This is a collection of six short stories, each of them illustrating that even a marriage which looks perfect from the outside can be sabotaged quite easily by the two people involved.

This is a volume of early poetry by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. As much of Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poetry, this volume also conveys a number of different emotions in the different poems. Ms Wilcox herself suggests the alternative title "Ghosts of old dreams" for this volume. - Summary by Carolin

This is another volume in Ella Wheeler Wilcox's famous series of poetry. This volume bears the topic "pleasure". - Summary by Carolin

A popular poet rather than a literary poet, in her poems she expresses sentiments of cheer and optimism in plainly written, rhyming verse. Her world view is expressed in the title of her poem "Whatever Is—Is Best". She made a very popular appearance during World War I in France, reciting her poem, The Stevedores while visiting a camp of 9,000 US Army stevedores.

This is a volume of beautiful and evocative poetry by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. - Summary by Carolin

Among the twelve hundred poems which have emanated from my too prolific pen there are some forty or fifty which treat entirely of that emotion which has been denominated "the grand passion"—love. A few of those are of an extremely fiery character.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her best-known work was Poems of Passion. Her most enduring work was "Solitude", which contains the lines, "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone" - Summary by Wikipedia

A popular poet rather than a literary poet, in her poems she expresses sentiments of cheer and optimism in plainly written, rhyming verse. Her world view is expressed in the title of her poem "Whatever Is—Is Best", suggesting an echo of Alexander Pope's "Whatever is, is right." None of Wilcox's works were included by F. O. Matthiessen in The Oxford Book of American Verse, but Hazel Felleman chose no fewer than fourteen of her poems for Best Loved Poems of the American People, while Martin Gardner selected "The Way Of The World" and "The Winds of Fate" for Best Remembered Poems.

The following statement expresses Wilcox's unique blending of New Thought, Spiritualism, and a Theosophical belief in reincarnation: "As we think, act, and live here today, we build the structures of our homes in spirit realms after we leave earth, and we build karma for future lives, thousands of years to come, on this earth or other planets. Life will assume new dignity, and labor new interest for us, when we come to the knowledge that death is but a continuation of life and labor, in higher planes." - Summary by Wikipedia

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her best-known work was Poems of Passion. This Weekly Poem is taken from her collection, Poems of Sentiment

This scene of 'Domestic Bliss' is from Poems of Cheer by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. - Summary by David Lawrence

A commemoration of the recent solar eclipse is presented in this week's group reading. - Summary by David Lawrence

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her best-known work was Poems of Passion. Her most enduring work was "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone". - Summary by Wikipedia

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her best-known work was Poems of Passion. Her most enduring work was "Solitude", which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone". Her autobiography, The Worlds and I, was published in 1918, a year before her death. This Fortnightly Poem is taken from Poems of Purpose - Summary by Wikipedia

Her final words in her autobiography The Worlds and I: "From this mighty storehouse we may gather wisdom and knowledge, and receive light and power, as we pass through this preparatory room of earth, which is only one of the innumerable mansions in our Father's house. Think on these things". - Summary by Wikipedia

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. Her works include Poems of Passion and Solitude, which contains the lines "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone". This poem is taken for the collection 'Poems of Purpose'. - Summary by Wikipedia

This book contains 2 poetry bundles by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, containing many better- or lesser-known poems. The poems are recorded by a single reader , with the exception of a few poems that are written as small theatrical plays, which are additionally read by Nemo and Larry Wilson.

volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Love's Language, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for March 17, 2019. ------ One of Ella Wheeler Wilcox's most beautiful and passionate poems, originally published in her book, Poems Of Passion, 1883. - Summary by ~ Michele Fry

volunteers bring you recordings of A Golden Day by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for March 31, 2019. ------ A delightful little poem describing what it feels like to greet a sunny spring day and let the rest of your cares slide away. - Summary by Michele Fry

The continued success of the "Jataka Tales," as retold and published ten years ago, has led to this second and companion volume. Who that has read or told stories to children has not been lured on by the subtle flattery of their cry for "more"? The Jataka tales, regarded as historic in the Third Century B. C., are the oldest collection of folk-lore extant. They come down to us from that dim far-off time when our forebears told tales around the same hearth fire on the roof of the world.

