Wikie Collin\'s "After Dark" is a collection of six short stories. The book is a series of tales told by a poor travelling portrait-painter, William Kerby, who is forced to abandon his profession for six months in order to save his sight. Descriptions of the circumstances under which the tales were told. The tales are stories of adventure, well varied, and often striking in the incidents, or with thrilling situations. The six stories contained in the book are: The Traveller\'s Story of A Terribly Strange Bed The Lawyer\'s Story of A Stolen Letter The French Governess\'s Story of Sister Rose The Angler\'s Story of The Lady of Glenwith Grange The Nun\'s Story of Gabriel\'s Marriage The Professor\'s Story of The Yellow Mask Views: 290
Introduces our Hero and his Kindred. The Giant was an Eskimo of the Arctic regions. At the beginning of his career he was known among his kindred by the name of Skreekinbroot, or the howler, because he howled oftener and more furiously than any infant that had ever been born in Arctic land. His proper name, however, was Chingatok, though his familiars still ventured occasionally to style him Skreekinbroot. Now it must not be supposed that our giant was one of those ridiculous myths of the nursery, with monstrous heads and savage hearts, who live on human flesh, and finally receive their deserts at the hands of famous giant-killing Jacks. No! Chingatok was a real man of moderate size—not more than seven feet two in his sealskin boots—with a lithe, handsome figure, immense chest and shoulders, a gentle disposition, and a fine, though flattish countenance, which was sometimes grave with thought, at other times rippling with fun. We mention the howling characteristic of his babyhood because it was, in early life, the only indication of the grand spirit that dwelt within him—the solitary evidence of the tremendous energy with which he was endowed. At first he was no bigger than an ordinary infant. He was, perhaps, a little fatter, but not larger, and there was not an oily man or woman of the tribe to which he belonged who would have noticed anything peculiar about him if he had only kept moderately quiet; but this he would not or could not do. His mouth was his safety-valve. His spirit seemed to have been born big at once. It was far too large for his infant body, and could only find relief from the little plump dwelling in which it was at first enshrined by rushing out at the mouth. The shrieks of pigs were trifles to the yelling of that Eskimo child’s impatience. The caterwauling of cats was as nothing to the growls of his disgust. The angry voice of the Polar bear was a mere chirp compared with the furious howling of his disappointment, and the barking of a mad walrus was music to the roaring of his wrath. Every one, except his mother, wished him dead and buried in the centre of an iceberg or at the bottom of the Polar Sea. His mother—squat, solid, pleasant-faced, and mild—alone put up with his ways with that long-suffering endurance which is characteristic of mothers. Nothing could disturb the serenity of Toolooha. When the young giant, (that was to be), roared, she fondled him; if that was ineffectual, she gave him a walrus tusk or a seal’s flipper to play with; if that did not suffice, she handed him a lump of blubber to suck; if that failed, as was sometimes the case, she gambolled with him on the floor of her snow-hut, and rubbed his oily visage lovingly over her not less oleaginous countenance. Need we enlarge on this point? Have not all mothers acted thus, or similarly, in all times and climes? From pole to pole a mother’s soulIs tender, strong, and true;Whether the loved be good or bad—White, yellow, black, or blue. But Toolooha’s love was wise as well as strong.... Views: 290
The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World examines the enduring and world-changing effects of the catastrophic eruption off the coast of Java of the earth's most dangerous volcano — Krakatoa.
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa — the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster — was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round the planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all — in view of today's new political climate — the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims: one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere.
Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it telling back to life. Views: 288
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all timePronounced obscene when it was first published in 1915, The Rainbow is the epic story of three generations of the Brangwens, a Midlands family. A visionary novel, considered to be one of Lawrence's finest, it explores the complex sexual and psychological relationships between men and women in an increasingly industrialized world. "Lives are separate, but life is continuous—it continues in the fresh start by the separate life in each generation," wrote F. R. Leavis. "No work, I think, has presented this perception as an imaginatively realized truth more compellingly than The Rainbow." Views: 287
This is a children's comedy version of “Romeo and Juliet,” originally written in 2011 as a Year 6 leavers' play. It can just as easily be used at any time of the year, as presented here in its Smashwords edition. It would suit Year 6 (approx age. 11), of course, but could be performed by Year 5 or Year 7. The play retains the essential Shakespeare storyline.Meako lost her everything. She lost her parents and now her only brother. Unable to cope with the lost, she seeks a way out. Just before she's about to give up and take the jump, a mysterious stranger arrives and interrupts… Views: 287
What happens when the kink between the pages leads to heat between the sheets?
