Jonathan Swifts classic satirical narrative was first published in 1726. seven, years after Defoes Robinson Crusoe (one of its few rivals in fame and breadth of appeal). As a parody travel-memoir it reports on extraordinary lands and societies, whose names have entered the English language: notably the minute inhabitants of Lilliput the giants of Brobdingnag, and the Yahoos in Houyhnhnmland. where talking horses are the dominant species. It spares no vested interest from its irreverent wit. and its attacks on political and financial corruption, as well as abuses in science, continue to resonate in our own times.
Con Vallian knew the best way to stay out of trouble was to mindhis own business. Then he stopped for a cup of coffee at astranger's campfire and found himself guiding a family ofgreenhorns across the prairie -- fighting a pack of rustlers on onehand and some mighty unpredictable Indians on the other!
Born into poverty and obscurity, DavidCopperfield fights hard to find his place inlife. Only the intercession of a stern butkindly aunt sets him out on the road to goodfortune, but it is a route lined with roguesand friends in equal measure. PENGUIN POPULAR CLASSICS are the per-fect introduction to the world-famousPENGUIN CLASSICS series - which en-compasses the best books ever written,from Homer's Odyssey to OrweJi's 1984and everything in between. For a full listand ideas on what to read next, isitwww.penguinclassics.com
Set during the Napoleonic wars, Vanity Fair (1847-8) famously satirizes worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp, and Amelia Sedley, pampered child of a rich City merchant. Despite the differences in their fortunes and characters, they find their lives entangled from childhood. As Becky's maneuvering ingratiates her with high society, the financial ruin of Amelia's father forces Amelia into poverty. Destiny, of course, has further adventures in store for both women, whose lives Thackeray (1811-63) uses as theatres for the whims and foibles of their contemporaries. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. 作者简介： WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY was born in India to a long line of Yorkshire gentry recently mixed with equally ancient gentry. In 1817, two years after the death of his father a prosperous official of the East India Company, the boy was sent back to England. There he underwent
Castigated for offending against public decency, Madame Bovary has rarely failed to cause a storm. For Flaubert"s contemporaries, the fascination came from the novelist"s meticulous account of provincial manners. For the writer,subject matter was subordinate to his anguished quest for aesthetic perfection. For his twentieth-century successors the formal experiments that underpin Madame Bovary look forward to the innovations of contemporary fiction. Flaubert s protagonist in particular has never ceased to fascinate. Rornantic heroine or middle-class neurotic, flawed wife and mother or passionate protestor against the conventions of bourgeois society, simultaneously the subject of Flaubert s admiration and the butt of his irony - Emma Bovary remains one of the most enigmatic of fictional creations. Flaubert s meticulous approach to the craft of fiction, his portrayal of contemporary reality, his representation of an unforgettable cast of characters make Madame Bovary one of the major landmarks of mode
Kon-Tiki is the record of an astonishing adventure -- a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east, led by a mythical hero, Kon-Tiki. He decided to prove his theory by duplicating the legendary voyage. On April 28, 1947, Heyerdahl and five other adventurers sailed from Peru on a balsa log raft. After three months on the open sea, encountering raging storms, whales, and sharks, they sighted land -- the Polynesian island of Puka Puka. Translated into sixty-five languages, Kon-Tiki is a classic, inspiring tale of daring and courage -- a magnificent saga of men against the sea. Washington Square Press' Enriched Classics present the great works of world literature enhanced for the contemporary reader. This edition of Kon-Tiki has been prepared by an editorial committee headed by Harry Shefter, professor of English
Tom Sawyer, a shrewd and adventurous boy, is as much at home in the respectable world of his Aunt Polly as in the self-reliant and parentless world of his friend Huck Finn. The two enjoy a series of adventures, accidentally witnessing a murder, establishing the innocence of the man wrongly accused, as well as being hunted by Injun Joe, the true murderer, eventually escaping and finding the treasure that Joe had buried. Huckleberry Finn recounts the further adventures of Huck, who runs away from a drunken and brutal father, and meets up with the escaped slave Jim. They float down the Mississippi on a raft,participating in the lives of the characters they meet, witnessing corruption, moral decay and intellectual impoverishment. Sharing so much in background and character, these two stories,the best of Twain, indisputably belong together in one volume.Though originally written as adventure stories for young people,the vivid writing provides a profound commentary on provincial American life in the mid- 19
ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP. A timeless, terrifying tale of one man's obsession to create life -- and the monster that became his legacy. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives readers important background information； A chronology of the author's life and work； A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context； An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations； Detailed explanatory notes； Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work； Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction； A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience. Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics
Exiled by superstition and betrayal from Lantern Yard, and cut off from faith and human love, for fifteen years the solitary simple-hearted weaver Silas Marner has plied his loom in Raveloe and devoted himself to the amassing of a hoard of golden guineas. Silas's chance of redemption, when it appears one New Year's Eve, is intimately connected with the fate of Godfrey Cass, son of the village Squire. Clandestinely married, then blackmailed by his dissolute brother Dunstan, Godfrey like Silas has been trapped by his past, from which he is seeking to escape. Humorous, richly symbolic, subtly characterized and meticulously plotted, George Eliot's 'sudden inspiration' in this slim novel of rural England cut across her plans for Romola, her vast Italian Renaissance epic.
A word from Louis L'Amour: " Almost forty years ago, when myfiction was being published exclusively in 'pulp' westernmagazines, I wrote several novel-length stories, which my editorscalled 'magazine novels'. In creating them, I became so involvedwith my characters that their lives were still as much a part of meas I was of them long after the issues in which they appearedbecame collector's items. Pleased as I was about how I brought thecharacters and their adventures to life in the pages of themagazines, I still wanted the reader to know more about my peopleand why they did what they did. So, over the years, I revised andexpanded these magazine works into fuller-length novels that Ipublished in paperback under other titles. " These particular earlymagazine versions of my books have long been a source of greatspeculation and curiosity among many of my readers, so much so oflate, that I'm now pleased to collect three of them into book formfor the first time. " I hope you enjoy them."
A Tdle of Two Cities(1859) Dickens greatest historical novel, traces the private ires of a group of people caught up in the cataclysm of the French Revolution and the Terror. Dickens based his historical detail on Carlyles great work - The French Revolution - and also on his own observations and investigations during numerous visits to Paris. The best story have written was Dickens own verdict on A Tale of Two Cities. and the reader is cinlikely to disagree with this judgement of a story which combines historical tact with the authors unsurpassed genius for poignant tales of human suffering,self-sacrifice, and redemption.
Hollywood homicide detective Petra Connor takes center stage inbestseller Kellerman's elaborate, suspenseful, albeit improbable,thriller. Connor, who assisted Kellerman's main series detective,psychologist Alex Delaware, in 2003's A Cold Heart, proves anengaging protagonist, fully capable of carrying a story on her own.She's investigating a seemingly random drive-by shooting thatclaimed four teenage victims when a precocious 22-year-old graduatestudent intern, Isaac Gomez, presents her with evidence that aserial killer has struck on the same day, June 28, every year forthe past six years. Though his proof relies entirely on astatistical analysis he's performed, his unquestioned brillianceprompts Connor to do a little extracurricular digging that turns upsuggestive clues supporting Gomez's theory. Meanwhile, afterdoggedly pursuing even the slightest lead in the drive-by shootingcase, Connor suspects that one of the victims, perhaps the one whowasn't claimed by any next-of-kin, was deliberately targeted. While
The Mill on the Floss, based on George Eliot's own experiences of provincial life, is a masterpiece of ambiguity in which moral choice is subjected to the hypocrisy of the Victorian age. As the headstrong Maggie Tulliver grows intowomanhood, the deep love which she has for her brother Tom turns into conflict, because she cannot reconcile his bourgeois standards withher own lively intelligence. Maggie is unable to adapt to her community or break free from it, and the result, on more than one level is tragedy.
