Showing results by author "James Henry" in All Categories

When Frederick, an American expatriate traveling in Europe, meets the commonplace, newly rich Miller family from New York, he is charmed by the daughter, Daisy, and her "inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence". The Millers have no perception of the complex code that underlies behavior in European society, and Winterbourne is astonished at the girl's unworldliness and her mother's unconcern when Daisy accompanies him to the Castle of Chillon.

Beautiful Kate Croy may have been left penniless by her relatives, but her bold, ambitious nature ensures she will not succumb meekly to a life of poverty. If the financial circumstances of Merton Densher, the man she is passionately in love with, are not sufficient to secure her future, perhaps her cunning will.

El Cid is the oldest Spanish epic poem preserved. It is based on the true story of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, and it takes place during the Spanish Reconquest. This is the story of a brave man who took on the challenge of recovering his home country after it had been besieged. This poem has been completely reworked and carefully adapted in modern English to allow for easy listening. Enjoy!

May, 1982. Britain celebrates the sinking of the Belgrano, Jimmy Savile has the run of the airwaves and Denton Police Division welcomes its first black policeman, DC Waters -- recently relocated from Bethnal Green. While the force is busy dealing with a spate of local burglaries, the body of fifteen-year-old Samantha Evans is discovered in woodland next to the nearby railway track. Then a fifteen-year-old boy is found dead on Denton's golf course, his organs removed.

When pretty but unsophisticated Daisy Miller comes to Rome from her home in Schenectady, New York, the enclave of Europeanized Americans find her brash and daring. In this, one of Henry James's finest novels of manners and morals, he portrays with elegance and wit the clash between the different societies of Europe and America. The Europeans, so steeped in propriety and old world values, are inimical to the vibrant and often careless nature of the young American society. Daisy must not only discover these deep differences, but she must also learn to recognize the dangers of thwarting convention and tradition.

Pressured into a political career by his traditional, establishmentarian family, Nick Dormer longs to be a painter. Eventually, encouraged by the carefree aesthete Gabriel Nash, reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, he resigns from Parliament and follows his artistic dream. His journey is counterpointed with that of budding young actress Miriam Rooth, the subject of Nick's most successful paintings, and the "tragic muse" of the title, who too sacrifices an affluent life (marriage with Nick's cousin Peter) for her art.

The Ultimate Modern Classics Collection: Volume One is the first instalment in our classics collection focusing on the most important and iconic novels, stories, and poems of the 20th century. Featuring 18 essential modern classics from Orwell, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and many more, and read by a cast of incredible narrators including Iwan Rheon, Ben Allen, Karen Cass, Nathan Osgood, amongst others, this is an essential addition to your library.

The 5th volume of Great Sci-Fi Stories includes stories by Lester Del Ray, Robert Silverberg, Harry Harrison, and others.

This group of 19th-century American poets was the first to rival their British counterparts in popularity. Gathered around their New England roots, they were also known as the Schoolroom or Household poets and comprised of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell and Olivier Wendell Holmes, Sr. Occasionally Ralph Waldo Emerson was included, although his poetic philosophy differed in some key aspects.

Le sorelle Viola e Perdita Wingrave si contendono l’amore del nobile Arthur Lloyd, ma quando lui sceglie di sposare Perdita, qualcosa di oscuro germina nel cuore della sorella. Amore, morte, fantasmi e vendetta si intrecciano in una storia di preziosi tessuti e antichi sapori dal retrogusto fin troppo moderno.

Hyacinth Robinson, drawn into the London underworld of revolutionary politics, vows to assassinate an enemy of the people. His exposure to the Princess Casamassima's world of art, nobility, and beauty leads him to lose faith in his cause.

Retrato de una dama es una de las grandes novelas del siglo XIX. Su protagonista es Isabel Archer, una bella joven estadounidense que recibe una sustanciosa herencia y decide emprender un viaje por Europa. La familia quiere que se case pronto, pero ella defiende su independencia, hasta que los acontecimientos se precipitan de un modo inesperado.

Almost always when we think of Ghost Stories, we first think of those written by the Victorians. When you consider the depth of literary talent available over the extraordinary length of Queen Victoria’s reign, allied to the fascination with their all things spiritual on ‘the other side’, then perhaps it’s simply right place, right time. Whatever the reasons given or proffered the reality and known facts are that if you want a really good ghost story to bring that edge of chill, that foreboding of dread, then look no further than ‘The Victorian Ghost Story’ for your listening pleasure.

Daisy Miller is the story of a beautiful, unconventional American girl who becomes the fascination of Frederick Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot. His pursuit of her is hampered by her flirtatiousness and flagrant disregard for the customs and behavior of the other expatriates when they meet in Switzerland and Italy.

The Aspern Papers, one of Henry James best-known shorter works, is based on a story he heard about a collector of Shelley's manuscripts who attempted to acquire valuable letters from a mysterious old woman living in Florence. Set in beautiful Venice, James' elegant tale of suspense and romance takes the reader down the canals and inner chambers of a bygone era.

"The Portrait of a Lady" is the title of this masterpiece. Isabel Archer - beautiful, young and spirited - visits her wealthy relatives in England, rejects marriage proposals by two more or less worthy suitors, inherits a fortune and then is manipulated into marriage to one of the most cruel creatures imaginable: Gilbert Osmond... This is just scratching the surface of this colossal, monumental work, so rich in both its prose, its characters and its many, many themes.

The Portrait of a Lady tells the compelling and ultimately tragic tale of a beautiful young American woman's encounter with European sophistication. Set principally in England and Italy, we follow Isabel Archer's fortunes as a variety of admirers vie for her hand. Her choices will be crucial, and she is not wanting for advice, whether from the generous-spirited Ralph Touchett or the charming but rootless Madame Merle....

The Beast in the Jungle is the tale of a man's habitual obsession with himself and his fate.It is is considered one of James' finest short narratives. The story deals with four universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The saga of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny has inspired many readers who have speculated on the worth and meaning of human life.

Fiction is an Art in every way, worthy to be called the sister and the equal of the Arts of Painting, Sculpture, Music, and Poetry; that is to say, her field is as boundless, her possibilities as vast, her excellences as worthy of admiration, as may be claimed for any of her sister Arts.

In 'Washington Square' James treats on a subject about which he was passionate - the relationship between parents and their children. Dr Sloper, a wealthy man, is in a difficult position. His son has died aged three years old. His wife also dies within two weeks of giving birth to their surviving daughter Catherine. She is a plain awkward child, yet capable of giving immense affection. She becomes fascinated by would-be man of the world Morris Townsend, falling in love with him very swiftly. Is Morris a fortune hunter?