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.

Alexander's Bridge is the first novel by American author Willa Cather. First published in 1912, it was re-released with an author's preface in 1922. It also ran as a serial in McClure's, giving Cather some free time from her work for that magazine.

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.

"The Unnamable" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was written in September 1923, first published in the July 1925 issue of Weird Tales, and first collected in Beyond the Wall of Sleep. Carter, a weird fiction writer, who is likely the Randolph Carter who features in some of Lovecraft's other tales such as The Statement of Randolph Carter, meets with his close friend, Joel Manton, in a cemetery near an old, dilapidated house on Meadow Hill in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. As the two sit upon a weathered tomb, Carter tells Manton the tale of an indescribable entity that allegedly haunts the house and surrounding area. He contends that because such an entity cannot be perceived by the five senses, it becomes impossible to quantify and accurately describe, thus earning itself the term unnamable.

The story is written in first person. It depicts the main character going outside Hampden and finding a special tree. The tree makes him day dream about a big temple in a land with three suns. The temple was half-violet, half-blue. Some shadows attracted him into the inside. He thought he saw three flaming eyes watching him and he shouted twice and the vision was gone.

Then I was a little girl, which is now a good many years ago, there came to spend some time with us a cousin who had been brought up in Germany. ??She was almost grown-up—to me, a child of six or seven, she seemed quite grown-up; in reality, she was, I suppose, about fifteen or sixteen. She was a bright, kind, good-natured girl, very anxious to please and amuse her little English cousins, especially me, as I was the only girl. ??But she had not had much to do with small children; above all, delicate children, and she was so strong and hearty herself that she did not understand anything about nervous fears and fancies.

"e;Ben's father is in prison and his mum, a former child genius, is barely hanging on to her sanity.When Ben and his classmates are nearly killed in a coach crash in Belgium, Ben starts to experience flashbacks: visitations to the brutal start of World War 1 and the uncertain world of Corporal Sam Lyle.Is Ben going mad too, like his mum, or is there another reason why he finds himself in a war zone in 1914? Who is the spectral figure that haunts both the boy and the soldier? Do angels exist?What people are saying...'This is a stunning story: fast moving, fiercely realistic yet engaging with ghosts and an angel. It's alive with native wit and, underpinned by the conflict of courage and cowardice, loyalty and bullying, it's genuinely moving.Very many school groups visit the battlefields of WWI, and Angel of Mons (with its excellent notes at the end) should be essential reading for them all.' - Kevin Crossley-Holland, Author and President of the School Library "e;'This could be something very special' The Literary Consultancy

Adventure and magic for 7-10 year-olds: Mad inventors, shark submarines and England's deepest lake under Creake Castle. Fred Longshanks is invited to tea in the village by Tobias Brown, Inventor Esquire. Before he knows it, he has embarked on an insane journey to get to the bottom of England's deepest lake in the grounds of his parents home in Creake Castle. What they discover on the journey changes both their lives for ever.

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)

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...

Fic?iunea a fost blând? cu mine: mi-a ar?tat cum traversau ora?ele crupe de dame, pe când boschetarii dormeau, mi-a ar?tat cum un om poate s? fie luat din genunchi ?i a?ezat într-un pat de femeie, a?ezat acolo ca un semn de întrebare. ?i tot ea mi-a ar?tat ce r?mâne când secunda se termin? ?i cum se poate racorda timpul la ritmul b?t?ilor inimii unei necunoscute dup? o criz? de astm, ?i cum s? supravie?uiesc tr?ind singur ca un Dumnezeu bolnav, ?i cum se pot ridica scriitorii, ca ni?te duhuri, din ma?inile lor de scris – în vremea vi?eilor de aur. În povestiri am d?râmat temple, aici am fost înjunghiat la o r?scruce de t?ceri, aici am fost cel mai bun. Toate aceste texte m-au vindecat atât cât puteam fi vindecat de mine însumi. Andrei Cr?ciun