Jataka Tales form a part of the collective Indian Fairy tales with the only distinction that most of Jataka Tales have a moral. These are famous children stories and some of the stories like the "the turtle who couldn't stop talking" and "the King's White Elephant" are so famous that they are enacted as short plays in schools and are cited as an example in daily conversations. All the stories in this collective work have a moral, most likely being narrated by an animal.

INFLUENCES OF GEOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT ON THE BASIS OF RATZEL'S SYSTEM OF ANTHROPO-GEOGRAPHY BY ELLEN CHURCHILL SEMPLE PREFACE The present book, as originally planned over seven years ago, was to be a simplified paraphrase or restatement of the principles embodied in Friedrich Ratzel's _Anthropo-Geographie_. The German work is difficult reading even for Germans. To most English and American students of geographic environment it is a closed book, a treasure-house bolted and barred. Ratzel himself realized that any English form could not be a literal translation, but must be adapted to the Anglo-Celtic and especially to the Anglo-American mind...

“If you have visions of a middle-aged parasol-bearing lady smiling sweetly from her carriage as she tours Bendigo think again. In 1852, 20 year old clergyman’s daughter Ellen and her brother boarded ship for Melbourne then set off to walk to Bendigo. Dressed in her blue serge skirt which doubled as nightwear, she camped under a tent made of blankets, had mutton, damper and tea most meals and on arrival lent her hand to gold washing. And seemed to enjoy it !And amongst other things she tells of colonial life , transportation, emigration and other gold-fields.But you will need to listen to hear more about bush-rangers and orphans as well as what she did with her parasol.”

Ellen and William Craft were a married couple who escaped from slavery in 1848 when Ellen disguised herself as a white, literate man and William pretended to be an accompanying slave. This is their story of their escape to freedom.NB Listeners may find some scenes of abuse and vocabulary in this book distressing.

This is the story of Sydney Stuart who is sent to a girls' boarding school with all its difficulties and adventures. Sydney Stuart and her school roomate/rival Bertha Macy vie for the friendship of schoolmate Anne Talbot. Summary by Lynda Marie Neilson

This great work covers the history of the Christian dispensation, from the fall of Jerusalem, through the Dark Ages and Reformation, to the yet-future final triumph of Jesus over Satan.

Ellen White said that one of the most delicate tasks in life was working with youthful minds. Teaching should be varied which can make it possible for the 'high and noble powers of the mind' to have a chance to progress. Educators of youth should be gentle and loving and have self control. Her idea of creating a Christian educational system is detailed in this book.

An approachable explanation of the main parables used by Jesus Christ to teach His disciples how to live. Notably, this discussion highlights how the spiritual truths of Jesus' teaching were illustrated by everyday occurrences which would have been familiar to his hearers, such as sowing and harvesting grain, making bread, and searching for a lost coin. Included in this collection are explanations of The Parable of the Sower, The Pearl of Great Price, the Shrewd Manager, the Parable of the Talents, Lazarus and the Rich Man and others, followed by a general discussion of Christ's teachings on Prayer and the Love of God...

