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Little Women is one of the best-loved children’s stories of all time, based on the author’s own youthful experiences. It describes the family life of the four March sisters living in a small New England community, Meg, the eldest, is pretty and wishes to be a lady; Jo, at fifteen is ungainly and unconventional with an ambition to be an author; Beth is a delicate child of thirteen with a taste for music and Amy is a blonde beauty of twelve. The story of their domestic adventures, their attempts to increase the family income, their friendship with the neighbouring Lawrence family, and their later love affairs remains as fresh and beguiling as ever. Good Wives takes up the story of the March sisters, some three years later, when, as young adults, they must face up to the inevitable trials and traumas of everyday life in their search for individual happiness.
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Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
A classic with girls everywhere, LITTLE WOMEN tells the gripping story of the four March sisters--Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg--as they struggle to grow up in an impoverished New England family during the Civil War. In this old-fashioned coming-of-age novel based on Louisa May Alcott's own interesting childhood, each sister, though uniquely talented, has to overcome her own unfortunate qualities, which include bluntness, vanity, shyness, and self-indulgence. Book One focuses on the pleasures and pains of life with their loving and wise mother, Marmee, while their father, a minister, serves in the war. Book Two takes place after the war has ended and the father has returned to the family. Jo's intense determination to become a professional writer, Beth’s loving heart, Meg’s work as a governess, and Amy’s burgeoning artistic talent are each followed with care.
Louisa May Alcott - Little Men
In this sequel to LITTLE WOMEN, Jo and her husband, Professor Friedrich Bhaer, open Plumfield--a boarding school for boys. Louisa May Alcott's story describes the adventures of Plumfield's boisterous but kindhearted students with the entire Bhaer family, including Jo and Friedrich's two young sons.
Henry James - Washington Square (Oxford Bookworms)
When a handsome young man begins to court Catherine Sloper, she feels she is very lucky. She is a quiet, gentle girl, but neither beautiful nor clever; no one had ever admired her before, or come to the front parlour of her home in Washington Square to whisper soft words of love to her.
But in New York in the 1840s young ladies are not free to marry where they please. Catherine must have her father's permission, and Dr Sloper is a rich man. One day Catherine will have a fortune of 30,000 dollars a year . . .
Louisa May Alcott - Good Wives
The novel is a sequel to L. M. Alcott's other novel "Little Women." This story follows the little girls into adult hood. There are autobiographical elements in the book as Jo's struggles in her writing career and other events are depicted. The novel created four most beloved women in American Literature.
Louisa May Alcott - Jo's Boys
Alcott revisits Jo and her family in this follow-up to her popular novels "Little Women" and "Little Men".
Louisa May Alcott - Little Men / Jo's Boys
The two American classics here together in one volume, Little Men and Jo's Boys, are worthy sequels to Little Women, one of the best-loved children's stories of all time, and its continuation, Good Wives. In Little Men, Louisa May Alcott takes up the story of the everyday dramas and exploits of the naughty but easy-going boys at Plumfield, now a boarding-school run by Professor Bhaer and his lovable madcap wife Jo, the most fiery and free-spirited of the four March sisters.
Jo's Boys revisits the one-time members of that 'wilderness of boys' ten years later when they are making their ways in the world with varying degrees of triumph and disaster.
Mark Twain - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Penguin Readers)
From the famous episodes of the whitewashed fence and the ordeal in the cave to the trial of Injun Joe, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is redolent of life in the Mississippi River towns in which Twain spent his own youth. A somber undercurrent flows through the high humor and unabashed nostalgia of the novel, however, for beneath the innocence of childhood lie the inequities of adult reality - base emotions and superstitions, murder and revenge, starvation and slavery.
Mark Twain - Nick Bullard - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Oxford Bookworms)
Tom Sawyer does not like school. He does not like work, and he never wants to get out of bed in the morning. But he likes swimming and fishing, and having adventures with his friends. And he has a lot of adventures. One night, he and his friend Huck Finn go to the graveyard to look for ghosts. They don't see any ghosts that night. They see something worse than a ghost - much, much worse.
Mark Twain - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
This story is both a whimsical fantasy and a social satire chock-full of brilliant Twainisms. Hank Morgan, a 19th century American-a Connecticut Yankee-by a stroke of fate is sent back into time to 6th century England and ends up in Camelot and King Arthur's Court. Although of average intelligence, he finds himself with knowledge beyond any of those in the 6th century and uses it to become the king's right hand man, and to challenge Merlin as the court magician. Astounded at the way of life in Camelot, Hank does the only thing he can think of to do: change them. In his attempt to civilize medieval Camelot he experiences many challenges and misadventures.
Robert Louis Stevenson - Kidnapped (Oxford Bookworms)
'I ran to the side of the ship. "Help, help! Murder!" I screamed, and my uncle slowly turned to look at me. I did not see any more. Already strong hands were pulling me away. Then something hit my head; I saw a great flash of fire, and fell to the ground ...' And so begin David Balfour's adventures. He is kidnapped, taken to sea, and meets many dangers. He also meets a friend, Alan Breck. But Alan is in danger himself, on the run from the English army across the wild Highlands of Scotland ...
Edgar Allan Poe - The complete illustrated works of Edgar Allan Poe
Here in one superb volume are tales, adventures and poems from the world's master of the mysterious - Edgar Allan Poe. Famous for his horror stories and brooding poetry, Poe is credited with the invention of the modern detective story and a distinctive style of science fiction writing.
Included in this collection are:
_The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination_ - contains all 70 of the remarkable stories of terror and fantasy that established Poe as the supreme craftsman of the short story and a great American author.
_The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket_ - is Poe's only full-length work and a masterful blending of science and romance. W.H. Auden described it as 'one of the finest adventure stories ever written'.
