The Book of 2 Machabees (more commonly rendered 2 Maccabees) is an abridgement of another work, now lost, which describes the events surrounding the defeat of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the rededication of the Jewish temple in the 2nd Century BCE. It's canonicity (status as Holy Writ) was established later in the Christian era, and hence forms part of the deuterocanon (2nd canon). It is excluded from the Jewish bibles as well as modern Protestant bibles. The Church of England, in 1571, affirmed that...

Dime-store novelist William Magee has gone to Baldpate Inn to do a little soul-searching in an attempt to write a serious work. Thinking he will be alone and uninterrupted, Magee arrives at the inn in the dead of winter. But he discovers that there are six other keys to Baldpate Inn, and the holders of those keys enliven his stay with bribery, shootings and plenty of mystery.

As World War I commences, a plucky young American woman in Europe on a business trip begins to realize that she may have remained too long. She and others anxious to leave for home are caught up in events swirling about them. A mysterious British officer becomes involved. This romance-tinged spy thriller begins on a train in Calais bound for Paris and ends in Gibraltar. Based on a 1915 play of the same name, the novel was adapted for the screen in a 1918 silent version and again as a “talky” in 1930. This was the third novel written by Biggers, who went on to write six Charlie Chan novels in the 1920’s and 1930’s. -- Lee Smalley

On duty with Lloyds of London in NYC, young Richard Minot is sent to the St Augustine-ish town of San Marco to ensure that a wealthy young lady, Cynthia Meyrick marry his firm's client, Lord Harrowby. Then, in a meet-cute on a slow-moving train, Minot meets the very enticing Miss Meyrick and... reconsiders his duty. - Summary by Matt Pierard

One of the most beloved French plays of all time, Cyrano de Bergerac is a clever and tragic tale of truth concealed and love denied. Its titular character is a proud, daring swordsman and genius poet who has one terrible flaw: an abnormally large nose. Too afraid of rejection to confess his love for the beautiful Roxane, Cyrano helps her brainless but handsome suitor Christian to woo her, providing him with love letters while resolutely keeping his own passion a secret.

This is a collection on well-known, favorite fairy stories, most of which we all grew up with. They were edited and retold in this volume.

"Here they are again, the old, old stories, the very best; dear Cinderella, wicked old Bluebeard, tiny Thumbling, beautiful Beauty and the ugly Beast, and a host of others. But the old stories, I may tell you, are always new, and always must be so, because there are new children to read them every day, and to these, of course, these old tales might have been written yesterday. But the stories in this book are new in another way. Look how they are clothed, look at their beautiful setting, the wonderful...

Here they are again, the old, old stories, the very best; dear Cinderella, wicked old Bluebeard, tiny Thumbling, beautiful Beauty and the ugly Beast, and a host of others. But the old stories, I may tell you, are always new, and always must be so, because there are new children to read them every day, and to these, of course, these old tales might have been written yesterday. And these old stories are new too, because each reader performs them in a unique way that brings a fresh interpretation to the story- Summary by the author and phil chenevert

The Carver family are out in space, travelling to new worlds to check them out for colonization. But, when Mr. Carver has an accident, and remains out of commission for the trip, his sons, Jon and Jak, step up and take over their trip. The boys use their different talents to make their journey a successful one!

The Masters had ruled all space with an unconquerable iron fist. But the Masters were gone. And this new, young race who came now to take their place—could they hope to defeat the ancient Enemy of All? - Summary from Gutenberg text

Fritz to the Front is the story of an Irish tramp who wants to be a detective, and is an expert at ventriloquism. The story opens with a mysterious elopement, which Fritz is asked to be a witness to at the wedding. The next day, Fritz meets the father of the bride and he claimed that his daughter is, at times, in a sense, mad. She falls into trances that can last for days. And while in this state met a young man who convinced her to steal 20,000 pounds and meet him in a small town and marry him. Is this story true? Or is it a fabulous falsehood created by the father for some reason of his own? Join Fritz on his quest to solve this mystery with many adventures along the way.

