Ingram
Все книги издательства IngramThe Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders &c. - The Original Classic Edition
Daniel Defoes 1722 novel, Moll Flanders, remains a fascinating imaginative work, and is in many ways more interesting than his famous first effort, Robinson Crusoe. Having seen bits of two recent film adaptations in the last couple of months on television, and being a budding 18th century scholar, I decided it was time I picked up my own copy of Moll Flanders and see the actual product on its own terms. A story no less about a castaway and delinquent than Crusoe, in Moll Flanders, Defoe attempts to set down the history of a woman with a wild and often desperate life. A character of infinitely more interiority and reflection than Crusoe, Moll gives us through a first person narrative, a look into various stations of life in 18th century England and America. <p> The novel begins with a tip of the hat to that fine progenitor of the novel, Don Quixote, a Gines-like acknowledgment that Moll, as the author of her own story, cannot complete that story within the text of the novel, unless people can write when they are deceased. Amusements aside, Moll begins her story as Crusoe begins his, with an immediate acknowledgment of the instability of the modern self – the corruption of her own name. Born in Newgate prison, and having never known her mother, Moll finds herself among gypsies and landed gentry before settling in Colchester for the term of her youth. Here, she founds her sense of social ambition, unusual even for Jane Eyre in the 19th century, as one in which she figures to be a gentlewoman by earning her own living. Various mishaps and misadventures lead her through marriages, whoredom, and thievery as Moll attempts to find her place in the world as a woman of common birth. Early on she learns the lessons that will aid her on her journey, viz., the value of money, quick wit, and a sense of her own sexuality. <p> While Defoe certainly does not sugar-coat the wrongs of woman in the early 18th century – delving deeply into issues of feminine helplessness before the law, the difficulties of procuring stable employment, and various reproductive issues such as adoption, abortion, and infant mortality – yet he maintains a consistent character of Moll as an extremely strong, adaptive, and resilient female character. The most riveting facet of Moll throughout is her own sense of self-worth and importance, especially in her own history. For instance, while chronicling an encounter with a former lover, Moll tells us that while his adventures are worth their own narrative, this is my story, not his. Molls strength in the midst of doubt, desperation, and general loneliness keeps the readers constant interest and admiration. <p> Defoes exploration of inter-gender relationships are worthy of note themselves for the sheer variety of social, economic, and personal situations he includes in the novel. The economic theme stands out among these, and provides a link back to the preoccupations of Robinson Crusoe. Like Crusoe, Moll is always aware of the value of her personal possessions, and conscious of how to exploit and husband her resources to best advantage. Also like Crusoe, Moll Flanders is keenly aware of the possibilities and drawbacks of English colonial ventures in America. Defoes efforts to link all these themes to the lot of the English prison population, the family unit, and indentured servants and African slaves, are all managed extremely well within the text of the novel. For all this, Moll Flanders remains an entertaining, satisfying, relevant novel, and stands for me above Crusoe as a work of high literary value.
How to Speak and Write Correctly - The Original Classic Edition
I found this book by accident while browsing through a now-defunct Los Angeles bookstore/cafe. It was the luckiest accident of my life. At that point I had been a professional writer for more than twenty years, but I rarely enjoyed my work, and I felt all of it was disposable in one way or another. At first, reading this book gave me an incredible, if unfamiliar, feeling of joy and self-confidence. <p> Afterwards, I began to surprise the hell out of myself in terms of what I was able to accomplish. This little book is very practical and precise. <p> If youve forgotten your grammar lessons, it begins by explaining the rudimentary parts of speech: noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb. <p> Then it move on to the sentence. What makes a sentence a sentence and not a clause; and just what is the difference between a clause and a phrase. Do you know!? I do now! Joseph Devlin tells us, Apart from their grammatical construction there can be no fixed rules for the formation of sentences. The best plan is to follow the best authors and these masters of language will guide you safely along the way. <p> The essential paragraph allows you to contain all the thoughts on a single idea in one area and then blessedly separate it from the next bit of writing. A solid page of printed matter is distasteful to the reader, it taxes the eye and tends towards the weariness of monotony… <p> There is a chapter devoted to figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification, allegory, synecdoche, metonymy, hyperbole… Really essential components to make writing interesting. <p> Then Devlin delves into puncutation. <p> You get the idea, a concise book that covers a truck load of good grammar taught well.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus - The Original Classic Edition
Santa Claus. Two simple words that can make most children smile. L. Frank Baum once again has touched the spirits of many with his tale based on the legendary Santa Claus. <p> I remember it being read to me by my father as a young child. As an adult, it is still magical with every reading. The story tells the tale of an abandoned baby in the woods who was adopted and raised by fairies in their forest. As Claus, a mortal, grows up among the fairies and other fascinating immortals, he learns all of their ways and secrets. <p> When he is old enough, the Great Ak takes Claus on a journey to see how humans really live. After the trip, Claus leaves the fairys forest to live on his own, for he has decided to try and help mankind. The first toy, was a cat that he had whittled, and painted to look real. It was given to a young, lost boy to comfort him. With this gift, and the help of his immortal friends, Claus began his legend of unselfish giving. <p> Over the years, he was named a saint by the many who he touched. There are beautiful stories of his gift-making and giving, along with those of the obstacles that he faced, including a fierce battle between good and evil immortals. From his adoption, to the night when Santa Claus became immortal, the book comes to life in the imagination. <p> It is a tale that will touch children, as well as adults – perfect for nighttime reading during the holidays. As the holidays approach, I again look forward to losing myself in the spirit and magic,of Santa Claus.
