An undertaker finds himself trapped in the vault where coffins are stored during winter for burial in the spring, and is mysteriously injured when he escapes.

"Hypnos" is a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, penned in March 1922 and first published in the May 1923 issue of National Amateur. The narrator, a sculptor, recounts meeting a mysterious man in a railway station. The moment the man opened his "immense, sunken and widely luminous eyes", the narrator knew that the stranger would become his friend-–"the only friend of one who had never possessed a friend before". In the eyes of the stranger he saw the knowledge of the mysteries he always sought to learn

Sailors kill a 50-foot creature at sea after a lengthy battle. The creature bears strange anatomical irregularities such as a single large eye and rudimentary forelegs and six-toed feet in place of pectoral fins. After inspection by marine biologists, it is revealed to be just a juvenile. The captain who captured the creature tours the coast and profits from the corpse of the deceased creature. As the captain attempts to finish his business at Martin's Beach, a group of swimmers are attacked. The captain and others attempt to rescue the victims but it is too late. The rescuers and the captain are hypnotized and pulled into the water by the creature's apparently vengeful mother, to the horror of an onlooking crowd.

STORIES:?OLE LUCKOIE, (SHUT-EYE.)?MONDAY.?TUESDAY.?WEDNESDAY.?THURSDAY.?FRIDAY.?SATURDAY.?SUNDAY.?THE DAISY.?THE NAUGHTY BOY.?TOMMELISE.?THE ROSE-ELF.?THE GARDEN OF PARADISE.?A NIGHT IN THE KITCHEN.?LITTLE IDA'S FLOWERS.?THE CONSTANT TIN SOLDIER.?THE STORKS.??There is nobody in all this world who knows so many tales as Ole Luckoie! He can tell tales! In an evening, when a child sits so nicely at the table, or on its little stool, Ole Luckoie comes. He comes so quietly into the house, for he walks without shoes; he opens the door without making any noise, and then he flirts sweet milk into the children's eyes; but so gently, so very gently, that they cannot keep their eyes open, and, therefore, they never see him; he steals softly behind them and blows gently on their necks, and thus their heads become heavy. ??Oh yes! But then it does them no harm; for Ole Luckoie means nothing but kindness to the children, he only wants to amuse them; and the best thing that can be done is for somebody to carry them to bed, where they may lie still and listen to the tales that he will tell them.

Alexandra Lansing is looking forward to a vacation from her job as an operative with the Commonwealth’s counterterrorist task force.?She has three blissful weeks off, and plans to spend the entire time in France. After all, everyone needs a break from stress and worry. But when she’s snatched from the Left Bank in Paris she isn’t sure if her kidnapping is a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time or a direct plot against the task force. When she discovers Praed has also been abducted, the vacation is officially over, and the possibility of an informer at task force headquarters becomes a very real, very frightening possibility.The pair manages to escape, and flees to Praed’s family home where they are forced to defend his brother’s wife and children from armed terrorists determined to recapture the operatives. With no clue as to who is behind the plot, or even a motive to explain why someone wants to take Praed and Alex prisoner, and the identity of the informant at HQ is a complete mystery. While Henry Davison races to eliminate suspects at headquarters, Praed offers himself as bait to draw out the kidnappers, hoping to discover the mastermind behind the plot. ?Alex is in hot pursuit, but will she be able to reach him before his captors extract the information they want and execute him?

Une cérémonie de mariage réunit tous les protagonistes du célèbre Mystère de la chambre jaune.

Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda es la última obra de Miguel de Cervantes. Pertenece al subgénero de la novela bizantina. El propio autor la consideró su mejor obra; sin embargo la crítica da este título unánimemente a Don Quijote de la Mancha. En ella escribió la dedicatoria al Conde de Lemos el 19 de abril de 1616, cuatro días antes de morir, donde se despide de la vida citando estos versos: Puesto ya el pie en el estribo, con las ansias de la muerte, gran se?or, esta te escribo.