This book is a wonderful way to learn about how the prairies were years ago, but you will hardly feel you are learning because you will be caught up with the 'little girl', living with her as she grows up far away from any large city. Very well written, in this book you live, worry, and rejoice, along with the little girl. Whether it is through a prairie fire, raising some interesting and queer pet, having fun at some big prairie-time event, or worming her way out of trouble, the little girl continues to grow, until at the end, you leave, not a little girl, but a young lady stepping into womanhood.

Faced with inherited debts, an estate to maintain, and no money to pay for either, brothers John and Robert Allard have a difficult decision to make. How much of their integrity are they willing to compromise in order to save their aunt and cousin from a life of poverty and to preserve "all that they call life"? Two young men with a classical education, no trade, and no outstanding talents have little chance to make the fortune they need while staying on the right side of the law. Especially as they only have six months..... (

The Kalevala is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the national epic of Karelia and Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish national identity, the intensification of Finland's language strife and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917...

"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848 - only a few months after the Communist Manifesto co-authored by her fellow Manchester-resident, Friedrich Engels. Engels's experience as agent in his father's cotton-spinning factory motivated him to write "The Condition of the Working Class in England", a classic account of the sufferings of the poor under the factory-system. Elizabeth...

Molly and her father have lived alone since the death of her mother. Now Mr Gibson decides it will be in Molly's best interests for him to marry again. The new "Mama" brings to the household many changes, including a glamorous new step-sister. Mrs Gibson starts scheming to have Cynthia marry one of the sons of the local squire, but she does not understand Cynthia's reluctance or why Molly is meeting Mr Preston in the forest. Secrets, love affairs and society gossip abound in this social commentary novel written by Mrs Gaskell ...

A charming collection of short stories and verses for young children. First published by the Bangor, Maine Kindergarten Association.

In accordance with the advice of the god Apollo, Orestes has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon at her hands. Despite Apollo’s earlier prophecy, Orestes finds himself tormented by Erinyes or Furies to the blood guilt stemming from his matricide. The only person capable of calming Orestes down from his madness is his sister Electra. To complicate matters further, a leading political faction of Argos wants to put Orestes to death for the murder. Orestes’ only hope to save his life lies in his uncle Menelaus, who has returned with Helen after spending ten years in Troy and several more years amassing wealth in Egypt...

The apparent sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis by her own father Agamemnon was forestalled by the godness Artemis, who by an adroit sleight of hand that fooled all participants, substituted a deer for the daughter. Wafted magically away to the “Friendless Shores” of savage Tauris and installed as chief priestess presiding over the human sacrifice of all luckless foreigners, Iphigenia broods over her “murder” by her parents and longs for some Greeks to be shipwrecked on her shores so she can wreak a vicarious vengeance on them...

Alcestis is the earliest surviving play by Euripides. Alcestis, the devoted wife of King Admetus, has agreed to die in his place, and at the beginning of the play she is close to death. In the first scene, Apollo argues with Thanatos (Death), asking to prolong Alcestis' life, but Thanatos refuses. Apollo leaves, but suggests that a man will come to Pherae who will save Alcestis. Euripides' play is perhaps the most unusual Greek drama ever written: a tragedy that is not a tragedy.

Orestes, coming into Tauri in Scythia, in company with Pylades, had been commanded to bear away the image of Diana, after which he was to meet with a respite from the avenging Erinnyes of his mother. His sister Iphigenia, who had been carried away by Diana from Aulis, when on the point of being sacrificed by her father, chances to be expiating a dream that led her to suppose Orestes dead, when a herdsman announces to her the arrival and detection of two strangers, whom she is bound by her office to sacrifice to Diana. On meeting, a mutual discovery takes place, and they plot their escape.

Iphigenia in Aulis is the last extant work of the playwright Euripides. The Greek fleet is waiting at Aulis, Boeotia, with its ships ready to sail for Troy, but it is unable to depart due to a strange lack of wind. After consulting the seer Calchas, the Greek leaders learn that this is no mere meteorological abnormality but rather the will of the goddess Artemis, who is withholding the winds because Agamemnon has caused her offense. Calchas informs the general that in order to appease the goddess, he must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia...

