Публицистика: прочее
Различные книги в жанре Публицистика: прочееThe Selected Tales of Father Brown
Early 20th century English author Gilbert Keith Chesterton may be best remembered for his stories which feature the character of an English priest and detective named Father Brown. While the character was based on a real life priest who was involved in Chesterton’s own conversion of faith, the adventures and mysteries that Father Brown solves are purely fictional. Collected together here are fifteen of Chesterton’s most thrilling Father Brown tales which were first collected in “The Innocence of Father Brown” and “The Wisdom of Father Brown”. What is interesting about Father Brown is that he does not rely on deductive reasoning like other famous detectives, namely Sherlock Holmes. Instead, Father Brown relies on intuition. He puts himself into the mind of the perpetrator and figures out the criminal’s steps along the way. Part of what makes him a great detective is that Father Brown is never shocked by the atrocities that he sees. As a priest, he says that he has already heard about all the awful things people do and think; nothing surprises him anymore. He also refuses to believe in any supernatural explanations and instead focuses on a case’s reasonable explanation. “The Selected Tales of Father Brown” collects together some of Chesterton’s best Father Brown mysteries. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works are staples in the canon of American literature. The author drew upon the early Puritan influences that played a major role in the country’s history and exploited them through mystery, creativity, science, and witchcraft. Hawthorne wrote with a psychological view of his characters and their motivations, allowing him to craft characters, plots, and scenes that truly represent his story’s themes. His use of foreshadowing and symbolism are second to none. Each work is an intricate puzzle that fits together delicately. Though his works are not considered “easy,” Hawthorne’s writing style captures the early American vernacular and phrasing; his pieces are commonly referred to as the perfect specimens of 18th and 19th century American language. The collection “Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories” offers seven tales created by Hawthorne; each is different from the rest, making this anthology a varied and holistic collection for any library. Students who enjoyed Hawthorne’s most famous novel “The Scarlet Letter” will be impressed with tales such as “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Birthmark,” and “The Artist of the Beautiful.” The author’s ability to connect Romanticism, theology, and morality has impressed readers since the 1800s, and audiences today will find the same excitement and beauty that was celebrated by19th century Americans. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Flappers and Philosophers
The first short story collection by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Flappers and Philosophers” was originally published in 1920. The eight stories of the collection are set in the era for which the author is best known, the Jazz Age, a term Fitzgerald himself coined. While perhaps best known for his novels, Fitzgerald was a prolific and accomplished short story writer and found the most fame and fortune during his career in writing short stories for magazines, such as the Saturday Evening Post. Included in this collection are some of his most famous and romantic short stories, such as “The Offshore Pirate” and “Head and Shoulders,” which mirror many of the themes in his novels: mismatched lovers, the sacrifice of career goals for love, and bittersweet endings. Fitzgerald’s versatility and range as an author can be seen in the melancholy and tragic examination of a long marriage in “The Cut-Glass Bowl” when compared to the tale of youthful competition and revenge in “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.” These short stories demonstrate why Fitzgerald is considered one of America’s very best authors. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
To Build a Fire and Other Stories
Born into poverty in San Francisco in 1876, Jack London is one of the most well-known and beloved of all American authors, as well as one of the first Americans to become world famous and wealthy from his literary career. London lived a colorful and adventurous life as a young man, working as a sailor and then living as a hobo, all before starting high school. After dropping out of college at Berkeley, London joined the Klondike Gold Rush, an experience which would form the basis of many of his most famous works. After returning sick and weakened from his time in Alaska, he turned to writing full time. Contained in this volume are many of his most famous and well-loved short stories, including the powerful “To Build a Fire,” a story based on his own experiences as a young and inexperienced man in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. London seized on the new popularity of magazines and short stories and delighted readers with his mastery of language and amazing ability to capture places and dramatic events. This collection showcases many of his best and most thrilling tales and demonstrates why London remains one of America’s best writers. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
The Overcoat and Other Stories
Nikolai Gogol, an early 19th century Ukrainian-born Russian novelist, humorist, and dramatist, considered the father of modern Russian realism, created some of the most important works of Russian literature. Gogol satirized the corrupt bureaucracy of the Russian Empire through the scrupulous and scathing realism of his writing, which would ultimately lead to his exile. Among some of his finest works are his short stories. A representative selection of Gogol’s short stories are presented in this volume. The following stories can be found herein: “The Fair of Sorotchinetz”, “St. John’s Eve”, “An Evening in May”, “Old-Fashioned Farmers”, “The Viy”, “The Night of Christmas Eve”, “How the Two Ivans Quarrelled”, “The Mysterious Portrait”, “The Diary of a Madman”, “The Nose”, “The Carriage”, and “The Overcoat”. This edition is includes a biographical afterword.