The Canterville Ghost is a popular 1887 novella by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. “The Canterville Ghost” is a parody featuring a dramatic spirit named Sir Simon and the United States minister (ambassador) to the Court of St. James's, Hiram B. Otis. Mr. Otis travels to England with his family and moves into a haunted country house. Lord Canterville, the previous owner of the house, warns Mr. Otis that the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville has haunted it ever since he killed his wife, Eleonore, three centuries before. But Mr. Otis dismisses the ghost story as bunk and disregards Lord Canterville’s warnings. When the Otises learn that the house is indeed haunted, they succeed in victimizing the ghost and in disregarding age-old British traditions. What emerges is a satire of American materialism, a lampoon of traditional British values, and an amusing twist on the traditional gothic horror tale.

Oscar Wilde's story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is one of his most popular works. Written in Wilde's characteristically dazzling manner, full of stinging epigrams and shrewd observations, the tale of Dorian Gray's moral disintegration caused something of a scandal when it first appeared in 1890. Wilde was attacked for his decadence and corrupting influence, and a few years later the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde's homosexual liaisons, trials that resulted in his imprisonment. Of the book's value as autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps."

Intrus n lumea umbrelor“ este un roman de sertar… care a fost scris ntre 1982-1986 i care a zcut ascuns n beci, ntr-o lad cu nisip pentru ptrunjei i morcovi de iarn, din 1986 pn n 1991. Apoi s-a mutat ntr-un sertar al biroului… pn astzi… Aciunea primului volum, CAPCANA“, se petrece n anii 1982 – 1983. Un scriitor aflat n slujba partidului comunist, un autor care semnase pactul cu diavolul“, pact n general negat, dar existent n realitate, care scria cri la comand“, dezerteaz. Un personaj deopotriv curajos i destul de la nct s fi semnat acest pact blestemat, vicios, drept i cinstit n acelai timp, afemeiat i pctos, ncpnat i realist, vntor i braconier, ducnd o via deanat, trit pe muchie de cuit, o via plin de femei i de infideliti conjugale, chefuri, prieteni la fel de vicioi, curajoi, nelinitii i realiti ca i el. Obosit de contiina care nu-l las sa adoarm, se refugiaz la ar, n nordul extrem al rii, ntre pduri i dealuri, pentru a scpa de oameni i de minciun. i descoper prieteni uitai i rude pe care n ultimii ani le ignorase. Dar, cutnd un adevr de care nc nu era contient, i descoper i dumanii. ntr-o goan parc nebun dup regsirea de sine, i rentlnete iubirile pierdute, femei care l-au iubit i pe care el le prsise cutnd mereu altceva, femei pe care le iubise i care l-au prsit, prieteni i dumani care nu l-au uitat, oameni trectori prin viaa sa. Cu incontiena omului brusc trezit la realitate, se las purtat de valul ntmplrii, aflnd adevruri mereu ntrezrite i bnuite, dar tinuite ntr-o lege a tcerii pe care n-o nelege nc. Tenace din fire i venic gata s rite totul pe o carte dintr-o nevoie aproape bolnvicioas de senzaii tari, ncepe s ntrebe, contient c fr ntrebri, nu exist nici rspunsuri. Iar ntrebrile lui trezesc brusc furia stpnilor si comuniti. Ameninrile acestora i ale securitii care, la ordin, i urmrea fiecare micare, trezete n el i curajul neamului din care se trage i care dormise n el n toi aceti ani. ncpnat i ncrncenat, ncepe s afle adevrul despre colectivizarea din nordul ndeprtat, att de apropiat sufletului su. Pas cu pas afl despre crimele, ororile, minciunile i teroarea ce se aflau n spatele mreelor realizri ale partidului cruia i slujea. Afl despre oameni pe care i cunoscuse i care erau altceva dect crezuse el ca sunt. Obosit de atta minciun, se decide sa spun, n sfrit, adevrul. Realizeaz ns c pe nevzute i negndite, czuse n CAPCANA… pentru ca ce altceva este pn la urma adevrul, dect capcana propriei tale contiine! Cnd te hotrti s spui adevrul, nu te poi ocoli pe tine nsui pentru a-l spune doar despre ceilali! Adevrul este doar unul singur, i te include i pe tine i faptele tale… alturi de ceilali i de faptele lor…

