Публицистика: прочее
Различные книги в жанре Публицистика: прочееThe Secret Sharer and Other Stories
“The Secret Sharer and Other Stories” is a collection of seafaring tales by famed author Joseph Conrad. In “The Secret Sharer”, a nameless captain discovers a stow-away clinging to the side of his ship and secretly brings him aboard and harbors him in his cabin. In “Typhoon”, the main character, Captain MacWhirr, decides to sail his vessel through a typhoon in the South Pacific. His bold action, at first to the protest of his crew, later earns him their admiration and respect. In “The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’” we have the tale of James Wait, a dying West Indian black sailor whose condition seems to parallel the fate of the merchant ship ‘Narcissus’, of which he is a member of the crew. “Youth” is the semi-autobiographical story of the first voyage of Charles Marlow, the narrator of Conrad’s most famous novel “Heart of Darkness”. This quest tale finds the youthful Marlow’s nerve, strength, and patience all tested on his journey to becoming a man. A shining example of Conrad’s later literary ability, “The Shadow-Line” is his 1915 novella of a young man in his first command as a sea captain. It is a suspenseful story of a defining moment of a young life, when the indistinct line separating an inexperienced boy from a mature man becomes perfectly clear. These exhilarating nautical tales by a master storyteller portray intense trials of human spirit and the powerful demands of duty and honor. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Inimitable Jeeves
First published together in 1923, “The Inimitable Jeeves” is a collection of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse featuring his famous characters Bertie Wooster and his wise valet, Jeeves. The stories were previously published in magazines before being collected together and most share the common theme of Bertie’s friend, Bingo Little, and his dramatic love life. The Inimitable Jeeves is the second collection of Jeeves stories, following “My Man Jeeves”, published in 1919, and appearing before “Carry On, Jeeves”, published in 1925. Many of Wodehouse’s most popular and hilarious tales appear in this timeless collection, such as “Aunt Agatha Takes the Count”, where Bertie’s intimidating Aunt Agatha tries to make him marry a boring, respectable young lady; “Comrade Bingo”, where Bingo shows he will do anything for his current love, including joining the Communist Party; and “The Great Sermon Handicap”, where Bertie, Bingo, and others bet on the length of the sermons of local parsons, which is considered to be one Wodehouse’s most entertaining stories. This popular collection from a master humorist shows why Bertie and Jeeves have remained such enduring and charming characters. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Complete Fairy Tales
“The Complete Fairy Tales” is a collection of whimsical, fantastical, and deeply moral tales by Oscar Wilde, the renowned nineteenth century Irish poet and playwright. Though best known for his plays and the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, Wilde was an accomplished and talented author of children’s stories and fairy tales. This collection includes many of his most enduring short stories: the sad and beautiful “The Happy Prince”, where a lonely swallow, left behind by his flock, shows the magical statue of a privileged and wealthy Prince the harsh reality of life for the poor; “The Selfish Giant”, a touching tale of a giant who realizes the importance of love and kindness when he finally allows children to play in his garden, which had turned cold and lonely when the giant closed it off to them; and “The Remarkable Rocket”, the tale of an arrogant and disdainful, but forgotten, firework who alienates everyone and finally explodes with no one there to appreciate him. Those tales along with six other stories are included in this collection. Readers of all ages will be inspired by these beautiful and magical tales which teach the value of kindness and charity. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Open Boat and Other Stories
American author Stephen Crane, best known for his classic novel of the American Civil War, “The Red Badge of Courage”, was a prolific writer of short stories. His tales are some of the earliest American examples of Naturalism, Impressionism, and the Realist literary movement. Collected together here in this volume, “The Open Boat and Other Stories” are some of his most popular and famous shorter works. In the titular story, “The Open Boat” we find four shipwrecked sailors, the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, who find themselves in the desperate situation of being adrift in the open sea. The eight other stories included in this volume are “The Veteran”, “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky”, “The Men in the Storm”, “The Monster”, “The Blue Hotel”, “His New Mittens”, “A Self-Made Man”, and “The Upturned Face”. This representative selection of Stephen Crane’s short stories will delight and entertain fans of this famous American author. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Jungle Books
First published serially between 1893 and 1894, “The Jungle Book” is Rudyard Kipling’s classic collection of jungle tales in which we first meet Mowgli, a child lost in the jungles of India and raised by a pack of wolves. To survive in the jungle Mowgli most learn from the animals to abide by the laws of the jungle. A cast of interesting creatures surround Mowgli, including Baloo the bear and Bagheera the black panther, who help the young man to survive, and the tiger Shere Khan, who is envious of Mowgli and wishes his demise. Also contained in “The Jungle Book” are the stories of Kotick, a white seal in search of a new home for his tribe were they will not be hunted, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a mongoose who defends an Indian family against a pair of cobras, along with several other tales of the jungle. One of the most popular collections of short stories for children ever written, “The Jungle Book” was inspired by Kipling’s own experiences as a youth in India, where he would spend many of his formative years. Because of the popularity of “The Jungle Book” Kipling wrote a sequel, “The Second Jungle Book”, in which five more tales of Mowgli and three other jungle tales are related. Interspersed with beautiful poetry relating to the stories, Kipling’s “Jungle Books” are collected together here in this volume. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
