Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

Carol Bird was born on Christmas Day. She has spent all of her 11 years putting others above herself, always finding ways to make their lives a little more special. Even when faced with her own illness, the pure goodness of her heart shines through. She vows to find a way to spread Christmas cheer and decides to give a grand Christmas Party for a poor neighbourhood family. (summary by Laura Caldwell and Sarah Jennings)

From 1843 to 1848, Charles Dickens wrote a series of five novellas to be published at Christmas. Most people are familiar with the first, "A Christmas Carol." The others are "The Chimes," "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Battle of Life," and "The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain." - Summary by Brad Filippone

This year's Christmas collection of short stories, poems and non-fiction features readings in English, French, German and Romanian - Summary by Ruth Golding.

Ten short poems about Christmas in California - Summary by Larry Wilson

After The Three Muskateers and Twenty Years After the adventurous story of Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan continues!The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later (French: Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ou Dix ans plus tard) is the last of the Musketeer novels. It is usually divided into four volumes and this third volume contains chapters 141-208. (Summary by Diana Majlinger)

Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749) was the first widely-read English novel in the genre “Erotica.” It was written by John Cleland as he was serving hard time at a debtor’s prison in London. Over the centuries, the novel has been repeatedly banned by authorities, assuring its preeminent role in the history of the ongoing struggle against censorship of free expression.Until Fanny Hill, previous heroines had conducted their amorous liaisons “off-stage.” Any erotic misadventures were described euphemistically. As women who had gone astray, they always repented, which made ...

A historical fiction novel set in Paris (1572) during Charles IX's reign and the French Wars of Religion. Marguerite de Valois, daughter of deceased Henry II, is the novel's protagonist set against the infamous schemes of the Catholic power player, Catherine de Medici. - Summary by Publisher

This is a collection of short stories, poems, and play fragments published in 1926. Many of them are set during World War I. Many have strong references to the Masonic Lodge and its "brethren." The odes attributed to Horace are actually poems written by Kipling imitating the old Roman style.Note: Some of these stories contain outdated attitudes and racial stereotypes. Section 7, "The United Idolaters," and section 13, "The Prophet and the Country," contain racial terms objectionable to many listeners.Cast list for Gow's Watch (both scenes)Narrator: Larry WilsonGow: Ehsan Ahmed MehediFerdinand:...

Jacob Abbott chronicles the unspeakably treacherous rise of Richard III to the throne of England in the midst of the war between the Yorks and the Lancasters and his ultimate fall on the Field of Bosworth. (Introduction by Cathy Barratt)

The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) is a tragic novel by English author Thomas Hardy subtitled, "The Life and Death of a Man of Character". It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge (based on the town of Dorchester in Dorset). The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England. (Wikipedia)A poor, disgruntled, drunken young man sells his wife and child to the highest bidder. When he awakens, sober, the next day he regrets his rash act and vows to give up drink and find his family and bring them home. Eventually he is forced to give up the search and move on with ...

The English Romantic Period in literature featured a towering group of excellent poets: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats. If we add in forerunners Burns and Blake, we have perhaps an unmatchable collection of writers for any era. Of these, Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the brightest and best, coupling a giant intellect with a highly emotional and impetuous nature. He was always a champion of liberty, but was largely ignored when he tried to promote political and social reform. He was wise enough, however, to realize that his efforts were ineffective, and he chose instead, not ...

LibriVox’s Long Poems Collection 004: a collection of 8 public-domain poems longer than 5 minutes in length.

LibriVox’s Long Poems Collection 003: a collection of 8 public-domain poems longer than 5 minutes in length.

LibriVox's Long Poems Collection 001: a collection of 5 public-domain poems longer than 5 minutes in length.(Summary by Alan Davis-Drake)

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. Summary from publishers note.

Born in Scotland, Alexander Dunlop Lindsay was a teacher of philosophy at a number of universities in England in the early 1900s. This brief commentary on Kant's philosophy is a work that focuses solely on some of the main ideas Kant put forth in the three Critiques. Although not comprehensive, the narrative style of this volume makes it a pleasant read and will be a valuable "break-in" point (or introduction to) the complex philosophy of Immanuel Kant. (Summary by SKwanlada)

A collection of twenty stories featuring ghoulies, ghosties, long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night. Expect shivers up your spine, the stench of human flesh, and the occasional touch of wonder. You may also feel more jumpy tonight than usual.

As much as any other work of literature, Henri Murger’s 1851 collection of witty sketches Scènes de la vie de bohème shaped the later romanticized image of the bohemian artist: independent, insouciant, exuberantly lustful, devoted to Art for Art’s sake no matter how cold and hungry the artist might be. Four young Parisian artists, Schaunard the composer, Marcel the painter, Rodolphe the poet, and Colline the philosopher, form an informal Bohemian alliance dedicated to Art and the joy of Life. Pretty and faithless young mistresses come and go from their beds, most notably Mimi, Phémie, ...

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, better known as The Pickwick Papers, is the first novel by Charles Dickens. Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers consists of a sequence of loosely-related adventures. Its main literary value and appeal is formed by its numerous unforgettable heroes. Each personage in The Pickwick Papers (just as in many other Dickens' novels) is drawn comically, often with exaggerated features of character. (Wikipedia)

This is a massive effort, taking place in England and the Middle East, with a cast of thousands... Well, not thousands, fortunately, but certainly a great many. There are three Bertrams present: Sir Lionel, his son George (our hero), and the wealthy uncle. The primary story involves the joining of two couples (following some rocky periods), and the disposal of the uncle's fortune. The more amusing bits focus on peripheral characters in the social settings of a fictional town and in travel on board ship or touring Egypt. Trollope digresses from time to time to lecture us on religion, politics, ...