The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton

Daniel Defoe

With a page-length title promising thrilling adventures in exotic locations, Captain Singleton is often viewed as an attempt by Defoe to capitalize upon the success achieved by Robinson Crusoe, which had been published a year earlier and had already merited a sequel. Defoe here offers a searching exploration of society from the point of view of its outcasts. The narrative describes the life of an Englishman, stolen from a well-to-do family as a child and raised by Gypsies who eventually makes his way to sea. The novel comprises two distinct halves. The first one is set in an east-west journey across central Africa, with a lot of not surprisingly dubious details of the wildlife, natives and scenery encountered. The second half involves piracies in diverse locations around the globe, including Brazil, the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. Originally was published in 1720, The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton is an absorbing and delightful tale.

The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit

Charles Dickens

Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens is a story of selfishness, greed, and hypocrisy. The central character is old Martin Chuzzlewit, whose selfishness and cynicism, combined with his great wealth, cause him to mistrust everyone around him. Also a major character in the story is his relative, Mr. Pecksniff, an accomplished hypocrite, who covers his avarice with a mask of smooth piety and humility. Martin Chuzzlewit is a picaresque novel, which follows the genre convention of depicting the humorous adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits and corrupts society. As in most picaresque novels, the primary objective is social satire or criticism.

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens

Nineteenth century England. When Nicholas Nicklebys father dies and leaves his family destitute, his uncle, the greedy moneylender, Ralph Nickleby, finds Nicholas a job teaching in a repulsive school in Yorkshire. Nicholas flees the school taking with him one of the persecuted boys, Smike, and they join a troop of actors. Nicholas then has to protect Smike, while trying to stop his Uncle Ralph taking advantage of his sister Kate, and later his sweetheart, Madeline Bray, whose father is in debtors prison. A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle. After many adventures Nicholas finally triumphs over his Uncle, although his success is also tinged with sadness.

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Written in the form of an autobiography, it describes the life of the eponymous narrator Robinson Crusoe. After surviving a terrible shipwreck, Crusoe discovers he is the only human on an island far from any shipping routes or rescue. At first he is devastated, but slowly, with patience and imagination, he transforms his island into a tropical paradise. For twenty-four years he lives with no human companionship until one fateful day, when he discovers he is not alone... The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is of the most popular books ever written in the English language, published in innumerable editions and translated into almost every language of the world. Based on the real-life experiences of the castaway Alexander Selkirk, the book has had a perennial appeal among readers of all ages especially the young adult reading public who continue to find inspiration in the inventive resourcefulness of its hero.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

L. Frank Baum

Every child knows about Santa Claus, the jolly man who brings gifts to all on Christmas. There are many stories that tell of his life, but the delightful version relayed in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is by far the most charming and original of all. Orphaned at an infant Claus is found and raised in the magical Forest of Burzee by a wood-nymph Necile, who convinces the great Ak to allow her to raise Claus for her own. As he grows older he meets his fellow humans, and sees the neglect of children. This sets him on the path to making toys and becoming the beloved Saint Nicholas we are familiar with today. Along the way we learn the origins of the Christmas tree and Christmas stockings and discover the stories behind many Christmas secrets, like why Santa slides down chimneys, how he picks his reindeer, and how he delivers all his toys in one night. Only L. Frank Baum, the man who created the wonderful land of Oz, could have told Santas tale in such rich and imaginative detail!

The Life and Death of King John

William Shakespeare

King John Shakespearean chronicles of the reign of such a historical figure as John Landless. John becomes king of England, bypassing his nephew Arthur, who has completely legal rights to the throne. Arthur, supported by his mother Constance, asks for the help of the King of France, Philip. King Philip goes to John by war.

The Life of King Henry the Fifth

William Shakespeare

In Henry V, a small episode of Anglo-Frankish history is described, the Hundred Years War The Battle of Azincourt. The crushing defeat of the French will forever remain in the memory of the losers and in the dreams of the descendants of future kings. Despite the fact that the battle was described, the war was described, it seemed to me that there were a lot of comedic moments here.

The Life of Timon of Athens

William Shakespeare

A very instructive story about not doing good is not getting evil. The main character is a tragic personality. At first he loved people with all his soul, who was eager to help them selflessly and ruined as a result of this, in one day he would know all human ingratitude, self-interest and anger. In anger, Timon of Athens kills one of his insulters, for which he is expelled from Athens.

