Publisher: Charles River Editors
William Morris (1834 – 1896) was an English novelist, poet, and social activist. Morris was especially famous for his contributions to the modern fantasy genre. This edition of News from Nowhere includes a table of contents.
After losing her father and her husband, Selina Peake is left to raise her only son on the farm that was left to her. Dirk Peake, a tenacious boy who grows up to be a successful bond salesman, must come to terms with his own regrets later in life after he decides not to pursue architecture, a passion that both he and his mother shared. This classic novel about family, immigration, and the role of art and culture in society asks an age-old question: Can money really buy happiness?Show book
While exploring Shakespeare's plays with her students, Paula Marantz Cohen discovered that teaching and discussing his plays unlocked a surprising sense of compassion in the classroom. In this short and illuminating book, she shows how Shakespeare's genius lay with his ability to arouse empathy, even when his characters exist in alien contexts and behave in reprehensible ways. Cohen takes listeners through a selection of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and The Merchant of Venice, to demonstrate the ways in which Shakespeare thought deeply and clearly about how we treat "the other." Cohen argues that only through close reading of Shakespeare can we fully appreciate his empathetic response to race, class, gender, and age. Wise, eloquent, and thoughtful, this book is a forceful argument for literature's power to champion what is best in us.Show book
Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was a prominent modernist writer of short fiction and a close associate of D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. "The Black Cap" is a sketch about a woman leaving her husband and eloping with her lover. But then her lover turns up at the station wearing a piece of totally inexplicable and unacceptable headgear...Show book
In the heart of London, during a chilly Christmas Eve, a tale of redemption and the transformative power of goodwill unfolds in Charles Dickens' timeless masterpiece, "A Christmas Carol." The story introduces us to Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old man who values wealth above all else and has long abandoned the joy and compassion of the holiday season. Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his long-deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, condemned to an eternity of torment for his own avarice in life, arrives weighed down by heavy chains made of cashboxes, ledgers, and padlocks, a grim testament to the price of a selfish existence. Marley warns Scrooge that he, too, is bound for a similar fate unless he changes his ways. To aid in this transformation, Scrooge will be visited by three more spirits: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The story's power lies in the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge, as he confronts his own misdeeds and awakens to the true spirit of Christmas. As he witnesses the lives of those around him, his icy heart begins to thaw. The Cratchit family's humble celebration, despite their meager means, touches him deeply, and he is especially moved by the vulnerability of Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit's ailing son. Scrooge's transformation culminates when he is confronted with the vision of his own lonely death, unloved and unmissed. Filled with remorse and newfound understanding, he implores the spirit for a second chance, a chance to change his ways and embrace the spirit of giving, love, and compassion that embodies the true essence of Christmas. "A Christmas Carol" serves as a timeless reminder that it is never too late to change, to find the joy in life's simplest pleasures, and to share the wealth of kindness and goodwill with those around us, especially during the holiday season.Show book
The travelling tobacco pedlar, Dominicus Pike, learns from a traveller he meets on the road, of the terrible murder of Mr. Higginbotham of Kimballton the previous evening. Once the traveller has gone, it puzzles Dominicus that the news could have travelled so quickly from Kimballton which is sixty miles away. Nevertheless, Dominicus passes on the sensational news everywhere he goes and enjoys being the centre of attention. Things go awry when a witness points out that Mr. Higginbotham was seen alive that very morning. Dominicus leaves town next day in a hurry...but then meets another man who again confirms specific details of the murder of Mr. Higginbotham - saying it had happened the preceding night. Once again, in the next town, Dominicus spreads the sensational gossip - but again, cast-iron witnesses prove that Mr. Higginbotham is still alive. Dominicus is again hounded out of town. Now he determines to go and investigate the state of Mr. Higginbotham's vitality himself...Show book
Unlike many of Lovecraft’s stories, this story takes place in Greece, and more importantly on a mountain that was supposedly watched over by Pan. Kalos and Musides, two friends, live here and when Kalos falls ill and dies, Musides decides to use his sculpting powers to use. He erects a great monument to Kalos over his tomb, but an oak tree decides to overtake it, shaping into what looks like a deformed and monstrous human figure. Musides’ fears about the tree sapping the vital force from his friend’s grave are finally struct down by lightning – and with it the whole monument.Show book
