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Classic fiction

  • Auteur:
    Poe, Edgar Allan
    Sommaire:

    First published in a 1841 edition of Graham's Magazine, The Murders in the Rue Morgue is often cited as the first modern detective story. The first of three stories to center around C. Auguste Dupin, Poe's fictional detective, The Murders in the Rue Morgue involves Dupin's investigation of two women's murders. Establishing many of the tropes that would later become common to detective fiction, the story begins with an explanation of Dupin's theory of ratiocination, a concept which greatly influenced the creation of detective fiction itself and other great detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.

  • Auteur:
    Kafka, Franz
    Sommaire:

    Described by Nobel laureate Elias Canetti as, "one of the few great and perfect works of the poetic imagination," this short fable about a man who wakes up one morning transformed into a giant insect is deeply funny in its tragedy and heartbreaking in its humor.

  • Auteur:
    Pyle, Howard
    Sommaire:

    Robin Hood follows one of our favorite heroes as he embarks on various adventures and antics, recruiting the Merry Men from what appears to be every corner of Europe and pursuing his quest to "steal from the rich and give to the poor." Eventually, Robin and his men are pardoned by King Richard the Lionheart for their perhaps dubious actions, and are accepted with open arms into his inner circle, much to the dismay of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

  • Auteur:
    Bulgakov, Mikhail
    Sommaire:

    The Devil comes to Moscow; but he isn't all bad. Pontius Pilate sentences a charismatic leader to his death, but yearns for redemption; and a writer tries to destroy his greatest tale, but discovers that manuscripts don't burn. Multi-layered and entrancing, blending sharp satire with glorious fantasy, The Master and Margarita is ceaselessly inventive and profoundly moving. In its imaginative freedom and raising of eternal human concerns, it is one of the world's great novels.

  • Auteur:
    Poe, Edgar Allan
    Sommaire:

    First published in a 1842 edition of Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, The Masque of the Red Death tells the story of Prince Prospero as he tries to avoid a plague by confining himself and his nobles to a masquerade in an abbey. Often considered a gothic allegory, the story reflects on not only life and death but also the illusion of control.

  • Auteur:
    Baum, L. Frank
    Sommaire:

    New characters mix with old favorites in a dazzling adventure that continues the epic fantasy begun in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Dorothy may have defeated the Wicked Witch of the West and returned home to Kansas, but all is not well for those who remain in the Land of Oz. In L. Frank Baum's second Oz novel, readers are introduced to poor orphan boy Tip, who has been raised by nasty Wicked Witch Mombi. Finally escaping Mombi's clutches after years of cruelty, Tip is joined by his enchanted companions, Jack Pumpkinhead and the Saw-Horse, on an adventure unlike anything they've ever experienced-and more dangerous than they could've imagined. The Emerald City-once ruled by the kindly Scarecrow-has been taken over by the mean General Jinjur and her all-girl Army of Revolt. Fleeing the fallen city, Scarecrow and Tip's band venture off to ask the Tin Woodman and Glinda the Good Witch for help. But they soon learn that the only one who can truly save the Emerald City is the last rightful heir to the throne of Oz: a princess who was hidden away long ago. Now Tip and his loyal friends must find the lost princess before all of Oz is lost ...

  • Auteur:
    Chesnutt, Charles Waddell
    Sommaire:

    Major Carteret is the white owner of the biggest newspaper in Wellington, a racially segregated city in the post-Civil War South. Carteret, along with other powerful white men in Wellington, are outraged that an editorial published the town's black newspaper has questioned the justification for lynchings. As racial tension mounts, Carteret struggles on the domestic front. His wife and child are unwell and his niece, Clara, is courted by Tom Delamer, a lush aristocrat. Meanwhile, William Miller, a young black doctor, returns to hometown of Wellington to set up a practice. Everything comes to a head, however, when a white woman is murdered.

  • Auteur:
    mcculley, Johnston
    Sommaire:

    1820s California, in a bygone era of sprawling haciendas and haughty caballeros, suffers beneath the whip of oppression. Missions are pillaged, native peasants are abused, and innocent men and women are persecuted by the corrupt governor and his army. But a champion of freedom rides the highways. His identity hidden behind a mask, the laughing outlaw Zorro defies the tyrant's might. A deadly marksman and a demon swordsman, his flashing blade strikes down those who exploit the poor and oppressed. First published in 1919, The Mark of Zorro remains a paradigm of swashbuckling adventure and a popular novel to this day.

  • Auteur:
    Jaeger, Muriel
    Sommaire:

    When Hilda, a beautiful young member of England's cynical postwar generation, meets Michael, a hapless mutant capable of perceiving the molecular composition of objects and the ever-shifting patterns of electromagnetic fields, she becomes his apostle. However, her efforts to convince others of the prodigy's unique importance end disastrously; and Michael himself is slowly destroyed - mentally and physically - by his uncanny gift.

  • Auteur:
    Kipling, Rudyard
    Sommaire:

    Britain is still an Empire and India still her loyal subject when Carnehan and Dravot set out for the wild northern passes "to be kings."

