Ki ?lhette meg Hannah Greenwoodot a bálon? Gáncsoskodó természet? n?személy volt, de ez még nem ok arra, hogy eltegyék láb alól. Kül?n?sen kínos, hogy Whiterspoon felügyel? is részt vett az?ünnepségen. Csakhogy neki fogalma sincs, ki lehetett a tettes. Szerencséjére Mrs. Jeffries, a briliáns elméj? házvezet?n?je ráj?n néhány furcsaságra. Vajon mit láthatott Lady Cannonberry, amíg egy pohár puncsra várt a felügyel?t?l? Miért az?oldalajtón át távozott Mr. Locke? Milyen gyanús eseményre célozgat Mr. Wartburton a fiatal ?zvegyn?, Rowena Stanwick múltjában? ?s miért lopták el Dr. Sloan jegyzetfüzetét, ha abba csak a verseit jegyezte fel? Ha Miss Marple házvezet?n? lenne, úgy hívnák: Mrs. Jeffries. A sorozat minden k?tete ?nálló detektívt?rténet.

A t?kéletes házaspár. A t?kéletes gyilkosság. Senki nem feltételezné, hogy az elismert bíró és az elegáns felesége egy drogos prostituálttal beszél meg találkozót. Azt pedig végképp nem, hogy a lányt meg?lik és eltemetik a patinás, ódon villájuk kertjében. A Fitzsimon házaspár mélyen hallgat a gyilkosságról. A n? mindent megtesz, nehogy a fia tudomására jusson a sz?rny? titok. A férfi viszont lelkileg és idegileg kezd szétesni. De a fiú nem olyan naiv, mint ahogy a szülei képzelik. Talán nem is annyira ártatlan. ?s a legnagyobb probléma, hogy szinte r?geszmésen érdekl?dni kezd a prostituált családja iránt… ?Mondd le a programjaidat, amikor belekezdesz.” Sunday Mirror ?Pokoli jól kitalált t?rténet, bravúros kegyelemd?féssel a végén.” Sunday Times ?Briliáns szerkezet? thriller. Az utolsó lapokon már szinte elviselhetetlen a feszültség.” Woman&Home

A fváros eleshet, a hadsereg széteshet, de a gyzelmet nem adjuk.” Tamás tábornagy sikeresen visszaérkezik szeretett hazájába, ám a fváros, Adró, trténetében elszr idegen megszállók kezére került. Egyetlen fia eltnt, szvetségeseit képtelen megkülnbztetni az ellenségeitl, az ersítés pedig csak hetek múlva érkezhet. A továbbra is a Kez támadásait nyg, vezet nélkül maradt adrói hadsereg végül nmaga ellen fordul. Adamat felügyel ebbe a konfliktusba keveredik elrabolt fia keresése kzben. Kétlvet Tániel, akit saját katonái üldznek, igyekszik megóvni az egyetlen reményt arra, hogy Adró pusztulás nélkül vészelje át a háborút… Az SZI KZTRSASG a Lpormágus-trilógia eposzi zárása.

S, mint sokk. Alex élete egyetlen pillanat alatt romba d?l, amikor autóbalesetben elveszti a szüleit. A lány ügyvédje ráadásul felkavaró hírrel szolgál: van egy eltitkolt n?vére. O, mint otthon. Dory sosem ismerte a szüleit és ?r?kbefogadó családja másodrend? gyerekként nevelte fel. Amikor a család imádott, vér szerinti gyereke gyilkosság áldozata lesz, a gyanú Dory-ra terel?dik. S, mint sors. Harminc év után Alex és Dory el?sz?r találkozik. Alexnek nemsokára sz?rny? kérdéssel kell szembesülnie: lehet, hogy élete legnagyobb hibája volt, hogy megkereste az eddig eltitkolt n?vérét? Ki akarhat most Alex életére t?rni? ?Az utolsó lapig nem találod ki a megoldást." - Publishers Weekly. ?Sokkolóan fordulatos t?rténet. " - Booklist. Patricia MacDonald amerikai bestsellerszerz? okos, csavaros krimijei egyaránt magával ragadják a pszichothriller és a klasszikus detektívregények rajongóit. Szinte irodalmi min?ség? sztorikat talál ki, viszont - mint egykori televíziós szappanopera-szerkeszt? - lebilincsel?en p?rg?sre, fordulatosra írja meg.

