29/07/2024
Verses Popular and Humorous
This is a volume of humorous poems by Australian poet Henry Lawson. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]
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29/07/2024
Short Poetry Collection 198
This is a collection of 39 poems read in English by LibriVox volunteers for November 2019. [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Chant of Mystics, and Other Poems
This is a volume of poetry by the influential Lebanese American author Ameen Rihani. In these poems, the author playfully introduces the American public of the early 1920’s to the environment in which he grew up, embellishing the poems with folklore and fairy tale romance. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Daddy-Long-Legs
Jerusha Abbott, an eighteen year old orphan, faces an uncertain future in the charity home where she has lived all her life. On reaching adulthood, the orphanage can no longer offer shelter to its inmates. Her anxiety leads her into wild speculation when she is summoned to the matron’s office. But a surprise awaits her. One of the visitors, a wealthy Trustee of the orphanage, has offered to fund Jerusha’s college education and fulfill her dreams of becoming a writer. The only condition he makes is that he remain anonymous and that she write to him regularly about her progress. Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster was first published in 1912. It follows an epistolatory format and traces the story through a series of letters exchanged between the youthful heroine, Jerusha and her mysterious benefactor whom she has privately nicknamed Daddy-Long-Legs based on a brief glimpse she caught of him once. The book is a young girl’s classic coming-of-age tale, a genre that includes the Little Women trilogy, the Katy series and the Anne of Green Gables books. Apart from being a heart-warming story, it also reflects the author’s social concerns and her interest in women’s issues and the suffragette movement. It is in a way a Beauty and the Beast fairy tale that reflects the transformation of the characters and their attitudes towards each other and life. Jean Webster was born in New York into a literary family. Her father, Charles Webster was Mark Twain’s business manager and head of Twain’s […]
29/07/2024
Junior Classics Volume 10 Part 1: Poems Old and New
The order of the poems has been arranged according to age from first through eight grade. The collection of poems in part 1 begins with the simplest nursery rhymes. Grade II begins with The Sleepy Song by Josephine D. Bacon, Grade III begins with Willie Winkle by William Miller. Grade IV begins with John Gilpin by William Cowper. Grades V – VIII are contained in part 2. – Summary by Linette G [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Enamels and Cameos and other Poems
This is a volume of poetry by French poet Theophile Gautier, translated by Agnes Lee. Enamels and Cameos was published when Gautier was touring the Middle East, is considered his supreme poetic achievement. – Summary by Carolin and Wikipedia [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Little Freckled Person: A Book of Child Verse
Here is a delightful collection of short verses for children by Mary Carolyn Davies. Seeing the world through child-like imagination, these light-hearted poems are of trains, fishing, gardening, fairies and so much more. – Summary by SweetHome [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Flame and Shadow, Version 2
A collection of poetry by American poet Sara Teasdale. Her lyrical poems of love, nature’s beauty, and death were much loved during the early nineteenth century. – Summary by AnnaLisa Bodtker [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Silhouettes
This is a collection of verses by British poet, critic and magazine editor Arthur Symons, which, as some reviewers assure us, was “‘unwholesome,” because, he said, they had “a faint smell of Patchouli about them.”‘ Modern readers may value the poetry in this volume differently. – Summary by Carolin [chương_files]
29/07/2024
Dracula
Dracula tells the tale of a sinister Transylvanian aristocrat who seeks to retain his youth and strength by feeding off human blood. The author, Bram Stoker, a young Victorian theater professional, was probably inspired by the strange epidemic of vampirism that occurred in remote parts of Eastern Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. These stories were recounted by travelers who later arrived in England and other parts of Western Europe. Stoker initially meant the tale to be written as a play in which he wanted Sir Henry Irving, a leading Victorian actor, to play the role of the malevolent Count Dracula. However, as circumstances would have it, Irving never played the part and Stoker’s story finally took the form of a novel. The book, published in 1897, is constructed in a very interesting format. The story is told via a set of letters, diary entries, ship’s logs and newspaper reports. It begins with the journey of a young lawyer, Jonathan Harker, who is traveling to Transylvania on his legal firm’s business, to finalize the transfer of a property in England to an East European aristocrat, Count Dracula. Harker is initially charmed by the suave and debonair count’s hospitality, but gradually comes to realize Dracula’s malevolent intentions. The plot takes up the tale of various other people in the story – Harker’s fiancée Mina, her friend Lucy, a former suitor Dr Seward and his teacher, Professor Van Helsing. A host of other characters adds to the twists and turns in […]