eBook de Ciencia ficción, página 26 de 1805

Avec "La pierre de lune", Wilkie Collins a sans doute inventé le roman policier moderne. Contemporain et ami de Dickens, avec lequel il écrivit plusieurs nouvelles, cet écrivain prolifique et généreux est aussi un maitre des atmospheres mysterieuses. Coincidences tragiques, pressentiments et premonitions jouent souvent un role primordial dans les intrigues tortueuses de ses romans.Publie pour la premiere fois en 1879, "Lhotel hante" est un modele du genre. La comtesse Narona, heroine a la fois malefique et pitoyable une combinaison familiere a Collins, createur des personnages de mechants les plus complexes de la litterature victorienne epouse en des circonstances douteuses un lord anglais. "Lhotel hante" raconte, avec lironie et le brio habituels de lauteur, le mysterieux destin de ce mariage contre nature, depuis un cabinet medical de Harley jusquaux chambres trop hativement renovees dun hotel de Venise... Apparitions, alchimies malefiques, fievre et folie habitent jusqua son tragique denouement ce roman.

First published in 1748, "The Adventures of Roderick Random" is Scottish author and poet Tobias Smolletts debut picaresque novel and it is loosely based on Smolletts experiences in the British Navy.Set in the 1730s and 1740s, the narrative follows the life of the main protagonist and narrator, Roderick Rory Random, from childhood to adulthood as Roderick journeys through England, France, the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America. The Adventures of Roderick Randoms synopsis details the book as one of the first truly global novels [that] casts light on nearly every aspect of its timeimperialism, gender relations, slavery, urban life, colonial warfare, commerce, politics, the professions, high society, and the Hogarthian underworld.(Source: supersummary.com)

First published in 1912, "The Lost World" is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals still survive."The Lost World" explored the idea that prehistoric life might still exist in unexplored areas of the globe. Part science fiction, part adventure story, the novel marks a significant shift in Doyles writing, as he temporarily put aside the famous Sherlock Holmes to introduce professor Challenger, a physical, rude, bear-like man who would feature in several subsequent works.The novel opens with Edward Malone ("Ned") finding his declarations of love rejected by Gladys, for she can only love a heroic man. Malone, a newspaper reporter, has been assigned to write an article on professor Challenger who has returned from South America with unbelievable stories of prehistoric life in a remote location in the Amazon. The scientific community in London thinks Challenger is a fraud, so the professor plans a new excursion to bring back concrete evidence of his claims. He asks for volunteers to join him, and Malone steps forward in hopes the trip will prove his heroic nature to Gladys. They will also be joined by the wealthy adventurer Lord John Roxton and the skeptical professor Summerlee, who hopes to prove Challenger truly is a fraud.After a dangerous journey up the rivers and through the forests of the Amazon, the four adventurers arrive at the massive plateau where they soon encounter a pterodactyl, forcing Summerlee to admit that Challenger had been telling the truth... "The Lost World" has had a significant influence on science fiction, inspiring works including Michael Crichtons The Lost World, the related Jurassic Park movies, and The Lost World television series.

"Songs of Kabir" is a 1915 book consisting of 100 poems of Kabir, the 15th-century Indian poet and mystic, translated to English by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.A weaver by trade and a mystic by nature, the 15-century poet Kabir created timeless works of enlightenment that combine the philosophies of Sufism, Hinduism, and the Kabbala. Expressed in imagery drawn from common life and the universal experience, Kabirs poems possess an appealing simplicity. This collection of 100 songs reflects nearly every aspect of the mystics thought and emotions: ecstasy and despair, tranquil beatitude and fervid illumination, and moments of intimate love. A fluid, luminous setting of a beloved prayer by Kabir, offering praise to a holy presence both universal and intimate, both of and beyond this world.The Indian poet Kabir (1440-1518) grew up amidst Hinduism and Islam, and was deeply influenced by both. He had little use for the rites and trappings of any religion, and openly despised the pious quoting of scriptures from any religion. His poetry invoked the divine using both Hindu and Muslim names Allah and Brahma but in all cases Kabir engaged with the divine in a way that was deep and immediate. Today Kabir is revered by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, and his songs are loved by people of all faiths.

