万本电子书0元读

万本电子书0元读

The Book of Snobs
The Book of Snobs
William Makepeace Thackeray
¥8.09
This satiric classic begins: "The necessity of a work on Snobs, demonstrated from History, and proved by felicitous illustrations:-- I am the individual destined to write that work--My vocation is announced in terms of great eloquence--I show that the world has been gradually preparing itself for the WORK and the MAN--Snobs are to be studied like other objects of Natural Science, and are a part of the Beautiful (with a large B). They pervade all classes--Affecting instance of Colonel Snobley." According to Wikipedia: "Thackeray is most often compared to one other great novelist of Victorian literature, Charles Dickens. During the Victorian era, he was ranked second only to Dickens, but he is now much less read and is known almost exclusively for Vanity Fair. In that novel he was able to satirize whole swaths of humanity while retaining a light touch. It also features his most memorable character, the engagingly roguish Becky Sharp. As a result, unlike Thackeray's other novels, it remains popular with the general reading public; it is a standard fixture in university courses and has been repeatedly adapted for movies and television. In Thackeray's own day, some commentators, such as Anthony Trollope, ranked his History of Henry Esmond as his greatest work, perhaps because it expressed Victorian values of duty and earnestness, as did some of his other later novels. It is perhaps for this reason that they have not survived as well as Vanity Fair, which satirizes those values."
The Heritage of the Desert
The Heritage of the Desert
Zane Grey
¥8.09
Classic western. According to Wikipedia: "Zane Grey (1872 – 1939) was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the rugged Old West. As of June 2007, the Internet Movie Database credits Grey with 110 films, one TV episode, and a series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater based loosely on his novels and short stories."
Riders of the Purple Sage
Riders of the Purple Sage
Zane Grey
¥8.09
Zane Grey's best-known western novel, first published in 1912. Grey's novels and stories present an idealized image of the rugged Old West.
The Green Fairy Book
The Green Fairy Book
Andrew Lang
¥8.09
Collection of classic fairy tales. According to Wikipedia: "Andrew Lang (March 31, 1844, Selkirk ? July 20, 1912, Banchory, Kincardineshire) was a prolific Scots man of letters. He was a poet, novelist, and literary critic, and contributor to anthropology. He now is best known as the collector of folk and fairy tales." With the active (hyperlinked) table of contents, click on a story title to go to that story.
Embarrassments
Embarrassments
Henry James
¥8.09
Collection of classic Henry James long stories. According to Wikipedia: "Henry James, (1843 – 1916), son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born British author. He is one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism; the fine art of his writing has led many academics to consider him the greatest master of the novel and novella form. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. He is primarily known for a series of major novels in which he portrayed the encounter of America with Europe. His plots centered on personal relationships, the proper exercise of power in such relationships, and other moral questions. His method of writing from the point of view of a character within a tale allowed him to explore the phenomena of consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting."
The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh and Other Tales, collection of stories
The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh and Other Tales, collection of stories
Bret Harte
¥8.09
Collection of stories, including: The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh, A Knight-Errant of the Foot-Hills, A Secret of Telegraph Hill, and Captain Jim's Friend. According to Wikipedia: "Bret Harte (August 25, 1836[2] – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. He was born in Albany, New York. ... He moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coast town now known as Arcata, then just a mining camp on Humboldt Bay. His first literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian, an early literary journal edited by Charles Henry Webb. In 1868 he became editor of The Overland Monthly, another new literary magazine, but this one more in tune with the pioneering spirit of excitement in California. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appeared in the magazine's second edition, propelling Harte to nationwide fame... Determined to pursue his literary career, in 1871 he and his family traveled back East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000, "an unprecedented sum at the time." His popularity waned, however, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract and increasingly desperate. He spent the next few years struggling to publish new work (or republish old), delivering lectures about the gold rush, and even selling an advertising jingle to a soap company. In 1878 Harte was appointed to the position of United States Consul in the town of Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. In 1885 he settled in London. During the thirty years he spent in Europe, he never abandoned writing, and maintained a prodigious output of stories that retained the freshness of his earlier work. He died in England in 1902 of throat cancer and is buried at Frimley."
