LITMIR.BIZ

The Scarlet Letter – published first in 1850, was in its time considered as an innovative and at the same time scandalous novel, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book was strongly disapproved by the fellow countrymen of the author and banned by the Russian tsars Now «The Scarlet Letter» is included in the school curriculum. «The Scarlet Letter» tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. For the Puritan Boston in the 17th century New England, this is a terrible violation of morality. Hester is therefore paraded through the town, holding her baby and wearing the red letter “A” that marks an adulteress. But she continues to fight for what and whom she loves «The Scarlet Letter» is the first novel of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the first work, in which the Old World has opened towards a new American literature. The novel was made into a film seven times in the United States, as well as in Spain, France and South Korea. The most famous and inspirational works of Nathaniel Hawthorne include: Twice-Told Tales, Fanshawe (published anonymously), The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni and many more.

Подробнее

In «The Embroidered Towel» by Mikhail Bulgakov the young doctor arrives at his new post after a bone-jarring 24-hour wagon ride. He frets about how young he looks, and feels intimidated by the well-stocked pharmacy and medical library his predecessor has left behind. He also worries that he'll have to treat a hernia and won't know what to do – this neurosis is a running joke in the book's initial stories. Mikhail Bulgakov wrote the stories in «A Country Doctor's Notebook» circa 1925-27, about a young doctor's practice and plight in rural Russia, they don't read outdated, musty or strange today. Instead, they evoke archetypal situations we experience in contemporary medical storytelling.

Подробнее

Desperate in his search of the secret of life, young Dr Victor Frankenstein attempts to construct and then bring to life a previously inanimate creature. He succeeds, yet immediately finds himself horrified and repulsed by the fruit of his long-lasting labors and, as a result, abandons the creature without a word. This action begins a series of tragic events in the life of the scientist, as the enraged monster begins his quest to fill every minute of Dr. Frankenstein’s life with terror, dread and misery. First published in 1818, this novel continues to captivate the audience today. Frankenstein is not merely a horror story, but, rather, a tale that would make its readers ponder on the pursuit of knowledge and explore what monstrosity truly means.

Подробнее

December is a time for traditions and rituals, from hanging the familiar decorations and singing carols to making that family Christmas cake recipe or sharing a seasonal story. We’ve picked ten classic books with a festive theme that have timeless appeal and will give parents and grandparents the warm glow of nostalgia as they introduce them to a new audience. In many families, Christmas traditions consist of gathering around the tree and reading the old classic Christmas stories. Christmas Eve is the perfect time to do this. Whether you like to listen to stories together for several nights in December or just one,we’re certain that you’ll enjoy listening to these classic Christmas stories as a family! Our collection includes the following Christmas stories: A Letter from Santa Claus by Mark Twain, A Christmas Inspiration by Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter, A Kidnapped Santa Claus by Lyman Frank Baum, Vanka by Anton Chekhov, Christmas Every Day by William Dean Howells, The Three Kings by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen, Christmas in India by Joseph Rudyard Kipling, A Christmas Carol by Gilbert Keith Chesterton.

Подробнее

Nowadays The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the most famous and popular novel by an American writer Mark Twain (his real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Huckleberry Finn is a teenager who runs away from his alcoholic father that was constantly beating him. On the way, an escaped black slave Jim, whose master was going to sell him to more cruel owners, joins him. Huck and Jim sail down the Mississippi River to Cairo in Illinois where slavery is abolished. The book is famous for its picturesque descriptions of people and towns along the Mississippi River. The actions happen before the Civil War in the south society that disappeared approximately 20 years before the publication of the novel. It is full of a satire on ingrained prejudices, racism in particular.

Подробнее

On the Decay of the Art of Lying is a short essay written by Mark Twain in 1885 for a meeting of the Historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford, Connecticut. In the essay, Twain laments the dour ways in which men of America's Gilded Age employ man's «most faithfull friend.» He concludes by insisting that: «the wise thing is for us diligently to train ourselves to lie thoughtfully, judiciously; to lie with a good object, and not an evil one; to lie for others' advantage, and not our own; to lie healingly, charitably, humanely, not cruelly, hurtfully, maliciously; to lie gracefully and graciously, not awkwardly and clumsily; to lie firmly, frankly, squarely, with head erect, not haltingly, tortuously, with pusillanimous mien, as being ashamed of our high calling.» Among the most significant works Mark Twain: The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The American Claimant, Pudd'nhead Wilson, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, A Horse's Tale, The Mysterious Stranger, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer, Detective, "Schoolhouse Hill", The Mysterious Stranger, «Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer among the Indians», «Huck Finn», «Tom Sawyer’s Conspiracy», "Tom Sawyer’s Gang Plans a Naval Battle"

