Publisher: Jovian Press
Utopia (Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia) is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More (1478-1535) published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs.
This century is crammed full of talents that showcase an enviable array of stories and genres. Across a hundred years the short story develops, becomes yet more emboldened, more accessible to a wider audience as these female authors challenge the literary bastions. 1 - The Top Ten - 19th Century Women 2 - The Dream by Mary Shelley 3 - The Old Nurses Story by Elizabeth Gaskell 4 - The Lifted Veil by George Eliot 5 - The Phantom Coach by Amelia Edwards 6 - A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett 7 - A New England Nun by Mary E Wilkins Freeman 8 - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 9 - Désirée's Baby by Kate Chopin 10 - Cohen of Trinity by Amy Levy 11 - Sould Belated by Edith WhartonShow book
First published in The Saturday Evening Post, The Ransom of Red Chief is a humorous short story written in 1910 by O. Henry. A pair of con men kidnap and attempt to ransom a prominent Alabama citizen’s son. Immediately they find themselves at the mercy of a particularly spoiled and clever boy who begins driving them mad. The ironic ending remains the story’s most enduring feature.Show book
The play begins with the guards of Elsinore Castle encountering the ghost of the recently deceased King Hamlet, the father of Prince Hamlet. The ghost appears to be a harbinger of doom, hinting at foul play surrounding the former king's death. Prince Hamlet is informed of this mysterious apparition and decides to meet the ghost, who reveals that he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, who has now assumed the throne and married Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is deeply disturbed by this revelation and the apparent betrayal by his mother. He grapples with his grief, anger, and a profound sense of disillusionment. To confirm the ghost's claims, Hamlet stages a play within a play called "The Mousetrap," which mirrors the circumstances of his father's murder. Claudius's reaction to this play confirms Hamlet's suspicions. As Hamlet navigates the complexities of the court, he feigns madness as a way to investigate further and protect himself. His erratic behavior confuses those around him, and he alienates his lover, Ophelia, and her brother, Laertes, in the process. Meanwhile, Hamlet's obsession with revenge intensifies, and he contemplates the moral and philosophical implications of taking another person's life. His famous soliloquies, such as "To be or not to be," reflect his inner turmoil and contemplation of existence and mortality. "Hamlet" is not only a story of revenge and political intrigue but also a profound exploration of the human psyche, existentialism, and the moral and emotional complexities of life. The character of Hamlet is an enduring symbol of the human condition, and his journey through the play continues to captivate and resonate with audiences to this day.Show book
Herbert George Wells (1866 – 1946) was a prolific English writer of science fiction stories and novels, and is credited with being the father of science fiction.""A Deal in Ostriches"" is an amusing tale about a situation on a ship returning from the Indies with several passengers and five ostriches on board. One of the ostriches swallows a valuable diamond - but nobody knows which bird it was. This leads to an auction of the ostriches, at which the bidding is frantic as the passengers calculate their chances for recovering the precious stone."Show book
"A week before the day set for her wedding, in a bright hour of early April, Hera rode forth from the park of Villa Barbiondi. Following the margin of the river, she trotted her horse to where the shores lay coupled by a bridge of pontoons—an ancient device of small boats and planking little different from the sort Cæsar’s soldiers threw across the same stream. She drew up and watched the strife going on between the bridge and the current—the boats straining at their anchor-chains and the water rioting between them. Italy has no lovelier valley than the one where flowed the river on which she looked, and in the gentler season there is no water-course more expressive of serene human character. But the river was tipsy to-day. The springtime sun, in its passages of splendour from Alp to Alp, had set free the winter snows, and Old Adda, flushed by his many cups, frolicked ruthlessly to the sea. Peasant folk in that part of the Brianza had smiled a few days earlier to see the great stream change its sombre green for an earthy hue, because it was a promise of the vernal awakening. Yet their joy was shadowed, as it always is in freshet days, by dread of the havoc so often attending the spree of the waters." The sword of wealth by Henry Wilton Thomas.Show book
When Stepan Ivanovitch Kutsyn, the mayor of a town, learns that a Persian magnate is visiting, he instantly becomes intrigued. The mayor had already received various medals and badges, such as the badge of the Red Cross and the badge of the Society of Saving from Drowning. He also had made an impressive looking badge for himself to add to his jacket. The presence of the Persian magnate, Rahat-Helam, created the possibility that the mayor could receive the order of the Lion and the Sun, without having to perform any of the services generally required to receive such an honor. The mayor visits Rahat-Helam at his hotel and introduces himself. Quickly, the mayor learns that there is a language barrier between them. As a result, he uses paintings on the wall and gestures to communicate his thoughts. This form of communication seems to work, and soon Stepan and Rahat-Helam are spending time together. Stepan shows the vistor around the town, making a point to take him to a particular gate in town with a lion on it. He points to the lion, to the sun in the sky, and then to his chest. Although the town makes fun of their mayor for his underhanded efforts to get this honor, after the visitor leaves, he does indeed get the order. But is he satisfied?Show book
