Queen Zixi of Ix. Or, The Story of the Magic Cloak

L. Frank Baum

Another enchanting tale of juvenile literature from the creator of The Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum dedicated the book Queen Zixi of Ix, or The Story of the Magic Cloak to his oldest son, Frank Joslyn Baum. In it, the queen of fairies creates a magic cloak which grants its wearer a single wish. Meanwhile, an orphan boy becomes the new king of Noland and his sister gains the cloak which is stolen by the Queen of Zixi, who wishes her mirror to show her as the beautiful young woman she appears instead of showing her appearance at her true age of 683 years. Adventures ensue, armies attack and retreat, and good wins out when the fairy queen takes back the magic cloak. The cloak turns out to be a source of trouble as well as a blessing. Baum packs this adventure with his customary humor, inventive fantasies, and captivating characters.

Cardillac

Robert Barr

Robert Barr (18491912) was a Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist, born in Glasgow, Scotland who relocated to London in 1881 where he founded the magazine The Idler in 1892 in collaboration with Jerome K Jerome. In 1895 he retired from its co-editorship and became a prolific novelist. His famous detective character Eugéne Valmont, fashioned after Sherlock Holmes, is said to be the inspiration behind Agatha Christies Hercule Poirot. Some of his works include: In the Midst of Alarms, a story of the attempted Fenian invasion of Canada in 1866; A Woman Intervenes, a story of love, finance, and American journalism; and Countess Tekla, a historical novel. Mr. Robert Barrs Cardillac is a machine-made historical tale of the time of King Louis XIII, set in old France.

The Earl of Nowhere

Edgar Wallace

Every city has its own peculiar voice. Neither the harsh roar of London, the nerve destroying staccato of sound which belongs exclusively to New York, nor the kettledrum buzz of Madrid is comparable with the voice of Paris, which is mainly vocal.""Queer thing about Paris, sir," said Jim Selby, "somebody is always talking.""The staid Vice-Councillor of the British Embassy lifted his head, and, being literally-minded, listened.""I hear nobodyexcept you," he said.""The Earl of Nowhere" includes the short stories from incomparable Edgar Wallace. Few people today would recognize the name "Edgar Wallace" but before his death in 1933 he was a literary force to be reckoned with. He was both prolific and popular and his books reportedly sold at the rate of 5,000 a day.

The Prairie. A Tale

James Fenimore Cooper

The Prairie: A Tale (1827) is a novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the 3rd novel written by him featuring Natty Bumppo. Civilization drives old hunter Natty Bumppo (Leatherstocking) west of the Mississippi to the prairies, where he becomes a trapper and helps a band of emigrants in their conflicts with Indians, miscreants, and the harsh environment. We find Hawkeye removed to the uncharted territory which would become Wyoming and the Dakotas. Having fled the relentless sound of axes hewing down his beloved forests in the east, the Leatherstocking is now in his eighties and has isolated himself in the land of the Pawnee, the Sioux and countless herds of buffalo. Culminating in a magnificently written death scene, The Prairie brings the old hunter full circle with images of his youth and reminiscences of the remarkable life which made him the prototype of the American Hero.

Czahary

Maria Rodziewiczówna

Akcja tej popularnej powieści rozgrywa się w końcu XIX wieku na Kresach. Tytułowe Czahary to majątek stanowiący część spadku, o który spierają się dzieci starego Janickiego. Dwaj zaborczy bracia nie chcą wziąć pod uwagę tego, co należy się trzeciemu, Wacławowi, uznanemu za zaginionego. Ich siostra Kasia upiera się jednak przy sprawiedliwym podziale dóbr. Tylko ona wie, że Wacław żyje... Opowieść o triumfie szlachetności, prawości i kobiecej odwadze na tle wspaniałych, kresowych krajobrazów.

Akropolis. Dramat w czterech aktach

Stanisław Wyspiański

Wydarzenia dramatu rozgrywają się w trakcie świąt Wielkiej Nocy w katedrze wawelskiej. Ożywione posągi, dekorujące dotychczas katedrę, wyrażają swoją pewność co do istnienia rezurekcji biologicznej oraz wyższości życia nad śmiercią. Dramat uznawany jest za ideową kontynuację Wesela oraz Wyzwolenia. Łączy polską tradycję z mitologią grecką, która od najmłodszych lat stanowiła fascynację autora.

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

Mark Twain

The name of Joan of Arc became a legend: an illiterate village girl, standing at the head of the French army, delivered her country from English rule and enthroned the king, who later betrayed her. In the novel by Mark Twain, the story of Jeanne her childhood, her victories and death is presented to the reader on behalf of her friend and secretary. This is a story about a great and noble soul, about a disinterested female heart that can withstand any load, even beyond the strength of the mighty of this world.

