Mastro Don Gesualdo, pubblicato nel 1889, è uno tra i più conosciuti romanzi di Giovanni Verga. Narra la vicenda dell'omonimo protagonista, ed è ambientato a Vizzini, in Sicilia, nella prima metà dell'Ottocento in periodo risorgimentale. L'operazione linguistica condotta dallo scrittore risulta in questo romanzo particolarmente complessa, a causa dell'eterogeneità delle classi sociali rappresentante, ognuna portatrice di un lessico proprio. Mastro Don Gesualdo uscì a puntate sulla Nuova Antologia dal 1º luglio al 16 dicembre 1888, e poi in volume presso l'editore Treves, nel 1889, ma datato 1890. Secondo romanzo del ciclo dei Vinti, è questo il frutto di un lungo lavoro preparatorio proseguito incessantemente per nove anni. I primi abbozzi risalgono al 1881-1882, subito dopo la pubblicazione de I Malavoglia.(Wikipedia)...

Fiction

Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre ist ein klassischer Bildungsroman von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Der wegweisende Entwicklungsroman erschien 1795/96. Der Roman besteht aus acht Büchern. (Zusammenfassung von Wikipedia)...

Literature

Euripides' play follows the fates of the women of Troy after their city has been sacked, their husbands killed, and as their remaining families are about to be taken away as slaves. However, it begins first with the gods Athena and Poseidon discussing ways to punish the Greek armies because they condoned Ajax the Lesser for dragging Cassandra away from Athena's temple. What follows shows how much the Trojan women have suffered as their grief is compounded when the Greeks dole out additional deaths and divide their shares of women. This translation by Gilbert Murray was published in 1915. (Summary by Wikipedia and Elizabeth Klett)...

Tragedy, Play, Myths/Legends

Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff discover the perils of love, assumed identities, and telling the truth in Oscar Wilde's classic play. (Summary by Toby Paradis)...

Play, Comedy

Action, intrigue, and a touch of romance in the farthest reaches of northern Canada. Sergeant Billy MacVeigh of the Canadian Northwest Mounted, with his only partner Pelliter are the only official representatives in the lonely and desolate reaches of Point Fullerton, hundreds of miles from the next nearest outpost, and from any civilization. Both are nearing the end of their service in those regions, and their main function has been to try to find the elusive murderer Scottie Deane, and if they happen upon anybody trading in Eskimo women to haul them in also. Then one day, one of those traders happens to show up at their cabin, and what follows is some close calls and long trips across the barrens of northern Canada that uncovers clues to the whereabouts of the notorious Scottie Deane and his wife, and all deal with near death experiences primarily due to loneliness, bitter cold, and fatigue, not to mention the red death. Will they find Deane and his wife? If so, what affect will he have on them and their respective conditions? (Summary by Roger Melin)...

Adventure, Fiction

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. Poe referred to it as a tale of ratiocination featuring the brilliant deductions of C. Auguste Dupin; it is today regarded as one of the first detective stories and is almost certainly the first locked room mystery. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Horror/Ghost stories

He made one mistake in the beginning. He pushed the chestnut too hard the first and second days, so that on the third day he was forced to give the gelding his head and go at a jarring trot most of the day. On the fourth and fifth days, however, he had the reward for his caution. The chestnut's ribs were beginning to show painfully, but he kept doggedly at his work with no sign of faltering. The sixth day brought Andrew Lanning in close view of the lower hills. And on the seventh day he put his fortune boldly to the touch and jogged into the first little town before him.. (Introduction by Publisher)...

Adventure, Fiction, Westerns

A Collection of Australian Aboriginal Legendary Folk-Lore Tales, legends of the Narran tribe, known among themselves as Noongahburrahs.

Myths/Legends

A top ten bestseller of 1906, The House of a Thousand Candles is part adventure/mystery and part romance. The book begins with young Jack Glenarm returning from various exploits in Europe and Africa for the reading of his grandfather’s will. In it, he stands to inherit his grandfather’s estate, but only if he can remain for one year in residence at the old man’s unfinished “House of a Thousand Candles” in Annandale, Indiana, with only his grandfather’s mysterious valet for company. If he violates the terms of the will, the house will go to a young woman, heretofore unknown to him, whom the will also forbids Jack to marry if he wants to retain his inheritance. This all sounds very mundane to Jack and he fully expects to be quite bored in very short order. Soon after Jack’s arrival at Glenarm House, however, various strange occurrences ensue, and he soon finds himself absorbed in the most lively adventure of his life! (summary by J. M. Smallheer)...

