Antonina. or the Fall of Rome

Wilkie Collins

A romance of the fifth century, in which many of the scenes described in the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire are reset to suit the purpose of the author. Only two historical personages are introduced into the story, the Emperor Honorius, and Alaric the Goth; and these attain only a secondary importance. Among the historical incidents used are the arrival of the Goths at the gates of Rome, the Famine, the last efforts of the besieged, the Treaty of Peace, the introduction of the Dragon of Brass, and the collection of the ransom. Our heroine Antonina, a very young Roman maiden, flees her father and an amorous patrician neighbor, into the arms of a young, handsome, gentle, sympathetic Goth. This book does not show the intricacy of plot and clever construction of the authors modern society stories; but it is full of action, vivid in color, and sufficiently close to history to convey a dramatic sense of the Rome of Honorius and the closing-in of the barbarians.

Poezje. Wybór

Jan Kasprowicz

Wybór wierszy zawiera około stu najpopularniejszych utworów lirycznych polskiego poety, dramaturga i krytyka literackiego okresu Młodej Polski. Twórczość Jana Kasprowicza podlegała licznym przemianom estetycznym i światopoglądowym. Poeta był związany ze wszystkimi głównymi nurtami ówczesnej liryki, przede wszystkim z naturalizmem, symbolizmem oraz ekspresjonizmem. Był również prekursorem nowoczesnego wiersza wolnego, katastrofizmu oraz szeregu tendencji prymitywistycznych we współczesnej sztuce. Różnorodność wątków i tematów, jakie podejmował w swych utworach Kasprowicz, stanowiła odbicie bezpośrednich doświadczeń życiowych autora. Był przy tym osobowością głęboko religijną. W każdej ze swoich stylistycznych odsłon poeta zachował właściwą sobie indywidualność stylu, której nie sposób porównywać ze stylem innych twórcy tego okresu.

Wierna rzeka

Stefan Żeromski

Wierna rzeka opisuje okres powstania styczniowego. Po przegranej bitwie pod Małogoszczem do zrujnowanego majątku Niezdoły dociera ciężko ranny powstaniec, książę Józef Odrowąż. Tam zajmuje się nim córka zarządcy majątku Salomea Brynicka, która wraz ze swym wiernym sługą, starym Szczepanem, opatruje jego rany. Musi także przygotować bezpieczną kryjówkę na wypadek, gdyby do dworu przyszli Rosjanie. Salomea długo ukrywa powstańca i pielęgnuje go podczas choroby. Z czasem obdarza Odrowąża uczuciem wbrew przestrogom starego opiekuna Szczepana.

O poprawie Rzeczypospolitej

Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski

O naprawie Rzeczypospolitej to doniosłe dzieło Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego, obrazujące stan Rzeczpospolitej doby renesansu i postulujące zmiany w duchu idealizmu politycznego, oparte na sprawiedliwych prawach i silnej władzy królewskiej. Traktat obejmował pięć ksiąg: O obyczajach, O prawie, O wojnie, O Kościele i O szkole, a tym samym stanowił rozległe kompendium wiedzy o działalności państwa.

The Dancing Floor

John Buchan

Vernon Milbourne, orphaned since childhood and haunted by a recurring dream, is friends with the protective lawyer and MP Sir Edward Leithen. An Aegean cruise takes them to the mysterious island of Plakos, where Vernon is fascinated by the islands myths. Local superstitions turn to menace as Vernons encounter with a beautiful woman results in obsession and adventure. The Dancing Floor centres on a young English woman, Kore Arabin, who inherits a house on a remote Greek island. Sadly for Kore the locals regard her as a witch, responsible for the failure of their crops, and become convinced she must be sacrificed in order to ensure better harvests in the coming years. Sir Edward Leithen and Vernon Milburne must save her before the islanders sacrifice her. Sir Edward Leithen is a character that features prominently in several other John Buchan novels, including The Power-House, The Gap in the Curtain and others.

