One of China's Four Great Classical Novels, «The Dream of the Red Chamber» is perhaps the greatest novel written in the Chinese vernacular. Its authorship is attributed to Cao Xueqin, who lived sometime from the early to mid-eighteenth century. Little is known of Cao Xueqin, except from what was passed down from his contemporaries and friends. An intelligent and artistic man, known for both his poetry and his paintings, Xueqin spent a decad ...
Considered one of the most important novels ever written in the Italian language, «The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi)» is Alessandro Manzoni's 1827 historical novel, which details the terribly oppressive rule of the Spanish over Italy in the early 1600s. At the center of the novel is the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, whose marriage is forbidden by the local baron. Set against all odds Renzo and Lucia's love must struggle ag ...
George du Maurier (1834-1896) was a French-born British cartoonist and most notably, an author. The caricaturist abandoned painting for drawing when he was blinded in one eye. His skilled draftsmanship and engaging personality quickly established his success. Maurier's drawings for English illustrated periodicals such as «Punch», «Once a Week», and «The Leisure Hour» were acute commentaries on the Victorian scene. His highly successful nove ...
Nearly eighteen months after the 1672 lynching of the Dutch Grand Pensionary in which Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are killed, the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands is holding a competition between the country's best gardeners to grow a black tulip. Cornelius van Baerle, a young bourgeois gentleman has almost succeeded at the task, however before he can he is thrown into the Loevestein prison. While there he meets the beautiful y ...
"The Turn of the Screw and The Aspern Papers" combines two of Henry James' most popular works into one conveniently sized volume. «The Turn of the Screw» is an intense psychological tale of terror. Beginning in an old house on Christmas Eve, it is the story of a Governess who comes to live with and take care of two young children. The Governess loves her new position in charge of the young children, however she is soon disturbed when s ...
"Daisy Miller" is Henry James's classic story of a young American woman who while traveling in Europe is courted by Frederick Winterbourne. Originally published in The Cornhill Magazine in 1878, «Daisy Miller» is a novel that plays upon the contrast between American and European society that is common to James's work. The title character's youthful innocence is sharply contrasted with the sophistication of European society in ...
William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was born in 1837 in Martins Ferry, Ohio, one of ten children to editor and printer, William Cooper Howells. William's early education in the printing office led him to a job as a compositor on the «Ohio State Journal» at age fourteen, and a successful career as an author by his early twenties. His notoriety comes largely from his fifteen years working at «The Atlantic Monthly» as assistant and chief editor, ...
The last work written by Flaubert that was not quite complete by his death in 1880, «Bouvard and Pecuchet» is his characteristically satirical work revolving around two Parisian copy-clerks. Though they meet on a park bench in the middle of a hot summer day, their friendship grows to a remarkable degree, so much so that when one receives an unexpected inheritance, they both decide to dedicate themselves to the exploration of ideas in the country ...
An unflinching examination of the corrupted American dream, «The Financier» tells a story revolving around a fiercely dishonest and motivated businessman, Frank Cowperwood. This protagonist relentlessly maneuvers for wealth without scruples or compassion, first marrying an affluent widow, then embezzling funds. When stock markets crash, his lies are exposed, and he is used as a scapegoat for the corruption of others. Both a betrayer and the betr ...