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By: Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) | |
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The Canterbury Tales
Anyone who has ever been on a package tour with a group of strangers who soon become friends, and passed time swapping stories with them, would instantly identify with this timeless classic of English literature. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer recounts twenty different stories recounted by a diverse group of pilgrims who gather at The Tabard Inn in Southwark, near London, before setting out for the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The Host of the inn proposes that they entertain themselves by telling stories along the route and the one who tells the best tale would win a prize – a meal at Bailey's tavern, sponsored by the losers... |
By: Walt Whitman (1819-1892) | |
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Leaves of Grass
Nearly 160 years after it was first published, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass continues to inspire, enthrall and educate generations of readers. This collection of poems serves as a vehicle for Whitman's philosophy, ideals, love of nature and mystical musings and it subsequently became one of the corner stones of American literature. Whitman was inspired to write Leaves of Grass based on Ralph Waldo Emerson's clarion call for a truly American poet who would tell of its glories, virtues and vices... | |
Song of the Broad-Axe - stanza 4
This Weekly Poem is an excerpt from Song of the Broad-axe (4th Stanza) by Walt Whitman, who was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. | |
By: Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) | |
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The Clue of the Twisted Candle
This story describes a house in Cadogan Square, London, in which extensive alterations have been done by the Greek owner. One of the rooms is built like a safe. The walls floor and roof are made of almost indestructible reinforced concrete. The only door to the room can only be opened or closed by the owner. The single window is unreachable and there is a steel safe built into the outer wall which is in plain sight of the local policeman who patrols the street every night. Yet it is in this barred and shuttered room that the Greek is found brutally murdered... | |
The Daffodil Mystery
Set in England at the turn of the 20th century, Wallace’s crime novel The Daffodil Mystery follows the mysterious circumstances under which shop owner Lyne has been murdered. Accordingly, it is up to detective Jack Tarling and his trusted Chinese assistant to solve the case and reach an appropriate and just resolution. Moreover, the happenings within the novel are intensified by the colorful set of characters, which are marked by their plausible façade and contribute to the novel’s appeal... | |
The Secret House
A stranger and foreigner arrives at the offices of a small publication in London only to be faced by the “editor” whose face is completely swathed in a veil. Nothing is as it seems, and it quickly becomes evident that both are bent on more than lively gossip about the elite. Blackmail and opportunism is the order of the day. When two men are found shot to death outside the door of Mr. Farrington the millionaire who just happens to live a few doors from T. B. Smith, the head of the secret police, the connections to blackmail are not long in coming. Were these men shot by the blackmailer? Who is actually what he seems to be? | |
The Man Who Knew | |
Bones Being Further Adventures in Mr. Commissioner Sanders' Country | |
Bones in London | |
The Keepers of the King's Peace | |
Jack O' Judgment |
By: Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) | |
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Railway Children
A thrilling spy story, a children's adventure, a charming portrait of early twentieth century life in London and the countryside and a heart warming family tale are all combined in this classic of children's literature The Railway Children by E Nesbit. The book has remained on the list of the best-loved children's books ever since it was first published as a serial story in The London Magazine in 1905. Later, it was published in book form and won acclaim from critics and readers across the world for its wonderful elements of character and plot... | |
The Story of the Treasure Seekers
The six Bastable children are plunged into grief when their mother dies and their father's business partner cheats him of all his money. As a result, he loses not only his fortune but also his good name. However, the children decide to lend a hand. Determined to restore both, the children set out to find some way of making money. A variety of amusing and exciting events follow as they plunge into a series of scrapes in search of a legendary lost treasure. Published in 1899, The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E Nesbit was her first children's novel... | |
All Round the Year
A light and whimsical collection of poems by the celebrated children’s author E Nesbit, in collaboration with Saretta Nesbit. | |
Many Voices (selection from)
E. Nesbit (Edith Bland) was a prodigious 19th century children’s writer who produced over 60 books of fiction for children. This book of poems has many elements which would appeal to children but there’s also some exploration of her feelings of love, lust and longing which your average 10 year old would find downright yucky. There are also moments of joy, moments of sugary sweetness and moments of sharp insight in this collection which contains views from many angles. Recurring themes of love, death, gardens and fairies give us a fine insight into the lively imagination of E. Nesbit. Summary by Jim Mowatt. |
By: Thornton W. Burgess (1874-1965) | |
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The Burgess Animal Book for Children
Peter Rabbit goes to school, with Mother Nature as his teacher. In this zoology book for children, Thornton W. Burgess describes the mammals of North America in the form of an entertaining story, including plenty of detail but omitting long scientific names. There is an emphasis on conservation. | |
The Burgess Bird Book for Children
The Burgess Bird Book for Children is a zoology book written in the form of a story featuring Peter Rabbit. Peter learns from his friend Jenny Wren all about the birds of North America, and we meet many of them in the Old Orchard, the Green Meadow, and the Green Forest. | |
Old Mother West Wind
Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 14, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was a conservationist and author of children’s stories. He loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books. Many of his outdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his first book, “Old Mother West Wind,” published in 1910, the reader meets many of the characters found in later books and stories. These... |