The Lifted Veil

George Eliot

During a period of illness, Latimer first discovers he is able to read other peoples minds and see visions of the future. Rather than being a gift, this strange phenomenon increasingly becomes a curse. But the one thing that keeps him going is his love for Bertha. But everything changes when Latimer finally does gain sporadic insight into Berthas mind... and finds her thoughts are much more sinister than he had anticipated... In this dark novella George Eliot explores clairvoyance, fate and the possibility of life after death.

The Light Beyond

E. Phillips Oppenheim

In this remarkable 1927 novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim, a great conference has been called in London to renegotiate the war debt. It is clear that Germany is suffering, and all of Europe is affected. The great Financier Felix Dukane is in London with his beautiful daughter Estelle. It is rumored that he stands ready to loan Germany One Billion Pounds if the conference is able to limit the total debt. The outcome of the conference hinges on military and industrial secrets. The novel presents a fascinating picture of the political mindset of the day to go along with the twists and turns of the story. Interestingly, unlike most of Oppenheims novels, many of the main characters act dishonorably at various points in the novel.

The Light of Western Stars

Zane Grey

Madeline Hammond wanted more out of life than the superficial glitter of New York society. So she bought a ranch near the turbulent Mexican frontier and ended up getting more than shed ever bargained for-and most of it trouble! She has a lot to learn about running a ranch in frontier New Mexico, but there is no question in her mind that she has to intervene when Gene Stewart, a cowhand who risked his life to save her honor, is scheduled to be hanged. And Madeline Hammond rode into the lawless wilds of Mexico in a desperate bid for his life and the love she had suddenly discovered! A surprising climax brings the story to a delightful close.

The Light Shines in Darkness. Drama

Leo Tolstoy

The drama The Light Shines reflects the events of Tolstoys life in the broadest, most typified generalizations. Therefore, it would be a gross mistake to fully identify the content of the drama with the life of Tolstoy, his family and those around him. Nevertheless, there is a close relationship between them. So, the drama of Nikolai Ivanovich Saryntsev is, of course, the drama of Tolstoy himself. In the person of Maria Ivanovna Saryntseva, some characteristic features of S. A. Tolstoy are outlined. The same should be said of the other characters in the play, which are very reminiscent of either Tolstoys family or those who came into close contact with his family. And the drunk Alexander Petrovich who appears in the fourth act is taken from real life. This is Tolstoys scribe, Alexander Petrovich Ivanov, a former officer who became trampless, an inhabitant of Rzhanovs house.

The Light That Failed

Rudyard Kipling

Kipling wrote the first novel, The Light That Failed in many ways an autobiographical novel, having already gained fame with his poems and stories. In addition to the novel and selected stories from collections of different years, the book includes the story Brave Captains - about the romance and hardships of sea travel, the formation of the character of a young man, about metamorphoses that occur in people under the influence of merciless circumstances...

The Lighted Way

E. Phillips Oppenheim

A mystery story that involves the revolution in Portugal. Arnold Chetwode never intended to become involved in international intrigue. Arnold, a gently born young man in impecunious circumstances, toils as a lowly, ill-paid clerk in the prosperous London firm run by Mr. Weatherley, he is industrious but common merchant. A surprising invitation puts him at the right time and place to be a witness to a public murder. His employer and employers family are involved in the aftermath. Even Ruth, the poor invalid who befriended him when he was penniless. Full of descriptions of London settings, society, restaurants, country houses, and early motorcars, the novel careens back and forth between politics and romance. The reader is kept in complete mystery until the whole story is explained.

The Lightning Warrior

George Owen Baxter

The Lightning Warrior is the name given to the great white wolf that is so swift in attacking its prey. A bounty is offered but no one can catch or kill the animal, that is until Cobalt arrives in the area. When Sylvia Baird, a proud woman determined not to marry Cobalt, a fierce warrior, tells him that she will consent to be his wife only if he brings her the pelt of this elusive white wolf, he succeeds much to her horror, and she must escape with the wolf at her side. Max Brands action-filled stories of adventure and heroism in the American West continue to entertain readers throughout the world. This is one of his Western fiction.

The Lily of the Valley

Honoré de Balzac

Autobiographical and exceptionally romantic, The Lily of the Valley is an 1835 novel about love and society by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (17991850) and is one of his personal favorites among his innumerable novels. The creator of the Human Comedy brings his creative insight to a portrait of a lady and a love affair set in the Loire valley. It concerns the affection emotionally vibrant but never consummated between Felix de Vandenesse and Henriette de Mortsauf. The young and successful Felix, a young man with a dark past always turned away, always unloved, begins a forthright correspondence on the subject of love with Henriette. Her unexpected reply to his candid reminiscences, however, reveals the truth about his lily of the valley and the feminine side of amour.