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By: Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 6: Part 2: The Man in the Iron Mask

In the late 1600s a man was doubly-imprisoned: his body in an iron cell and his face in an iron mask. Who the “man in the iron mask” was, why he was imprisoned, and how he was treated during imprisonment, remains a mystery that has captivated historians for centuries. Before Dumas penned the final volume of his D’Artagnan Romances, “The Man in the Iron Mask,” he wrote that “everything connected with the masked prisoner arouses the most vivid curiosity.” This essay is a comprehensive summary of theories regarding the masked prisoner’s identity and history from the 1770s to Dumas’ time . - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 6: Part 3: Martin Guerre

Martin Guerre was a French peasant that, during a long absence, was famously impersonated in the 16th century. Although the real Martin Guerre is suspected of no serious crimes, his imposter, Arnaud du Tilh, engaged in fraud and adultery while pursuing false claims to the Guerre inheritance. Dumas later incorporates this celebrated crime into his novel “The Two Dianas.” - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 7: Part 1: Ali Pacha

Ali Tepeleni, Pacha of Janina, rose to power during the early 1800s in one of the Ottoman Empire’s most unruly territories . His ferocious imposition of will was limitless, earning him the sobriquet of “the Lion of Janina.” As the mauling and murder of innocents sustains the lion, so did it sustain Ali Pacha’s rule. Thus, the range of celebrated crimes that Dumas describes in this essay are as vast as Ali Pacha’s ambition – an ambition rooted in his mother’s callous advice that “success justified everything, and everything is permissible to him who has the power to do it.” - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 7: Part 2: Countess de Saint-Geran

This story details the crimes and trial surrounding the unexpected pregnancy and subsequent childbirth of the Countess de Saint-Geran in 1640s France. Familial jealousies harbored by her sister-in-law, the Marchioness de Bouille, intertwine with the greedy schemes of a fugitive relative, the Marquis de Saint-Maixent, to produce a scandalous series of events. - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 7: Part 3: Murat

Amidst the political winds from Napoleon’s downfall, this tale turns our attention to the flight of a former French marshal and King of Naples, Joachim Murat. Murat, unhappy with the deal he made to obtain pardon from the Austrian Emperor, takes a life-ending resolution to retake his crown rather than live in peaceful obscurity. - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 8: Part 1: The Marquise de Brinvilliers

The crimes of the Marquise of Brinvilliers, a French aristocrat during the reign of Louis XIV, included some of the most famous murders, scandals and mysteries in French history. This story recounts her major crimes, torture, conviction and execution. - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Three Musketeers, Version 2

D’Artagnan, son of a poor Gascon aristocrat, travels to Paris to seek his fortune. His family connections enable him to obtain a position in a Guard regiment. His provincial ingenuousness and his hot-headed sense of honor earn him three duels in as many hours. Thankfully, his preparation with the sword is sufficient to recommend himself to his Musketeer antagonists, and they – Athos, Porthos, and Aramis – become his fast friends. But fate also crosses D’Artagnan’s path with some dangerous people who become his opponents: a mysterious “man from Meung” and a woman who styles herself Milady, who has formidable seduction skills and a heart that is mean and violent...

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 8: Part 2: Vaninka

The story of Vaninka, generally regarded as the most fictionalized of Dumas’ Celebrated Crimes series, occurs during the short and eccentric rule of Emperor Paul I of Russia. Vaninka is a general’s daughter whose love for one of her father’s officers leads to tragic death, savage crimes and perversions of justice. - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 8: Part 3: The Marquise de Ganges

The assassination of Diane de Joannis de Chateaublanc is a fitting tale to conclude Dumas’ celebrated crimes series. This event was as gruesome as it was brazen and, before the final dagger strokes, both the assassins and the assassinated had become embroiled in high-profile intrigues. As a result, it sent reverberations through common and court societies across Europe for decades. - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover d'Artagnan Romances, Vol 1: The Three Musketeers (version 3)

The d'Artagnan Romances are six volumes that intertwine exciting events from 17th-century Europe and the life of the most adored French musketeer of that period, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan. Volume 1 introduces d’Artagnan as a young man, seeking to earn the glory of serving in the King’s Musketeers. While in pursuit of this aim, d’Artagnan befriends three musketeers – Athos, Porthos, and Aramis – who aid him in adventures against their King’s adversary, the cunning Cardinal Richelieu. "One for all, and all for one!" - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover d'Artagnan Romances, Vol 2: Twenty Years After (version 2)

Volume 2 of The d'Artagnan Romances begins twenty years after "The Three Musketeers." Since then, d'Artagnan's career has stagnated, he’s lost touch with his friends, and the high favor earned with Queen Anne has been forgotten. His misfortune mirrors that of France, now ruled by an ineffective miser, Cardinal Mazarin, who’s avarice fuels a rebellion. Moreover, England is mired in civil war! Can d’Artagnan do the seemingly impossible: reunite “The Inseparables,” save the Queen and young...

Book cover d'Artagnan Romances, Vol 3, Part 1: The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later

Volume 3 of The d'Artagnan Romances is divided into three parts. The first begins in 1660, ten years after Volume 2, with d’Artagnan as Lieutenant of the King’s Musketeers. In this post, he is very near to achieving his dream and even nearer to his King, being young Louis XIV’s personal guard. Seeing first-hand how powerless the child King was, d’Artagnan resigns his illustrious, but dull, post to turn his sharp wit and sword toward another ambitious aim: restoration of the English monarchy...

