Showing results by author "Beauty_23" in All Categories

Viviette is a headstrong young girl who is pursued by two brothers: Austin, a headstrong man of the world and a barrister in London, and Dick, who is much quieter and who has remained at the family home to look after the estate and his mother. This short story follows the twists and turns of the relationships of the three, leading to a surprising ending. - Summary by Simon Evers

Fisher’s treatment of the history of Finland, in the context of its relations with Russia, was released in 1899—at the start of the first attempted wave of Russification. At this time, it seems, many Finns regarded it as a misunderstanding. A mistake. Not a contrivance of Nicholas II, but a villainy emanating instead, fen-sucked, from the sinister Russian state machinery—the fief of a myopic and obdurate cadre of supremacists and absolutists. Men like the rabid anti-semite Konstantin Pobedonostsev who, by the camera's harsh testimony, seems to have died long before he stopped coming in ...

"Leave it to Jeeves" was Bertie's motto, be the question one of a colour of a tie, the style of a hat, the cut of a coat. Jeeves was always right. There was no one like him to placate rich uncles or indignant mammas. He said just the right thing at just the right moment.What did it matter that Jeeves was somewhat of a tyrant, and that without his approval Bertie could not grow so much as a moustache? Was he not always there to lean on in moments of stress? And moments such as these were frequent in the life of Bertie and his friends. Jeeves service was extended to them all."Carry On, Jeeves" ...

Incredibly prolific author Oscar Schisgall, who contributed over 4,000 stories to publications like Reader's Digest and Colliers, published two thrilling stories in Weird Tales magazine, "The Death Pit" ("a novelette of grim tragedy") in November of 1923 and "In Kashla's Garden ("a tale of hypnotism") in May of 1927. Enjoy this pair of macabre tales sure to bring tingles to the spine! - Summary by Ben Tucker

It’s a dreary February in post-World War I London when Mrs. Wilkins spots an advertisement in The Times for a small Italian castle for rent in April. She sees another member of her women’s club, Mrs. Arbuthnot, reading the same advertisement and manages to convince her that the two of them should rent it. Both are miserable and lonely in their marriages. They can’t afford the cost of the villa, San Salvatore, on their own and must advertise for two others, eventually recruiting an elderly widow named Mrs. Fisher, and Lady Caroline Dester, a beautiful young socialite desperate to escape ...

The disappearance of a noted archaeologist hunting the secret of the Lost Tribe of the Wiramwazi Mountains was a signal to the one man who could penetrate Africa's deepest interior—Tarzan of the Apes. For only Tarzan, the white man who had been raised by the anthropoid apes, could understand the ways of the jungle and its beasts perfectly enough to speed to the scientist's rescue. But this time, in addition to savage tribes and vicious beasts, Tarzan uncovered a strange lost land—twin cities of Roman soldiery, outposts of a ruthless empire that had fallen fifteen hundred years before. ...

A collection of three translated diaries written during the latter part of the Heian Period (11th century A.D.). The original authors, Sugawara no Takasue no musume, Murasaki Shikibu, and Izumi Shikibu, were all women of the Japanese court; the latter two known also for their novels and poetry, respectively. - Summary by Wikisource

The first chapter of a book is often the hook to draw a reader in. It could make you eager for more or realize it isn't for you. Here we offer the seventh "First Chapter Collection" in which readers share the first chapters of a variety of fiction and non-fiction works.

Having left Sherlock Holmes apparently deceased at the conclusion of The Final Problem (in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes), we now find that he is alive after all! In this collection, first published in 1905, the great detective causes Watson to faint (The Empty House), demonstrates that cryptography is elementary (The Dancing Men), and gets engaged (Charles Augustus Milverton). Join in the fun as Holmes deduces his way through these thirteen adventures. (summary by Laurie Anne Walden)

The book was first published in February 1905 by McClure, Phillips & Co. (New York) then on March 7, 1905 by Georges Newnes, Ltd. (London) and was the first Holmes collection since 1893, when Holmes had "died" in The Final Problem. Having published The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901–1902 (setting it before Holmes' death) Doyle came under intense pressure to revive his famous character.The first story is set in 1894 and has Holmes returning in London and explaining the period from 1891–94, a period called "The Great Hiatus" by Sherlockian enthusiasts. Also of note is Watson's statement ...