O poveste de dragoste derulat? ?n decorul Saharei.Dintotdeauna, ?ndr?gosti?ii prefer? un loc anume pentru ?nt?lnirile lor. Fie c? este teiul lui Eminescu, Ci?migiul sau – de ce nu? – o veche, aproape uitata epopee, acel loc ?nsufle?e?te ?i coloreaz? aura iubirii. La Eneida este o frumoas? poveste cu zei ?i umbre, o poveste de dragoste derulata ?n decorul Saharei. Cei doi ?ndr?gosti?i, un b?rbat t?n?r ?i o femeie bogat?… ?n amintiri, rescriu pagini din Eneida vergilian?, retr?iesc iubirea dintre Enea, eroul troian, ?i Didona, regina Cartaginei, ad?ug?ndu-i ?ns? dimensiunea tragic? a unor evenimente recente, am?ndoi fiind marca?i, obseda?i, urm?ri?i de umbrele ?i experien?ele ultimelor zile ale Golaniei din iunie 1990.

La limita extrem? este un roman de scandal nu numai literar, o capodoper? ?n care se lupt? cu prejudec??ile morale, sexuale, sociale. O carte scris? ?n bun? tradi?ie inaugurat? de D.H. Lawrence ?i Henri Miller. Mihail Ar??ba?ev, romancier, prozator rus, este contemporan cu Nabokov ?i al?i scriitori care se formeaz? ?i se lanseaz? ?la r?scrucea“ secolelor XIX ?i XX. Moare t?n?r. Sanin, capodopera d-sale ap?ruta ?n 1907, i-a adus autorului o celebritate scandaloas?. La ini?iativa Bisericii ortodoxe ruse, lui Ar??ba?ev i s-a intentat un proces, scriitorul fiind ?nvinuit de propagarea pornografiei. ?n consecin??, Sanin ?i alte scrieri ale lui Ar??ba?ev au fost interzise ?n patria autorului r?stimp de decenii.

Sunt convins c aceast carte va intra n istoria literaturii, aa cum este ea, minunat. Nu cunosc n literatura romn un mai frumos omagiu adus mamei...“ (Ana Blandiana)Titlul unui roman care ar trebui s intre n manualele de literatur: Veneticii de Ion Lazu. Acest roman nseamn anexarea unui nou domeniu pentru literatura noastr, dar mai nseamn i un pas pentru proza romneasc de dup razboi, n-a spune doar pentru cea de dup ’89. El se detaeaz prin virtui stilistice cu totul remarcabile. Aceast oper literar condenseaz n ea att un proiect autobiografic, ct i o experien extraordinar n domeniul romanescului. Este un roman emblematic pentru secolul XX, cci figura refugiatului este ea nsi emblematic pentru acest secol… Cred c cele mai bune pagini din Veneticii pot concura cu pagini memorabile din Donul linitit, pentru c bntuie peste tot acel suflu de mare proz realist.“ (Radu Voinescu)

Time is running out. Alice only has one year left to win her bet with the Bandersnatch, or be trapped as a prisoner in his garden forever. And Alice isn’t the only one losing heart. The Queen continues to steal peoples hearts, and the refugees from Neverland are the latest victims. For some reason, Alice can’t put them back and Adam refuses to leave Wonderland until they stop her. The pressure is on for Alice to keep the magic books from falling into the wrong hands. The clock is ticking and failure means none of the stolen hearts will be returned, Adam will remain trapped behind the mirror, and Alice will be forgotten in the Bandersnatch’s garden. Forever.

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion and obsession for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. Fitzgerald—inspired by the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island's north shore—began planning the novel in 1923, desiring to produce, in his words, "something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." Progress was slow, with Fitzgerald completing his first draft following a move to the French Riviera in 1924. The Great Gatsby received mixed reviews and sold poorly; in its first year, the book sold only 20,000 copies. Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing himself to be a failure and his work forgotten. However, the novel experienced a revival during World War II, and became a part of American high school curricula and numerous stage and film adaptations in the following decades. Today, The Great Gatsby is widely considered to be a literary classic and a contender for the title "Great American Novel". In 1998 the Modern Library editorial board voted it the 20th century's best American novel and second best English-language novel of the same time period.

