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  My Mortal Enemy

  Willa Cather

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  The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of O Pioneers! presents a moving study of an ambitious woman and her troubled marriage in this 1926 novella.When young Myra Driscoll is forced to choose between a large inheritance from her great-uncle and marrying the man she loves, she follows her heart. She and Oswald Henshawe leave their small Illinois town to pursue a future together in New York City.Years later, fifteen-year-old Nellie Birdseye meets Myra Henshawe and her husband. She thinks of Myra as a legend at first. But the more Nellie gets to know the bold, seemingly sophisticated Myra, the more she sees the reality beneath the fantasy—and her romantic notions begin to slip away . . . Known for novels like O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark, Willa Cather wrote predominately about pioneers and the American West. In 1923, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel One of Ours.

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  Moby Dick

  Herman Melville

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  Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as a Great American Novel was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner said he wished he had written the book himself, and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written". Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous.Melville began writing Moby-Dick in February 1850, and finished 18 months later, a year longer than he had anticipated. Melville drew on his experience as a common sailor from 1841 to 1844, including several years on whalers, and on wide reading in whaling literature. The white whale is modeled on the notoriously hard-to-catch albino whale Mocha Dick, and the book's ending is based on the sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820. His literary influences include Shakespeare and the Bible. The detailed and realistic descriptions of whale hunting and of extracting whale oil, as well as life aboard ship among a culturally diverse crew, are mixed with exploration of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of God. In addition to narrative prose, Melville uses styles and literary devices ranging from songs, poetry, and catalogs to Shakespearean stage directions, soliloquies, and asides. In August 1850, with the manuscript perhaps half finished, he met Nathaniel Hawthorne and was deeply moved by his Mosses from an Old Manse, which he compared to Shakespeare in its cosmic ambitions. This encounter may have inspired him to revise and expand Moby-Dick, which is dedicated to Hawthorne, "in token of my admiration for his genius".The book was first published (in three volumes) as The Whale in London in October 1851, and under its definitive title in a single-volume edition in New York in November. The London publisher, Richard Bentley, censored or changed sensitive passages; Melville made revisions as well, including a last-minute change to the title for the New York edition. The whale, however, appears in the text of both editions as Moby Dick, without the hyphen. Reviewers in Britain were largely favorable, though some objected that the tale seemed to be told by a narrator who perished with the ship, as the British edition lacked the Epilogue recounting Ishmael's survival. American reviewers were more hostile. About 3,200 copies of the book were sold during the author's life.

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  Robinson Crusoe

  Daniel Defoe

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  The son of a middle-class Englishman, Robinson Crusoe takes to the sea to find adventure. 
   
  And find it he does when he is shipwrecked on a deserted South American island for thirty-five years. 
   
  After scavenging his broken ship for useful items, he had only his skills and ingenuity to keep him alive. For twenty-four years there was to be no one else on the island. In the middle of that twenty-fourth year he rescued a native about to be eaten by cannibals who were using his island for a place of feasting. Crusoe named this man Friday, after the day of his rescue. Friday became his faithful servant and friend, even after they were able to leave the island. 
   
  Listeners will enjoy Crusoe's determination for survival against all odds and admire the spirituality that gave him the strength to survive. 
   
   This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

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  Daisy Miller

  Henry James

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  A young American woman searches for love and independence in Europe in this iconic tale.  Old World and New World values collide in this classic coming-of-age romance. A delicious comedy of manners from master storyteller Henry James, Daisy Miller has long reserved its place in the annals of America’s most oft-read novellas, and its examination of culture and class differences continues to resonate today—on both sides of the Atlantic.   Annie “Daisy” Miller is a new-money American girl from Schenectady, New York, on a European tour with her family. While at an upper-crust lakefront retreat in Switzerland, Daisy’s younger brother, Randolph, introduces her to the older, more refined Frederick Winterbourne, and the Swiss-educated man is stunned by Daisy’s unique combination of naïveté and flirtatiousness. As rumors fly regarding Daisy’s active nightlife and her suspect relationship with a young Italian man, Winterbourne chases her to Rome, his meddlesome aunt questioning the girl’s breeding and propriety all the while.   Rich in complex characterizations and superb in its economies of form, Daisy Miller is a must-read for serious connoisseurs of American literature, who will appreciate how James renders such an expansive world within a relatively tight space. Written by a master of his craft, this novella is easily one of James’s most beloved works, timeless in its approach to the complexities of the human heart.  This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

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  Under The Sunset Short Story...

  Bram Stoker

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  "Under the Sunset" was Bram Stoker's first short story collection written in 1881. These short stories were intended for children and includes the following stories: "Under The Sunset", "The Rose Prince", "The Invisible Giant", and much more.

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  Bambi [Classic Tales Edition]

  Felix Salten

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  Complex, thought provoking, and beautifully written, Felix Salten’s original Bambi isn’t the simplistic tale told in film. While Bambi grows and matures, he sees that the creatures of the forest are constantly forced to come to terms with their own mortality, for death comes unexpectedly and frequently. At times, the thundering third leg of “He” is heard, killing the unwary and exposed. Bambi learns the vital tools to survive in a world that is perpetually hostile.

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