Showing results by author "ciesse" in All Categories

Chronicles the life of Richard II, born in 1367 in Bordeaux, France, who later wore the crown of King of England. (Summary by Cathy Barratt)

Jacob Abbott chronicles the unspeakably treacherous rise of Richard III to the throne of England in the midst of the war between the Yorks and the Lancasters and his ultimate fall on the Field of Bosworth. (Introduction by Cathy Barratt)

This history concerns Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, BC 336-321. Pyrrhus was a world renowned soldier, leader, and conqueror of Macedon and Italy, from whom the term Pyrrhic victory was taken. - Summary by Deon Gines

The Boys’ Life of Abraham Lincoln is a biography with many anecdotes that takes one deeper into the thoughts, personality, and beliefs of the man that was Lincoln. While the title indicates the book is about Lincoln’s life as a boy, the book is a full, if somewhat shortened biography. It is very well written and was a joy to record. One might ask, "Who was Helen Nicolay?" Her father, John George Nicolay, was Abraham Lincoln's private secretary and doubtless much of the material comes from his complete biography of Abraham Lincoln. ( Summary by Tom Weiss)

In this volume are presented examples of men who shed lustre upon ordinary pursuits, either by the superior manner in which they exercised them or by the noble use they made of the leisure which success in them usually gives. Such men are the nobility of republics.Most of these chapters were published originally in "The Ledger" of New York, and a few of them in "The Youths' Companion" of Boston, the largest two circulations in the country. I have occasionally had reason to think that they were of some service to young readers, and I may add that they represent more labor and research than ...

There are certain names which are familiar, as names, to all mankind; and every person who seeks for any degree of mental cultivation, feels desirous of informing himself of the leading outlines of their history, that he may know, in brief, what it was in their characters or their doings which has given them so widely-extended a fame. Consequently, great historical names alone are selected; and it has been the writer's aim to present the prominent and leading traits in their characters, and all the important events in their lives, in a bold and free manner, and yet in the plain and simple ...

There are certain names which are familiar, as names, to all mankind; and every person who seeks for any degree of mental cultivation, feels desirous of informing himself of the leading outlines of their history, that he may know, in brief, what it was in their characters or their doings which has given them so widely-extended a fame. Consequently, great historical names alone are selected; and it has been the writer's aim to present the prominent and leading traits in their characters, and all the important events in their lives, in a bold and free manner, and yet in the plain and simple ...

The second volume of Amelia. - Summary by Libby Gohn

Las aventuras de Pinoquio o Pinocho (en italiano: Le avventure di Pinocchio) es una obra literaria escrita por el autor italiano Carlo Collodi. Se publicó en Italia en el periódico Giornale per i bambini, desde 1881 hasta 1883, con el título Storia di un Burattino (Historia de un títere), acompañada de las ilustraciones de Enrico Mazzanti. Es una de las obras más leídas de la literatura universal; así pues, cuenta con traducciones a más de doscientos cincuenta idiomas y dialectos, incluido el sistema de lectura braille, y es uno de los libros más vendidos de todos los tiempos. Desde ...

Volume three in the trilogy entitled Amelia. A continuation of the love story of Amelia and her husband Willam Booth and the trials and tribulations they go through. - Summary by Michele Eaton

A book that examines the sign of the Cross made by Christians since the primitive church up until the 19th century. It looks at stories of miracles and the writings of the father to impress upon the reader the need to make the sign of the cross reverently and frequently. (Summary by dom. Noah Moerbeek CPMO)

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” This creepy horror story is one of the best written by Lovecraft in my opinion. What unknown being is lurking out there? What entity arrived in that meteor? Never described exactly, yet he manages to let your own imagination smell and taste it in this story. - Summary by phil chenevert

Alexander's Bridge is the first novel by Willa Cather, published under the name Willa Sibert Cather. Heavily influenced by the works of Henry James, the book tells the story of bridge builder Bartley Alexander. Through his relationship with Actress Hilda Burgoyne while he is married his wife, Winnifred, he meets his moral downfall, and through another set of circumstances he meets his physical. (Summary by Miranda Stinson)

A fable of literally life and death significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

Almayer’s Folly is about a poor businessman who dreams of finding a hidden gold mine and becoming very wealthy. Kaspar Almayer is a white European. He agrees to marry a native Malayan captured by Captain Tom Lingard, his employer, believing the marriage will bring him riches even though he has no love for the woman. They have one daughter named Nina. Almayer relocates with his wife to Malaysian where he hopes to build a trading company and find gold mines. His hopeless daydreams of riches and splendor cause his native wife to loath him.Almayer, desperate, hopes to find his salvation in Dain ...

Miriam Winthrop doesn't know what to do when she realizes her beloved husband Claude, the father of her children, has become infatuated with another woman. Her marriage vows were made to be kept, and not just as empty words that now echo from room to room in her lonely home. Is there a way for love to triumph? Miriam determines to fight for him, and she will fight fire with fire! - Summary by LikeManyWaters

It is the early days of The Great War. As the curtain rises, Sara Lee is sitting by the fire in her aunt and uncle’s home, knitting a baby afghan. Her beau’s name is Harvey. He has his eye on a little house that is just perfect for two and he will soon propose to Sara Lee. But in this play, the mise en scène is about to change. A fairyland transformation will take place and Sara Lee will step into a new and different story, where she is the princess in a forest of adventure. There is a prince, too, whose name is Henri. He is as strange as the forest itself. And then just as suddenly, the ...

Raoul des Sablières, a French parole prisoner in England during the Napoleonic Wars, becomes enmeshed in a complicated tangle where his honour conflicts with his parole, and is sent to prison. Juliana Forrest, for whose sake he broke his parole, does her utmost to save him, and in his adventures and misfortunes, Raoul eventually also finds help from an unlikely source. This is a fun adventure story and romance, written in a style similar to Georgette Heyer. (Summary by Elin) - Summary by Elin

When a few men decide to go for looking for gold in the outback of Australia, days of extreme heat with no water and no rain in sight, make them turn back and give up the trip; all but two of them that is, Smith and Mandeville, aka the "Baker. Smith and Baker decide to tough it out and go after their dreams, chancing their lives to find "their luck". Little do they realize, they will put their lives in grave danger, and this quest for gold will turn into a nightmare. Life threatening food and water deprivation is a constant issue, and they had no idea they would stumble upon an unknown tribe ...

Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction with this 1920 novel about Old New York society. Newland Archer is wealthy, well-bred, and engaged to the beautiful May Welland. But he finds himself drawn to May's cousin Ellen Olenska, who has been living in Europe and who has returned following a scandalous separation from her husband. (Introduction by Elizabeth Klett)Proof listened by Stav Nisser & Betty M.