An extravagant fairy-tale for grown-ups, the story of how the student Anselmus blundered his way to eternal happiness through a maze of mysterious not to say magical water-snakes, elder-trees, a golden pot and fantastic events of all sorts – one of the most brilliant and successful stories of the celebrated master of German Romanticism.
A really terrific fable with a touch of the fantastic – you are just swept along, caught up by the author’s enthusiasm and irresistible charm and the way (…)
Articles les plus récents
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"The Golden Pot" by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1819)
12 juillet 2021, par E. T. A. Hoffmann -
"Little Zaches, called Zinnober" by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1819)
9 juillet 2021, par E. T. A. HoffmannLittle Zaches is a very small, misshapen, evil-tempered, utterly selfish and vainglorious little boy who’s a complete burden to his poverty-stricken mother, until one day the kindly Fräulein von Rosenschön — actually the Fairy Rosabelverde in the shape of the mistress of a convent — takes pity on him, so that somehow, once he’s sort-of grown up (in years but hardly in size or beauty) all of the outstanding acts and achievements of everyone in his surroundings are credited to him, and he is (…)
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"The War of the Worlds" (1898) by H. G. Wells
5 juillet 2021, par H. G. WellsThis was, we do believe, the first novel on the theme of conflict with alien civilisations in the history of literature.
It has remained justly famous for its dramatic story line — the invading Martians have superior tecHnology and are more advanced scientifically than mankind — and its introduction of such novel concepts as interplanetary rocketry, chemical and biological warfare, heat rays and robot-like giant machines that wreaked havoc upon London, the greatest city on Earth at the (…) -
"The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka (1915)
1er juillet 2021, par Franz KafkaOne of the strangest stories of its time, a moving account of Gregor Samsa’s sudden transformation into a giant beetle that has retained his sensibility and understanding — but not the ability to express himself in ordinary language that his family can understand — and how he has to contend with the abhorrence of all those around him.
A profound and powerful metaphor of man’s (modern man’s ? one man’s ? the author’s ?) alienation and inability to communicate effectively with his (…) -
More of A. E. van Vogt’s best late-period stories
28 juin 2021, par A. E. van VogtA further selection of the master’s best stories from the post-golden-age part of his career.
With all of the original magazine illustrations. 1. RESEARCH ALPHA (1965) A ruthless doctor in a research lab secretly tries out his new serum for accelerating evolutionary development on two unsuspecting office workers, with variable but amazing results, astounding even the superiorly-intelligent aliens who are monitoring the lab’s results — and mankind’s progress in general — from behind the (…) -
"Waiting for the Barbarians" (1904) by Constantin Cavafy
24 juin 2021, par Constantin CavafyConstantin Cavafy (1863-1933) , who lived all his life in the ancient Greek community in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the most important poets of modern times.
His legacy has been celebrated by writers and poets around the world, notably by Laurence Durell in his monumental Alexandria Quartet (1960) and by the Nobel Prize for Literature laureat J.M. Coetzee with his eponymous novel Waiting for the Barbarians (1980).
This distinguished translation of Waiting for the Barbarians (1904), (…) -
"The Time Machine" (1895) by H. G. Wells
21 juin 2021, par H. G. WellsH. G. Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific author in many diverse domains (novels, short stories, social commentary, history, satire and biography) and a very engaged social commentator and critic. He was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
But he is best remembered today for his pioneering works of science fiction, The Time Machine (1895) , The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898), that established him — with his (…) -
"Petersburg Tales" - 5 stories by Nikolai Gogol (1835-1843)
19 juin 2021, par Nikolai GogolNo doubt the most celebrated collection of short stories in the history of Russian literature. 1. NEVSKY PROSPEKT (1835) Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg is one of the most famous streets in Russia and this account of the goings-on in and around it is one of the most famous stories of all Russian literature. (13,500 words.)
2. THE DIARY OF A MADMAN (1835) Extracts from the diary of an employee in a government office, documenting his frustrations with the rigid hierarchical system of (…) -
"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) by Lewis Carroll
17 juin 2021, par Lewis CarrollWritten in 1862 by the Oxford lecturer in mathematics Charles Dodgson (1832-1898) to amuse Alice Liddell, one of the daughters of the dean of his Christ Church faculty, this brilliant, inventive, very original and very funny tale gained immediate world-wide attention when it was published in 1865 under the pen-name Lewis Carroll.
With its subtle psychology, its insights into the world of childhood, its linguistic creativity and its clever wit it has become one of the best-known and most (…) -
"The Book of Ptath" (1943) - A. E. van Vogt’s only fantasy novel
16 juin 2021, par A. E. van VogtRichard Holroyd, a World War II tank captain who has been blown sky-high by a direct hit from a German dive-bomber, wakes up to find himself in the person of a somewhat amnesic semi-god named Ptath in the far, far, far-off world of 200 million A.D., where the continents have changed shape and whose 80 billion people spread over the three remaining ones are on the point of going hammer and tongs at one another with their spears and bows and arrows and their deadly attacking giant birds, egged (…)