Dup D. Cantemir, a doua mare personalitate a literaturii romne este fr ndoial I. Eliade Rdulescu, scriitor cu suflet ardent, creator pretutindeni, desfurat deopotriv n via i n art, nzestrat cu mari nsuiri i cu tot att de mari cusururi. […] Eliade e un mistic la modul dantesc, cu uriae viziuni profetice. Anatolida sau Omul i forele ar fi fost adevrata biblic, poemul n 20 de cnturi al omului, de la creaie pn la victoria asupra Forei, amestec de soteriologie i program social, soluiunea n veac a problemei sociale fiind totdeodat cheia mntuirii spiritului, a cetii eterne.“ – George Clinescu, Istoria literaturii romne de la origini pn n prezent

Mi s-a cerut o biografie, dar dac? citi?i cartea ve?i avea parte de una. Mai bine v? spun pe scurt povestea c?r?ii, care n-a fost carte de la început. Au fost zilele ?i nop?ile mele, a?a cum le-am tr?it eu ?i-ai mei. Printre sârme ?i portocali. A fost o perioad? în care a? fi vrut s? uit unele întâmpl?ri, apoi am în?eles c? nu le voi putea ?terge din amintire ?i c? de fapt nici nu vreau. Le-am povestit, la început cu îndoiala c? cineva ar în?elege impactul pe care le-au avut pentru noi, apoi cu mirarea c? pe cineva intereseaz? aceast? poveste. M-au uimit reac?iile, am început s? scormonesc în memorie ?i m-am trezit scriind ceva despre care n-am crezut c? va fi o carte. Va fi, totu?i, va avea coper?i frumoase ?i câteva file din care, dac? le ve?i citi, ve?i ?ti c? sârmele aveau ghimpi, iar portocalii erau plini de culoare ?i parfum. În carte apare familia mea ?i vreau s? le mul?umesc pentru îng?duin?a de-a folosi amintirile lor în cuprinsul acestor pagini.

Ultimul volum al trilogiei Ultima vr?jitoare din Transilvania. Revenit? ?n Bucure?ti dup? povestea dramatic? tr?it? ?n satul V., Alexandra observ? treptat c? acele lucruri pe care le credea r?mase ?n trecut o urm?resc. Via?a ei este pe cale s? se schimbe din temelii. Tot ce crezuse a fi doar legend? pare acum mai real ca niciodat?. Singura care poate l?muri misterul este Aneke, care nu ?nt?rzie s? reapar? ?n via?a Alexandrei, iar secretul tulbur?tor pe care-l va afla adolescenta va fi punctul culminant al ?ntregii ei aventuri ?n lumea fascinantei contese. O poveste complicat? ?i captivant? despre nemurire, iubire, prietenie, iertare, alegeri, sacrificii, ?n care personajele dezv?luie tr?s?turi total nea?teptate. Finalul trilogiei ?Ultima vr?jitoare din Transilvania“ te va ?ine cu sufletul la gur? p?n? la ultima pagin?. Dou? lumi distincte se ?ntrep?trund: lumea ado- lescen?ilor de azi, cu Facebook, concerte rock, tatuaje ?i pierce-uri, ?i lumea contesei disp?rute, cu intrigi de curte ?i pove?ti uitate. Un mistery romance ?n tonuri ?ntunecate despre incest, supersti?ii, tr?d?ri, secrete, legende transmise peste veacuri.

