In years following, Mims buries the horrid memory of the rape and her father’s ultimate betrayal. When she becomes a wife and mother, her shame and guilt ignite with a latent anger to create in her gruesome thoughts of inflicting violence on her loved ones. One night, she stands beside her baby’s crib, her rosary in one hand, and in the other, a ribbon with which she would strangle her baby. Will she succumb to the power of her anger, or will the God of her father and her church save her?
One of the greatest underwater sea adventures of all time, «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea» is the story of Professor Pierre Aronnax who sets off aboard an American frigate to investigate a series of attacks, which has been reported to be made by an amphibious monster. The monster in question is actually the submarine vessel the Nautilus, which is commanded by the eccentric Captain Nemo. When the Nautilus destroys the Professor's ship, he is taken prisoner by Captain Nemo along with his trusted servant Conseil and the frigate's harpooner Ned Land. What follows for the three is a tale of great adventure and scientific wonder that will delight readers both young and old.
"Right Ho, Jeeves" is P. G. Wodehouse's full-length novel featuring his most beloved character, Jeeves. At the outset we find Bertie Wooster returning from Cannes to discover that Gussie Fink-Nottle has been regularly visiting Jeeves to ask his advice in matters of the heart. Gussie is in love with Madeline Bassett, the friend of Angela Travers who is the daughter of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia Travers, and is intent upon courting her. As one would expect with Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, all kinds of hilarious hi-jinks ensue.
"The Iliad" is a classical epic poem about the events during the last year of the Trojan War and the fall of Troy. The tale revolves around the Greek warrior Achilles, and his anger toward the king of Mycenae, Agamemnon. While the poem shows evidence of a long oral tradition and thus most likely multiple authors, the ancient Greek poet Homer is generally attributed as its author. «The Iliad», which is thought to be the oldest extant work of literature in the ancient Greek language, is considered one of the most important literary works of classical antiquity. Presented here in this edition is the prose translation of Samuel Butler.
"Around the World in Eighty Days" is one of the greatest adventure novels of all time by one of the greatest of all adventure novel writers, Jules Verne. It is the story of the eccentric English inventor Phileas Fogg who sets out to make it around the world in eighty days in order to win a bet. With his trusted French valet, Passepartout, Fogg hurries off in a mad dash around the world, encountering numerous obstacles and adventures along the way. Jules Verne's classic work, «Around the World in Eighty Days,» still holds up today as a work a genuine creativity and sheer delight.
"The Virginian" is Owen Wister's classic novel of the Wild West. A highly fictionalized account of the Johnson County War, a dispute in 1890's Wyoming between large cattle ranchers and smaller operators over land use. Rich with detail of the old Wild West frontier days, «The Virginian» is at its core a study of the inherent nature of man drawn out by the savagery of the wilderness.
First published anonymously in 1678, Madame de Lafayette is generally believed to be the author behind «The Princess of Cleves.» Set between October 1558 and November 1559 at the royal court of Henry II of France, the novel is concerned with Mademoiselle de Chartres, a sheltered heiress who is brought to the court by her mother to find her a proper husband. This soon to be princess will find herself caught between her duty as a wife and her untimely love for another man. «The Princess of Cleves» is one of the great classics of French literature, known for its remarkable historical accuracy. The novel which is not only highly evocative of a past era marked a major turning point in world literature. Up to then novels had been highly romanticized whereas «The Princess of Cleves» is noted for having a highly realistic plot with deeply introspective characters.
You know the story of the Three Wise Men of the East, and how they travelled from far away to offer their gifts at the manger-cradle in Bethlehem. But have you ever heard the story of the Other Wise Man, who also saw the star in its rising, and set out to follow it, yet did not arrive with his brethren in the presence of the young child Jesus? Of the great desire of this fourth pilgrim, and how it was denied, yet accomplished in the denial; of his many wanderings and the probations of his soul; of the long way of his seeking, and the strange way of his finding, the One whom he sought-I would tell the tale as I have heard fragments of it in the Hall of Dreams, in the palace of the Heart of Man. – Henry Van Dyke
Widely acknowledged as the master work of the fountainhead of Russian literature, «Eugene Onegin» is a novel in verse, first published serially in 1825. This work, comprised of 389 verses, follows the destinies of three men and three women in imperialist Russia. Eugene is a dandy bored with the social whirl of St. Petersburg, and in moving to the country for a change of scene, he becomes the friend of the poet Lensky, changing their fates dramatically. «Eugene Onegin» is narrated by Pushkin himself, though an idealized version who frequently yet entrancingly digresses in the midst of the beauty Tatyana's embarrassment with Onegin and maturity in the social world. Pushkin, with a tone that is at once satirical and full of storytelling verve, additionally utilizes the characters of Olga, Tatyana's sister, and a Muse, as well as a wide array of other individuals who enhance the tale's narrative. Tragically suspenseful, lively, and skillfully rendered, «Eugene Onegin» has proven to be not only the favorite work of its author, but a classic of Russian literature.
First published in French as a serial in 1909, «The Phantom of the Opera» is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster. Leroux's work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik's past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows.