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First published in 1861, "East Lynne" was Ellen Woods second of over 30 novels. When the aristocratic Lady Isabel abandons her husband and children for her wicked seducer, more is at stake than moral retribution...The plot is implausible at times, depending on a woman disguising herself to work for her former husband and his second wife, but the themes of infidelity and destitution were very real concerns for the mid-Victorian middle classes, and the novel clearly delineates the sexual structure of a society in which female personality is suppressed by masculine will.Ellen Wood played upon the anxieties of the Victorian middle classes who feared a breakdown of the social order as divorce became more readily available and promiscuity threatened the sanctity of the family.In her novel the simple act of hiring a governess raises the spectres of murder, disguise, and adultery. Her sensation novel was devoured by readers from the Prince of Wales to Joseph Conrad and continued to fascinate.Ellen Wood (Mrs Henry Wood) was writing at a time when some women writers felt it was necessary to package their names in a way that would ensure their work was taken seriously Mary Anne Evans wrote as George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell published her works anonymously or as Mrs Gaskell. Ellen Woods works were extremely popular during her lifetime and into the 20th century, the mix of sensationalism and brilliant story-telling ensuring a wide readership.

That David Herbert Lawrence is actually a man of realistic, insightful fiction shows best in his novels. And when it comes to short fiction, he tends to preserve not only the essence of his fictional wordsmithy but also the style. First published in 1922, "England, My England", a collection of ten short stories by Lawrence is an example.Most of the stories were written against the backdrop of the World War I, taking war and its destruction as its main concern.If you are a Lawrence fan, this book will surely not fail in touching you. If you havent read his fiction before, you may be left wondering or confused at times. Yet, all will be able to see how Lawrence breaks away from the traditional style of story-telling of his time.

È una leggenda detta, cuntata e cantata che narra le origini di un castello che sorge nellaccogliente citta di Salemi su un colle in provincia di Trapani. Ambientata in Sicilia in epoca araba, narra di uninsolita gara intrapresa da tre principesse.La vincitrice sara la sposa del giovane principe Salem. La gara si presenta difficile ma la piu giovane nonche la piu furba delle tre principesse riesce a vincere con un piccolo stratagemma.

First published in 1869, Richard Doddridge Blackmores historical romance, "Lorna Doone", remains a critically acclaimed story with several television and movie adaptations. Set in the 17th century during a fraught political climate, the novel centres on the star-crossed lovers, Lorna Doone and John Ridd, as they struggle to be together despite the differences in their social classes and the enmity between their families. The main character, John Ridd, is the narrator, telling his story years later. He makes determined attempts to describe the Exmoor landscape and accurately portray the local dialect.

"The Trumpet-Major", first published in 1880, is Thomas Hardys seventh novel a historical and pastoral romance set in and around the seaside resort of Budmouth (Weymouth) during the Napoleonic Wars.Our heroine, a graceful and charming young woman, Anne Garland, lives quietly in a rural community deep in the English countryside. However, the arrival of several regiments preparing for an expected invasion brings colour and chaos to the county.Anne is pursued by three suitors: John Loveday, the trumpet-major in a British regiment, honest and loyal; his brother Robert, a merchant seaman and womaniser, and Festus Derriman, the cowardly son of the local squire. Set at the time of the Napoleonic wars, this is the authors only historical novel, and unusually for Hardys books, some of the characters live happily ever after.

Martin Freeman finally took the plunge. He quit his day job to become a full time author and isnt looking back. Brimming with confidence, hes concerned how his wife Greta will take the news. Although being your own boss is liberating, its also quite scary.But hell make it work. Hes sure of it.Its just a matter of convincing Greta... Approximately 1,250 words. This book also includes: New Beginnings (1,950 words), This Beauty By My Side (650 words), and an extended Authors Note (1,850 words). Descriptions of my popular childrens books are included after the main feature (an additional 5 pages).

First published in 1864, "Cousin Phillis" is a haunting, beautifully controlled novella considered to be among Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskells finest short works. Lodging with a minister on the outskirts of London, Paul Manning is initially dismayed to discover that the uncle he must visit in the country is also a churchman. Yet far from the oppressively religious household he envisages, Manning is delighted to meet his genial relationsnot least, his cousin Phillis. But when Phillis falls for the charms of his more sophisticated colleague, Mannings family ties render him powerless to prevent the inevitable heartbreak that ensues. Collaborator and friend of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is a leading figure in Victorian literature.

