‘I fail to see’, writes suburban bank clerk Charles Pooter ‘- because I do not happen to be a «Somebody» — why my diary should not be interesting.’This comic masterpiece of 1892 records the life of an ordinary man, the putative Samuel Pepys of his day, who rather pompously paints a picture of himself that is both unwittingly hilarious and also most endearing. The accident-prone Pooter lives in a house called ‘The Laurels’ in the London suburb of Holloway and this diary is a catalogue of his triumphs and disasters, including run-ins with uppity tradesmen, wince-making jokes he shares with his ‘dear wife’, hapless attempts at DIY, and clashes with his louche son Lupin over his unsuitable choice of fiancee.To give him his due, Pooter always tries to make the best of everything, but his efforts to communicate in print end up as a razor-sharp satire on the Victorian age, its fashionable preoccupations and endless small snobberies. Evelyn Waugh called it ‘the funniest book in the world’.

Книга «Lord Jim». Издательство: Arcturus. Год выпуска: 2021. Серия: Arcturus Classics. Переплет: Мягкий переплет. Количество страниц: 304. Автор: Conrad Joseph. Стандарт: 10. Возрастная категория: отсутствует. Страна производитель: Соединенное королевство.

Книга «From the Earth to the Moon». Издательство: Arcturus. Год выпуска: 2021. Серия: Arcturus Classics. Переплет: Мягкий переплет. Количество страниц: 192. Автор: Verne Jules. Стандарт: 10. Возрастная категория: отсутствует. Страна производитель: Соединенное королевство.

In the sordid streets of 17th century London, its sink or swim, and Moll Flanders is struggling to stay afloat.Born in prison and abandoned by her mother, our unlucky heroine resorts to any means to secure wealth and social standing, be it prostitution, thievery or bigamy. Her bawdy escapades are at once thrilling and tragic, but Moll Flanders refuses to be pitied.Whether critiquing personal morality or society at large, Daniel Defoe’s classic novel has captivated readers since its publication in 1722. Moll Flanders remains one of the most memorable heroines in English literature.

Returning home from the University of St. Petersburg, Arkady Kirsanov discovers that, while he has changed, the world he left behind has remained the same. He and his companion, the nihilistic Bazarov, find themselves at odds with their parents. Neither can accept the romantic aristocratic traditions of their families, but they struggle with the new values of liberalism and the enlightenment as each one falls in love.Set in a turbulent era of political reform and social change, Fathers and Sons is one of the true classics of Russian literature, presenting a powerful portrait of 19th-century Russian society.

A cornerstone of Western literature, Homer’s Iliad is the epic tale of the siege of Troy.After nine years, the Greeks are still fighting to reclaim the beautiful Helen and it is hardly the time for their supreme warrior, Achilles, to drop out of the war. But he does, in revenge against the overlord Agamemnon for seizing his concubine, Briseis.Only the death of his best friend, Patroclus, persuades Achilles to return to battle and confront the Trojan leader Hector in single combat.This edition features an accessible prose translation by the classical scholar and novelist Samuel Butler, first published in 1898.

The tide of change is coming. Madam Ranyevskaya’s liberal world of privilege and pleasure is beginning to show cracks, but she and her family live on in denial. Lopakhin wants to rescue Ranyevskaya. The hard-working son of one of her family’s serfs, his new-found wealth can offer shelter and security to the woman he has loved since boyhood, but it will come at a high price. Meanwhile, revolution hangs in the air, the poor and hungry are pushing at the doors, and the tutor Trofimov predicts a tumultuous change for everybody.

When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me I am in darkness — I am nothing. — Virginia WoolfFirst published in 1927, Virginia Woolf’s loosely autobiographical novel features the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye between 1910 and 1920, a period which spans World War I. Six-year old James wants to visit the lighthouse they can see from their window and his mother tells him they’ll go the next day if the weather permits…Following in the footsteps of Marcel Proust and James Joyce, To the Lighthouse is a modernist novel that uses a stream-of-consciousness technique to deal with the complexities of who and what we are and how we perceive the world as we trudge through the shifting sands of time. While the reader awaits the long-delayed trip to the lighthouse, the themes of the text are the transience of life, absence and the inevitability of death. Everything will pass but not the enduring power of art. This is a subtle, psychological masterpiece from a great writer.

