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Showing 1 - 20 of 10492 items
A message in a bottle launches a quest for the recovery of shipwrecked crew in this Jules Verne classic—now with…
an arresting new look!When Lord and Lady Glenarvan catch a shark during a sailing trip, they are surprised to find a message in a bottle within its belly, sent by Captain Grant of the shipwrecked Britannia. Unfortunately, the water-damaged note is mostly unreadable, giving any would-be rescuers only a latitude and no longitude to work with. Eager to help the castaways, the couple urges the British government to launch a rescue expedition but are refused. So they take it upon themselves to search for Grant with the help of Mary and Robert—Captain Grant&’s children—and the crew of the Duncan. Thus, the group sets off, determined to find the shipwrecked crew, even if it means sailing across the entire thirty-seventh latitude—and facing whatever dangers lie in their path.By Jules Verne. 2024
Brace yourself for an out-of-this-world adventure in this Jules Verne classic following a small group of survivors set adrift in…
space by a comet—now with an arresting new look!A comet collides with Earth, causing a portion of the world to go floating off into space with it. On this new asteroid, thirty-six survivors of various nationalities will first need to uncover the truth of their circumstances before adapting to their new environment. But when it&’s determined the comet is on a return course to Earth, can the group survive long enough to come up with a plan to get back on the planet?By Jules Verne. 2024
A stolen hot air balloon lands an unlikely crew on a mysterious island far from everything they know in this…
action-packed Jules Verne classic—now with an arresting new look!Five prisoners of war steal a hot air balloon and escape capture in Virginia during the American Civil War. They fly for several thousand miles before a storm forces them to crash land on an unknown island in the Pacific. There, the marooned men must work together to pool all their knowledge and skill if they wish to survive. But the island has its secrets, and the castaways discover it&’s not as deserted as they thought. A mysterious figure has been watching them. Does it bring salvation or even more danger?By Jules Verne. 2024
Climb aboard the Nautilus with Captain Nemo and embark on an undersea journey around the world in this Jules Verne…
classic with an arresting new look!When word about sightings of a sea monster spread, three men embark on a journey to find the creature. But when they get thrown overboard, they soon find themselves in the belly of the beast—the underwater vessel named the Nautilus, manned by Captain Nemo. Having discovered his secret submarine, the sailors are taken as Nemo&’s captives. The trio&’s expedition shifts to an entirely new adventure beneath the vast ocean with giant sea creatures, sunken treasure, and even the lost world of Atlantis. Though the voyage is wondrous, they are still Captain Nemo&’s prisoners and seek freedom from their mysterious kidnapper.By Jules Verne. 2024
Gun experts set their sights on shooting a man to the moon in these two novels by Jules Verne—now available…
together with an arresting new look!In the aftermath of the American Civil War, the members of The Baltimore Gun Club find themselves in a dilemma—without a war, there is no demand for their innovative gun designs. Eager for a new challenge, the club&’s President Barbicane sets an ambitious goal: to build the largest gun in the world, powerful enough to shoot a man to the moon. Such a gun has never been attempted, so the club faces a myriad of challenges including what to make it from, where to build it, when to shoot it, and—most importantly—how to ensure that a passenger inside the gun&’s projectile can survive the trip. In From Earth to the Moon, the members of the gun club undertake the engineering challenge, and Around the Moon follows the three voyagers on their journey to the moon and back.Journey to a prehistoric world at the center of the Earth in this science fiction classic by Jules Verne—now with…
an arresting new look!When Axel&’s uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, finds a coded journal describing a path into the center of the Earth, Axel hopes he&’ll never be able to decipher it—because once the professor sets his mind to something, he&’ll insist on carrying it out no matter the danger or difficulty. But when Axel himself ends up cracking the journal&’s code, curiosity gets the better of him, and before he knows it, he and his uncle head to Iceland to find this secret route to unexplored territory. After being joined by a local guide, Hans, the group descends into a volcano, where Axel is convinced they&’ll find nothing noteworthy and face nearly certain death. Instead, what awaits is more incredible than any of the travelers could have anticipated.By Charles Dickens. 2015
One of the most celebrated and influential novels of the past two centuries tells the vivid and unforgettable coming-of-age story…