Mystery

’s Short Mystery Story Collection 002: a collection of 10 short works of mysterious fiction in the public domain read by a group of members.

Mystery

A collection of classic mystery and detective stories, collected and edited by Julian Hawthorne. Note: the second chapter of Dickens’ The Haunted House is not included in this edition. (Summary by Julie VW)...

Mystery

A collection of ten pieces, read by various readers, about the unreal edges of this world in legend and story; tales of love, death and beyond. If just one story prickles the hair on the back of your neck, or prickles your eyelids with the touch of tears, we will have succeeded.(Summary by Peter Yearsley)...

Horror/Ghost stories

It has been said that behind every successful man is a good woman. This is certainly true in the case of James Orlebar Cloyster. However, some funny things happened on his road to success. His story is humorously told from the point of view of several parties involved. According to Wikipedia, the book is a humorous, fictionalized account of Wodehouse's early years as a journalist, with Wodehouse being portrayed by the character of Cloyster. (Summary by Debra Lynn)...

Humor

Diese Sammlung umfasst 15 deutschsprachige Prosa-Texte verschiedener Genres. Eine Liste weiterer kurzer Aufnahmen (Erzählungen, Gedichte, Märchen, Essays) in anderen Sammlungen gibt es hier ....

Essay/Short nonfiction, Short stories

It was a night to drive any man indoors. Not only was the darkness impenetrable, but the raw mist enveloping hill and valley made the open road anything but desirable to a belated wayfarer like myself. Being young, untrammeled, and naturally indifferent to danger, I was not averse to adventure; and having my fortune to make, was always on the lookout for El Dorado, which, to ardent souls, lies ever beyond the next turning. Consequently, when I saw a light shimmering through the mist at my right, I resolved to make for it and the shelter it so opportunely offered. But I did not realize then, as I do now, that shelter does not necessarily imply refuge, or I might not have undertaken this adventure with so light a heart. Yet, who knows? The impulses of an unfettered spirit lean toward daring, and youth, as I have said, seeks the strange, the unknown and, sometimes, the terrible. (Exerpt from Chapter I)...

Fiction, Mystery, Romance

Aunt Jane's Nieces Abroad is the second of the ten book series of Aunt Jane's Nieces. The story continues with the three much loved girls - the sweet and generous Patsy, the cunning Louise, and the sullen Beth. This time they're on a tour of Europe with their down-to-earth uncle John Merrick. The benevolent uncle and his nieces meet mysterious and sinister Victor Valdi, his daughter Tato, and a pretend nobleman, Count Ferralti, who fancies Louise. The story revolves around travel and kidnapping, and the subsequent adventures of the three young girls, told in Baum's own inimitable style that keeps us at the edge of our seats. (Summary by Neeru Iyer)...

Teen/Young adult

Beverly Of Graustark is the second book in the Graustark series. Lorry and his wife, the princess, made their home in Washington, but spent a few months of each year in Edelweiss. During the periods spent in Washington and in travel, her affairs in Graustark were in the hands of a capable, austere old diplomat--her uncle, Count Caspar Halfont. Princess Volga reigned as regent over the principality of Axphain. To the south lay the principality of Dawsbergen, ruled by young Prince Dantan, whose half brother, the deposed Prince Gabriel, had been for two years a prisoner in Graustark, the convicted assassin of Prince Lorenz, of Axphain, one time suitor for the hand of Yetive. (Project Gutenberg)...

Fiction, Mystery, Romance

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen's first published novel, focuses on the lives and loves of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The sensible Elinor and the sensitive Marianne both fall for men whose affections are otherwise engaged. The novel includes a wonderful cast of colorful supporting characters, as well as Austen's trademark dry wit and ironic narration. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)...

Romance, Literature

This is a collection of scenes from Shakespeare's plays, mainly comprising dialogues between two characters. The theme for this collection is Wooing, Wedding, and Repenting (inspired by a line from Much Ado About Nothing). (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)...

Play

Nach dem Tod der Mutter entschließen sich die beiden Schwestern Lotte und Lena nun nach Berlin zu ziehen, um dort ihren Weg zu machen. Aus überschaubareren Verhältnissen kommend, stellt der Wechsel in die Großstadt sie vor einige Herausforderungen, sowohl unerwartete wie erwartete. Werden sie es schaffen sich trotz aller Schwierigkeiten zu behaupten oder werden sie letztendlich doch den Gefahren zum Opfer fallen vor denen im Vorfeld schon ein besorgter Familienfreund gewarnt hatte? (Zusammenfassung von Jessi)...