Fanny Price is a poor relation living with the Bertrams, acutely conscious of her status and yet daring to love their son Edmund— from afar. But with five marriageable young people on the premises, any peace at Mansfield cannot last...
Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, is devoted to the beautiful gypsy dancer, La Esmerelda. When the demented archdeacon Frollo hatches a devilish plot to abduct La Esmerelda, Quasimodo will go to any lengths to protect the woman he loves.
Tom,a poor orphan,is employed by the villainous chimney-sweep,Grimes,to climb up inside flues to clear away the soot.While engaged in this dreadful task,he loses his way and emerges in the bedroom of Ellie,the young daughter of the house who mistakes him for a thief.He runs away,and,hot and bothered,he slips into a cooling stream,falls asleep,and becomes a Water Baby. In his new life,he meets all sorts of aquatic creatures,including an engaging old lobster,other water babies,and at last reaches St Branden's lsle where he encounters the fierce Mrs Bedonbyasyoudid and the motherly Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby.After a long and arduous quest to the Othe-end-of-Nowhere young Tom achieves his heart's desire.
"[Mole] thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before--this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again." Such is the cautious, agreeable Mole's first introduction to the river and the Life Adventurous. Emerging from his home at Mole End one spring, his whole world changes when he hooks up with the good-natured, boat-loving Water Rat, the boastful Toad of Toad Hall, the society- hating Badger who lives in the frightening Wild Wood, and countless other mostly well-meaning creatures. Michael Hague's exquisitely detailed, breathtaking color illustrations on almost every generous spread--along with Kenneth Grahame's elegant, delightfully old-fashioned characterizations of the animals--make this book a wonderful read-aloud. G
Perhaps the most haunting and tragic love story ever written, Wuthering Heights is the tale of Heathcliff, a brooding, troubled orphan, and his doomed love for Catherine Earnshaw. His desire for her leads him to madness, however, when Catherine is made to marry a wealthy lord, sending Heathcliff on a life-long quest to avenge himself upon those who stole his only love and his life. In this gripping chronicle of the never-ending conflict between the heart and the mind -- and the pain and passion of true romance -- Emily Bront created an unforgettable classic saga of love, desperation, vengeance, and forgiveness. Published just one year before Bront 's death in 1848 at the age of thirty, Wuthering Heights endures as one of the world's greatest love stories and a classic of English literature. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
‘I am writing to a rhythm and not to a plot’,Virginia Woolf stated of her eighth novel,The Waves。 Widely regarded as one of her greatest and most original works,it conveys the rhythms of life in synchrony with the cycle of nature and the passage of time。 Six children-Bernard,Susan,Rhoda,Neville,Jinny and Louis-meet in a garden close to the sea,their voices sounding over the constant echo of the waves that roll back and forth from the shore。 The subsequent continuity of these six main characters,as they develop from childhood to maturity and follow different passions and ambitions,is interspersed with interludes from the timeless and unifying chorus of nature。 In pure stream-of-consciousness style,Woolf presents a cross-section of multiple yet parallel lives,each marked by the disintegrating force of a mutual tragedy。 The Waves is her searching exploration of individual and collective identity,and the observations and emotions of life,from the simplicity and surgin
This story of a modest, peace-loving Indian, forced to side withrebels to save his family—only to become a compulsivemilitarist—has been compared to the works of Chekhov and Gorky as apowerful and insightful portrait of social upheaval.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy,Gentleman took fiction into unknown realms,combining an entirely new concept in form with an idiosyncratic type of sentimental comedy.The poblication of the first two of nine volumes brought the novel's exuberant mixture of bawdry and virtuous feeling also provided considerable moral outrage,which the author relished. An amorphous mass of inconsequential incidents,musings,reminiscences and countless hilarious digressins into side issues of the vaguest tangential relevance,make up this engaging anti-novel which has no beginning middle or end,and is dominated by the author's vibrant personality which commands the reader's active participation.
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.
Readers the world over recognize O. Henry as the best short story writer of the early twentieth century. Widely known as a master of irony, O. Henry also displays here dazzling wordplay and a wry combination of pathos and humor.
One of America's greatest women writers, Willa Cather established her talent and her reputation with this extraordinary novel--the first of her books set on the Nebraska frontier. A tale of the prairie land encountered by America's Swedish, Czech, Bohemian, and French immigrants, as well as a story of how the land challenged them, changed them, and, in some cases, defeated them, Cather's novel is a uniquely American epic.