of the orphan Pip In the marsh country of Victorian England, young Pip lives with his sister and her husband, the kindly blacksmith Joe, eking out a hardscrabble life. Pip&’s one true aspiration is to apprentice for Joe and become a blacksmith himself, a dream that sustains him and gives him hope. But though he doesn&’t know it, Pip&’s fates are about to turn. Alone in a graveyard one night, he encounters a grizzled and mud-smeared escaped convict. Dragging a heavy shackle from an injured leg, the man demands that Pip steal him food and help him remove the clanging iron. Cowed, Pip accommodates his commands without resistance. It isn&’t until years later, after Pip has forged a tender relationship with the eccentric Mrs. Havisham, fallen into unexpected prosperity in London, and found himself gripped by love for the charming-yet-fickle Estella, that the true consequences of that night in the graveyard finally come to light. Celebrated for its vibrant characters, engrossing plot, and universal themes of ambition and hope, Great Expectations stands as a pillar of Victorian literature and a preeminent entry in the Dickensian oeuvre. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By Charles Dickens. 2017
A tale of family secrets and the damaging corruption of the British legal system from the author of Great Expectations…
and Oliver Twist. In Bleak House, Charles Dickens not only pries apart the stultifying and ponderous conduct and contracts of British moneyed society, but also takes specific aim at an English judicial system in desperate need of modernization and reform. Featuring the voice of Esther Summerson—Dickens&’s only female narrator—the story unfolds around a generations-old legal case involving numerous inheritances. It is Esther&’s hidden birthright that sparks the drama, bringing to light such memorable characters as the Lady Dedlock, haunted by her shameful past; John Jarndyce, whose seemingly infinite kindness is driven by hidden guilt; and the sly lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn, who secretly relishes the power his position gives him over his clients. Weaving a complex web of plots and subplots, Dickens created one of his most dramatically satisfying and boldly ambitious narratives in Bleak House, as the novel offers a scathing indictment of the mores and moral injustices of his time. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By John Buchan. 1915
The novel of international intrigue and adventure that set the standard for the modern spy thrillerOne May evening in 1914,…
an ordinary Londoner named Richard Hannay receives word of an anarchist plot to assassinate the prime minister of Greece. A few nights later, the eccentric American who revealed the conspiracy is found stabbed to death in Hannay&’s flat. With only the dead man&’s encrypted notes to guide him, Hannay must try to foil the assassination attempt while outpacing both the police and the conspirators, whose dastardly plans extend far beyond one Greek politician. The fate of England, it seems, rests on one mysterious phrase repeated throughout the American&’s notebook; just what exactly are the thirty-nine steps?Buchan&’s groundbreaking novel, the first in a series featuring Richard Hannay, was adapted by Alfred Hitchcock and paved the way for Graham Greene, Robert Ludlum, John le Carré, and many other masters of literary espionage. Lightning-paced, relentlessly clever, and politically insightful, The Thirty-Nine Steps is just as thrilling today as when it was first published a century ago.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By F. Scott Fitzgerald. 2016
Short stories by the author of The Great Gatsby, including the Jazz Age classic &“Bernice Bobs Her Hair.&” Bernice…
is pretty but awkward—she can&’t dance, flirt, or hold her liquor. When her sophisticated cousin, Marjorie, finally decides to help the poor girl, the results are dramatic—suddenly the boys are interested in Bernice. Too interested, thinks Marjorie. So she decides to play a cruel trick—but Bernice gets the last laugh. First published in the Saturday Evening Post, &“Bernice Bobs Her Hair&” is a classic tale of the Jazz Age and just one of the highlights of this classic story collection. Other gems include &“The Ice Palace,&” &“The Cut-Glass Bowl,&” and &“The Offshore Pirate,&” a delightfully clever story about a spoiled young girl who falls in love with an unlikely suitor. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.By F. Scott Fitzgerald. 2016
A master craftsman brings one of the most fascinating periods in American history to vivid life in these provocative and…
poignant short stories Born gray-haired and grumpy, Benjamin Button may be an infant, but his body and personality are those of an old man. Curiously, however, he grows younger with each passing year. Benjamin is aging backwards, which begs the question, when does a man become a man? And how do we recognize our true selves? A delightful fable that poses serious inquiries about the nature of existence, &“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button&” is one of F. Scott Fitzgerald&’s best-known stories and the centerpiece of this legendary collection. From the Jazz Age decadence of &“May Day&” to the delightful fantasy of &“The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,&” these evocative tales showcase one of the twentieth century&’s greatest authors at the height of his talent.The Strange Tales of Pu Songling (1640-1715) are exquisite and amusing miniatures that are regarded as the pinnacle of classical…
Chinese fiction. With their elegant prose, witty wordplay and subtle charm, the 104 stories in this selection reveal a world in which nothing is as it seems. Here a Taoist monk conjures up a magical pear tree, a scholar recounts his previous incarnations, a woman out-foxes the fox-spirit that possesses her, a child bride gives birth to a thimble-sized baby, a ghostly city appears out of nowhere and a heartless daughter-in-law is turned into a pig. In his tales of humans coupling with shape-shifting spirits, bizarre phenomena, haunted buildings and enchanted objects, Pu Songling pushes back the boundaries of human experience and enlightens as he entertains.By G K Chesterton. 2011