  • Auteur:
    Chesteron, G. K.
    Sommaire:

    Set in early 1900s London, this metaphysical thriller follows undercover officer Gabriel Syme and his secret involvement with Scotland Yard's task force that attempts to take down underground anarchists. In doing so, Syme encounters Lucian Gregory, a passionate anarchist who eventually takes him to the areas secret meeting place. From there Syme influences his peers and eventually is voted to the central council. While Syme attempts to destroy the council of anarchists from the inside, He only uncovers more secrets, each more mysterious than the last. Using many Christian allegories and themes of suffering, this classic G. K. Chesterton novel leaves listeners on the edge of their seat until the final secrets are uncovered.

  • Auteur:
    Dumas, Alexandre
    Sommaire:

    The dramatic conclusion to the saga of d'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers — and the revelation of the mysterious man in the iron mask.

  • Auteur:
    Doyle, Arthur Conan
    Sommaire:

    Written by the legendary author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World is one of the best-selling adventure stories of all time. A scientific expedition headed by Professor George Edward Challenger-Doyle's favorite fictional character-sets out to explore an isolated South American plateau where it is rumored that dinosaurs and other creatures from the Jurassic Era are still alive. This classic adventure novel continues to thrill modern listeners, pitting four men against the unknown with no guarantee any of them will return to the modern world.

  • Auteur:
    Hawthorne, Julian
    Sommaire:

    Assembled and edited by Julian Hawthorne and first published in 1907, the Old Time English volume of The Lock and Key Library features ten classic mysteries and ghost stories by Charles Dickens, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Thomas de Quincey, Charles Robert Maturin, Laurence Sterne, and William Makepeace Thackeray. The Old Time English volume opens with two classic ghost stories from Charles Dickens: the first takes place in the traditional (and titular) "Haunted House," while the second follows the haunting of a railroad, of all places. Then you'll be treated to two stories by Edward Bulwer-Lytton: one a tale of a rationalist investigating a haunted house, and another a tale of the search for the elixir of life itself! Up next is a ghastly story of murder in a small German town from the mind of Thomas de Quincy, followed by a selection from the classic Irish yarn Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin. But not every tale featured here is doom and gloom. In Laurence Stern's "A Mystery with a Moral," you'll be subjected to the eccentric musings of an English parson as he tries to make sense of a mystery that might not even be real. And then in "The Notch in the Axe", William Makepeace Thackeray contemplates the nature of crime and guilt and judgment, reaching some rather Swiftian conclusions himself. Finally, the last two stories, about another murder in a small German town and about a longstanding family curse, respectively, are both written by anonymous writers, as Julian Hawthorne often chose to include in his collections. This volume of The Lock and Key Library is sure to haunt and charm fans of ghost and detective mysteries alike. Full Contents: "The Haunted House" by Charles Dickens "No. 1 Branch Line: The Signal Man" by Charles Dickens "The Haunted and the Haunters; or, The House and the Brain" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton "The Incantation" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton "The Avenger" by Thomas de Quincey Melmoth the Wanderer (selection) by Charles Robert Maturin "A Mystery with a Moral" by Laurence Sterne "The Notch on the Ax" by William Makepeace Thackeray "Bourgonef" by Anonymous "The Closed Cabinet" by Anonymous

  • Auteur:
    Dickens, Charles
    Sommaire:

    The likeable young Nicholas, left penniless on the death of his father, sets off in search of better prospects. His meandering route to happiness includes work as a teacher at Dotheboys Hall, where the brutal Wackfor Squeers ill-treats his impoverished pupils, and a spell as an actor with the absurdly melodramatic Crummles troupe.

  • Auteur:
    Knowles, Sir James
    Sommaire:

    This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. From the finding of Merlin to the death of King Arthur, follow every thrilling adventure in the Arthurian legend! For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the saga of King Arthur, it is a must-have addition to any library.

  • Auteur:
    Cooper, James Fenimore
    Sommaire:

    While guiding a small party of English settlers to the protection of a fort during the French and Indian War, Hawkeye, a frontier scout, and his two Indian friends, struggle against the evils of Uncas who desires a white maiden for his wife.

  • Auteur:
    Kipling, Rudyard
    Sommaire:

    Come meet heroic mongoose Riki-Tiki-Tavi, the “man cub” Mowgli, Toomai the elephant handler and many more delightful characters in these playful fables set in the vividly imagined India of Kipling’s youth. Each tale teaches a lesson to young readers, drawn from the jungle community’s tension between order and wildness.

  • Auteur:
    Austen, Jane
    Sommaire:

    A collection of BBC radio full-cast dramatisations of Jane Austen's six major novels Jane Austen is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this volume includes all six of her classic novels. Mansfield Park: On a quest to find a position in society, Fanny Price goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle. Northanger Abbey: Young, naïve Catherine Morland receives an invitation to stay at the isolated Gothic mansion Northanger Abbey.Sense and Sensibility: Forced to leave their family home after their father's death, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood try to forge a new life at Barton Cottage. Pride and Prejudice: Mrs Bennet is determined to get her five daughters married well, so when the wealthy Mr Bingley and his friend Mr Darcy move into the neighbourhood her hopes are raised... Emma: Emma Woodhouse declares she will never marry, but she is determined to find a match for her friend Harriet. Persuasion: Eight years ago, Anne Elliot rejected a marriage proposal from a handsome but poor naval officer. Now her former love has returned...

  • Auteur:
    Joyce, James
    Sommaire:

    Features selected readings from the works of James Joyce, whose works came to define the modernist movement in literature.

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