Подробнее

The Death of Ivan Ilyich – first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, considered one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s. "Usually classed among the best examples of the novella", The Death of Ivan Ilyich tells the story of a high-court judge in 19th-century Russia and his sufferings and death from a terminal illness. Ivan Ilyich (Ilyich is a patronymic, his surname is Golovin) is a highly regarded official of the Court of Justice, described by Tolstoy as, «neither as cold and formal as his elder brother nor as wild as the younger, but was a happy mean between them—an intelligent, polished, lively, and agreeable man.» As the story progresses, he becomes more and more introspective and emotional as he ponders the reason for his agonizing illness and death.

Подробнее

"God Sees the Truth, But Waits" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy first published in 1872. The story, about a man sent to prison for a murder he didn't commit, takes the form of a parable of forgiveness. English translations were also published under titles «The Confessed Crime» and «Exiled to Siberia». The concept of the story of a man wrongfully accused of murder and banished to Siberia also appears in one of Tolstoy's previous works, War and Peace, during a philosophical discussion between two characters who relate the story and argue how the protagonist of their story deals with injustice and fate. Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov is a merchant living in Vladimir, a town in Russia. Although Aksionov is prone to drinking, he is not violent, and he is responsible and well liked by people that know him. One day he decides to go to a fair as a business venture, but his wife pleads for him not to go because of a nightmare she had the previous night in which he had greyed hair. Aksionov disregards his wife's dream and leaves for the fair… Famous works of the author Leo Tolstoy: War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Resurrection.

Подробнее

A Russian Christmas Party by Leo Tolstoy is about a generous family on the brink of ruin whose mother pins their hopes for restoring their fortune on their son, Nicolas' marriage to a wealthy bride. Nicolas isn't cooperating, for he loves a poor girl named Sonia. Alas! How will they see it through? The Christmas stories of the famous authors: Gilbert Keith Chesterton – A Christmas Carol, Lucy Maud Montgomery – A Christmas Inspiration, A Christmas Mistake, Christmas at Red Butte, Lyman Frank Baum -A Kidnapped Santa Claus, Mark Twain – A Letter from Santa Claus, Louisa May Alcott – A Merry Christmas, Leo Tolstoy – A Russian Christmas Party, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – Christmas Bells, Nikolai Gogol – Christmas Eve, William Dean Howells – Christmas Everyday, Joseph Rudyard Kipling – Christmas in India, Lyman Frank Baum – Little Bun Rabbit, Elizabeth Harrison – Little Gretchen and the Wooden Shoe, John Milton – On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, Charles Dickens – The Chimes, Nathaniel Hawthorne -The Christmas Banquet, Hans Christian Andersen – The Fir Tree, Selma Lagerlöf – The Holy Night, Hans Christian Andersen – The Little Match Girl, Clement Moore – The Night Before Christmas, Henry van Dyke – The Other Wise Man, William Dean Howells – The Pony Engine and the Pacific Express, Beatrix Potter – The Tailor of Gloucester, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – The Three Kings, Anton Chehov – Vanka.

Подробнее

In «A Letter to a Hindu», Tolstoy argued that only through the principle of love could the Indian people free themselves from colonial British rule. These ideas ultimately proved to be successful in 1947 in the culmination of the Indian Independence Movement. In 1908, Indian revolutionary Taraknath was wrote to Leo Tolstoy, by then one of the most famous public figures in the world, asking for the author’s support in India’s independence from British colonial rule. On December 14, Tolstoy, who had spent the last twenty years seeking the answers to life’s greatest moral questions, was moved to reply in a long letter, which was published in the Indian newspaper Free Hindustan. Passed from hand to hand, the missive finally made its way to the young Mahatma Gandhi, whose career as a peace leader was just beginning in South Africa. He wrote to Tolstoy asking for permission to republish it in his own South African newspaper, Indian Opinion. Tolstoy’s letter was later published in English under the title A Letter to a Hindu.

Подробнее