Ellen Key's 'The Woman movement' follows the development of the feminist movement striving towards a greater emancipation of women in the public sphere and overcoming the traditional perception of gendered activities. The Swedish feminist and this work combined with many more, served as a base for a lot of the 20th century feminist movements.

volunteers bring you 25 recordings of Duty by Ellen Sturgis Hooper. This was the Weekly Poetry project for October 4, 2020. ------ Ellen Sturgis Hooper was an American poet. A member of the Transcendental Club, she was widely regarded as one of the most gifted poets among the New England Transcendentalists. Her work is occasionally reprinted in anthologies. She is a new author in the Catalog. - Summary by Wikipedia

Isabel Carnaby returns from India. She starts looking for a place in upper class British society. At the begining, people are sceptical of her because she is an orphan. But she will surprise everybody. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

This is a sequel to "Concerning Isabel Carnaby". Isabel and Paul Seaton are now happily married. This book tells about their trials and tribulations, their little son, and, of course, their love for each other. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

"Then was there war in the house of Baxendale. Guy had made up his mind to wed the fair daughter of the forester; while Sir Stephen and Dame Alice his wife had made up their minds — with equal firmness — that no son of their noble name should mate with a daughter of the people". A rumor started that the girl was a witch and so she was burned. However before she was burned she cursed the family who condemned her: "First by the King, and then by the State, And thirdly by that which is thrice as great As these, and a thousandfold stronger and higher Shall Baxendale Hall be made fuel of fire"...

Ellen Gould White (1827 – 1915) was a prolific Christian writer, authoring 40 books in her lifetime. She was active in the Millerite movement, and was one of the principle founders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.Steps to Christ, first published in 1892, is her most popular book. It has been translated into more than 70 languages. The theme of the book is how to come to know Christ better.

Old buildings necessarily have a history. It is not always a happy history and folklore abounds. Sometimes unhappy souls come back to haunt the current residents or their guests. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, these narratives provide a fascinating insight into the history of the buildings and the hysteria they may induce. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

After having a difficult time establishing a career as a novelist, O’Donnell discovered to his happy surprise that the reading public was very interested in his hobby of chasing ghosts, which he called “Superphysical Research.” After this, he made a habit of buttonholing friends and strangers to find out what experiences they had had with spirits and phantasms. He happily volunteered to camp out overnight in houses known to be haunted, and he made a concerted effort to discover any unhappy events that had, perhaps, led a ghost to inhabit...

Stories in which ghosts of dogs figure. This is chapter 2, Apparitions Of Dogs, of the book Animal Ghosts Or, Animal Hauntings and the Hereafter.

Written in 1912 by a famous ghost hunter who was also an occult fantasy writer, this interesting book collects together folktales and traditions from across Europe, starting in the British Isles, through Spain, France, Belgium and Norway to Russia. The "scientific" accounts (including "How to Become a Werewolf") are embellished by anecdotes of the author's personal experiences with werewolves, ghosts and vampires.From Chapter 1: It is an old belief that the souls of cataleptic and epileptic people,...

Summary: This is a collection of ghost stories in which the antagonists are various animals. Divided up into chapters of ghost sightings by each group of animals, you will hear of hauntings by dogs, cats, birds, jungle animals, etc. (Summary by Allyson Hester)

A tale of two people, and their search for answers to unknown questions. Adam and Robin find themselves inexplicably alone after an apparent natural cataclysm, and are compelled to learn how to survive, how to endure, but most importantly to themselves, how to enjoy, understand their new roles in life, and understand each other. (Introduction by Roger Melin)

Philo Gubb, not being content with his job as wallpaper-hanger, has higher aspirations: to become a detective, just like Sherlock Holmes. To that end, he enrolls in a correspondence course, where he gets lessons through the mail as well as the necessary disguises for a detective. Philo Gubb, not being really clever or intuitive, or even looking good in those disguises, gets involved in one case after the other - and sooner or later happens to stumble on and solve the crime... Each of these stories...

Saving for the baby's education: how can a young family be disciplined so as to regularly put money in the pig (bank)? Why, put a tariff on all items coming into the house, just like the U.S. Government does/did for items coming into the country! But the devil is in the details; what about taxing items brought in by visitors? Is the housemaid herself a taxable item? What items really are 'necessaries' versus luxuries? When visitors arrive these guests stoop to either 'smuggling' in their luggage items to avoid having to pay up to 30% of the value, or wear only what they came dressed in...