“BOSSZ?T ?LLOK MINDAZOKON, KIK EL?RULT?K CSAL?DOMAT. NEVEM: EZIO AUDITORE DA FIRENZE. ORGYILKOS VAGYOK…” Egy bosszúra szomjas fiatalember eposzi méret? küldetésre indul, miután Itália uralkodó dinasztiái elárulták ?t. ?m ahhoz, hogy visszaállítsa családja becsületét, és véget vessen hazája romlásnak, ki kell tanulnia az orgyilkosok mesterségét. Mik?zben a szabadságért és igazságért harcol, Ezio útját olyan kiváló elmék segítik, mint Leonardo da Vinci és Niccoló Machiavelli, akik – mint koruk legb?lcsebb gondolkodói – beavatják a túlélés fortélyaiba. Társai el?tt Ezio fogja megtestesíteni az er?t, mely els?pri a régit, és újat hoz a helyébe. Ellenségei számára pedig fenyeget? jelképpé válik, kinek rendeltetése, hogy eltiporja a zsarnokságot, mely Itália népét sanyargatja. Kezd?djék a hatalom, az ?sszeesküvés és a bosszú ?r?k színjátékának reneszánsz krónikája… …HISZEN AZ IGAZS?GOT V?RREL ?RJ?K. (Az Ubisoft nagysiker? videojátéka alapján)

Romantikus fantasy. Egy elfeledett idegen lépked végig a macskak?veken. Nem hagyja, hogy láncra vert érzései eluralkodjanak felette. De amikor szembe kell néznie családja gy?l?letével, húga balesetével, a város suttogásával, egyre nehezebb nyugodtnak maradnia. Márpedig nem lehet düh?s, nemfélhet, mert akkor kit?r a káosz. Elég egyetlen bizonytalan pillanat, hogy megremegjenek a város szobrai. Fellélegzik a k?szarvas, pislogni kezd az acélbika. Alig várják, hogy tombolhassanak.Egy láthatatlan árny suhan a s?tétben. Nem tartozik sehova, nincsenek emlékei, nincsenek tervei. Otthona az éjszaka, ami elrejti ?t a kíváncsi szemek el?l. Fogai feltépik a b?rt, k?rme véres csíkokat hagy áldozata testén. ?rezni akar. Az izgalmat üld?zi, ami véget vet a szívében kongó ürességnek.Egyikük sem ismeri a másikat. Fogalmuk sincs róla, hogy sorsuk egybeforrt, és a válaszokat nem ?nmagukban, hanem egymásban kell keresni.

Mary Lennox is a sour-faced 10-year-old girl, who is born in India to selfish wealthy British parents who had not wanted her and were too wrapped up in their own lives. She was taken care of primarily by servants, who pacify her as much as possible to keep her out of the way. Spoiled and with a temper, she is unaffectionate, angry, rude and obstinate. Later, there is a cholera epidemic which hits India and kills her mother, father and all the servants. She is discovered alone but alive after the house is empty. She is sent to Yorkshire, England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven at his home called Misselthwaite Manor.