A play ought to be written in which people should come and go, dine, talk of the weather or play cards… because that is what happens in real life — Anton ChekhovChekhov demolished the conventions of traditional Russian theatre and created something new that proved hugely influential. His aim was to create a slice of life with naturalistic settings, mundane conversation and acting that brought the everyday on stage.The Seagull, 1895, is the first of his four major plays. The four main characters, guests on a tranquil estate in the Russian countryside, are Nina, a beautiful young actress who can’t act; Konstantin, a talentless playwright, and his mother Irina Arkadina, a fading theatrical diva; finally, there is successful writer of middling books, Boris Trigorin. Konstantin shoots a seagull and, much to her horror and disgust, gives it to Nina as the set-up becomes a recipe for romantic and artistic fallings-out, compounded when they all meet up a second time.Although Chekhov called this a comedy, there’s nothing cheerful here. By always snatching at love and success, his characters block out happiness; the author is satirizing human foibles which we soon recognize in ourselves. When the play was first performed, it was booed off stage. In 1898, after the production by Stanislavski that marked the birth of modern theatre, it became a major triumph and Chekhov took his place in history.

Since its first appearance in 1871-2, Middlemarch has been hailed by successive generations of writers and readers for its authentic view of life in a small English town in the run-up to the Reform Bill of 1832. Addressing such themes as marriage, religion, hypocrisy and political reform, Middlemarch follows the relationships of various couples and their success or failure, placing the position of women in society at the centre of the work. In 2007, an author poll conducted by Time Magazine placed the novel as one of the 10 greatest ever written.

This collection brings together the unique stories from H. P. Lovecraft’s formative years, ranging from the petrifying ‘Dagon’ through the playful ‘Ibid’ to the subtle horror of ‘The Music of Erich Zann.’ Featuring ancient powers, long-buried secrets, and cosmic terrors, Macabre Stories demonstrates the range and depth of Lovecraft’s writing.Sometimes shocking, sometimes horrifying, but always engaging, these tales are an impressive example of the master of horror’s ability to entertain.

In one of the earliest works of science fiction, H. G. Wells brings to life the joys of space travel and humanity’s boundless curiosity.When penniless businessman Mr Bedford moves to Kent to write a play, he meets mad scientist Mr Cavor who is developing an anti-gravity metal. This unlikely pair journey to the Moon using Mr Cavor’s new invention. But what creatures lurk beneath its cratered surface?The First Men in the Moon is a swashbuckling adventure of discovery as well as a poignant exploration of ethics in the face of scientific progress.

On the bleak streets of Dublin, a young boy grieves over the death of an irreligious priest, a woman elopes with her lover, and a professor considers the nature of death: these are some of the unfortunate denizens of James Joyce’s imagination.This powerful collection of short stories from one of Ireland’s greatest writers includes such brilliant tales as ‘Araby’, ‘The Sisters’ and ‘The Dead’. Gracefully written and born of deeply personal experiences, the stories in this collection are often bleak and troubling. Together they provide an unflinching portrait of the city, as Joyce lays out the brutal realities of Irish life on the eve of independence.A controversial and genre-defying depiction of the everyday, Dubliners is an essential read from one of Ireland’s most celebrated literary figures.

Anton Chekhov was one of Russian literature’s greatest short story writers. This collection brings together twenty-five of his best known, including ‘Fat and Thin’, ‘Sleepy’, ‘Rothschild’s Fiddle’, and ’The Lady with a Dog’.An acute observer of everyday life in late 19th-century Russia, Chekhov was a master of wry precision. His clear, subtle prose conjures up a diverse range of characters, whether they be small children arguing over a game, two old school friends meeting by chance, or lovers conducting an illicit affair. By turns tragic, comic, and satirical, each story paints a vivid picture that lives long in the mind.

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon. a small village in Hampshire, England. She received nearly all her education through her brothers and her father, an Anglican minister. Her earliest extant pieces date to 1787, at which point the author would have been 11 years of age. In adulthood, Austen began writing novels, the first being the brief Lady Susan. Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility appeared in 1811. and was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Mansfield Park (1814). All enjoyed respectable sales, and the author developed a dedicated readership.As her books were published anonymously — ‘BY A LADY’ — Austen achieved little in the way of fame during her lifetime. That said, the identity of the author was known widely amongst the aristocracy. The Prince Regent, the future George IV, was a particular admirer of Austen’s work. Emma was dedicated reluctantly to the prince at the urging of the author’s friends.Emma was first published in December 1815, days before the author’s fortieth birthday. The work proved to be the last novel published during her lifetime.Austen’s health began to decline in the early months of 1816. She started work on a new novel, The Brothers, in January 1817, but was able to work for only three more months. In April, Austen was confined to bed.On 18 July 1817, she died in Winchester, where she had gone for medical treatment. N onhanger Abbey and Persuasion were published five months later. Her final novel, The Brothers, was not published in full until 1925, as Sanditon.