Showing results by author "Michela Bertazzo" in All Categories

There are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter pursued these practical studies still ...

Elizabeth von Arnim, author of Vera and The Enchanted April, takes us on a novelized journey through the German island and vacation getaway of Rügen. Here we meet and enjoy "Elizabeth", who solely, with only a maid and coachman, encounter several other quaint and intriguing characters and stories. This book is full of quick wit and WILL make you chuckle along the way! (Summary by Christine Rottger)

This is a collection of 6 delightful stories about children by some of the best authors of the period: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb, Maria Edgeworth and Alicia Catherine Mant. These stories are well written and although they feature children and their escapades, clearly can be enjoyed by adults as well if not more. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

284 fables on a wide range of subjects, written by the famous author Aesop.

This fast-paced, swashbuckling, romantic comedy is loosely based on characters from the 1838 play “Ruy Blas” by Victor Hugo. Dumnois and D’Ennery’s script foregoes both historical accuracy and adherence to the more gloomy tone of Hugo’s original. Instead, the dramatists choose to tell the story of Don Caesar, a dashing, charismatic officer in the service of King Charles II of Spain. Don Caesar is devoted to wine, women, and song. He is particularly smitten with the beautiful gypsy, Maritana. Despite the carefree and somewhat rakish impression he initially makes, Don Caesar’s ...

LibriVox volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Quiet Work by Matthew Arnold.This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 3, 2026. ------Matthew Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic. He has been characterised as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues.

The Princess Priscilla of Lothen Kunitz finds court life stifling and runs away to England with the elderly court librarian. Her intention is to live a pure and simple life filled with good works. But life among ordinary people in an English village is not what she expects it to be... (Introduction by Tabithat)

Anna Estcourt, twenty-five and beautiful, is the penniless ward of her distant brother and his exasperating wife. Turning down all offers of marriage, scornful at the thought of leaning on a man for help and comfort, she thinks only of the independence which seems an impossible dream. But out of the blue Uncle Joachim, her mother's brother, leaves her a handsome property in Germany. Her longed for independence is within her grasp, and though it's a rocky beginning with the locals, she loves her new home. Keen to use her new-found wealth for the benefit of others, she embarks on a plan to throw...

Culture and Anarchy is a series of periodical essays by Matthew Arnold, first published in Cornhill Magazine 1867-68 and collected as a book in 1869. The preface was added in 1875. Arnold's famous piece of writing on culture established his High Victorian cultural agenda which remained dominant in debate from the 1860s until the 1950s. According to his view advanced in the book, "Culture [...] is a study of perfection". He further wrote that: "[Culture] seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the world current everywhere; to make all men live in an ...

From the excellent and creative mind of Elizabeth von Arnim comes this humorous travelogue of parts of Great Britain and, if that were not enough, a hilarious look into the ridiculousness of the mind of the self-styled German"nobleman" of the time. (Summary by Christine Rottger)

Written by an author born in Australia, grew up in England, married in Germany, and then flew to the United States. A tale about a young woman, freed up from the bonds of her family life, to wonder all around in search of all things feminist. The story seems somewhat autobiographical, surrounded in disillusionment and humor. Written on the eve of World War I and just back from married life in Germany. (Summary by JCarson)

It’s a dreary February in post-World War I London when Mrs. Wilkins spots an advertisement in The Times for a small Italian castle for rent in April. She sees another member of her women’s club, Mrs. Arbuthnot, reading the same advertisement and manages to convince her that the two of them should rent it. Both are miserable and lonely in their marriages. They can’t afford the cost of the villa, San Salvatore, on their own and must advertise for two others, eventually recruiting an elderly widow named Mrs. Fisher, and Lady Caroline Dester, a beautiful young socialite desperate to escape ...

Vera (1921) by Elizabeth von Arnim is a black comedy based on her disastrous second marriage to Earl Russell: a mordant analysis of the romantic delusions through which wives acquiesce in husbands' tyrannies. In outline the story of this utterly unromantic novel anticipates DuMaurier's Rebecca. Naive Lucy Entwhistle is swept into marriage by widower, Everard Wemyss. His mansion "The Willows" is pervaded by the spectre of his dead wife Vera, with whom Lucy becomes obsessed. ... Here the servants are partisan for both wives, and lose no opportunity to disrupt Everard's unctuous, oppressive ...

Elizabeth and Her German Garden is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, first published in 1898; it was very popular and frequently reprinted during the early years of the 20th century. The story is a year's diary written by the protagonist Elizabeth about her experiences learning gardening and interacting with her friends. It includes commentary on the beauty of nature and on society, but is primarily humorous due to Elizabeth's frequent mistakes and her idiosyncratic outlook on life. She looked down upon the frivolous fashions of her time writing "I believe all needlework and dressmaking is of ...

The English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold was the son of the headmaster of Rugby School who became a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He famously described Oxford as "that sweet city with it's dreaming spires". A deeply committed Christian he was well-versed in Greek and Latin classics and had a fascination with pre-christian myth and legend. His version of the Celtic legend of Tristram and Iseult is dramatised here.This selection includes some of Arnold's best known poems Dover Beach, Thyrsis and The Scholar-Gypsy as well as early works like The Forsaken Merman and a dramatised ...

Matthew Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. Matthew Arnold has been characterised as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues.He is sometimes called the third great Victorian poet, along with Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.This week's poem is the first part of Arnold's Lyric Poem 'Switzerland'. - Summary by Wikipedia

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Growing Old by Matthew Arnold. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for April 17, 2011.Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator. Matthew Arnold has been characterized as a sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues. (summary from Wikipedia)

Emma, "belle, intelligente et riche" a une fâcheuse tendance a vouloir marier les autres. Ce qu'elle va d'abord faire pour sa sœur, puis sa gouvernante, miss Taylor. Mais la voilà seule, avec son père âgé, veuf et très craintif, voir hypocondriaque. Son ami, M. Knightley essaie de la raisonner en l'empêchant d'avoir cette manie de marier ses proches. Pourtant, ses plans semblent relativement bien fonctionner. Qui sera donc sa prochaine protégée ? Et elle, songera-t-elle à se marier un jour ? - Summary by Laurette

When two young girls decide to have a tea party with their dolls and a mysterious dog comes and eats their prized cake, they end up finding a circus run-away, Ben Brown. Ben is a horse master, and loves horses, so when the Moss' take the young boy in, they decide to give him work at the neighbors house driving cows (on a horse, of course). After that a series of events happens, and Ben finds out his beloved father is dead. Miss Celia, a neighbor, feels sorry and comforts him, and finally offers to let Ben stay with her and her fourteen-year-old brother, Thornton who is called Thorny. After ...

In this delightful short story, we discover the secrets of the Trevlyn family. 'The Mysterious Key and What it Opened' is a mystery entwined with romance (Introduction by ashleighjane)