Wanda McCaddon
101) Anna Karenina
Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and thereby exposes herself to...
Georgio Vasari's original vision of the arts was to see the artist as divinely inspired. This historical work describes the lives of forty-five artists, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian, with striking immediacy conveyed through character sketches, anecdotes, and detailed recording of conversations. Despite some factual inaccuracies, Michelangelo praised Vasari for endowing artists
...104) The secret garden
105) Northanger Abbey
'Jane Austen is a genius, and Northanger Abbey is hugely underrated' Martin Amis
With its irrepressible heroine and playful literary games, Northanger Abbey is the most youthful and optimistic of Jane Austen's novels. It tells the story of young, impressionable Catherine Morland, whose first experience of fashionable society introduces her to the thrills of Gothic romances, and to the sophisticated Tilneys, who invite her
This absorbing book presents the lives of twenty great founders and leading advocates of the world's foremost religions. Here are the historical facts and legends associated with these forceful personalities who have inspired and influenced humankind through the centuries.
In the telling of these vivid and fascinating life stories, the authors have also simply and clearly outlined the principal teachings of each of the great religions. The
...Christian Dior's career, a veritable fairy tale, is set in a rich tapestry of Paris cultural life before, during, and after the war. Much of Dior's daily inspiration emanated from the world of the intellectual and artistic elite, in which he moved with such people as Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, Henry Sauguet, Jean Cocteau, and Raoul Dufy.
Born at the end of an era in which luxury seemed reserved only for the happy few, Dior again revolutionized
...Beatrix Potter's charming stories have enchanted children for over a hundred years. She brilliantly evokes the beauty of nature and country life, and each story brings to life characters listeners will remember and love for years to come. This collection includes eighteen favorite tales about Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs. Tittlemouse, and the others. Let your children share in the tradition of Beatrix Potter and her animal family,
...Ireland is inarguably a beautiful, enchanted place. But its history is more turbulent, fascinating, and terrible than any other. From the first English presence in Ireland in the twelfth century, through siege, rebellion, and civil war, to Irish ascendancy, home rule, and the present-day Troubles, bestselling author Paul Johnson tells, with remarkable clarity and concision, the compelling story of this most remarkable island.
110) Taliesin
Taliesin, oracle of melody. His singing bore the haunting beauty of another world...and the spark of a kingdom yet to come.
Charis, Lady of the Lake. Driven by the cataclysm that destroyed her home—the scented groves of the Isle of Apples, the coliseums of the bull dancers of Atlantis—she encountered an uncertain future in a barbarous land...and the bard who would capture her untamed heart.
Their love would bridge two worlds. And
...In The March of Folly, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy
...Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into American's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. History should not just be a series of facts, names, and dates—it should be a flowing narrative, the story of humanity, written
...This 1870 memoir, which was the basis for the musical The King and I, vividly recounts the experiences of Anna Harriette Leonowens, who served as a governess for the sixty-plus children of King Mongkut of Siam and as translator and scribe for the King himself. Bright, young, and energetic, Leonowens was well-suited to her role, and her writings convey a heartfelt interest in the lives, legends, and languages of Siam's rich and poor.
She also
...Baron Herbert's return from the Crusades should have been a joyous occasion. Instead, he grows increasingly morose, withdraws from his family, and refuses to share his wife's bed. When his sons begin to die in strange accidents, some ask whether Herbert harbors a dark sin for which God has cursed him. Perhaps there is a malign presence at this storm-blasted castle, oddly named Doux et Dur.
The baron suddenly sends for Sir Hugh of Wynethorpe,
...Hector Monro, writing under the pseudonym of Saki, is justly renowned for his urbane and witty short stories. His eccentric characters, humorous dialogue, and engaging domestic situations all reveal a penetrating and sometimes disturbing insight into human nature. As a quixotic tour guide, Saki leads the reader from garden party to pig sty to political convention with the ease of one who is intimately familiar with the cares and foibles of the
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