A few years ago, while visiting or, rather, rummaging about Notre-Dame, the author of this book found, in an obscure nook of one of the towers, the following word, engraved by hand upon the wall:— ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ANArKH. These Greek capitals, black with age, and quite deeply graven in the stone, with I know not what signs peculiar to Gothic caligraphy imprinted upon their forms and upon their attitudes, as though with the purpose of revealing that it had been a hand of the Middle Ages which had inscribed them there, and especially the fatal and melancholy meaning contained in them, struck the author deeply. He questioned himself; he sought to divine who could have been that soul in torment which had not been willing to quit this world without leaving this stigma of crime or unhappiness upon the brow of the ancient church. Afterwards, the wall was whitewashed or scraped down, I know not which, and the inscription disappeared. For it is thus that people have been in the habit of proceeding with the marvellous churches of the Middle Ages for the last two hundred years. Mutilations come to them from every quarter, from within as well as from without. The priest whitewashes them, the archdeacon scrapes them down; then the populace arrives and demolishes them. Thus, with the exception of the fragile memory which the author of this book here consecrates to it, there remains to-day nothing whatever of the mysterious word engraved within the gloomy tower of Notre-Dame,—nothing of the destiny which it so sadly summed up. The man who wrote that word upon the wall disappeared from the midst of the generations of man many centuries ago; the word, in its turn, has been effaced from the wall of the church; the church will, perhaps, itself soon disappear from the face of the earth. It is upon this word that this book is founded.

Janka a csinos, 31 éves pincérn? legh?bb vágya, hogy belépjen életébe a nagy szerelem. Amikor megismerkedik Dáviddal, a híres énekessel, úgy érzi, benne megtalálta azt, akit mindig is keresett. Kapcsolatuk mégsem alakul felh?tlenül, bármilyen szenvedélyesen szerelmes is a popsztárba. Ahogy egyre jobban megismeri Dávidot, kiderül a férfi s?tét oldala. Janka azonban nem tud t?le elszakadni... A regény?arra keresi a választ, hogy milyen egy bántalmazó férfi és egy bántalmazói kapcsolat. Hogyan lehet egy ilyen kapcsolaton túljutni és ?nmagunkra találni annak ellenére, hogy képtelennek érezzük magunkat az elszakadásra? Hogyan lehet egy fájdalmas kapcsolaton túl is újra boldognak lenni?

A Tartuffe-ben, a képmutatók zsarnoki uralmának e pompás torzképében minden id?k egyik legnagyszer?bb komikus remekm?vét tiszteli az egész m?velt világ. A korabeli francia udvarban annyian gúnyolva érezték magukat, hogy betiltatták az uralkodóval a bemutatót.

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is generally considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores questions of grace, legalism, sin and guilt.

The book tells the adventures of five American prisoners of war on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. Begining in the American Civil War, as famine and death ravage the city of Richmond, Virginia, five northern POWs decide to escape in a rather unusual way – by hijacking a balloon! This is only the beginning of their adventures...

THE MAN IN THE MOON.THE Man in the MoonCame tumbling down,And asked his way to Norwich;They told him south,And he burnt his mouthWith eating cold pease-porridge. TO MARKET, TO MARKET.TO market, to market, to buy a fat Pig;Home again, home again, dancing a jig. The Man In the Moon.To Market, to Market.There Was a Man.The Lion and the Unicorn.Little Miss Muffet.Oranges and Lemons.Goosey, Goosey Gander.Humpty Dumpty.Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.The Three Wise Men of Gotham. STORIES: - The Man In the Moon.- To Market, to Market.- There Was a Man.- The Lion and the Unicorn.- Little Miss Muffet.- Oranges and Lemons.- Goosey, Goosey Gander.- Humpty Dumpty.- Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.- The Three Wise Men of Gotham.

A Magánügyb?l megismert magánnyomozó, Dave Bexley ismét úgy érzi, minek elvállalni egy ügyet, ha kett?t is lehet - aztán j?n a t?bbi magától. El?sz?r egy bánatos víg ?zvegy orvul meggyilkolt férjének gyilkosát kell el?keríteni, majd egy bájakkal er?sen megáldott h?lgy zsarolóit megállítani. Tetejében még megtalálja a titkosszolgálat is, hogy elveszett biológiai fegyverek után kutasson. ?s, mivel a nap 24 órából áll, képbe kerül a korábban elt?ntnek hitt, titokzatos Leslie Morton is, és az általa hajszolt mágnesfegyver.Bár Dave néha úgy érzi, csupán gyalog a sakktáblán - de tudjuk jól, akár egy gyalog is képes játékokat eld?nteni.