"Madame Gil Blas" (titre complet: "Madame Gil Blas, souvenirs et aventures dune femme de notre temps") est un roman écrit par l’auteur français Paul Féval en 1856."Madame Gil Blas", écrit sous forme

The first book in the Poppy McGuire cozy mystery series! Poppy McGuire has always been a curious soul, but its her life thats usually the topic of conversation in the small town of Sunset Ridge. Somehow being a single woman with a coffee addiction and no boyfriend prospects is intensely interesting to her nosy neighbors. But now one of the towns most important citizens has been found murdered, and everyones life is suspect. What begins as a friendly wager with her old friend Officer Derek Hampton soon becomes far more for Poppy, and she turns to Alex Montero for help, but the enigmatic former Baltimore cops quiet way hides as many secrets as each suspect they encounter. Everyone in Sunset Ridge has something to hide, but Poppy and Alex are determined to uncover the identity of the murderer. They just have to watch that they dont become the next victims.

Originally published in 1911 and conceived immediately after "The Souls of Black Folk", "The Quest of the Silver Fleece" was William Edward Burghardt Du Bois first novel.Set in Alabama and Washington, D.C., in the early part of the twentieth century, "The Quest of the Silver Fleece" weaves the themes of racial equality and understanding through the stark reality of prejudice and bias. Du Bois turned to fiction to carry his message to a popular audience who were unfamiliar with his nonfiction works. He addresses the fact that, despite the legal emancipation of African Americans, the instruments of oppression, in both the economy and government, remained in good working order. At the time he was writing, powerful white industrialists controlled the cotton industry, the "silver fleece" that depended, as it did during slavery, on the physical labour of African Americans. White Americans also controlled local and national government."The Quest of the Silver Fleece" combined literary realism with some romanticism and political-economic analysis to provide a story of two Black protagonists, a man and a woman, who eventually work together to build an economic community -- a community that provided a way to overcome both the overt and the systemic racism of a fictional post-Reconstruction Alabama town and county. Cotton (the silver fleece) was the valuable crop that, as Du Bois suggested in the novel, would help rural African Americans become self-sufficient.Blessed "Bles" Alwyn, a young man seeking formal education to improve himself, is captivated by Zora, a vivacious, independent woman who lives outside society in a mysterious swamp. Faced with shocking events in Zoras past and ambivalence about how a black man should integrate into American society, Bles pursues his goals and ends up in Washington to assist on a senators campaign. While in the city, he meets successful African Americansand falls in lovebut he ultimately recoils from the hypocrisies they must endure in order to be accepted in society. Instead, he is compelled to return to Alabama and Zora, where he must face his greatest challenges and fears."The Quest of the Silver Fleece" is a remarkable portrait of racial prejudice at the turn of the twentieth century. Through the characters, Du Bois demonstrates the efficacy of self-sufficiency for those who face discrimination while championing the benefits of strength in diversity to American society as a whole.

First published in London by Thomas Hookham in 1789, "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" is a gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe, her first novel."The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" subtitled "A Highland Tale", is set in the feudal Scottish Highlands and centred around the two titular castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. Whilst Athlin "an edifice built on the summit of a rock whose base was in the sea" is home to a refined society headed by the gentle Countess Matlida and her children, Dunbayne is the domain of the villainous Baron Malcolm. The novels plot follows the young Earl of Athlin, Osbert, who seeks to take revenge against the unlawful murder of his father by the Baron Malcolm twelve years earlier after meeting the peasant Alleyn..."The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne" has everything: murder, revenge, battles, damsels in distress, aristocrats, captives, secrets, and, most of all, love. It is a love story in every sense: the love to the Scottish highlands in which it is set, the family love that binds almost above all else, and of course the love between men and women. This short work would later influence Radcliffes other works. At the same time, Radcliffe had an influence on Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and many others who wrote popular gothic novels.

