Résultats lu par "Walter Covell" dans Toutes les catégories

Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 C.E. to his death in 180 C.E. He was destined to be a leader, havin being born into a prominent family - one related by blood and marriage to rulers and bankers. During his era, Romans who inherited power and vast fortunes were expected to set an example.

Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who traveled on the "Silk Road." His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became one of the world's greatest travelogues.

It all began wit the research of two scientists, Mr. Bensington and Professor Redwood, into the principles of growth in living matter. The fruit of their labor was a substanceknown as "Herakleophorbia IV", but their own private term for it was "The Food of theGods" because of its very special properties. Their tests produced a baby chick large enough to be mistaken for a buzzard, and when the substance was consumed by rats, they grew bigger than horses.

The Big Bow Mystery is a masterpiece of the form, as compelling a story today as when it was first published. The author has produced a seminal crime novel - the original "locked room" mystery. With a flair for storytelling and a literate style comparable to his contemporary, Charles Dickens, Israel Zangwill concocts a heady satire of Victorian England, setting his scene in London's picturesque Bow district.

A drunken Englishman disgraces the consecrated effigy of Hanuman,a sacred religious figure to the Hindus. As results a leprous "Silver Man" marks him with a hideous curse. The ensuing days and nights bring strange terrors to the now repentant Englshman.

Dostoevsky studied human nature with passion and precision. He plumbed the depths and never winced at what he found, even when it was beyond his understanding. This extraordinary novel is a recital of his findings, told in the story of four brothers: Dimitri, pleasure-seeking, impatient, unruly; Ivan, brilliant and morose; Alyosha, gentle, loving, honest; and the illegitimate Smerdyakov, sly, silent, cruel. What give this story its dramatic grip is the part these brothers play in their father's murder.

Maurice Leblanc, a writer of detective fiction during the same period as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, created Arsene Lupin, a sort of French Robin Hood. An inventive genius, a master of disguise, and an accomplished actor, Lupin operates in the choice chateaux and salons. He scorns sham and with great disdain leaves his card in a baron's residence. The card reads, "Arsene Lupin, gentleman-burglar, will return when the furniture is genuine."

Gaston Leroux is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera. However, he also wrote some excellent detective stories. In fact,Leroux's contribution to French detective fiction is considered a parallel to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's in the United Kingdom and Edgar Allan Poe's in America. In this, his most popular mystery, rival detectives try to crack a case.

One of the greatest of French novelists, Balzac, trained as a lawyer, was a great judge of human nature. In 1833 he conceived the idea of linking together his novels so that they would comprehend the whole society in a series of books. This plan eventually led to 90 novels and novellas (including more than 2,000 characters) that he called "The Human Comedy". Balzac's huge and ambitious plan drew a picture of the customs, atmosphere, and habits of the bourgeois France.

Set during the reign of Louis XIII (1610-43) and based on actual events, The Three Musketeers is perhaps the greatest "cloak and sword" story ever written. Three Musketeers, loyal servants of the King, are joined by the dashing D'Artagnan, a veritable Byronic hero. These four are pitted against the master of intrigue, Cardinal Richelieu, and the quintessential wicked woman, Lady de Winter. Dumas was quite expert in pacing and varying action while weaving historical fact with purest fiction.

Called by Lord Byron, "The most exquisite of all romances in miniature," The Vicar of Wakefield is the story of a simple reverend who, losing his fortune, moves his family to a new part of the country and tries to live according to his beliefs. He and his family make an Arcadian picture of affectionate accord. That is, until the idyll is rudely disturbed by a notorious seducer. The book is a classic comedy of manners and a satire on the moralistic tales of the period.

Enjoy stories of the past and the future by the author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. This collection includes The Star, The Crystal Egg, Stories of the Stone Age, A Story of the Days to Come and The Man Who Could Work Miracles.

This is the very first Sherlock Holmes novel, published in 1887. In it, Holmes and Watson meet for the first time. It is a fascinating and exciting tale of kidnapping and murder. The detective and the doctor are immediately in fine form as Holmes plucks the solution to the mystery from the heart of Victorian London.

In 1725, Jonathan Swift published Gulliver's Travels, a book universally acknowledged as one of the most fantastic adventure stories and best satires on the human condition ever written.

Herman Melville, known primarily for his epic Moby Dick, also wrote a number of equally incisive, but much shorter stories. This collection contains four of his best: "Bartelby the Scrivner", "Benito Cereno", "Jimmy Rose", and "The Fiddler".

Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. He was called both "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia" and is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history.

Hawthorne approached the Romantic notion of the ability of science to destroy art (or beauty) in the form of fictive "horror stories" of biological research out of control. This story is the best of that group. A devoted scientist marries a beautiful woman with a single physical flaw: a birthmark on her face. Aylmer becomes obsessed with the imperfection and his attempts to remove it via his scientific skills, thus rendering his bride perfect.

The story involves a huge diamond, the moonstone, originally stolen from an Indian shrine. The gem is given to an English girl on her 18th birthday but disappears that same night. What follows is a spellbinding mystery that to this day has the power to draw the listener into its world of danger, suspense, and surprise.

Kate Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels, mostly with a Louisiana Creole background. Today she is now considered a forerunner of the feminist authors of the 20th century. This powerful story concerns a wife who learns that her overbearing husband has been killed. The short period of mourning turns to the hope of her new freedom - but then comes the very unexpected climax.

This famous story chronicles the end of the lives of the Forty-Seven Ronin, also know as the Forty-Seven Samurai. It is described by one noted Japanese scholar as the country's "national legend". It recounts the most famous case involving the Samurai code of honor, "bushido".