Showing results by author "Valerio Di Stefano" in All Categories

The American Minister and his family have bought the English stately home Canterville Chase, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. But these modern Americans will have no truck with ghostly goings-on, and set out to beat the spectre at his own game. (Summary by David Barnes)

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote their Manifesto in December 1847, as a guide to the fundamental principles and practices of Communists. The Manifesto also predicted the ultimate downfall of the capitalist system.(Summary written by Gesine) A recording in the original German language is available here

Publication of The Kreutzer Sonata in 1889 was a significant intellectual event worldwide. Censored in Russia, it set off an explosive debate in Europe, America, and Asia on matters relating to sexual abstinence and the hypocrisy of marriage. The novella emphasizes Tolstoy's controversial view on sexuality, which asserts that physical desire is an obstacle to relations between men and women and may result in tragedy. The Kreutzer Sonata has been recognized as among the best examples of Tolstoy's art of storytelling.(Introduction by Dorlene Kaplan)

Antonio Machado nació el 26 de julio de 1875 y murió el 22 de febrero de 1939. Dentro de estos simples datos temporales se desarrolla la experiencia humana e intelectual de uno de los poetas españoles más significativos de nuestra época. Porque Machado fue poeta y, quizás, solo y simplemente esto. Su carácter esquivo, su honda humanidad, junto con su modestia y bondad ("soy, en el buen sentido de la palabra, bueno"), no le impidieron la formulación de una poética extremadamente rigurosa.

Wilde’s meditation on capital punishment, the Ballad of Reading Gaol comes after he was convicted and imprisoned under charges of gross indecency. The charges stemmed from his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, the son of the Marquis of Queensberry. It relates the story of an execution of a man who murdered his wife which Wilde witnessed during his internment. Published in 1898, it was Wilde’s last published poem as he would die in 1900 from cerebral meningitis, caused by syphilis.(Summary by John Gonzalez)

This short work of Wilde's was written during his two year incarceration for "gross indecency". This work is a letter which sorts out his life, and his love toward Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde wrote this as a farewell letter to Douglas. (summary by Aaron Elliott) NOTE: "Transcribed from the 1913 Methuen & Co. edition. Note that later editions of De Profundis contained more material. The most complete editions are still in copyright in the U.S.A."

Originally written as a series of newspaper articles in 1847, Wage-Labour and Capital was intended to give an overview of Marx’s central theories regarding the economic relationships between workers and capitalists. These theories outlined include the Marxian form of the Labour Theory of Value, which distinguishes “labour” from “labour-power”, and the Theory of Concentration of Capital, which states that capitalism tends towards the creation of monopolies and the disenfranchisement of the middle and working classes. These theories were later elaborated in Volume 1 of Capital, ...

Lady Windermere's Fan: A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, published in 1893. As in some of his other comedies, Wilde satirizes the morals of Victorian society, and attitudes between the sexes.The action centres around a fan given to Lady Windermere as a present by her husband, and the ball held that evening to celebrate her 21st birthday. (Summary by Ruth Golding) Cast: Lady Windermere - Kristin Hughes Lord Windermere - Joe Earley Mrs. Erlynne - Elizabeth Klett Lord Darlington - Simon Taylor The Duchess of Berwick - Ruth Golding Mr. Cecil Graham - Chugosh Lord ...

The Douay Rheims New Testament, published in 1582, is a translation of St Jerome's Latin Vulgate which dates from the fourth century. It influenced production of the King James version of the Bible to come some years afterward, while being the only Roman Catholic authorized vernacular scriptures up until the middle twentieth century. Although updated linguistically in the 18th and 19th centuries to provide easier understanding by the laity and reduce its use of Latinized words, it strove to be faithful to the original translation. The work's importance is that it remains the scriptural texts ...