The Shadow of the Wolf

R. Austin Freeman

This novel is an excellent example of the inverted detective story, a modern form that R. Austin Freeman is credited with inventing. You know from the beginning who the guilty party is, but watching Dr. Thorndyke figure it out is amazing. And watching the perpetrator think that he is getting away with his crime, while watching Dr. Thorndyke close in on him is well-done literary irony. The fun comes not from being baffled, but from watching Thorndykes mind at work and observing his scientific methods which include, in this case, geology, petrology, psychology, marine biology, handwriting analysis, and chemical analysis. The crime takes place in a yacht off the coast of Penzance in Cornwall, where a circle of friends are vacationing. The victim is a boorish, overbearing, dishonest brute with money. The murderer is a likable, gentlemanly, talented artist of modest means. Every one likes the murderer, including Dr. Thorndyke.

Knights of the Range

Zane Grey

A true legend, Zane Grey has thrilled a generation of readers with his great stories of the American West. Holly Ripple, a young, headstrong woman, brought up in the upscale boarding schools of the east, has inherited her familys cattle ranch in 1870s New Mexico, after the sudden death of her father. With the help of the ranch foreman and Renn Frayne, a newly hired hand; a outlaw seeking redemption, they organize a assorted group of cowboys to protect the herd, and the safety of their ranch, from rustlers, competing cattle barons, and other assorted villains. In the spirit and glory of a classic Western, and published exactly as the author originally intended, Knights of the Range, is one of Zane Greys swiftest and most exciting novels.

Najpiękniejsze wiersze dla dzieci

Praca zbiorowa

Wiersze zebrane w tym niezwykłym tomie od pokoleń bawią i uczą najmłodszych czytelników. Nie może ich zabraknąć w żadnej dziecięcej biblioteczce. W książce znalazły się m.in. wiersze i wierszyki takich autorów jak: Aleksander Fredro (np. Małpa w kąpieli, Paweł i Gaweł), Stanisław Jachowicz (np. Chory kotek, Tadeuszek), Władysław Bełza (Katechizm polskiego dziecka), Maria Konopnicka (Krasnoludki, Stefek Burczymucha, Pan Zielonka) czy Ignacy Krasicki (Przyjaciele, Czapla, ryby i rak).

Collected Short Stories (Vol. 6). Collected Short Stories. Volume 6

Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle never wasted time in getting his stories moving. His plots are always direct and refreshingly lucid, and the narrative has a velocity that sweeps you along right to the end. This was no doubt a large part of his immense worldwide success. Volume 6 continues the exciting adventures of the worlds most famous pipe-smoking detective, Sherlock Holmes, collecting works written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Volume includes The Adventure of the Gloria Scott, The Adventure of the Resident Patient, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Final Problem. Here are three more Sherlock Holmes adventures from the pen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This collection includes the following: The Adventure of the Priory School, The Red-Headed League and The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

Die Abenteuerin. Roman

Edgar Wallace

Caroline Smith wird von Joe Grandman beauftragt. Detektivin Caroline Smith, die den kostbaren Schmuck der Gäste vor einer berüchtigten Juwelendiebin schützen soll. Joe Grandman gibt auf seinem Landsitz bei London einen Galaempfang. Doch Miss Smith kann ihren Auftrag nicht ausführen denn sie wird vergiftet...

The Black Rider

George Owen Baxter

The Black Rider, originally published in 1925, is set in Spanish California at the time when the eastern colonies of this country were still ruled by Great Britain. In the novella The Black Rider," a Navajo named Taki is fluent in four languages, a skilled knife-thrower, a consummate horseman, and can outwit any opponent. It is a tale of intrigue and revenge, where a mysterious Navajo becomes more than just a nemesis to a brutal landowner and his simpering son. But a woman named Lucia dArquista will test him to his limits. An arranged marriage, a murder, an arrogant duelist and several false identities combine to provide muscular action and some delightful surprises.