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First published in 1897, "Captains Courageous" is another brilliant story and a maritime adventure created by the very versatile Rudyard Kipling."Captains Courageous" tells the story of a 15-year-old boy named Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a wealthy railroad tycoon. He is on an ocean liner bound for Europe when he falls overboard and is rescued by a group of cod fisherman off the coast of Newfoundland. Harvey tries to get the fisherman to take him back to port, but they refuse to do it. He also tells them that he is wealthy and his father will pay for the trip back, but the fisherman dont believe him. When Harvey accuses the captain, Disko Troop, of taking his money, the captain makes Harvey join the crew and work as a fisherman for the remainder of their trip.The story focuses on Harveys personal transformation from the arrogant, pampered son of a millionaire to an admirable young man who has learned the values of hard work, simple living, and self-reliance.

"Keep The Aspidistra Flying" is a 1936 novel by George Orwell. The book is a social critique set in 1930s London. The story revolves around the protagonist, Gordon Comstock, who fantasises about defying the worship of money and status, and how, in his attempt to escape these vices, he creates a rather dismal life for himself.George Orwell wrote "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" in 1934/35 while working at a bookshop in Hampstead and it was published in April 1936, just a few months before he left to fight in the Spanish Civil War. It is a novel of its time, capturing something of the ideological conflict, sociological concern, and economic distrust which so characterised the 1930s.

"When the Sleeper Wakes" is a dystopian novel by British author H. G. Wells, first published in serial form in The Graphic between 1899 and 1903. In 1910, Wells expanded the story into the full-length novel "The Sleeper Awakes", published by Harper & Brothers."The Sleeper Awakes" is a fantastic Dystopian tale about Graham, an 1890s radical pamphleteer who is eagerly awaiting the twentieth century and all the advances it will bring and who is stricken with insomnia. Finally resorting to medication, he instantly falls into a deep sleep that lasts two hundred years. Upon waking in the twenty-second century to a strange and nightmarish place, he slowly discovers he is master of the world, revered by an adoring populace who consider him their leader. Terrified, he escapes from his chamber seeking solaceonly to realise that not everyone adores him, some even wish to harm him.The novel is his version of the familiar trope of the man who falls asleep for an unnaturally long period of time and wakes up in a future where everything has changed, where a new civilisation is in place.Invariably, the civilisation of the future is shown to have either solved or exacerbated what the author sees as the great social issues of his own day so that the genre offers an author free rein to make prophecies and predictions, as well as working in as much social and political satire, as he or she wants.Wells had joined the left-wing Fabian Society in 1903 and had quickly become one of its most famous publicists and promoters. By 1910 his views on politics and society were well-known and the 1910 version of the book brings these out more clearly, as well as trying to sort out infelicities in the writing.

First published in 1929, "Hudson River Bracketed" tells a fascinating tale set in the1920s."Hudson River Bracketed" features two strong protagonists - Vance Weston and Halo Spear. The former is an under educated young man who arrives in New York with a keen desire to write. Halo Spear is a brilliant, accomplished young woman who introduces Vance to literature and they form a deep bond, which flourishes and endures despite the hardships of Vances life, the disappointments of Halos - and their respective marriages.Readers and critics have very divided views about "Hudson River Bracketed". Some find it a brilliant fictional evocation of Whartons view of a womans journey toward independence, whereas others find it a shrill harangue against literary modernism. Some see Halo as the true hero of the novel, with Vance another version of Whartons "negative hero," while others see the portrayals of Halo and Vance as evidence of Whartons failing artistic and narrative powers. Whatever the view, "Hudson River Bracketed" is animated with the vitality of the changing ideas of gender roles, literature, and the artistic process that made the 1920s such a significant, complex and intriguing era.Before she had finished writing the novel, Edith Wharton determined that she would continue and complete its tale in "The Gods Arrive", a sequel that she published in 1932. Indeed, Wharton listed these two novels among the top five that, in her view, represented the best work of her lifetime. Along with "The Gods Arrive", "Hudson River Bracketed" is a kunstlerromane that contains a complicated examination of the artistic process, literary modernism, publishing issues, literary prizes, and the complex relationships among men and women as they fall in love and challenge traditional assumptions about wedlock, divorce, and pregnancy.

This early work by Edith Wharton was originally published in 1932. "The Gods Arrive" is a sequel to "Hudson River Bracketed" in which the characters, Halo and Vance, try to continue their literary relationship.In "The Gods Arrive", Halo Tarrant defies convention by leaving her husband and sailing for Europe with her lover, the novelist Vance Weston. In her mind, her love for him and her willingness to nurture his genius are enough to sustain the relationship. But Vance is often weak and immature, and his chance meeting with a woman from his past will test the bond with Halo.

