Classics World Literature

Théophile Gautier est l'un des maîtres du fantastique et les aventures de ses personnages sont fascinantes, elles n'ont pas pris une ride depuis sa création : la puissance d'évocation et de mystère est intacte, et traverse le temps jusqu'à nous.

"La princesse de Clèves", premier des grands romans historiques, écrit par une femme du XVIIe siècle, marque également le début de la place des femmes en littérature. Dans toute son œuvre, Madame de Lafayette énonce les ravages des passions, qui ne font que révéler les faiblesses des hommes. "La princesse de Clèves" obéit à cette règle. Madame de Lafayette analyse les étapes du sentiment amoureux chez les trois personnages, ses effets sur leur comportement et la lutte de la princesse qui, pour ne pas tomber dans des intérêts et des plaisirs qui la rendraient méprisables à ses yeux, accepte le seul destin qu'on réserve aux âmes nobles, la mort.

Won by the Sword describes the conclusion of the Thirty Years’ War (1640s) recounting the years after the deaths of generals Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein when France took the lead in the struggle. The appointment of young Hector Campbell, orphaned son of a Scottish captain, as an aide in the household of the French General Turenne marks the beginning of a series of adventures that includes battles, captures and escapes, a meeting with Mazarin, and high honors and awards for his prowess and bravery in battle.

Seth Kinnaman's dream has always been to become the best fighter the world has ever seen. After spending his entire life training, he's finally ready to test his skills in the biggest tournament on Earth, where hundreds of the fiercest competitors vie for the supreme title. In the semifinals, Seth is getting the upper hand when his opponent uses an illegal blow to take him out. Upon waking up from a coma, Seth finds out he's lost his sight. He's become blind, and he's completely devastated. All his dreams are now shattered, and he soon falls into depression.

It tells the tale of Frank Gresham and Mary Thorne, a couple intent on marriage despite their conflicting social backgrounds. Frank is engaged in a fierce battle with his family as his mother vehemently opposes the marriage and pushes him to marry a wealthy heiress; however, Frank shuns her attempts and is determined to accept Mary on her own terms.

Au XIème siècle, en Espagne, à la cour de Castille, un drame humain se noue. Don Rodrigue et Chimène s'aiment. Mais le Roi Don Ferdinand confie l'éducation de son fils à Don Diègue, le père de Rodrigue, ce qui provoque la jalousie et la déception de Don Gomès, le père de Chimène. Celui-ci donne une gifle à Don Diègue, le provoquant ainsi en duel. Le père de Rodrigue demande à son fils de laver son honneur, et Rodrigue se voit obliger de combattre le père de sa bien-aimée.

Le narrateur (dont l'identité ne nous est pas connue) arrive à la maison de son ami Roderick Usher, ayant reçu de lui une lettre dans laquelle il se plaignait de maladie et réclamait sa présence. Cette maladie se manifeste par une hyperacuité des sens et une grande anxiété. La sœur jumelle de Roderick, Madeline, est elle aussi malade, tombant dans des états de transes cataleptiques.

February, 1942: Singapore lies burning and shattered, defenceless before the conquering hordes of the Japanese Army. The last boat escapes out of the harbour into the South China Sea, and on board are a desperate group of strangers, each with a secret to guard, each willing to kill to keep that secret safe. Dawn sees them far out to sea but with the first murderous dive bombers already aimed at their ship. Thus begins a nightmare succession of disasters wrought by the hell-bent Japanese, the unrelenting tropical sun and, ultimately, by the survivors themselves, as they head south by Java Head.

In den beiden Geschichten "Der Sohn des Bärenjägers" und "Der Geist des Llano Estacado" sind menschliche 'Geier' auf Beute aus...

"'Boule de suif' est un chef-d'œuvre", écrivait Gustave Flaubert. Ce récit a imposé son auteur, Guy de Maupassant, comme un maître de la nouvelle. L'histoire, inspirée d'un fait divers, se déroule pendant la guerre de 1870 alors que dix personnes fuient Rouen envahi par les Prussiens.