Tényleg azt hitted, hogy kamasznak lenni k?nny?? Bár a tizen?t éves Pataki Emma élete igen távol áll a t?kéletest?l, hiszen anya nélkül kell feln?nie alkoholista apukája és nagymamája szigorú kontrollja alatt, ? mégis megpróbálja élni a tinik szokásos mindennapjait. Bulizik a barátaival, mindent megbeszél b?lcs barátn?jével és még szerelmes is az elb?v?l? mosolyú osztálytársába. Az eszes kaposvári lány ügyesen lavíroz az ellentmondást nem t?r? apa elvárásai és a barátok napról napra féktelenebbé váló kicsapongásai k?z?tt. Az élet azonban nem t?ri sokáig ezt a t?rékeny egyensúlyt, szemberohan Emmával, hogy minél hamarabb g?rdíthessen elé megoldhatatlannak t?n? nehézségeket. A méretes akadályok k?z?tt botladozó lány mindinkább kétségbeesik, és kérdéses, hogy sikerülhet-e átverekednie magát az ?t elgáncsolni látszó problémákon. Vajon meg tud birkózni Emma az emberfeletti er?t kívánó kihívásokkal? Képes helytállni és feln?ttként viselkedni olyan helyzetekben, amik még sok valódi feln?ttnek is feladnák a leckét? ?s vajon ráj?n, hogy milyen súlyos titkot rejteget el?le a családja? Gombos Tünde a Margó-díjra jel?lt Szerelemtánc után megint egy embert próbáló helyzetbe került fiatal t?rténetét meséli el a t?le már megszokott stílusban, hol humorosan, hol szívhez szólóan.

Bob Houston, the youngest agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stepped out of the Department of Justice Building and turned toward home, his heart beating faster than it had in months. It hardly seemed real but he was now a full-fledged agent in the greatest man hunting division in the Federal Government. Bob paused a moment at the curb. Another man who had emerged from the justice building joined him. It was his uncle, Merritt Hughes, one of the most famous detectives in the department. He put his arm around Bob’s shoulders and shook him in a rough but friendly embrace.“Well, Bob, how does it feel to be a real federal agent?” he asked. It was a moment before Bob replied, and when he finally spoke the words came slowly.“I hardly know,” he confessed, “as yet it doesn’t seem real, but there is one thing I do know—I’m going to work night and day to make a success of this new job.” “Don’t worry about making a success,” advised his uncle. “You’ve got the stuff to make good or you wouldn’t have been taken into the department.”“When do you think I’ll get my first assignment on a new case?” asked Bob. “That’s hard to say,” replied the famous detective, “but if I were you I’d go home now and get a good night’s sleep. In this kind of a game you’d better sleep when you can.” “Then I’m headed for home now,” said Bob. “Good night, and thanks for all you’ve done for me.”With that the young federal agent strode off down the avenue, his lungs drinking in great gulps of the cool air of the fall night. Merritt Hughes stood on the curb of the justice building watching his nephew until Bob turned the corner a block away. Anyone noticing the federal agent would have seen a slight smile of pleasure on his lips and he might have guessed that Merritt Hughes was greatly pleased by the events which had happened in the preceding hours. As a matter of fact, Bob Houston, a plain clerk in the archives division of the War Department, temporarily a provisional federal agent, had been the key figure in preventing the theft of some of Uncle Sam’s most valuable radio secrets.

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversation?'So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her. There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, 'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again. The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well. Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled 'ORANGE MARMALADE', but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it. 'Well!' thought Alice to herself, 'after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they'll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!' (Which was very likely true.) Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! 'I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. 'I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think—' (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a VERY good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) '—yes, that's about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?' (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.) ? ? ABOUT AUTHOR: ??Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 – 1898), better known by his pen name, as “Lewis Carroll”, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky", all examples of the genre of literary nonsense.

