"Madame Bovary" is a classic novel by French author Gustave Flaubert. It tells the story of Emma Bovary, a young woman who yearns for a more glamorous and fulfilling life than the one she leads in a provincial town. Emma's romantic desires and ideals lead her into a series of unfortunate adventures and financial ruin. The novel explores themes of disillusionment, the consequences of living beyond one's means, and the consequences of unfulfilled dreams. Flaubert's meticulous and lively writing style is often celebrated, making "Madame Bovary" a masterpiece of realist literature.
Probably Virginia Woolf's best-known novel, Mrs. Dalloway, originally published in 1925, is a glorious, ground-breaking text. On the surface, it follows Clarissa Dalloway, an Englishwoman in her fifties, minute by minute through the June day on which she is having a party. At a deeper level, however, the novel demonstrates, through an effortless stream of consciousness, the connections formed in human interaction-whether these interactions are fleeting, or persist through decades.
This is a novel to read and cherish, if only to marvel at Woolf's linguistic acrobatics. Words and phrases swoop and soar like swallows. Woolf's sentences are magnificent: sinuous, whirling, impeccably detailed. As narrative perspective shifts from character to character-sometimes within a single sentence-readers come to understand the oh-so-permeable barrier between self and other. Through Clarissa we meet Septimus Warren Smith, his wife Rezia, and a cast of dozens more, all connected by the leaden circles of Big Ben marking the passage of every hour, by the pavements of Bloomsbury that lead everywhere and nowhere. Modernist London has never been portrayed more sublimely: replete with birdsong and flowers, resplendent in sunshine, youthful yet eternal-and even in the aftermath of war and pandemic, resilient.
Mrs. Dalloway is Woolf's attempt to express that which may be inexpressible. It offers a close examination of how difficult it is, even when our hearts are brimming, to say what we really feel; and it examines the damage we inflict through our reticence with words, our withholding of love. It is a novel of the soul, and a work of immense beauty.
"Boule de Suif" se déroule pendant la guerre franco-prussienne de 1870-1871, dans la ville de Rouen, qui est occupée par les troupes prussiennes. L'histoire suit un groupe hétérogène de voyageurs français qui tentent de fuir la ville occupée pour se rendre à Dieppe, qui est aux mains des Français.
Parmi les voyageurs se trouve Élisabeth Rousset, surnommée "Boule de Suif," une femme généreuse et aimée de tous, malgré son apparence enrobée. Le groupe comprend également des notables locaux, y compris des commerçants et des aristocrates. Les voyageurs sont contraints de voyager ensemble dans une diligence, car les autorités prussiennes ne les laisseront pas partir seuls.
Pendant leur voyage, les voyageurs sont confrontés à des difficultés et à des humiliations de la part des Prussiens, qui détiennent un pouvoir oppressif. Boule de Suif se montre généreuse en partageant ses provisions avec les autres voyageurs, malgré sa propre faim. Cependant, à un moment donné, les autorités prussiennes, par l'intermédiaire d'un officier allemand, font pression sur Boule de Suif pour qu'elle se sacrifie en échange de la libération du groupe.
L'histoire explore des thèmes tels que la morale, la lâcheté, la compromission et la solidarité. Elle met en lumière les contradictions et les faiblesses morales des personnages, notamment ceux de la classe sociale supérieure qui méprisent Boule de Suif malgré son sacrifice généreux.
"Boule de Suif" est une oeuvre puissante qui dénonce l'hypocrisie et l'injustice sociale de la société de l'époque. Guy de Maupassant critique la lâcheté des élites bourgeoises qui sont prêtes à sacrifier les autres pour préserver leur propre confort. La nouvelle a un impact durable en tant que commentaire social et est un exemple notable du réalisme littéraire français.
Set on an island off the Scottish coast, To the Lighthouse minutely examines the fleeting impressions of a large cast of family, friends, lovers, and hangers-on. Who can we be, Virginia Woolf invites us to ask, if no one can ever know our hearts-if they're unknowable even to ourselves? To the Lighthouse remains one of the most important Modernist novels, exquisitely composed by one of the most gifted writers of the Modernist movement.
The opening section follows the passage of a day with a thwarted objective: to go to the nearby lighthouse. The concluding section revisits this expedition a decade later, when so much is irrevocably changed, as a chance to glimpse interpersonal understandings and connections. The novel provides a brilliant example of stream-of-consciousness writing, and raises questions that provoke us still: questions about whether children are the fullest realization of one's posterity, how women artists are regarded socially, and how money and status enable-or close off-networks, relationships, and the dreams we hold most dear.