Book cover Taking the Bastile

Pitou lost his mother when he was small. He was raised by a stern aunt who did not really love him. He starts knowing the world by going to service. How can this man, Pitou the Peasant go on to influence the whole state? How can he go on and take a part in the French revolution? Can his motivation, coming from what he did not have, be enough? - Summary by Stav Nisser

Book cover d'Artagnan Romances, Vol 3, Part 3: The Man in the Iron Mask (version 2)

Volume 3 of The d'Artagnan Romances is divided into three parts. In this, the final part, d’Artagnan’s fortune is near its height; having become the illustrious Captain of the Musketeers, he is now the chief defender of King Louis XIV. Fortune has also smiled on his three companions: Aramis is a wealthy bishop and the powerful, secret Superior General of the Jesuit Order ; Athos is the premier nobleman of France; and Porthos becomes a Duke with the proud but garishly long-winded title of “du Vallon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds...

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 2: The Massacres of the South

Dumas's 'Celebrated Crimes' was not written for children. The novelist has spared no language--has minced no words--to describe the violent scenes of a violent time.In some instances facts appear distorted out of their true perspective, and in others the author makes unwarranted charges. The careful, mature reader, for whom the books are intended, will recognize, and allow for, this fact.

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 3: Mary Stuart

The contents of these volumes of 'Celebrated Crimes', as well as the motives which led to their inception, are unique. They are a series of stories based upon historical records, from the pen of Alexandre Dumas, pere, when he was not "the elder," nor yet the author of D'Artagnan or Monte Cristo, but was a rising young dramatist and a lion in the literary set and world of fashion.The third volume is devoted to the story of Mary Queen of Scots, another woman who suffered a violent death, and around whose name an endless controversy has waged...

Book cover Forty-Five Guardsmen

The sequel to "Chicot the Jester" and final book of the "Valois Romances." This story begins six years after the famed "Duel of the Mignons" between the favorites of the courts of King Henry III and Henry the Duke of Guise . Dumas concludes his historical fiction on the War of the Three Henries while detailing the formation of the Forty-Five Guardsmen , following Chicot the Jester as he stays loyal to the failing regency of King Henry III, and continuing the story of Diana . - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 4: Karl-Ludwig Sand

This is the fourth volume of Alexandre Dumas' studies of celebrated crimes and their perpetrators. This volume is concerned with the story of Karl Ludwig Sand, who stabbed August von Kotzebue to death in 1819. August von Kotzebue had been a prominent dramatist, a student of Musäus, whose royalist and conservative writings ultimately led to his assassination by a member of a revolutionary liberal Burschenschaft. - Summary by Carolin

Book cover Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 5: The Countess of Charny

This 5th volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins after the fall of the Bastille and the March on Versailles, which forced Louis XVI and his court to be escorted back to Paris. In Paris, political factions battle over the fate of the nation, the royal family, and anyone with royalist sympathies. Our heroes and our anti-heroes must navigate the blood-streaked landscape while keeping their necks out of the guillotine. All the while, the prophetic Balsamo urges on the revolution: "the quantity of blood which must be shed before the sun rises on the free world ...

Book cover Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 1: Balsamo, The Magician

This is the first volume of Dumas' Marie Antoinette Romances . This historical fiction chronicles the strange events surrounding the fall of the French monarchy and rise of revolutionaries so terrifying that the period is still called "The Reign of Terrors" . In this volume, a renowned magician, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro , employs various occult tactics, like hypnotism and necromancy, to gain state secrets. Balsamo claims to be plotting against the Bourbons, but one must wonder whether this 3000 year old sorcerer has an ulterior motive... - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 2: The Mesmerist's Victim

This 2nd volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances continues the intrigues of "Balsamo, The Magician" and adds to them the schemes of philosophers and the stirrings of revolution. Balsamo carries on his occult tactics to weaponize the state secrets that he gained in the previous volume. A serious romance and illness takes root in the court of King Louis XV, convincing one of the leading philosophic minds of the era, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, that “the breath of heaven will blast an age and a monarchy.” - Summary by jvanstan

Book cover Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 3: The Queen's Necklace (Version 2)

This 3rd volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins a decade after the close of "The Mesmerist’s Victim” and is based on a real scandal in Louis XVI’s court, commonly called “The Diamond Necklace Affair.” In this volume, the plotting of a powerful occultist, Count Cogliostro , collides with the long-festering resentments of a previous royal house, Jeanne de Valois , a growing popular movement for sociopolitical reform, and a shrinking supply of bread. It is easy to see how converging...

Book cover Marie Antoinette Romances, Vol 4: Taking the Bastile

This 4th volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins several years after the close of "The Queen’s Necklace.” It describes the events leading up to and including the storming of the Bastile. Past plots of Count Balsamo to destroy the French monarchy are resurrected by the mysterious Dr. Gilbert – a student of Balsamo’s occult arts and the Enlightenment philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Considered by many critics to be a highlight of the Marie Antoinette Romances, Dumas tells this quintessential story of the French Revolution through the lens of the people...

Book cover Count of Monte Cristo (version 2)

The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story.