All Blake Crawford wants is to pass his creative writing course, get his university degree, and take over his dad’s ailing family business. What Amanda Newland wants is to graduate at the top of her class, as well as finally finish her novel and prove to her family that writing is a respectful career.
What Blake and Amanda don’t want is to be paired up with each other for their final project, but that’s exactly what they both get when they’re forced to collaborate on a writing piece. Since Amanda thinks Blake is a pushy asshole (with a panty-melting smirk and British accent) and Blake thinks Amanda has a stick up her ass (though it’s a brilliant ass), they fight tooth and nail until they discover they write well together. They also may find each other really attractive, but that’s neither here nor there.
When their writing project turns out to be a success, the two of them decide to start up a secret partnership using a pen name, infiltrating the self-publishing market in the lucrative genre of erotica. Naturally, with so much heat and passion between the pages, it’s not long before their dirty words become a dirty reality. Sure, they still fight a lot, but at least there’s make-up sex now.
But even as they start to fall hard for each other, will their burgeoning relationship survive if their scandalous secret is exposed? Or are happily-ever-afters just a work of fiction? Views: 286
Michael X in Trinidad, Peronism in Argentina, the cult of Kingship in Mobutu's Zaire — the author brings his novelist's questioning to bear upon the "half-made" societies, those still suffering from the profound deprivations of colonialism and prey to corruption.A collection of pieces of reportage and reflections on societies which are still suffering from the profound deprivations of colonialism. Amongst the topics covered are Michael X in Trinidad, Peronism in Argentina, and the cult of Kingship in Mobuto's Zaire.In four essays, Naipaul assesses contemporary "half-made societies"—those in Argentina, Trinidad, and the Congo—and compares Conrad's vision of Africa, South America, and the Far East with his own views of those places today Views: 283
Robert Michael Ballantyne (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a Scottish author of juvenile fiction who wrote more than 100 books. He was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Academy Ballantyne was born in Edinburgh on 24 April 1825, the ninth of ten children and the youngest son, to Alexander Thomson Ballantyne (1776–1847) and his wife Anne (1786–1855). Alexander was a newspaper editor and printer in the family firm of "Ballantyne & Co" based at Paul\'s Works on the Canongate,[2] and Robert\'s uncle James Ballantyne (1772–1833) was the printer for Scottish author Sir Walter Scott.[3] In 1832-33 the family is known to have been living at 20 Fettes Row, in the northern New Town of Edinburgh.[2] A UK-wide banking crisis in 1825 resulted in the collapse of the Ballantyne printing business the following year with debts of £130,000, which led to a decline in the family\'s fortunes. Ballantyne went to Canada aged 16, and spent five years working for the Hudson\'s Bay Company. He traded with the local Native Americans for furs, which required him to travel by canoe and sleigh to the areas occupied by the modern-day provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, experiences that formed the basis of his novel Snowflakes and Sunbeams (1856).[3] His longing for family and home during that period impressed him to start writing letters to his mother. Ballantyne recalled in his autobiographical Personal Reminiscences in Book Making (1893) that "To this long-letter writing I attribute whatever small amount of facility in composition I may have acquired Views: 282
A story of dragon kings that walk as humans and of elves in the magic land of Daegoras.Curse of The Dragon Kings tells of the mythical origins of the noble Dragon Race, the Dragorians, of their magic and dealings with the Elves, and of their connection with the wizard Myrddin (Merlin was his name as he appeared in the Arthurian Saga) and his brother, Calatin. It tells of the love story between Dragoras the King and Grainnewyn of the Elves. Arcaendria is the setting of Curse of The Dragon Kings. There, in the land of Daegoras, the noble race of Dragorians once dwelled, long before the coming of dwarves and even the elves to their land. But the Dragorians were divided by the slow seduction of the light to the power of evil. A war broke out between the dark Dragorians and the ancient forces of light. It was then, as the Dragorians’ magic battle came to a climax that the dark Dragorians came to be transformed into their reptilian shape—the Dragons, cursed in a tale of the tragic betrayal of their noble King Dragoras. Curse of The Dragon Kings is the story of lands of the wizards' battle against the Dark Wizard and his dragon minions, of the lost city of Dragoras and of the coming of the age of men and dwarves and elves into the mythical birthplace of Dragon-magic. Views: 282
A CLASH OF AXES, A SLASH OF SWORDSIt was a memorable duel. For hours, King Haldor of Horlingdal and King Ulf of Romsdal battled. But the axe of Haldor the Fierce split Ulf's shield, and slammed into his head, putting him into his bed for a full week. Thus did King Haldor win the contest prize of this Viking contest. Herfrida the Soft Eyed became his bride. Herfrida bore King Haldor a son named Erling. Ulf sired a daughter named Hilda. The Viking kings became friends and their progeny grew. Erling became a handsome young man and Hilda a beautiful young woman. But Erling the Bold's Viking destiny was not peace. For Erling the Bold and Hilda the Sunbeam met a hermit with a strange new faith. His name was Christian. He changed their fate forever. Views: 281
From the acclaimed author of Blue Highways, PrairyErth, and Roads to Quoz, a dazzling collection of travel tales from the road.
