Classics World Literature

The land was theirs, but so were its hardships. Strawberries - big, ripe, and juicy. Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking them. But her family has just moved to the Florida backwoods, and they haven't even begun their planting. "Don't count your biddies 'fore they're hatched, gal young un!" her father tells her. Making the new farm prosper is not easy.

The Subjection of Women is an 1869 essay by the English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill, based on ideas he developed jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. At the time of its publication, the essay's argument for equality between the sexes was an affront to conventional norms regarding the status of men and women. Mill contended that the emancipation and education of women would have positive benefits for all people; the companionship of equally educated persons would result in the greater intellectual development of all.

First published in 1940, Florence Scovel Shinn's work has been praised and referenced by self-improvement experts as diverse as Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay, and Norman Vincent Peale. Shinn interprets biblical passages as pathways to activating our beliefs. The Secret Door to Success includes success stories of her students to illustrate the power of the spoken word to attract prosperity, love, and good health. This book is a sequel to The Game of Life and How to Play It.

Brave New World is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published a year later. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society that is challenged by only a single individual: the story's protagonist.

"Le chef d'œuvre inconnu" a inspiré nombre de peintres, notamment Picasso, et de cinéastes ("La Belle Noiseuse" de Jacques Rivette - 1991). Ce "conte fantastique" à la manière d'Hoffmann est aussi une belle méditation sur la création, la recherche initiatique de l'absolu et le pouvoir de l'esprit dans le domaine de l'art.

This riveting history is a firsthand account of the long and arduous search for one of the greatest explorers of the 19th century. Journalist and adventurer Henry M. Stanley was known for his search for the legendary David Livingstone, and their eventual meeting led to the popular quotation "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" A real-life adventure story, How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa tells of the incredible hardships - disease, hostile natives, tribal warfare, impenetrable jungles, and other obstacles - faced by a daring explorer. This must-have account also includes a wealth of information on various African peoples.

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.

When a volcano suddenly seems to erupt and threaten a mountain town of North Carolina, Inspector Strock is sent to determine the danger. When an automobile race in Wisconsin is interrupted by the unexpected appearance of a vehicle traveling at many times the top speed of the entrants, Strock is again consulted. And when an odd-shaped boat is sighted moving at impossible speeds off the New England coast, Stock and his boss begin to wonder if the incidents are related.

Der gesamte Märchenschatz der Gebrüder Grimm - ungekürzt! Schneewittchen, Dornröschen, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, Der gestiefelte Kater und, und, und!

William Walker Atkinson was best known as one of the leading thinkers in the New Thought movement in the early 20th century. This book is a detailed exploration of contact mind reading, which was a highly popular diversion of the time. This book contains practical instructions for conducting experiments and demonstrations, including various parlour skits which could be used to create an evening's entertainment. Nonetheless, Atkinson treats the subject seriously, and does not consider it a mere spectacle.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story, written by O. Henry (a pen name for William Sydney Porter) about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money.

Fully dramatized by best-selling narrator Steve Cook, with cinematic music and sound effects, this unabridged re-telling of Dickens' classic Christmas tale has something for everyone. All the sounds of 19th-century London are captured, from clopping hooves on cobblestones to booming Westminster chimes at midnight to the supernatural comings and goings of Scrooge’s four nocturnal visitors. Plus, a complete soundtrack of suspenseful and seasonal music throughout puts the finishing touches on a true, old-fashioned radio theatre-style experience.

Court roman, conte philosophique et récit de voyage, "Zadig" raconte de façon drôle et emportée les aventures d'un jeune homme voué à une destinée rocambolesque. L'histoire se déroule dans un Orient fantasmé, où le héros se retrouve confronté à des situations aussi loufoques les unes que les autres.

L'homme au masque de fer est l'un des prisonniers les plus fameux de l'histoire française. Le mystère entourant son existence, ainsi que les différents films et romans dont il a fait l'objet, n'ont cessé d'exciter les imaginations.

Madame Oreille devient hystérique en constatant l'état lamentable du parapluie neuf de son mari quand Maître Hauchecorne s'afflige des soupçons qui pèsent sur lui pour un misérable bout de ficelle...

"Le chef-d'œuvre inconnu" est une nouvelle d'Honoré de Balzac de 1831. Ce texte, à la fois fantastique et philosophique, est une véritable réflexion sur l'art.

Parce que j'ai maintenant des petits enfants, j'ai souvent envie de raconter des histoires. C'est la fonction naturelle des grands-pères, et peut-être leur plus grand mérite.

"Les Rêvries du promeneur solitaire" de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, promenades un à cinq : "L'habitude de rentrer en moi-même me fit perdre le sentiment et presque le souvenir de mes maux, j'appris ainsi par ma propre expérience que la source du vrai bonheur est en nous, et qu'il ne dépend pas des hommes de rendre vraiment misérable celui qui sait vouoir être heureux."

Saint-Pétersbourg, un fonctionnaire devenu petit rentier, s'adonne à une introspection à l'adresse d'interlocuteurs muets. Bavard inoffensif ou pervers déroutant, il explore ses propres petitesses, se décrit tour à tour comme vil, malade et méchant puis se reprend, s'absout, visite son passé. Enlisé dans l'inaction, l'oisiveté l'entraîne vers des sentiments amers envers ses semblables, sa conscience l'accable mais il avance en forcené solitaire.

George Eliot’s last, most controversial novel opens as the spoiled Gwendolen Harleth, poised at a roulette table about to throw away a small fortune, captivates Daniel Deronda. As their lives become intertwined, they are also transformed by suffering, misfortune, revelations and Daniel’s fascination with the Jewish singer Mirah. Daniel Deronda shocked Victorian readers with its portrayal of the Jewish experience in British society, and remains a moving and epic portrayal of human passions.