Nicholas Nickleby,a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times,must set out to make his way in the world.Along the way various older,money-grubbing villains attempt to injure him.Eventually,with the assistance of kind patrons,he and his family achieve economic security and a happy home.Sounds rather trite,doesn't it? Not with characters written by Dickens(Hard Times,Audio Reviews,LJ 5/1/98).Schoolmaster Squeers would make a fine poster boy for child abusers.Ralph Nickleby's initial desire to injure Nicholas gradually develops into a full-blown obsession.Then there are the kind Cheeryble brothers,the gentle,much-abused Smike,and a host of other friends who provide comic relief.Martin Jarvis does an outstanding job of reading this book.His ingenues sound young(a frequent problem area for male readers)while his villains are deliciously evil.The only problems are with the abridgment.In several places,choppy editing has left brief,disconnected scenes and/or character cameos without relevance to the abridged tale.Still
A new collection from David Sedaris is cause for jubilation. His recent move to Paris has inspired hilarious pieces, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, about his attempts to learn French. His family is another inspiration. You Cant Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers and cashiers with 6-inch fingernails. Compared by The New Yorker to Twain and Hawthorne, Sedaris has become one of our best-loved authors. Sedaris is an amazing reader whose appearances draw hundreds, and his performancesincluding a jaw-dropping impression of Billie Holiday singing I wish I were an Oscar Meyer weinerare unforgettable. Sedariss essays on living in Paris are some of the funniest hes ever written. At last, someone even meaner than the French! The sort of blithely sophisticated, loopy humour that might have resulted if Dorothy Parker and James Thurbe
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, Calico Pie and The Pobble Who Has No Toes, together with Edward Lear's crazy limericks, have entertained adults and children alike for over 100 years. This edition, illustrated by the author, contains all the verse and stories of The Book of Nonsense, More Nonsense, Nonsense Songs, Nonsense Stories and Nonsense Alphabets and Nonsense Cookery. It has a biographical Preface by Lear himself, and concludes with some delightful 'heraldic' sketches of his cat, Foss. 作者简介： Edward Lear (1812-1888) Born in London, Edward Lear was the youngest of twenty-one children. He made his reputation as a water-colorist, and invented himself as an Old Man with a Beard.
Mining crimes of the past and politics, Truman ( Murder at thePentagon ) scants the basic plotting requirements of her 11thCapital Crimes case, which is marred by superfluous unsolvedmurders and an unconvincing conclusion. When the body of PaulineJuris, personal secretary of wealthy developer Wendell Tierney, isfound in the Potomac River, Tierney calls former attorney, now lawprofessor, Mackenzie Smith for advice. Mac, whose beloved wifeAnnabel wants him to stop dabbling in detection, agrees to seeWendell, but he refuses to ferret out the police line on the case,even though a former student of his heads the investigation team.Tierney, becoming chief suspect when love letters, purportedly fromhim, are found in the dead woman's apartment, again begs for Mac'shelp. Both Mac and Annabel are drawn into the case, which takes onanother twist when the suspect's adopted son, Sun Ben Cheong, isarrested for money laundering. Truman plumps up Mac's low-keysleuthing with the goings on of the fictitious Scarlet Sin
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where Gossip Girl and her friends are the biggest stars ...whether or not the cameras are rolling. Lights, camera, scandal! Hollywood is invading New York and Serena is set for her big screen debut. She's already having an off-screen romance with her onscreen lover, Thaddeus. What will that mean for Hamptons-bound Nate? And if Nate is free, what about Blair? Sure, she's off to London to spend time with her royal boytoy, but Nate will always be Prince Charming in her eyes...
Set in an apocalyptic future ending in the year 2100, Shelley's 1826 novel concerns a plague that destroys almost all of humankind. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Every so often a character so captures the hearts andimaginations of readers that he seems to take on a life of his ownlong after the final page is turned. For such a character, one bookis not enough--readers must know what happens next. Now Dean Koontzreturns with the novel his fans have been demanding. With theemotional power and sheer storytelling artistry that are histrademarks, Koontz takes up once more the story of a unique younghero and an eccentric little town in a tale that is equal partssuspense and terror, adventure and mystery--and altogetherirresistibly odd. We're all a little odd beneath the surface. He'sthe most unlikely hero you'll ever meet--an ordinary guy with amodest job you might never look at twice. But there's so much moreto any of us than meets the eye--and that goes triple for OddThomas. For Odd lives always between two worlds in the small deserttown of Pico Mundo, where the heroic and the harrowing are everydayevents. Odd never asked to communicate with the dead--it'ssomething
The wild rush of action in this classic frontier adventure story has made The Last of the Mohicans the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales. Deep in the forests of upper New York State, the brave woodsman Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo) and his loyal Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas become embroiled in the bloody battles of the French and Indian War. The abduction of the beautiful Munro sisters by hostile savages, the treachery of the renegade brave Magua, the ambush of innocent settlers, and the thrilling events that lead to the final tragic confrontation between rival war parties create an unforgettable, spine-tingling picture of life on the frontier. And as the idyllic wilderness gives way to the forces of civilization, the novel presents a moving portrayal of a vanishing race and the end of its way of life in the great American forests.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeares greatest tragedies: a drama of crime and punishment, of temptation, guilt, remorse and retribution. The portrayals of Macbeth himself and his wife are memorably persuasive in the rendition of the psychology of ambition,rationalised treachery and eventual disillusionment. Repeatedly the rich and often sinuously complex verse gives general resonance to the particular situation, so that some of the speechesprovide enduring epitomes of states of being which many of us,intermittently, may experience. Inner division, pangs of conscience, the sense of being ambushed by events, and desperatedefiance: they are there; but so too is a vitality of expression and enactment which offsets the plays sombre atmosphere.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful and sometimes violentnovel of expectation，love，oppression，sin，religion and betrayal.It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of HelenHuntingdon，the mysterious 'tenant' of the title，and herdissolute，alcoholic husband. Defying convention，Helen leavesher husband to protect their young son from his father'sinfluence，and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hidingat Wildfell Hall，she encounters Gilbert Markham. who falls inlove with her. On its first publication in 1848，Anne Bront 's second novel was criticised for being 'coarse' and 'brutal'. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nineteenth century in a strong defence of women's rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands. Anne Bront 's style is bold，naturalistic and passionate，and this novel，which her sister Charlotte considered 'an entire，has earned her a position in English Literature in her own right，not just as
This 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 into womanhood, the deep love which she has for her brother Tom turns into conflict, because she cannot reconcile his bourgeois standards with her 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.