A lighthearted tale which revolves around old Peter Lane, who lives in a houseboat on the Mississippi River and mostly whiles away his time whittling with his jack-knife and not really doing much else. That is, until one night, a sickly woman knocks at his boat door holding her son in her arms. This encounter would change Peter's life, as the old man befriends little Buddy and is determined to keep him and raise him as his own, provided he is able to keep a host of others from laying claim to the orphan. - Summary by Roger Melin

The wry humor of Ellis Parker Butler, who gave us the classic Pigs Is Pigs, takes us into his own married life where Marthy and Hiram live quietly in their Colorado town. They don't have trouble with anyone of their neighbors. Why should they, as they don't have any kids that could cause the neighbors trouble? And oh, luckily they don't have kids because how could Hiram otherwise afford to give his wife, Marthy a new silk dress? Really lucky. The neighbors kids are cute and all but ugh, they are much better off without kids and their expenses and sicknesses and trouble...

Marjorie Fielding is born premature and spends her first months of life in an incubator. Her mother is a modern, broad-minded woman eschewing old fashioned views of childrearing to embrace a scientific method. Science has its place but can it be taken too far? Little Marjorie gives us her perspective. - Summary by Scotty

The fun adventures of Georgie, Swatty, and Bony, as they encounter flooding rivers, emotional girls, burning buildings, rotten stumps, mean teachers, a haunted house, dark caves, murderers, and ice jams.

A puppy, unanounced and unordered, arrives in a crate at Mr. Murchison's house. Humorous events follow.

Why is the neighbor so obsessed with his car? Where can we find a good gardener? Should we have a Santa Claus at our Christmas party? Yes, this is suburbia... much the same today as it was in 1911.

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays. These are eight of his humorous short stories about life.

Amusing tales showing the effectiveness of advertising some rather questionable products. Perkins and the narrator partner in promotions directed at a gullible and willing public. Unlike most tales of the kind, with moralistic endings where the 'sharps' come to grief, Perkins and Co. become wealthy and quite pleased with themselves.

Inspired by "Lives of the Saints", fat, lazy, good-for-nothing Harvey Redding decides to give up the junk-collecting business, and become a Saint. Meanwhile, deeply in debt to his sister, he has left his son Lem with her until he is able to pay her back.

His career spanned more than forty years, and his stories, poems, and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. His work appeared alongside that of his contemporaries, including Mark Twain, Sax Rohmer, James B. Hendryx, Berton Braley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don Marquis, Will Rogers, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Despite the enormous volume of his work, Butler was, for most of his life, only a part-time author. He worked full-time as a banker and was very active in his local community. A founding member of both the Dutch Treat Club and the Authors League of America, Butler was an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.

A very good introduction to the bee, including its physical and behavioral characteristics. Most appropriate for children. - Summary by KevinS

Characteristics of the peoples and environment of the earliest stages of America. - Summary by Jim Locke Group: Chronicles of America Series

Two fifteen-year-old boys---the younger of whom may have been fourteen---decide to hunt and trap away from home in the north woods of Maine. A true recounting of their adventures can be found here, though the years that passed before the tale was written down may have added a slight bit of exaggeration. Then again, they set out in the winter of 1875 and all that's written could very well be the complete and honest truth! The listener may wish to listen first to Section 18 of this recording---Notes on Maine Animals---as familiarity with these will enhance an understanding of the memoir.

A beautifully written and witty history of The New York Times, and of newspaper publishing in general, from the 1850s to 1921 by three-time Peabody Award winner Elmer Davis. Davis provides a detailed history of the founding of The Times; its role in the exposure and demise of the notorious Boss Tweed; its resurrection from near-failure by legendary publisher Adolph Ochs; its role in local and national politics; and how The Times became the dominant newspaper of his generation. Along the way, Davis shares insight into how technology influences newsgathering, and reveals The Times' surprising role in some of the major technological advances of the era...