He stood watching while George Atkinson spun around, dark eyes flashing, hair tousled. There was a two days' growth of beard darkening Atkinson's face. "Why, George," Loveral said, swiftly examining the litter of metal and wood which was spread over a table behind Atkinson. There was a home-made hammer in Atkinson's hand. "What have we here, George?""Something for you," Atkinson said, tightening his fingers about the handle of the hammer.Loveral grinned his famous Loveral grin. "That's fine. What could it be?" "None of your damned business.""George," Loveral said, his smile still white but his eyes narrow and quick.The woman was behind them. Her voice screeched. "George, I told you. Why didn't you listen, George? You should have listened to me. You—" Loveral held up a hand, still watching Atkinson. "Now tell me, George, what is it you're making for me?"Atkinson raised the hammer slightly.Loveral stood very still. "That's a nice hammer, George."Atkinson's eyes were black beneath his thick brows."You made that, didn't you?" Loveral asked."Yes, I made that," Atkinson said. "I made that and I made something else. Another minute and I'll have that finished, too." "George," said Loveral, stepping quietly forward, "I don't like to say this, of course. You've been one of our very best members. But nobody works here, George. We can't allow that. You know the rules." "I know the rules, all right.""Well, then," Loveral said, extending his hand toward the hammer, "we'll just destroy this and whatever else you might have been making. We'll just forget it ever happened. We'll get along real fine that way, George. We'll just be such good friends.""We'll just go to hell," said Atkinson, snatching his hammer away. Loveral's smile disappeared. "I'll tell you, George. I have to mean business with this. You know the reasons. If we allow anybody to work here, then there's going to be trouble. That isn't our plan. We're here to grow within ourselves and expand culturally. Not to commercialize a beautiful world like Dream Planet."

Doktor Proktor, a kétbalkezes professzor maga sem sejti, milyen kalandokba keveredik majd, amikor véletlenül feltalálja a f?ldkerekség legnagyobb erej? pukiporát, ami bárkit képes az ?rbe r?píteni. ?m amíg két kisiskolás segít?je azon dolgozik, hogy a találmány híressé és gazdaggá tegye ?ket, a csodaszer híre illetéktelenek fülébe is eljut. A doktor hamarosan egy sz?késbiztos cellában találja magát, a gonosz ikerpár ellopja a találmányt, és egy folyton éhes anakonda is beszabadul Oslo szennyvízcsatornáiba. K?zben pedig feltartóztathatatlanul k?zeleg a nemzeti ünnepre gyakorló iskolai katonazenekar... A világhír? skandináv krimiíró Doktor Proktor-sorozatát már t?bb mint 20 nyelvre fordították le. A f?szerepl?k fergeteges kalandjait elképeszt? fordulatok, abszurd humor és a Nesb?-féle kül?nleges atmoszféra teszi feledhetetlenné.