Book cover Count of Monte Cristo (version 3)

Le Comte de Monte-Cristo is an adventure novel and one of the author's most popular works. He completed the work in 1844. The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and in the Levant during the historical events of 1815-1838 (from just before the Hundred Days to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). It deals with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness. The book is considered a literary classic today.

Book cover Corsican Brothers

Alexandre Dumas weaves the compelling story of Siamese twins who are separated physically but never in spirit. When one of the brothers is murdered, the other leaves Corsica for Paris to avenge the killing. Dumas brings this thrilling tale to life with his fascinating descriptions of Italy and France and his powerful portrayal of the undying love of brother for brother.

Book cover Wolf-Leader

Part local legend of a dark and dangerous Wolf-Leader, part childhood memories of his home near Villers-Cotterets, in Aisne, Dumas here penned a chilling supernaturlal encounter between man and the devil. Our hero, Thibault the shoemaker, is beaten on the orders of the Lord of Vez for hunting in the lord's forest. With Thibault's resentment at his treatment by the world at its height, the devil sees his chance and, in the guise of a wolf, proposes a deal which Thibault accepts; the ever available trade of one's soul for evil power...

By: Alexandre Dumas (fils)

Camille by Alexandre Dumas (fils) Camille

The Lady of the Camellias (French: La Dame aux camélias) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in 1848, that was subsequently adapted for the stage. The Lady of the Camellias premiered at the Theatre de Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. An instant success, Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the female protagonist “Marguerite Gautier” renamed “Violetta Valéry”.

By: Alexandre Exquemelin (c. 1645-1707)

The Pirates of Panama by Alexandre Exquemelin The Pirates of Panama

This volume was originally written in Dutch by John Esquemeling, and first published in Amsterdam in 1678 under the title of De Americaeneche Zee Roovers. It immediately became very popular and this first hand history of the Buccaneers of America was soon translated into the principal European languages. The first English edition was printed in 1684. Esquemeling served the Buccaneers in the capacity of barber-surgeon, and was present at all their exploits. Little did he suspect that his first hand observations would some day be cherished as the only authentic and true history of the Buccaneers and Marooners of the Spanish Main...

By: Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America

Arguably, one of the most influential and insightful pieces of work concerned with American political life, Democracy in America directs itself towards American politics and society, and is considered to be one the best books written on the subject. Published in 2 volumes, in 1835 and 1840, Tocqueville records his findings after studying the thriving nation in his nine month exploratory journey. The young French aristocrat first came to America on an official assignment to study the American penal system, but instead used this as a pretext to study American society...

By: Alexis Soyer (1810-1858)

Book cover Pantropheon

Soyer was a 'celebrity chef', devising innovations such as water-cooled refrigerators and adjustable temperature ovens. He developed many popular recipes and catered for 2000 guests at Queen Victoria's coronation celebration. He had a social conscience and donated a penny for every mean sold, to help alleviate the Irish famine. During the Crimean War, he laid the foundations for the future British Army Catering Corps. He is credited with writing several books, including 'The Shilling Cookery Book for the People' and 'The Poor Man's Regenerator'. In this volume, he traces the history of food, food production, preparation and dining experiences. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: Alfred Arthur Reade

Book cover Tea and Tea Drinking

Not a complete history of tea, but a pleasant diversion concerning tea, the pleasures found in its drinking, effects, benefits, cautions, etc. Sprinkled with poetry and excerpts from historical personages and the occasional sermon. - Summary by KevinS

By: Alfred Austin (1835-1913)

Book cover Fortunatus' Song

Not all of the English poets laureate have been the greatest masters of verse. Alfred Austin, who assumed this post after Alfred Lord Tennyson, was one of the less distinguished - if more prolific - late Victorian poets. In modern times, his verse has become celebrated not for its smooth earnestness, but rather for the occasional howlers it contains. A notable example is this song from his pastoral epic Fortunatus the Pessimist, the final couplet of which is a popular favourite in anthologies of bad verse. - Summary by Algy Pug

By: Alfred Ayres (1826-1902)

The Verbalist by Alfred Ayres The Verbalist

Ayres arranges usage problems alphabetically and treats certain areas in greater detail as he sees fit. For example, his first entry is A-AN (articles). His second is ABILITY-CAPACITY, in which he distinguishes between the meanings. The alphabetical arrangement continues through to YOURS. (Introduction by Bill Boerst)

By: Alfred Bester (1913-1987)

Book cover Push Of A Finger

Science fiction from the 50s by one of the masters, Alfred Bester. Society has committed itself to complete stability. Nothing is allowed to upset this stability, nothing that is not planned and approved and accounted for in advance. Yes, this is hard to imagine but this has produced decades, nay, centuries of predictable prosperity and peace. Even the newspapers have very little to write about. One reporter however is curious about the "Prog" building, where pronouncements are issued every day just as Moses issued the commandments...

By: Alfred Binet (1857-1911)

The Mind and the Brain by Alfred Binet The Mind and the Brain

Today, almost every layperson understands the concept of intelligence tests and can glibly discuss IQ scores. In fact, these have become so common in the popular imagination that magazines, websites and pop quizzes offer to assess your intelligence at the drop of a hat! In this scenario, it's interesting to recall the very first person who proposed the concept of measurable intelligence. Alfred Binet was basically a clinical psychologist whose wide-ranging interests in learning difficulties faced by school children prompted him to undertake extensive studies in human cognition, psychology, learning and behavior...

