Other books that might interest you

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  The Way of All Flesh

  Samuel Butler

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  "I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific big-wigs to give me a shilling, I can, and I know I can, heave bricks into the middle of them."With The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler threw a subversive brick at the smug face of Victorian domesticity. Published in 1903, a year after Butler's death, the novel is a thinly disguised account of his own childhood and youth "in the bosom of a Christian family." With irony, wit, and sometimes rancor, he savaged contemporary values and beliefs, turning inside-out the conventional novel of a family's life through several generations.The Way of All Flesh tells the story of Ernest Pontifex and his struggles with Victorian mores, his restrictive, highly religious family, and Victorian society itself. Butler is remembered as one of the greatest of the anti-Victorians, whose ideas reflected accurately the new, more liberal society that was to come following the death of England's great Queen, and the beginning of a new era.

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  Henry VIII (Argo Classics)

  William Shakespeare

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  William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic prose and verse read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. 
  ‘Of all losses, time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.’ 
  Shakespeare's Henry VIII is a story of a ruthless race to power and the desire for an heir. 
  King Henry VIII listens to Cardinal Wolsey too much and gives 
  him power, which the Cardinal uses to convict a duke of treason. Henry meets Anne Boleyn, divorces his wife Katharine, and marries Anne. Anne gives birth to Princess Elizabeth who the Archbishop prophesies will become great. 
  All of the Shakespeare plays within the ARGO Classics catalogue are performed by the Marlowe Dramatic Society and Professional Players. The Marlowe was founded in 1907 with a mission to focus on effective delivery of verse, respect the integrity of texts, and rescue neglected plays by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and the less performed plays of Shakespeare himself. The Marlowe has performed annually at Cambridge Arts Theatre since its opening in 1936 and continues to produce some of the finest actors of their generations. 
  Thurston Dart, Professor of Music at London University and a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, directed the music for this production. 
  The full cast includes: Frank Duncan; Robert Speaight; Richard Dare; Donald Layne-Smith; Denis McCarthy; Ian Lang; Peter Orr; Gary Watson; Terrence Hardiman; Michael Bates; Trevor Nunn; John Barton; Margaretta Scott; Prunella Scales; Vivienne Chatterton. 
  This top performing theatre production, hailed as one of the best, brings to life the European history through the lens of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. The cast's delivery of verse and respect for the integrity of the text is unparalleled, making it a must-see for all theatre enthusiasts. 
  For fans of Richard Parsons (GCSE English Shakespeare Text Guide), and Arthur Miller (Incident at Vichy).

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  Edgar Allan Poe's: The Cask of...

  Edgar Allan Poe, Jason Markiewitz

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  Markiewitz Audioworks Presents Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado."  This production is a full-cast audio dramatization (with incredible original music and magnificent sound effects) of one of the most revered stories of revenge in literary history.  This adaptation takes a unique look into the crime itself and establishes a fresh perspective on why Montresor is recounting the story at all.  With three new characters and never-before heard dialogue/effects, this rendition of The Cask of Amontillado is sure to entertain even the most well-versed Poe reader.Cast:Montresor - Brennan VilladosFortunato - Jason MarkiewitzPriest - Blake FloresAttendants - Nathan Colburn & Victoria MarkiewitzMusic:Hayden FolkerRunning Time: 30 minIncludes an original introduction to the story

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  Notre Dame de Paris

  Victor Hugo

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  Originally published in 1831, "Notre-Dame de Paris" is one of Victor Hugo's most renowned novels. The story unfolds in 15th-century Paris and revolves around the majestic Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The narrative interweaves the lives of its characters, including the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo, the vain archdeacon Claude Frollo, and the dashing Captain Phoebus. Through its intricate plot, the novel delves into themes of love, passion, sacrifice, and societal judgment. Simultaneously, Hugo offers readers a rich depiction of medieval Paris, highlighting both its architectural wonders and the societal contrasts of the age.

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  Hard Times

  Charles Dickens

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  Charles Dickens’s moral tale of utilitarian values run amok The industrial burg of Coketown is dominated by the philosophy of utilitarianism. The mill is the center of commerce. Students in the school are instructed to recite rote facts and figures while repressing any creative instincts. Thomas Gradgrind, the school superintendent, is a strict devotee of practicality and has raised his children, Tom and Louisa, according to this philosophy. It is only Sissy Jupe, a circus girl taken in by the Gradgrinds, who possesses the vision and wonderment to see past the rigid boundaries of cold, hard facts.   A paean to the human spirit, Hard Times is among Dickens’s most cutting works of social commentary.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

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  Lazarus (CopyrightGroup)

  Leonid Andreyev

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  Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was born on 21st August in Oryol, Russia to a middle-class family of Polish, Ukranian and Finnish ancestry. 
   
  He studied law in Moscow before working as a police-court reporter for a daily newspaper.  His literary efforts at this time were confined to poetry and those he did try to get published were all rejected.  
   
  In 1898 his first short story ‘Bargamot and Garaska’, published in the ‘Kurier’ newspaper caught the attention and friendship of Maxim Gorky.  Andreyev now discarded any other career path apart from that of author. 
   
  His first collection of short stories appeared in 1901 and sold over a quarter of a million copies.  He was a sensation. Using his interest in psychology and psychiatry gave him an almost unrivalled ability to delve into the human psyche and create astonishing characters. 
   
  During the first Russian revolution Andreyev was a staunch defender of democratic ideals and many of his stories reflected the heated mood of the times. With the 1905 Revolution’s failure his work became pessimistic and despairing. By the beginning of the following decade he began losing his audience to new literary movements such as the Futurists. 
   
  He published little after 1914 except political writings, instead working as the literary editor of the ‘Russian Will’ newspaper.  When the Bolsheviks took power he sensed catastrophe was coming and moved to Finland where he spent his last years in poverty distraught at the outcome of the Revolution. 
   
  Leonid Andreyev died of heart failure on 12th September 1919 at the age of 48 in Mustamäki, Finland. 
   
  His classic story ‘Lazarus’ brilliantly tells the story of Christ’s disciple, forced to wander the earth for all time it is both chilling and heart-breaking in its Russian setting.

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