By: Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) | |
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Confessions
Considered to mark the emergence of a new literary form, the unvarnished autobiography, Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was first published in 1782, four years after his death. The philosopher and educationist whose political philosophy is credited with having inspired the French Revolution, Rousseau was a man of immense wit, talent and depth of thinking. His skill in art, music, literature and cooking along with his magnificent body of work in philosophy, politics, education and sociology have made him a legendary figure... | |
The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau |
By: Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) | |
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State of the Union Address |
By: Aristotle (384-322 BC) | |
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Poetics
Aristotle’s Poetics from the 4th century B.C. aims to give a short study of storytelling. It discusses things like unity of plot, reversal of situation, and character in the context of Greek tragedy, comedy and epic poetry. But it still applies today. It is especially popular with screenwriters as seen in many script gurus’ how-to books. |
By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) | |
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The Scarlet Letter
A beautiful woman who is punished for the mortal sin of loving a man other than her husband, a cowardly lover, a vengeful husband, a rebellious illegitimate child and the oppressive and patriarchal morality of 17th century Puritanism in Boston. Together these form an unforgettable and thought-provoking glimpse of how much social attitudes have changed over the centuries. Nathaniel Hawthorne was the creator of such beloved works as Twice-Told Tales, A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls, The House of the Seven Gables and spine-chilling tales like Roger Malvin's Burial... | |
The House of the Seven Gables
“The wrongdoing of one generation lives into the successive ones and… becomes a pure and uncontrollable mischief.” Hawthorne’s moral for “The House of the Seven Gables,” taken from the Preface, accurately presages his story. The full weight of the gloomy mansion of the title seems to sit on the fortunes of the Pyncheon family. An ancestor took advantage of the Salem witch trials to wrest away the land whereon the house would be raised… but the land’s owner, about to be executed as a wizard, cursed the Pyncheon family until such time as they should make restitution... | |
The Blithedale Romance
The Blithedale Romance is the story of four principal characters who work with -- and sometimes against -- each other on Blithedale, a communal farm antecedent to those that sprang up later in the 1960s, and similar to one on which Hawthorne himself lived in 1841. These communes arose out of the pressures on society and the individual brought by the Industrial Revolution. Some were organized around religious philosophies, some were secular. Among the secularists, the Transcendental movement mentioned in the novel espoused the idea that the individual's intuition, rather than religious dogma, was the true path to spiritual enlightenment... | |
The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains
A collection of four short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the common theme of which is New Hampshire's White Mountains. Consists of: The Great Stone Face, written in 1850 and revolves around the 'Old Man of the Mountain (Cannon Mtn.) in New Hampshire which sadly collapsed on May 3, 2003; The Ambitious Guest, written in 1835; The Great Carbuncle, written in 1837; and Sketches From Memory, written sometime prior to The Great Carbuncle as will become obvious. | |
The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun is Hawthorne's most unusual romance. Writing on the eve of the American Civil War, Hawthorne set his story in a fantastical Italy. The romance mixes elements of a fable, pastoral, gothic novel, and travel guide. In the spring of 1858, Hawthorne was inspired to write his romance when he saw the Faun of Praxiteles in a Roman sculpture gallery. The theme, characteristic of Hawthorne, is guilt and the Fall of Man. The four main characters are Miriam, a beautiful painter who is compared... | |
The Great English Short-Story Writers, Volume 1 | |
Mosses from an Old Manse and other stories | |
From Twice Told Tales | |
The Snow Image and other stories | |
John Inglefield's Thanksgiving (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
The Snow-Image A Childish Miracle | |
The Old Manse (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
The Wives of the Dead (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
The Christmas Banquet (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Septimius Felton, or, the Elixir of Life | |
Main Street (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
Buds and Bird Voices (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
The Man of Adamant (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
A Bell's Biography | |
The New Adam and Eve (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Sunday at Home (From "Twice Told Tales") | |
The Hall of Fantasy (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
A Virtuoso's Collection (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
P.'s Correspondence (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Little Daffydowndilly (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
A Book of Autographs | |
A Select Party | |
Old Ticonderoga, a Picture of the Past (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
A Rill from the Town Pump | |
Fire Worship (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
The Old Apple Dealer (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Sylph Etherege (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
Old News (From: "The Snow Image and Other Twice-Told Tales") | |
The Intelligence Office (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Passages from a Relinquished Work (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Sketches from Memory (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") | |
Monsieur du Miroir (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") |
By: William Blake (1757-1827) | |
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Songs of Innocence and Experience
“Tiger, tiger, burning bright/In the forests of the night/ What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” These often quoted lines are part of The Tiger in William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience. In 1789, William Blake released a limited edition of the book. Being a gifted artist, poet and printmaker, he undertook to personally publish all his work himself through a very painstaking but highly artistic process of etching, thereby transferring his drawings and poems individually onto copper plates by hand... |