By: Alfred Chaston Chapman (1869-1932)

Book cover Brewing

Great as is the debt of gratitude which the brewing industry owes to the labours of scientific men, it has been more than repaid by the immense services which that industry has indirectly rendered to the advancement of modern science. It may be said without exaggeration that in respect of the number of scientific investigations of the first order of importance to which it has given rise, the brewing industry stands easily preeminent among the industries of mankind, and that without the stimulus furnished...

By: Alfred de Musset (1810-1857)

The Confession of a Child of the Century by Alfred de Musset The Confession of a Child of the Century

In this autobiographic novel, an aging man reflects on his past. We are witness to the relationships he has along the way, his mistakes, and finally- in the most unexpected and honorable way- the sudden developement of his belief in god.

By: Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935)

Five Years of My Life 1894-1899 by Alfred Dreyfus Five Years of My Life 1894-1899

Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French Army was court martialed in 1894 on a trumped up charge of treason and condemned to life imprisonment on Devil’s island, a penal colony off French Guiana. His prison diary, published as Five Years of My Life in 1901 is a heroic tale of survival against daunting odds: isolation, deprivation, torture . . Alfred left behind in Paris his wife Lucie, who, forbidden to join her husband in exile, struggled to protect their two children from the rampant anti-Semitism that swirled about them, while she begged her husband to hold onto life as she tried to clear his name...

By: Alfred Edgar Coppard (1878-1957)

The Best British Short Stories of 1922 by Alfred Edgar Coppard The Best British Short Stories of 1922

Twenty-four short stories by famous and not-so-famous British authors.

By: Alfred Edward Taylor (1869-1945)

Book cover Thomas Hobbes

This work is a look at the life and ideas of Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher of the seventeenth century. The most important ideas are found in his famous work Leviathan. Taylor looks at such concepts of Hobbes as the contract, naturalism, sovereignty, natural laws, church and state, absolutism, and political obligation, etc.

By: Alfred Elwes (1819-1888)

The Adventures of a Dog, and a Good Dog Too by Alfred Elwes The Adventures of a Dog, and a Good Dog Too

This fictional work is written in 1st person by the dog himself. It's a cute story of the adventures in the life of a noble dog who is appropriately named, Job. The canine society in which he lives is an interesting parallel to human society.

By: Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946)

Book cover Prophets, Priests, And Kings

These biographical essays of British subjects were written in 1907-1908 for The Daily News newspaper and reflect their subjects as seen before the great cataclysm of World War I. Gardiner was a British newspaper editor, journalist, and author. His essays were and are highly regarded. - Summary by David Wales

By: Alfred J. Church (1829-1912)

The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church The Iliad for Boys and Girls

Echoing Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Church offers a simplified rendering of the classic siege of Troy, as he retells the story which is regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Western literature. The Iliad for Boys and Girls is written in an easy to follow style that is certain to provide clarity to the otherwise perplexing tale presented in Homer’s original. Furthermore, the tale explores various themes including the destructive nature of pride, grueling revenge, honor, and the capricious interference of the Ancient Greek gods in temporal affairs...

By: Alfred John Church (1829-1912)

Book cover Stories from Virgil

Alfred J. Church created 26 stories from the original Greek version of Virgil's Aeneid. He included well-known ones, such as "The Horse of Wood" and "The Love and Death of Dido," as well as many others perhaps less well-known, such as "King Evander" and "The Funeral Games of Anchises."

Book cover Odyssey for Boys and Girls

A retelling of the adventures of Ulysses, including his adventures both the Cyclops and Circe, as he journeys home to his home of Ithaca. The story then continues to include his quest to rejoin his wife and family of whom he has been separated from for twenty years. This is Homer's Odyssey for the younger set.

Book cover Henry the Fifth

A brief history of the life Henry the Fifth. - Summary by KevinS

By: Alfred Lawson (1869-1954)

Book cover Born Again

"I doubt that anyone who reads [Born Again] will ever forget it: it is quite singularly bad, with long undigestible rants against the evils of the world, an impossibly idealistic Utopian prescription for the said evils, and - as you will have gathered - a very silly plot." - oddbooks.co.ukAlfred Lawson was a veritable Renaissance man: a professional baseball player, a luminary in the field of aviation, an outspoken advocate of vegetarianism and economic reform, and the founder of a pseudo-scientific crackpot philosophy called Lawsonomy...

By: Alfred Marshall (1842-1924)

Principles of Economics by Alfred Marshall Principles of Economics

“The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings.” An uncannily prophetic quote from an 1890 book, Principles of Economics by Alfred Marshall presents an idea that has been accepted by major corporations and governments all over the world today. People's understanding of market behavior and how industries operate has its roots in the work done by European economists more than a century ago. Little has changed in terms of principles, though the effects of globalization and technology resulted an unmistakable impact on how business is done today...

By: Alfred Moffat (1866-1950)

Our Old Nursery Rhymes by Alfred Moffat Our Old Nursery Rhymes

If you love and cherish old English nursery rhymes and have fond memories of your early childhood years, Our Old Nursery Rhymes by Alfred Moffat published in 1911 is indeed the little book for you! Or as a parent, if you'd like your own children to share the magic, this book provides them all. One of the most appealing aspects of this charming book is that the rhymes are all set to music and if you're musically inclined, you can certainly keep yourself and your children entertained by playing these pretty tunes...