Simea pdurea vie, alchimic, pulsnd, i, dei nu credea n fantome i alte bazaconii, i plcea s vorbeasc cu ea n minte, s se lase descoperit de ceva aparte, ceva deasupra sa i de neneles ntru totul, ca-n Her. Iar pdurea putea s-i fac simit prezena n attea feluri, putea s poarte attea chipuri i attea voci. Iar el putea s intre i s ias din ea, s uite de el de attea i attea ori. Aici singurtatea devenea intimitate, devenea linite, devenea ap, devenea o min strbtut de infuziile proteice ale pmntului; o subteran n care plictiseala conferinelor de pres, momentele de stnjeneal i de blbial erau absorbite de muchi, de ciuperci, de licheni. Aici devenea polen purtat de vnt. O pdure precum o planet extraterestr studiindu-l n tcere. Realitatea sa era irealitatea altor umbre, visele sale erau comarurile altor montri.“

E diminea??, Abiscruda ?i poveste?te lui Altiulius despre un cercet?tor al somnului, pe nume Dement, pe care ea l-a visat. Palev ?i Abisa aud ?ntreaga discu?ie dintr-o camer? al?turat?, ?i sur?d.– Acest Dement, ?n visul meu, cerceta somnul oamenilor ?i oamenii aveau somnul tulbure ?i cercet?torul Dement le privea somnul ?n ochi ?i z?mbea. Eu eram treaz? ?n visul meu ?i cercet?torul a venit la mine ?i mi-a zis: ?La ?aptezeci de ani, oamenii viseaz? de opt ori mai pu?in dec?t nou-n?scu?ii“.Altiulius o ascult? pe Abiscruda, ?i spune:– P?i, da, b?tr?nii nu mai au de ce s? viseze, C?ND E?TI B?TR?N ?I SE TERMIN? VISELE.– Nu, Altiulius, B?TR?NII VISEAZ? MAI PU?IN FIINDC? LI SE USUC? PLEOAPELE, de aia. NOU-N?SCU?II VISEAZ? MULT PENTRU C? PLEOAPELE LOR MIROS A LAPTE.– Asta ?i-a zis-o cercet?torul?– Nu. Asta i-am zis-o eu lui.– Copiii ??tia parc? s?nt de pe alt? lume, spune Abisa ?n ?oapt?.– ?i nu s?nt de pe alt? lume? spune Palev, cu voce sc?zut?.

"Der Judenstaat" (German, literally "The Jew State", commonly translated as "The Jewish State") is a pamphlet written by Theodor Herzl and published in February 1896 in Leipzig and Vienna by M. Breitenstein's Verlags-Buchhandlung. It is subtitled with "Versuch einer modernen L?sung der Judenfrage", "Proposal of a modern solution for the Jewish question", and originally called "Address to the Rothschilds" referring to the Rothschild family banking dynasty.It is considered one of the most important texts of early Zionism. As expressed in this book, Herzl envisioned the founding of a future independent Jewish state during the 20th century. He argued that the best way to avoid antisemitism in Europe was to create this independent Jewish state. Herzl, who had lived as a secular, largely assimilated Jew, was fluent in neither Hebrew nor Yiddish. His lack of contact with Jewish culture and intellectual currents, and his limited contact with Jews less assimilated than he was probably the reason he abandoned fundamental Jewish principles and rekindled Zionism with this text. The book was used to encourage Jews from all across Europe to purchase land in Palestine. In Der Judenstaat, Herzl noted the possibility of a Jewish state in Argentina.Herzl popularized the term "Zionism", which was coined by Nathan Birnbaum. The nationalist movement culminated in the birth of the State of Israel in 1948, though Zionism continues to be connected with political support of the State of Israel.

Pentru Sanda S?ntimbreanu a venit vremea rememor?rii, vremea c?nd amintirile caut? o alt? exprimare, respira?ia eternit??ii. A dorit s? semneze pactul cu literatura, ?i i-a reu?it, mai ales – prin repetarea unor elemente de via??, prin asem?narea caracterelor unor personaje, printr-o anume continuitate ?ntre unele povestiri, prin obsesia unor teme – cel autobiografic. Autoarea vrea prin aceste povestiri de via?? s? se ?mpace cu trecutul s?u, unul pe care nu l-a acceptat, nu l-a ?n?eles poate destul ?n momentul tr?irii. (Nicoleta Dabija)