Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has ground its way through the courts for generations. At its heart are Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, who find love - and terrible loss - through their involvement in the endless battle. Meanwhile, her friend Esther Summeson, who believes she is an orphan, gradually discovers the truth of her identity. The court case throws out a web ensnaring all who come near it, including Lady Dedlock, the menacing lawyer Tulkingham, detective Bucket and tragic little waif Jo.
In the fourth of the Barsetshire Chronicles, the values of a Victorian gentleman, the young clergyman Mark Robarts, are put to the test. Through a combination of naivety and social ambition, Robarts is compromised and brought to the brink of ruin. Trollope tells his story with great compassion, offsetting the drama with his customary humour. Like all the Barsetshire novels, it is an extraordinarily evocative picture of everyday life in 19th-century England.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
This new translation by award-winning translator Robert Fagles captures the energy of Homer's original in bold, contemporary idiom. This is an Odyssey to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery. The great adventure story tells of Odysseus, a veteran of the Trojan War, who - through a landscape peopled with monsters, sea nymphs, evil enchantresses, and vengeful gods - makes his tortuous way home to his faithful wife, Penelope. Shipwrecked numerous times, faced with apparently insurmountable obstacles, offered the temptations of ease, comfort, and even immortality, Odysseus remains steadfast and determined. Themes of courage and persevera ...
In a scrap heap within an abandoned factory, the greatest invention in history lies dormant and unused. By what fatal error of judgment has its value gone unrecognized, its brilliant inventor punished rather than rewarded for his efforts? In defense of those greatest of human qualities that have made civilization possible, one man sets out to show what would happen to the world if all the heroes of innovation and industry went on strike.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques.
Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his detective stories, he also wrote other short stories that are masterpieces of mystery and suspense. In some stories, a supressed uneasiness gradually builds up and evolves into sheer horror; in others, the story line unexpectedly changes and comes to an unlikely conclusion.
In "The New Catacomb", deceit and revenge are buried in the deep recesses of a Roman archeological site.
Hear rare recordings from five of the most-respected African American poets reading their own works: Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"; Arna Bontemps, "Nocturne At Bethesda"; Countee Cullen, "Heritage"; Gwendolyn Brooks, "The Vacant Lot"; and Sonia Sanchez, "Black Magic".
By Ezra Pound, WB Yeats, Robert Graves, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Richard Eberhart, Philip Levine, Marianne Moore
Narrated by Ezra Pound, WB Yeats, Robert Graves, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Richard Eberhart, Marianne Moore, Stephen Spender
Hear rare recordings from some of the world's most-respected poets reading their own works: Ezra Pound, "Old Men With Beautiful Manners"; W. B. Yeats, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"; Robert Graves, "A Last Poem"'; Edna St. Vincent Millay, "The Harp-Weaver"; Richard Eberhart, "The Groundhog"; Philip Levine, "Blasting from Heaven"; Marianne Moore, "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing"; Stephen Spender, "What I Expected"; and Vachel Lindsay, "An Interpolation by Mr. Lindsay".
Ezra Pound, WB Yeats, Robert Graves, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Richard Eberhart, Philip Levine, Marianne Moore
Voices of Poetry - Volume 1
By J. R. R. Tolkien, e. e. Cummings, Archibald Macleish, Ted Hughes, May Swenson, Marilyn Hacker, Kenneth Patchen
Narrated by J. R. R. Tolkien, e. e. Cummings, Archibald Macleish, Ted Hughes, May Swenson, Marilyn Hacker, Kenneth Patchen
Hear rare recording from some of the world's most-respected poets reading their own works: J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Hoard"; e. e. Cummings, "Prose Jottings"; Archibald Macleish, "The Old Man To The Lizard"; Ted Hughes, "Six Young Men"; May Swenson, "Naked In Borneo"; Marilyn Hacker, "The Dark Twin"; Kenneth Patchen, "23rd Street Runs into Heaven"; Edith Stillwell, "An Old Woman"; and Theodore Roethke, "The Bat".