the ice and trapped in their shack by the bitter Arctic winter, might be excused for beginning to "see" things. But how was it that they all saw the same thing - the mysterious stranger?

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  The Cats of Ulthar

  H.P. Lovecraft

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  Cat haters beware. This piece by H.P. Lovecraft is largely memoirish, whereby the narrator is compelled to tell the reader about Ulthar after petting his own cat. When a travelling caravan passes through, a young orphan named Menes finds his beloved black kitten has gone missing and fears the worse—that his beloved kitten had suffered a torturous end at the hands of the town cat killers. Annoyed by the lack of action on the part of the townspeople, Menes invokes a prayer that results in the cats of the town rising and slaying the cat-killing couple. This action subsequently brings into effect a law that forbids the killing of cats in Ulthar.  

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  The Dead

  James Joyce

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  James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born on the 2nd February 1882 in Dublin into a middle-class family, and the eldest of ten surviving siblings 
   
  Admired as a brilliant student he briefly attended the Christian Brothers-run O'Connell School before excelling at the Jesuit schools of Clongowes and Belvedere.  From there he went on to attend University College Dublin from 1898, studying English, French and Italian 
   
  In 1902, Joyce was now in his early twenties, and went to Paris to study Medicine but soon abandoned his teachings.  Back in Dublin to attend to his dying Mother he met Nora Barnacle. They bonded immediately into a life-long match. Together they decided to emigrate to Europe.  The couple lived in Trieste, Rome, Paris, and finally Zürich where Joyce pursued a variety of jobs and ventures to supplement his literary pursuits but none of these paid off.  
   
  After publishing a poetry volume, ‘Chamber Music’, in 1907, his short story collection ‘The Dubliners’, in 1914, helped establish his talent in the rapidly changing world.  
   
  Although far from home Joyce’s literary heart and works were set in his recollections of Dublin.  Characters are close resemblances of family and friends and indeed enemies.  His landmark work ‘Ulysses’, published in 1922, is set in the streets and alleyways of the city as it parallels Homer’s Odyssey in a variety of styles including its famed stream of consciousness. 
   
  His pen continued to produce classics of the order of ‘A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man’ and ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ together with several volumes of poetry and a play ‘The Exiles, in 1918.   
   
  On the 11th January 1941, Joyce underwent surgery in Zürich for a perforated duodenal ulcer. The next day he fell into a coma. On the 13th after a brief period of lucidity in which he called for his wife and son he passed.  He was 58.

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  Conan Doyle - Selected Short...

  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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  Head Stories Audio presents a selection of 16 short stories by the creator of Sherlock Holmes. 
  Despite being over a century old, Conan Doyle's short stories continue to captivate readers and inspire other works of fiction. Many modern writers including Neil Gaiman, Michael Chabon, and Anthony Horowitz have paid homage to Conan Doyle and his world. These fascinating stories are sure to entertain, thrill, and intrigue you. 
  Although none of the stories feature the famous detective, a number of them could easily be from his case history. They feature as many a fascinating scenario and colourful character as were ever presented at Baker Street. 
  Narrated by Simon Hester. With original music. 
  (Please see supplementary pdf for descriptions of each story)

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