Publisher: Fractal Press
An exciting collection of stories from W.W. Jacobs, a London based novelist famous for his horror and travel stories. This volume includes some of his iconic work: The Monkey's Paw, The Lady of the Barge, Bill's Paper Chase, The Well, Cupboard Love, In the Library, Captain Rogers, A Tiger's Skin, A Mixed Proposal, An Adulteration Act, A Golden Venture, and Three at Table.
The most famous of the three canticles that compose The Divine Comedy, "Inferno" describes Dante's descent into Hell midway through his life with Virgil as a guide. As he descends through nine concentric circles of increasingly agonizing torture, Dante encounters doomed souls that include the pagan Aeneas, the liar Odysseus, the suicidal Cleopatra, and his own political enemies, damned for their deceit. Led by leering demons, Dante must ultimately journey with Virgil to the deepest level of all-for it is only by encountering Satan himself, in the heart of Hell, that he can truly understand the tragedy of sin.This version of the classic poem is the translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poem's first American translator.Show book
Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 and the first edition, published on 19th December, was so successful that it sold out in just six days. The publishers had to produce two further editions between Christmas and the new year to meet the demand, and the novella has never been out of print. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a greedy money-lender, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is first visited by the ghost of his former business partner and then by three spirits - the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge's lack of compassion to him, compelling him to act more compassionately in the future and to honor Christmas in his heart.Show book
Sanditon—an eleven-chapter fragment left at Jane Austen's death completed by an Austen devotee and novelist— is a charming addition to Austen's novels on England's privileged classes and the deception, snobbery, and unexpected romances that occur in their world. When Charlotte Heywood accepts an invitation to visit the newly fashionable seaside resort of Sanditon, she is introduced to a full range of polite society, from reigning local dowager Lady Denham to her impoverished ward Clara, and from the handsome, feckless Sidney Parker to his amusing, if hypochondriac, sisters. A heroine whose clear-sighted commens sense is often at war with romance, Charlotte cannot help observing around her both folly and passion in many guises. But can the levelheaded Charlotte herself resist the desires of the heart?Show book
Washington Irving is, arguably, one of America's greatest writers. He spent many years in Europe and kept records of his observations, which formed the basis of such classics as "Old Christmas," "Bracebridge Hall" and "Tales of a Traveler." This volume is the latest entry in a series of collected essays written during these early years. The fragility of the heart forms the basis of many of these short stories. Irving handles the issues of love, heartbreak and death in a caring and compassionate way.Show book
Ben-Hur is a story of two very different heroes. Judah Ben-Hur, a prince of Jerusalem, is involved in an accident to the Roman procurator which is taken to be intentional. He is seized and sent to the fleet as a galley-slave, while his family is imprisoned and the family goods confiscated. When Ben-Hur saves the fleet captain from drowning after his ship is sunk in a fight with pirates, that officer adopts him as son and heir. With Roman training, Ben-Hur distinguishes himself in the arena and the palistrae and appears to be on the way to high military command. With the help of a faithful family retainer and a generous Arab sheik, Ben-Hur is enabled to take part in a widely touted chariot race, where one of the other charioteers is the boyhood friend who connived to punish him for the accident and split his estate. That rival is crippled, financially and bodily, in a no-holds-barred race (memorable from the 1959 movie with Charlton Heston). Ben-Hur turns his attention to the prophesied King of the Jews, when through the sheik he meets Balthasar, one of the Three Wise Men, and hears of the child born years ago. Will Ben-Hur be the general who brings victories to the King, and finally liberates Israel from the oppressive Roman yoke? In his quest for the answer, Ben-Hur seeks out the Nazarene, now rumored to be The Messiah. THAT hero needs no introduction. Curious about the lack of kingly trappings and ambitions about this man, Ben-Hur begins to suspect that his kingdom is not of this world. And with him, we receive a gut-wrenching eye-witness view of Jesus’ arrest, humiliation, and crucifixion. Lewis Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana.Show book
"Moby-Dick; or, The Whale" is a novel by American writer Herman Melville, published in 1851. The story follows Ishmael, a young sailor who joins the whaling ship Pequod, captained by the obsessive and enigmatic Ahab. Captain Ahab is bent on killing Moby Dick, a giant white sperm whale that had previously destroyed Ahab's former ship and severed his leg. The novel is renowned for its intricate narrative structure, elaborate symbolism, and exploration of themes like obsession, the sublime, and the complexities of good and evil.Show book
