LITMIR.BIZ

Supernatural events, women in distress, and a corrupt clergy were popular themes in the Gothic novels of the 19th century. All of those elements, along with murder, incest, and the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition, are present in The Monk (1796), one of the era's bestselling and most influential novels.Set in a sinister Capuchin monastery in Madrid, the ever-more horrifying narrative recounts the experiences of a lustful and devious abbot, who forgoes his monastic vows in the face of temptation and sexual obsession. Seduced by an evil woman and intoxicated by desire, he assaults an innocent young girl and — to conceal his guilt — murders her mother. For these and other unholy offenses, he is apprehended and imprisoned, where he is subject to unpleasant treatment at the hands of the ecclesiastical authorities. In order to escape, he sells his soul to the devil, discovering in the aftermath the grim consequence of his horrifying acts.The most famous work in the otherwise unremarkable literary production of «Monk» Lewis, the novel's anticlericalism and heavy-breathing eroticism earned it a scandalous reputation in its time that was still intact 100 years after its publication. Today, more than two centuries later, the unvarnished crime and passion of The Monk still retain the ability to jar readers — even those inured to the violence and degradation of modern life. A masterpiece of Gothic storytelling, the book remains, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge noted, «rich, powerful, and fervid.»

Подробнее

Misunderstood Maggie Tulliver is torn. Her rebellious and passionate nature demands expression, while her provincial kin and community expect self-denial. Based closely on the author's own life, Maggie's story explores the conflicts of love and loyalty and the friction between desire and moral responsibility. Written in 1860, The Mill on the Floss was published to instant popularity. An accurate, evocative depiction of English rural life, this compelling narrative features a vivid and realistic cast, headed by one of 19th-century literature's most appealing characters. Required reading for most students, it ranks prominently among the great Victorian novels.

Подробнее

My Ántonia evokes the Nebraska prairie life of Willa Cather's childhood, and commemorates the spirit and courage of immigrant pioneers in America. One of Cather's earliest novels, written in 1918, it is the story of Ántonia Shimerda, who arrives on the Nebraska frontier as part of a family of Bohemian emigrants. Her story is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a neighbor who will befriend Ántonia, teach her English, and follow the remarkable story of her life.Working in the fields of waving grass and tall corn that dot the Great Plains, Ántonia forges the durable spirit that will carry her through the challenges she faces when she moves to the city. But only when she returns to the prairie does she recover her strength and regain a sense of purpose in life. In the quiet, probing depth of Willa Cather's art, Ántonia's story becomes a mobbing elegy to those whose persistence and strength helped build the American frontier.

Подробнее

The author of outstanding travel books, autobiographical works and novels, including the classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835–1910) is regarded by many as America's finest humorist and a major writer of short stories.The four selections in this volume span his entire writing career and are among his best-known stories. They include: «The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,» one of Twain's most amusing pieces of folk humor, first published in 1865; «The £1,000,000 Bank Note,» a lighthearted exploration of the power of money; «The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,» a masterfully written short story about greed; and his last work, «The Mysterious Stranger,» a novelette published posthumously in 1916, presenting Twain's rather grim views of God, man, and the universe.

Подробнее

We first meet Nana in the Variety Theatre, where the captivating eighteen-year-old is appearing in the lead role of a musical—even though she can't act or sing. «Nana has something that makes up for everything else,» the theater owner explains, and he's right. Instead of booing her off the stage, the crowd howls with admiration. She has disrobed by the third act, and her career as a femme fatale is off to a sensational start.Nana crawls out of the gutter to ascend the heights of Parisian society, devouring men and squandering fortunes along the way. Zola begins the story of French realism's most beguiling siren in 1867, amid the decadence and moral decay of France's Gilded Age. Nana's corruption reflects the spirit of her era, her prostitution symbolizing the degenerate state of Second Empire politics and society. Hailed as one of the first modern novels, Nana addresses contemporary subjects with realistic observations, dialogue, and scenarios. Its publication sparked a heated controversy that made it an overnight bestseller, and it has long since reigned as a classic of French literature.

