Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

The worshipers of this ancient tentacled horror are still with us, waiting for this terrible being to awake and take vengeance again on an earth filled with nonbelievers. Lovecraft delves into this eons old cult in the greatest detail of any of his stories about Cthulhu and gives us hints about how it is worshiped and the abominable rituals involved. Creepy. Very creepy. - Summary by phil chenevert

This comprehensive anthology of English sonnets of the Nineteenth Century, edited and arranged by William Sharp, was published in 1887. It contains 270 poems by 126 different authors, ranging from the most celebrated poets, like Keats, Shelley and Wordsworth to some who are extremely obscure. Sharp outlines the purpose of the collection as follows: "For the concise expression of an isolated poetic thought an intellectual or sensuous wave keenly felt, emotionally and rhythmically the sonnet would seem to be the best medium. To bring this more clearly home to the mind of the reader unacquainted ...

An account of a 1918 journey to Northern China by famed adventurer/paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews. Andrews, who was the inspiration for the many explorer hero characters (including Indiana Jones), wrote this book for the general public, excluding "scientific details" that they might find "wearisome". - Summary by Matthew M. BenzingNOTE: This book contains many accounts of hunting animals for sport and for exhibition in a museum.

Candide, ou l’Optimisme, (“Candide, or Optimism”) (1759) is a picaresque novel by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. Voltaire never openly admitted to having written the controversial Candide; the work is signed with a pseudonym: “Monsieur le docteur Ralph”, literally “Mister Doctor Ralph.”Sardonic in outlook, it follows the naïve protagonist Candide from his first exposure to the precept that “all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds,” and on through a series of adventures that dramatically disprove that precept even as the protagonist clings to ...

An 1859 essay by the prominent philosopher and literary critic, G. H. Lewes, who was an enthusiastic promoter of the novels of Jane Austen at a time when they were yet to achieve great critical acclaim. Lewes was the life partner of the novelist George Eliot. - Summary by barbara2

Louisa May Alcott's overwhelming success dated from the appearance of the first part of Little Women: or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, (1868) a semi-autobiographical account of her childhood years with her sisters in Concord, Massachusetts. Part two, or Part Second, also known as Good Wives, (1869) followed the March sisters into adulthood and their respective marriages. (Summary from Wikipedia)

The Corsair (1814) by Lord Byron narrates the tale of Conrad, a pirate or privateer, who was rejected by society in his youth because of his acts and his later war against humanity. Conrad attacks the island fortress of Pacha Seyd to try to seize his possessions but is captured while trying to rescue women from the pasha's harem. Gulnare, the pasha's slave, initiates a plan to trick Seyd into freeing Conrad but when this fails she kills Seyd and they both escape. Conrad takes Gulnare back to his island home where he discovers that his wife Medora has died from grief. Conrad departs the island ...

"Harold Transome is a landowner who goes against his family's political tradition (much to his mother's distress), while Felix Holt is a sincere radical. The setting of the book, the 1832 parliament election, is used to discuss the social problems of that time. A secondary plot involves Esther Lyon, the stepdaughter of a minister who is the real heiress to the Transome estate, with whom both Harold Transome and Felix Holt fall in love. Esther loves poor Felix Holt, but would she choose a comfortable life with Harold Transome?" (Summary by Stav Nisser)

“Who ever lov’d, that lov’d not at first sight?”The wonder-decade of the English drama was suddenly interrupted in 1592, when serious plague broke out in London, forcing the closure of the theatres. Leading playwrights took to penning languorously erotic poetry to make ends meet: so we have Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece - and Marlowe’s blazing masterpiece, Hero and Leander.Marlowe’s poem became more notorious than either of Shakespeare’s, due not only to its homophile provocations but also to the scandal attaching to every aspect of Marlowe’s brief life, violently ended...