Gwendolen Harleth gambles her happiness when she marries a sadistic aristocrat for his money. Beautiful, neurotic, and self-centered, Gwendolen is trapped in an increasingly destructive relationship, and only her chance encounter with the idealistic Deronda seems to offer the hope of a brighter future. Deronda is searching for a vocation, and in embracing the Jewish cause he finds one that is both visionary and life-changing.

This is the hauntingly romantic story of Marguerite Gautier, a Parisian courtesan who falls in love with a young man of modest means. Set in the glittering mid-19th century of the French Empire, it evokes scenes of sumptuous feasts and riotous entertainments amid the swirling milieu of sophisticated Parisian society. The story begins when the narrator, Armand Duval, tells how he met the beautiful young temptress at a theatrical performance.

Disfruta de las aventuras del famoso caballero Don Quijote y su fiel escudero Sancho Panza en su lucha contra gigantes, molinos y otros peligros imaginarios. Esta es una historia que ha cautivado a generaciones enteras y que sigue siendo relevante hoy en día.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells is an action-packed, science fiction novel that was written in 1897 and is told through the eyes of two brothers who live through an alien invasion. The story is an unbiased account and observation of the alien invasion, and has led to the creation of hundreds of books and movies. H.G. Wells is one of the first authors to tackle the "what if" scenario of an alien invasion.

Where does human energy come from, and where is it going? In this fascinating text, notable inventor Nikola Tesla examines these fundamental questions as he theorizes ways of maximizing human energy. While he thinks like a scientist, Tesla writes like a philosopher, making the text accessible for a wider audience. The Problem of Increasing Human Energy functions as both a valuable contribution to scientific thought and a self-help book for humanity.

Emile Zola, along with fellow novelists Honoré de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert, was an early realist in French literature. In novels such as Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Zola's Nana, sex and violence were examined with vivid clarity. These realists soon adopted the word naturalism to describe their writings.

"David Copperfield" ou L'Histoire, les aventures et l'expérience personnelles de David Copperfield le jeune a paru en 1850 sous forme de feuilleton illustré. Orphelin de père, le jeune garçon rebelle sera séparé de sa mère pour l'internat puis envoyé à l'usine et laissé à lui-même mais ses péripéties l'amènent à faire la rencontre de personnages hauts en couleur et à vivre des aventures pleines de rebondissements. À la fois tragique, humoristique, truffée d'anecdotes et très vivante, l'épopée du héros rencontrera un vif succès dès sa parution.

'You don’t mean you're going to divorce him?' Miss Spanner said with horror. A sophisticated, emotive novel, Chatterton Square concerns the complex web of relationships between two neighbouring families, the Blacketts and the Frasers. Framed by the advance of the Second World War, the subtle mechanics of marriage and love are laid bare through the observation of three of the marital options open to the mid-century woman: unmarried, separated, miserably married.

Lenin's journey in a sealed train took place in April 1917 during the First World War. The journey took Vladimir Ilyich Lenin together with other emigrants from Swiss exile through the German Reich via Scandinavia to Petrograd, today's Saint Petersburg. The "sealed train" was only used on the German part of the route. Lenin's arrival in Russia led to the 1917 revolution and the peace treaty between Russia and Germany in March 1918.

Un des premiers romans d'Alexandre Dumas, "Pauline" s'inscrit dans la veine gothique du début du XIXème siècle annonçant le futur "Comte de Monté-Christo". Qui est cette élégante et pâle jeune femme que l'on croise en compagnie d'Alfred de Nerval, cet amoureux silencieux qui la protège comme un frère ? C'est ce que le narrateur nous fait découvrir au cours de ce récit empreint de romantisme dans un décor médiéval, une abbaye en ruine, des passages secrets.