Подробнее

The originality, concentrated power and «fierce indignation» of his satirical writing have earned Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) a reputation as the greatest prose satirist in English language. Gulliver's Travels is, of course, his world-renowned masterpiece in the genre; however, Swift wrote other, shorter works that also offer excellent evidence of his inspired lampoonery. Perhaps the most famous of these is «A Modest Proposal,» in which he straight-facedly suggests that Ireland could solve its hunger problems by using its children for food. Also included in this collection are «The Battle of the Books,» «A Meditation upon a Broomstick,» «A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit,» and «An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England.» This inexpensive edition will certainly be welcomed by teachers and students of English literature, but its appeal extends to any reader who delights in watching a master satirist wield words as weapons.

Подробнее

A massacre at a colonial garrison, the kidnapping of two pioneer sisters by Iroquois tribesmen, the treachery of a renegade brave, and the ambush of innocent settlers create an unforgettable, spine-tingling picture of American frontier life in this classic 18th-century adventure — the most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales.First published in 1826, the story — set in the forests of upper New York State during the French and Indian War — movingly portrays the relationship between Hawkeye, a gallant, courageous woodsman, and his loyal Mohican friends, Chingachgook and Uncas. Embroiled in one of the war's bloody battles, they attempt to lead the abducted Munro sisters to safety but find themselves instead in the midst of a final, tragic confrontation between rival war parties.Imaginative and innovative, The Last of the Mohicans quickly became the most widely read work of the day, solidifying the popularity of America's first successful novelist in the United States and Europe. Required reading in many American literature classics, the novel presents a stirring picture of a vanishing people and the end to a way of life in the eastern forests.

Подробнее

A sense of impending evil hovers over a cathedral town, where one man, an outwardly respectable opium addict, is consumed with jealousy over the engagement of his nephew, Edwin Drood, to a lovely young lady. So enraged is he, that he even plots the younger man's murder. But Drood's sudden disappearance halts further scheming and leaves only one big mystery. What happened to Edwin Drood? And what became of his body?Unfinished at the time of his death, Charles Dickens's intriguing story has become all the more tantalizing for its lack of an ending, leaving a grim puzzle that avid readers, over the years, have tried to solve. A gem for lovers of murder mysteries and the legions of Dickens fans, The Mystery of Edwin Drood remains a gripping and haunting masterpiece.

Подробнее

A masterpiece of storytelling, this epic saga pits Ahab, a brooding and fantastical sea captain, against the great white whale that crippled him. In telling the tale of Ahab's passion for revenge and the fateful voyage that ensued, Melville produced far more than the narrative of a hair-raising journey; Moby-Dick is a tale for the ages that sounds the deepest depths of the human soul. Interspersed with graphic sketches of life aboard a whaling vessel, and a wealth of information on whales and 19th-century whaling, Melville's greatest work presents an imaginative and thrilling picture of life at sea, as well as a portrait of heroic determination. The author's keen powers of observation and firsthand knowledge of shipboard life (he served aboard a whaler himself) were key ingredients in crafting a maritime story that dramatically examines the conflict between man and nature. «A valuable addition to the literature of the day,» said American journalist Horace Greeley on the publication of Moby-Dick in 1851 — a classic piece of understatement about a literary classic now considered by many as «the great American novel.» Read and pondered by generations, the novel remains an unsurpassed account of the ultimate human struggle against the indifference of nature and the awful power of fate. Much of Moby Dick was inspired by the 1821 work Narratives of the Wreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, which in turn inspired the 2015 movie In the Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth.

Подробнее

What is music? «God's best gift to man,» as Walter Savage Landor said? «The moonlight in the gloomy night of life,» as Jean Paul Richter put it? Or perhaps—as Carl Maria von Weber and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow agree —"the universal language of mankind"? Whatever it is, it certainly «hath charms to soothe the savage breast,» as William Congreve famously observed. And it «expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent» (Victor Hugo).These and more than 400 other striking quotes about music, from musicians, authors, poets, historical figures, and other celebrities, fill the pages of this entertaining, practical little book. Not all are on the serious side; many are deliciously witty: «Her singing was mutiny on the high C's» (Hedda Hopper); «I can hold a note as long as the Chase National Bank» (Ethel Merman); «Donny Osmond has van Gogh's ear for music» (Orson Welles). The quotations are arranged alphabetically according to author, from Fred Allen («When Jack Benny plays the violin, it sounds as if the strings are still back in the cat») to Florian Zabach («A musical talent is like having six fingers on one hand. You're born with it, you're different because of it, you can't do a thing about it except put it to use»). They constitute a collection that will not only be an indispensable reference for public speakers but will also delight general readers—especially music lovers—with its enduring wisdom and humor.

Подробнее