Almost entirely unknown to modern readers, "Burning Daylight" was one of the best selling books of 1910 and it was Jack Londons best selling book while he was alive."Burning Daylight" takes place in the Yukon Territory in 1893. The main character, Elam Harnish, nicknamed "Burning Daylight" was the most successful entrepreneur of the Alaskan Gold Rush. The story of the main character was partially based upon the life of Oakland entrepreneur "Borax" Smith. Bringing his fortunes to the States he is cheated out of it by a crowd of money kings, and recovers it only at the muzzle of his gun. Embarking on a new life in California, he makes another fortune by underhanded means . . . only to find his corrupt life suddenly turned around by the love of a woman.No other writer before or since has been able to capture the awe-inspiring ferocity of the Western American landscape like Jack London. This fictionalized account of the Yukon gold rush offers painstakingly researched historical insights and plenty of fast-paced action.

First published in 1902, Edith Whartons stunning debut novel, "The Valley of Decision", is one of her most important and distinguished novels, yet it has received relatively little (and mostly superficial) attention, in spite of its initial popularity. Set in northern Italy in the late eighteenth century, it concerns the decisions that must be made by Odo Valsecca, a young man of liberal ideas who inherits a dukedom during the years of the French Revolution. Forced to choose between conflicting loyalties - those to the forces of social reform with which he allied himself before he came to power, or those of the feudal tradition to which he belongs by blood - Odo must define himself.

Nuovo ebook per la collana della Scuola estiva di traduzione di Gina Maneri e Anna Rusconi, lottavo; il corso e la raccolta sono a cura di Maneri, Rusconi e Marina Pugliano.Per i motivi noti a tutti, ledizione 2020 si e svolta giocoforza online, ma il nostro workshop anche questanno e riuscito a produrre degli splendidi racconti tradotti, nellordine, dal tedesco, dallo spagnolo e dallinglese. Nove, per lesattezza: Una regina perfetta, di Ines Garland; Cinque delle mie altre vite: Il lupo, Imparare a leggere, Lorso e il gatto, Energia e Al pianoterra, di Michaela Heissenberger; Caline, La bugia del dottor Chevalier e Un tipo ozioso di Kate Chopin.Non abbiamo voluto rinunciare neppure alla serata conclusiva con la lettura musicata dei racconti, da cui e nato un video che trovate sul canale YouTube della Scuola estiva: https://youtu.be/UgJ-QCVipU8Un ebook dei Dragomanni (www.idragomanni.it).

Paru en 1722, "Moll Flanders" (titre complet: "Heurs et malheurs de la fameuse Moll Flanders") est un roman picaresque de l’écrivain britannique Daniel Defoe.Si la fiction prend lapparence de la réal

Publicada en 1887, "Los habitantes del bosque" es una de las novelas más brillantes, controvertidas y representativas de la narrativa de Thomas Hardy, quien siempre la consideró su obra favorita. Sus evocadores paisajes y sus personajes llenos de fuerza hacen de "Los habitantes del bosque" una obra indispensable. Grace Melbury, la preciosa y delicada hija de un prospero maderero que haria cualquier cosa por ella, regresa al pequeño pueblo de su infancia despues de haber recibido una refinada educacion lejos de alli. Su reencuentro con quien siempre estuvo destinado a ser su marido, Giles Winterborne, les revela a los dos que, pese a todo lo que el pueda amarla, no esta a la altura de sus nuevas expectativas sociales y, en cambio, si lo esta el nuevo medico de la region, el aristocratico Edred Fitzpiers, que aparece rodeado de libros y de un raro halo de misterio. La relacion que se establece entre los tres se vera salpicada de malentendidos y traiciones, pero tambien de una devocion y una lealtad que conduciran a un desenlace extraordinario.