The Bell-Ringer of Angel's, a collection of stories
The Bell-Ringer of Angel's, a collection of stories
Bret Harte
¥8.09
Collection of stories. According to Wikipedia: "Bret Harte (August 25, 1836[2] – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. He was born in Albany, New York. ... He moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coast town now known as Arcata, then just a mining camp on Humboldt Bay. His first literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian, an early literary journal edited by Charles Henry Webb. In 1868 he became editor of The Overland Monthly, another new literary magazine, but this one more in tune with the pioneering spirit of excitement in California. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appeared in the magazine's second edition, propelling Harte to nationwide fame... Determined to pursue his literary career, in 1871 he and his family traveled back East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000, "an unprecedented sum at the time." His popularity waned, however, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract and increasingly desperate. He spent the next few years struggling to publish new work (or republish old), delivering lectures about the gold rush, and even selling an advertising jingle to a soap company. In 1878 Harte was appointed to the position of United States Consul in the town of Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. In 1885 he settled in London. During the thirty years he spent in Europe, he never abandoned writing, and maintained a prodigious output of stories that retained the freshness of his earlier work. He died in England in 1902 of throat cancer and is buried at Frimley."
On the Frontier
On the Frontier
Bret Harte
¥8.09
Collection of western stories, including: At the Mission of San Carmel, A Blue Grass Penelope, and Left Out on Lone Star Mountain. According to Wikipedia: "Bret Harte (August 25, 1836[2] – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. He was born in Albany, New York. ... He moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coast town now known as Arcata, then just a mining camp on Humboldt Bay. His first literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian, an early literary journal edited by Charles Henry Webb. In 1868 he became editor of The Overland Monthly, another new literary magazine, but this one more in tune with the pioneering spirit of excitement in California. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appeared in the magazine's second edition, propelling Harte to nationwide fame... Determined to pursue his literary career, in 1871 he and his family traveled back East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000, "an unprecedented sum at the time." His popularity waned, however, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract and increasingly desperate. He spent the next few years struggling to publish new work (or republish old), delivering lectures about the gold rush, and even selling an advertising jingle to a soap company. In 1878 Harte was appointed to the position of United States Consul in the town of Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. In 1885 he settled in London. During the thirty years he spent in Europe, he never abandoned writing, and maintained a prodigious output of stories that retained the freshness of his earlier work. He died in England in 1902 of throat cancer and is buried at Frimley."
Tales of Trail and Town
Tales of Trail and Town
Bret Harte
¥8.09
Collection of western stories, including: The Ancestors of Peter Atherly, Two Americans, The Judgment of Bolinas Plain, The Strange Experience of Alkali Dick, A Night on the Divide, The Youngest Prospector in Calaveras, and A Tale of Three Truants. According to Wikipedia: "Bret Harte (August 25, 1836 – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. He was born in Albany, New York. ... He moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coast town now known as Arcata, then just a mining camp on Humboldt Bay. His first literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian, an early literary journal edited by Charles Henry Webb. In 1868 he became editor of The Overland Monthly, another new literary magazine, but this one more in tune with the pioneering spirit of excitement in California. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appeared in the magazine's second edition, propelling Harte to nationwide fame... Determined to pursue his literary career, in 1871 he and his family traveled back East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000, "an unprecedented sum at the time." His popularity waned, however, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract and increasingly desperate. He spent the next few years struggling to publish new work (or republish old), delivering lectures about the gold rush, and even selling an advertising jingle to a soap company. In 1878 Harte was appointed to the position of United States Consul in the town of Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. In 1885 he settled in London. During the thirty years he spent in Europe, he never abandoned writing, and maintained a prodigious output of stories that retained the freshness of his earlier work. He died in England in 1902 of throat cancer and is buried at Frimley."