Like Euripides' Trojan Women, this play takes place after the sack of Troy. Hecuba, widow of King Priam, suffers the loss of her daughter Polyxena and her son Polydore, and is hungry for revenge on those who have wronged her.

Brother Stephen has the heart of an artist and wishes to leave the abbey to travel and see the world. However, King Louis has decreed that an "hour book" be made for his bride, Lady Anne, which in turn causes the Abbott to refuse Brother Stephen's request to leave the brotherhood as his illuminations are the most beautiful, and as such, he desires that Brother Stephen should be the one to make the hour book. This decision angers Brother Stephen. Will Brother Stephen stay at the abbey and carry out his task or will he refuse and bring about a ban against him, a serious matter indeed...

This is a volume of poetry by Evaleen Stein. Special about this volume is, among other things, that many of the poems point to certain seasons and months. This volume thus refers to each part of the year. - Summary by Carolin

A scathing criticism of social climbing underlies this unsettling story by Frances Eleanor Trollope, sister-in-law to Anthony and daughter-in-law to Frances Milton Trollope. Published in 1876, A Charming Fellow is a serious exploration of a bitterly unhappy marriage and its consequences, as seen through the eyes of diverse, well-drawn characters.

This detailed biography covers the places in Lincoln's life: Indiana, Illinois, Washington. It also traces his various roles as storekeeper, serviceman, state legislator, lawyer, politician, Republican Party leader, and of course President. Along the way we learn about his days of hardship as a beginning lawyer, his love for Anne Rutledge, such myths as "Honest Abe," and his deep concerns over the issue of slavery. The author uses Lincoln's correspondence with others to show his personality traits and opinions about topics of his world.

In the previous book of adventures, we met Jimmie Dale, a wealthy playboy by day, who at night put on a disguise and became The Gray Seal, a daredevil entering businesses or homes and cracking safes, always leaving a diamond shaped, gray paper "seal" behind to mark his conquest. He never took anything, but just wanted the thrill of it. This had spun out of control when a mysterious woman, whom Jimmie Dale nicknames The Tocsin, caught him at it and blackmailed him into doing her bidding. On her instigation, he got involved in numerous underworld crimes, righting wrongs and protecting innocent bystanders...

This thrilling novel teems with intrigue and unforgettable characters. It opens during WWI with a few allied soldiers lost at night behind German lines. One of them shoots at another in the darkness. Members of a criminal gang before the war, the men resume their unlawful activities when peacetime returns. The gang’s leader receives a letter that results in his leaving London for a small island off the Florida Keys. He is “as clever a scoundrel and as miserable, inhuman and unscrupulous a one as ever blasphemed the image in which God made him… He is without conscience, ruthless, a fiend who would do honour to hell itself...

These two articles were reproduced as an e-book by Project Gutenberg in 2008 to supplement "...several articles by Frederick Douglass, whose larger work was presented in book form as a January, 1993 Project Gutenberg Etext to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day...." The articles narrated here are "My Escape From Slavery" (1881) and "Reconstruction" (1866).

We have felt that the most fitting tribute that we, of the Anti-Caste movement, can pay to the memory of this noble and faithful life is to issue broadcast—as far as the means entrusted to us will allow—his last great appeal for justice . A slanderous charge against Negro morality has gone forth throughout the world and has been widely credited. The white American has had his say both North and South. On behalf of the accused, Frederick Douglass claims, in the name of justice, to be heard.

The life of Frederick Douglass, recorded in the pages which follow, is not merely an example of self elevation under the most adverse circumstances; it is, moreover, a noble vindication of the highest aims of the American anti-slavery movement.

Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, also the author of Undine, was a German Romantic writer whose stories were filled with knights, damsels in distress, evil enchantments, and the struggle of good against overpowering evil. 'My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure.' Fouque blends the Romantic love for nature and ancient chivalry while telling a powerful story about a young man who yearns for that which he can never attain.

A classic science fiction adventure in the style of and dedicated to the readers of Jules Verne. An independent scientist discovers the secret of “inter-atomic energy”, and with it builds a craft which carries himself and three friends to Venus, where they discover the dwellers of the dark side, incredible floating cities, and peril at every turn.