Having reached the age of sixteen winters, Running Fox, the son of Black Panther, a famous Delaware war-chief, determined to establish his reputation as a warrior. He knew, however, that before he could gain admission into the gallant company of fighting men he would have to prove his courage and ability in some daring exploit.

On a Grey Thread was first published in 1923, one of the first books of openly lesbian love poetry to be published in the United States. Her early verse is concise and highly original.

Mairi Chisholm and Elsie Knocker were two British nurses and ambulance drivers whose staggeringly heroic efforts during World War I saved countless lives and earned them life-long honor. They were especially known for their determination to treat wounded soldiers on the front lines instead of transporting them at great risk to "safer" hospital facilities, even though many of their actions went directly contrary to official bureaucratic regulations. In November of 1914, they took the step for which they are most famous...

In this popular American book from the 1920s, accomplished public speaker and self-help charlatan Elsie Lincoln Benedict outlines her pseudo-scientific system of "Human Analysis". She proposes that, within the human race, five sub-types have developed through evolutionary processes, each with its own distinct character traits and corresponding outward appearance. She offers to teach the reader how to recognise these five types of people and understand their innate differences. Her ideas have never been taken seriously by the scientific community, but this book is considered a classic within its genre and remains in print today. Summary by Carl Manchester.

This book, subtitled "How and Why Tales from Brazilian Folk-Lore", is a collection of short stories, most of them etiologial myths from Brazilian Indian Folklore.

A collection of short, sweet fairy tales from Brazil, including How the Tiger Got His Stripes, and Why The Bananas Belong to the Monkey. - Summary by Beth Thomas

LEGENDS, FOLK AND FAIRY TALES FROM THE AZORES. Some three-fourths of the distance between America and Europe there is a group of nine beautiful islands called the Azores which belong to Portugal. Their names are Flores, Corvo, Fayal, Pico, S. Jorge, Graciosa, Terceira, S. Miguel, and Santa Maria. Many people think them to be the mountain peaks of the submerged continent, Atlantis, which long ago was covered by the ocean.However, when I spent December 1920 and January 1921 in the Azores, I found that there were not only pleasant folktales there but even real fairies...

Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688-1772, was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died in London, England. He was a voluminous writer of scientific treatises as well as prophetic works such as Archana Caelestia and The Divine Providence. He said he had encountered supranational agencies and communicated with angels. This is a recording of the 1849 translation of his 1743 book The Soul or Rational Psychology Latin. He took his cue from Aristotle's De Anima. A few quotes It has been shown above that the harmonies...

The singing mouse tells tales of nature in songs. This book is for those who want to know how the mountains ate up the plains, what the waters said or where the city went.

"Look at 'em come, Jesse! More and more! Must be forty or fifty families." This is an old-fashioned adventure tale set on the Oregon Trail, just before the California Gold Rush. It is the story of a wagon train bound for the west, and the conflict which arises due to of a love triangle. Indian fights, buffalo hunts, dangerous river crossings and other dangers of the trail add to a gripping and entertaining yarn.

In The Magnificent Adventure-Being the Story of the World's Greatest Exploration and the Romance of a Very Gallant Gentleman, by Emerson Hough, the author takes us back to the dawning years of the United States of America. To the time of the Louisiana purchase. At the time Thomas Jefferson awarded Meriwether Lewis the honor of leading an expedition west.Distraught, our hero suffers knowing the love of his life, Theodosia, is now a married woman. Forever tormented, he accepts the duty asked by his President...

Monsieur Lecoq is a captivating mystery, historical and love story : Around 11 o'clock, on the evening of Shrove Sunday 18.., close to the old Barrière d'Italie, frightful cries, coming from Mother Chupin's drinking-shop, are heard by a party of detectives led by Inspector Gévrol. The squad runs up to it. A triple murder has just been committed. The murderer is caught on the premises. Despite Gévrol's opinion that four scoundrels encountered each other in this vile den, that they began to quarrel, that one of them had a revolver and killed the others, Lecoq, a young police agent, suspects a great mystery...