Openings in the Old Trail
Openings in the Old Trail
Bret Harte
¥8.09
Collection of western stories, including: The Mercury of the Foot-Hills, Colonel Starbottle for the Plaintiff, The Buckeye Hollow Inheritance, The Reincarnation of Smith, linty Foster's Mistake, An Ali Baba of the Sierras, Miss Peggy's proteges, and The Goddess of Excelsior. According to Wikipedia: "Bret Harte (August 25, 1836[2] – May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. He was born in Albany, New York. ... He moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coast town now known as Arcata, then just a mining camp on Humboldt Bay. His first literary efforts, including poetry and prose, appeared in The Californian, an early literary journal edited by Charles Henry Webb. In 1868 he became editor of The Overland Monthly, another new literary magazine, but this one more in tune with the pioneering spirit of excitement in California. His story, "The Luck of Roaring Camp," appeared in the magazine's second edition, propelling Harte to nationwide fame... Determined to pursue his literary career, in 1871 he and his family traveled back East, to New York and eventually to Boston, where he contracted with the publisher of The Atlantic Monthly for an annual salary of $10,000, "an unprecedented sum at the time." His popularity waned, however, and by the end of 1872 he was without a publishing contract and increasingly desperate. He spent the next few years struggling to publish new work (or republish old), delivering lectures about the gold rush, and even selling an advertising jingle to a soap company. In 1878 Harte was appointed to the position of United States Consul in the town of Krefeld, Germany and then to Glasgow in 1880. In 1885 he settled in London. During the thirty years he spent in Europe, he never abandoned writing, and maintained a prodigious output of stories that retained the freshness of his earlier work. He died in England in 1902 of throat cancer and is buried at Frimley."
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom
The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom
Tobias Smollett
¥8.09
Comic 18th century novel. According to Wikipedia: "Tobias George Smollett (bapt. 19 March 1721 - 17 September 1771) was a Scottish author, best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748) and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1753)." Smollett was one of David Copperfield's (Charles Dickens') favorite authors.
The Exploration of the World
The Exploration of the World
Jules Verne
¥8.09
First part of Jules Verne's three-part history of the exploration of the world. This volume covers from Hanno and Herodotus to Champlain and LaSale. According to Wikipedia: "Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth (written in 1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869–1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie with 4162 translations..."
Guy Mannering
Guy Mannering
Sir Walter Scott
¥8.09
First published in 1815. Set in Galloway, Scotland, 1760-1765 and 1781-1782. According to Wikipedia: "Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (1771 – 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe during his time. In some ways Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers all over Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of The Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor."
The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies
The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies
John Buchan
¥8.09
The Moon Endureth by John Buchan is a collection of tales and fancies, in prose and verse, which were originally published in Blackwood's Magazine. It includes From the Pentlands looking North and South, The Company of the Marjolaine, Avignon 1759, Lucid Interval, The Shorter Catechism (revised version), The Lemnian, Atta's song, Space, Stocks and Stones, Streams of Water in the South, The Gipsy's song to the lady Cassilis, The Grove of Ashtaroth, Wood magic, The riding of Ninemileburn, Plain Folk, The Kings of Orion, Babylon, The Green Glen, The Wise Years, Updater's note: Chapter 9 missing from etext], and The Rime of True Thomas. According to Wikipedia, "John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. Buchan's 100 works include nearly thirty novels, seven collections of short stories and biographies of Sir Walter Scott, Caesar Augustus, and Oliver Cromwell. Buchan's most famous of his books were the spy thrillers (including) The 39 Steps (which was converted to a play as well as an Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Robert Donat as Richard Hannay, though with Buchan's story much altered.) The "last Buchan" (as Graham Greene entitled his appreciative review) was the 1941 novel Sick Heart River (American title: Mountain Meadow), in which a dying protagonist confronts in the Canadian wilderness the questions of the meaning of life. The insightful quotation "It's a great life, if you don't weaken" is famously attributed to Buchan, as is "No great cause is ever lost or won, The battle must always be renewed, And the creed must always be restated."
Can You Forgive Her?
Can You Forgive Her?
Anthony Trollope
¥8.09
First published serially in 1864-1865 and in book form in 1864 (Volume I) and 1865. The Palliser series consists of: Can You Forgive Her? Phineas Finn, The Eustace Diamonds, Phineas Redux, The Prime Minister, and The Duke's Children. According to Wikipedia: "Anthony Trollope ( 1815 – 1882 ) became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of Trollope's best-loved works, known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire; he also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, and gender issues and conflicts of his day. Trollope has always been a popular novelist. Noted fans have included Sir Alec Guinness (who never travelled without a Trollope novel), former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, American novelists Sue Grafton and Dominick Dunne and soap opera writer Harding Lemay. Trollope's literary reputation dipped somewhat during the last years of his life, but he regained the esteem of critics by the mid-twentieth century. "Of all novelists in any country, Trollope best understands the role of money. Compared with him even Balzac is a romantic." — W. H. Auden"
The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories
The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories
Mark Twain
¥8.09
Four stories by Twain -- The Mysterious Stranger, A Fable, Hunting the Deceitful Turkey, and The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm. According to Wikipedia: "Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910), better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is extensively quoted. During his lifetime, Twain became a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists and European royalty. Twain enjoyed immense public popularity, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. American author William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature."
