Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

A collection of essays by Virginia Woolf, some of which originally appeared in the Times Literary Supplement or the Dial, and others were originally published for the first time in this volume. "Anything that Virginia Woolf may have to say about letters is of more than ordinary interest, for her peculiar intelligence and informed attitude set her somewhat apart. She possesses the happy faculty simultaneously of enjoying and accepting the work of Daniel De Foe and James Joyce, of Joseph Addison and T.S. Eliot, of Jane Austen and Marcel Proust. Many of these essays are excellent examples of that...

Charles Baudelaire was a French poet whose work is described as combining an exoticism inherited from the Romantics with the Realism of other French writers of his time. The Flowers of Evil (Les Fleurs du mal) is a book of lyric poetry and his most famous work. In it he expresses the changing nature of beauty in the rapidly industrialising Paris caused by Haussmann's renovation of the city during the mid-19th century. He coined the term modernity to designate the fleeting experience of life in an urban metropolis, and the responsibility of artistic expression to capture that experience.Les ...

Cantos de Vida y Esperanza es una recopilacion de poemas escritos por Rubén Darío y cuya primera edición fue publicada en la ciudad de Madrid el año de 1905, en esta recopilación podremos encontrar al tan conocido poema "Juventud divino tesoro, ya te vas para no volver" entre otros.

Emma, "belle, intelligente et riche" a une fâcheuse tendance a vouloir marier les autres. Ce qu'elle va d'abord faire pour sa sœur, puis sa gouvernante, miss Taylor. Mais la voilà seule, avec son père âgé, veuf et très craintif, voir hypocondriaque. Son ami, M. Knightley essaie de la raisonner en l'empêchant d'avoir cette manie de marier ses proches. Pourtant, ses plans semblent relativement bien fonctionner. Qui sera donc sa prochaine protégée ? Et elle, songera-t-elle à se marier un jour ? - Summary by Laurette

Lovely book for children written by teacher and naturalist Clara Dillingham Pierson. This book in the "Among the People" series explores the animal inhabitants of a pond. The beautiful writing brings the pond creatures into being in the reader's imagination and allows them a glimpse of the mysterious lives being carried out above and below the water's surface. (Summary by Jill Engle)

In Italy, everything is possible. Or, at least, much more than in the oppressive social order of the Victorian era. A group of British expatriates go to tour the country and do things they might live to either bless or regret. This book details their adventures and search of identity. The central question remains clear: can one be completely free? And, if so, is the price too high? ( Stav Nisser.)

A crack American flying troop has been sent to France, where they await further instructions. They are concerned that their extensive talents will not be put to good use in the war. Major Cowan introduces Lt. McGee as the British instructor for the crew. It turns out the Brit is actually an American, born in the U.S., even though his parents were British. McGee and Larkin are flying partners. Out on a mission, McGee spots a small enemy plane in a searchlight, probably intent on dropping flares to mark targets for bombers. He drives in for the attack successfully, as the enemy plane zooms ...

Writer/entertainer Garrison Keillor (A Prairie Home Companion) on “The Innocents Abroad”: “…one of the best selling travel books of all time.” (The Writer’s Almanac, June 8, 2012)When you dive into Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemens’) The Innocents Abroad, you have to be ready to learn more about the unadorned, ungilded reality of 19th century “touring” than you might think you want to learn. This is a tough, literary journey. It was tough for Twain and his fellow “pilgrims”, both religious and otherwise. They set out, on a June day in 1867, to visit major tourist sites in ...

One of the most renowned of all Protestant Christian missionaries, Amy Carmichael is remembered most for the fifty-five years she spent doing evangelistic and philanthropic work in India. She began her missions career, however, with fifteen months in Japan before falling ill, returning to Ireland, and then returning to Asia with her focus on India. This collection of letters is a record of that time in Japan, and is fascinating not only for its biographical interest but also for its insights into the rapidly-changing life of fin de siècle Japan and the status of its small unpopular handful of...

