Written in 1898, Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tale of high adventure portrays an alarmist era of imperial sovereignty, invasive foreign policy, and religious extremism, positing the naivety of a group of Anglo-American holiday-makers against the unbending convictions of Middle Eastern banditti. Among others, a young American ingenue, her matronly aunt, a fusty old bachelor, a loving Irish couple, and an opinionated French graduate gather aboard the Korosko. But during a morning tour of the...

Antigone by Sophocles Audiobook is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in (or before) 441 BC and first performed at the Festival of Dionysus of the same year. It is thought to be the second oldest surviving play of Sophocles, preceded by Ajax, which was written around the same period. The play is one of a triad of tragedies known as the three Theban plays, following Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Even though the events in Antigone occur last in the order of event...

At the bottom of the dried out Svartsjö lake (Black Lake) lies the Lövdala Parsonage with its stables and outhouses. There resides the good-hearted, widowed Pastor Lyselius and his beautiful daughter. One day, his new wife arrives and she turns out to be a wicked stepmother. She torments her servants and especially the parson's daughter, Maia Lisa. We follow Maia Lisa through torments and sufferings where she gets ever new and harder burdens to carry on her weak shoulders. But by her side ...

"The Emperor of Portugallia" by Selma Lagerlof was first published in 1914 in Sweden and in 1916 in English. The story is set in Vaermland around 1860 or 1870 and centers on Jan of Ruffluck Croft. He loves his daughter more than anything, but when the latter moves to Stockholm, she never sends a word home. As a result, Jan sinks into a dream-world where she is the noble Empress of Portugallia and he believes himself to be Emperor too. His whole world and all his thoughts are dominated by t...

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (orig. Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige; literally Nils Holgersson's wonderful journey across Sweden) is a work of fiction by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf, the first women to receive Nobel Prize in literature to make the study Sweden geography fun for children. It was originally published in two books, 1906 and 1907, and was first published in English as The Wonderful Adventures of Nils in 1907 a...

The Ultimate Allan Quatermain Collection includes the 8 full-length novels, 4 short stories and 1 extracanonical work featuring Allan Quatermain.The character Allan Quatermain is an English-born professional big game hunter and occasional trader living in South Africa. An outdoorsman who finds English cities and climate unbearable, he prefers to spend most of his life in Africa, where he grew up under the care of his widower father, a Christian missionary. In the e...

"Herr Arne's Hoard" is a 1904 novel by the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf. Its original Swedish title is "Herr Arnes penningar," which means "Sir Arne's money". Set in Bohuslän in the 16th century, it tells the story of a group of Scottish mercenaries who escape from prison. The group then murders a family in order to steal a treasure chest, but one of them falls in love with the family's sole survivor.The novel has been adapted for film three times: by Mauritz Stiller in 1919 as "S...

"The Wonderful Adventures of Nils" by Selma Lagerlöf transports readers into the magical world of Nils Holgersson, a mischievous boy turned miniature by a spell. As Nils travels across Sweden on the back of a goose, he encounters a myriad of enchanting creatures and learns valuable lessons about empathy, courage, and the interconnectedness of nature. Lagerlöf's timeless tale combines elements of fantasy and folklore, offering a captivating journey that underscores the importance of compass...

A House to Let is a short story originally published in 1858 in the Christmas edition of Dickens' Household Words magazine. Each of the contributors wrote a chapter (stories within a story, or, in the case of Adelaide Anne Procter, poetry) and the story was edited by Dickens, who also wrote the first and last chapters with Wilkie Collins.The plot concerns an elderly woman, Sophonisba, who notices signs of life in a supposedly empty dilapidated house (the eponymous "House to Let") o...

Brimming with tense and violent incidents The Call Of The Wild traces the changes in the heart of Buck, the dog who grows from a pampered pet in California to a rugged fearsome and indomitable working dog in the far north. Primeval instincts surface in Buck, and only his affection for John Thornton, his one decent master, delays his return to the wild. Finally, after avenging his murdered friend, Buck takes over his true domain as leader of a wolf pack and runs free amidst the harsh landsc...

This Special Edition of The Hunger Games includes the most extensive interview Suzanne Collins has given since the publication of The Hunger Games; an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the series; and an engaging archival conversation between Suzanne Collins and YA legend Walter Dean Myers on writing about war. The Special Edition answers many questions fans have had over the years, and gives great insight into the creation of this era-defining work....