First published in 1876, "Rose in Bloom" is Louisa May Alcotts sequel to "Eight Cousins." Rose Campbell returns to the "Aunt Hill" after two years of traveling around the world. Suddenly, she is surrounded by male admirers, all expecting her to marry them. But before she marries anyone, Rose is determined to establish herself as an independent young woman. Besides, she suspects that some of her friends like her more for her money than for herself.

First published in 1845, "Chicot the Jester" (AKA "La Dame de Monsoreau") is a historical novel by French author Alexandre Dumas and the second volume of The Valois Trilogy, also composed by "Queen Margot" and "The Forty Five Guardsmen" in that order."Chicot the Jester" tells the fantastic story of a nobleman jester who has the audacity to mock a king and the guile to disarm a venerable knight in a heated battle.Bristling with political plots, secret assignations, daring escapes, duels, surprising alliances and betrayals, Dumas orchestrates two plotlines to come together in a very scene-driven, absolutely over-the-top novel. The title character isnt a jester in the way we use the term today; instead Chicot is King Henri IIIs advisor with the advantage of being able to speak truth to power. And that power is in jeopardy from within his family and without. Chicot must use all his wiles to keep Henri out of trouble and himself in the position of the real King of France. Against him is the powerful house of de Guise whose head is also the leader of the Catholic League; the Kings brother the Duc dAngou and the leader of the Huguenot faction, King Henry of Navarre. The other principal player is the brave Bussy, or the Comte de Bussy who is allied with the Duc dAnjou. He upsets the Kings minions and while escaping their trap he encounters a strange lady in a strange house and thinks it all a dream until he meets the real lady and falls in love. Tragically shes been tricked into marrying the scheming Comte Monsoreau, chief huntsman to the King and who will do anything to keep his wife away from any man who so much as looks at her. Monsoreau isnt his only worry though; the Duc dAnjou also wants the lovely Diana.Concerning one of Dumass most well-known and marvellously crafted characters, Chicot the Jester is a must-read for fans of Dumass seminal work, and is not to be missed by the discerning collector.

First published in 1845, "Queen Margot" (AKA "Marguerite de Valois") is a historical novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas."Queen Margot" is set in Paris in August 1572 during the reign of Charles IX. The story is based on real characters and events. The novels protagonist is Marguerite de Valois, better known as Margot, daughter of the deceased Henry II and the infamous scheming Catholic power player Catherine de Medici. Catherine decides to make an overture of goodwill by offering up Margot in marriage to prominent Huguenot and King of Navarre, Henri de Bourbon, a marriage that was supposed to cement the hard-fought Peace of Saint-Germain. At the same time, Catherine schemes to bring about the notorious St. Bartholomews Day Massacre of 1572, assassinating many of the most wealthy and prominent Huguenots who were in the largely-Catholic city of Paris to escort the Protestant prince to his weddingAlthough "Queen Margot"is based on real characters and events, certain aspects of the novel may be inconsistent with the historical record; historians have attributed this to artistic licence and the fact that Dumas might have been influenced by propaganda against certain characters, notably Catherine. Written in French, it was almost immediately translated into English, first anonymously, and soon after by David Bogue as "Marguerite de Valois: An Historical Romance"."Queen Margot" is the first book of The Valois Trilogy and followed by "Chicot the Jester" and "The Forty Five Guardsmen."

