Psychological fiction
Showing 91–120 of 217 results
House of Mirth, The
One of Edith Wharton?s most accomplished social satires, this novel tells the story of the beautiful but impoverished New York socialite Lily Bart, whose refusal to compromise in her search for a husband leads to her exclusion from polite society. In charting the course of Lily?s life and downfall, Wharton also provides a wider picture of a society in transition, a milieu in which old certainties, manners, and morals no longer hold true, and where the individual has become an expendable commodity. This classic American novel is now available in a Broadview edition that includes a critical introduction and a rich selection of contextual documents. Appendices include Wharton?s correspondence about The House of Mirth, contemporary articles on social mores, etiquette, and dress, and related writings by Henry James, Thorstein Veblen, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
McTeague: A Story of San Francisco
First published in 1899, this graphic depiction of urban American life centers around McTeague, a ?dentist? practicing in San Francisco at the turn of the century. While at first content with his life and friendship with an ambitious man named Marcus, McTeague eventually courts and marries Trina, a parsimonious young woman who wins a large sum of money in a lottery. It is not long before the jealousy and avarice of the majority of the characters in the novel sets off a chain of inevitable and increasingly horrific events. Norris' work, so strikingly different from that of his contemporaries, is an admirable example of social realism, which provided America with a shocking reflection of its sordid sense of survival. From the opening description of San Francisco to McTeague's final desperate flight far from his 'Dental Parlors, ' this novel examines human greed in a way that still causes readers to pause and reflect.
Moby Dick
Eisner offers a collection of vignettes that show Don Quixote as a clownish madman whose escapades are slapstick and pointless. There is no Knight of the Woeful Countenance here-this is a Don Quixote whose popping eyes and snaggletoothed grin display a manic energy. If he is not the skinny visionary, neither is his horse the rack of bones described by Cervantes: Rosinante may be sleepy, but she looks in good condition. Even the not-so-fair Dulcinea is different: here she is transmuted into Dulcinea de Tobasco-a stout harridan who tries to sell the Don some salt pork. However, the greatest change in the story is the ending in which Cervantes himself appears in the bedroom of the dying knight to proclaim that Quixote's deeds "show people the value of dreams and dreamers!"
Moby Dick, Or, the White Whale
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Moon and Sixpence
In "Moon and Sixpence," Somerset Maugham takes a fascinating look into the life of Charles Strickland, a man who gives up his comfortable life as a stock broker, breaks the social contract, abandons his family, and takes up painting. These changes condemn him to a life of poverty and disdain by most who know him. The story is related by an aspiring writer who never seems to be able to quite get the painter to admit he is either remorseful of all the human wreckage he's left in his wake, or so uncomfortable in this new life that he's sorry for having made such a hash of his it. "Moon and Sixpence" raises several interesting questions: Who makes the social contract anyway, and did Strickland knowingly sign on, or was he simply incorporated into it by society? Would it have been acceptable for Strickland to abandon his family to become a priest, missionary, or some other more acceptable form of profession? While the book is loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, it is really more about W. Somerset Maugham and his search for beauty and truth. Maugham shows us that while the search may be noble, the journey is not necessarily beautiful to everyone, especially those not involved. "Moon and Sixpence" is a must-read for anyone contemplating a life in the arts. While Strickland is a thoroughly dislikable character, he is one without artifice, totally lacking the ability to say anything other than what is true to him. He is a man consumed by his passion, completely lacking the need for approval. Maugham as usual creates a work that is both powerful and thought-provoking. "Moon and Sixpence" satisfys on at least two levels; as an excellent story, and as a philosophical treatise on art, beauty and passion.
Mrs Henry Wood – East Lynne: “True Love Is Ever Timid”
Ellen Price was born on 17th January 1814 in Worcester. In 1836 she married Henry Wood, whose career in banking and shipping meant living in Dauphin?, in the South of France, for two decades. During their time there they had four children. Henry's business collapsed and he and Ellen together with their four children returned to England and settled in Upper Norwood near London. Ellen now turned to writing and with her second book 'East Lynne' enjoyed remarkable popularity. This enabled her to support her family and to maintain a literary career. It was a career in which she would write over 30 novels including 'Danesbury House', 'Oswald Cray', 'Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles', 'The Channings' and 'The Shadow of Ashlydyat'. Sadly, her husband, Henry died in 1866. Ellen though continued to strive on. In 1867, she purchased the magazine 'Argosy', founded two years previously by Alexander Strahan. She was a prolific writer and wrote much of the magazine herself although she had some very respected contributors, amongst them Hesba Stretton and Christina Rossetti. Although she would gradually pare down writing for the magazine she continued to write novel after novel. Such was her talent that for a time she was, in Australia, more popular than Charles Dickens. Apart from novels she was an excellent translator and a writer of short stories. 'Reality or Delusion?' is a staple of supernatural anthologies to this day. Ellen Wood died of bronchitis on 10th February 1887). He estate was valued at a very considerable ?36,000. She is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London. A monument to her in Worcester Cathedral was unveiled in 1916.