Who will be with you in the darkesthour? Amy Redwing has devoted her life to rescuing dogs. But the uniquebond she shares with Nickie, a golden retriever she saves in themost dangerous encounter of her life, is deeper than any she hasever known. In one night, their loyalty will be put to the test,and each will prove to the other how far they will go – when thestakes turn deadly serious.
Valerie Simpson is a young female tennis star with a troubledpast who's now on the verge of a comeback and wants Myron as heragent. Myron, who's also got the hottest young male tennis star,Duane Richwood, primed to take his first grand slam tournament,couldn't be happier. That is, until Valerie is murdered in broaddaylight at the U.S. Open and Myron's number one client becomes thenumber one suspect. Clearing Duane's name should be easy enough.Duane was playing in a match at the time of Valerie's death. Butwhy is his phone number in Valerie's black book when he claims onlyto have known her in passing? Why was she calling him from a phonebooth on the street? The police stop caring once they pin themurder on a man known for having stalked Valerie and seen talkingto her moments before the murder. But Myron isn't satisfied. Itseems too clean for him. Myron pries a bit and finds himself pryingopen the past where six years before, Valerie's fiancee, the son ofa senator, was brutally murdered by a juvenile del
Arguably India's greatest gift to the world, The Bhagavadgita ('The Song of the Blessed') forms an episode in the sixth book of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata and is the supreme work of that religion. The Gita consists of the dialogue between Prince Arjuna and his mentor and friend, Lord Krishna, on the eve of the climactic battle of Kuruksetra. This discourse contains an exposition of the Hindu philosophy of Karma Yoga (disciplined action performed in the right spirit) as Prince Arjuna struggles with his understandable 'existential' anguish at having to join battle against his gurus and kinsmen. The Gita, although almost 2,500 years old, contains profound truths of great relevance to contemporary society in India and the West.
A plucky street boy who smokes, gambles, and speaksungrammatically, Dick is also honest and hardworking. Aquintessential novel of adventure, romance, and coming-of-age, itis also an exhilarating tale of one boy's metamorphosis from dirtystreet urchin to gentleman.
Loop me in, odd one. The words, spoken in the deep of night bya sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For thiswas a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, andStormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted hallsof the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas isstalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature. . . .BrotherOdd. Through two New York Times bestselling novels, Odd Thomas hasestablished himself as one of the most beloved and unique fictionalheroes of our time. Now, wielding all the power and magic of amaster storyteller at the pinnacle of his craft, Dean Koontzfollows Odd into a singular new world where he hopes to make afresh beginning—but where he will meet an adversary as old andinexorable as time itself.
Ladybird has published fairy tales for over forty years,bringing the magic of traditional stories to each new generation of children. These are based on the original Ladybird retellings,with beautiful new pictures of the kind children like best-full of richness and detail. Children have always loved and will always remember these classic stories and sharing them together is an experience to treasure.
When two male and two female supremely sensual, unspeakablycerebral humans find themselves under attack from aliens who wanttheir awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies -- andzoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller coaster ride of adventureand danger, ecstasy and peril.
After his haystack was torched, Mr. Harmsworth barricaded acommon path through his orchard. But witnesses-both human andanimal-claim a ghost perpetrated the deed. And the ghost has amessage that Miss Potter hopes to figure out.
No one brings to life the Old West like Louis L'Amour. Collectedhere for the first time, these vintage frontier stories introduceyou to lawmen and loners, ranchers and renegades, gunslingers,cardsharps, bank robbers, etc. In these pages L'Amour brings tolife such classic characters as the Cactus Kid, Tensleep Mooney,One-Eared Tim, and the gunfighter Kim Sartain. These are frontiertales as only L'Amour can tell them--stories that surprise like thesharp crack of a Winchester and move like the lonely howl of thewind across an empty plain on the long ride home.