The King in Yellow (with a Foreword by Rupert Hughes)
First published in 1895, “The King in Yellow” is a collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers for which the author is best known. The title of the collection refers to a fictional forbidden play referenced in the first four of the stories of the collection which induces its readers to madness. The remainder of the stories of this volume have a less eerie tone and are written in the romantic fiction style common to Chambers’ later work. “The King in Yellow” is a prominent example of the type of weird fiction which would become increasingly popular near the end of 19th and first part of the 20th century. It is specifically cited as a prominent influence on the work of H. P. Lovecraft. The ten stories which comprise this volume are as follows: “The Repairer of Reputations”, “The Mask”, “In the Court of the Dragon”, “The Yellow Sign”, “The Demoiselle d’Ys”, “The Prophets’ Paradise”, “The Street of the Four Winds”, “The Street of the First Shell”, “The Street of Our Lady of the Fields” and “Rue Barrée”. This edition includes a foreword by Rupert Hughes.
Ward No. 6 and Other Stories (Translated by Constance Garnett)
Anton Chekhov, who is often credited with inventing the modern short story, wrote many volumes worth of stories during his lifetime. Considered by many as one of the greatest short story writers of all time, Chekhov’s extraordinary storytelling gift is exemplified in this volume of twenty-three of his most popular stories. “Ward No. 6 and Other Stories” includes the following stories: “The Cook’s Wedding”, “The Witch”, “A Dead Body”, “Easter Eve”, “On the Road”, “The Dependents”, “Grisha”, “The Kiss”, “Typhus”, “The Pipe”, “The Princess”, “Neighbours”, “The Grasshopper”, “In Exile”, “Ward No. 6”, “Rothschild’s Fiddle”, “The Student”, “The Darling”, “A Doctor’s Visit”, “Gooseberries”, “The Lady with the Dog”, “In the Ravine”, and “The Bishop”. This edition follows the translations of Constance Garnett.
Billy Budd, Bartleby, and Other Stories
“Billy Budd” is the final work of American author Herman Melville which was discovered amongst his papers three decades after his death and first published in Raymond Weaver’s 1924 edition of “The Collected Works of Melville.” The emergence of that collection as well as Weaver’s 1921 biography, “Herman Melville: Man, Mariner and Mystic”, sparked a revival of interest in the forgotten writer. Despite the complex and incomplete nature of the manuscript excitement arose around this “new” Melville work when it was first discovered. The novel is concerned with its titular character, Billy Budd, a navy sailor accused of mutiny by a fellow officer, who immediately strikes his accuser dead, followed quickly by a trial, conviction and execution. The story stemmed from Melville’s interest in an 1888 article called “The Mutiny on the Somers,” concerning three sailors who in 1842 had been convicted of mutiny. Presented here in this volume is Weaver’s original 1924 edition, a first of many attempts to piece together and refine the sometimes illegible text, which included questionable additions and omissions made by Melville’s wife after his death. Also included in this collection are the following tales: “The Piazza”, “Bartleby: The Scrivener”, “Benito Cereno”, “The Lightning-Rod Man”, “The Encantadas”, “The Bell-Tower”, and “The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids”. This edition includes a biographical afterword.
Just So Stories (Illustrated by the Author)
First published in 1902, “Just So Stories” is Rudyard Kipling’s classic collection of animal fables and poetry. This collection grew out of nighttime story-telling between Rudyard and his daughter Josephine. The peculiar name is drawn from her insistence that these tales, which were origin stories describing how animals got their most distinctive features, be told “just so”. This volume reproduces the complete edition of “Just So Stories” which includes the following stories: “How The Whale Got His Throat”, “How The Camel Got His Hump”, “How The Rhinoceros Got His Skin”, “How The Leopard Got His Spots”, “The Elephant’s Child”, “The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo”, “The Beginning of the Armadillos”, “How The First Letter Was Written”, “How The Alphabet Was Made”, “The Crab That Played With The Sea”, “The Cat That Walked By Himself”, “The Tabu Tale”, and “The Butterfly That Stamped”. This edition includes the original illustrations by the author and a biographical afterword.
Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov was a master of the short story. The son of a former serf in southern Russia, he attended Moscow University to study medicine, writing short stories for periodicals in order to support his family. What began as a necessity became a legitimate career in 1886 when he was asked to write in St. Petersburg for the Novoye Vremya (New Times), owned by publishing magnate Alexey Suvorin. Chekhov began paying more attention to his writing, revising and developing his own principles and conceptions of truth, for a time coming under the influence of Leo Tolstoy. As a result of his widespread popularity, Chekhov amassed a vast collection of short stories displaying an early use of stream-of-consciousness writing, as well as his powerful ideas concerning the individual, the tedium of life, and the beauty of nature and humanity. Twenty-eight stories are collected here in the “Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov” including many of the author’s most popular shorter works. This edition includes a biographical afterword.