Other books that might interest you

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  Hard Times

  Charles Dickens

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  Step into the industrial heart of 19th-century England with Charles Dickens' powerful social critique, Hard Times. In this compelling tale, Dickens explores the stark realities of a society driven by utilitarianism, class division, and the relentless demands of industry. This story unfolds in the fictional mill town of Coketown, where human compassion is overshadowed by cold calculation and where the struggles of the working class clash with the ambitions of the wealthy. 
  Meet Thomas Gradgrind, a strict and fact-driven schoolmaster whose rigid philosophy of life affects his family and community in profound ways. As the lives of his children, Louisa and Tom, intersect with those of mill workers like the resilient Stephen Blackpool and the lively Sissy Jupe, Dickens weaves a rich tapestry of human resilience, love, and the longing for a better world. 
  With vivid characters, biting satire, and an unflinching examination of social inequality, Hard Times remains a timeless classic that resonates with modern audiences. This audiobook brings Dickens' masterful prose to life, offering an engaging and thought-provoking listening experience. Perfect for lovers of literary classics and those seeking a deeper understanding of humanity’s enduring struggles, Hard Times is a must-hear journey into the soul of Victorian England.

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  Top 10 Short Stories The - Men...

  James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Arnold...

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  Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart.  A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. 
   
  In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?  
   
  The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme.  Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature. 
   
  Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made.  If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something. 
   
  A decade of catastrophic worldwide war.  Empires in tectonic collision, a society heaving under the yoke, tired of sacrifice, ready for revolution.  In literature ideas were explored and detailed revealing a world and people that seem so long ago but also very near. 
   
  1 - The Top 10 - The 1910's - The Men - An Introduction 
  2 - The Dead - Part 1 by James Joyce 
  3 - The Dead - Part 2 by James Joyce 
  4 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 
  5 - The Interlopers by Saki the pseudonym for H H Munro 
  6 - Odour of Chrysanthemums by D H Lawrence 
  7 - The Revolutionist by Mikhail Petrovich Artzybashev 
  8 - Casting the Runes by M R James 
  9 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No 1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson 
  10 - Hands by Sherwood Anderson 
  11 - The Matador of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett 
  12 - August Heat by W F Harvey

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  Adventures of Chanticleer and...

  Brothers Grimm

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  A rooster and hen go to eat nuts. They make a carriage of nutshells to come back in; the hen rides and the rooster draws it. The duck attacks them for eating nuts, but the rooster defeats him, and he lets himself be harnessed to the carriage instead. A pin and needle join them. They offer an innkeeper the hen's egg and the duck to let them stay, but in the morning, they eat the hen's egg, stick the needle in the innkeeper's chair and the pin in his towel. The duck also goes off. The innkeeper is pricked by both the needle and pin and the eggshell from the hen flies at his eyes. He resolves to never have such ragamuffins in his inn again.

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  The Test

  Maria Krestovskaya

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  The Test is a short, powerful piece that describes a day in the life of a woman, whose past comes to haunt her just as she thinks she is settled and perfectly safe in her life. Faced with memories of long ago as well as considerations and responsibilities of today, she must make a difficult choice she knows will change her life and affect the lives of those around her.

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  Frankenstein

  Mary Shelley

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  Far from its popular image, the story of Frankenstein as told by Mary Shelley is not a tale that finds horror in a hideous "monster" or a "crazed" scientist. The darkness in the narrative is found in the profound loneliness of both Creator and Created as they seek one another in a tragic cycle of unfulfilled longing and revenge. 
  This powerful novel, first published in 1818, still surprises and shocks us with the fundamental questions about the moral boundaries of human discovery and helps us to question what it means to be human.

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  The Emancipated

  George Gissing

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  The Emancipated explores the complexities of marriage, personal freedom, and societal expectations in late Victorian England. The story centers on Everard Domby, a disillusioned barrister trapped in a loveless marriage to a woman whose conventional mindset stifles his intellectual and emotional growth. As he grows closer to Dora Mead, a divorced and independent-minded woman considered scandalous by society, Everard is forced to confront his own ideals versus social reality. Gissing critiques the institution of marriage and the rigid moral codes of the time, portraying the inner turmoil of individuals torn between duty and desire. With psychological depth and sharp social observation, the novel questions what it truly means to be free—especially for those who challenge the norms of family, gender, and class.

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