Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

Volume 2 of The d'Artagnan Romances begins twenty years after "The Three Musketeers." Since then, d'Artagnan's career has stagnated, he’s lost touch with his friends, and the high favor earned with Queen Anne has been forgotten. His misfortune mirrors that of France, now ruled by an ineffective miser, Cardinal Mazarin, who’s avarice (among other vices) fuels a rebellion. Moreover, England is mired in civil war! Can d’Artagnan do the seemingly impossible: reunite “The Inseparables,” save the Queen and young Louis XIV from an uprising, and aid the English monarchy, all while avoiding ...

David Balfour, a lad of seventeen and newly orphaned, is directed to go and live with his rich uncle, the master of the estate of Shaws in the lowlands of Scotland near Edinburgh. His uncle, Ebenezer (as close a miser as Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge), is shocked to suddenly have his young relative descend on him and tries to rid himself of David with an arranged accident. Failing that, he pays the captain of a brig to kidnap David and sell him into slavery in Carolina.A collision in the fog brings onboard the brig a survivor, Alan Breck Stewart, who is carrying a dangerous amount of gold on his ...

Los pazos de Ulloa es una novela de Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921) publicada por primera vez en 1886. Se trata, dentro del realismo literario español, de la novela que mejor ejemplifica la corriente naturalista, al reflejar la aceptación de las teorías positivistas aplicadas a la literatura por el escritor francés y padre del naturalismo Émile Zola. (Summary from Wikipedia) Nota: En el texto del Proyecto Gutenberg no existe el capítulo VI (sexto) como tal, ya que se encuentra incluido en el capítulo V (quinto), por lo que el lector lee dicho capítulo, VI (sexto) de La Biblioteca ...

This classic tale tells of an orphan, Pip, who through a series of strange circumstances first finds a trade as a blacksmith's apprentice and then learns that he has "great expectations" of a future inheritance from an anonymous benefactor. He soon learns to live the profligate life of a gentleman as he gradually sheds his associations with the gentle souls of his past, Joe (the blacksmith) and Biddy (a level-headed young lady). He throws his money at improving the prospects of his roommate and friend Herbert and his heart at an "ice princess" whose heart will never respond. But then an ...

This roman à clef follows the musical adventures of Consuelo, a gifted singer under the tutelage of the composer Nicola Porpora. After encountering betrayal in her home city of Venice, she goes to stay with a family of nobles in an isolated castle in Bohemia and teach singing to the baroness who lives there. It is there that she meets Count Albert, a troubled young man who experiences regressions to past lives. He is strangely drawn to her, but she, though moved with pity for him, is unsure what to think of him. She then sets out for Vienna to meet with Porpora again and on the way befriends ...

One of the most famous Italian books in history, The Betrothed was written by Alessandro Manzoni in 1827. The two main characters, Renzo and Lucy, are engaged to be married when Lucy tragically disappears. Little does Renzo know that Lucy has been kidnapped by a criminal, The Unnamed, feared by all the people of Northern Italy, where the story is set. Despite the threat of death and the fear of never laying eyes on one another again, Renzo and Lucy maintain a deep love for each other throughout the book that displays the true sacrifice and commitment of marriage. The book was recommended by ...

Dot and Tot of Merryland is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum. After Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he wrote this story about the adventures of a little girl named Dot and a little boy named Tot in a land reached by floating on a river that flowed through a tunnel. The land was called Merryland and was split into seven valleys. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Um ser misterioso, propõe a Teodoro um dilema terrível: tocar uma campainha mágica e matar, à distância e de imediato, o riquíssimo Mandarim Ti Chin-Fu, que vivia nos confins da China. Este simples gesto faria dele o herdeiro e senhor de uma imensa fortuna! (Sumário por L.S.B.Seabra)

One of the greatest English tragic novels, TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES (1891) is the story of a “pure woman” who is victimized both by conventional morality and its antithesis. Born near Dorchester, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) set most of his stories in the region between Berkshire and Dorset in the fictional county of Wessex. He was a controversial writer whose work often showed the result of flouting the rigid Victorian moral code — his novel JUDE THE OBSCURE was (allegedly) burned by the Bishop of Wakefield for its shocking content. Hardy was an unflinching observer and in TESS has left ...

