Publisher: Greenbooks Editore
The novel is set in a village in Puritan New England. The main character is Hester Prynne, a young woman who has borne a child out of wedlock. Hester believes herself a widow, but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives in New England very much alive and conceals his identity.
Three superb ghost stories by master storyteller, Rudyard Kipling. The Finest Story in the World: When the young bank clerk Charlie Mears comes up with an innovative idea for a new story, he has no notion just how amazing his tale is. Inspired by dreams which are memories of former lives, he takes us back to the vivid and brutal world of ancient Greece. But Charlie's own literary skill is not equal to the task of writing his novel. His friend must take on the challenge of extracting the finest tale in the world from the reluctant and ever-distracted brain of the young clerk. But just as there seems to be some progress, something most unexpected occurs.... The Finest Story in the World: When the young bank clerk Charlie Mears comes up with an innovative idea for a new story, he has no notion just how amazing his tale is. Inspired by dreams which are memories of former lives, he takes us back to the vivid and brutal world of ancient Greece. But Charlie's own literary skill is not equal to the task of writing his novel. His friend must take on the challenge of extracting the finest tale in the world from the reluctant and ever-distracted brain of the young clerk. But just as there seems to be some progress, something most unexpected occurs....The Phantom Rickshaw: An uncanny tale from the Raj. When Jack Pansay's affair with Mrs. Keith-Wessington comes to an unseemly end, he believes the matter to be over. But Mrs. Wessington's obsession with him continues year after year, as she stalks him in her rickshaw around the walks of Simla. When Pansay announces his engagement to Kitty Mannering, the trauma is too much for Mrs. Wessington and she dies shortly afterwards. But this is only the beginning of Pansay's torment. From now on, the ghost of Mrs. Wessington appears in her rickshaw wherever he goes in her eternal quest to win him back. "They": A long underrated masterpiece of Kipling's brilliant narration, They is a hauntingly beautiful tale of eternal love and loss. During a motor trip, the writer chances upon a country house which is visited by elusive and mysterious children, and meets the equally mysterious blind lady who lives there. Fascinated, enchanted, and yet somehow unsettled by the experience, he finds himself repeatedly drawn back to the house until finally the uncanny truth dawns. The Phantom Rickshaw: An uncanny tale from the Raj. When Jack Pansay's affair with Mrs. Keith-Wessington comes to an unseemly end, he believes the matter to be over. But Mrs. Wessington's obsession with him continues year after year, as she stalks him in her rickshaw around the walks of Simla. When Pansay announces his engagement to Kitty Mannering, the trauma is too much for Mrs. Wessington and she dies shortly afterwards. But this is only the beginning of Pansay's torment. From now on, the ghost of Mrs. Wessington appears in her rickshaw wherever he goes in her eternal quest to win him back. "They": A long underrated masterpiece of Kipling's brilliant narration, They is a hauntingly beautiful tale of eternal love and loss. During a motor trip, the writer chances upon a country house which is visited by elusive and mysterious children, and meets the equally mysterious blind lady who lives there. Fascinated, enchanted, and yet somehow unsettled by the experience, he finds himself repeatedly drawn back to the house until finally the uncanny truth dawns.Show book
A collection of twenty-five tales, including “The Gift of the Magi,” from one of America’s most successful writers of popular short stories. At the turn of the twentieth century, one man captured America’s imagination in his works of short fiction. O. Henry’s clever and engaging stories, often with surprise endings, had mass appeal. The title of this book, the author’s second collection, references the population of New York City, where many of the stories are set, at the time of publication. It features some of his best-known works, including “The Gift of the Magi,” The Cop and the Anthem,” and “The Furnished Room.” “The tale, a simply structured, exquisitely told story of self-sacrifice, generosity, and love, closed with the O. Henry signature: an ironic twist . . . It’s a reminder of the way we should be living, with love first, giving second, and possession below all.” —The Atlantic on “The Gift of the Magi”Show book
A knot of monks happens upon a gallows in the middle of a dark forest. Hanging from the gallows is a fresh corpse, and underneath the dangling wretch a young woman performs a haunting dance. When Ambrosius falls in love with this outcast woman, his efforts to suppress his natural feelings result in a gradual descent toward calamity and tragedy. Bierce’s subtle transformation of the monk Ambrosius from innocent monk to violent zealot is masterfully done, ranking this among Bierce’s finest achievements.Show book
Originally published in The New Yorker in 1954, The Ponder Heart is easily Eudora Welty’s most comic novel, a lighthearted burlesque that rivals Caldwell’s Tobacco Road for capturing rural idioms, and the novels of Mark Twain for high farce. Edna Earle, a person of large distinction in Clay County, and the talkative owner of the Beulah Hotel, tells the story of her Uncle Daniel Ponder, a local hero whose over-affection for society compels him to give everything he owns away. The disappearance of Uncle Daniel’s second wife, the waifish and willowy Bonnie Dee Peacock, leads to his arrest for murder. The trial, which comprises the second half of the novel, is a masterpiece of courtroom anarchy. A cast of Dickensian characters coupled with Edna’s hysterically accurate observations of small-town life, transport the reader, like a raucous family drive, to a truly original conclusion.Show book
Originally published in the 1852 Christmas edition of Dickens' journal Household Words, The Child's Story is the account of a man's life from childhood to the present as told to his grandson in the form of a fairytale about a traveler and the people he meets. This version of The Child's Story is part of Dreamscape's The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens.Show book
James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet. His short story, The Dead, the concluding story in Dubliners, often considered as one of the best works of short fiction, concerns a Christmas-time gathering in Dublin. With a beautiful use of language and the epiphany common to all the stories in Dubliners this book will remain in your thoughts long after the final emotional passages.Show book