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge is a 1710 work, in English, by Irish Empiricist philosopher George Berkeley. This book largely seeks to refute the claims made by Berkeley's contemporary John Locke about the nature of human perception. Whilst, like all the Empiricist philosophers, both Locke and Berkeley agreed that we are having experiences, regardless of whether material objects exist, Berkeley sought to prove that the outside world is also composed solely of ideas. Berkeley...

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the fourth and final volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery, romance and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the second volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England, published in four volumes. This is the third volume. Initially serialized in weekly installments, they were the forerunners of today's soap operas. Known as "Penny Dreadfuls", they had no claim to literary brilliance but offered readers entertainment and excitement in the form of vice, poverty, wealth, virtue, mystery, romance and scandal in every combination and reached a mass audience. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

When an agriculture professor wanders into a wicked Kansas cowtown in order to experiment raising wheat, both the professor and the town get more than they bargain for. A wild and wooly Western.

The famous Castlecourt Diamonds have gone missing and the story surrounding their disappearance is strange indeed.  To help sort out the mystery, you will hear eye witness statements given by the various participants in this curious case now, for the first time, given to the public. - Summary by The Author and Jenn Broda

LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 recordings of How a Fisherman Corked up His Foe in a Jar by Guy Wetmore Carryl. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project fo September 22, 2013.Guy Wetmore Carryl was an American humorist and poet. Some of his better known poems were parodies on nursery rhymes and Aesop's Fables. (

Fables for the Frivolous is one of the earliest works by the American parodist Guy Wetmore Carryl. These fables are adapted from Jean de La Fontaine's original writings. The Aesop-style fables are written in verse, and are light-hearted re-tellings of fables from two centuries before, each ending with a moral and a pun. Among the more celebrated of the fables are The Persevering Tortoise and the Pretentious Hare, The Arrogant Frog and the Superior Bull, and The Sycophantic Fox and the Gullible Raven. ( from Wikipedia)

The Old Curiosity Shop; Hard Times; A Tale of Two Cities; Oliver Twist; The Pickwick Papers. Have you read any or all of these famous Dickens stories? The author of this marvelous book, Rives Ermine, a highly successful author in her own right, simply wanted to retell the basic elements of some of Dickens best beloved novels and story lines. Now is your chance to revisit these stories and revive the memories of great reads. Of it you haven't gotten around to some of these classics, this would be a marvelous chance to listen to what they are about so you can enjoy them even more in the original later...

The classic early American epistolary novel about the seduction and ruin of a passionate young woman. Based on the true story of Elizabeth Whitman, whose lonesome death in childbirth in a Connecticut inn sparked widespread discussion and outrage, the novel went through many editions and innumerable printings in the century after its initial publication in 1797.

Sequel to The Girls of Friendly Terrace (or Peggy Raymond's Success). As the summer opens the girls fan themselves on the porch, wishing for a get away. As it happens, opportunity knocks, leading them into a country vacation along with a few more members to the party.

"Some succeed while others fail. This is a recognized fact; yet history tells us that seven-tenths of our most successful men began life poor." A selection of mini-biographies teaches us how some successful men have overcome odds to make their mark on history.

Houdini, an escape artist and illusionist, became interested later in his life in debunking spiritualists, disbelieving anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers. This was during an era where paranormal phenomena, especially seances, were extremely popular. Although skeptical of their claims, he longed to find a credible source to communicate with family members he had lost. This book chronicles his travels and the many people he spoke with and his observations of their 'powers' and along the way also reveals many of the tricks they employed to deceive their paying customers. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

This is a story of magnificent failures. The men who equipped the expeditions of which I shall tell you the story died in the poorhouse. The men who took part in these voyages sacrificed their lives as cheerfully as they lighted a new pipe or opened a fresh bottle. Some of them were drowned, and some of them died of thirst. A few were frozen to death, and many were killed by the heat of the scorching sun. But what of it? It was all in the day's work. These excellent fellows took whatever came, be it good or bad, or indifferent, with perfect grace, and kept on smiling...

