In 1880, a retired Union General by the name of Lew Wallace completed his first historical novel while serving as governor in the Territory of New Mexico. He wrote it in response to questions raised by a famous agnostic sharing a train ride from Chicago to Indianapolis. At the time, Wallace wasnt as knowledgeable of the facts surrounding the life of Christ as he had thought. After doing extensive research, he was inspired to write what has becom ...
I usually avoid reading writers biographies or letters to their loved ones, especially those published posthumously. I am sure some people dream of the time when their lives are open to scrutiny by legions of readers, when their private confessions are published in neat volumes, and their witty letters to friends have little footnotes explaining the inside-jokes to the uninitiated. But the thought makes me cringe, and in the spirit of the old sa ...
In 1905 the troops of the Tsar crushed the Russian revolution of 1905. Although the uprising did force Nicholas II to establish a constitution and a parliament, the Russian revolution of 1917 would change the face of the world. However, the uprising also had the interesting effect of inspiring two of the more interesting utopian novels of the early 20th century. One was Red Star, the socialist utopia on Mars created by the Russian writer Alexand ...
The Original Ghotic Novel: Manfred is an usurpator who wants to consolidate his reign over Otranto. So he tries to marry his weak son to Isabella, heir to a more legitimate prince. But there is an old prophecy which warns against such moves, and the day of the wedding a gigantic iron helmet falls over Manfreds sons head. Then, a creepy -mostly funnily creepy- tale develops. But the plot, though wild and entertaining, is the least important thing ...
This is a high quality book of the original classic edition. <p> This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you. <p> Enjoy this classic work. These few paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside: <p> For many months back, and, in fact, down to this very minute, it had been pretty confidently believed that the young man was somewh ...
Ive been around theater for quite a while, and I was lucky enough to be in this play twice, once as Cyrano. Ive done Shakespeare, ONeill, Chekhov…and Ive never been in a play that comes close to this in terms of dramatic force. <p> Hercule Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, a cadet (nobleman serving as a soldier) in the French Army, is a brash, strong-willed man of many talents. In addition to being a remarkable duelist, he is a gifted, joyful ...
Titus Flavius Josephus (37 ? c. 100 CE), also called Joseph ben Matityahu was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century CE and the First Jewish?Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 CE. <p> His most important works were The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews. The Jewish War recount ...
Thomas De Quincey wrote this account of his life and his struggle with drug addiction to both educate on the evils of opium and also to share the dream trances that he experienced while in the throes of addiction. This version by Penguin presents De Quinceys original version from 1821 and then his revision notes from 1856. There is also a short section of comments that De Quincey made concerning his Confessions from 1821-1855. <p> The C ...
This is the first Allan Quartermain book Ive read, and it certainly wont be the last. In fact, I just started reading King Solomons Mines. <p> This is the story of Allan Quartermains last adventure. He, Sir Henry Curtis, and Commander John Good go in search of a lost city of white people in Africa. There is also Umslopagaas, a Zulu ex-chief/warrior, who might be my favorite character. I hope he shows up in another Allan Quartermain novel ...