From #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Tami Hoagcomes this romance classic about a man in love--and the woman who'sdetermined to prove it to him... Maggie McSwain should have beenthrilled when Rylan Quaid asked her to marry him. Instead, she wascrushed. After all her romantic fantasies, Ry's proposal wasmissing one crucial element: "love. "But Maggie would prove to Rythat he had a heart--and then she'd use every teasing, temptingounce of seductive power she had to capture it. The next time heproposed to her--and there would be a next time--common sense wouldbe the last thing on his mind. As far as Ry was concerned, solidpartnerships made for lasting marriages--and that's what he couldhave with Maggie. Of course he wanted her, as any man with eyeswould want her. But he couldn't love her...because he'd vowed neverto fall in love again. Now it seemed that the only way to make herhis wife was to use reverse psychology. He'd just retract hisproposal--and pretend to be immune to her charms. He had no
Father Brown, one of the most quirkily genial and lovable characters to emerge from English detective fiction, first made his appearance in The Innocence of Father Brown in 1911. That first collection of stories established G.K. Chesterton's kindly cleric in the front rank of eccentric sleuths. This complete collection contains all the favourite Father Brown stories, showing a quiet wit and compassion that has endeared him to many, whilst solving his mysteries by a mixture of imagination and a sympathetic worldliness in a totally believable manner.
The Man in the Iron Mask is the final episode in the cycle of novels featuring Dumas’ celebrated foursome of D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, who first appeared in The Three Musketeers. Some thirty-five years on, the bonds of comradeship are under strain as they end up on different sides in a power struggle that may undermine the young Louis XIV and change the face of the French monarchy. In the fast-paced narrative style that was his trademark, Dumas pitches us straight into the action. What is the secret shared by Aramis and Madame de Chevreuse? Why does the Queen Mother fear its revelation? Who is the mysterious prisoner in the Bastille? And what is the nature of the threat he poses? Dumas, the master storyteller, keeps us reading until the climactic scene in the grotto of Locmaria, a fitting conclusion to the epic saga of the musketeers.
This is far and away the finest critical edition of the play available' Eric Rasmussen, Shakespeare Survey --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
This volume completes the canon of the illustrated Sherlock Holmes stories, reprinted from The Strand Magazine. It contains the short story series Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear - a sinister novella which appeared in 1914-15 - His Last Bow:The War Service of Sherlock Holmes and the last 12 stories The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
Father Brown, one of the most quirkily genial and lovable characters to emerge from English detective fiction, first made his appearance in The Innocence of Father Brown in 1911. That first collection of stories established G.K. Chesterton's kindly cleric in the front rank of eccentric sleuths. This complete collection contains all the favourite Father Brown stories, showing a quiet wit and compassion that has endeared him to many, whilst solving his mysteries by a mixture of imagination and a sympathetic worldliness in a totally believable manner.
When Richard Hannay returns from a long stay in Africa, he becomes caught up in a sensational plot to precipitate a pan-European war. After a corpse is found in his flat, Hannay flees the attentions of both the conspirators and the forces of law,and the pursuit turns into a thrilling manhunt. Set against the hot summer which precedes the outbreak of the First World War,The Thirty-nine Steps is one of the finest and most highly admired thrillers ever written.
‘I am writing to a rhythm and not to a plot’,Virginia Woolf stated of her eighth novel,The Waves。 Widely regarded as one of her greatest and most original works,it conveys the rhythms of life in synchrony with the cycle of nature and the passage of time。 Six children-Bernard,Susan,Rhoda,Neville,Jinny and Louis-meet in a garden close to the sea,their voices sounding over the constant echo of the waves that roll back and forth from the shore。 The subsequent continuity of these six main characters,as they develop from childhood to maturity and follow different passions and ambitions,is interspersed with interludes from the timeless and unifying chorus of nature。 In pure stream-of-consciousness style,Woolf presents a cross-section of multiple yet parallel lives,each marked by the disintegrating force of a mutual tragedy。 The Waves is her searching exploration of individual and collective identity,and the observations and emotions of life,from the simplicity and sur
Bill Canavan rode into the valley with a dream to start hisown ranch. But when he managed to stake claims on the three bestwater holes, the other ranchers turned against him. No one is moredetermined to see Canavan dead than Star Levitt. Levitt is anunscrupulous businessman who has been accumulating cattle at analarming rate. Suspicious after witnessing a secret meeting betweenthe riders of warring ranches, Bill begins noticing other dubiousbehavior: Why is Levitt's fiancee, Dixie Venable, acting more likea hostage than a willing bride-to-be? Canavan doesn't have muchtime to figure out what's going on. The entire valley is againsthim, and everyone is ready to shoot on sight.
Released in 2005 in Arabic, Girls of Riyadh caused a sensation throughout the Arab world. Now in English, Rajaa Alsanea's bold first novel exposes the hidden lives of young upper-class women and their personal conflicts with culturaltradition and offers Westerners an unprecedented glimpse into a society often veiled from view. From the Saudi singles scene in Riyadh to their travels outside the country, four young women, Gamrah,Michelle, Sadeem, and Lamees, literally and figuratively shed traditional garb as they negotiate, their love lives; their professional successes; their rebellions, large and small; and ultimately their place-somewhere in between contemporary Western society and their Islamic home.