Жанр: Зарубежная старинная литература

The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. The story opens at a ranch in Santa Clara Valley, California, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. He becomes progressively feral in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. By the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization, and relies on primordial instinct and…

«»To Build a Fire»» is a short story by American author Jack London. There are two versions of this story, one published in 1902 and the other in 1908. The story written in 1908 has become an often anthologized classic, while the 1902 story is less well known. The 1908 version is about an unnamed protagonist who ventures out in the subzero boreal forest of the Yukon Territory. He is followed by a native dog and is en route to visit his friends—ignoring warnings from an older man about the dangers of hiking alone in extreme cold. The protagonist underestimates the harsh…

White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London (1876–1916) – and the name of the book’s eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story details White Fang’s journey to domestication in Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. It is a companion novel (and a thematic mirror) to London’s best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which is about a kidnapped, domesticated dog embracing his wild ancestry to survive and thrive in the wild. Much of White Fang is written from…

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright James Matthew Barrie. A romantic fairy tale Peter Pan is a favourite story of many generations of children all over the world. The main character is a boy who never grows up, can fly, lives in Neverland and fairies are his friends. He gives a flying ability to three children from London – Wendy, John and Michael Darling and takes them to a mysterious land where they have exciting and sometimes rather scary adventures. Famous works of the author J. M. Barrie: The Little White Bird, Peter Pan, The Admirable…

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: A World Tour Underwater (French: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers: Tour du monde sous-marin) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne; it was first published in 1870. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre-Jules Hetzel’s periodical, the Magasin d’éducation et de récréation. The presentation of Captain Nemo’s ship, the Nautilus, was considered ahead of its time, as it accurately describes many features of modern submarines, which in the 1860s were comparatively…

The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran’s best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history, and it has never been out of print. The prophet, Al Mustafa, has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human…

The Madman, His Parables and Poems is a book written by Kahlil Gibran, which was published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in 1918, with illustrations reproduced from original drawings by the author. It was Gibran’s first book in English to be published, also marking the beginning of the second phase of Gibran’s career. May Ziade, with whom Gibran had been corresponding since 1912, reviewed it in Al-Hilal, a magazine in Egypt. Among the most significant works Kahlil Gibran: «Broken Wings», «The Prophet», «The Earth Gods» , «The Garden of the…

On Liberty is a philosophical essay by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. Published in 1859, it applies Mill’s ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. Mill suggests standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. He emphasizes the importance of individuality, which he considers prerequisite to the higher pleasures—the summum bonum of utilitarianism. Furthermore, Mill asserts that democratic ideals may result in the tyranny of the majority. Among the standards proposed are Mill’s three basic liberties of individuals, his three legitimate…

Faust is a tragic play in two parts by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually known in English as Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages. Faust is considered by many to be Goethe’s magnum opus and the greatest work of German literature. The earliest forms of the work, known as the Urfaust, were developed between 1772 and 1775; however, the details of that development are not entirely clear. Urfaust has twenty-two scenes, one in prose, two largely prose and the remaining 1,441…

The Wind in the Willows is a children’s novel by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow-moving and fast-paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals (Mole, Rat (a European water vole), Toad, and Badger) in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie, and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames Valley. In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Berkshire, where he had lived as a child, and…

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women’s issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, generating a mixed reaction from contemporary readers and critics. The…

«The Reluctant Dragon» is an 1898 children’s story by Kenneth Grahame, originally published as a chapter in his book Dream Days. It is Grahame’s most famous short story, arguably better known than Dream Days itself or the related The Golden Age. It can be seen as a prototype to most modern stories in which the dragon is a sympathetic character rather than a threat. The story takes place in the Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire (where the author lived and where, according to legend, St. George did fight a dragon). In Grahame’s story, a young boy discovers an erudite,…

Знаменитый трактат великого древнекитайского философа-мистика Лао-цзы «ДАО ДЭ ЦЗИН» («КНИГА ПУТИ И БЛАГОДАТИ») – одно из наиболее загадочных произведений мировой философской мысли. Эта книга проста, но глубока по содержанию. По количеству переводов на иные языки она уступает только Библии. Она заключает в себе древнюю…

Гомер – древнегреческий поэт. «Одиссея» – второй после «Илиады» шедевр великого Гомера. История о многолетнем возвращении на родину царя Итаки после Троянской войны неоднократно воспроизводилась в печатном слове, на театральных подмостках и в кино. У вас в руках аудиозапись бессмертной поэмы. Этот вариант «слова в…

Дени ДИДРО [1713-1784] – французский энциклопедист, беллетрист, драматург, просветитель и философ. В романе «Монахиня» развертывается трагическая история Сюзанны Симонен, насильно отданной в монастырь. Разоблачение института монашества перерастает в осуждение всякого насилия над правами человека: «Дать обет бедности – значит…

Аудиостудия «Ардис» предлагает вашему вниманию сказки «Тысячи и одной ночи» – памятник средневековой арабской литературы, собрание рассказов, объединённое историей о царе Шахриаре и его жене Шахразаде. Столкнувшись с неверностью первой жены, Шахриар каждый день берёт себе новую жену и казнит её после первой же брачной…

«Золотой осел» – наиболее известный из дошедших до нас античных романов. Молодой грек по имени Лукий, путешествуя по Фессалии, знакомится с могущественной колдуньей. Герой подсматривает за превращениями колдуньи и сам пытается превратиться в птицу. Но произошла ошибка… Лука становится ослом, сохранив при этом…

Еврипид – древнегреческий драматург-новатор, реформатор античной трагедии, великий «философ сцены». Одним из первых в древнегреческой драматургии, Еврипид обратился к внутреннему миру героя, к его душе и мыслям. При сохранении прежней формы трагедии, с мифологическими и легендарными сюжетами и именами, с хором и масками,…

Аудиостудия «Ардис» предлагает вашему вниманию книгу Марка Твена «Том Сойер за границей», повествующую о дальнейших приключениях любимых героев многих поколений детей – Тома Сойера и Гека Финна. Гек рассказывает о том, как друзья из-за чрезмерного любопытства Тома вместе с негром Джимом отправляются в путь оздушном шаре.…