The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge – specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be immoral. For Hester, the Scarlet Letter is a physical manifestation of her sin and reminder of her painful solitude. She contemplates casting it off to obtain her freedom from an oppressive society and a checkered past as well as the absence of God. Because the society excludes her, she considers the possibility that many of the traditions held up by the Puritan culture are untrue and are not designed to bring her happiness.As for Dimmesdale, the "cheating minister", his sin gives him "sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his chest vibrate[s] in unison with theirs." His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy. The narrative of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is quite in keeping with the oldest and most fully authorized principles in Christian thought. His "Fall" is a descent from apparent grace to his own damnation; he appears to begin in purity but he ends in corruption. The subtlety is that the minister's belief is his own cheating, convincing himself at every stage of his spiritual pilgrimage that he is saved. The rose bush's beauty forms a striking contrast to all that surrounds it – as later the beautifully embroidered scarlet "A" will be held out in part as an invitation to find "some sweet moral blossom" in the ensuing, tragic tale and in part as an image that "the deep heart of nature" (perhaps God) may look more kind on the errant Hester and her child than her Puritan neighbors do. Throughout the work, the nature images contrast with the stark darkness of the Puritans and their systems.Chillingworth's misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the anger in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses, similar to the way Dimmesdale's illness reveals his inner turmoil. The outward man reflects the condition of the heart; an observation thought to be inspired by the deterioration of Edgar Allan Poe, whom Hawthorne "much admired".

Virginia Woolf was an English writer, and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century. Woolf was a significant figure in London literary society and a central figure in the influential Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and Orlando. Rachel Vinrace leaves on her father's ship for South America and her journey of self-discovery begins. The eclectic group of passengers provides Woolf with an opportunity to poke fun at Edwardian life. The novel is the first published by Woolf and introduces Clarissa Dalloway, the central character of Woolf's later novel, Mrs. Dalloway During the interwar period, Woolf was a signifi-cant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929) with its famous dictum, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". Other Books of V. Woolf: To the Lighthouse (1927)Mrs Dalloway (1925)A Haunted House (1921)Orlando (1928)Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street (1923)Between the Acts (1941)The Duchess and the Jeweller (1938)The New Dress (1927)The Mark on the Wall (1917)The Years (1937)

Seventeen: A Tale of Youth and Summer Time and the Baxter Family Especially William is a humorous novel by Booth Tarkington that gently satirizes first love, in the person of a callow 17-year-old, William Sylvanus Baxter. Seventeen takes place in a small city in the Midwestern United States shortly before World War I. It was published as sketches in the Metropolitan Magazine in 1914, and collected in a single volume in 1916, when it was the bestselling novel in the United States.

Penrod is a collection of comic sketches by Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1914. The book follows the misadventures of Penrod Schofield, an eleven-year-old boy growing up in the pre-World War I Midwestern United States, in a similar vein to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In Penrod, Tarkington established characters who appeared in two further books, Penrod and Sam (1916) and Penrod Jashber (1929). The three books were published together in one volume, Penrod: His Complete Story, in 1931.

ngeri, demoni, fantome, mister i pasiune. Harul, primul roman paranormal romance din literatura romn, urmrete transformarea lui Amy dintr-o adolescent timid i marginalizat ntr-una puternic i ndrznea. Aici este momentul cnd viaa ei ia o ntorstur neateptat i cnd convingerile i temerile din trecut pe care credea c le uitase ncep s se adevereasc. Tocmai cnd viaa ei prea c devenise normal, dintr-o simpl dorin totul se schimb. Misterele i secretele se adncesc i sunt la ordinea zilei.Harul, prima parte a trilogiei cu acelai nume, evoc viaa adolescentei Amy de dinainte de dramatica schimbare i pn la consecinele fatale pe care le poate avea contactul permanent cu Lumea de Dincolo. Rmne de vzut dac va reui Amy s triasc la grania subire dintre cele dou lumi...

The story is told by Albert N. Wilmarth, an instructor of literature at Miskatonic University in Arkham. When local newspapers report strange things seen floating in rivers during a historic Vermont flood, Wilmarth becomes embroiled in a controversy about the reality and significance of the sightings, though he sides with the skeptics. Wilmarth uncovers old legends about monsters living in the uninhabited hills who abduct people who venture or settle too close to their territory.