Showing results for "Stories" in Collections

A discarded child fated to become a powerful Jarl - here is the story of Sidroc. Fate guides the path of his father, Hrald, to his meeting with the woman whose son would help change the face of ninth-century Angle-land. An ever-growing rivalry between Sidroc and his cousin Toki defines the boys' early years. Their young uncle, Yrling, knows success as a raider in far-off Angle-land, and trains his nephews in the ways of the warrior. Ahead of them is the perilous crossing of the North Sea, which stands between them and the plunder they seek.

Recommended by Mary Beard as one of the BBC History Magazine's Books of the Year Classical stories about women who wield power, from the Amazons to Dido to Cleopatra A Penguin Classic There is no other anthology that brings together similar stories of ancient women in power. These women threaten...

Maupassant is hailed as one of the greatest masters of the short story. This collection focuses upon the land he knew and loved so well - Normandy. Its people and its countryside are portrayed here in vivid color and with great warmth.

Many stories have stood the test of time, but this selection have entranced audiences for thousands of years and remain as fresh today as they were when first told. A fascinating collection which gives vivid insights into lives in ancient times and the issues that occupied the people of the day.

Mary Shelley is of course known because of her short novel Frankenstein. Still, she was always writing and these tales and mysteries written on her extended travels show how interested she was in the strangeness of people. Perhaps she wanted to make her mark in a tribute to her famous mother...

Lucius Coelius Felix has everything a Roman nobleman could desire—wealth, honor, a retinue of clients, and the chance to rise at last into elite society in Antioch-near-Pisidia (a Roman colony in central Turkey). All he lacks is a sound body. When a mysterious illness robs him of his strength, he turns to the Greek healing god Asklepios, journeying hundreds of miles to his sanctuary at Pergamon in search of a miracle.

Rome, 268 AD. In an age of tyranny and turmoil, an eternal love story ignites a revolution. Valentine, a once-fearsome warrior reborn from the brink of death, sheds his violent past for a new destiny inspired by his blind lover, Agatha. Amidst the ruthless rule of a merciless emperor, Valentine undertakes a clandestine mission: to unite lovers in secret ceremonies, defying imperial decrees that threaten to obliterate the Christian faith.

This group of 6 short stories has been hand selected by the publisher to provide a sampling of Tolstoy's thoughts about what it means to live out the Christian life. Tolstoy’s short stories and novellas are considered to be some of the greatest penned in the 20th century. Many of these stories...

Lucius Coelius Felix, a once-proud Roman nobleman, has lost his will to live. Angered by the failure of his quest for healing, he travels to the springs of Hierapolis in central Asia Minor to die. But fate has other plans. When his servant Marcus rescues a young Jewish slave named Miriam, their encounter sets in motion a chain of events that will reshape their past, present, and future. A brush with death brings them together to nurse Lucius back to health, but their budding affection can only go so far since Miriam insists that Marcus embrace his Jewish ancestry before she can love him.

The kingdom of Struggle is being lied to by an unseen enemy, "Liar." Lurking in the sinister forest, Liar attacks the minds of the villagers by whispering subtle thoughts into the villagers' minds at night. Liar's poisonous serpents advance against a people ignorant of their true enemy—an enemy trying to convince them to murder a righteous king. Liar has been warring against the kingdom of Struggle without opposition, and his greatest harvest is truth and freedom. Poor, orphaned, and alone, the unlikely-named "Prince" sparks a rebellion. 

Andersonville. Let it be kept in mind all the time, that the average stay of a prisoner there was not four months. The great majority came in after the first of May, and left before the middle of September. May 1st, 1864, there were 10,427 in the Stockade. August 8th there were 33,114; September 30th all these were dead or gone, except 8,218, of whom 4,590 died inside of the next 30 days. The records of the world can shove no parallel to this astounding mortality.

Brought to life in more than a dozen mini-portraits are such legendary figures as Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, Prometheus, Zeus, and many more. Myths and legends form the foundation for all cultures. The Greek and Roman myths were early tales created to explain the world and are now...

Patrick Hunt's Myths for All Time presents twelve of the most timeless Greek myths retold in an affable, succinct fashion. These twelve myths, which have survived through the millennia, are made applicable today through Hunt's emphasis on the overriding message of each story. With foundations in ancient Greek scholarship, society, and philosophy, these stories have grown and taken new forms and thus remain relevant.

We begin with Book V, Odysseus weeping on Calyspo's Island, and follow his adventures through to his return to Ithaca and Penelope. This version of Homer's Odyssey was created over a 14-year period of performing the great epic. When it came time to record this version for audiobook, I realized there was no text: It lived in memory. So I had to write out a 38-page poem from memory. Then I used that text as a performance script and while reading it found myself constantly editing as my spoken word insisted on changes that sharpened the sound.

The charming but nonetheless creepy tale of Nina, a little girl’s doll, who repays the kindness shown her after she is damaged in a fall. The Doll’s Ghost is taken from the Victorian Anthologies series featuring short stories by classic writers of the spooky, the scary and the supernatural. Guaranteed to give you the shivers, each collection includes familiar and loved creepy tales as well as those less well-known.

First published in 1752, "Micromegas" is one of Voltaire’s best-known works. It is a tale of mordant irony, and actually the original science-fiction short story. Arriving on Earth from the star Sirius, the gigantic explorer Micromegas discovers the people of Earth, so small compared to him that he first believes that no creature this size can hope to achieve any degree of intelligence; he will soon discover the ways and thoughts of these diminutive people, who clearly have an over-inflated idea of their own importance in the universe. Voltaire's extrapolations of sun-powered interstellar flight, alien civilizations, and the two moons of Mars, are designed to make us see ourselves in a new light and laugh at what we find.