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James Joyces final and experimental novel "Finnegans Wake" is considered a revolutionary masterpiece. First published in 1939, this comic novel is a classic of modern Irish literature. Written over the course of nearly two decades, Joyce attempted to create a nocturnal, dreamlike state. The dreams relive major conflicts from both history and mythology. "Finnegans Wake" is considered one of the most difficult works of fiction written in English."Finnegans Wake" is a complex novel that blends the reality of life with a dream world. The motive idea of the novel, inspired by the 18th-century Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico, is that history is cyclical. To demonstrate this, the book ends with the first half of the first sentence of the novel. Thus, the last line is actually part of the first line, and the first line a part of the last line. The plot itself is difficult to follow, as the novel explores a number of fractured story lines. The main tension, however, comes from the juxtaposition of reality and dream, which is achieved through changing characters and settings. During the day, Mr. and Mrs. Porter live above their pub in Chapelizod, a suburb of Dublin. They live a normal, boring life. They are the parents of twin boys named Kevin and Jerry. They also have a daughter named Isabel, nicknamed Issy.The characters names and the setting change when Mr. and Mrs. Porter enter their dreamworld. Their fantastical dream life sharply contrasts with their banal daytime existence. The land of dreams starts in the upstairs bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Porters home in Chapelizod.In the dreams, the family becomes the Earwicker family and takes on many different names...

First published in the United States on 4 October 1919 by George H. Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on 15 October 1919. It had previously been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post, between May and June of that year. Its plot revolves around golf-loving American composer George Bevan who falls in love with a mysterious young lady who takes refuge in his taxicab one day. When he later tracks her down to a romantic rural manor, mistaken identity leads to all manner of brouhaha.

With "The Mysteries of Udolpho", first published in 1794, Ann Radcliffe raised the Gothic romance to a new level and inspired a long line of imitators.Portraying her heroines inner life, creating a thick atmosphere of fear, and providing a gripping plot that continues to thrill readers today, "The Mysteries of Udolpho" is the story of orphan Emily St. Aubert, who finds herself separated from the man she loves and confined within the medieval castle of her aunts new husband, Montoni. Inside the castle, she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montonis threats, and the wild imaginings and terrors that threaten to overwhelm her.

"The Spoils of Poynton" is a short novel by Henry James first published as a serial titled The Old Things in The Atlantic Monthly in 1896. Retitled "The Spoils of Poynton", it was published as a book in 1897.Poynton Park is the home of old Mrs. Gereth, an antique collector with impeccable taste who has filled her lodgings with splendid art objects and furniture. The possessive Mrs. Gereth wants her weak-willed son to marry a pleasant young woman who shares her refined tastes. Instead he becomes engaged to a vulgar, greedy woman, and the treasures of Poynton become the prize over which mother and fiancee battle. In the end Poynton and its spoils, which have destroyed all of the novels relationships...

"The House on the Borderland" is a visionary novel by William Hope Hodgson published in 1908. H.P Lovecraft and other writers of horror and supernatural fiction have cited it as an influence on their writings.A manuscript is found: filled with small, precise writing and smelling of pit-water, it tells the story of an old recluse and his strange home - and its even stranger, jade-green double, seen by the recluse on an otherworldly plain where gigantic gods and monsters roam.Soon his more earthly home is no less terrible than his bizarre vision, as swine-like creatures boil from a cavern beneath the ground and besiege it. But a still greater horror will face the recluse - more inexorable, merciless and awful than any creature that can be fought or killed.

Ogni avventuriero cerca cosa diverse:Chi lemozione che solo landare incontro allignoto sa dare.Chi la ricchezza.Chi la fama.Chi la conoscenza.Sono queste cose che spingono un gruppo di avventurieri annoiati ad accettare un incarico allapparenza semplice: una ricerca con uno scopo chiaro e ben preciso.Una missione dalla quale si aspettavano tante cose ma non di ritrovarsi a loro insaputa nel bel mezzo di intrighi e lotte di potere. Gettati in uno scenario in cui enigmatici e ambigui attori tessono le loro trame incuranti di chi possa finirci impigliato.Regni in rovine, guerre, assassini, maghi, spie, mercenari, elfi e pirati sono solo alcuni degli ostacoli che i nostri avventurieri si troveranno a dover affrontare per poter andare avanti procedendo con perseveranza lungo il cammino dellavventura che hanno scelto.Consigliata ma non indispensabile la previa lettura de Il Regno delle Mille Torri

First published in 1914, "The Turmoil" is the first novel from Booth Tarkingtons Growth trilogy, which is a fictional commentary on capitalism during the Second Industrial Revolution.While Booth Tarkingtons Growth Trilogy, which also includes "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1918) and "The Midlander" (1923, retitled National Avenue in 1927), appears on the surface to be about family, it is actually more about the economic changes that were occurring in America during the Second Industrial Revolution and how these changes impacted Midwesterners."The Turmoil" is the first book in this series that is best known for its Pulitzer Prize winning second novel, "The Magnificent Ambersons", which was later adapted into a film by Orson Welles."The Turmoil" is set in a small, quiet city--never named but closely resembling the authors hometown of Indianapolis--that is quickly being transformed into a bustling, money-making nest of competitors more or less overrun by the worshippers of Bigness."The Turmoil", the first great success of his career, tells the intertwined stories of two families: the Sheridans, whose integrity wanes as their wealth increases, and the Vertrees, who remain noble but impoverished. Linked by the romance between a Sheridan son and a Vertrees daughter, the story of the two families provides a dramatic view of what America was like on the verge of a new order.

