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.

Ród Rodrigandów (Tom 17). Ród Rodrigandów. Zmierzch cesarza

Karol May

Wydarzenia epilogu serii rozgrywają się w Meksyku. Aby sprawiedliwości stało się zadość, Gasparino Cortejo i Landola trafiają nareszcie pod sąd. Podobny los spotyka cesarza, którego siedziba w Queretaro zostaje zdobyta, a sam cesarz otrzymuje wyrok śmierci. W stolicy odbywa się również proces w sprawie rodu Rodrigandów. Bohaterowie wracają do Europy.

A Desert Bride. A Story of Adventure in India and Persia

Hume Nisbet

Ronald Makivor and Jack Bangles decided to find the peacock throne of Shah Jehan, who, as they say, Nadir Shah took away from Delhi. Their adventures begin with fleeing wide legs from the rebellious sepoys. Over time, they enter the service of the Afghan prince a model of knightly honor who must have been very unlike his compatriots, unless they are greatly offended by the general message. In his company, they go through amazing experience and see that they are fighting enough to satisfy the most warlike taste.

Auf zwei Planeten. Teil III

Kurd Lasswitz

Der promovierte Physiker und Mathematiker Kurd Laßwitz gilt als Begründer der deutschsprachigen Science Fiction, veröffentlichte daneben jedoch auch zahlreiche Arbeiten zu physikalischen und vor allem philosophischen Fragen. In dem umfangreichen, 1897 erschienenen Roman Auf zwei Planeten, seinem bedeutendsten Werk, schildert der Autor die Ankunft von zunächst friedfertigen Marsbewohnern auf der Erde, die sich allmählich zu einer Invasion entwickelt. Während die Marsianer durch ihre Begegnung mit den Menschen verrohen und entgegen ihrer ursprünglichen Absicht zu Unterdrückern und Besatzern werden, vereint der gemeinsame Feind die Menschen über National- und Standesgrenzen hinweg zum gemeinsamen Widerstand gegen die Fremdherrschaft.

Lukundoo and Other Stories

Edward Lucas White

Lukundoo and Other Stories is one of those stories that are scary to read. The story of a man who breaks a taboo, then bears a cruel punishment. Curse is one of the punishments. The story will appeal to those who are interested in colonial anxiety and horror of the body.

Pan Jowialski. Komedia w czterech aktach prozą

Aleksander Fredro

Na dworze państwa Jowalskich spotykają się przedstawiciele różnych środowisk staropolskiej szlachty, pokolenia oświecenia, romantyzmu oraz ubogich artystów. Co może wyniknąć w takim ciekawym towarzystwie?

Quelques aspects du vertige mondial

Pierre Loti

Dans ce livre publié en 1917, Pierre Loti, le célebre écrivain français de la grande époque et grand voyageur, décrit certains aspects de la Premiere Guerre mondiale. Si vous voulez vous sortir de limage déformée de Loti, exotique et non juif, il vous suffit de lire ces textes qui donnent un éclairage différent et completent la tres bonne édition de Soldats bleus.

Cousin Pons

Honoré de Balzac

Cousin Pons is one of the last and greatest of Balzacs novels of French urban society: a cynical, pessimistic but never despairing consideration of human nature. The book tells the story of Sylvain Pons, a poor moderately successful musician who is swindled by his wealthy relatives when they learn that his collection of art and antiques is worth a fortune. In contrast to his counterpart Cousin Bette, who seeks revenge against those who have humiliated her, Cousin Pons suffers passively as his health deteriorates and he eventually dies. The forces that come into play as Pons end approaches reveal the worst sides of the people around him, and give Balzac ample room to show the rougher side of his Parisians. The author shows how a person without means can be crushed by a society that has no values except material ones.