Mugby Junction and Other Stories
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
Mugby Junction and Other Stories
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
New Grub Street
George Gissing's New Grub Street has been widely lauded as one of the best novels ever written, but readers who harbor literary ambitions may want to approach this masterwork of realism with caution. By juxtaposing the lives of two very different breeds of writers, Jasper Milvain and Edwin Reardon, Gissing considers the evolving role of writers and literature in the modern world -- and his ultimate assessment is unfailingly bleak.
Next Door, Next World
Almost any phenomenon can be used--or act--for good or ill. Mutation usually brings ill--but it also brings greatness. Change can go any direction. Notice: This Book is published by Historical Books Limited (www.publicdomain.org.uk) as a Public Domain Book, if you have any inquiries, requests or need any help you can just send an email to publications@publicdomain.org.uk This book is found as a public domain and free book based on various online catalogs, if you think there are any problems regard copyright issues please contact us immediately via DMCA@publicdomain.org.uk
No Name (1862): Mystery Novel
No Name is a novel by Wilkie Collins, first published in 1862. Illegitimacy is a major theme of the novel. It was originally serialised in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round before book publication. Plot summaryThe story is told in eight major parts, called Scenes.Scene One begins in 1846, at Combe-Raven in West Somerset, the country residence of the wealthy Vanstone family: Andrew Vanstone, his wife, and their two daughters. Norah, age 26, is happy and quiet; Magdalen, 18, is beautiful but volatile and willful. They live in peace and contentment, looked after by their governess, Miss Garth.Through amateur theatricals, Magdalen discovers she is a talented actress and falls in love with Frank Clare, the idle but handsome son of a neighbour, who is also in the play. They want to be married, and their fathers agree. Although Frank fails at every career he reluctantly tries, and his father is not wealthy, Magdalen's fortune will easily support the young couple.But before they marry, Mr. Vanstone is killed in a train crash and Mrs. Vanstone dies in childbirth. The girls discover from the lawyer, Mr. Pendril, that their parents have only been married for a few months, and their wedding invalidated the will which left everything to the daughters.Since the daughters are illegitimate, they have no name, no rights, and no property. Combe-Raven and the entire family fortune are inherited by Andrew's older brother, Michael Vanstone, who has been bitterly estranged from the family for many years. He refuses to provide any support for the orphaned young women. With the help only of their governess Miss Garth, they set out to make their own way in the world.Scene Two is set in York, where Magdalen is found by Captain Wragge, a distant relative of her mother's, who confesses that he is a professional swindler. He helps her in getting started on the stage in return for a share of the proceeds. His wife Matilda, whom he married for an expected inheritance, is physically huge and kindly but mentally slow; she has to be supervised like a child.Scene Three is in Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth. Magdalen, having earned some money, forsakes the stage and plots to get her inheritance back. Michael Vanstone has died; his only son Noel is sickly and looked after by his housekeeper, Virginie Lecount, a shrewd woman who hopes to inherit his money. Magdalen goes to Lambeth and disguised as Miss Garth visits Noel to see how the land lies, but Mrs. Lecount sees through her disguise and cuts a bit of cloth from the hem of her brown alpaca dress as evidence of Magdalen's deception. .............William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 - 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. His best-known works are The Woman in White (1859), No Name (1862), Armadale (1866) and The Moonstone (1868). The last is considered the first modern English detective novel.Born into the family of painter William Collins in London, he lived with his family in Italy and France as a child and learned French and Italian. He worked as a clerk for a tea merchant. After his first novel, Antonina, was published in 1850, he met Charles Dickens, who became a close friend, mentor and collaborator. Some of Collins's works were first published in Dickens' journals All the Year Round and Household Words and the two collaborated on drama and fiction.Collins published his best known works in the 1860s and achieved financial stability and an international reputation. During that time he began suffering from gout. After taking opium for the pain, he developed an addiction. During the 1870s and 1880s the quality of his writing declined along with his health.Collins was critical of the institution of marriage and never married; he split his time between Caroline Graves, except for a two-year separation, and his common-law wife Martha Rudd, with whom he had three children.