Publisher: Avia Artis
“Free Air” is a book by Sinclair Lewis an American writer. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. “Free Air” is a road novel about Claire Boltwood, who, in the early days of the 20th century, travels by automobile from New York City to the Pacific Northwest, where she falls in love with a nice, down-to-earth young man and gives up her snobbish Estate.
Though brief in length, George Eliot’s (Mary Ann Evans) Silas Marner is a beautifully nuanced tale. It touches on many themes such as social acceptance, the harshness of legalistic religion, the equally harsh consequences of familial expectations and the power of a simple but fierce redemptive love. The touching story is gently unfolded by Eliot in writing which beautifully captures the tragic disfunctions of the Cass family and the humorous characters of Raveloe who slowly grow to accept the strange Weaver in their midst. At its heart is Silas Marner himself, enigmatic and remote to those who don’t know him, but we who are allowed to glimpse his bruised heart, know that restoration may still be his. Head Stories Audio presents Silas Marner by George Eliot. Narrated by Simon Hester. With original music.Show book
Shakespeare’s controversial comedy about a man’s quest to break the will of his headstrong wife.Whether this tale is motivated by misogyny, or is simply a satirical critique of men’s treatment of women is a matter up for much debate. Regardless of its potentially polarizing intentions, The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s most intriguing comedies. Framed as a play within a play, it tells the story of the assertive Katherina’s marriage to Petruchio, who resorts to all sorts of psychological abuse in order to force her to be a traditional obedient wife. The inspiration for the Broadway play Kiss Me, Kate, The Taming of the Shrew is a fascinating glimpse into the sexual politics of the Elizabethan era.Show book
The classic novel about a man torn between his devotion to his mother and his desire for a lover. Cited by the Modern Library as one of the ten best twentieth-century novels in the English language, Sons and Lovers is considered by many to be D. H. Lawrence’s masterpiece, with its deep psychological insight into the bond between mother and son, and the difficulties of emotionally separating from a parent. Considered a semiautobiographical work, it follows protagonist Paul Morel as he experiences the loss of his older brother, hostility toward his coal miner father, and a burden of responsibility toward his more genteel mother, who inspires maddening mixed feelings in him. Paul struggles to find room in his life for a meaningful, romantic relationship of his own as he works to hold his family together.Show book
Stacy Aumonier was a British writer best known for his outstanding short stories. Nobel Prize-winner John Galsworthy described Aumonier as 'one of the best short story writers of all time' and predicted that he would 'outlive all the writers of his day'. Aumonier wrote over 85 short stories in his lifetime. He has been described as the 'British Maupassant', owing to his captivating plots and his ability to create complex characters with just a few lines of carefully selected prose. His intensely visual prose meant his works were readily adaptable to the cinema screen, and several of his short stories were adapted by Alfred Hitchcock.'One Law for the Rich' is the tale of two brothers, one a rich and successful businessman, the other a poor man whose business only just makes ends meet. At a cousin's funeral, both men catch a stinking cold. One is able to afford the best doctors and medicines London can provide...the other must rely on home remedies. But how will each invalid fare?Show book
"The Black Arrow" is a swashbuckling adventure that follows the protagonist, Richard Shelton, as he becomes embroiled in the conflict between the House of Lancaster and the House of York during the tumultuous Wars of the Roses. The novel is filled with action, intrigue, and romance, as Richard navigates through political and personal challenges.Show book
“It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.”“Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life.”? H.G. Wells, The Time MachineHerbert George Wells was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, history, satire, biography and autobiography. His work also included two books on recreational war games. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels and is often called the "father of science fiction", along with Jules Verne.During his own lifetime, however, he was most prominent as a forward-looking, even prophetic social critic who devoted his literary talents to the development of a progressive vision on a global scale. A futurist, he wrote a number of utopian works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television and something resembling the World Wide Web. His science fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, invisibility, and biological engineering. Wells's earliest specialized training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context. He was also an outspoken Socialist from a young age, often (but not always, as at the beginning of the First World War) sympathizing with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote little science fiction, while he sometimes indicated on official documents that his profession was that of journalist. Novels such as Kipps and The History of Mr Polly, which describe lower-middle-class life, led to the suggestion that he was a worthy successor to Charles Dickens, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted a diagnosis of English society as a whole. Wells was a diabetic and co-founded the charity The Diabetic AssociationShow book