Susan Ferriers novel "Marriage", published in 1818, is a good read and interesting in a number of ways, one of which is its Scottishness."Marriage" is the shrewdly observant tale of a young womans struggles with parental authority and courtship. Like her contemporaries, Maria Edgeworth and Jane Austen, Susan Ferrier adopts an ideal of rational domesticity, illustrating the virtues of a reasonable heroine who learns to act for herself.Susan Ferriers first novel tells the story of an English heiress, Lady Juliana, who elopes with an impoverished Scot, Henry Douglas, and has to adjust to living in a run-down castle in the Highlands.

"The Magnificent Ambersons" is a 1918 novel written by Booth Tarkington, which won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is the second novel of his trilogy called Growth. The story is set mainly in a fictionalized version of Indianapolis and was greatly inspired by the neighbourhood of Woodruff Place. "The Magnificent Ambersons" chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty, the aristocratic Amberson family. The protagonist of Booth Tarkingtons great historical drama is George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the familys magnificence. Eclipsed by a new breed of developers, financiers, and manufacturers, this pampered scion begins his gradual descent from the midwestern aristocracy to the working class.Today "The Magnificent Ambersons" is best known through the 1942 Orson Welles movie.

Jouée pour la première fois en 1910, "Chantecler" est une fable dramatique écrite par Edmond Rostand qui met en scène des animaux de basse-cour, de jardin ou des bois. Chaque matin, le coq Chantecler

Fiabe oltre ogni barriera raccoglie i componimenti della terza edizione del concorso Un viaggio dentro la fiaba per incontrare eroi super-abili promosso presso gli studenti delle Scuole Medie del Castanese.Una iniziativa di sensibilizzazione per accompagnare gli allievi, attraverso la riscoperta della fiaba, ad una visione diversa della disabilita, da leggere come risorsa e non come svantaggio.Un viaggio dentro la fiaba per incontrare eroi super-abili: un titolo forse un po lungo per un progetto senza dubbio ambizioso, promosso da Cooperativa Lule ed Ecoistituto della Valle del Ticino con il cofinanziamento di Fondazione Ticino Olona ed il patrocinio del Comitato Italiano Paralimpico (CIP) Comitato Regionale Lombardia.Dalla prefazione di Matteo LosaIl bene che puo fare una fiaba e ancora in parte sottaciuto. Sappiamo che ha il potere di fare addormentare e cadere in sonni sicuri, sappiamo che puo catturare lattenzione dei piu piccini, che puo far volare attraverso mondi fantastici, che puo entusiasmare.Ma che possa insegnare qualcosa o che possa aiutare anche un adolescente o un adulto a uscire da una difficolta, ci abbiamo mai pensato?Nellimmaginario collettivo, la fiaba e di certo un buon mezzo per intrattenere i bambini, ma non viene certo preso in considerazione come strumento educativo. O meglio, non piu. E invece.Da sempre, sin dallantichita, la fiaba e uno dei piu antichi strumenti per insegnare un comportamento retto, una morale. Cosi a un bambino, come a un adulto.Ecco come nato questo progetto e come labbiamo svolto crediamo nel potenziale della fiaba, nel suo essere un testo universale, adatto a tutti, utile a tutti. Soprattutto a quei ragazzi, che sullaffacciarsi delladolescenza, hanno ancor piu bisogno di modelli e di esempi.

First published in 1901, "My Brilliant Career" is Miles Franklins debut and most acclaimed work, an early romantic novel by this popular Australian author."My Brilliant Career" is the story of Sybylla, a headstrong young girl growing up in early 20th century Australia. Sybylla rejects the opportunity to marry a wealthy young man in order to maintain her independence. As a consequence she must take a job as a governess to a local family to which her father is indebted.Like most first novels, "My Brilliant Career" draws heavily on its authors experience, and its verisimilitude was such that contemporaries judged it as a factual rather than fictional autobiography.

"The Egoist" is a tragicomical novel by George Meredith published in 1879 and it is one of Merediths most popular works.The novel concerns the egoism of self-absorbed Sir Willoughby Patterne and his attempts at marriage; jilted by his first bride-to-be, he vacillates between the sentimental Laetitia Dale and the strong-willed Clara Middleton. More importantly, the novel follows Claras attempts to escape from her engagement to Sir Willoughby, who desires women to serve as a mirror for him and consequently cannot understand why she would not want to marry him."The Egoist" dramatizes the difficulty contingent upon being a woman in Victorian society, when womens bodies and minds are trafficked between fathers and husbands to cement male bonds.

