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万本电子书0元读

The History of Pendennis
The History of Pendennis
William Makepeace Thackeray
¥8.09
Classic novel. 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."
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."
King Coal
King Coal
Upton Sinclair
¥8.09
Classic novel. According to Wikipedia: "Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. (1878 - 1968), was a prolific American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres and was widely considered to be one of the best investigators advocating socialist views. He achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the 20th century. He gained particular fame for his 1906 novel The Jungle, which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906."
The Moneychangers
The Moneychangers
Upton Sinclair
¥8.09
Classic novel. According to Wikipedia: "Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. (1878 - 1968), was a prolific American author who wrote over 90 books in many genres and was widely considered to be one of the best investigators advocating socialist views. He achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the 20th century. He gained particular fame for his 1906 novel The Jungle, which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that partly contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act in 1906."
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
G. A. Henty
¥8.09
The vast majority of Henty's novels are historical. This one is a mystery. According to the introduction: ""Colonel Thorndyke's Secret" is a story so far out of the ordinary that it will not be inappropriate to speak a few words regarding the tale and its unusually successful author, Mr. George Alfred Henty. The plot of the story hinges upon the possession of a valuable bracelet, of diamonds, stolen from a Hindoo idol by a British soldier in India. This bracelet falls into the possession of Colonel Thorndyke, who, shortly afterward, is sent home to England because of his wounds. The secret concerning the bracelet is told to the Colonel's brother, a country squire, and the treasure is left to younger members of the Thorndyke family." According to Wikipedia: "George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 - 16 November 1902), referred to as G. A. Henty, was a prolific English novelist, special correspondent, and Imperialist born in Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, England. He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include Out on the Pampas (1871), The Young Buglers (1880), With Clive in India (1884) and Wulf the Saxon (1895)"
Three Fu-Manchu Novels
Three Fu-Manchu Novels
Sax Rohmer
¥8.09
This file includes: The Insidious Dr. Fuu-Manchu (AKA The Mystery of Fu-Manchu), 1913; The Devil Doctor (AKA The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu), 1916; and The Hand of Fu-Manchu (AKA The Si-Fan Mysteries), 1917. According to Wikipedia: "Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype of the evil criminal genius while inspiring the Fu Manchu moustache." "Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (15 February 1883 - 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu... His first published work was in 1903, the short story The Mysterious Mummy was sold to Pearson's Weekly. He gradually transitioned from writing for Music Hall performers to concentrating on short stories and serials for magazine publication. In 1909 he married Rose Elizabeth Knox. He published his first novel Pause! anonymously in 1910 and the first Fu Manchu novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu, was serialized from October 1912 - June 1913. It was an immediate success with its fast-paced story of Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie facing the worldwide conspiracy of the 'Yellow Peril'. The Fu Manchu stories, together with his more conventional detective series characters: Paul Harley, Gaston Max, Red Kerry, Morris Klaw, and The Crime Magnet made Rohmer one of the most successful and well-paid authors of the 1920s and 1930s.Rohmer also wrote several novels of supernatural horror, including Brood of the Witch-Queen. Sadly, Rohmer was very poor at managing his wealth and made several disastrous business decisions that hampered him througout his career. His final success came with a series of novels featuring a female variation on Fu Manchu, Sumuru."
Poems
Poems
Victor Hugo
¥8.09
This book includes selected poems from the following collections: Early Poems, Odes 1818-1828, Ballades 1813-1828, Les Orientales 1829, Les Feuilles D'Automne 1831, Les Chants du Crepuscule 1849, Les Voix Interieures 1840, Les Rayons et Les Ombres 1840, Les Chatiments 1853, Les Contemplations 1836-1856, La Legende des Siecles, La Voix de Guernesey, L'Annee Terrible, L'Art d'Etre Grandpere, Les Quatre Vents de l'Esprit, Various Pieces, and Dramatic Pieces. According to Wikipedia: "Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France. In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes identified as the greatest French poet. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (known in English also as The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Though a committed conservative royalist when he was young, Hugo grew more liberal as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time. He is buried in the Panthéon." Links from the active table of contents take you directly to the main sections.
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon
H. de Vere Stacpoole
¥8.09
Classic novel, first published in 1908, source of the movie of the same title. According to Wikipedia, "Henry De Vere Stacpoole (9 April 1863 – 12 April 1951) was an Irish century author, born in Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire). His best known work is the 1908 romance novel The Blue Lagoon, which has thrice been adapted into a feature film. He also wrote under the pseudonym Tyler De Saix. A ship's doctor for more than forty years, Stacpoole was also an expert on the South Pacific islands. His books frequently contained detailed descriptions of the natural life and civilizations with which he had become familiar on those islands. He moved to the Isle of Wight in the 1920s and lived there until his death. He was buried at Bonchurch in 1951."
Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth
Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth
Leo Tolstoy
¥8.09
Three-part autobiographical novel. According to Wikipedia: "Leo Tolstoy, or Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) was a Russian writer widely regarded as one of the greatest of all novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina stand, in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life, at the very peak of realist fiction."
Les Joyeuses Bourgeoises de Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor in French)
Les Joyeuses Bourgeoises de Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor in French)
William Shakespeare
¥8.09
Comédie Shakespeare, traduit en fran?ais. Selon Wikipedia: "The Merry Wives of Windsor est une comédie de William Shakespeare, publiée pour la première fois en 1602, mais qui aurait été écrite avant 1597. Elle présente le gros chevalier Sir John Falstaff, et est la seule pièce de Shakespeare vie contemporaine de la classe moyenne anglaise élisabéthaine. "
Sonnets from the Portuguese
Sonnets from the Portuguese
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
¥8.09
Very short collection of love poems. According to Wikipedia: "Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 – 1861) was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian era."