As masterful as its technique is, however, the lasting value of this novel for twenty-first-century readers may be its sharp representation of the emotional labor that people-particularly women-perform in order to manage the needs and expectations of others. Woolf wrote in an age when women's participation in society was tightly restricted by class norms and stultifying domesticity. Nearly a century later, scholars still have a great deal to say about Mrs. Ramsay, Lily Briscoe, and the tension between Mr. Ramsay and his son James.
Woolf's fifth novel, and one of her most successful books both critically and commercially, To the Lighthouse was originally published in 1927, simultaneously in England and the United States. Due to a quirk in the management and correction of the proofs, according to scholar Hans Walter Gabler, the two editions were not identical, since in a significant number of instances Virginia Woolf marked up the first proofs differently for her two publishers. The Standard Ebooks edition is based primarily on the Hogarth UK edition.
We rely on your support to help us keep producing beautiful, free, and unrestricted editions of literature for the digital age.
Will you support our efforts with a donation?
Henry Fleming has joined the Union army because of his romantic ideas of military life, but soon finds himself in the middle of a battle against a regiment of Confederate soldiers. Terrified, Henry deserts his comrades. Upon returning to his regiment, he struggles with his shame as he tries to redeem himself and prove his courage.
The Red Badge of Courage is Stephen Crane's second book, notable for its realism and the fact that Crane had never personally experienced battle. Crane drew heavy inspiration from Century Magazine, a periodical known for its articles about the American Civil War. However, he criticized the articles for their lack of emotional depth and decided to write a war novel of his own. The manuscript was first serialized in December 1894 by The Philadelphia Press and quickly won Crane international acclaim before he died in June 1900 at the age of 28.
Virginia Woolf's second novel, Night and Day, is a storey about a group of young people attempting to figure out what it means to fall in love. It was written before she started experimenting with fiction writing. It tackles all of the important issues, such as what it means to fall in love. Is it true that marriage brings happiness? What exactly is happiness? Night and Day is a traditional storey, but its magnificent prose maps out Virginia Woolf's world for us: It was the start of a lengthy journey for her in her search for a way to convey her "inner life."
Jacob's Room, penned by the renowned author Virginia Woolf, is a milestone in modernist literature. As one of the significant Virginia Woolf books, the novel showcases her pioneering writing style and the profound exploration of the human condition.
The novel centers around Jacob Flanders, a young man whose life and death are depicted through a series of fragmented scenes and impressions from different perspectives. This unique narrative technique marks the novel as a fundamental piece of stream-of-consciousness literature.
Woolf's depiction of Jacob's life in pre-war England provides an evocative portrayal of the era's social norms and expectations. With its intricate exploration of societal norms, Jacob's Room is an engaging read for those interested in social critique literature and early 20th-century British narratives.
While Jacob is the central figure, readers never hear directly from him. Instead, they learn about him through the observations of those around him. This innovative narrative approach offers an intricate study of character perception in literature.
The novel is also a commentary on the futility and destruction of war, making it a relevant read for those interested in war critique literature. It questions the waste of young lives, like Jacob's, making the narrative a poignant reflection on the human cost of conflict.
Woolf's deep exploration of identity, perception, and society in Jacob's Room demonstrates her enduring influence on literature. Its innovative narrative, multifaceted characters, and insightful commentary on society and war make it a thought-provoking and engaging read, continuing to resonate with readers to this day.
QUINTANA: Ya que a vista de Madrid y en su Puente Segoviana olvidamos, doña Juana, huertas de Valladolid, Puerta del Campo, Espolón, puentes, galeras, Esgueva, con todo aquello que lleva, por ser como inquisición de [la] pinciana nobleza, pues cual brazo de justicia, desterrando su inmundicia califica su limpieza; ya que nos traen tus pesares a que desta insigne puente veas la humilde corriente del enano Manzanares, que por arenales rojos corre, y se debe correr, que en tal puente venga a ser lágrima de tantos ojos; ¿no sabremos qué ocasión te ha traído desa traza? ¿Qué peligro te disfraza de damisela en varón? JUANA: Por agora no, Quintana. QUINTANA: Cinco días hace hoy que mudo contigo voy. Un lunes por la mañana en Valladolid quisiste fiarte de mi lealtad: dejaste aquella ciudad; a esta Corte te partiste, quedando sola la casa de la vejez que te adora, sin ser posible hasta agora saber de ti lo que pasa, por conjurarme primero que no examine qué tienes, por qué, cómo o dónde vienes, y yo, humilde majadero, callo y camino tras ti haciendo más conjeturas que un matemático a escuras. ¿Dónde me llevas ansí? Aclara mi confusión si a lástima te he movido, que si contigo he venido, fue tu determinación de suerte que, temeroso de que, si sola salías, a riesgo tu honor ponías, tuve por más provechoso seguirte y ser de tu honor guardajoyas, que quedar, yéndote tú, a consolar las congojas de señor. Ten ya compasión de mí, que suspensa el alma está hasta saberlo.