This is a Book of Children's Bible Stories.

Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, a writer who was born in 1870 to a reasonably well-off family which later fell on hard times. The author's family lived in various Victorian towns and from the age of 13 to 17 Richardson attended boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, Victoria. It's this experience that feeds directly into The Getting of Wisdom. Laura Tweedle Rambotham, the main character, is the eldest child of a country family...

Henry Stanton was appalled at the shocking lack of information given to young people about sex and reproduction in his time. He felt this was a crime that needed to be fixed and so he wrote this book explaining sex for young and old. Ignorance of basic reproductive processes he felt led to experimentation that then led to sin, crime and prostitution. While this book is definitely not written in what I would call Plain English, contains some very questionable 'facts' about masturbation and menstruation and might seem very moralistic and dogmatic to our current society, he does hold out high ideas for all in affairs of self respect, love and marriage...

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life" by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures...

Works and Days provides advice on agrarian matters and personal conduct. The Theogony explains the ancestry of the gods. The Shield of Heracles is the adventure of Heracles accepting an enemy's challenge to fight.

"It must equally be considered a splendid performance; and for the present we have no hesitation in saying that it is by far the best representation of Homer's Iliad in the English language." - London Times, 1865"The merits of Lord Derby's translation may be summed up in one word, it is eminently attractive; it is instinct with life; it may be read with fervent interest; it is immeasurably nearer than Pope to the text of the original. Lord Derby has given a version far more closely allied to the original, and superior to any that has yet been attempted in the blank verse of our language." - Edinburgh Review, January 1865.

Homer’s Iliad is the first great work of Western literature. Composed in twenty-four books of Greek hexameter poetry, it portrays the events of the last year of the Trojan War. Its translation into rhyming couplets by Alexander Pope is considered by some the greatest act of translation in English. Its power sweeps the reader along through an epic tale that begins with the wrath of Achilles and ends with the burial of Hector, breaker of horses. (Introduction by Steve Perkins)

Homeric Hymns are thirty-three poems each paying homage to a certain Greek god. Only a few of the poems are more than 250 lines while the rest are about a dozen lines each. They are written in Homeric style and traditionally attributed to Homer but their true provenance is unknown. The Epigrams are a series of fragments on disparate topics including sailors, children and potters and are similarly attributed to Homer although it appears Hesiod and others wrote some of them. Finally, Battle of Frogs and Mice is a light-weight parody -- literally, at one-fiftieth the number of lines -- of Homer's famous battle of Greeks and Trojans epic, Illiad.

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel, a genre appealing to a taste for terror and set in a remote past when prodigies and magic can be imagined to have existed, with violent contrasts between purity and ungoverned passions. The author represents the tale as having been translated from a black letter Italian volume of the 15th century but describing much earlier events. This fictional antiquity and the depiction of mysterious wonders, dark subterranean passages, fearsome apparitions, marvelous coincidences, and especially a savage threat to spotless innocence are all typical of this genre, which does not assure a reader of a happy ending.

Ida Laura Pfeiffer was an Austrian traveler and travel book author, one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into several languages. "The Woman's Journey Around the World, from Vienna to Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, and Asia Minor" is the travel diary of the first of her two trips "around the world", following her successful trips to the Holy Land and to Iceland.

Paris in 1792 is no longer what it was in 1789. In 1789, the old French society was still brilliant. The past endured beside the present. Neither names nor escutcheons, neither liveries nor places at court, had been suppressed. The aristocracy and the Revolution lived face to face. In 1792, the scene has changed."France was now on the verge of the Reign of Terror (la Terreur), the violent years following the Revolution, and this book chronicles the terrible period of French history which culminated in the proclamation: "Royalty is abolished in France...

Do you like fairy tales and stories about all sorts of animals and people? Here are a wide variety of stories that go from warm and fuzzy to wild and scary to suit any mood. Many of these are familiar to us and we look forward to hear them again, but many are also unfamiliar tales that will treat your ears and brain to something new but equally wonderful. All collected by the famous brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. - Summary by philchenevert