Mysterious old Captain Coffin not only has a wild story about a Honduran island where treasure lies, he has a map. But they must be wary because it also holds “a poison that kills a man and keeps him fresh as paint”. Nothing can hold Harry back from tagging along and meeting up with murder, intrigue, a collection of colorful characters, and a vociferous parrot. - Summary by Amy Gramour

This is a play in 5 acts. From the playwright's preface: "An imperfect hint towards the Fable of the following Tragedy was taken from the Legend of St. Genevieve written originally in French, and translated into English about an hundred years ago by Sir William Lower." It tells a story of jealousy and deceit turning friend against friend to acquire wealth and love. - Summary by Joshua Seeger

The Dance of Death is a play in two parts by the Swedish dramatist August Strindberg, written in 1900. It depicts the dissolution of a marriage between Edgar, an artillery captain, and Alice, a former actress. Increasingly isolated in their fort-like house, they manipulate and bait each other, until the unexpected arrival of Curt, Alice's cousin. His presence creates a tense triangular relationship that escalates throughout Part One, and is complicated with the introduction of two of the trio's children, Allan and Judith, in Part Two. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)CastEdgar: Bob NeufeldAlice: ...

A collection of short stories featuring a suite of wealthy protagonists navigating the perceived hardships of 1920s society. The themes center on lost love, personal struggles, fleeting romance, and the melancholy life. - Summary by SKVeld

A series of tales -- told by men, of course -- about women. Though the book first appeared in 1842, Balzac later added to it as an addenfum a tale of 1831, La Grande Bretèche. That will be read later, keeping it separate to mirror the form of the English translation here used. (More to follow) - Summary by Nicholas Clifford

The Bourgeois Gentleman of the title is a middle-class social climber, assured that by learning all the arts of a true and noble gentleman, he shall truly become one. This enables Moliere to satire both the pretentious middle class and the snobbish aristocracy all at one time. Originally presented in 1670 before the court of Louis the 14th with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, it was more recently re-choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Strauss. This will be a purely spoken version of the original. - Summary by ToddHWCast list:Monsieur Jourdain, bourgeois: ToddHWMadame Jourdain, his ...

Giovanna and Costantino Ledda are a happily married couple living with their young child in a Sardinian country village close to their extended family. Costantino is wrongly convicted of murdering his wicked uncle and with no way of supporting herself, Giovanna reluctantly divorces him and is driven to marry Brontu Dejas, a wealthy but brutish drunkard who has always lusted after her. As well as enduring a marriage amounting to slavery, Giovanna is derided by villagers for having two husbands. When Constantino is freed after the real murderer confesses to his crime, he and Giovanna are ...

Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare's late romances, which (like The Tempest and The Winter's Tale) combines comedy and tragedy. Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline of Britain, angers her father when she marries Posthumus, a worthy but penniless gentleman. The King banishes Posthumus, who goes to Rome, where he falls prey to the machinations of Iachimo, who tries to convince him that Imogen will be unfaithful. Meanwhile, the Queen (Imogen's stepmother) plots against her stepdaughter by trying to plan a match between Imogen and her worthless son Cloten. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)Cast:Arviragus...

Don Juan (Spanish), Don Giovanni (Italian) is a legendary, fictional libertine. Although the various iterations of the Don Juan myth show some variation, the basic story remains the same. Don Juan is portrayed as a wealthy, seductive libertine who devotes his life to seducing women, taking great pride in his ability to seduce women of all ages and stations in life. Don Giovanni, an opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, is arguably the best-known version. First performed in Prague in 1787, it inspired works by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Alexander Pushkin, Søren ...

If you are expecting glass slippers and pumpkin coaches, look elsewhere... This is "a pantomime as Ibsen would have written it, if only it had occurred to him to write one." Set on a "bleak and cheerless heath overlooking the fjord" we meet Ibsenesque heroine Mrs. Inquest, her step-daughter Hilda, and her daughter Hedda, who is engaged to be married to the unfortunate Tesman. Thus begins Calderon's hilarious Ibsenesque version of Cinderella. NOTE from the editor of the volume, published in 1922 after Calderon's death: This play is hardly more than a rough draft, written when the idea was fresh...

The Kama Sutra, or Aphorisms on Love, has survived at least 1400 years as a dominant text on sexual relations between men and women. Vatsyayana claimed to have written the Kama Sutra while a religious student, “in contemplation of the Deity” - but references to older works, shrewd disputations by Vatsyayana of those authors' recommendations, and careful cataloging of practices in various of the Indian states indicate much more emphasis on kama, or sensual gratification.Part of the book discusses the 64 arts of love employed by masters of coitus. Learning each of these and when and how to ...