By: Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

The Concept of Nature by Alfred North Whitehead The Concept of Nature

In The Concept of Nature, Alfred North Whitehead discusses the interrelatedness of time, space, and human perception.The idea of objects as ‘occasions of experience’, arguments against body-mind duality and the search for an all-encompassing ‘philosophy of nature’ are examined, with specific reference to contemporary (Einstein, with whose theory of relativity he has some complaints) and ancient (Plato, Aristotle) approaches.

By: Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)

Book cover Drake

Alfred Noyes, in the blank-verse epic "Drake", fictionalizes the historical Francis Drake, who, during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, sailed (and plundered) on the Spanish Main and beyond.

Book cover Rada; A Belgian Christmas Eve

This is not heart warming holiday fare. It is a short (one-act) unsubtle antiwar play by the English poet Alfred Noyes (1880-1958), published in 1915 while World War I is in progress. Part of the work is in verse. Music sung by Duane Steadman.

By: Alfred Owen Crozier (1863-1939)

Book cover U.S. Money vs. Corporation Currency, "Aldrich plan."

In 1908, the National Monetary Commission was established by Congress to study financial boom-and-bust cycles. Senator Nelson Aldrich was chair of the commission. He, in secret enclave with a group of bankers, drafted what was called The Aldrich Plan, which provided for a central "bank" that would hold funds individual banks could borrow in the case of a bank run, print currency, and act as the fiscal agent of the US government. However, the plan gave little power to the government and seemed to give almost absolute control of the country's currency to Wall Street financiers...

By: Alfred Pretor (1840-1908)

Book cover Ronald And I; Or Studies From Life

This is a collection of essays on English village life in the late nineteenth century. The essay “My Rector” was the focus of some controversy when published. Alfred Pretor was an English Cambridge don and classicist, author, and translator. - Summary by David Wales

By: Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)

Is Mars Habitable? by Alfred Russel Wallace Is Mars Habitable?

In 1907 Wallace wrote the short book Is Mars Habitable? to criticize the claims made by Percival Lowell that there were Martian canals built by intelligent beings. Wallace did months of research, consulted various experts, and produced his own scientific analysis of the Martian climate and atmospheric conditions. Among other things Wallace pointed out that spectroscopic analysis had shown no signs of water vapor in the Martian atmosphere, that Lowell’s analysis of Mars’ climate was seriously flawed and badly overestimated the surface temperature, and that low atmospheric pressure would make liquid water, let alone a planet girding irrigation system, impossible.

By: Alfred Sutro (1863-1933)

Book cover Five Little Plays

British dramatist Alfred Sutro's collection contains five one act plays: "The Man in the Stalls," "A Marriage Has Been Arranged…", "The Man on the Kerb," "The Open Door," and "The Bracelet." The plays are performed by Amanda Friday, Libby Gohn, Elizabeth Klett, mb, Bob Neufeld, Caprisha Page, Bruce Pirie, and Algy Pug.

Book cover Mollentrave on Women

Mollentrave has written a “Love Doctor” book for men entitled “Mollentrave on Women” which purports to give any man the “Midas Touch” with the fairer sex. But as King Midas could’ve told us, these things have a way of backfiring… - Summary by Son of the Exiles Cast list: Mr. Mollentrave: azureblue Sir Joseph Balsted, K.C., M.P.: Mike Manolakes Everard Swenboys: Ethan Hurst Lord Contareen: Adrian Stephens Mr. Dexter: ToddHW Mr. Noyes: Alan Mapstone Peters, Sir Joseph’s Butler: Cavaet Martin, Mollentrave’s Butler: David Purdy Lady Claude Derenham: JennPratt Margaret Messilent: Nichole James Miss Treable: Joanna Michal Hoyt Mrs...

By: Alfred William Benn (1843-1915)

Book cover History of Modern Philosophy

This book is a brief, but cogent discussion of Western philosophy-- from Francis Bacon and Giordano Bruno through Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, Hume, Berkeley and Kant, the German idealists and Hegel, and ending with such nineteenth century luminaries as Mill, Spencer, and Nietzsche. Enchanted with Copernicus, Bruno goes to the stake for positing an infinity of inhabited worlds. Descartes, a professed skeptic, manages to justify everything the Jesuits taught him at La Flèche, while Spinoza, in mystical awe, envisions a pantheistic cosmos in which thought and extension are one and the same thing--God...

By: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson In Memoriam A.H.H.

In Memoriam is Tennyson’s elegiac tribute to his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died in 1833 at the age of 22. Tennyson wrote this long poem over 17 years as a chronicle of his mourning process. The poem became a favorite of Queen Victoria when she was grieving for her husband, and was one of the most popular and artistically influential poems of the Victorian period.

Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Idylls of the King

Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knights, his love for Guinevere and her tragic betrayal of him, and the rise and fall of Arthur's kingdom. The whole work recounts Arthur's attempt and failure to lift up mankind and create a perfect kingdom, from his coming to power to his death at the hands of the traitor Mordred. Individual poems detail the deeds of various knights, including Lancelot, Geraint, Galahad, and Balin and Balan, and also Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.

