Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

• 

  After Twenty years - From their...

  O Henry

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  William Sydney Porter was born on 11th September 1862 in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 3 his mother died from tuberculosis. From an early age it was clear Porter had a large appetite for reading as he absorbed the world around him. 
  He first attended at a school run by his aunt before enrolling at the Lindsey Street High School and then worked at his uncle’s drugstore and gained a pharmacists’ license in 1881.  
  A persistent cough took him to Texas in the hope that a change of climate would help his symptoms. He took on various types of work, initially from ranch hand and cook and then as varied as pharmacist, draftsman, bank teller and journalist. He also began to write, though for now, purely as a hobby. 
  He was a member of several singing and dramatic groups when he met 17 year old Athol Estes, daughter of a wealthy Austin family. Despite her mother’s objection owing to Athol’s tuberculosis, they began courting and in July 1887, they eloped and soon married. 
  Athol, impressed by his writing, encouraged him to get them published. A job as a draftsman at the Texas General Land Office paid a healthy $100 dollars per month and life was good. 
  But then life turned cruel. His son died a few hours after birth although a daughter, Margaret, came the following year.  His job had to be vacated but another was found at the First National Bank of Austin. The bank operated informally and Porter was careless in keeping the books. He lost that job but began writing for the humourous weekly The Rolling Stone and the Houston Post. Some time later the federal Bank auditors went through his former accounts and he was arrested on charges of embezzlement. 
  Porter fled the day before his trial to Honduras. Holed up for several months he began to write.  Athol had become too ill to travel to meet him and learning that her health was deteriorating he surrendered to the court in February 1897.  Bail was obtained so that he could stay with Athol during her final days.  
  Porter was sentenced to five years at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus. His pharmacy qualifications got him the job of night druggist.  His sentence also gave him time to write and publish fourteen short stories. In December 1899 in McClure’s Magazine he published a short story as O Henry.  
  He was released two years early in July 1901, and reunited with Margaret, now 11, in Pittsburgh.  He now began his most prolific period of writing; a short story per week for the New York World, while also publishing works in other magazines.  Eventually over 600 of his short stories were published. 
  Porter was a heavy drinker and in 1908 his health, which had deteriorated for several years, took a dramatic turn for the worse, as did his writing. 
  O Henry died of cirrhosis of the liver complicated by diabetes and an enlarged heart on 5th June 1910.<

  Mostra libro

• 

  The Inevitable White Man

  Jack London

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “The Inevitable White Man” written by Jack London: So said Captain Woodward. We sat in the parlor of Charley Roberts’ pub in Apia, drinking long Abu Hameds compounded and shared with us by the aforesaid Charley Roberts, who claimed the recipe direct from Stevens, famous for having invented the Abu Hamed at a time when he was spurred on by Nile thirst—the Stevens who was responsible for “With Kitchener to Kartoun,” and who passed out at the siege of Ladysmith.

  Mostra libro

• 

  Les Misérables - Audiobook

  Victor Hugo, Classic Audiobooks,...

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Les Misérables is a sweeping epic of human suffering, resistance, and redemption set against the backdrop of 19th-century France. The novel centers on Jean Valjean, a man who transforms from a hardened ex-convict into a symbol of compassion and moral strength. His journey touches the lives of others, including the tragic Fantine, the innocent Cosette, the determined Marius, and the relentless Inspector Javert.Through intersecting stories of love, poverty, injustice, and revolution, Victor Hugo reveals the deep fractures of society while upholding the enduring hope for change. The novel is both a personal tale of redemption and a broader cry for social reform.Profound, emotional, and timeless, Les Misérables remains one of the most powerful novels ever written.

  Mostra libro

• 

  A Warning to the Curious

  M. R. James

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  '… into this calm environment let the ominous thing put out its head, unobtrusively at first, and then more insistently, until it holds the stage.'
  
  Often ranked as one of M.R. James's most unnerving narratives, A Warning to the Curious is an ominous tale of the consequences of an enquiring mind.
  
  First published in the literary journal, London Mercury, in 1925, A Warning to the Curious follows young antiquary and archaeologist Paxton, holidaying on the south-east coast of England. During his stay, Paxton hears of a peculiar legend: buried deep in the Suffolk soil lies a lost crown, protecting England from invasion and keeping the land safe from disorder. When Paxton learns that the last surviving member of the Ager family – the bloodline whose responsibility it was to guard the crown – had passed, the opportunity was too great to waste. With a burning curiosity to quench, Paxton manages to locate the crown and retrieve it from the earth. However, as Paxton quickly begins to realise, the cost of his actions prove chillingly devastating… Expertly narrated by Jonathan Keeble, this audiobook edition is a ghost story for the ages.
  
  M.R. James (1862 – 1936) was an English scholar and author. He was provost of Kings College, Cambridge, and of Eton College. Widely known for his academic work in medieval studies, he was also admired for his ghost stories which remain largely influential on modern horror to this day.

  Mostra libro

• 

  All Quiet on the Western Front

  Erich Maria Remarque

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  All Quiet on the Western Front" is one of the most significant literary works of the 20th century. Its characters, like the author himself, belong to the "lost generation" - a generation whose youth was lost in the trenches of World War I. 
  Eighteen and nineteen-year-olds arrive at the front almost directly from school, encouraged by their teachers to fulfill their duty to the fatherland. Yet they question what this duty means, aware they're shooting at young enemies just like themselves, who similarly long for home and peace and question the war's purpose. 
  The cruelty of the war machine, in which they are mere cogs, first strips them of their humanity and eventually their lives - making them quite literally a "lost generation."

  Mostra libro

• 

  Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

  Conan Doyle

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Delve into the ingenious world of "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle, where mystery meets masterful deduction. Join the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal friend Dr. Watson as they unravel a series of baffling cases. From the perilous "Silver Blaze" to the enigmatic "The Final Problem," each story showcases Holmes' unparalleled intellect and keen observation. Doyle's collection enthralls with cunning puzzles and the timeless battle between good and evil.

  Mostra libro