Men Like Gods

Herbert George Wells

Towards the end of his career, Wells write this book, in which he outlined his vision of Utopia. This is the story of a Mr. Barnstaple, an everyday man, who finds himself propelled into a parallel universe with a group of famous politicians, aristocrats, and their chauffeurs. The world they find themselves in has abolished all disease, and everyone only works at what takes their fancy. The inhabitants of this world speak telepathically, and recognise that the Earth is currently going through a phase akin to a part of their history called the age of confusion which happened some 3000 years before. But despite being surrounded by such beauty and elegance, some of the earthlings rebel and attempt to conquer this new world.

Jacobs Room

Virginia Woolf

Jacobs Room is an impressionistic novel in which there is no defined plot; rather, random circumstances in the central characters life, Jacob Flanders, are portrayed as observations of the people who come in contact with him. Set in early 20th century England, Jacobs Room is simply the story of a young man who dies in the first world war, Jacob Flanderrs, as told in fleeting recollections by his mother and his close friends. The novel follows Jacobs life, but he is seen mainly at a distance, through the eyes of women who knew him more or less well, and the narrative itself is quite fragmentary, so that the reader experiences the same problem faced by Jacobs survivors how to piece together his life. Jacobs Room marks the beginning of Woolfs experimental literary techniques, stream of consciousness and interior monologue. Also, this novel defies the traditional style of time sequence by moving from the present to the future and back to the past.

Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy

Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz

Bezrobotny urzędnik pocztowy z prowincji, Nikodem Dyzma, przybywa do Warszawy w poszukiwaniu zarobku. Jedynym jego majątkiem jest frak, który ma mu ułatwić uzyskanie pracy fordansera w jednym z nocnych lokali. Zrządzeniem losu znajduje na ulicy zaproszenie na wytworny raut. Idzie tam, by je oddać. Liczy na sowity napiwek. Wzięty jednak zostaje za jednego z gości. Awantura zrobiona dyrektorowi gabinetu premiera sprawia, że staje się bohaterem wieczoru. Szybko wkupia się w łaski środowiska rządzącej krajem elity. Doradza ministrom w sprawach gospodarczych. Jest ulubieńcem salonów, ma ogromne powodzenie u kobiet. Zostaje mianowany prezesem Państwowego Banku Zbożowego, wkrótce czekają go też inne zaszczyty... Książka Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy stanowi niezwykle odważną i celną satyrę na skorumpowane i cyniczne elity polityczne i gospodarcze końca lat dwudziestych minionego wieku, a jej bohater stał się symbolem prostaka i ignoranta bezwzględnie pnącego się na wyżyny społeczne po szczeblach kariery.

Der Frosch mit der Maske. Roman

Edgar Wallace

Eine Serie von Verbrechen macht London unsicher. Seit Jahren versetzt der unheimlich maskierte Chef einer Verbrecherbande, der sogenannte Frosch mit der Maske, London in Angst und Schrecken. An der Spitze der berüchtigten Bande, deren Mitglieder alle dieselbe Tätowierung tragen, steht der unbekannte und schwer fassbare Frosch. Als der zuständige Undercover-Polizist tot aufgefunden wird, übernimmt Sergeant Elk den Fall. Weder Inspektor Elk noch seinem Assistenten Sergeant Balder ist es gelungen, den furchterregenden Verbrecher und seine Bande zu fassen. Doch auch der Inspektor muss bald bemerken, dass das Netz der Frösche größer ist als vermutet...

Pride and Prejudice. A Novel

Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice a novel about Elizabeth Bennet, who is a witty and independent young girl, lives in England with her four sisters, her mother, and her father. When Mr. Bingley, a handsome, rich, young bachelor, arrives to stay briefly in Hartfordshire (where the Bennets live), Mrs. Bennet immediately tries to get one of her daughters to marry him. Bingley is a charming young man and quickly falls in love with the eldest Bennet sister, the beautiful Jane. It is a guarded relationship, so Jane and Bingley dont express outright their mutual feelings for each other, though Bingley obviously shows favor to Jane. Meanwhile, Bingleys proud friend Darcy meets Elizabeth. Elizabeth loathes Mr. Darcy, and avoids him as much as possible. Though Darcy is proud and reserved at first, it becomes obvious of his fondness for Elizabeth.