The colossus of crime leaned over to the little rustic priest with a sort of sudden interest.'You have heard of…
it?' he asked. 'Where have you heard of it?''Well, I mustn't tell you his name, of course,' said the little man simply. 'He was a penitent, you know. He had lived prosperously for about twenty years entirely on duplicate brown-paper parcels. And so, you see, when I began to suspect you, I thought of this poor chap's way of doing it at once.''Began to suspect me?' repeated the outlaw with increased intensity. 'Did you really have the gumption to suspect me just because I brought you up to this bare part of the heath?''No, no,' said Brown with an air of apology. 'You see, I suspected you when we first met. It's that little bulge up the sleeve where you people have the spiked bracelet.''How in Tartarus,' cried Flambeau, 'did you ever hear of the spiked bracelet?''Oh, one's little flock, you know!' said Father Brown, arching his eyebrows rather blankly. One of detective fiction's most idiosyncratic and best-loved characters, G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown is both a diminutive, genial clergyman and a master sleuth. In these two stories involving the ingenious, unobtrusive priest, a murdered man denounces his killer with his dying breaths, and a brilliant French inspector follows a trail of gentil carnage across London.This book includes The Strange Crime of John Boulnois and The Blue Cross.By Robert Louis Stevenson. 2015
By Robert Louis Stevenson. 2002
Everyone has a dark side.Dr Jekyll has discovered the ultimate drug. A chemical that can turn him into something else.…
Suddenly, he can unleash his deepest cruelties in the guise of the sinister Hyde. Transforming himself at will, he roams the streets of fog-bound London as his monstrous alter-ego.It seems he is master of his fate.It seems he is in complete control.But soon he will discover that his double life comes at a hideous price...By John Buchan. 2008
In 'The Strange Adventures of Mr Andrew Hawthorn' and the other stories in this collection, peculiar worlds of temptation, adventure…
or iniquity are perilously close at hand. Mr Hawthorn himself steps outside to allow his porridge to cool and disappears for five years and more, a Glasgow grocer is shipwrecked and ultimately worshipped as a god, a young mathematician discovers an entirely new aspect of reality and becomes terrified by what he finds there, and an ageing sinner clings grimly, weakly to a hard-won life of decency: John Buchan in each demonstrating his abilities as a gripping writer of short stories.In his introduction, Giles Foden explores Buchan's innate sense of the fascination held by sudden jeopardy and vanished comfort, and the themes of the will and fate in his work.By Edith Nesbit. 1995
When their father's business fails, the six Bastable children decide to restore the family fortunes. But although they think of…
many ingenious ways to do so, their well meant efforts are either more fun than profitable, or lead to trouble...By Cao Xueqin. 1980
The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known by the title of The Dream of the Red Chamber, is…
the great novel of manners in Chinese literature.Divided into five volumes, of which The Warning Voice is the third, it charts the glory and decline of the illustrious Jia family (a story which closely accords with the fortunes of the author's own family). The two main characters, Bao-yu and Dai-yu, are set against a rich tapestry of humour, realistic detail and delicate poetry, which accurately reflects the ritualized hurly-burly of Chinese family life. But over and above the novel hangs the constant reminder that there is another plane of existence - a theme which affirms the Buddhist belief in a supernatural scheme of things.By Cao Xueqin. 1973
The Story of the Stone (c.1760) is one of the greatest novels of Chinese literature. The first part of the…
story, The Golden Days, begins the tale of Bao-yu, a gentle young boy who prefers girls to Confucian studies, and his two cousins: Bao-chai, his parents' choice of a wife for him, and the ethereal beauty Dai-yu. Through the changing fortunes of the Jia family, this rich, magical work sets worldly events - love affairs, sibling rivalries, political intrigues, even murder - within the context of the Buddhist understanding that earthly existence is an illusion and karma determines the shape of our lives.By Cao Xueqin. 1986
The Story of the Stone (c. 1760), also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, is one of the…
greatest novels of Chinese literature. The fifth part of Cao Xueqin's magnificent saga, The Dreamer Awakes, was carefully edited and completed by Gao E some decades later. It continues the story of the changing fortunes of the Jia dynasty, focussing on Bao-yu, now married to Bao-chai, after the tragic death of his beloved Dai-yu. Against such worldly elements as death, financial ruin, marriage, decadence and corruption, his karmic journey unfolds. Like a sleepwalker through life, Bao-yu is finally awakened by a vision, which reveals to him that life itself is merely a dream, 'as moonlight mirrored in the water'.