Скачать книгу (размер 1 534 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 302) Аннотация: Northanger Abbey tells the story of Catherine Morland, a naive young woman whose perceptions of the world around her are greatly influenced by the romantic gothic novels to which she is addicted. When she moves to Bath she sees mystery and intrigue all around her. This is one of Austen's early works, a broad comedy about learning to distinguish between fiction and reality.
Скачать книгу (размер 2 069 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 407) Аннотация: The Odyssey can claim to be Western literature's first adventure story, and describes the ten-year wanderings of Odysseus in his quest to return home after the Trojan war. He encounters giants, sorceresses and sea-monsters before he can get home and then must remain in disguise while seeking a way to rid his home of the suitors who, believing him dead, have besieged his wife. Both an enchanting…
Скачать книгу (размер 2 931 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 576) Аннотация: In The Origin of Species Darwin outlined his theory of evolution, which proposed that species had been evolving and differentiating over time under the influence of natural selection. On its publication it became hugely influential, bringing about a seismic shift in the scientific view of humanitys place in the world that is still controversial today. It is both a brilliant work of science and…
Скачать книгу (размер 1 585 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 312) Аннотация: Jane Austen's final novel, her most mature and wickedly satirical, is the story of Anne Elliott, a woman who gets a second chance at love. To achieve happiness she must learn to trust her own feelings and resist the social pressures of family and friends.
Скачать книгу (размер 1 585 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 312) Аннотация: A skeleton in dinner dress is wreaking havoc among singers and staff at the Paris Opera House and when new owners take over the terror escalates. Who is the mysterious figures stalking the stage at night? How can he be everywhere at once and leave locked rooms at will? What is his connection to the beautiful young musician Christine? Stage and screen adaptations of The Phantom of the Opera have…
Скачать книгу (размер 4 073 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 800) Аннотация: In The Portrait of a Lady Henry James tells the story of one of his most enchanting heroines, Isabel Archer, a young New York woman whose life is changed when she is visited by her aunt Mrs Touchett following the death of her father (her mother having died long before). Isabel is invited to accompany her aunt back to Europe, and fascinates everyone with her beauty, intelligence and vivacity. When…
Скачать книгу (размер 2 237 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 440) Аннотация: Written in the sixteenth century and almost immediately a subject of controversy, The Prince presents Machiavelli's advice to a ruler who would seek to maintain his power most effectively. Pragmatism and expediency are seen to be more important considerations than ethical ones, and a ruler must be prepared to take actions in the interest of public order that might conflict with purely private…
Скачать книгу (размер 998 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 197) Аннотация: Regarded by many as one of the finest American novels, The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of one soldiers experience in the American Civil War, presenting war in a direct, impressionistic way that was innovative at the time and is still influential today. Henry Fleming enlists in the Union Army with dreams of military glory, and discovers real warfare is very different from its fictional…
Скачать книгу (размер 1 452 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 286) Аннотация: Mary Lennox is sent from an India as an orphan to live at Misselthwaite Manor. She arrives as a sour-faced, sickly and ill-tempered little madam but becomes friends with local lad Dickon and her poorly cousin Colin. In their restoration of a secret garden all their lives are changed for the better.
Скачать книгу (размер 2 411 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 474) Аннотация: This companion volume to Tales of Mystery & Imagination contains Poe's best-known poetry and a selection of his very best stories, including some fine tales from the last decade of his tragically short life. Many of these stories and poems reflect familiar Poe themes of murder, obsession and love, but there are also tales of the fantastic, black comedies, parodies and hoaxes.
Скачать книгу (размер 1 544 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 304) Аннотация: Treasure Island is one of the best-loved children's stories of all time but is a wonderful adventure story that can be enjoyed at any age.When Jim Hawkins finds a pirate's treasure map in an old sailor's sea trunk the local doctor and squire take him with them to find the island and the treasure. But Long John Silver, with his missing leg and talking parrot, has his own ideas about who should…
Скачать книгу (размер 3 278 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 644) Аннотация: Uncle Tom's Cabin brought the evils of slavery to the conscience and hearts of the American people by its moving portrayal of slave experience. In scenes of great dramatic power Harriet Beecher Stow shows us the human effects of an economic system in which slaves were property. Still controversial today, the novel is abrasive in its demand for change yet also brilliant in its deployment of…
Скачать книгу (размер 1 829 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 360) Аннотация: Henry Thoreau's Walden is one of the most influential books in early American literature. It recounts the author's experiences living in a small house in the woods around Walden Pond in Massachusetts in the 1840s. His attempt to live independently and away from society produced a work that blends natural history with philosophical insights, and which raises questions that are still relevant today.
Скачать книгу (размер 8 317 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 1632) Аннотация: Widely regarded as the greatest novel in any language, War and Peace is primarily concerned with the histories of five aristocratic families particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys and the Rostovs who are portrayed against a vivid background of Russian social life during the wars against Napoleon (1805-14). The theme of war, however, is subordinate to the story of family existence, which…
Скачать книгу (размер 2 686 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 528) Аннотация: When Jonathan Harker is summoned to Transylvania to finalise a property deal for the mysterious Count Dracula he little suspects that he is unleashing a terrible evil on his fellow countrymen. In this classic novel about vampires Stoker captured the fears of his age. Dracula represents everything the Victorians feared: the irrational, the pagan, the erotic and the foreign.
Скачать книгу (размер 3 002 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 590) Аннотация: When Emma Woodhouse sets out on a career of match-making in the little town of Highbury she manages to cause confusion at every step. Jane Austen was particularly proud of Emma, in which she takes apart the desires and foibles of small-town society with unnerving accuracy.
Скачать книгу (размер 2 523 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 496) Аннотация: Father Brown, a small, round Catholic priest with a remarkable understanding of the criminal mind, is one of literature's most unusual and endearing detectives, able to solve the strangest crimes in a most fascinating manner. This collection draws from all five Father Brown books, and within their remarkable range these stories contain as much wisdom as they do wonder.
Скачать книгу (размер 3 196 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 628) Аннотация: One of Dickens's most renowned and enjoyable novels, Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, an orphan boy who wishes to transcend his humble origins and finds himself unexpectedly given the opportunity to live a life of wealth and respectability. Over the course of the tale, in which Pip encounters such famous characters as Miss Havisham, Herbert Pocket and Joe Gargery, he comes to realise…
Скачать книгу (размер 2 931 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 576) Аннотация: The orphaned Jane Eyre suffers under cruel guardians, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. But her plain appearance belies her indomitable spirit, sharp wit and great courage. When she goes to Thornfield Hall to work as a governess for the mysterious Mr Rochester the stage is set for one of literature's great romances.
Скачать книгу (размер 1 625 Kb , формат fb2, страниц 320) Аннотация: Drunk and bitter at the world, the young Michael Henchard sells his wife to a sailor at Weydon Priors fair. The next morning he vows to give up drink and mend his terrible ways. Twenty years later he is mayor of Casterbridge, a rich and important figure who little suspects the past is about to rear up and attack him. The Mayor of Casterbridge is a masterpiece of Victorian literature, bringing the…