A selection of poems from Belgian symbolist poet Émile Verhaeren, translated from French by Alma Strettell. Most of the poems selected are from 'Les Villages Illusoires' (1895) and are rooted in Verhaeren's observations of the everyday life and landscapes of his native Flanders. The selection also includes extracts from 'Les Heures Claires', a love poem for his wife (recorded in full for Librivox as 'The Sunlit Hours'), and poems from the earlier and later volumes, Les Apparus dans mes Chemins' (1891) and 'La Multiple Splendeur' (1906). - Summary by Philip Benson

"Genesis (Greek: "birth", "origin") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible, and the first of five books of the Pentateuch or Torah. It recounts the world from creation to the descent of the children of Israel into Egypt, and contains some of the best-known accounts of the Old Testament, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the biblical Patriarchs." (From Wikipedia, modified by Sam Stinson)

In one of his later novels, the master storyteller spins a tale of two children switched at infancy. A slave takes on the identity of master and heir while the rightful heir is condemned to live the life of a slave. Twain uses this vehicle to explore themes of nature vs. nurture, racial bigotry and moral relativism. The case of mistaken identity is a theme that Twain explored also in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER; in THE TRAGEDY OF PUDD'NHEAD WILSON he turns the theme into a well-crafted detective story. It is unfortunate that this is one of Twain's lesser known works as it is one of his most ...

Shakespeare's Sonnets, or simply The Sonnets, comprise a collection of 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with such themes as love, beauty, politics, and mortality. The poems were probably written over a period of several years. (Summary from wikipedia)

The second part in the story of Anne Shirley, covering her years of teaching at Avonlea School, before she heads off to college.Other books in this series by this reader:Anne of Green GablesAnne of the IslandAnne's House of DreamsRainbow ValleyRilla of Ingleside

James Fenimore Cooper's second novel, The Spy (1821), is based on Sir Walter Scott's Waverly series, and tells an adventure tale about the American Revolution. The protagonist is Harvey Birch, a supposed loyalist who actually is a spy for George Washington, disguised as 'Mr Harper.' The book brought Cooper fame and wealth, and is regarded as the first great success in American fiction.(Summary by Gord MacKenzie)

Dès 1828 Hugo avait conçu Note Dame de Paris et se rend plusieurs fois à la cathédrale. Il ressuscite le Paris d'autrefois avec sa cathédrale. Notre-Dame de Paris retrace la destinée tragique au Moyen Âge d'une jeune bohémienne, Esméralda, victime du désir qu'elle inspire à trois hommes. Convoitée par l'archidiacre Frollo, elle est enlevée sur son ordre par le sonneur de cloches difforme de Notre-Dame, Quasimodo, puis est sauvée par le beau capitaine Phoebus dont elle s'éprend. Mais Frollo, jaloux, poignarde Phoebus, et n'intervient pas lorsque Esméralda est accusée de ce ...

First performed in 1830, this was once described as a play on which the "romantic school centered its hopes". The Classicists at the time felt that this play was a threat to everything they deemed important in literature. Set in 16th century Spain, Hernani is a tale of romance and intrigue. Described in 1912 thusly: "The performance was permitted, so tradition says, in the expectation that the play would discredit the romantic school once and for all. The principal actress, Mlle. Mars, was outraged by Hugo’s imagery, and refused point blank to call Firmin [actor] her ‘lion, superb and ...

Los Hechos de los Apóstoles es el segundo de dos libros del Nuevo Testamento escritos por Lucas. Al igual que el Evangelio que lleva su nombre, Hechos fue una carta dirigida a su amigo Teófilo, escrito entre los años 62 y 64.El libro de Hechos comienza donde los Evangelios terminaron. Es la narración del temprano progreso del Evangelio y como los discípulos de Jesús lo llevaron de Jerusalén a Judea, a Samaria y al resto del mundo mediterráneo. La historia comienza con la ascensión de Cristo y los acontecimientos de Pentecostés. A medida que los Gentiles empezaron a responder al ...

C'est un roman historique, social et philosophique dans lequel on retrouve les idéaux du romantisme et ceux de Victor Hugo concernant la nature humaine. L'auteur lui-même accorde une grande importance à ce roman et écrit en mars 1862, à son éditeur Lacroix : « Ma conviction est que ce livre sera un des principaux sommets, sinon le principal, de mon œuvre ».Le tome I de l'œuvre qui en compte cinq est consacré à Fantine. (Source : Wikipedia)

Amongst the vast correspondence of the longest-reigning pontiff since St. Peter, Pope Pius IX wrote upwards of forty Encyclicals during his thirty-two year pontificate (1846-1878). Twenty-six of these are included in this collection. (Summary by M.S.C. Lambert, LC)