Book cover The Princess

The Princess is a serio-comic blank verse narrative poem, written by Alfred Tennyson, published in 1847. The poem tells the story of an heroic princess who forswears the world of men and founds a women's university where men are forbidden to enter. The prince to whom she was betrothed in infancy enters the university with two friends, disguised as women students. They are discovered and flee, but eventually they fight a battle for the princess's hand.

Book cover Maud, and Other Poems (Version 2)

Surely everyone knows “Maud”? Isn’t that the Victorian love song, where the man waits by the garden gate for his lover to appear for a secret rendezvous? Well, that may be the song, but Tennyson’s poem is longer and very much darker. It deals not with love but with the obsession of an unstable young man with the seventeen-year-old Maud, and his gradual descent into madness. The poem’s narrator has been excluded from an evening ball being held at Maud’s home, The Hall, and has climbed into her garden uninvited, convincing himself by a misreading the Language of Flowers that she has sent him a love-token in the form of a rose blossom...

Book cover Brook - Break, Break, Break - Sweet and Low - and The Eagle

This is Tennyson at his best. This is Tennyson, the master poet at his most descriptive, his most insightful, his most enlightening. This set of four poems has been carefully selected to depict life and life journeys - journeys that encompass timelessness and tragedy, fragility and hope - in ways that illuminate the constant cloud of wonder surrounding the ephemeral quality of existence. These are four magnificent poems that speak of life, its tragedies, its loneliness, its dangers and its brevity in a superb juxtaposition with the enduring and unchanging character of the natural world...

Book cover Eagle

volunteers bring you 21 recordings of The eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for September 18, 2022. ------ "A single line, nay, a single word, and a scene is by magic before us, as here where the sea is looked down upon from an immense height:— The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls.

Book cover Sea-Fairies and Other Poems

This amazing collection of some of Tennyson's best and most capricious poems takes us on a whimsical voyage, an allegorical voyage like no other - and we will be in good hands for at the tiller is Lord Tennyson himself. We will be guided by this master poet through a fantastic imaginary world of things that may exist, things that are, and those that may lie ahead. Our explorations will be wide-ranging as we consider with the poet, other life forms and existences and go on to explore diverse reactions to the events and pathos of lives extended to their fullest and the passion involved when the weight of lives lived as victims are realized to be wanting, melancholy and dismal...

Book cover Enoch Arden

In the poem "Enoch Arden," Tennyson's epic narrative of the enduring power of love in the face of insurmountable odds, is found a classic example of the determination of the human spirit to triumph in circumstances that address the true meaning of the power of love itself. Wanting only the very best for his impoverished wife and family, seaman Enoch Arden undertakes precarious work which leaves him marooned and presumed lost at sea. On his return home Enoch finds his family well and prospering but his wife remarried...

Book cover Charge of the Light Brigade

This poem was published just six weeks after the event, its lines emphasize the valour of the cavalry in bravely carrying out their orders, regardless of the obvious outcome. The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan, overall commander of the British forces, had intended to send the Light Brigade to pursue and harry a retreating Russian artillery battery, a task well-suited to light cavalry...

Book cover Maud, and Other Poems

A collection of poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, his first book of poetry after having become poet laureate in 1850. Among the "other poems" is The Charge of the Light Brigade, the most well-known poem in this collection. However, the bulk of the text is the poem Maud, which explores love, courtship, loss, grief, and purpose through the eyes of the emotionally unstable poet narrator.

By: Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay (1843-1899)

Book cover Innocencia: a story of the prairie regions of Brazil

The story of Innocencia, an 18-year-old girl who lives in the prairies of Brazil, is a twist on the traditional love triangle. The plot has been compared to the more famous "Paul and Virginie" and "Romeo and Juliet", but it takes place on the dropback of the loneliness of the sparsely populated backregions in 19th century Brazil, visited by a German naturalist in search of new species of insects, Dr. Meyer, who unsuspectedly finds himself caught in a complicated maze of jealousy, love and distrust. Inocencia was the first book by a Brazilian writer to be translated into English, as the translator states in his preface. - Summary by Leni

By: Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951)

The Willows by Algernon Blackwood The Willows

A tale of horror in which a pleasant sojourn down the Danube tumbles terrifyingly awry as the veil between this world and an unfathomably weird dimension is inadvertently pierced by an innocent pair of vacationers, “The Willows”, arguably Algernon Blackwood’s seminal contribution to supernatural literature, has had a lasting influence on the field. No less a personage than H. P. Lovecraft describing it as “…the greatest weird tale ever written.” A reading will reveal a clear influence to one familiar with Lovecraft’s work...

The Camp of the Dog by Algernon Blackwood The Camp of the Dog

A party of campers on a deserted Baltic island is terrorized by a huge wolf… or is it?

Jimbo by Algernon Blackwood Jimbo

A supernatural fantasy about the mystical adventures of a lonely English boy named Jimbo–who can fly! It’s really quite beautiful and can be enjoyed by adults and teenagers alike. Be warned, however: The death of a beloved character and a creepy old house haunted by the wraith-like spirits of children makes some of this story far too scary for younger kids or indeed anyone of a sensitive disposition. Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) was born in south London and wrote many tales of the supernatural.

The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood The Wendigo

Another camper tale, this time set in the Canadian wilderness. A hunting party separates to track moose, and one member is abducted by the Wendigo of legend. Robert Aickman regarded this as "one of the (possibly) six great masterpieces in the field".