First published in 1933, "A Prince of the Captivity" is the epic story of one mans courage. Adam Melfort is an officer and a gentleman. A brilliant career lies ahead of him until he is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Afterwards, he embarks on daring missions in the service of his country. Dangerous work behind enemy lines in World War I and espionage in 1920s are adventures he bravely undertakes.

"Prester John" was written as a boys adventure story set mostly in South Africa. It was published in 1910 when John Buchan was 35. The South African background was based on the two years from 1901 which Buchan spent as a private secretary to Lord Milner, High Commissioner to South Africa and later governor of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.Although the novel contains observations on relations between blacks and whites, the clash of different cultures and civilisations and the role of imperial paternalism, it needs to be read primarily as a fast-moving novel of adventure in the style of novels by Robert Louis Stevenson and Rider Haggard.Nineteen-year-old David Crawfurd travels from Scotland to South Africa to work as a storekeeper. On the voyage he encounters again John Laputa, the celebrated Zulu minister, of whom he has strange memories. David had met Laputa some years before in weird circumstances.In his remote store David finds himself with the key to a massive uprising led by the minister, who has taken the title of the mythical priest-king, Prester John.Davids courage and his understanding of this man take him to the heart of the uprising, a secret cave in the Rooirand.

First published in 1906, "A Lodge in the Wilderness" is a political novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. The novel relates an imagined conference arranged by a multi-millionaire, Francis Carey, to discuss Empire. The guests are contemporary figures from the upper and professional classes, nine men and nine women who have in common superb articulateness, wide experience, and an interest in understanding how Empire might be a positive influence. Buchan uses the opportunity to set out a variety of views on political and social issues, and to play Devils Advocate.

First published in 1919, "Across the Years" is a collection of charming and insightful short stories from the pen of author Eleanor Hodgman Porter, best known for the widely acclaimed novel "Pollyanna". Touching on an array of engaging subjects and timeless themes, these stories showcase Porters gift for crafting memorable characters that often find themselves in unusual or trying circumstances that test their mettle.

"A Damsel in Distress" is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in 1919. When Maud Marsh flings herself into George Bevans cab in Piccadilly, he starts believing in damsels in distress. George traces his mysterious travelling companion to Belpher Castle, home of Lord Marshmoreton, where things become severely muddled. Mauds aunt, Lady Caroline Byng, wants Maud to marry Reggie, her stepson. Maud, meanwhile, is known to be in love with an unknown American she met in Wales. So when George turns up speaking American, a nasty case of mistaken identity breaks out. In fact, the scene is set for the perfect Wodehouse comedy of errors.While "A Damsel In Distress" is a stand-alone novel, it contains all kind of delights typical in Wodehouse literature such as his signature wit, clever turns of phrase, wonderfully silly characters and convoluted plots.

First published in 1935, "Beyond the Black River" is generally accepted as one of the best Conan stories. It is also one of the few that breaks Robert Ervin Howards traditional narrative pattern.Although "Beyond the Black River" features everyones favourite Cimmerian, Conan is not the protagonist. That honour goes to a young settler named Balthus. Balthus is one of a few brave settlers who has pushed over to the "wild" side of the Black River. Defended only by a isolated, pseudo-Roman military outpost, these settlers are on the far edge of civilisation - surrounded by jungle and horror.Howard is quick to draw comparisons between Conan and Balthus. Balthus is brave, noble and, ultimately, part of civilization. Conan is a creature of the barbaric other - no different from the evil savages & shamans that live in the jungle. And, when seen through Balthus eyes, Conan is just as terrifying. Balthus, although heroic, is the outsider here. "Beyond the Black River" is about civilisations brazen advance into the Great Unknown, and, more importantly, how the Unknown always triumphs. This short story encapsulates a gloomy, apocalyptic view of the world - how all progress is for naught, as mankinds natural, unavoidable, state is barbarism.Conan the Barbarian is employed by one of the civilised countries to help in its push to claim lands from the primitive Picts. The Picts are not excited about the idea however. Old gods and mythical creatures are called up by the Pict witches to contest the invading army and Conan finds himself battling for his life amid the blood thirsty hordes that include saber-toothed tigers, 40 foot long venomous snakes and a demon from another dimension who is intent on crushing him...

First published in 1910, "Chantecler" is the chef-doeuvre of Edmond Rostands mature years, now deservedly being rediscovered in France.Written in typically lively verse, "Chantecler" contains some of Edmond Rostands best lyrical writing, including the famous Hymn to the Sun. It also explores some of his favourite themes.The play is notable in that all the characters are farmyard animals including the main protagonist, a chanticleer, or rooster. The play centres on the theme of idealism and spiritual sincerity, as contrasted with cynicism and artificiality. Much of the play satirises modernist artistic doctrines from Rostands romanticist perspective.