Showing results by author "Popular Culture and Religion." in All Categories

What Men Live By and Other Tales by Leo Tolstoy. Although Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a wealthy landowner, in his later life he had what was considered a “religious awakening.” This experience went on to inform his writing and his lifestyle in profound ways. His views transcended the specifics of religion, as known in his day - so much so he came to be a helpful guide both to Mohandas Gandhi and to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The four stories in this collection ask profound questions and gently supply helpful, non-dogmatic hints to their answerings: What is the most important thing to do?...

Paradise Lost by John Milton. Paradise Lost is an epic poem by John Milton that retells the biblical story of the Fall of Man, focusing on Satan's rebellion against God, his temptation of Adam and Eve, and their subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Written in blank verse, it is considered one of the greatest works in English literature, exploring themes of free will, obedience, temptation, and the nature of good and evil through its complex characters, particularly the charismatic Satan, who is often seen as a tragic hero.

The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth. Published in 1812, “The Absentee” by Maria Edgeworth examines social injustice in 19th-century Britain. At that time, the management of many Irish estates suffered from the absenteeism of their Anglo-Irish landlords. We meet Lord and Lady Clonbrony. Lord Clonbrony struggles with debt, while Lady Clonbrony tries to shed her Irish connections and earn status in London’s high society (known as “the ton.”) Meanwhile, their son, Lord Colambre, is wary of the entanglements of that society and escapes to the family estate in Ireland, where he discovers ...

Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Old California in the wake of the Mexican-American War, Ramona is two stories at once. It is the story of the love between a part-Native American orphan girl, Ramona, and Alessandro, a young Indian sheepherder. It is also the story of racial prejudice and the clash between cultures as California changes from a Spanish colony to an American territory. Ramona is the ward of Señora Gonzaga Moreno, who despises the girl for her race but honors the dying wish of the Señora's sister, Ramona's foster-mother, to raise her as her own. Señora Moreno embodies the...

Chance by Joseph Conrad. "You are the expert in the psychological wilderness," the nominal narrator of this engaging tale says at one point to Marlow, who in practice serves as this novel's chief discoverer of hidden events, and commentator on the vagaries of human behaviour. In "Chance", these are notable chiefly in the actions of various parties — some well-meaning, some blinded by their own lofty idealism, and others frankly exploitative — who in various ways meddle in the fate of Flora de Barrall, an innocent young woman who just happens to be the only child of a fascinatingly bland ...

Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott. "Rose in Bloom" by Louisa May Alcott is a novel published in 1876. This sequel to "Eight Cousins" follows Rose Campbell as she returns from Europe and navigates nineteenth-century society. Determined to pursue philanthropy and maintain her independence, Rose must contend with family expectations about marriage and fortune. As her cousins vie for her attention and her adopted companion Phebe seeks to prove herself, Rose faces questions about love, social class, and what truly matters in choosing a life partner.

The Haunted Hotel, A Mystery of Modern Venice by Wilkie Collins. "The Haunted Hotel: A Mystery of Modern Venice" by Wilkie Collins is a mystery novel written during the late 19th century. The story centers around Doctor Wybrow, a renowned London physician, who encounters a mysterious lady seeking his help concerning her mental state, while hints of a deeper intrigue involving her unexpected marriage, her troubled past, and the enigmatic circumstances surrounding her fiancé emerge. The beginning of the novel introduces Doctor Wybrow as he reluctantly agrees to see a foreign lady, described ...

Deism. Deism is a philosophical and theological stance that affirms the existence of a supreme creator who established the universe through rational design but refrains from subsequent intervention, with knowledge of this deity derived exclusively from human reason and empirical examination of the natural order rather than from purported divine revelations or sacred texts. Emerging in seventeenth-century England, it traces its foundational articulation to Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, whose 1624 treatise De Veritate outlined core tenets including the innate recognition of a ...

The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame. What would you do if you discovered a dragon living in a cave on a hill above your home? Make friends, read poetry together? It turns out that not all dragons are intent on pillaging the countryside. Some might actually enjoy peace, quiet, and the occasional banquet. The Boy of this story knows how to handle dragons, and life is good… until a knight in shining armor arrives in town to exterminate his friend! It doesn’t matter that it’s a “good” dragon — rules are rules, you know!

Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie. 'Roughing It In the Bush' is Susanna Moodie's account of how she coped with the harshness of life in the woods of Upper Canada, as an Englishwoman homesteading abroad. Her narrative was constructed partly as a response to the glowing falsehoods European land-agents were circulating about life in the New World. Her chronicle is frank and humorous, and was a popular sensation at the time of its publication in 1852.