HERE, THERE, ELSEWHERE draws together for the first time William Least Heat-Moon's greatest short-form travel writing. Personally selected by the writer, these pieces take us from Japan, England, Italy, and Mexico to Long Island, Oregon, Arizona, from small towns to big cities, ocean shores and inland mysteries.
Including Heat-Moon's reflections on writing these pieces, HERE, THERE, ELSEWHERE is much more than the usual collection of amber; it is a coupled summation of craft and memory. A perfect treasury of prose and provocation for readers old and new, Heat-Moon's most recent work reveals his absolute mastery across pages many and few. Views: 281
Quicksilver - The Boy With No Skid To His Wheel is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by George Manville Fenn is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of George Manville Fenn then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. Views: 280
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. Views: 280
The Norsemen in the West; Or America before Columbus. The Curtain Rises and the Play Begins. One fine autumn evening, between eight and nine hundred years ago, two large hairy creatures, bearing some resemblance to polar bears, might have been seen creeping slowly, and with much caution, toward the summit of a ridge that formed a spur to one of the ice-clad mountains of Greenland. The creatures went on all-fours. They had long bodies, short legs, shorter tails, and large round heads. Having gained the top of the ridge they peeped over and beheld a hamlet nestled at the foot of a frowning cliff; and at the head of a smiling inlet. We use these terms advisedly, because the cliff, being in deep shadow, looked unusually black and forbidding, while the inlet, besides being under the influence of a profound calm, was lit up on all its dimples by the rays of the setting sun. The hamlet consisted of one large cottage and half a dozen small cots, besides several sheds and enclosures wherein were a few sleepy-looking sheep, some lean cattle, and several half-starved horses. There was active life there also. Smoke issued from the chimneys; fresh-looking women busied themselves about household work; rosy children tumbled in and out at the doors, while men in rough garments and with ruddy countenances mended nets or repaired boats on the shore. On a bench in front of the principal cottage sat a sturdy man, scarcely middle-aged, with shaggy fair and flowing locks. His right foot served as a horse to a rapturous little boy, whose locks and looks were so like to those of the man that their kinship was obvious—only the man was rugged and rough in exterior; the boy was round and smooth. Tow typified the hair of the man; floss silk that of the boy. Everything in and around the hamlet bore evidence of peace and thrift. It was a settlement of Norsemen—the first Greenland settlement, established by Eric the Red of Iceland about the year 986—nearly twenty years before the date of the opening of our tale—and the hairy creatures above referred to had gone there to look at it. Having gazed very intently over the ridge for a considerable time, they crept backwards with extreme caution, and, on getting sufficiently far down the hill-side to be safe from observation, rose on their hind-legs and began to talk; from which circumstance it may be concluded that they were human beings. After talking, grinning, and glaring at each other for a few minutes, with gestures to correspond, as though on the point of engaging in mortal combat, they suddenly wheeled about and walked off at a rapid pace in the direction of a gorge in the mountains, the head of which was shut in by and filled up with cliffs and masses and fields of ice that overtopped the everlasting hills, and rested like a white crest on the blue sky. Vast though it seemed, this was merely a tongue of those great glaciers of the mysterious North which have done, and are still doing, so much to modify the earth’s economy and puzzle antiquarian philosophy; which form the fountain-head of influences that promote the circulation of the great deep, and constitute the cradle of those ponderous icebergs that cover the arctic seas.... Views: 279
The Scottish juvenile fiction writer R. M. Ballantyne was born into a famous family of publishers. Leaving home at age 16 he went to work for the Hudson\'s Bay Company; after returning home to Scotland R. M. Ballantyne published his first book "Hudson\'s Bay" detailing his experiences in Canada. Later Ballantyne would write about more of his experiences with Native Americans and the Fur trappers he met in the most remote regions of Canada. With his success as a writer he withdrew from the business world to become a full time writer for the rest of his life. With over a hundred different books he has become one of the most cherished juvenile fiction writers today. Along with his other exploits throughout his life he also was tremendously successful with his artwork as his water color paintings were displayed at the Royal Scottish Academy. Views: 276