Following the Equator - The Original Classic Edition
Any reader who loves a good book will relish the vicarious experience of traveling with Twain, his wife, Livy, and Clara, one of their three daughters as they tour the world on the lecture circuit. Its important to understand the necessity of the trip: Twain was 60, facing bankruptcy, and signed on for the lecture tour in order to pay off his debt. The grueling schedule and unpredictable travel accommodations take no toll on his writing, however. Prepare to laugh – hard and often. Was it hot in India? I believe that in India cold weather is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy. <p> Teachers – do not pass on the opportunity to laugh and learn and share the world with your students. Geography, history, culture, language, climate, language arts (oh, his choice of words and phrases!), politics, time zones, botany, geology, biology, religion – all are explored and described and relevant today. Jimmy Buffetts Remittance Man, Thats What Living is to Me, and Take Another Road all spring from this book (especially the remittance man, a character youll meet early in the book). There is also an unfinished story with which you can challenge your students. I worked with nineteen 4th and 5th grade gifted students one summer, and they spent two weeks reading, scripting, and animating a 70 minute video of this book. They loved it, and so will your students if you plan accordingly. <p> A good accompanying video is On the Trail of Mark Twain with Peter Ustinov, but only as a companion – NOT as a replacement! Go for it… where else will you get the opportunity to travel from Vancouver to Hawaii to Fiji to Australia to New Zealand to Ceylon to India to South Africa? The book chronicles their travels in such a way that you can pick it up and focus on one region without losing anything. But dont let that stop you from reading the whole book. See the Southern Cross and the Blue Mountains. Get rousted out of your comfortable train berth to change cars in Australia because the gauge of the tracks changes from wide to narrow. Meet the dingo and the Aboriginals, eavesdrop on Twains conversation with Satan and God in India, explore the diamond mines of South Africa near the Trappist Monastery, and steer clear of the sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. <p> There is more adventure in this one book than a whole years subscription to National Geographic. My favorite part? Twains vivid description of that bird of birds – the Indian crow. No, wait, its the hand-car ride down the Himalayas. No, wait… ah, who can pick? <p> Read it yourself, and find out why
A Wodehouse Miscellany: Articles & Stories - The Original Classic Edition
A Wodehouse Miscellany is a highly recommended introduction into the world of Wodehouse; a first-time reader may, like most of us, become quickly addicted to Wodehouse and further explore the richly humorous world of this marvelous author. Longtime admirers will, of course, return frequently to these miniature gems. <p> This fabulous Collection Of Early Wodehouse Writings is a must have. Contents: Some Aspects Of Game-Captaincy, An Unfinished Collection, The New Advertising, The Secret Pleasures Of Reginald, My Battle With Drink, In Defense Of Astigmatism, Photographers And Me, A Plea For Indoor Golf, The Alarming Spread Of Poetry, My Life As A Dramatic Critic, The Agonies Of Writing A Musical Comedy, On The Writing Of Lyrics, The Past Theatrical Season, Poems, Damon And Pythias: A Romance, The Haunted Tram, Stories, When Papa Swore In Hindustani [1901], Tom, Dick, And Harry [1905], Jeeves Takes Charge [1916], Disentangling Old Duggie [1912]
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ - The Original Classic Edition
In 1880, a retired Union General by the name of Lew Wallace completed his first historical novel while serving as governor in the Territory of New Mexico. He wrote it in response to questions raised by a famous agnostic sharing a train ride from Chicago to Indianapolis. At the time, Wallace wasnt as knowledgeable of the facts surrounding the life of Christ as he had thought. After doing extensive research, he was inspired to write what has become the definitive religious epic. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ helped Wallace sort out his own beliefs about God and Christ, and inspired others to do the same. Today, it stands as the most widely read novel of the 19th Century, and one of the most popular works of all time. It has never been out of print in its 130 year history, and has been made into several plays and four films. <p> Ben-Hur reflects the life and journey of Lew Wallace. At the Battle of Shiloah, through an accident, he and his men arrived too late to help, making the Union losses significantly higher than they would have been. As a result, Wallace was disgraced. Judah Ben-Hur, through the accident of a loose roof tile, loses his home and property, his family is sent to prison, and he is sent to the galleys. Through a miracle of courage and circumstances, Wallace worked his way back, became a successful statesman and author, and is today remembered in the Hall of Statues in Washington, DC. Through a similar miracle, Ben-Hur works his way back to save his family