Born and raised in the glorious pre-WW1 Vienna of the Belle Epoque, Stefan Zweig was one of the most outstanding European intellectuals of the 20th century, and a prolific writer of stories, biographies, historical studies, essays, travel journals, memoirs and letters – as well as several plays, two books of poetry, an opera libretto and three novels.
Of all his works there’s no doubt that his short fiction has best weathered the test of time and that it’s the portion of his legacy that’s (…)
LATEST ARTICLES
Most recent articles
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ALL THE STORIES OF STEFAN ZWEIG: SYNOPSES, COMMENTS AND RATINGS
27 August 2020, by Ray -
"At the Spa" and other stories by Guy de Maupassant
30 July 2020, by Guy de MaupassantMore excellent tales by master Maupassant, all of which have been translated into English specially for this site. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. COCONUT, COCONUT, FRESH COCONUT! (1878) Pierre’s uncle left him 500 francs and also 100 francs to be given to the first street coconut-vendor he comes across. In a manuscript the uncle explains that one of them had played a role at a number of the key moments in his life. (1,300 words)
2. FLOTSAM (1881) The narrator comments on his attraction to seaside (…) -
"Anyuta" and other Chekhov stories
17 July 2020, by Anton ChekhovTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. A DEAD BODY (Мертвое тело) (1885) A corpse wrapped in linen is lying under a tree in the middle of a misty August night, dutifully watched over by two peasants who are keeping a fire alive. They listen to the sounds of the forest and talk to fight off their feelings of eeriness when a pilgrim comes along attracted by the fire, who is afraid to continue on his way alone after seeing the corpse. (1,900 words)
2. THE REQUIEM (Панихида) (1886) Andrey Andryitch is in (…) -
"On the Water" and other stories by Guy de Maupassant
6 July 2020, by Guy de MaupassantTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ON THE WATER (1876) The narrator tells us about the eerie adventure on the Seine of his neighbour, an enthusiastic boater and lover of the river and all its mysteries. (2,300 words)
2. A NORMANDY JOKE (1882) At a wedding feast in the Normandy countryside the bridegroom reacts to the ribald teasing of his friends, but nevertheless underestimates the trick that they have prepared for him. (1,600 words)
3. MARTINE (1882) Benoist manages to talk to the beautiful (…) -
"Solitude" and other previously untranslated stories by Guy de Maupassant
25 June 2020, by Guy de MaupassantA selection of excellent tales by the one of the greatest masters of the short-story format, translated specially for this site. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE STORY OF A DOG (1881) Cocote is an extremely ugly female mongrel that François has been allowed to keep by the master of the manor where he is a servant. But she is absolutely irresistible for all the male dogs in the neighbourhood and the property soon is invaded by endless streams of mongrels seeking her company. (1,600 words)
2. OLD (…) -
"The Huntsman" and other Chekhov stories
9 June 2020, by Anton ChekhovTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE HUNTSMAN (Егерь) (1885) Yegor is hunting with his dog when he hears his name called by Pelagea, the young woman he had married twelve years previously and who is still hopelessly in love with him. (1,700 words)
2. SORROW (Горе) (1885) The introverted monologue of a peasant who is almost lost in a violent snow-storm driving his critically-ailing wife to the hospital, as he reviews his life and marriage. (2,200 words)
3. LADIES (Дамы) (1886) The Director of (…) -
"The Players of Null-A" (1948-49) by A. E. van Vogt
6 June 2020, by A. E. van VogtThis major work, first published in the October-November-December 1948 and January 1949 issues of Astounding Science Fiction as The Players of Ā, is the direct sequel to his renowned 1945 opus The World of Null-A.
It has all the key players of the first episode – the Null-A (non-Aristotelian) mutant Gilbert Gosseyn with an extra brain(!) who has learned how to “similarize” (transport instantaneously) himself to previously-memorised places in case of need, the superiorly intelligent and (…) -
An anthology of famous French poems, with their English translations
1 June 2020, by RayThere is surely a consensus among cognoscenti that famous texts such as François Villon’s La ballade des pendus, (“Song of the Hanged Men”), Lamartine’s Le lac, (“The Lake”), Rimbaud’s Le bateau ivre (‘The Drunken Boat”) and Apollinaire’s Le pont Mirabeau (“The Mirabeau Bridge") are all among the greatest poetic texts in the language of Rabelais, Ronsard and Racine.
You will find them all here, transposed into the language of Dickens and Dylan, as well as twenty-nine other texts worthy of (…) -
A selection of Tang Dynasty poems
25 May 2020, by RayThe Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) was a period of extraordinary flourishing of the Chinese civilisation in all domains, notably art and literature.
No other civilisation has ever placed poetry on such an elevated pedestal in its scale of values: everyone with an education wrote poetry from the Emperor on downwards, and the most famous poets were honoured in the streets and in the palaces like the stars of popular culture are today.
A thousand years later, when the Qing dynasty published in (…) -
More of Jack London’s best Far North stories
21 May 2020, by Jack LondonTABLE OF CONTENTS
1. The Wife of a King (1899) A prospector has left his half-Indian wife to join the flood of gold-seekers in Dawson, and when he fails to return word comes back about his dallying with a casino dancer, the plucky wife sets off for Dawson in the thick of winter to see for herself what is going on. She is taken in hand by several old hands who prepare her for a surprise confrontation with the erring husband at the city’s annual masked ball. (5,700 words).
2. At the (…)