40 books

Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott (1854)

Louisa May Alcott was twenty-one when she published this, her first book. A collection of fairy stories and poems she originally told to Ralph Waldo Emerson's daughter Ellen, Flower Fables is a charming and delightful achievement from the hand that would eventually craft the timeless classic Little Women. Flower Fables is presented here in large print for easier reading by children and adults of any age.

The Wisdom of Father Brown by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1913)

"And the young woman of the house," asked Dr. Hood, with huge and silent amusement, "what does she want?" "Why, she wants to marry him," cried Father Brown, sitting up eagerly. "That is just the awful complication." "It is indeed a hideous enigma," said Dr. Hood. "This young James Todhunter," continued the cleric, "is a very decent man so far as I know; but then nobody knows very much. He is a bright, brownish little fellow, agile like a monkey, clean-shaven like an actor, and obliging like a born courtier. He seems to have quite a pocketful of money, but nobody knows what his trade is. Mrs. MacNab, therefore (being of a pessimistic turn), is quite sure it is something dreadful, and probably connected with dynamite.

The Happy Prince and other tales by Oscar Wilde (1888)

THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES is a collection of fables - THE HAPPY PRINCE had been, in life, a joyful personality. However, now, immortalised by a gold and jewel encrusted statue, he's saddened by the poverty of his citizens. Unable to move, he enlists the help of a swallow to help his people ... In THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE, a nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose. But will the nightingale's sacrifice be enough?

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [11 stories] by Arthur Conan Doyle (1893)

Contains: [Silver Blaze](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518358W/Silver_Blaze) [Adventure of the Yellow Face](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20571966W/Adventure_of_the_Yellow_Face) [Stock-Broker's Clerk](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20619319W/Adventure_of_the_Stockbroker's_Clerk) [Adventure of the Gloria Scott](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20619337W/Adventure_of_the_Gloria_Scott) [Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20619374W/Adventure_of_the_Musgrave_Ritual) Adventure of the Reigate Squire Crooked Man [Adventure of the Resident Patient](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16090759W) Adventure of the Greek interpreter [Naval Treaty](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14930289W/The_Naval_Treaty) Final Problem ---------- Also contained in: - [Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518128W) - [Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16076930W) - [Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume I](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18188824W) - [Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14929975W) - [Short Stories](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14929977W) - [Works](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16173818W)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1903)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is a 1905 collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1903–1904, by Arthur Conan Doyle. The stories were published in the Strand Magazine in Britain and Collier's in the United States. Contains: [Adventure of the Empty House](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518119W/The_Adventure_of_the_Empty_House) [Adventure of the Norwood Builder](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL262418W/Adventure_of_the_Norwood_Builder) [Adventure of the Dancing Men](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL262417W/The_Dancing_Men) [Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518122W/Adventure_of_the_Solitary_Cyclist) [Adventure of the Priory School](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518319W/Adventure_of_the_Priory_School) Black Peter [Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20621973W/Adventure_of_Charles_Augustus_Milverton) [Six Napoleons](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20628495W) [Adventure of the Three Students](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518368W/Adventure_of_the_Three_Students) [Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18191848W/Adventure_of_the_Golden_Pince-Nez) [Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18191816W/Adventure_of_the_Missing_Three_Quarter) [Adventure of the Abbey Grange](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17084226W/Adventure_of_the_Abbey_Grange) [Second Stain](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL18191864W/Second_Stain) ---------- Also contained in: [Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16076930W) [Illustrated Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518342W) [Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL1518150W) [Original Illustrated Strand Sherlock Holmes](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL262529W) [Short Stories](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL14929977W) [Works](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16173818W)

Pollyanna by Eleanor Hodgman Porter (1912)

An abridged version of the tale of orphaned, eleven-year-old Pollyanna, who comes to live with austere and wealthy Aunt Polly, bringing happiness to her aunt and other members of the community through her philosophy of gladness. Pollyanna knows the secret to finding a smile -- even when really bad things happen. From the moment she arrives in Beldingsville, she shares her Glad Game with everyone around her. But the person who needs Pollyanna's help the most doesn't want it. - Publisher.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Charles Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames. Joseph Conrad is one of the greatest English writers, and Heart of Darkness is considered his best. His readers are brought to face our psychological selves to answer, ‘Who is the true savage?’. Originally published in 1902, Heart of Darkness remains one of this century’s most enduring works of fiction. Written several years after Joseph Conrad’s grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo, the novel is a complex meditation on colonialism, evil, and the thin line between civilization and barbarity.