_The Raven and Other Poems_ - reflects Poe's obsession with the macabre and solitude.
The stories are complemented with illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Aubrey Beardsley, Edouard Manet and others.
Paul Auster - Moon Palace
Spanning three generations, Moon Palace is the story of Marco Stanley Fogg and his quest for identity in the modern world. Moving from the concrete canyons of Manhattan to the cruelly beautiful landscape of the American West, it is a meditation on and re-examination of America, art and the self, by one of America's foremost authors.
Susan Coolidge - What Katy Did
Katy Carr is untidy, tall and gangling and lives with her brothers and sisters planning for the day when she will be 'beautiful and beloved, and amiable as an angel'. An accidental fall from a swing seems to threaten her hopes for the future, but Katy struggles to overcome her difficulties with pluck, vitality and good humour.
John Burnham Schwartz - The Commoner
John Burnham Schwartz bases his fourth novel on the Empress Michiko and Crown Princess Masako of Japan. Though Japanese imperial life remains shrouded in mystery, Schwartz teases out the details through extensive research. Much to the astonishment and pleasure of the critics, he gives Haruko an authentic and completely convincing voice. While his vivid depictions of postwar Japan are stunning, it is Haruko’s vibrant inner life that propels the narrative and resounds with readers. Though not as intense as Reservation Road (1998), Schwartz’s unflinching portrayal of the aftermath of a child’s death, and though slightly marred by an implausible ending, The Commoner will captivate readers by providing a haunting look into the 2,000 years of secrets surrounding the Chrysanthemum Throne.
Ralph Waldo Emerson - English Traits
During two influential visits to England (in 1833 and in 1847) where he met with literary icons such as Coleridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson recognized the source of everything American -- from the laws of society to the plot of a novel. Though he admired England's triumphs, he also presciently sensed the demise of a country weighed down by the *drag of inertia.* And though mesmerized by her literature, he would later encourage American writers to forge a style all their own. Written during a decade of great change for America, England, and for Emerson himself, English Traits illuminates Emerson's visionary thought as much as it vividly portrays 19th century England.
Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Anna (angol)
In this vast yet meticulously detailed historical romance, veteran British author Harrod-Eagles sets young English governess Anne Peters at the center of shifting and cataclysmic events occuring in Russia between 1803 and 1812. Dismissed by her stuffy English employers because of a social blunder, the outspoken Anne is hired by Count Nikolai Kirov, an adviser to the czar, to educate his two lively daughters, Yelena, nine, and Natasha, two. Warmly received in the count's diverse Petersburg household--which includes his ineffectual wife, Irina; his vitriolic mother, Vera; and a host of ebullient relatives--Anne, now called Anna Petrovna, predictably, falls in love with the count, whose response is guarded. Against the somber background of the Napoleonic wars and ominous portents that the French emperor has designs on Russia, tensions within the Kirov household increase. Anna leaves and marries unwisely, leading a hollow existence as the wife of a wealthy, dissolute nobleman. Although the plot is fairly formulaic and much of the cast outrageously stereotyped--there are only devoted servants, contented serfs, happy peasants--the entanglements nevertheless intrigue. Readers may look forward to the projected sequel.
Louisa May Alcott - Flower Fables
A collection of her lesser known work, "Flower Fables" contains wildly imaginative stories that grew out of Alcott's experience as a storyteller to the children of her Concord, Connecticut, neighbors. Through these enticing encounters with fairies, elves, and animals, the author creates a foundation for young people based on the themes of love, kindness, and responsibility. Color illustrations.
Michael J. Fox - Lucky Man
The same sharp intelligence and self-deprecating wit that made Michael J Fox a star in the Spin City television series and Back to the Future films make Lucky Man a lot punchier than the usual up-from-illness celebrity memoir.
Yes, he begins with the first symptoms of Parkinson's disease, the incurable illness that led to his retirement from Spin City (and acting) in 2000. And yes, he assures us he is a better, happier person now than he was before he was diagnosed. In Fox's case, you actually might believe it, because he then cheerfully exposes the insecurities and self-indulgences of his pre-Parkinson's life in a manner that makes them not glamorous but wincingly ordinary and of course very funny. ("As for the question, 'Does it bother you that maybe she just wants to sleep with you because you're a celebrity?' My answer to that one was, 'Ah... nope.'")
From a Canadian, working-class background, Fox has an unusually detached perspective on the madness of mass-media fame; his description of the tabloid feeding-frenzy surrounding his 1988 wedding to Tracy Pollan, for example, manages to be both acid and matter-of-fact. He is frank but not maudlin about his drinking problem, and he refreshingly notes that getting sober did not automatically solve all his other problems. This readable, witty autobiography reminds you why it was generally a pleasure to watch Fox on screen: he's a nice guy with an edge, and you don't have to feel embarrassed about liking him. --Wendy Smith
Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter (Oxford Bookworms)
Scarlet is the colour of sin, and the letter 'A' stands for 'Adultery'. In the 1600s, in Boston, Massachusetts, love was allowed only between a husband and a wife. A child born outside marriage was a child of sin.
Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life. How can she ever escape from this public shame? What will happen to her child, growing up in the shadow of the scarlet letter? The future holds no joy for Hester Prynne.
And what will happen to her sinful lover - the father of her child?
Mark Twain - Taming the Bicycle
American life comes under the scrutiny of Mark Twain's wit in this delightful collection of short stories. Here, he comments on politics, education, the media, religion, and literature. The true subject of Twain's satire and burlesque is that strangest of all animals, the human being. In his novels, travel narratives, stories, essays, and sketches, Twain exposes such a variety of human foibles that one is left either laughing at the folly of human enterprise, blushing with shame at human behavior, or cursing the gods that would create such a silly animal. Twain does all three, often at the same time.