Monsieur Lecoq is a captivating mystery, historical and love story: Around 11 o'clock, on the evening of Shrove Sunday 18.., close to the old Barrière d'Italie, frightful cries, coming from Mother Chupin's drinking-shop, are heard by a party of detectives led by Inspector Gévrol. The squad runs up to it. A triple murder has just been committed. The murderer is caught on the premises. Despite Gévrol's opinion that four scoundrels encountered each other in this vile den, that they began to quarrel, that one of them had a revolver and killed the others, Lecoq, a young police agent, suspects a great mystery...

The Sunlit Hours [Les Heures Claires] is a volume of very personal poetry by Belgian poet Émile Verhaeren. The poetry in this volume is dedicated to his wife, celebrating their relationship with beautiful poetry of love. - Summary by Carolin

This is a volume of poetry by Belgian poet Émile Verhaeren, skillfully rendered into English verse by Charles Murphy. Although the English translation was published during World War I, the French original was published in 1905, and the topic of the poems is Verhaeren's love for his wife Marthe. - Summary by Carolin

A selection of poems from Belgian symbolist poet Émile Verhaeren, translated from French by Alma Strettell. Most of the poems selected are from 'Les Villages Illusoires' and are rooted in Verhaeren's observations of the everyday life and landscapes of his native Flanders. The selection also includes extracts from 'Les Heures Claires', a love poem for his wife , and poems from the earlier and later volumes, Les Apparus dans mes Chemins' and 'La Multiple Splendeur' . - Summary by Philip Benson

Émile François Zola (French pronunciation: [emil zɔˈla]) (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was an influential French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism. More than half of Zola’s novels were part of a set of twenty novels about a family under the Second Empire collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart. L’Assommoir (1877) is the seventh novel in the series. Usually considered one of Zola’s masterpieces, the novel—a harsh and uncompromising study of alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris—was a huge commercial success and established Zola’s fame and reputation throughout France and the world.

An unsatisfied wife kills her weak husband in order to carry on a sordid affair with another man. However, her selfish plans are spoiled when her husband continues to haunt her. This is often said to be Zola's first great novel.

A well-to-do French farm family is destroyed by a flood. The story, thrilling to the very end, is told from the point of view of the family’s 70-year-old patriarch. The story speaks of the helplessness of mankind in the face of the forces of nature.

The Abbe Pierre Froment, after his experiences in Lourdes, has written a book expressing a vision of a new enlightened papacy. He visits Rome to defend this book against condemnation and seeks audience with the Pope. He is introduced to aristocratic and ecclesiastical society, and during his three months' stay has the opportunity to reflect on the historical position of the "Eternal City", as well as its future and that of the Roman Catholic Church, reflections imbued with Zola's deep skepticism and his modernistic views...

The Markets of Paris is a remarkable work, and is the one which Zola calls his very best novel, and of which he is far more proud than of any others in his Rougon-Marquart series – prouder than of L’Assommoir. It must have been in his early manhood, when poor and friendless, he lived among the people, that much of the information which makes these pages so startlingly vivid, was acquired. How many mornings, long before dawn, must he have visited these markets – how many hours and days must he have spent there, to have mastered the habits, manners and ways of these people, who are a class by themselves, and of whom we do not lose sight, from the beginning to the end of the book...