They came by river and by wagon train, braving the endlessdistances of the Great Plains and the icy passes of the SierraNevada. They were men like Linus Rawlings, a restless survivor ofIndian country who'd headed east to see the ocean but left hisheart--and his home--in the West. They were women like LilithPrescott, a smart, spirited beauty who fled her family and fell fora gambling man in the midst of a frontier gold boom. Thesepioneering men and women sowed the seeds of a nation with theircourage--and with their blood. Here is the story of how their pathswould meet amid the epic struggle against fierce enemies andnature's cruelty, to win for all time the rich and untamedWest.
Des employés de ministère étriqués, une jeunesse bruyante quedistrait le canotage sur la Seine, des petits boutiquiers qui nerêvent que pêche à la ligne, des paysans ?pres au gain de laHaute-Normandie : c'est l'univers familier de Maupassant que nousretrouvons ici dans sa diversité. Et cependant, un thème unit cescontes : la destruction de l'individu. C'est en effet la mort quir?de dans ces quatre récits de la cruauté ordinaire que Maupassantfait para?tre de 1881 à 1883. Mais cette dureté n'empêche pas lagaieté, ni que la farce se mêle au tragique. Séduisante etgrin?ante tour à tour, la réalité que mettent en scène ceshistoires de la vie quotidienne n'est donc banale qu'en apparence.L'inquiétante étrangeté n'est jamais très loin et, dans ces contessi réalistes, Maupassant nous conduit aux frontières où s'effacentles explications les plus naturelles
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.
Introduction and Notes by Claire Seymour University of Kent at Canterbury The central figure of this novel is the returning "native", Clym Yeobright, and his love for the beautiful but capricious Eustacia Vye. As character after character is driven to self-destruction, the presence of Egdon Heath becomes all-embracing, while Clym becomes a preacher. 作者简介： Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), the author of Under the Greenwood Tree, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders, and many other novels, was also an accomplished poet. Many of his works, including his poetry, are available from Penguin Classics.
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.
NOTHING BUT TROUBLEFlagan and Galloway Sackett had settled anold family debt and were heading west from Tennessee to seek theirfortune. That's when they came across an old Irish horse trader whooffered them two fine horses if they agreed to escort hisgranddaughter, Judith, to her father in Colorado. Flagan sawnothing but trouble in the pretty, fiery young woman. But theyneeded and wanted the horses. Unfortunately, Flagan was right, forJudith had fallen for James Black Fetchen, a charismatic gunmanwhose courtship hid the darkest of intentions. Now Fetchen and hisgang are racing the Sackett brothers to Colorado -- leaving a trailof betrayal, robbery, and murder. Flagan and Galloway could onlyguess why Judith is so important to Fetchen and what awaits them ather father's ranch. One thing Flagan knows for sure: The tough andspirited woman had won his heart. But could he trust her with hislife?Our foremost storyteller of the authentic West, L'Amour hasthrilled a nation by chronicling the adventures of the brave m
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-ninetee
They were just kids when they stumbled upon the hidden horror oftheir hometown. Now, as adults, none of them can withstand theforce that has drawn them all back to Derry, Maine, to face thenightmare without end, and the evil without a name.
The unforgettable story of Heathcliff and Catherine, whose doomed love torments them in a tempest of madness, vengeance, and redemption. 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 enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full pot
Although the shortest of George Eliot's novels, Silas Marner is one of her most admired and loved works.lt tells the sad story of the unjustly exiled Silas MARNER-a handloom linen weaver of raveloe in the agricultural heartland of England-and how he is restored to life by the unlikely means of the orphan child Eppie.Silas Marner is a tender and moving tale of sin and repentance set in a vanished rural world which holds the reader'sattention until the last page as Eppie's bonds of affection for Silas are put to the test.
Past midnight, Chyna Shepherd, twenty- six, gazed out a moonlitwindow, unable to sleep on her first night in the Napa Valley homeof her best friend's family. Instinct proves reliable. A murderoussociopath, Edgler Forman Vess, has entered the house, intent onkilling everyone inside. A self-proclaimed "homicidal adventure,"Vess lives only to satisfy all appetites as they arise, to immensehimself in sensation, to live without fear, remorse or limits, tolive with intensity. Chyna is trapped in his deadly orbit. Chyna is a survivor, toughened by a lifelong struggle for safetyand self-respect. Now she will be tested as never before. At firsther sole aim is to get out alive-until, by chance, she learns theidentity of Vess's next intended victim, a faraway innocent onlyshe can save. Driven by a newly discovered thirst for meaningbeyond mere self-preservation, Chyna musters every inner resourceshe has to save an endangered girl—as moment by moment, theterrifying threat Edgler Foreman Vess intensifies.
