Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

The work, which was admired by Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad for its authentic portrayal of a seafaring life and takes place during the American Revolution, launched a whole genre of maritime fiction. It features a mysterious and almost superhuman American sea pilot (based on the American hero John Paul Jones) who fights battles off the coast of England against the British and American loyalists. One of the book’s themes is the ambiguous nature of loyalty. Although often bogged down by complicated nautical terminology and intrusive philosophical dialogue, the novel is nevertheless noted ...

Take a fascinating journey from France to America through the "eyes" of a pocket handkerchief. She marvels at the vastness of the universe which the Creator devised and glories in her own fabrication by the young hands of a French peasant. All the while, she sees the intricacies of Providence in her life, as well as those about her. (Summary by Keith Salis)

The Pioneers: The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale is one of the Leatherstocking Tales, a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper. The Pioneers was first of these books to be published (1823), but the period of time covered by the book (principally 1793) makes it the fourth chronologically. (The others are The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, and The Prairie.)The story takes place on the rapidly advancing frontier of New York State and features a middle-aged Leatherstocking (Natty Bumppo), Judge Marmaduke Temple of Templeton, whose life...

Natty Bumppo goes by many names: La Longue Carabine, Hawk Eye, Leatherstocking, and in this tale, The Pathfinder. Guide, scout, hunter, and when put to it, soldier, he also fills a lot of roles in pre-Revolution upstate New York. An old friend, Sergeant Dunham of the 55th Regiment of Foot, asks him to guide his daughter through the wilderness to the fort at Oswego where Dunham serves. With the French engaging native Indian allies against the British and the Yankee colonists, such a journey is far from safe. Dunham has a plan in mind - to see his daughter Mable married off to the most ...

James Fenimore Cooper's second novel, The Spy (1821), is based on Sir Walter Scott's Waverly series, and tells an adventure tale about the American Revolution. The protagonist is Harvey Birch, a supposed loyalist who actually is a spy for George Washington, disguised as 'Mr Harper.' The book brought Cooper fame and wealth, and is regarded as the first great success in American fiction.(Summary by Gord MacKenzie)

Le récit a pour théâtre l’Amérique du Nord, pendant la guerre de Sept Ans. Les affrontements entre français et anglais en forment la toile de fond. Cooper décrit notamment la bataille de Fort William Henry qui oppose, en juillet et août 1757, les troupes du général français Montcalm (et de ses alliés amérindiens) à celles du colonel britannique Munro. - Résumé de WIKIPEDIA

This story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of from 500 to 1,500 unarmed Anglo-American troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by Hawkeye, the last two Mohicans, and others. Parts of the story may have been derived from the capture and death of Jane McCrea in July 1777 near Fort Edward, New York, by members of an Algonquian tribe. (Summary from ...

Colección de ensayos e historias del viaje que Washington Irving realizó en 1828 a Granada, acompañado por el guía Mateo Jiménez. Una placa conmemorativa en la Alhambra recuerda que Washington Irving escribió allí mismo sus cuentos. (summary by tux)

Wordsworth was a defining member of the English Romantic Movement. Like other Romantics, Wordsworth’s personality and poetry were deeply influenced by his love of nature, especially by the sights and scenes of the Lake Country, in which he spent most of his mature life. A profoundly earnest and sincere thinker, he displayed a high seriousness tempered with tenderness and a love of simplicity. (summary from Bartleby.com)

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 different recordings of Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of March 25th, 2007.

The Excursion: Being a portion of The Recluse, a Poem is a long poem by Romantic poet William Wordsworth and was first published in 1814. It was intended to be the second part of The Recluse, an unfinished larger work that was also meant to include The Prelude, Wordsworth's other long poem, which was eventually published posthumously. The exact dates of its composition are unknown, but the first manuscript is generally dated as either September 1806 or December 1809. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

This was the weekly poetry project for 14 May 2006. Spring’s flowers come and go all too quickly, but Wordsworth’s classic poem reminds us that their blessings last.

This is book 3 of 5.An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

First published as a serial in Fraser's Magazine in 1844 as The Luck of Barry Lyndon, The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq is a picaresque novel, narrated (occasionally charmingly, always unreliably) by a member of the 18th-century Irish gentry. Redmond Barry, later Barry Lyndon, describes his rise to - and inevitable fall from - the top of the English aristocracy. Romantic, military and political intrigue, as well as satire and pathos, follow. Editorial notes, courtesy of Thackeray's fictitious alter ego, G. S. FitzBoodle, interject further levels of irony, humour and detachment.Thackeray, who ...

A classic Victorian novel and a historical novel rolled into one! Read about court and army life during the reign of Queen Anne - a story of Catholic - Protestant intrigue, and the party which aspired to the restoration of Bonny Prince Charlie. And, a good love story as well. (Summary by Karen Merline)

The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family was written in serial form in 1854- 1855 by the author of such works as Vanity Fair, The Book Of Snobs. It tells the story of a few generations of the Newcome family: their rise to respectability, marriages, love, and the culture in which they lived. The novel teaches the reader what it was like to live in Victorian England - Summary by Stav Nisser

In Pendennis, William Makepeace Thackeray skillfully shows the coming of age of Arthur Pendennis, a young gentleman trying to make his way in the world. Pen's difficulties in finding his place in the difficult maze of social obstacles are created to some extent by his being raised in the country and being from an ancient though impoverished family. We follow his course from the village in which he was raised via Oxbridge to London, meeting the most memorable characters, falling in and out of love, navigating the difficulties of society, and hopefully finally arriving at a happy end. - Summary ...

This is book 4 of 5. An ex-convict breaks parole and starts a new life as a righteous man, but is pursued by a police inspector. Along the way, the ex-convict joins a revolution, adopts a daughter, and beats people up. Hooray. (Summary by smileyman457)

Dès 1828 Hugo avait conçu Note Dame de Paris et se rend plusieurs fois à la cathédrale. Il ressuscite le Paris d'autrefois avec sa cathédrale. Notre-Dame de Paris retrace la destinée tragique au Moyen Âge d'une jeune bohémienne, Esméralda, victime du désir qu'elle inspire à trois hommes. Convoitée par l'archidiacre Frollo, elle est enlevée sur son ordre par le sonneur de cloches difforme de Notre-Dame, Quasimodo, puis est sauvée par le beau capitaine Phoebus dont elle s'éprend. Mais Frollo, jaloux, poignarde Phoebus, et n'intervient pas lorsque Esméralda est accusée de ce ...

Quatrevingt-treize est le dernier roman de Victor Hugo. Son action se déroule dans la Vendée de 1793, avec pour toile de fond les plus terribles années de la Révolution française : la Terreur.Trois personnages s'affrontent : un aristocrate, un républicain, et un conventionnel. La fiction de l'intrigue se mêle à la réalité de l'Histoire. Chacun des trois héros se trouve guidé par une certaine idée du devoir et de l'honneur, vers une forme d'héroïsme qui n'écarte pas la mort. - Résumé par Bidou