“The Return of Sherlock Holmes” is a collection of thirteen detective stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous literary creation, Sherlock Holmes. These tales originally appeared in magazines in 1903 and 1904 and were published together as a collection in 1905. Doyle had stopped writing Sherlock Holmes stories after 1893, when Holmes appeared to have died in “The Final Problem”. However, the public continued to press Doyle for more tales of his most famous character, especially after the publication of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 1902, which was set before Holmes’ apparent death. Contained within this collection are some of Doyle’s own personal favorites of all the Holmes’ stories, such as “The Adventure of the Empty House”, which addresses the mystery of how Holmes had escaped death at the hands of the diabolical Professor Moriarty, “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”, the detective’s heart-pounding race to solve a mysterious code and save his client’s life, and “The Adventure of the Priory School”, the strange disappearance of a young heir from school and the mystery of a murdered teacher. This collection is a must-read for all Sherlock Holmes fans. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories
“The Man Who Would be King and Other Stories” is a classic collection of some of the most loved short stories of Rudyard Kipling, one of the most important and accomplished English authors of the twentieth century. The youngest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature at age 42 in 1907, Kipling, who was born in India in 1865, captured in his writing the British Empire in all of its glory and contradiction in unparalleled detail and nuance. Contained here in this volume are some of his most enduring and fascinating short stories, such as the titular “The Man Who Would be King”, a story of two young British adventurers who believe they can talk and intimidate their way into being kings of a small country near Afghanistan. It is a fascinating and brutal tale of greed, imperialism, arrogance, and desperation. Also included is the haunting ghost story “The Phantom ’Rickshaw”, where a young man is driven mad by the ghost of the young lady he once spurned, and the dark and heartbreaking “Baa Baa, Black Sheep”, a story of an unwanted young ward who is driven to desperate acts by his cruel and heartless aunt. Together this collection includes seventeen of Kipling’s best short stories. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories
Montague Rhodes James is considered one of the greatest writers of ghost stories of all time. Born in Kent, England in 1862, James was a well-known and respected scholar in his time for his exacting and informative research in medieval studies. He went on to become a Provost at King’s College, Cambridge, and later Eton, in addition to publishing four popular and influential collections of ghost stories between 1904 and 1925. His story-telling modernized the traditional gothic conception of a supernatural tale to the more realistic contemporary settings and characters of the early 20th century. James incorporated his vast knowledge of antiquities to make the details of his ghost stories all the more genuine and frightening and reveled in contrasting quiet bucolic settings with strange and unexplained events. James’s style was widely influential and inspired famous horror writers, such as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. “Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories” contains a collection of some of James’ most famous ghost stories.
Tales of the Jazz Age
First published in 1922, “Tales of the Jazz Age” is a collection of 11 short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Many of the stories had appeared in magazines such as “Collier’s”, “Vanity Fair”, and the “Saturday Evening Post” before they were included in this collection. Many of the themes that are found in Fitzgerald’s other famous works can be found in these stories as well: the disparity between the wealthy and the poor, bad things happening to good people, strange and unique characters, and love gone bad. Included are such classics as the surprising “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, considered by many to be one of his best short stories. It tells the fascinating story of a child born as an old man and who ages backwards through his life. This story, as well as others in this collection, captures the unique challenges faced by “the Lost Generation” of men and women left traumatized and disillusioned by the First World War and the tragic destruction of so many lives. Fitzgerald’s mastery of the short story and his unequaled ability to capture the excitement and sadness of the early twentieth-century is on full display in “Tales of the Jazz Age.” This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories
O. Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter, is one of the most famous short story writers of all times whose stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings. O. Henry is so acknowledged as a great short story writer that his pen name is associated with a prestigious American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. Included in this collection of «The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories» is the title story which describes the struggles of a poor young married couple as they strive to secretly buy each other Christmas gifts. Also included in this collection are the following stories: «The Cop and the Anthem», «Springtime À La Carte», «The Green Door», «After Twenty Years», «The Furnished Room», «The Pimienta Pancakes», «The Last Leaf», «The Voice of The City», «While The Auto Waits», «A Retrieved Reformation», «A Municipal Report», «A Newspaper Story», «The Ransom of Red Chief», «A Ghost of a Chance», and «Makes the Whole World Kin». This edition includes a biographical afterword.