Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

Everything changed when Ordynov, a secluded young thinker, stepped out of his old lodgings in search of another corner. The ailing landlord watched from a distance, while the beautiful landlady came close...A tale of love, murder, and sorcery, The Landlady is one of a kind among Fyodor Dostoevsky's works. Written at the age of 26 before he was sent to Siberia, preceded only by The Double and Poor Folk, this novella draws inspiration from Russian folklore as well as stories by Pushkin and Gogol. It anticipates some of the writer's most important ideas to be developed in his later writings. (...

Also known as the "Roman Elegies," Erotica Romana is von Goethe's literary tribute to human sexuality and eroticism. Written in 24 elegies to emulate classical Roman elegy writers such as Tibullus, Propertius, and Catullus, von Goethe creates a lyrical work of art that has often been subject to censorship. (Summary by Adam E. Maroney)

Egmont Colerus prangt den Hedonismus an, in dem es durch Wollust, Übermaß, Exzess und Dekadenz zum Untergang kommt. Er schildert anschaulich, durch die miteinander verwobenen Geschichten der Hauptfiguren (Bettler, Handwerker, Herrscher und Priester), die Wandlung einzelner Charaktere die zum Untergang des bestehenden Systems führt. Dabei kommt es zu einem überraschenden Ende.(Zusammenfassung von lorda)

"The history of Amphitryon and Alcmene, or rather the myth of the birth of Hercules, is certainly very old, and is to be found in the literature of different nations." Under Moliere's touch, it becomes "One of the most charming and natural comedies composed in French verse.... Sprightliness and vivacity abound in this comedy...." - Summary by Translator Henri Van LaunCast list:Mercury, in the form of Sosia: NemoNight: Eva DavisJupiter, in the form of Amphitryon: Larry WilsonAmphitryon, general of the Thebans: Tomas PeterArgatiphontidas, Theban Captain: Jim LockeNaucrates, Theban Captain: ...

Laurence Hope was the nom de plume of Adela Florence Nicolson, a British poet who wrote verses inspired by India, where she lived. This collection, her first, was originally published in 1901. (summary by Newgatenovelist)

THE PERMANENT HUSBAND, also published as The Eternal Husband, is a psychological novella by the acclaimed Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The plot revolves around the intense and complex relationship between Velchaninov and Trusotsky. Velchaninov, the protagonist, is a former lover of the recently deceased wife of Trusotsky, the title character. Some critics have ranked this novella among Dostoeyevsky’s best works because of its style and structure. Alfred Bem has called it "one of the most complete works by Dostoyevsky in regards to its composition and development. – Adapted from ...

Crime and Punishment is the second of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from 5 years of exile in Siberia, and is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash. Raskolnikov, in an attempt to defend his actions, argues that with the pawnbroker's money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime while ridding the world of a vermin, ...

Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Marcus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumviri and the future first emperor of Rome. The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by swift, panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers,...

A fairy tale with real life consequences, All's Well That Ends Well concerns a poor physician's daughter who goes to Paris to heal the King and asks of him a husband; not himself, but the Count Rousillon, in whose house her good father had lived. He weds her but does not bed her, flees to the wars where he is followed by his wife in a pilgrimage of which he is the object. How she uses his lust for a virtuous young woman to trick him into bedding her and giving her a child is but the real life drama to which, or so it would appear, a good woman is forced to commit herself to get herself a ...

In einem langen teils qual-, teils freudvollen aber immer leidenschaftlichen Prozess verschmelzen Mann und Frau zu einem Individuum. Der Weg dahin wird geprägt von starken erotischen Fantasien, die in Bezug zu den verschiedensten Bereichen des menschlichen Zusammenlebens gebracht werden. Hierbei werden sowohl Naturgewalten, Überlieferungen aus der Antike, mystische Erscheinungen, religiöse und heidnische Bräuche und vor allem Vergleiche aus der Botanik symbolisch genutzt. Przybyszewskis hoch entwickelte Sprache macht das Werk zu einem Kleinod der erotischen Literatur. (Zusammenfassung von ...

Nanda Brookenham is coming of age, and thus 'coming out' in London society - which leads to complications in her family's social set in London's fin de siècle life. James presents the novel almost entirely in dialogue, an experiment that adds to the immediacy of the scenes but also creates serious ambiguities about characters and their motives. Summary by Anna Simon, adapted from Wikipedia.

Owing to its highly personal content focused on feminine sexuality, this LibriVox edition was recorded by eight female readers. The Modern Library edition of The Awakening has an introduction by Kay Gibbons, who writes: “The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers with its forthright treatment of sex and suicide. Departing from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine’s desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings ...

A dialogue between a Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitallers and a Genoese Sea-captain, about the latter's voyage to a utopian city. (Summary by Rapunzelina)

Jacob Abbott wrote many historical books for children. He was careful to ensure historical accuracy, and as he said himself in the preface to this book "Whatever of interest ... these stories may possess is due solely to the facts themselves which are recorded in them, and to their being brought together in a plain, simple, and connected narrative."This is the story of Romulus, the founding of Rome and the early years of its history, written in a way both readable and enjoyable for adults and children alike. (Summary by Ruth Golding)

This history covers the years of Xerxes' years as ruler of the Persian empire and invasion of Greece. - Summary by Deon Gines

Tercera Novela de la tercera serie de los Episodios Nacionales. Fernando Calpena y don Pedro Hillo se encuentran prisioneros en la misma cárcel. Al poco de llegar, comienzan a recibir cartas de la mujer incógnita. En ellas explica a don Pedro la necesidad de tenerlos prisioneros, pero en breve tiempo ambos serán liberados, si le prometen... Introducción por TuxLa tercera serie:1 - Zumalacárregui2 - Mendizábal3 - De Oñate a la Granja

The first of ten volumes of poetry edited by Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929). This collection, the second of two parts, includes a trove of poetry focusing on youth and young love; the home and domestic life; and the highs and lows of friendship. - Summary by Tomas Peter

The first of ten volumes of poetry edited by Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929). This collection, the first of two parts, includes a trove of poetry about home and family life, focusing especially on verses about children, verses for children, and fun for little folk. It also includes a general introduction to the series by Carman himself, as well as an introductory essay to the volume by University of Chicago English professor William Darnall MacClintock (1858-1936). (Summary by Tomas Peter)

The second of ten volumes of poetry edited by Canadian poet laureate Bliss Carman (1861-1929). This collection, the first of two parts, includes a range of famous and influential love poems relating to such topics as admiration; love's nature; love's beginnings; and wooing and winning. It also includes an introductory essay by American poet John Vance Cheney (1848-1922). Summary by Tomas Peter.

This is the 27th Coffee Break Collection, in which Librivox readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. In honor of the Super Bowl, the subject for this collection is "Sports".