and get revenge over those who caused their calamity. Ben-Hur is a story of courage and revenge, but it is also a story of redemption and salvation. I believe Wallace saw his life the same. Ben-Hur crosses paths with Christ more than once, so that, in the end, his hate and destructiveness are swallowed up in Christs love and forgiveness. I believe Wallace saw the same miracle in his life. <p> Ben-Hur did not take off immediately; but, after several years of word-of-mouth, everyone was reading it, especially pastors and their congregations. In 1900, two producers, Klaw and Erlanger, bought the rights to bring Ben-Hur to the New York stage. It was an amazing production that boasted five teams of horses and chariots on stage at once for the great chariot race. They used treadmills for the teams, with moving scenery. There was also a great sea battle that was considered spectacular. The success of the play inspired showmen in the fledgling industry of motion pictures to take note. <p> There is far more focus on Christ in the novel, the 1900 stage play (in which he is played by a beam of light) and the 1925 film than in the 1959 version. The book wrestles with the question of whether He will be an earthly King or a Savior of souls. Ben-Hur, who is a Sadducee, hopes he will be an earthly King, and actually trains three legions of Galileeans in preparation to help Him overthrow the occupying Romans. But Balthasar is convinced Christ will be a Savior of souls, and tries to convince Ben-Hur of the same. It is not until the miraculous events of the last of the eight books that he accepts that fact, and accepts Christ as his Savior. <p> To date, Ben-Hur is still the greatest Christian novel ever written, as well as one of the all-time great classics. Men still struggle with the question of whether Christ is an earthly King or a Savior of souls. To find out, we must all take similar journeys to Ben-Hur and Balthasar, and be hindered along the way by various Messalas. Not many of us will be like Balthasar and get it so quickly. Most of us will be more like Ben-Hur: accept what life throws at us with defiance, deal with it as best we can, struggle, realize we cant do it on our own, accept Gods salvation, transcend our troubles through faith, and be transformed into someone new, someone Christ-like. Ben-Hur isnt just about Lew Wallaces journey from failure to freedom; like Pilgrims Progress, it reflects the common journey all Christians must take.
De Profundis - The Original Classic Edition
I usually avoid reading writers biographies or letters to their loved ones, especially those published posthumously. I am sure some people dream of the time when their lives are open to scrutiny by legions of readers, when their private confessions are published in neat volumes, and their witty letters to friends have little footnotes explaining the inside-jokes to the uninitiated. But the thought makes me cringe, and in the spirit of the old saying do onto others, I have never before ventured into someones exposed private life. <p> Last summer though, I came across this letter by accident and found myself unable to stop reading it until I was done. The glimpse into someones vulnerable privacy was intoxicating. Having read (and loved) The Importance of Being Earnest, The Ideal Husband, and other light pieces, or even The Portrait of Dorian Gray–a more somber but still very controlled story, I was shocked by this letter–tortured by emotion and so uneven–by the same author. <p> The letter is somewhat contrived. But the insincerity makes it all the more fascinating ! Not even the insincerity in itself, but the bits where the true emotion bursts through. I could imagine so vividly the great author, the person of wit and fashion, stripped of the glamor, in jail, trying to clear up his name in the public letter to his lover. He starts out with calm and controlled prose, trying to put his Christian-repentance-and-forgiveness scheme on paper… And, I am sure, he believes the things he plans to write. However, as he gets deeper into the narrative, as his pen takes a hold of him, he starts writing what he did not mean–the truth, full of bile and unrequited passion. In a while he notices it and collects himself, and the prose becomes controlled and witty and intellectual. But he is in jail, the time for writing is precious and does not permit the luxury of extensive editing. It lets soul nudity that would normally be edited out remain to seduce shamless readers like me. <p> It is not only the breakaway emotion that I found so compelling in the letter. It is also the very alternating nature of the narrative–from the polished and righteous to the true and base, and back. Is it not how our mind always works: how it thinks what we wish it to think and then breaks away to find something deeper in us, until we catch it and put it back to its proper controlled place… <p> There is a long and intricate novel hidden in this letter. It is a story of the rise and fall of a great man, of the universally human desire and its treacherous waters, of stoicism and weakness, of the fine society and jailed outcasts, and we see it through the eyes of the main hero who actually lived. It is presented fully here in this book. <p> Wilde was a genius indeed.