The Man Whom the Trees Loved by Algernon Blackwood The Man Whom the Trees Loved

The story of a man’s deep connection with nature and his wife’s fear of it.

Book cover Four Weird Tales

Four stories: The Insanity of Jones, The Man Who Found Out, The Glamour of the Snow, and Sand. Tales by one the greatest practitioners of supernatural literature. Reincarnation, the Occult, and mystery.

Book cover John Silence

Six stories about Dr. John Silence if you want the shivers to run up your back, this is the right place to be

Book cover Episodes Before Thirty

Blackwood wrote this autobiography in his fifties, describing his first thirty years as an almost penniless British adventurer in Canada and New York, trying his hand at all sorts of investments, getting swindled again and again, sleeping on park benches, living in the woods, and sharing a one room tenement with friends who betrayed him and others who helped him through sickness and injury, reporting on aberrant personalities he met, their strange circumstances, and witnessing the criminal workings of Tammany Hall during his stint as a reporter for the Sun...

Book cover Listener and Other Stories

Algernon Blackwood, noted maestro of weird fiction, in his second collection of stories gives us some of his best and most well-known tales of the strange and macabre. From the unsettling haunted house story "The Listener" to the chilling true crime story "Max Hensig: Bacteriologist and Murderer", from the otherworldly tale of reincarnation "The Insanity of Jones" to one of the single most influential and eerie stories in all weird literature "The Willows", this collection shows Blackwood's masterful grasp of tension and atmosphere, further cementing his place among the greats of horror fiction. - Summary by Ben Tucker

Book cover Willows (version 2)

"The Willows" is one of Algernon Blackwood's best known creepy stories. American horror author H.P. Lovecraft considered it to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature. He wrote in his treatise "Supernatural Horror in Literature", "Here art and restraint in narrative reach their very highest development, and an impression of lasting poignancy is produced without a single strained passage or a single false note." "The Willows" is an example of early modern horror and is connected within the literary tradition of weird fiction.

Book cover Day And Night Stories

Fifteen short stories by Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (1869 – 1951), an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T. Joshi has stated that "his work is more consistently meritorious than any weird writer's except Dunsany's…"

Book cover Three More John Silence Stories

A trio of supernatural stories by famed author Algernon Blackwood. - Summary by eduardol

Book cover Lost Valley

A set of twin brothers have spent every waking moment of their lives together and are terrified of separating. However, when both men set their desires upon a mysterious young woman, the deep bonds of their relationship become marred.

Book cover Ten Minute Stories

Noted author of weird fiction Algernon Blackwood brings us a collection of shorter stories than some of his more well-known tales of terror. These stories illustrate the true breath of Blackwood's talent beyond just that of a purveyor of the supernatural. In addition to strange occurrences, mysterious phenomena, bizarre dreams and tales of the just plain weird contained herein, we also see a more jovial and comedic side of Blackwood as he pokes good-natured fun at the foibles of social manner in upper class society...

Book cover Bright Messenger

Julian LeVallon, born and raised alone in the Jura Mountains, is referred to psychiatrist Dr. Edward Fillery for care in London. But is LeVallon merely a schizophrenic with a secondary personality, "N.H." (non-human), or is he really an Elemental Being, a "bright messenger" who brings, perhaps, a new age of human evolution? And if so, is the human race ready for a major step forward?

Book cover Man Who Found Out (A Nightmare)

A researcher goes on an expedition to find "The Tablets of the Gods" which have plagued his dreams since his boyhood. He finds them, and the horrible truth of humanity's true purpose in the universe. This story, The Man Who Found Out" is an example to me of pure cosmic horror in that the horror comes totally from knowledge which is (in-story) so terrible that it forever blights the minds of anyone who discovers it. Two highly intelligent and well informed men, Professor Ebor and then Dr. Laidlaw,...

Book cover Regeneration of Lord Ernie

"The Regeneration of Lord Ernie is a story about a young man with no passion for life, he was very capable and the heir to a large family fortune but just not interested in life. His father employs a teacher, John Hendricks, to take him on a world tour and try to inspire him. In the final stage of the tour in desperation he takes him to the Jura mountains, where he went as a young man, to visit a pastor he stayed with. During the stay they get involved with pagan worship that involves the transforming power of wind and fire, up in the mountains...

By: Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909)

Book cover Century of Roundels

A roundel (not to be confused with the rondel) is a form of verse used in English language poetry devised by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909). It is a variation of the French rondeau form. It makes use of refrains, repeated according to a certain stylized pattern. A roundel consists of nine lines each having the same number of syllables, plus a refrain after the third line and after the last line. The refrain must be identical with the beginning of the first line: it may be a half-line, and rhymes with the second line...

By: Alice A. Ball (1892-1916)

Book cover Chemical Constituents of the Active Principle of the Ava Root

The Chemical Constituents of Piper Methysticum or The Chemical Constituents of the Active Principle of The Ava Root is the text of a Master’s Degree thesis presented in June 1915 by Alice A. Ball. Ms. Ball was the first woman and African American to receive a Master’s Degree from the University of Hawaii. Her thesis includes some history of the use of the ava root in the South Pacific islands along with the isolation and analysis of the extracts of the kava root and some preliminary observations of its effects when administered to animals. - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

By: Alice B. Emerson

Book cover Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill

Brave, adventurous and loyal, recently-orphaned Ruth Fielding is sent to live with her estranged Uncle Jabez at the Red Mill in Cheslow, New York. A new town means making new friends, and the teenage Ruth quickly befriends the children of a wealthy merchant. But as the relationship between her and her uncle becomes strained and she attempts to become friends with a very disagreeable girl, will Ruth's cheery disposition be enough to get her through?This is the first of the Ruth Fielding series, with follows Ruth and her friends from adolescence into early adulthood.