We may believe in the doctrine of Progress or we may not, but in either case it is a matter of interest to examine the origins and trace the history of what is now, even should it ultimately prove to be no more than an idolum saeculi, the animating and controlling idea of western civilisation.
Contents: - Some Interpretations of Universal History: Bodin and Le Roy - Utility the End of Knowledge: Bacon - Cartesianism - The Doctrine of Degeneration: the Ancients and Moderns - The Progress of Knowledge: Fontenelle - The General Progress of Man: Abbe De Saint-Pierre - New Conceptions of History: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Turgot - The Encyclopaedists and Economists - Was Civilisation a Mistake? Rousseau, Chastellux - The Year 2440 - The French Revolution: Condorcet - The Theory of Progress in England - German Speculations on Progress - Currents of Thought in France After the Revolution - The Search for a Law of Progress: - Progress in the French Revolutionary Movement (1830-1851) - Material Progress: the Exhibition of 1851 - Progress in the Light of Evolution.
The Naturalist on the River Amazons, subtitled A Record of the Adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life, and Aspects of Nature under the Equator, during Eleven Years of Travel, is an 1863 book by the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates about his expedition to the Amazon basin. Bates and his friend Alfred Russel Wallace set out to obtain new species and new evidence for evolution by natural selection, as well as exotic specimens to sell. He explored thousands of miles of the Amazon and its tributaries, and collected over 14,000 species, of which 8,000 were new to science. His observations of the coloration of butterflies led him to discover Batesian mimicry.
The book contains an evenly distributed mixture of natural history, travel, and observation of human societies, including the towns with their Catholic processions. Only the most remarkable discoveries of animals and plants are described, and theories such as evolution and mimicry are barely mentioned. Bates remarks that finding a new species is only the start; he also describes animal behaviour, sometimes in detail, as for the army ants. He constantly relates the wildlife to the people, explaining how the people hunt, what they eat and what they use as medicines. The book is illustrated with drawings by leading artists including E. W. Robinson, Josiah Wood Whymper, Joseph Wolf and Johann Baptist Zwecker.
On Bates's return to England, he was encouraged by Charles Darwin to write up his eleven-year stay in the Amazon as a book. The result was widely admired, not least by Darwin; other reviewers sometimes disagreed with the book's support for evolution, but generally enjoyed his account of the journey, scenery, people, and natural history. The book has been reprinted many times, mostly in Bates's own effective abridgement for the second edition, which omitted the more technical descriptions.
The best book of Natural History Travels ever published in England - Charles Darwin
The Man from Snowy River is a poem by Australian bush poet Banjo Paterson. It was first published in The Bulletin, an Australian news magazine, on 26 April 1890, and was published by Angus & Robertson in October 1895, with other poems by Paterson, in The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses.
The poem tells the story of a horseback pursuit to recapture the colt of a prizewinning racehorse that escaped from its paddock and is living with the brumbies (wild horses) of the mountain ranges. Eventually the brumbies descend a seemingly impassable steep slope, at which point the assembled riders give up the pursuit, except the young protagonist, who spurs his pony (small horse) down the terrible descent and catches the mob.
Two characters mentioned in the early part of the poem are featured in previous Paterson poems: Clancy of the Overflow and Harrison from Old Pardon, Son of Reprieve.
This Side of Paradise is the debut novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1920. The book examines the lives and morality of carefree American youth at the dawn of the Jazz Age. Its protagonist Amory Blaine is an attractive middle-class student at Princeton University who dabbles in literature and engages in a series of romances with flappers. The novel explores the theme of love warped by greed and status seeking, and takes its title from a line of Rupert Brooke's poem Tiare Tahiti.
Tarzan the Untamed is a book by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the seventh in his series of twenty-four books about the title character Tarzan. It was originally published as two separate stories serialized in different pulp magazines; Tarzan the Untamed (also known as Tarzan and the Huns) in Redbook from March to August, 1919, and Tarzan and the Valley of Luna in All-Story Weekly from March to April 1920. The two stories were combined under the title of the first in the first book edition, published in 1920 by A. C. McClurg. In order of writing, the book follows Jungle Tales of Tarzan, a collection of short stories about the ape-man's youth. Chronologically, it follows Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar.
