Showing results by author "Frank Stockton" in All Categories

Dive into the thrilling world of Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts, a captivating non-fiction narrative that uncovers the origins of piracy and the notorious pirates that roamed the shores of the United States. Unlike the romanticized portrayals we see today, Stocktons compelling tales present pirates as the villains they truly were, delivering a dramatic and entertaining read that will keep you on the edge of your seat! (Summary by Sibella Denton)

A brilliant short story demonstrating how a truly balanced set of dilemmas can allow a reader to conclude two different endings. In this case a young man is faced with two doors. One holds a door with a ferocious tiger. The other? A beautiful lady whom he would immediately marry. The struggle comes not so much in defining a choice, but the reasons that brought the young man to the choice, and who helps him make the choice.

Twenty more stories in this popular series by Edith Nesbit, Hans Christian Anderson, Abby Phillips Walker, The Brothers Grimm, L. Frank Baum, Frank Stockton, Henry Beston, Nathaniel Hawthrone, Olive Thorn Miller, Ignas Kunos, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and Anna R. Annan.

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. This decade is resplendent with literature and its many prodigiously talented authors who write on as varied a range of subjects as might be thought possible. Yet each is studded with careful literary precision and narrative verve. It is a remarkable decade.

An exceptional collection of strange and uncanny tales which cast various slants on that most grisly of events, the execution.

"The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882) is about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Taken to the public arena, he is faced with two doors, behind one of which is a hungry tiger that will devour him. Behind the other is a beautiful lady-in-waiting, whom he will have to marry, if he finds her.

David Hume stands as a towering figure in the Western philosophical landscape, but it is his historical narratives that truly sustained him. His monumental work, The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution of 1688, published between 1754 and 1764, captured the imagination of readers and established him as a household name. Hume himself noted that the financial success from the booksellers far surpassed anything previously seen in England, granting him both independence and wealth. This six-volume masterpiece continues to be published and remains a vital part of ...

Love has many forms, many needs. Some fall into the dark, into the shadows. Forbidden love has connotations of desire, of possession but also of matters far more unsavoury. It’s a delicate facet of love that our classic authors explain with careful words and superbly crafted narratives.

A double adventure written at the end of the 19th century, somewhat in the theme of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, telling of a submarine trip in the year 1947 to reach the North Pole and a project to examine the center of the Earth by boring a deep shaft. What they find at the core of the planet surprises the enterprising explorers.

The Modern Age is one of information overload. Bombarded, surrounded, and battered by facts, figures, opinions and seemingly whatever else comes out of anyone’s head from all directions at all hours of the day and night. It’s exhausting. In the pens of such luminaries as Henry James, E M Delafield, C E Montague, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and many others we connect with old fashioned media from publishing and advertising to telegrams and radio and everything in between in ways that are surprising, enlightening but always entertaining.

In this series we explore the many facets of love through literary talents that span both time and country. There are times when love is not a revelation and a calling from one soul to another but a carefully navigated path, or maybe a badly chosen path that decimates happiness. Which way will our literary leviathans take us? Inevitably it will be more than one.

Being an English author in a new and different culture seems to work its magic when these two are placed together in the same spot with a rich vocabulary; ideas seem more fully formed and characters have another edge to their existence. For the outsider looking in, more can be revealed and shared with ourselves.

A glittering collection of classic stories for children, which have delighted generations and continue to appeal.

When a passing magician tells the old Bee-Man of Orn that he has at some time been transformed from another state, he sets off to discover his own origins. Was he formerly a nobleman? A dragon? A giant? After much searching and many adventures, where his faithful bees help him, he finally discovers the truth. And it is not what either he or the magician expected....

Frank Stockton was an American writer and humorist, best known for a series of innovative children's fairy tales that were widely popular. His most famous fable is "The Lady or the Tiger?" (1882), about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Other memorable tales are "The Griffin and the Minor Canon", "Old Pypes and the Dryad", and "Mr. Tolman".

In the ancient country of Orn an old man called the Bee-man spends his life in the company of bees. He lives humbly and contentedly until a Junior Sorcerer happens by with some disturbing news: The Bee-man, he says, has been transformed - he once was someone (or something) entirely different. But who? Or what? A giant or a prince? A dog or a dragon? The now restless Bee-man sets out on a quest to ascertain his original form, telling himself, "When I see it, I shall be drawn toward it."

Join Pomona and Jone, the beloved duo from Rudder Grange, as they embark on an unforgettable journey through England and Scotland. Along their adventure, Pomona encounters wild pigs, navigates the art of haymaking, explores hotels both grand and quaint, and travels in luxurious Pullman cars. With her signature humor and a knack for matchmaking, she finds herself tangled up with a Duchess, participates in stag hunts, and even attends a knighting ceremony. Pomonas charm is as undeniable as ever, though she may be a little more polished around the edges this time!

In Legends, Lore, & Longings, a curated treasury of short fiction, classic American authors spin tales that blur the line between myth and memory, past and present.

Dive into a whimsical world with this captivating collection of nine short stories that are sure to spark your imagination. Each tale features curious creatures and delightful surprises, including The Bee-Man of Orn, The Griffin and the Minor Canon, Old Pipes and the Dryad, The Queens Museum, Christmas Before Last Or, The Fruit of the Fragile Palm, Prince Hassaks March, The Battle of the Third Cousins, The Banished King, and The Philopena (summary by Gryphon Perkins).

With a fishing rod in hand and a sparkle in her eye, Kate Bonnet is no ordinary young woman. Set against the backdrop of 17th-century Barbados, she is the spirited daughter of a notorious pirate, navigating a world filled with adventure and intrigue. Though she seems more interested in the thrill of the catch than in bringing home fish, her heart is set on a dashing young farmer. Join Kate as she embarks on a journey through love, legacy, and the shadow of her infamous father, Stede Bonnet, a notorious associate of Blackbeard. This captivating tale brings to life the fictional daughter of a ...