The first chapter of a book is often the hook to draw a reader in. It could make you eager for more or realize it isn't for you. Here we offer the sixth First Chapter Collection" in which readers share the first chapters of a variety of fiction and non-fiction works.

The poem begins with the beloved god Balder, thought to be invulnerable, dead at the hands of the inoffensive blind god Hoder, in a game. Loki, whose deceit brought about this catastrophe, is promptly punished with exile, and Odin, Balder's father, sponsors a heroic quest to rescue his son from the land of the dead. This desperate venture unexpectedly meets with partial success, a conditional agreement to release Balder if everyone in the land of the living mourns his death. And even though over every hope hangs the threat of the ultimate end of the reign of the Norse gods, the mother of the ...

"Balder Dead" is a beautiful epic poem by Matthew Arnold. It draws from Norse mythology to retell the story of the the death of Odin's son, Balder, instigated by the treacherous jealousy of Loki. (Summary by Nathan)

Heart of Darkness tells the story of an English seaman, Charles Marlow, who embarks on a voyage up the Congo River and into the African wilderness. He soon becomes obsessed with the success of an ivory trading commander, Kurtz. Little does he know, Kurtz has been consumed with darkness and has begun his descent into madness... Summary by cadastra.

Set in a time of oppressive colonisation, when large areas of the world were still unknown to Europe, and Africa was literally on maps and minds as a mysterious shadow, Heart of Darkness famously explores the rituals of civilisation and barbarism, and the frighteningly fine line between them. We get the tale through a classic unreliable narrator, relating as Marlow, a ship’s captain, tells how he was sent by the Company to retrieve the wayward Kurtz, and was shaken to discover the true depths of darkness in that creature’s, and in his own, soul. Conrad based the work closely on his own ...

Crime and Punishment is the second of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his return from 5 years of exile in Siberia, and is considered the first great novel of his "mature" period of writing. The novel focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in St. Petersburg who formulates and executes a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her cash. Raskolnikov, in an attempt to defend his actions, argues that with the pawnbroker's money he can perform good deeds to counterbalance the crime while ridding the world of a vermin, ...

The story tells of the inner turmoil of Rodion Raskolnikov, a student in St. Petersburg who commits murder. His psychological and moral agitation is furthered and complicated by his family's arrival in St. Petersburg, his sister's engagement to a manipulative and unworthy man, and his encounters with the impoverished and troubled Marmeladov family. Summary by Mary J.CastNarrator: Mary J and Piotr NaterRodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov: Chris PyleSemyon Zaharovitch Marmeladov: John BurlinsonKaterina Ivanovna Marmeladova: TJ BurnsNastasya Petrovna: Patricia SilveiraPulcheria Alexandrovna ...

This is a tale based on Melville's experiences aboard the USS United States from 1843 to 1844. It comments on the harsh and brutal realities of service in the US Navy at that time, but beyond this the narrator has created for the reader graphic symbols for class distinction, segregation and slavery aboard this microcosm of the world, the USS Neversink. (Introduction by James K. White)

In Walden beschreibt Thoreau sein Leben in einer Blockhütte, die er sich 1845 in den Wäldern von Concord (Massachusetts) am See Walden Pond auf einem Grundstück seines Freundes Ralph Waldo Emerson baute, um dort für mehr als zwei Jahre der industrialisierten Massengesellschaft der jungen USA den Rücken zu kehren. Nach eigener Aussage ging es ihm dabei jedoch nicht um eine naive Weltflucht, sondern um den Versuch, einen alternativen und ausgewogenen Lebensstil zu verwirklichen.Das 1854 veröffentlichte Buch kann nicht als Roman im eigentlichen Sinne angesehen werden, vielmehr ist es eine ...

LibriVox’s Short Mystery Story Collection 001: a collection of 10 short works of mysterious fiction in the public domain read by a group of LibriVox members.