An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedy by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honor. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place within a single day. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." (Summary from Wikipedia) Characters:Narrator – Read by Alex FosterThe Earl Of Caversham, K.G. – Read by LintonViscount Goring, his son – Read by John GonzalezSir Robert Chiltern, Bart., Under-Secretary ...

"Zaragoza" es la sexta novela de la primera serie de los Episodios Nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós. En "Napoleón en Chamartín" dejamos a Gabriel de Araceli preso en manos de los franceses, después de haber fracasado en su intento de liberar a su amada Inés de sus parientes. La columna de presos, maniatados, se dirige hacia Francia, pero... (Resumen de Tux) La Primera Serie 1 - Trafalgar 2 - La corte de Carlos IV 3 - El 19 de marzo y el 2 de mayo 4 - Bailén 5 - Napoleón en Chamartín 6 - Zaragoza 7 - Gerona 8 - Cádiz 9 - Juan Martín el Empecinado 10 - La batalla de los Arapiles

Vols. 3 and 4 of Remembrance of Things Past. The hero, Marcel, meets the duchess of Guermantes in the role of his parent's landlady. The hero's grandmother is ill and dies. A night at the Princess de Parme's. The hero meets the extraordinary M. de Charlus and enters into a wary relationship with him. - Summary by Michael O'Kelly

"Il Gattopardo" è un romanzo di Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa che narra le trasformazioni avvenute nella vita e nella società in Sicilia durante il Risorgimento, dal momento del trapasso del regime borbonico alla transizione unitaria del Regno d'Italia, seguita alla spedizione dei Mille di Garibaldi. Dopo i rifiuti delle principali case editrici italiane (Mondadori, Einaudi, Longanesi), l'opera fu pubblicata postuma da Feltrinelli nel 1958, un anno dopo la morte dell'autore. Il tema della cucina nel romanzo e ai tempi in cui si svolge l'azione non è stato abbastanza investigato.

Edgar Allan Poe's telling of Arthur Pym's narrative is shown to be true as events come together that bring out clues that help Captain Len Guy trace the fate of his brother's ship the Jane; the very ship that Arthur Pym was on board at the time of his disappearance. Through the efforts of Mr. Joerling, the crew of the Halbrane is enticed to make the trip to Antarctica to search for any survivors of the Jane. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Childhood (Детство [Detstvo]; 1852) is the first novel in Leo Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy. They are the works that launched his writing career. These books earned him instant acclaim. This book describes the major physiological decisions of boyhood that all boys experience. (Summary by Wikipedia)

The World English Bible is a modern English translation of the Bible, released directly into the public domain. (Summary by Leon Mire)

The World English Bible is a translation of the Bible into modern English. Work on the project began in 1997, but the translation has been released directly into the public domain, free of copyright. It is largely an update of the American Standard Version of 1901, and is intended to be both readable and non-denominational. (Summary by Leon Mire)

La idea inicial es organizar una lectura colaborativa, de manera que cada cuento sea leído por un voluntario originario o que domine el acento nativo del país de procedencia del cuento con el objetivo de disfrutar y celebrar la riqueza de la cultura hispanoamericana y la diversidad del idioma español.. (Epachuko)

In questa breve ma completa lezione-conferenza, realizzata per l'Università della Terza Età di Roseto degli Abruzzi, si ripercorre l'esperienza erotica ma soprattutto culinaria di Dona Flor, protagonista del celeberrimo romanzo di Jorge Amado. Incatenata tra l'amore del primo marito Vadinho, debosciato e sciupafemmine, e quello del secondo, Teodoro, religioso e onesto farmacista, da cui Dona Flor avrà una vita agiata ma del tutto insoddisfacente sul piano sessuale, Dona Flor si improvvisa maestra di cucina.

In this book, Tolstoy seeks to condense the four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, into one, by looking along the lines of the teachings of Jesus Christ found in each book. In doing so, he discovers that the Lord's Prayer is the best summation of all that Christ taught in the Gospels. - Summary by KHand