First published in 1847 and a sequel to “Chicot the Jester," Alexandre Dumas’s historical novel “The Forty Five Guardsmen” tells the story of Diane de Méridor’s quest for revenge upon Duc d’Anjou – f

Written in 1884 by English schoolteacher Edwin Abbott Abbott, "Flatland" (full name "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions") is a literary hybrid, a math- and science-based novella that creates a fictional land while at the same time satirizing Victorian culture and introducing theories of spaces multi-dimensional nature. Flatland is a world that exists on the two-dimensional plane, where its inhabitantsliteral geometrical shapeslive in a highly-structured society organized into classes based on the number of sides of a figure. The narrator and protagonist of "Flatland", mathematician A. Square (a pseudonym originally given as the author of the book), writes from prison, intricately detailing the social organization of his country and recounting the revelations he has received from the sacred Sphere.In Flatland women are straight lines and are considered the lowest of shapes. Men are polygons and the number of sides they have is dependent on their ranking in the social hierarchy. Odd and unexpected incidents bring A. Square together with numerous other geometric shapes. Some of the places he ventures into are Spaceland, which has three dimensions, Lineland, which is one-dimensional, and Pointland, which does not have any dimensions. A. Square also imagines a land with four dimensions, which is considered a subversive concept. While other Victorian literature may be turned to more frequently as classic examples of time and genre, "Flatland" remains intellectually challenging given that it prompts an examination of the elements of society without needing to adhere to a firm delineation between fact and fiction.

First published in 1850, "Antonina" (or, The Fall of Rome) was Wilkie Collinss first published novel, dedicated to Lady Chantrey, wife of William Collinss friend, the sculptor Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey."Antonina" is written in a laborious, deliberately florid style using detail from Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and modelled on Bulwer-Lyttons "The Last Days of Pompeii". The plot is challenging, with many passages reading like a cross between a guide book to ancient Rome (based on Collinss visit in 1837) and a description of his fathers paintings. Other sections, particularly the more horrific and violent, are vividly written and there are already indications of Collinss interest in physical handicap and abnormal states of mind, and his dislike of all forms of extremism. The conflict between the imaginative and artistic Antonina and her stern father is reworked to better effect in Collinss next novel, "Basil". "Antonina" received good reviews, sold consistently and was reprinted throughout Collinss lifetime and well into the twentieth century.The plot revolves around two separate but related struggles. That of the old pagan and new Christian religions, seen as equally destructive, embodied in the opposing characters of Ulpius and Numerian; and that of the strong figure of the Goth, Goisvintha, (modelled on Norna in Scotts The Pirate) seeking revenge against the weak heroine, Antonina.In the Rome of 408 AD, the young Antonina lives with her father Numerian, zealous in his aims to restore the Christian faith to its former ideals. Numerians steward, Ulpius, brought up in the old religion, secretly lives only to restore the forbidden gods of pagan sacrifice. Vetranio, their wealthy neighbour, has designs on the innocent Antonina. When they are surprised by Numerian in an apparently compromising situation, Antonina flees outside the city walls just before Rome is blockaded by the encircling army of the Goths.Antonina is captured by the chieftain, Hermanric, who falls in love with her. His sister, Goisvintha, was the sole survivor of a Roman massacre in which her children perished and has vowed revenge on Rome and its people. She attempts to kill Antonina but is prevented by Hermanric who allows Antonina to escape. During the weeks of the siege, she lives in a deserted farmhouse, visited nightly by Hermanric. Goisvintha betrays her brother to the Huns who kill him, while Antonina escapes for a second time.Ulpius, meanwhile, has discovered a breach in the city wall and attempts to betray Rome to Alaric in exchange for his destruction of the Christian religion. Alaric is interested only in humbling his enemies into surrender and seizing a large tribute of gold. Returning towards the city, Ulpius discovers Antonina and accompanies her to Rome where she finds her overjoyed but starving father. Antonina begs the last morsels of food from Vetranio at a macabre and suicidal Banquet of Famine, preventing him from making a funeral pyre of his palace. (Source: wilkie-collins.info)

First published in 1898, "The Red Lily" is a novel by French author Anatole France that tells of the affair between a woman of the world, married to a politician, with an artist. A trip to Florence (which symbolizes the title) crowns this carnal and mystical union. Soon, jealousy insinuates itself into the lovers heart, who ends the affair.Unique in its genre, "The Red Lily" is partially autobiographical, since it is based on the, at first passionate affair, between the author and Mrs. de Caillavet.