First published in 1912, "The Trespasser" is the second novel written by David Herbert Lawrence only one year after his acclaimed debut "The White Peacock". Originally titled The Saga of Siegmund, "The Trespasser" is a romantic story without a happy resolution. The novel drew upon the experiences of a friend of Lawrence, Helen Corke, and her adulterous relationship with a married man that ended with his suicide.

"The Fruit of the Tree" is one of Edith Whartons few novels to deal directly with issues such as euthanasia, the problems of labour and industrial conditions, and professions for women, as well as Whartons more customary themes such as divorce. Published in 1907, it received positive but mixed reviews, and more recently critics have attempted to explain its uneven structure, which combines an industrial plot (Amhersts attempts to reform the mills), an ethical plot (the question of euthanasia) and the more conventional romance plot.It is also true his little known novel by the author of "The Age of Innocence" was also considered very controversial for its frank treatment of the above mentioned social issues."The Fruit of the Tree" is a conventionally structured novel hinging upon a love triangle with the principle male character, John Amherst providing the hinge between two different female leads, Bessy Langhope, a mill owner, and Justine Brent, a nurse.In "The Fruit of the Tree", Wharton created a gripping tale full of psychological insights, deft social portraiture, and profound ethical questions that remain challenging even today.

H. G. Wells masterpiece "A Modern Utopia" was first published in 1905. It sets the scene for many modern, scientific utopias and dystopias. The story is set on a planet very like earth. The Utopian Planet differs from earth in that the inhabitants have created a perfect society. Two men, the narrator and his colleague (a botanist), visit this parallel planet and argue over its merits and defects.Utopia is a world in which the problems of humanity have been solved. People live healthy, happy lives in cities where all human needs are met. Science and technology frees people from toil and enables them to enjoy security and innovation.Wells utopia is neither democratic nor equal. He draws on the utopias of Plato, More, and Bacon. He advocates a scientific kind of socialism, rooted in the idea that the world is orderly, knowable and controllable.The state is ruled by the Samurai. Like Platos Guardians, the Samurai are a moral and spiritual ruling class. They lead an ascetic (disciplined and morally strict) life, governed by the Rule. The Samurai carry out their government duties but their main business is the development of science and philosophy. Anybody that proves themselves to be able to follow the Rule is allowed to become one of the Samurai.Basically, Wells idea of a perfect world would be if everyone were able to live a happy life. This book is written with an intimate knowledge of former ideal commonwealths and is a conscious attempt to describe a utopia that is not utopian.

"The First Men in the Moon" is a Dystopian and scientific romance published in 1901 by the English author H. G. Wells, who called it one of his "fantastic stories".The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon undertaken by the two protagonists, a businessman narrator, Mr. Bedford, and an eccentric scientist, Mr. Cavor. Bedford and Cavor discover that the moon is inhabited by a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilisation of insect-like creatures they call "Selenites".

"The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" is a 1749 novel by Henry Fielding. It has been hailed as one of the great comic novels of English literature and Fieldings masterpiece. The novel is divided into eighteen books and aims to explore human nature, covering a wide variety of social themes and literary styles.A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squirethough he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" is one of the most ambitious comic novels in English literature.

First published in 1899, "The Man Who Was Afraid" is a classic novel by the popular and influential Russian author Maxim Gorky.Gorky was the founder of the socialist realism literary method and arguably the greatest Russian literary figure of the 20th century. He wrote stories, plays, memoirs and novels which touched the imagination of the Russian people, and was the first Russian author to write sympathetically of such characters as tramps and thieves, emphasising their daily struggles against overwhelming odds.

First published in 1929, David Herbert Lawrences novella "The Man Who Died" was originally a story titled The Escaped Cock. Later, Lawrence added a second part, and his publishers changed the title to "The Man Who Died". In his last novel, published less than a year before his untimely death at the age of forty-five, Lawrence takes up the theme of Christs resurrection and his final days on Earth. Lawrence recounts Christs agonising journey from death back to life with an alarmingly profane realism, depicting the tale from the moment of his initial painful awakening to his eventual redemptive sexual relationship with the priestess of the pagan goddess Isis.The story expands beyond its Christian roots to explore and embrace Lawrences abiding faith in the life-force apparent in every aspect of the natural world. For his final work, Lawrence has encapsulated a lifetime of extraordinary vision into one profound and exquisite parable.