The story begins on May 5, 1805, in one of the wildest and most abrupt portions of New Spain, which now forms the State of Coahuila, belonging to the Mexican Confederation. If the reader will have the kindness to take a glance at a numerous cavalcade, which is debouching from a canyon and scaling at a gallop the scarped side of a rather lofty hill, on the top of which stands an aldea, or village of Indios mansos, he will at the same time form the acquaintance of several of our principal characters, and the country in which the events recorded in this narrative occurred. This cavalcade was composed of fifteen individuals in all; ten of them were lancers, attired in that yellow uniform which procured them the nickname of tamarindos. These soldiers were execrated by the people, in consequence of their cruelty. They advanced in good order, commanded by a subaltern and an alférez—an old trooper who had grown gray in harness, who had long white moustachios and a disagreeable face. As he galloped on, he looked around him with the careless, wearied air of a man for whom the future reserves no hopes either of ambition, love, or fortune. About twenty paces from this little band, and just so far ahead that their remarks reached the soldiers' ears in a completely incomprehensible fashion, three persons, two men and a woman, were riding side by side.The first was a gentleman of about thirty years of age, of commanding stature; his harsh, haughty, and menacing features were rendered even more gloomy by a deep scar of a livid hue which commenced on his right temple and divided his face into two nearly equal parts. This man, who was dressed in the sumptuous costume of the Mexican campesinos, which he wore with far from common grace, was named Don Aníbal de Saldibar, and was considered the richest hacendero in the province.His companion, who kept slightly in the rear, doubtless through respect, was a civilized Indian, with a quick eye, aquiline nose, and a wide mouth lined with two rows of dazzling white teeth. His countenance indicated intelligence and bravery. He was short and robust, and the almost disproportioned development of his muscles gave an enormous width to his limbs. This individual must assuredly be endowed with extraordinary strength. His attire, not nearly so rich as that of the hacendero, displayed a certain pretension to elegance, which was an extraordinary thing in an Indian. This man's name was Pedro Sotavento, and he was majordomo to Don Aníbal.As we have said, the third person was a female. Although it was easy to see, through the juvenile grace of her movements and her taper waist, that she was still very young, she was so discreetly hidden behind gauze and muslin veils, in order to protect her from the burning heat of the sun which was then at its zenith, that it was impossible to distinguish her features. Long black locks escaped from beneath her broad-brimmed vicu?a hat, and fell in profusion on her pink and white shoulders, which were scarcely veiled by a China crape rebozo. At the moment when we approach these three persons they were conversing together with considerable animation."No," Don Aníbal said, with a frown, as he smote the pommel of his saddle, "it is not possible, I cannot believe in so much audacity on the part of these Indian brutes. You must have been deceived, Sotavento." The majordomo grinned knowingly, and buried his head between his shoulders with a motion which was habitual to him."You will see, mi amo," he replied, in a honeyed voice, "my information is positive." "What!" the hacendero continued with increased fury, "They would really attempt resistance! Why, they must be mad!""Not so much as you suppose, mi amo; the aldea is large and contains at least three thousand callis.""What matter? Suppose there were twice as many, is not one Spaniard as good as ten Indians?"

Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) tells of a man's shipwreck on a deserted island and his subsequent adventures. The author based part of his narrative on the story of the Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years stranded on the island of Juan Fernandez. He may have also been inspired by the Latin or English translation of a book by the Andalusian-Arab Muslim polymath Ibn Tufail, who was known as "Abubacer" in Europe. The Latin edition of the book was entitled Philosophus Autodidactus and it was an earlier novel that is also set on a deserted island. "One day, about noon, going towards my boat, I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a man's naked foot on the shore, which was very plain to be seen on the sand."— Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, 1719 The novel has been variously read as an allegory for the development of civilisation, as a manifesto of economic individualism and as an expression of European colonial desires but it also shows the importance of repentance and illustrates the strength of Defoe's religious convictions. It is also considered by many to be the first novel written in English. Early critics, such as Robert Louis Stevenson admired it saying that the footprint scene in Crusoe was one of the four greatest in English literature and most unforgettable; more prosaically, Dr. Wesley Vernon has seen the origins of forensic podiatry in this episode. It has inspired a new genre, the Robinsonade as works like Johann David Wyss's The Swiss Family Robinson (1812) adapt its premise and has provoked modern postcolonial responses, including J. M. Coetzee's Foe (1986) and Michel Tournier's Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique (in English, Friday, or, The Other Island) (1967). Two sequels followed, Defoe's The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719) and his Serious reflections during the life and surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe: with his Vision of the angelick world (1720). Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) in part parodies Defoe's adventure novel. ? About Author: Daniel Defoe (1660 – 24 April 1731), born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer, and spy, now most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain, and, along with others such as Samuel Richardson, is among the founders of the English novel. A prolific and versatile writer, he wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets and journals on various topics (including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural). He was also a pioneer of economic journalism. ? Early lifeDaniel Foe (his original name) was probably born in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London. Defoe later added the aristocratic-sounding "De" to his name and on occasion claimed descent from the family of De Beau Faux. His birthdate and birthplace are uncertain: sources offer dates of anywhere between 1659 to 1662; considered most likely to be 1660. His father, James Foe, was a prosperous tallow chandler and a member of the Butchers' Company. In Defoe's early life he experienced firsthand some of the most unusual occurrences in English history: in 1665, 70,000 were killed by the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London (1666) left standing only Defoe's and two other houses in his neighborhood. In 1667, when he was probably about 7, Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway via the River Thames and attacked Chatham. His mother Annie had died by the time he was about 10.