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Скачивание или чтение онлайн электронных книг.Silas Marner
"Silas Marner", is the story of its title character, a weaver who when falsely accused of theft retreats to a life of exile focusing on his work in solitude and the amassing of gold from his earnings. After carrying on this way for a period of fifteen years Silas returns one day to his cottage to find his stash of gold stolen. While deeply depressed by the loss of his treasure, Silas soon finds consolation in the unexpected adoption of a lovely young girl, Eppie.
The Magician
First published in 1908, «The Magician» is one of the early novels of W. Somerset Maugham, a Frenchman who lived from 1874 to 1965. Although his popularity was at its highest in the 1930s, this novel is a clear precursor of the simplistic, often haunting method of writing that brought him fame. This tale revolves around the magician Oliver Haddo, a man living in the bohemian Paris of the beginning of the twentieth century. Haddo, a caricature of the disreputable black magician Aleister Crowley of Maugham's day, makes a sinister attempt to create life. The author tells this story to remarkable effect, combining the weird and ghastly with the pure and sweet aspects of ordinary life in an effortless and genuine way. Though actually written in London, this novel reveals the café society of Paris in such a way that demonstrates the intimate knowledge of Maugham, who lavished his considerable skill as a writer on this surprisingly lesser known of his works.
White Fang
"White Fang" is an adventure story of the great Northwestern Canadian frontier. It the type of story for which Jack London is most well known. White Fang, who is the son of Kiche and One Eye, is born in the wild but comes to live among man in an Indian camp as a cub. White Fang who is essentially a wild animal must learn to live among man as a domesticated animal. The novel deals with the theme of both a domesticated animal learning to live in the wild as well as a wild animal learning to live in a domesticated capacity among humans. It is a novel about the relationship between animal and man and the differences in the wild instincts of wolves versus the tendencies towards domestication that are more common among dogs. Above all «White Fang» is a story of great wilderness adventure.
The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Adventure and mystery readers alike will love following London's most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story collection, «The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.» Created in the late 1800's, Sherlock Holmes has become one of the most recognized and endearing sleuths in the mystery genre. In «Sherlock Holmes and the Red-Headed League,» Holmes must figure out the connection between a group of red-headed men, an Encyclopedia Britannica, and a bank robbery for a confused client. Holmes doesn't only take bank robberies and small crimes, though. Many hail «Sherlock Holmes and the Speckled Band» as the best of the detective's stories every written; Holmes must solve the murder of a young woman who was locked in a room alone by herself. What is the only clue? The young woman whispered «the speckled band» to her sister right before she died. The collection also includes Doyle's favorite Holmes tale, «Sherlock Holmes and the Five Orange Pips.» As one of the darker and more popular of Holmes stories, Holmes must solve a string of murders before the culprits strike again. These combined with other classic Holmes tales are the perfect stories for readers of all ages, making «The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes» a perfect addition to any collection.
Romola
George Eliot, the pen named used by Mary Anne Evans, wrote popular works that mirrored the settings and ideology of contemporary Victorian England. She was brought up in the Church of England, where she developed strong moral convictions that carried over into her fiction. During a visit to Florence in 1860 it was suggested to Eliot that the historical Fra Girolamo Savonarola would make a good subject for a novel, so Eliot spent her visit, and many months after, exhaustively researching Florentine history and culture. Her effort is undeniably evident within the pages of «Romola», however Eliot has been criticized for using a 15th Century setting to deal with the 19th Century issues of Victorian England. Romola is the female protagonist through which the story is rendered; her intellectual and religious growth, often painful, reflects the religious and cultural transitions of the Italian Renaissance in Florence.
Oedipus at Colonus
Perhaps the most philosophical of the three Theban plays, «Oedipus at Colonus» continues the story begun in «Oedipus the King.» Oedipus is a blind beggar, tainted by his past, and nearing the end of his life. He travels with his daughter, Antigone, until they reach the holy ground of the Furies, which coincides with the prophecy of his place of death. There he is sought after by the warring kings of Athens and Thebes, for his final resting place will grant victory and peace to the country in which his body will reside. Written in the final year of Sophocles' life, this play addresses morality and guilt, fate, and the inexplicable and heroic transformation of a man who perseveres through a difficult life.
Four Revenge Tragedies (The Spanish Tragedy, The Revenger's Tragedy, The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois, and The Atheist's Tragedy)
The four plays in this collection are a representative collection of dramas that exhibits the development of the Jacobean era revenge play. In «The Spanish Tragedy» we find the aftermath of a conflict between the Viceroy of Portugal and the Spanish empire. The death of Spanish officer Andrea prompts Horatio, Andrea's best friend, and Bel-imperia, who was in love with Andrea against her family's wishes, to seek revenge against Andrea's murderer, Balthazar, the Viceroy's son. «The Revenger's Tragedy» follows the young son of an Italian duke through his attempt to revenge the death of an elder through the rape of the beautiful Gloriana. «The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois» concerns the story of Clermont D'Ambois whose brother Bussy has been gunned down in an ambush. Clermont becomes involved in a relationship with Tamyra, Bussy's former lover, who urges Clermont to take vengeance on her husband Montsurry, who is responsible for Bussy's murder. In «The Atheist's Tragedy» we find the story of D'Amville, a wealthy French nobleman and our titular atheist. D'Amville is a cynical, ruthless, and Machiavellian character who conspires to have his brother, the Baron Montferrers, killed and ruin his nephew, Charlemont, in order to gain the son's inheritance.
Count Magnus and Other Stories (The Complete Ghost Stories of an Antiquary)
Montague Rhodes James is considered one of the greatest writers of ghost stories of all time. His story-telling is noted for how it updated the conception of the ghost story from its formal gothic counterpart to the more realistic contemporary settings of the early 20th century. Included in this volume is a collection of James’ most famous ghost stories which include the following: «Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book», «Lost Hearts», «The Mezzotint», «The Ash-Tree», «Number 13», «Count Magnus», «'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'», «The Treasure of Abbot Thomas», «A School Story», «The Rose Garden», «The Tractate Middoth», «Casting the Runes», «The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral», «Martin's Close», and «Mr. Humphreys and His Inheritance».
Don Juan
Often acknowledged as Byron's masterpiece, «Don Juan» is an epic poem, comprised of seventeen cantos, which follows an irreverent young man on his European adventures and reflects upon many of the experiences universal to man. From a forbidden love affair in Spain to exile in Italy, from being shipwrecked in Greece to slavery in Russia, Don Juan's adventures provide Byron with an exquisite framework of high drama to discuss and often mock Western societies with coarse humor and extreme satire. Interwoven in this innovative work are Byron's discussions on such topics as social convention, war, and, perhaps most significantly, human nature, with a vindication of all of natural man's gracious and ignoble impulses, in an elaborate and memorable criticism of modern human life.
War and Peace (Volume 2 of 2)
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, demonstrate different human struggles that are affected by their history, present era, and culture. They simultaneously develop the concepts on which Tolstoy expounds in the thematic essays interspersed throughout the narrative: a person's free will and the shaping of historical events, morality in an imperfect world, youth and age, marriage and death, and, of course, war and peace, in a work so groundbreaking that it was not considered a novel when published in 1865. In redefining the fictional novel, Tolstoy's genius has explored what is fundamentally human with scope and Russian spirit. Presented here in this edition is the second of two volumes.