This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Moths by Ouida - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Collected Works of Ouida’.Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Ouida includes original annotatio...

In "Othmar," Ouida delves into the complexities of aristocratic life and the moral dilemmas faced by its characters. Set against a backdrop of opulent European landscapes, the novel is notable for its lush, descriptive prose and its keen psychological insights. Combining melodrama with elements of social commentary, Ouida weaves a narrative that critiques the rigid structures of society and the personal sacrifices demanded by duty and honor. The interplay of romance and tragedy in "Othmar"...

In "Under Two Flags," Ouida weaves a captivating tale of love, loyalty, and the clashes of cultural identities against the backdrop of the North African desert. The novel showcases her signature lush prose and keen character development, reflecting the Victorian fascination with exotic locales and the complexities of human emotion. Through the vivid depiction of its protagonist, Sir Lionel, entangled in the tumultuous struggle between duty and desire, the reader is drawn into an intricate ...

Ouida's prose glows with Roman light, blending lyrical travel writing, philosophical reflection, and intense emotional drama. From fountains, ruins, churches, and sunsets to humble coastal life, the book finds grandeur in memory, imagination, and tradition, even as it faces sorrow, disillusionment, and the fragility of human happiness. Across its pages, sympathy emerges as the true guide through hidden tragedies and ordinary heroism, while youth, beauty, and the possibility of new beginnin...

An opal necklace lost in the Venetian lagoon brings together a Countess, a rich and careless young nobleman who adores her, and Damer, an English physiologist with great ambition and no scruple. When the young man falls ill, Damer holds both the serum that could save him and the toxin that will make his death certain, and follows the logic of the laboratory. Ouida wrote it in the 1890s, when the new bacteriology was a public excitement, and it is one of the coldest of her late stories; the...

Set during the Second French Empire and the Crimean War, "Under Two Flags" tells the story of the dashing and enigmatic British officer, Bertie Cecil, who leaves his regiment to join the French Foreign Legion. He adopts the name "Châteauroy" and serves in the Legion, where he becomes involved in various adventures, including love affairs and acts of heroism. Throughout the novel, Bertie grapples with questions of honor, identity, and loyalty.The novel explores themes of honor, sacrifice, a...

Ouida was known for her vivid prose and her ability to depict the extravagant lifestyles of the aristocracy and the bohemian world of artists and writers. Her stories often explore themes of love, betrayal, ambition, and societal norms, set against the backdrop of 19th-century Europe.In "Cecil Castlemaine's Gage," the titular character's romantic entanglements and personal struggles are a central focus. "Lady Marabout's Troubles" similarly delves into the challenges faced by a woman within...

In the shadowed woods of Le Selve, poverty, custom, and ancient privilege collide with devastating force. A dying peasant is left uncared for by his own family, and the young steward Cyrille arrives too late to save him, confronting a world where burial costs matter more than mercy and institutions have long abandoned the poor. His outrage only deepens the sense of menace as he moves through the forest roads, where isolation, superstition, and lawlessness shape every human relation. Cyrill...

In the glittering rooms and public spaces of London, Wilfrid Bertram wages war on property, privilege, and the complacency of the rich. Armed with fervent lectures on altruism, collectivism, vegetarianism, and universal labor, he insists that money, inherited wealth, and class distinction are the roots of social injustice and must give way to a new order of shared duty and common good. But Bertram's radical vision is delivered to an audience of witty aristocrats, skeptical relatives, and p...

Princess Nadine Napraxine rules her world with dazzling wit, icy self-possession, and a gift for turning every conversation into a contest of intelligence and power. Before luncheon she has already made herself the center of a glittering social circle, sparring with Prince Napraxine, Lady Brancepeth, and Monsignore Melville over finance, morality, sympathy, and the absurdities of society, while revealing how little room she allows for tenderness. Yet beneath her polished irony lies somethi...

On the sunlit Riviera, Princess Nadège Napraxine turns luxury into a weapon of dissatisfaction, mocking the very villa she has long coveted and exposing the restless vanity beneath her brilliance. At La Jacquemerille, amid sea light, flowers, and elegant wit, she spars with Lady Brancepeth and the devoted Ralph Geraldine, while her husband Prince Napraxine drifts amiably through the glittering domestic triangle. Their polished conversation reveals a world of privilege haunted by boredom, i...

Ouida's criticism crackles with wit, passion, and moral force, turning literary review into a sweeping diagnosis of modern Europe. She writes with equal vividness about writers such as Gabriele D'Annunzio, Georges Darien, Marion Crawford, J. H. Rosny, and Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, while also taking aim at political figures and public questions, from Joseph Chamberlain's opportunism to the hypocrisies of empire, class, and fashionable society. Her judgments are sharp, independent, and often unc...