The Iron Heel - The Original Classic Edition
In 1905 the troops of the Tsar crushed the Russian revolution of 1905. Although the uprising did force Nicholas II to establish a constitution and a parliament, the Russian revolution of 1917 would change the face of the world. However, the uprising also had the interesting effect of inspiring two of the more interesting utopian novels of the early 20th century. One was Red Star, the socialist utopia on Mars created by the Russian writer Alexander Bogdanov, a Bolshevik and intimate of Lenin. The other was The Iron Heel, by Jack London, the American author best known for The Call of the Wild. Whereas Bogdanov forsees the ultimate victory of the socialist and scientific-technical revolutions, London predicts global revolutionary and counter-revolutionary forces ending up in an apocalyptic battle betwen the impoverished workers and the privileged minorities. Consequently, the two authors share a common socialist perspective, although Bogdanov writes a utopian novel and London creates a dystopia. <p> The Iron Heel was written in 1908 and remains one of the more prophetic novels of the 20th century. His track record with regards to a national secret police agency, the rise of Fascism, the creation of attractive suburbs for the middle class while the unemployed and menials live in ghettoes, is markedly better than that of Edward Belleamys Looking Backward, Aldoux Huxleys Brave New World, or George Orwells 1984, the novels that are usually lauded and judged by their prescience in terms of utopian literature. <p> The novel presents the story of the American revolutionary Earnest Everhard, as told by his wife Avis, who is actually the more effective revolutionary leader. London tells how the manuscript was unknown for seven centuries, to be discovered long after the final triumph of socialist democracy in the yar 419 B.O.M. Avis Everhard describes the struggles of the working masses against the oligarchy, and how they were ruthlessly suppressed, especially in the Chicago Commune that is the main setting for the action. There is a strong current of violence, with Black Hundreds wrecking the socialist presses,a bomb exploding in the House of Representatives, and revolutionaries being hunted down by the military arm of the government known as the Iron Heel. The Everhard Manuscript breaks off in the middle of a sentence, a footnote explaining that history does not know if the author escaped or was captured. <p> The story is somewhat atypical for London in that it does not represent the white supremacist and male dominant vision of the world we usually find in his novels. Londons message is the blatant warning that if you allow the Revolution to be defeated, then the ruling class will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces. Ultimately The Iron Heel is a novel whose importance clearly outstrips its literary quality. The problem is that with the end of World War II and the defeat (essentially) of Fascism that Londons novel was no longer of interest as the world was confronted with a new set of problems. Yet, Londons dytopian novel is one of the works in that genre that deserves to be reconsidered more often.
The Castle of Otranto - The Original Classic Edition
The Original Ghotic Novel: Manfred is an usurpator who wants to consolidate his reign over Otranto. So he tries to marry his weak son to Isabella, heir to a more legitimate prince. But there is an old prophecy which warns against such moves, and the day of the wedding a gigantic iron helmet falls over Manfreds sons head. Then, a creepy -mostly funnily creepy- tale develops. But the plot, though wild and entertaining, is the least important thing about this 1764s novel. <p> The really attractive, entertaining and literarily important thing is the creation of stereotypes: the foul weather; an ancient, dark castle full of closed halls, secret passages, corridors and doors; frightening apparitions; wicked tyrants desperate for fertile women; virtuous and pure ladies; heroic lads; dark and cold forests where ghosts appear, etc. Walpole, who seems to have been an interesting man, must have had enormous fun writing this tone-setting book, which has had plenty of children in literature. <p> When I read it I kept imagining the scenes, the settings and the weather, and it was great to imagine it come alive. <p> This book is fun to read and to discover where many of the commonplaces in Gothic literature come from. Well worth it.