The Religion of Nature Delineated is a book by Anglican cleric William Wollaston that describes a system of ethics that can be discerned without recourse to revealed religion. It was first published in 1722, two years before Wollaston's death. Due to its influence on eighteenth-century philosophy and his promotion of a natural religion, the book claims for Wollaston a ranking as one of the great British Enlightenment philosophers, along with John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume. It contributed to the development of two important intellectual schools: British Deism, and the pursuit of happiness moral philosophy of American Practical Idealism which appears in the United States Declaration of Independence.
Redmond Barry of Ballybarry, born to a genteel but ruined Irish family, fancies himself a gentleman. At the prompting of his mother, he learns what he can of courtly manners and swordplay, but fails at more scholarly subjects like Latin. He is a hot-tempered, passionate lad, and falls madly in love with his cousin, Nora. As she is a spinster a few years older than Redmond, she is seeking a prospect with more ready cash to pay family debts. The lad tries to engage in a duel with Nora's suitor, an English officer named John Quin. He is made to think that he has killed the man, though his pistol was actually loaded with tow, a dummy load of heavy, knotted fibres. Quin, struck with the harmless load, fainted in fright. Redmond flees to Dublin, where he quickly falls in with bad company in the way of con artists, and soon loses all his money. Pursued by creditors, he enlists as a common private in a British Army infantry regiment headed for service in Germany during the Seven Years' War. Once in Germany, despite a promotion to corporal, he hates the army and seeks to desert. When his lieutenant is wounded, Redmond helps take him to a German village for treatment. The Irishman pretends to suffer from insanity, and after several days absconds with the lieutenant's uniform, papers, and money. As part of his ruse, he convinces the locals that he is the real Lieutenant Fakenham, and the wounded man is the mad Corporal Barry. Redmond Barry rides off toward a neutral German territory, hoping for better fortune.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries.[2] Although it was originally the first of The Chronicles of Narnia, it is volume two in recent editions that are sequenced by the stories' chronology. Like the other Chronicles, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions.
Most of the novel is set in Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures that is ruled by the evil White Witch. In the frame story, four English children are relocated to a large, old country house following a wartime evacuation. The youngest, Lucy, visits Narnia three times via the magic of a wardrobe in a spare room. Lucy's three siblings are with her on her third visit to Narnia. In Narnia, the siblings seem fit to fulfill an old prophecy and find themselves adventuring to save Narnia and their own lives. The lion Aslan gives his life to save one of the children; he later rises from the dead, vanquishes the White Witch, and crowns the children Kings and Queens of Narnia.
He Good Soldier is narrated by the character John Dowell, half of one of the couples whose dissolving relationships form the subject of the novel. Dowell tells the story of those dissolutions, plus the deaths of three characters and the madness of a fourth, in a rambling, non-chronological fashion. As an unreliable narrator the reader can consider whether they believe Dowell and his description of how the events unfolded including his own role in the saddest story ever told.
Vor einiger Zeit machte ich in Gesellschaft eines schweigsamen Freundes und eines jungen, bereits rühmlich bekannten Dichters einen Spaziergang durch eine blühende Sommerlandschaft. Der Dichter bewunderte die Schonheit der Natur um uns, aber ohne sich ihrer zu erfreuen. Ihn storte der Gedanke, daß all diese Schonheit dem Vergehen geweiht war, daß sie im Winter dahingeschwunden sein werde, aber ebenso jede menschliche Schonheit und alles Schone und Edle, was Menschen geschaffen haben und schaffen konnten. Alles, was er sonst geliebt und bewundert hätte, schien ihm entwertet durch das Schicksal der Vergänglichkeit, zu dem es bestimmt war.
Wir wissen, daß von solcher Versenkung in die Hinfälligkeit alles Schonen und Vollkommenen zwei verschiedene seelische Regungen ausgehen konnen. Die eine führt zu dem schmerzlichen Weltüberdruß des jungen Dichters, die andere zur Auflehnung gegen die behauptete Tatsächlichkeit. Nein, es ist unmoglich, daß all diese Herrlichkeiten der Natur und der Kunst, unserer Empfindungswelt und der Welt draußen, wirklich in Nichts zergehen sollten. Es wäre zu unsinnig, und zu frevelhaft daran zu glauben. Sie müssen in irgend einer Weise fortbestehen konnen, allen zerstorenden Einflüssen entrückt.