The Art of Fiction
The Art of Fiction
Henry James
¥8.09
Classic essay from the collection "Partial Portraits". According to Wikipedia: "Partial Portraits is a book of literary criticism by Henry James published in 1888. The book collected essays that James had written over the preceding decade, mostly on English and American writers. But the book also offered treatments of Alphonse Daudet, Guy de Maupassant and Ivan Turgenev. Perhaps the most important essay was The Art of Fiction, James' plea for the widest possible freedom in content and technique in narrative fiction. The Art of Fiction was a response to remarks by English critic Walter Besant, who wrote an article that literally attempted to lay down the "laws of fiction." For instance, Besant insisted that novelists should confine themselves to their own experience: "A young lady brought up in a quiet country village should avoid descriptions of garrison life." James argued that a sufficiently alert novelist could catch knowledge from everywhere and use it to good purpose: "The young lady living in a village has only to be a damsel upon whom nothing is lost to make it quite unfair (as it seems to me) to declare to her that she shall have nothing to say about the military. Greater miracles have been seen than that, imagination assisting, she should speak the truth about some of these gentlemen." James continually argues for the fullest freedom in the novelist's choice of subject and method of treatment..."
The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
Oscar Wilde
¥8.09
Wilde's best-known play. According to Wikipedia: "Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of 'gross indecency.'"
Early History of the Airplane
Early History of the Airplane
Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright
¥8.09
First-hand account of the invention of the airplane by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The book begins: "THOUGH the subject of aerial navigation is generally considered new, it has occupied the minds of men more or less from the earliest ages. Our personal interest in it dates from our childhood days. Late in the autumn of 1878 our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room, till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor."
The Six Comedies of Terence
The Six Comedies of Terence
Terence
¥8.09
Six comedies by the Roman dramatist, in English translation: Andria; or, the Fair Andrian; Eunuchus; or, the Eunuch; Heautontimorumenos; or, the Self-Tormentor; Adelphi; or, the Brothers; Hecyra; the Mother-in-law; and Phormio; or, the Scheming Parasite.
Essays on Mankind
Essays on Mankind
Sir William Petty
¥8.09
This work, first published around 1680, resembles the work of Malthus on the implications of population growth, which was written more than a hundred years later. According to Wikipedia: "Sir William Petty (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to survey the land that was to be confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers. He also managed to remain prominent under King Charles II and King James II, as did many others who had served Cromwell. He was Member of the Parliament of England briefly and was also a scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, and was a charter member of the Royal Society. It is for his theories on economics and his methods of political arithmetic that he is best remembered, however, and to him is attributed the philosophy of 'laissez-faire' in relation to government activity. He was knighted in 1661."
Practical Instruction for Detectives
Practical Instruction for Detectives
Emmerson W. Manning
¥8.09
First published in 1916. According to the Preface: " Having been connected for many years with two of the largest and most successful private detective agencies in this country, both as an operator and as an official, and having been requested to outline briefly and concisely the most modern and up-to-date methods employed by leading detectives and private detective agencies of today, I shall confine myself in these pages to facts and a few personal experiences. I will endeavor to show that any person possessed of average intelligence, and who will use good common sense, can become a successful detective, regardless of his present or previous occupation."
Works of Spielhagen, Storm, and Raabe
Works of Spielhagen, Storm, and Raabe
Theodor Storm
¥8.09
This collection includes works by Friedrich Spielhagen, Theodor Storm, and Wilhelm Raabe. The German Classics Of The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, Volume 11, edited by Kuno Francke.
Opportunities in Aviation
Opportunities in Aviation
Arthur Sweetser
¥8.09
First published in 1920. Job opportunities in aviation soon after World War I. "Any ordinary, active man, provided he has reasonably good eyesight and nerve, can fly, and fly well. If he has nerve enough to drive an automobile through the streets of a large city, and perhaps argue with a policeman on the question of speed limits, he can take himself off the ground in an airplane, and also land—a thing vastly more difficult and dangerous. We hear a great deal about special tests for the flier—vacuum-chambers, spinning-chairs, co-ordination tests—there need be none of these. The average man in the street, the clerk, the laborer, the mechanic, the salesman, with proper training and interest can be made good, if not highly proficient pilots. If there may be one deduction drawn from the experience of instructors in the Royal Air Force, it is that it is the training, not the individual, that makes the pilot."
Saint Smith and Other Stories
Saint Smith and Other Stories
Richard Seltzer
¥8.09
Saint Smith and Other Stories consists of two novellas and six short stories. "Saint Smith" focuses on Charlie, a would-be experimental film maker, Sarah his traditional Bible-believing mother, and Irene the clever ironic uninhibited German woman he marries. "The Barracks" takes place in basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, at the time of the Viet Nam War. The six stories deal with puzzles of human nature and the meaning of life.
Some Reminiscences
Some Reminiscences
Joseph Conrad
¥8.09
Conrad's autobiography. According to Wikipedia: "Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924) was a Polish-born English novelist. Many critics regard him as one of the greatest novelists in the English language—a fact that is remarkable, as he did not learn to speak English fluently until he was in his twenties (and always with a strong Polish accent). He became a naturalized British subject in 1886. Conrad is recognized as a master prose stylist. Some of his works have a strain of romanticism, but more importantly he is recognized as an important forerunner of modernist literature. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters have influenced many writers, including Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Graham Greene, William S. Burroughs, Joseph Heller, V.S. Naipaul, Italo Calvino and J. M. Coetzee."