The Louisa May Alcott Reader
The Louisa May Alcott Reader
Louisa May Alcott
¥8.09
Fourth grade reading text, consisting of excerpts from the works of Louisa May Alcott -- I. A CHRISTMAS DREAM, II. THE CANDY COUNTRY, III. NAUGHTY JOCKO, IV. THE SKIPPING SHOES, V. COCKYLOO, VI. ROSY'S JOURNEY, VII. HOW THEY RAN AWAY, VIII. THE FAIRY BOX, IX. A HOLE IN THE WALL, and X. THE PIGGY GIRL. According to Wikipedia: "Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women, published in 1868. This novel is loosely based on her childhood experiences with her three sisters."
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories
Kate Chopin
¥8.09
From the Introduction: "In the early Christian centuries thousands turned to the Bible, as drowning men to a life buoy, because it offered them the only way of escape from the intolerable social and moral ills that attended the death pangs of the old heathenism. Then came the Dark Ages, with their resurgent heathenism and barbarism, when the Bible was taken from the hands of the people. In the hour of a nation's deepest humiliation and moral depravity, John Wycliffe, with the aid of a devoted army of lay priests, gave back the Bible to the people, and in so doing laid the foundations for England's intellectual, political and moral greatness. The joy and inspiration of the Protestant Reformers was the rediscovery and popular interpretation of the Bible. In all the great forward movements of the modern centuries the Bible has played a central role. The ultimate basis of our magnificent modern scientific and material progress is the inspiration given to the human race by the Protestant Reformation."
Siddhartha, Eine Indische Dichtung
Siddhartha, Eine Indische Dichtung
Hermann Hesse
¥8.09
Klassischer Roman, erstmals im Original 1922 ver?ffentlicht. Nach Wikipedia: "Siddhartha ist ein Roman von Hermann Hesse, der sich mit der spirituellen Reise eines Jungen namens Siddhartha vom indischen Subkontinent zur Zeit des Buddha besch?ftigt. Das Buch , Hesses neunter Roman, wurde auf eine einfache, aber dennoch kraftvolle und lyrische Art geschrieben, die 1951 in den USA ver?ffentlicht wurde und in den 1960er Jahren einflussreich wurde: Hesse widmete Siddhartha Ninon Hesse, seiner Frau, das Wort Siddhartha von zwei W?rtern in der Sanskrit-Sprache, siddha (erreicht) + artha (Bedeutung oder Reichtum). Die beiden W?rter zusammen bedeuten "derjenige, der Bedeutung (der Existenz) gefunden hat" oder "Er, der seine Ziele erreicht hat". Der Name des Buddha, vor seiner Entsagung war Prinz Siddhartha Gautama. In diesem Buch wird der Buddha als "Gotama" bezeichnet. "Hermann Hesse (2. Juli 1877 - 9. August 1962) war ein in Deutschland geborener Schweizer Dichter, Romancier und Maler. Im Jahr 1946 erhielt er den Nobelpreis für Literatur. Zu seinen bekanntesten Werken z?hlen Steppenwolf, Siddhartha und The Glass Bead Game (auch bekannt als Magister Ludi), die alle die Suche nach Authentizit?t, Selbsterkenntnis und Spiritualit?t untersuchen. "
Cranford
Cranford
Elizabeth Gaskell
¥8.09
Gaskell's best-known novel, the subject of a recent movie starring Dame Judi Dench and Simon Woods. According to Wikipedia: "Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell ( 1810 – 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She is perhaps best known for her biography of Charlotte Bront?. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature."
Tanglewood Tales
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
¥8.09
Greek myths retold as stories for children. According to Wikipedia: "Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 –1864) was an American novelist and short story writer... Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend Franklin Pierce."