Three visitors find shelter from a blizzard at Pat Scully's hotel: a nervous New Yorker known as the Swede, a rambunctious Westerner named Bill, and a reserved Easterner called Mr. Blanc. The Swede becomes increasingly drunk, defensive, and reckless. He is later murdered at the bar.

A collection of gothic tales from one of the finest Victorian writers featuring: The Grey Woman, Curious if True, Six Weeks at Heppenheim, Libbie Marsh's Three Eras, Christmas Storms and Sunshine, Hand and Heart, Bessy's Troubles at Home, Disappearances.

The story of the survival of a dynasty bloodline protected by the Priesthood of Isis, setin the Ptolemaic era of Ancient Egyptian history. The main character Harmachis is charged by the Priesthood to overthrow the supposed impostor Cleopatra, drive out the Romans and restore Egypt to its golden era.

The novel follows Anges and her uneasy path to personal happiness and a romance with Mr. Weston. Agnes, her sister, Mary, and their mother all try to keep expenses low and to bring in extra money, but Agnes is frustrated that everyone treats her like a child. To prove herself and to earn money, she starts working as a governess, teaching children of rich families. Agnes Grey is an autobiographical novel with strong parallels between its events and Anne Bronte's own life as a governess.

Can too much love be fatal? You are about to find out in this exquisite psychological drama between the owner of a pawnshop and his wife. The narrator's marriage started out cordially enough, but his miserly and reserved ways are taxing to his young wife. A dearth of communication and disagreements about how the pawnshop should be run result in arguments, though the narrator insists that they never quarrelled. One fine morning the narrator opens his eyes to see that his wife is standing over him with the revolver pointed at his temple.

Set in New Orleans, the story follows Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues. The novel's blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity makes The Awakening a precursor of American modernism.

Diary of a Madman is one of Gogol's greatest stories. The tale follows the life of a minor civil servant during the repressive era of Nicholas I. Following the format of a diary, the story shows the descent of the protagonist, Poprishchin, into insanity. Diary of a Madman, the only one of Gogol's works written in first person, follows diary-entry format. This Sovereign Classic edition also includes the following other tales: The Mantle, The Nose, A May Night.

The Piazza Tales is the only collection of short stories by Herman Melville including: The Piazza, Bartleby, Benito Cereno, The Lightning-Rod Man, The Encantadas, The Bell-Tower.

Our pet-loving narrator injures his black cat under heavy influence of alcohol. From that moment onward, the cat flees in terror at his master's approach but this does not save Pluto from his master and eventually leads to Pluto's death and a mysterious house fire. The mystery does not end there and leads to even more unexpected events. The book features twenty other stories including: The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Imp of the Perverse.

In this sequel to The Three Musketeers, we continue following adventured of a young man named d'Artagnan. This story follows events in France during La Fronde, during the childhood reign of Louis XIV, and in England near the end of the English Civil War, leading up to the victory of Oliver Cromwell and the execution of King Charles I.

A scholar and explorer, Dr. Samuel Ferguson, accompanied by his manservant Joe and his friend professional hunter Richard Kennedy, sets out to travel across the African with the help of a balloon filled with hydrogen. The balloon itself ultimately fails before the end, but makes it far enough across to get the protagonists to friendly lands, and eventually back to England, therefore succeeding in the expedition.

Some of the best of ghost stories from Ambrose Bierce, including: Present at a hanging, A cold greeting, A Wireless Message, An Arrest, A Man with Two Lives, The Isle of Pines, A Vine on a House, The Spook House, The Other Lodgers, and many other ghost stories.

Once upon a time there was a little girl called Lucie, who lived at a farm called Little-town. She was a good little girl—only she was always losing her pocket-handkerchiefs! One day little Lucie came into the farm-yard crying—oh, she did cry so! I’ve lost my pocket-handkin! Three handkins and a pinny! Have you seen them, Tabby Kitten?

Gulliver sets sail again and, after an attack by pirates, ends up in Laputa, where a floating island inhabited by theoreticians and academics oppresses the land below, called Balnibarbi. The scientific research undertaken in Laputa and in Balnibarbi seems totally inane and impractical, and its residents too appear wholly out of touch with reality. Taking a short side trip to Glubbdubdrib, Gulliver is able to witness the conjuring up of figures from history, such as Julius Caesar and other military leaders, whom he finds much less impressive than in books. After visiting the Luggnaggians and the Struldbrugs, the latter of which are senile immortals who prove that age does not bring wisdom, he is able to sail to Japan and from there back to England.

Lucien Chardon, the son of a lower middle-class father and an impoverished mother of remote aristocratic descent, is the pivotal figure of the entire work. Living at Angouleme, he is impoverished, impatient, handsome and ambitious. His widowed mother, his sister Eve and his best friend, David Sechard, do nothing to lessen his high opinion of his own talents, for it is an opinion they share.