Allein diese Ewigkeitsforderung ist zu deutlich ein Erfolg unseres Wunschlebens, als daß sie auf einen Realitätswert Anspruch erheben konnte. Auch das Schmerzliche kann wahr sein. Ich konnte mich weder entschließen, die allgemeine Vergänglichkeit zu bestreiten, noch für das Schone und Vollkommene eine Ausnahme zu erzwingen. Aber ich bestritt dem pessimistischen Dichter, daß die Vergänglichkeit des Schonen eine Entwertung desselben mit sich bringe.
Originally published serially as a three-part story, Heart of Darkness is a short but thematically complex novel exploring colonialism, humanity, and what constitutes a savage society. Set in the Congo in Central Africa, the tale is told in the frame of the recollections of one Charles Marlow, a captain of an ivory steamer. Marlow's search for the mysterious and powerful first-class agent Kurtz gives way to a nuanced and powerful commentary on the horrors of colonialism, called by some the most analyzed work at university-level instruction.
"Embark on an epic transcontinental journey along the Siberian Overland Route with Alexander Michie in his historic account, 'The Siberian Overland Route from Peking to Petersburg, Through the Deserts and Steppes of Mongolia, Tartary, &C.' Published in the 19th century, Michie's narrative unfolds the challenging and exotic landscapes encountered during this remarkable expedition.
As Michie traverses the vast expanses of Mongolia and Tartary, he weaves a compelling tale of endurance and exploration. His vivid descriptions transport readers through the deserts and steppes, offering glimpses into the nomadic cultures and unique terrains that define the Siberian Overland Route.
'The Siberian Overland Route' is more than a travelogue; it is a firsthand account of the arduous yet captivating journey undertaken by Michie. Join him on this literary expedition where each page unveils a new chapter of discovery, making it an indispensable read for those fascinated by the exploration of remote and challenging terrains."
"Habitações Operarias" é uma obra de Teixeira Bastos, publicada em 1873, que aborda as condições de vida dos trabalhadores e as questões habitacionais enfrentadas pelas classes operarias no século XIX. Bastos, um intelectual preocupado com as questões sociais e econômicas de sua época, oferece uma analise detalhada e critica das moradias operarias, propondo soluções para melhorar a qualidade de vida dessa população.
No século XIX, a Revolução Industrial transformou as estruturas sociais e econômicas da Europa e das Américas. As cidades cresceram rapidamente com o influxo de trabalhadores rurais, levando a uma demanda urgente por habitação. No entanto, as condições dessas moradias eram frequentemente insalubres e inadequadas, resultando em sérios problemas de saúde pública e qualidade de vida.
Raul Germano Brandão (1867-1930) foi um escritor e jornalista português conhecido por sua prosa lirica e introspectiva. "Húmus," uma de suas obras mais importantes, publicada em 1917, é um romance que explora temas profundos e existenciais, apresentando uma visão critica e melancólica da vida e da sociedade.
"Húmus" de Raul Germano Brandão é uma obra seminal da literatura portuguesa, notavel por sua prosa poética e suas profundas reflexões filosóficas. Ao explorar temas de decadência, morte e o sentido da existência, Brandão oferece aos leitores uma visão crua e introspectiva da condição humana. Este romance continua a ser relevante e influente, destacando-se como uma peça fundamental na compreensão da literatura modernista e existencialista.
"Inocência" é um romance escrito por Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, também conhecido como Visconde de Taunay. Publicado pela primeira vez em 1872, esta obra é um dos marcos do Romantismo brasileiro, especialmente no que se refere ao regionalismo e à representação da vida no interior do Brasil.
Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay (1843-1899) foi um importante escritor, historiador, militar e politico brasileiro. Como escritor, destacou-se por suas obras que exploram o Brasil rural, oferecendo uma visão detalhada e sensivel da vida no sertão. "Inocência" é considerada sua obra-prima, refletindo suas experiências e observações durante sua atuação como engenheiro militar e cientista no interior do Brasil.
"Iracema" é um dos romances mais famosos do escritor brasileiro José de Alencar, publicado pela primeira vez em 1865. Este romance faz parte da triade indianista do autor, ao lado de "O Guarani" e "Ubirajara". Alencar, através desta obra, busca criar uma narrativa que valoriza as origens indigenas do Brasil, utilizando uma linguagem poética e simbólica.
José de Alencar (1829-1877) foi um dos principais escritores do Romantismo no Brasil. Seu trabalho contribuiu para a construção de uma identidade nacional brasileira, especialmente através da valorização da cultura indigena e da paisagem natural do pais. "Iracema" é considerado um dos pilares do romantismo indianista brasileiro, onde o autor idealiza o indigena e o coloca como simbolo da nacionalidade nascente.