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. The fathers and children of the novel refers to the growing divide between the two generations of Russians, and the character Yevgeny Bazarov has been referred to as the "first Bolshevik", for his nihilism and rejection of the old order. Turgenev wrote Fathers and Sons as a response to the growing cultural schism that he saw between liberals of the 1830s/1840s and the growing nihilist movement. Both the nihilists (the "sons") and the 1830s liberals sought Western-based social change in Russia. Additionally, these two modes of thought were contrasted with ...

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. This book is about our thoughts and how they determine our actions and very being. A few quotes will give a good taste of the riches in this book: "A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." "Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last ...

The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a pamphlet, written by a British and American revolutionary Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason challenges institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of Christianity. Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. Part 1 was written sometime in 1793, and attacks the concepts of divine revelation and inspiration. He urged his readers to employ ...

Thoughts are Things by Prentice Mulford. Thought movement, published in 1889, that teaches how to use the power of thought to improve one's life, health, and happiness. It explains that individuals have two minds—a limited "mind of the body" and a higher "mind of the spirit"—and that by aligning with the spiritual mind, one can manifest positive changes through mental discipline, personal responsibility, and understanding the "law of attraction". The book argues that thoughts are real forces that shape our physical reality, a concept that became a cornerstone of self-help and ...

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days by Nellie Bly. Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is the 1890 travel narrative by American journalist Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) detailing her record-breaking journey around the globe, inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. Published in book form after being serialized in the New York World, it chronicles her 24,899-mile trip, which she completed in 72 days, beating the fictional record and even meeting Verne in France. The book recounts her experiences with steamships, trains, and various cultures, from England and ...

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad. A classic of early literary modernism, Lord Jim tells the story of a young "simple and sensitive character" who loses his honor in a display of cowardice at sea -- and of his expiation of that sin against his own "shadowy ideal of conduct" on the remote island of Patusan. The novel, written by Conrad for magazine serialization during an intense and chaotic ten months in 1899 and 1900, has, in the words of Thomas C. Moser, "the rare distinction of being a masterpiece in two separate genres. It is at once an exotic adventure story of the Eastern seas in the popular ...

Le Avventure di Pinocchio. Carlo Collodi. (Italiano) Le avventure di Pinocchio. Storia di un burattino è il titolo del romanzo ottocentesco che ha come protagonista un notissimo personaggio di finzione, appunto Pinocchio, burattino di legno al centro di celeberrime avventure. Si tratta di un classico della cosiddetta letteratura per ragazzi e fu scritto nel 1881 da Collodi (pseudonimo dello scrittore Carlo Lorenzini). Il personaggio di Pinocchio - burattino umanizzato nella tendenza a nascondersi dietro facili menzogne e a cui cresce il naso in rapporto ad ogni bugia che dice - è stato ...

La Contessa di Karolystria, Antonio Ghislanzoni. (Italiano) Antonio Ghislanzoni, nato a Barco di Maggianico (Lecco) il 25 novembre 1824, è meglio noto come autore di numerosissimi libretti per opere liriche tra cui "Aida" e "La forza del destino" di Giuseppe Verdi. Personalità eclettica: baritono egli stesso fino al 1856, nonché ex seminarista cacciato per cattiva condotta, stimolato dalle idee di Mazzini, nel 1848 dirige a Milano diversi giornali repubblicani; a causa delle sue idee fu anche arrestato dai francesi e brevemente detenuto in Corsica. Muore a Caprino Bergamasco il 16 luglio...

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster. E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India (1924) is widely acclaimed as one of the hundred best literary works of 20th century. Time magazine rates it among the top 100 English-language novels of all time. A Passage to India is set at the moment when the lasting supremacy of the British Raj could no longer be taken for granted. Imperial power had been effectively supported by old and deep-seated religious and cultural conflicts between India’s Hindu and Muslim populations, which divided and sapped the local powers ultimately needed to overthrew imperial ...

Ancient Rome (753 B.C.E. – 476 C.E.) evolved from a small Italian village into a massive Mediterranean empire, structured into three main eras: Kingdom, Republic, and Empire. Known for its engineering, military prowess, and legal systems, it transitioned from a monarchy to a republic, then to an empire under Augustus. The Western Empire fell in 476 C.E. due to instability, but left a lasting legacy on Western law, language, and culture.