The Archdeacon, although allowing that Grace is a lady, doesn't think her of high enough rank or wealth for his widowed son; his position is strengthened by the Reverend Mr Crawley's apparent crime. Almost broken by poverty and trouble, the Reverend Mr Crawley hardly knows himself if he is guilty or not; fortunately, the mystery is resolved just as Major Grantly's determination and Grace Crawley's own merit force the Archdeacon to overcome his prejudice against her as a daughter-in-law.

A sequel to Daniel Defoe's legendary Robinson Crusoe story of his adventures and survival on a remote tropical island. In this volume we follow Crusoe's return to his island, his voyages to Brazil, Southeast Asia, China, Madagascar, Siberia, and his adventures with the local tribes.

Moby-Dick, one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature, follows the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and Captain Ahab who seeks out Moby Dick, a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge.

Ireland is at a crossroads of history and culture, and so are the characters in Joyce's collection of fifteen stories in this book. The initial stories are narrated by child protagonists, and later deal with the lives and concerns of progressively more mature characters. The stories centre on Joyce's idea of an epiphany: a moment where a character experiences self-understanding or illumination.

Fanny Price, a young girl from a large and relatively poor family, is taken to be raised by her rich uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas, and Lady Bertram, of Mansfield Park. Fanny grows up with her four older cousins but is always treated as something of a poor relation. Only Edmund, the second son, shows her real kindness. Over time, Fanny's gratitude for Edmund's thoughtfulness secretly grows into romantic love.

Ceea ce surprinde i fascineaz din capul locului n Ppdia electric este naturaleea cu care erban Axinte i transcrie viziunile. Discursul su nu are nimic contrafcut, strident, literar; din contr, poetul las impresia c nu face dect s repertorieze ct mai neutru, cu o precizie de grefier, o lume care i se ofer de-a gata i care, n ultim instan, l cuprinde. E drept c asemenea fotograme, care nu pot fi captate dect n stri liminale, precum visul, hipnoza, beia sau demena, au un aspect halucinant i misterios, de underworld rsrit parc din aburii alcoolului ori cufundat ntr-o memorie lichefiat. Numai c acest efect nu provine din anularea, ci tocmai din dilatarea percepiei comune, din celulele surescitate ale retinei care descoper nu att o irealitate imediat, ct o realitate remixat, n care lucrurile pot fi i aa, i altminteri. N-a putea bga mna-n foc c lumea i-a mai ieit i de aceast dat lui erban Axinte aa cum a vrut. Poezia, ns – cu siguran.“ – Andrei Terianerban Axinte este, dup cum tie toat lumea, unul dintre cele mai bune produse ale criticii literare din ultimul deceniu. Cronicar la Observator cultural, el este i autorul uneia dintre cele mai ambiioase sinteze recente – Definiiile romanului. De la Dimitrie Cantemir la G. Clinescu, o morfologie istoric a romanului romnesc care merit cu prisosin o receptare en fanfare.ns, pe de alt parte, taman faptul c toat lumea tie cine e criticul literar erban Axinte nu-i face un PR prea grozav poetului erban Axinte, cu toate c cel din urm e egalul absolut n drepturi al celui dinti. Lucrul s-a vzut i la precedenta sa carte de poezie, Lumea i-a ieit cum ai vrut (Vinea, 2006) – recomandat de prefaa empatic a lui Doris Mironescu, volumul n-a avut totui receptarea pe care ar fi meritat-o. Iar acum, dup cum se vede, scriu la rndul meu o prefa empatic, spernd din toat inima c Ppdia electric va fi o carte mai norocoas.(...)Ppdia electric e construit din trei cicluri (ca i Lumea i-a ieit aa cum ai vrut, de altfel – ceea ce poate s sugereze un anumit pattern arhitectural urmrit cu schepsis), intitulate decoct, bulb i acele electrice; ei bine, poemele tuturor acestor trei cicluri sunt inervate de imagini remarcabile, deseori de-a dreptul memorabile – citez aproape la ntmplare: s ni se ridice din inim o lumin att de puternic nct custura lumilor s nu se mai vad (acele electrice), ceva crete acum din mine, / cineva sufl asupra mea / cu miliarde de fotoni. // aura / nflorete din bulbul cretetului meu / ntr-o uria ppdie electric (ppdia electric), de ce i este fric, atta timp ct stai acolo, / nimic nu te poate atinge. // ce vd n tine, ce vd n tine, // un cimitir n care toi dumnezeii pmntului / i-au lsat morii s nfloreasc (de ce i este fric) .a.m.d. Sunt, toate, imagini de o mare frumusee, cu care empatizezi instantaneu i te fac s stabileti cu textul de sub ochi acel contract de ncredere despre care vorbea cndva Borges ca de o condiie sine qua non a lecturii de poezie.(...) Aadar, dac inem s-l etichetm generaionist pe erban Axinte, nu putem dect conchide c e cel mai atipic doumiist. Cu excepia obsesiei pentru hapax-ul existenial, nimic nu-l leag de generaia sa: nici poetica, nici maniera, nici tehnica. O atipie profund transpare din tot scrisul lui poetic; or, dup cum se tie, atipicii sunt ntotdeauna ctigtori pe termen lung.“ – Radu Vancu