Book cover Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall

In this, the second book of the Ruth Fielding series, Ruth goes to boarding school with her best friend Helen. When they get there, Ruth starts her own sorority called the SweetBriars for the new girls. Her sweet group of girls conflicts with the two other sororities the Upedes and the Fussy Curls. In the midst of settling in to the new place, there is a campus rumor about a legend of the marble harp playing ominously at night. But when the French teacher is in a fright, will Ruth be able to solve this mystery?The Ruth Fielding series has influenced several other major series that came later, including Nancy Drew, the Dana Girls, and Beverly Gray.

Book cover Betty Gordon at Bramble Farm

Betty Gordon found herself an orphan at age twelve. She became the ward of her uncle, Richard Gordon. She immediately came to love her uncle dearly. Unfortunately, his job took him on travels regularly. Therefore, he decided to send Betty to spend the summer with an old friend, Agatha Peabody, at Bramble Farm. Little did Uncle Dick or Betty know, that Bramble Farm was not a welcoming or joyful place to live, as Agatha's husband was a miserly and sour man. The only bright spot in Betty's summer was her friendship with Bob, a poor orphan, bound to work tirelessly upon the farm. - Summary by Marie Christian

By: Alice Bacon (1858-1918)

Japanese Girls and Women by Alice Bacon Japanese Girls and Women

A clear and delightful peek into the world of Japanese girls and women of the late 1800s: their childhood, education, marriage and intimate family life. And it is done by someone who admires the immense resources, abilities and strength shown by all of these girls and women. The intricate customs that bind the society together and must be learned by every girl, such as the annual Doll ceremony are explained as well as the difficult life of a Japanese wife of this period. Life among the nobles and upper class in the courts and castles, something long hidden away, is explored...

By: Alice Calhoun Haines (1874-1965)

Book cover Luck of the Dudley Grahams

The Luck of the Dudley Grahams is the story of the four Graham children and their recently widowed mother, trying to make ends meet by taking boarders into their somewhat eccentric home, as told by 17-year-old Elizabeth to her diary. She chronicles their struggles with the boarders, housekeeping on a very tight budget, and the adventures of her three younger siblings. If the category existed at the time, this would be more of young adult novel than a children's book, as Elizabeth has her moments of angst and worry about herself, her family, and their future. - Summary by Colleen McMahon

By: Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942)

Book cover Priceless Pearl

Pearl Leavitt is habitually fired from her New York City office jobs for being "too beautiful" and thereby causing all the men to fall in love with her. Fed up, she decides to take a job in the Hamptons as a governess for three over-indulged children. - Summary by Nancy Halper

By: Alice Dunbar Nelson (1875-1935)

Book cover Dunbar Speaker and Entertainer

Ms. Pinckney says in her "Forward" to this book the following: "It is against this background of the world need that Mrs. Alice Dunbar-Nelson's book is seen to have peculiar significance to the colored race in America. Hers is the first attempt I have known of directly on the part of any Negro to frame a speaker composed entirely of literature produced by black men and women, and about black men and women, and embodying the finest spiritual ideals of the Negro race." And in addition, Alice Dunbar-Nelson includes some very meaningful support from some Caucasian writers.

By: Alice Gerstenberg (1885-1972)

Book cover Alice in Wonderland (Drama)

A dramatization of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for the stage. In this version, Alice goes through the looking glass and encounters a variety of strange and wonderful creatures from favorite scenes of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland the Through the Looking Glass. Including a conversation with the Red and White Queens, encounters with Humpty Dumpty, the Mock Turtle, the Cheshire Cat, and the Caterpillar, and of course everyone's favorite Mad Tea Party.

By: Alice Hale Burnett

Book cover Christmas Holidays at Merryvale

“Toad” Brown, his brother, and their friends have a jolly time at the Christmas holidays. They daydream at a toyshop window, chop down a Christmas tree in the woods, have a grand snowball fight, and plan a surprise for a friend in this tale of early 20th-century small-town life. Published in 1916, this short book is perfect for younger readers and listeners. Read along and see the charming illustrations.

A Day at the County Fair by Alice Hale Burnett A Day at the County Fair

Three little friends are taken to the County Fair in Uncle Billy’s motorcar, but a slight delay occurs on the way. How they finally arrived at the fair ground and their amusing experiences are most entertainingly told in this short book for younger readers and listeners. Read along and see the charming illustrations.

By: Alice Ilgenfritz Jones (1846-1906)

Book cover Unveiling a Parallel

In this work of utopian science fiction from the Victorian era written by Two Women of the West, a moniker for Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Marchant. A man travels to Mars to discover an Utopian world which is parallel to the Earth in some ways, but strikingly different in some. The freedom of women is not of this world. It is especially intriguing coming from the imagination of these two American women in the 19th Century. Summary by A. Gramour


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