The Battle of Agincourt provided a surprise English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place in 1415 and brought a turning point in the war between France and England after failed negotiations.This romance by James begins in the lead-up to the battle, with the mysterious "Hal of Hadnock" shown hospitality by Sir Philip Beauchamp while on an unknown journey. He is befriended by young Richard of Woodville, who has suspicions regarding Hal. Gradually, we learn more of Hal and Richard as we follow their fortunes and the twists and turns surrounding Richard’s love for Mary. (Summary by ...

This is a 50-poem sequence of 16-line sonnets, divided into 10 sections. It has been called "a novelette in sonnet form". The author, George Meredith, pours his heart out in raw anguish, pain, and heartbreak, as he recalls the moments, and sometimes intimate memories of his wife who deserted him for another lover. (Summary by Laur)

The Blue Bird is a 1908 play by Belgian author Maurice Maeterlinck. On the night of Christmas a boy and a girl, Tyltil and Mytil, are visited by Fairy Berilyuna. Fairy's granddaughter is sick and can only be saved by the Blue Bird. Thanks to the Fairy's magic gift children have the opportunity to see the soul of things. Inanimate objects Clocks, Fire, Water, Bread, Sugar, Milk transformed into beings with their own character. Together, they set off on a dangerous journey for the fabulous Blue Bird. The play is inspired with the deep idea of the author "be brave enough to see the hidden." - ...

Virginia Woolf's groundbreaking satire of British culture, customs, literature, philosophy, and politics from the Elizabethan era to the author's present-day 1928, as experienced by her famously long-lived and genderfluid protagonist. - Summary by Nicole J. LeBoeuf

Fresque sociale qui décrit les conditions de vie des mineurs au XIXème siècle, Germinal est le treizième roman de la série des Rougon-Macquart. Le roman retrace la vie d'Etienne Lantier, jeune mineur amoureux de Catherine Maheu, et de son combat pour une société plus juste. (résumé par Nadine) Germinal is the main book in the series "Rougon-Macquart" and describes the inhumane conditions in French mines in the 19th century.

The Storm (1704) holds a special place in the writings of Daniel Defoe. Widely considered a founding document of modern journalism, The Storm narrates the calamitous events of November 1703 that are framed by the author in the first four chapters. These are followed by verbatim eyewitness accounts, solicited from survivors through a newspaper advertisement that Defoe placed shortly after the hurricane struck. Defoe is primarily known for his later fiction, loosely based on historical calamities, such as his Journal of the Plague Year (1722), and by fictionalized novels purporting to be ...

Abigail Adams lived the American Revolution as the wife of one of its central figures--John Adams. Her family correspondence, published along with a memoir by her grandson, Charles Francis Adams, brings that era into eloquent focus. What was it like to hear the cannon's roar from your window? to face pestilence? food shortages? rampant inflation? devalued coinage? to raise four children alone--and earn the money to keep your household afloat, while your husband was engaged in politics and diplomacy miles and oceans away . . . for years at a time? It's all there in her private letters, letters ...

Organized by week, this devotional has a morning and evening meditation for every day of the year. Although these devotions are short in length, they are filled with spiritual goodness. In just a few sentences, Spurgeon is able to convey the wisdom of Scripture with eloquence and purpose. These daily messages provide Christians with the spiritual energy they need to begin and end each day. Spurgeon weaves a verse of Scripture into each devotion, helping readers draw deeper meaning out of the selected passages. This powerful devotional provides Christians with the spiritual nourishment required...

Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, reigned from 20 February 1878 to his death in 1903. He was the oldest pope (reigning until the age of 93), and had the third longest pontificate.He is well known for his intellectualism, the development of social teachings with his famous papal encyclical Rerum Novarum and his attempts to define the position of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking. He issued a record eleven encyclicals on the rosary earning the moniker the "Rosary Pope". This book includes ...

The lot of a younger son was less assured than his older brother in days gone by. It was worse for his descendant, especially if he wanted to marry above his means. Such is the case for young Ralph Woodhall. He is a scholar, but is not attracted by the usual professions. He wishes to make his name -- and fortune -- and win the hand of his love, Margaret. On a whim, the couple visit an astrologer, who tells them that, although there are many trials ahead, happiness will eventually be theirs. With this in mind, Ralph sets out on his adventures. - Summary by LynneT

The epigram to this work from Christoher Marlowe applies to the plot of this story: "My men like satyrs grazing on the lawns / Shall with their goat-feet dance the antic hay." The plot follows Huxley and his cohorts in a search for meaning and hope and love in post WWI London.