Showing results by narrator "JIm Killavey" in All Categories

James Fenimore Cooper wrote five "leather-stocking" tales. This is the second and most famous. It comes between The Deerslayer and The Pathfinder. Here the white frontiersman, Hawkeye (aka Natto Bumppo and Leather Stocking) is nobly matched with Uncas, the Indian of the title.

Martin Eden, Jack London's semiautobiographical novel about a struggling young writer, is considered by many to be the author's most mature work. Personifying London's own dreams of education and literary fame as a young man in San Francisco, Martin Eden's impassioned but ultimately ineffective battle to overcome his bleak circumstances makes him one of the most memorable and poignant characters Jack London ever created.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, lecturer, essayist, and poet, who is best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a a champion of individualism and wrote dozens of essays. Most criics consider "Self-Reliance" his best. It has the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's repeating themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency.

New England author H. P. Lovecraft was one of the key founders of modern horror. He has had a major influence on many prominent authors, including Stephen King. "The Dunwich Horror" is one of his most famous stories. It is a perfect example of one of Lovecraft's major inspirations and inventions - cosmic horror.

"The Lady, or the Tiger?" (1882) is about a man sentenced to an unusual punishment for having a romance with a king's beloved daughter. Taken to the public arena, he is faced with two doors, behind one of which is a hungry tiger that will devour him. Behind the other is a beautiful lady-in-waiting, whom he will have to marry, if he finds her.

The Talisman is Sir Walter Scott's tale of the Crusades, a tale of chivalry, of violence, of virtue, romance, and deceit.

John Carter, an American Civil War veteran, goes prospecting in Arizona and, when set upon by Indians, is mysteriously transported to Mars, called "Barsoom" by its inhabitants. Carter finds that he has demigod-like strength on this planet, due to its lesser gravity. He is soon captured by "Tharks", the planet's warlike, four-armed, green inhabitants, and his incredible adventures begin.

This mystery is part of the famous "Had-I-But-Known School" of mysteries founded by Mary Roberts Rinehart with the 1908 publication of her first work, The Circular Staircase. The story deals with civic corruption, a popular theme of early American mysteries. Stories like this anticipate the hard-boiled school to come. So does Rinehart's realistic style, which does not gloss over life's problems.

At Christmas, Laura Fleming lived her fantasy adventure. Paid to house-sit for the fabulously wealthy financier, C.W. Banley, while he traveled, she eagerly headed for New York City. As mistress of his elegant townhouse, she baked cookies and dressed the old gent’s richly-furnished residence for the holidays. As December rolled around, the lonely, lovely writer eagerly anticipated soaking up the Christmas atmosphere in the grand city. With only the cat for company, she’d turn Banley’s elegant home into a wonderland of sparkling lights, fragrant garland, and shiny tinsel.

Carlo Collodi, whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini,was a Florentine children's writer most famous for this world-renowned fairytale novel. The name "Pinocchio" is a Tuscan word meaning "pine nut." The story concerns a puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. The book has appeared in many adaptations including the famous 1940 Disney movie.

In this story, a young man from the far future is bored, so he escapes in a time portal to find a more exciting life in the past. His goal is to take some weapons from the future and join up with "The Mafia" in New York City. One of the groups of people he meets is a street gang called "The Boomer Dukes." He asks them to "take me to your Mafia." Very interesting results follow

The author describes his intent in writing this book in these words, "It is generally agreed that there are certain 'tricks' which make for mental efficiency, consisting of methods of apperceiving facts, methods of review, devices for arranging work. Some are the fruits of psychological experimentation; others are derived from experience. Many of them can be imparted by instruction, and it is for the purpose of systematizing these and making them available for students that this book is prepared.”

In its oppressive atmosphere of fog, mist, and mud, nothing conjures up the dreary days of November and its "implacable" weather like the celebrated opening of Bleak House. The plot concerns a long-running legal dispute (Jarndyce and Jarndyce) that has far-reaching consequences for all involved. Dickens' assault on the flaws of the British judiciary system is based in part on his own experiences as a law clerk.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (original French title, Notre-Dame de Paris) is set in 1482 in Paris, in and around the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. It tells the story of a poor Gypsy girl (La Esmeralda) and a misshapen bell-ringer (Quasimodo), one of the most colorful characters in literature, who falls in love with her. They are both victimized by a corrupt priest (Claude Frollo) and begin an adventure filled with great peril and great heroism.

Walden or, "Life in the Woods", is, primarily, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Henry David Thoreau kept a journal during his stay in a cabin beside Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, for two years, two months, and two days, from July 1845 to Sept 1847. The book is based on that journal.

Saladin Foster and his wife, Electra, are jolted out of their tranquility by the stunning news that a distant relative has left them $30,000. The one condition is that the couple must be able to prove "that they had taken no notice of the gift by spoken word or by letter, had made no inquiries concerning the [ship] Moribund's progress toward the everlasting tropics, and had not attended the funeral." This condition leads to some major difficulties.

Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is of the best "macabre" tales ever written. It is presented here in its entirety along with eight other incredible tales.

The story concerns a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who conducts a great experiment to see if he can create a living being from the body parts of corpses. Only whe the experiment is successful does he begin to think of the ethics and consequences of what he has done. The creature he created becomes embittered when he finds that no one will love him becuase of his appearance.

Fascinated by vampires? Then this book - the first of a series - is for you. Early writers of vampire stories did not see them quite as they are presented to us today. These "classic" vampires were looking for blood - not love. These shivery reads will capture your imagination and introduce you to the first fiends - male AND female - that spawned today's kinder gentler vampire.

Oscar Wilde was one of the most versatile writers who ever lived. He wrote classic plays, including The Importance of Being Ernest; one wildly popular and influential novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray; and a number of inventive and moving stories in The Happy Prince and Other Tales.

Stories included in this volume are: "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Devoted Friend", "The Happy Prince", "The Remarkable Rocket", and "The Selfish Giant".