Showing results by narrator "JIm Killavey" in All Categories

No one plumbs deeper depths of the psyche than French and Russian authors. This wide-ranging collection of 19th-century literary masterworks, presented in their entirety, not only entertains, but provides insight into 19th-century mores and the mysteries of human nature.

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

James Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers of the early 20th century. Although best known for Ulysses and The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, he also wrote a number of shorter works. Chief among them is "The Dead," which was published as part of a collection in 1914.

The story traces the intellectual and religio-philosophical awakening of young Stephen Dedalus as he begins to question and rebel against the Catholic and Irish conventions he has been brought up in. He finally leaves for Paris to pursue his calling as an artist. The work pioneers some of Joyce's modernist techniques that would later come to fruition in Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.

Theodore Dreiser's first and perhaps greatest novel appeared in 1900. The story is about a young country girl who moves to the big city, where she starts realizing her own American Dream by embarking on a life of sin rather than by hard work and perseverance. On publication, it met with outraged disapproval and was immediately withdrawn as "too shocking and sordid for polite readers".

Arnold Bennett was an English writer who wrote both novels and practical self-help books. One of his most famous works is How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. This book contains nine practical and often humorous essays. The titles are "Mental Efficiency", "Expressing One's Individuality", "Breaking with the Past", "Settling Down in Life", "Marriage", "Books", "Success", "The Petty Artificialities", and "The Secret of Content".

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.”

"Araby" is one of the stories from Joyce's masterpiece, The Dubliners. As is the case with all the stories in the book, it culminates in an "epiphany".

Fresh out of the hospital and low on funds, a young doctor decides to take a long sea voyage to restore his health. He signs on as a steward on board a millionaire's yacht. Then, one hot and humid summer night, the voyage starts to become a nightmare.

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

Though written many years ago, few books have equaled this little volume in explaining how the mind is so important in the game of golf and how psychological control and techniques can improve your game as much, and perhaps more, than improved physical techniques. We've all seen golfers with terrible form who do very well. They have the "mind game" if not the physical grace. For those who can put them both together, the sky's the limit.

A Christmas Carol is undoubtedly the most famous supernatural story in English. However, it was not the only supernatural story of the season that Charles Dickens wrote. In Victorian England, Christmas was the time to explore the supernatural in stories, and Charles Dickens was one of the best at it. Included in this volume are a full-cast dramatization of A Christmas Carol, plus three more of Dickens' best stories of the season.

Guy de Maupassant is considered one of the fathers of the modern short story as well as one of the form's finest writers. His stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, seemingly effortless dénouements

Still wildly popular today, this collection of ghost stories was first published in 1919. A few of the stories reflect the prejudices and language of the era and would not be considered "politically correct" now but are nonetheless excellent stories. Arthur B. Reeves, an American writer who also wrote screenplays compiled this anthology. His introduction is considered by many to be the definitive explanation of the popularity and diversity of this genre. Turn off the lights and prepare to be thrilled and chilled by this unique assemblage of spooky tales.

Henry James wrote many excellent ghost stories, his most famous being, The Turn of the Screw. In The Ghostly Rental a newcomer in town, who loves to walk for exercise, comes upon a deserted rural road. He follows the road and comes upon a house that immediately strikes him as "simply haunted." He is determined to get into the house and find out the truth about it. What he finds out turns out to be quite different than what he expected.

After a 10 year absence, John Carter returns to Mars and seeks to be reunited with his wife, the princess Dejah Thoris. Along the way, he both befriends, and often combats, a fantastic array of alien creatures and humanoids, while discovering the true nature of the Martian religions.

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.

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.

A main-stay of British children's literature through the 1920's, The Water Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby was written by Rev. Charles Kinglsey as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine in 1862-63.

Although some of the author's opinions seem dated now, the journey of a little chimney-sweep water-baby through rivers and storms, under sea and over icebergs, is still a wonderful adventure tale for children. The book was adapted into an animated film in 1978 and produced as a play at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003.

Included are a dozen classic sweet stories about Santa Claus and Christmas to delight young and old alike. You might just learn something about "The Jolly Old Elf" that you didn't know before.