This epic about French coal miners and the burgeoning labor movement is considered one of Zola's finest novels. - Summary by Matt Pierard

The elopement of Philippe Cayol, an aspiring liberal, poor and untitled with Blanche De Cazalis, niece of a powerful millionaire and politician sets the stage in this novel full of twists and turns with villains a plenty. Philippe's brother Marius strives to protect the two lovers from the De Cazalis' uncontrolled fury. Although written in his youth Zola's signature style, his indignation about injustice and his vivid characterization of the noble, the wealthy and common man is very evident in this non stop adventure. - Summary by Celine Major

This book describes a five day national pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Lourdes, where miracle cures are hoped for. The central character is a priest, Pierre, whose faith is faltering. He is accompanying his childhood sweetheart who has been stricken with paralysis and whose faith is strong. In the background of the great irony of this relationship, there are numerous sub-plots, some tragic, some whimsical, involving a large number of characters, set in the midst of organised chaos in the pilgrimage site. Through Pierre's mental and spiritual experiences Zola explores the role of religious faith in a society coming to terms with science and reason. - Summary by Peter Tucker

Excerpt from Introduction: "Nana" stands third in popularity among the Zola novels. It is a study of the prostitute type and it gives a memorable picture of the life of the tinsel underworld of the Paris theaters, night life, and its parasites. Perhaps Zola pursues Nana a bit too relentlessly: certainly his putting a period to her career by showing her as a putrefying corpse is more symbolic than is wholly necessary; but it remains a novel of truth and beauty, even if a beauty of a drab and often terrible sort. Summary by Burton Rascoe / Celine Major

The Fortune of the Rougons , originally published in 1871, is the first novel in Émile Zola's monumental twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. In his introduction Zola indicates that this series is intended to demonstrate the interaction of heredity and environment along the lines of natural selection and evolution. While Zola's metascience is questionable, this novel is successful in its analysis of the interaction of momentous social and political events and the everyday lives and aspirations of a provincial society...

“The Jolly Parisiennes” by Émile Zola is a very clever, brilliant and interesting romance of a “grande passion” with an undercurrent of political intrigue. The plot is ingenious both in conception and execution, while the tone of the novel is exceedingly bright and vivacious. A peculiar phase of Parisian society is most agreeably dealt with. The heroines, Louise Neigeon and Berthe Gaucheraud, are very jolly ladies indeed, but they never forget that they are ladies, even in their merriest and most eccentric moods...

Zola's original French publication, Au Bonheur des Dames , published 1882, is the eleventh novel in his Rougon-Macquart series. This English translation by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, was published in 1886. It's a glitzy, fast paced Parisian drama depicting life at the world's first department store, revealing its many innovative marketing concepts, fashion, glamour, lust, greed, courage, deception, human foibles, and the vision and financial risk-taking that led to a world transformation in shopping -- one that set all the little shop keepers on their heads...

The Stories of Old Greece and Rome is an easy to read summary of all of the famous and not so famous Greek and Roman mythological stories. All of the famous Heroes are here: Theseus, Jason, Hercules, and all of the well known Deities. These stories tell the real detail of the myths, not the ones that have become sanitized (and dare I say it, 'Disneyfied') over the centuries. These are not stories for children, as the old gods and heroes were vengeful and some might say sadistic in their treatment of minor slights and misdemeanors...

Magic Words is a Victorian tale of a community and how a few women bring a special kind of Christmas magic to the community-- Magic that can heal wounded hearts. (Introduction by Sean McGaughey)

This volume contains 21 poems for children by Emilie Poulsson. In her own words, "In the belief that such rhymes as are herein offered gratify and increase in children both the love of animals and the sense of humor, this new volume is sent forth not only to give pleasure, but to contribute what it may to the fostering of these desirable traits."

Mrs. Emily Beesly, the writer of this brilliant narrative, lived in an era of nothing but fairy tales and "the stories of nursery life" for her children. Yet, she believed that when historical stories of importance were reworded into narratives fit for her children's ears, they, too could learn the Stories from the History of Rome and grow in knowledge, fascination, and wonder with the past. This is the product of that idea and desire. Summary by Melissa Petermann

Emily Bronte’s first and only novel, Wuthering Heights, portrays the obsessive and vengeful love story between Heathcliff and Catherine. Images of cruelty and passion with an incorporation of gothic supernatural elements set the dark and misty atmosphere present throughout the novel. Moving between two neighboring houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, the wild love story turned destructive obsession is narrated by Mr. Lockwood through his diary entries. Bronte sets the novel into motion with the arrival of Mr...