Городок Окуров (Gorodok Okurow)

Максим Горький, Maksim Gorki

Максим Горький (1868 2013 1936) принадлежит к числу писателей и мыслителей, определивших образ русской литературы XX века. Великий художник слова, он был и выдающимся литературным критиком, публицистом, издателем. 201eГородок Окуров201d (1909) можно назвать книгой о мещанстве как общественном слое, взятом во всей его сложности и пестроте, со всеми его противоречиями: здесь и зажиточное мещанство, преимущественно торгаши, и беднота слободская, главным образом мастеровые, ремесленники. Уездный 201eгородок Окуров201d отражал типические явления российской действительности периода политической реакции. В нем немало картин, символизирующих общее государственное состояние царской России. Автор стремился показать в ней то, как мещанство принимает революционную бурю 1905 года. Именно на решение этой задачи направлены все структурные элементы повести.

A Mother in India

Sara Jeannette Duncan

The regiment, as usual, lacked officers, and John had to hold daytime parades three times a week. This story is about a poor guy who tried to do everything to get out of poverty. This story keeps everyone to the end.

Odprawa posłów greckich

Jan Kochanowski

Jan Kochanowski uważany jest za jednego z najwybitniejszych poetów epoki renesansu w Europie. Jego dramat Odprawa posłów greckich, wydany w 1578 roku, stanowi rozwinięcie jednego z wątków mitu o wojnie trojańskiej. Syn króla Troi uprowadza żonę króla Sparty Helenę. Greccy posłowie żądają zwrotu kobiety, jednak rada trojańska nie zgadza się i rozpoczyna przygotowania do nieuniknionej wojny z Grekami.

Taps at Reveille

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Taps at Reveille (1935) is a collection of 18 short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1935 and dedicated to Fitzgeralds agent Harold Ober. It was the fourth and final collection of short stories Fitzgerald published in his lifetime. It brings together several of his best stories from the late 1920s and early 1930s, including Crazy Sunday, and Babylon Revisited, a story considered by many to be his masterpiece in the genre.

The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

Leo Tolstoy

So in this work the reader appears to be one of the companions in the train. At first, there are usual discussions on a common topic, when everyone expresses his opinion, and then, leaving at his station, he remains at his own. But those who go further can hear a frank story about passions, feelings, about the tragedy of one private life. Accurately written about the influence of music. And this moment only emphasizes that the person who so perceives music, deep down in his soul is capable of the strongest experiences. It is not surprising that it was music, observation of what was happening in the soul of musicians during a truly felt performance, that became a powerful impetus to that tragic act.

A Self-Made Thief

Hulbert Footner

A strange and inescapable force lures Frank Heberdon, socially prominent young lawyer, on to life of crime, and he finds his lovely rescuer in a denizen of the underworld where they join forces. The development of Franks criminal career and the way he goes from theft and blackmail to drugs and finally murder makes as thrilling and absorbing a tale as Hulbert Footner ever wrote with a smashing surprise at the very end.

Żaby

Arystofanes

Eurypides umiera, a wraz z nim nadzieja na kolejnego wielkiego tragika. A ponieważ nikt nie jest w stanie mu dorównać, Dionizos, bóg winorośli i sztuki teatralnej, postanawia wyruszyć wraz ze swoim sługą Ksantiasem do krainy umarłych, aby sprowadzić go na ziemię. Tam staje jednak przed trudnym wyborem wrócić z Eurypidesem, przedstawiającym bogów i bohaterów jako postacie dnia codziennego, czy Ajschylosem, autorem sztuk monumentalnych.

In Praise of a Suffolk Cottage

Mary Cholmondeley

Most of the stories were written in a cottage in Suffolk. Everyone now has a so-called cottage. This is a story about how a seemingly simple cottage won the heart of the protagonist and it happened for a reason.

Requiem aeternam. Confiteor

Stanisław Przybyszewski

Na początku była chuć słynne zdanie rozpoczynające Requiem aeternam zapowiada manifest panseksualistycznych poglądów Przybyszewskiego. Głęboko osadzony w młodopolskich nastrojach utwór stanowi wyraz koncepcji filozoficznych autora. W czasach autora bulwersował i szokował, wpisywał się w aurę skandalu otaczającą Przybyszewskiego. Sam autor zaliczał Requiem aeternam do cyklu poematów prozą albo rapsodii.