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (1800)

<p>Like many of <a href="https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/thomas-hardy">Hardy’s</a> novels, <i>The Mayor of Casterbridge</i> is set in the fictional county of Wessex in the mid 1800s. It begins with Michael Henchard, a young hay-trusser, drunk on rum, auctioning off his wife and baby daughter at a village fair. The next day, overcome with remorse, Henchard resolves to turn his life around. When we meet Henchard eighteen years later, temperance and hard work have made him wealthy and respectable. However, he cannot escape his past. His secret guilt, his pride, and his impulsive temper all serve to sabotage his good name.</p> <p><i>The Mayor of Casterbridge</i> was published in 1886, first as a magazine serial and then later that year as a book. It is perhaps most noteworthy for the psychological portrait of Michael Henchard, a tragic character who remains sympathetic while simultaneously being deeply flawed. Typical of other Hardy novels, it also vividly depicts life in the rural countryside at that time.</p>

Decamerone by Giovanni Boccaccio (1516)

Decameron, collection of tales by Giovanni Boccaccio, probably composed between 1349 and 1353. The work is regarded as a masterpiece of classical Italian prose. While romantic in tone and form, it breaks from medieval sensibility in its insistence on the human ability to overcome, even exploit, fortune. The Decameron comprises a group of stories united by a frame story. As the frame narrative opens, 10 young people (seven women and three men) flee plague-stricken Florence to a delightful villa in nearby Fiesole. Each member of the party rules for a day and sets stipulations for the daily tales to be told by all participants, resulting in a collection of 100 pieces. This storytelling occupies 10 days of a fortnight (the rest being set aside for personal adornment or for religious devotions); hence, the title of the book, Decameron, or “Ten Days’ Work.” Each day ends with a canzone (song), some of which represent Boccaccio’s finest poetry. –Britannica

The Book of Dragons by Edith Nesbit (1973)

Eight madcap tales of unpredictable dragons — including one made of ice, another that takes refuge in the General Post Office, and a fire-breathing monster that flies out of an enchanted book and eats an entire soccer team! Marvelous adventure and excitement for make-believers of all ages.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1478)

A collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly in verse, although some are in prose) are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. In a long list of works, including Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fame, and Parliament of Fowls, The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Structurally, the collection bears the influence of The Decameron, which Chaucer is said to have come across during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. However, Chaucer peoples his tales with 'sondry folk' rather than Boccaccio's fleeing nobles.

The Innocence of Father Brown (Father Brown Mystery) by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1583)

É na saga do Padre Brown que Chesterton atinge o cume da beleza artística como se verá por este A Inocência do Padre Brown reunião de doze contos admiráveis e impecáveis, entre os quais, todavia, ouso destacar muito especialmente A Cruz Azul e O Martelo de Deus , é na saga do Padre Brown que Chesterton atinge o cume da beleza artística. Tudo aqui concorre para tal: um uso brilhante das aliterações e do ritmo permitidos pela língua inglesa; uma riqueza vocabular que vai de par com uma grande profundidade, digamos, retórica (em o Martelo de Deus, por exemplo, diz o Padre Brown: A humildade é a mãe dos gigantes); um humor (finíssimo) e um drama cuja mescla tem parentesco, por um lado, com o Cervantes de D. Quixote e, por outro, com o Dickens de tantas obras; metáforas usadas na medida certa e no momento certo; tudo sempre contra um pano de fundo cristão ao mesmo tempo leve e grave, como convinha com a ideia que Chesterton queria simbolizar por esta saga. O que o leitor tem agora nas mãos A Inocência do Padre Brown, primeiro livro da saga é um tesouro. É obra de arte pura e simplesmente perfeita, e contribui grandemente para sua formação global.