Emily Jane Brontë was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother Branwell. She wrote under the pen name Ellis Bell.

The story centers on the all-encompassing, passionate, but ultimately doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and the people around them. There are differing opinions on whether this is the ultimate love story or the ultimate story of revenge.

A guide for women to complement their dress to their surroundings, be it in their own home, on outings or on stage. Please note that there is a separate chapter with the captions of the fashion plates which can be found in the online text.

This book is readable account of one of the greatest inventions of modern time: moveable type. Gutenberg's work lays the foundation for the printing press, without which the world would look very different... It reads both as biography and as historical fiction, in addition to being an introduction to the history of printing. We follow along on the ups and downs of Gutenberg himself and his family life, and the collaborations with others that lead to printing. - Summary by kathrinee

Emily Dickinson has come to be regarded as one of the quintessential poets of 19th century America. A very private poet with a very quiet and reclusive life, her poetry was published posthumously and immediately found a wide audience. While she echoed the romantic natural themes of her times, her style was much more free and irregular, causing many to criticize her and editors to “correct” her. In the early 20th century, when poetic style had become much looser, new audiences learned to appreciate her work...

Renowned poet Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) wrote many many poems. This collection, “Poems: Series One”, presents the first installment of the complete poetic works of Miss Emily Dickinson. It is broken into four parts: Life, Love, Nature, and Time and Eternity. The verses of Emily Dickinson belong emphatically to what Emerson long since called “the Poetry of the Portfolio,”–something produced absolutely without the thought of publication, and solely by way of expression of the writer’s own mind. The poetry found here is then entirely honest, and indicative of the authors true feelings.

"The eagerness with which the first volume of Emily Dickinson's poems has been read shows very clearly that all our alleged modern artificiality does not prevent a prompt appreciation of the qualities of directness and simplicity in approaching the greatest themes,—life and love and death. That "irresistible needle-touch," as one of her best critics has called it, piercing at once the very core of a thought, has found a response as wide and sympathetic as it has been unexpected even to those who knew best her compelling power. This second volume, while open to the same criticism as to form with its predecessor, shows also the same shining beauties."

LibriVox volunteers bring you 15 recordings of Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Emily Dickinson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 12, 2013.Despite Dickinson's prolific writing, fewer than a dozen of her poems were published during her lifetime. After her younger sister Lavinia discovered the collection of nearly eighteen hundred poems, Dickinson's first volume was published four years after her death. Until the 1955 publication of Dickinson's Complete Poems by Thomas H. Johnson, her poems were considerably edited and altered from their manuscript versions. Since 1890 Dickinson has remained continuously in print.

volunteers bring you 17 recordings of The Grass by Emily Dickinson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for August 4, 2019. ------ The verses of Emily Dickinson belong emphatically to what Emerson long since called "the Poetry of the Portfolio,"—something produced absolutely without the thought of publication, and solely by way of expression of the writer's own mind.

Emily Dickinson is one of the most intriguing of American poets. Since she grew increasingly reclusive, very few of her poems were published until after her death. This collection includes two letters Dickinson wrote to her friends on the occasion of the deaths of her friend, Mr. Humphrey, and her brother, Austin. The rest of collection consists of her poetry on the subject of death.

LibriVox volunteers bring you 11 recordings of She sweeps with many-colored Brooms by Emily Dickinson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 24, 2013.Dickinson was a prolific private poet, but fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime. The work that was published during her lifetime was usually altered significantly by the publishers to fit the conventional poetic rules of the time. Dickinson’s poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.