"Jacob's Room" is the life story of the character Jacob Flanders, from his childhood through to his death in the first World War. Considered to be a highly experimental novel, Jacob's Room is a study in character development. Virginia Woolf through the use of symbology, stream of consciousness, monologue and brief dialogues focuses her novel on the psychology of her characters instead of any specific plot or action of the story. « ...
Combined in this volume are two famous Spanish picaresque novels, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza's «Lazarillo de Tormes» and Francisco de Quevedo's «The Swindler.» «Lazarillo de Tormes» portrays the clever ploys of a young Salamancan boy determined to outsmart his long string of masters. This Spanish novella was first published in 1554, during the Spanish Inquisition, by an author who wished to remain anonymous due to the work's heretic ...
Published in 1558, ten years after the author's death, «The Heptameron» is an unfinished work inspired by the «Decameron» by Giovanni Boccaccio, containing seventy-two short stories written in French by Marguerite de Navarre, Queen of Navarre and sister of Francois I. The story begins with five gentlemen and five lady travelers who find themselves stranded in a small town in the Pyrenees, and decide to entertain themselves through story-tel ...
Considered one of the best books ever written, «War and Peace» has remained in the upper echelon of world literature because it masterfully captures an intimate view of humanity on an epic scale. Through the use of fictional narrative, Tolstoy utilizes a huge cast of characters, centering on five aristocratic Russian families in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. These characters, particularly Pierre, Prince Andrei, and the beautiful Natasha, dem ...
Set near the Limberlost Swamp in Indiana at the beginning of the 20th century, «A Girl of the Limberlost» is the story of Elnora Comstock, a young girl who is just entering high school at the outset of the novel. The story is one of Elnora's struggles to overcome her poverty; to win the love of her mother, who blames Elnora for her husband's death; and to find a romantic love of her own. A classic and romantic coming of age story, «A G ...
This comprehensive volume of all of Twain's shorter works is representative of his vast humor and wit. «The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain» includes the following tales: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Story of the Bad Little Boy, Cannibalism in the Cars, A Day at Niagara, Legend of the Capitoline Venus, Journalism in Tennessee, A Curious Dream, The Facts in the Great Beef Contract, How I Edited an Agricultural Pap ...
The second novel of the «Chronicles of Barsetshire» series, this 1857 work continues the story of Mr. Harding and his daughter Eleanor in a satirical moral comedy. Upon the death of the much-respected bishop, the citizens fully expect his son, an archdeacon, to fill the vacancy. Much to their consternation, however, a newcomer, Bishop Proudie, is given the position. A struggle for power ensues between these traditional and new forces, in which P ...
The first of two sequels written for «The Three Musketeers,» Dumas' beloved characters return for more adventurous duty in «Twenty Years After.» As the title suggests, two decades have elapsed since D'Artagnan and his friends have prevailed over the evil machinations of Cardinal Richelieu and the icy Milady. However, danger and political intrigue still abound in both France and England, where the former is on the brink of civil war and ...
Originally published between 1838-1847 «A Harlot High and Low» continues the story of Lucien de Rubempre from Honore de Balzac's preceding novel «Lost Illusions.» Central to the tale is the pact made between Lucien and Vautrin in which Lucien will arrive at success in Paris if he agrees to follow Vautrin's instructions on how to do so. A love affair between the beautiful Esther van Gobseck and Lucien creates a conflict for their plans ...