Classics World Literature

Lens of the World is the story of a prodigious life. It recounts the coming of age of Nazhuret, an outcast and orphan who rises from his lowly estate as a ward of the Sordaling military school to become a mighty warrior, philosopher, and confidant of the King of Vestinglon. As he grows, the young man receives outlandish knowledge and is prepared for an entirely exceptional destiny far beyond the narrow confines of his kingdom.

The New Organon is the second part of Bacon's philosophical work, The Great Instauration on the renewal of the sciences, which was published in 1620. The title refers to Aristotle's work Organon - meaning “trumpeter” - a treatise on logic and syllogism. Bacon’s work offers a new method of investigating nature, named “the Interpretation of Nature”.

An early science-fiction novel by the prolific and notable writer H. G. Wells, War of the Worlds describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. It is one of the earliest and best-known depictions of an alien invasion of Earth and was highly influential, spawning several films, radio dramas, comic-book adaptations, and a television series based on the story.

31 June, 1943. An RAF crew prepare for their next bombing raid on Germany. It is a night that many will never forget. Len Deighton's devastating novel is a gripping minute-by-minute account of what happens over the next 24 hours. Told through the eyes of ordinary people in the air and on the ground - from a young pilot to the inhabitants of a small town in the Ruhr - Bomber is an unforgettable portrayal of individuals caught up in the wreckage of war.

The story is told by a young 'unknown soldier' in the trenches of Flanders during the First World War. Through his eyes we see all the realities of war: under fire, on patrol, waiting in the trenches, at home on leave, and in hospitals and dressing stations. Although there are vividly described incidents which remain in the mind, there is no sense of adventure here, only the feeling of youth betrayed and a deceptively simple indictment of war—of any war—told for a whole generation of victims.

Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834 and published in 1840. While at Harvard College, Dana had an attack of the measles that affected his vision. Thinking it might help his sight, Dana, rather than going on a Grand Tour as most of his fellow classmates traditionally did (and unable to afford it anyway), and being something of a nonconformist, left Harvard to enlist as a common sailor.

The Story of My Life is the explosive and exhilarating autobiography by the infamous libertine Giacomo Casanova. Intense and scandalous, Casanova’s extraordinary adventures take the listener on an incredible voyage across 18th-century Europe - from France to Russia, Poland to Spain and Turkey to Germany, with Venice at their heart. He falls madly in love, has wild flings and delirious orgies, and encounters some of the most brilliant figures of his time, including Catherine the Great, Louis XV, and Benjamin Franklin.

"Je veux vous expliquer comment une famille, un petit groupe d'êtres, se comporte dans une société, en s'épanouissant pour donner naissance à dix, à vingt individus, qui paraissent, au premier coup d'oeil, profondément dissemblables, mais que l'analyse montre intimement liés les uns aux autres. L'hérédité a ses lois, comme la pesanteur." Emile Zola.

Russie, début du XIXe siècle. À l'Ouest de l'Empire, les guerres napoléoniennes font rage et se rapprochent dangereusement des frontières. De Moscou à Saint-Pétersbourg, la noblesse et la grande bourgeoisie vivent inconscientes du danger, et organisent dîners et bals. Ainsi le comte Rostov qui s'apprête à célébrer la fête de sa fille Natacha ; du prince André Bolkonski et de sa jeune épouse, Lise, enceinte.

Charlotte Dean enjoys nothing more than the solitude of her London flat and the monotonous days of her work at a travel bookshop. But when her younger sister unceremoniously bursts into her quiet life one afternoon, Charlotte's world turns topsy-turvy. Beloved author D. E. Stevenson captures the intricacies of post-World War I England with a light, comic touch that perfectly embodies the spirit of the time. Alternatively heartbreaking and witty, The Young Clementina is a touching tale of love, loss and redemption through friendship.

Doubt as to moral and spiritual truth is distilled through a score of channels. Our seats of learning are hotbeds of agnosticism. Our literature, with rare exceptions, makes light of God and jokes about sacred things. The newspapers, the radio broadcasts, public utterances, and private conversations are steadily but surely removing the foundations of righteousness and destroying what little faith in spiritual things still remain.

Finn McCoul is the greatest champion in all of Ireland, but when he discovers that the brutish giant Cucullin is after him, even the great Finn gets a wee bit nervous. But with some ingenious culinary magic on the part of his clever wife, Finn manages to get out of the scrape with his dignity intact. Well, most of it! This rollicking version of a beloved Celtic legend, read by actress Catherine O'Hara, with music by Boys of the Lough, will light up your ears.

Elegant, profound, and riveting, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways these men surface in their work. Through these stories of fathers and sons, Tóibín recounts the resistance to English cultural domination, the birth of modern Irish cultural identity, and the extraordinary contributions of these complex and masterful authors.

Generations of young readers continue to fall in love with Marguerite Henry’s “horse stories.” In one of her most famous, King of the Wind, the author traces the ancestry of the great Kentucky Derby winner, Man o’ War, whose mysterious pedigree is linked to the noble line leading from the Godolphin Arabian.

On a wager, the eccentric English gentleman Phileas Fogg accepts a challenge to circle the globe in 80 days. Follow Phileas and his faithful valet Passepartout in this classic fantastic adventure.

Rilla, almost 15, can't think any further ahead than going to her very first dance at the Four Winds lighthouse and getting her first kiss from handsome Kenneth Ford. But undreamed-of challenges await the irrepressible Rilla when the world of Ingleside becomes endangered by a far-off war. Her brothers go off to fight, and Rilla brings home an orphaned newborn in a soup tureen. She is swept into a drama that tests her courage and leaves her changed forever.

Savushun chronicles the life of a Persian family during the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II. It is set in Shiraz, a town which evokes images of Persepolis and pre-Islamic monuments, the great poets, the shrines, Sufis, and nomadic tribes within a historical web of the interests, privilege, and influence of foreign powers; corruption, incompetence, and arrogance of persons in authority; the paternalistic landowner-peasant relationship; tribalism; and the fear of famine.

Cuando el joven abogado Santos Luzardo vuelve al llano a reclamar las tierras de su familia, se encuentra con que han sido tomadas por Doña Bárbara, una ruda e insensible terrateniente, que ha acumulado grandes extensiones de tierra y muchas manadas de ganado por medios ilícitos y utiliza a los hombres para su provecho personal. Cuando Santos Luzardo se decide a luchar por lo que es suyo, se desatan conflictos, pasiones y se devela el pasado oculto de Doña Bárbara y la aparición de su hija.

Take a thrilling whirlwind trip around the world with Phileas Fogg! When Fogg - a man of habit whose every day is just like the one before - makes a bet that he can circle the globe and be back in his men’s club in just 80 days, the race is on. Jules Verne’s classic tale bubbles with excitement, suspense, and colorful locations.

Lady Isabel Carlyle leaves her husband and children for the aristocratic Francis Levison, who, as it turns out, has no intention of marrying her. Having been disfigured in a train accident, the unrecognizable Isabel then takes up the position of governess to her own children in the Carlyle household, with tragic consequences.