Classic Books

Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in “the best of all possible worlds.” On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher’s immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover.

The present book ‘Canoeing in the wilderness’ was written by famous American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian – Henry David Thoreau. It was actually a compilation of his essays which he wrote on his trip to canoe wilderness at the age of forty years. It was first published in the year 1906.

Peter Blood, bachelor of medicine and several other things besides, smoked a pipe and tended the geraniums boxed on the sill of his window above Water Lane in the town of Bridgewater.

Some of the girls who read this first story of Lucy Gordon’s army life have spent their lives on army posts as well as she, and perhaps have even lived on Governor’s Island. A good many others, though, have only visited posts, and have never felt that they knew much about the life of army girls, except that it was full of sudden changes. But in this last year the American army has grown very real and absorbing to every girl in America.

Noted children’s fiction writer Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Captains Courageous’ is an 1897 novel. The story follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese fisherman in the north Atlantic.

Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 adventure novel ‘”Captains Courageous”: A Story of the Grand Banks’ follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese fisherman in the north Atlantic.

Carmilla’ is a gothic novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is regarded as one of the early works of vampire fiction and predates Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ by 26 years. First published as a serial in ‘The Dark Blue’ in 1871, the story is narrated by a young woman – Countess Karnstein, who is preyed upon by a female vampire named Carmilla. Carmilla is later revealed to be Mircalla.

Ambedkar was born into a poor low Mahar (dalit) caste, who were treated as untouchables and subjected to socio-economic discrimination. Ambedkar’s ancestors had long worked for the army of the British East India Company, and his father served in the British Indian Army at the Mhow cantonment.

The story of the Edgeworth Family, if it were properly told, should be as long as the ARABIAN NIGHTS themselves; the thousand and one cheerful intelligent members of the circle, the amusing friends and relations, the charming surroundings, the cheerful hospitable home, all go to make up an almost unique history of a county family of great parts and no little character. The Edgeworths were people of good means and position, and their rental, we are told, amounted to nearly L3000 a year. At one time there was some talk of a peerage for Mr. Edgeworth, but he was considered too independent for a peerage.

First published in the year 1907, Hilaire Belloc’s present book ‘Cautionary Tales for Children’ consists of fully illustrated short stories written primarily for young children.

Goosey, goosey, gander,
Whither will you wander?
Upstairs and downstairs,
And in my lady’s chamber!

Chaitanya’s life and teachings’ (original title – Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita) is the main work on the life and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of Krishna who appeared in India five hundred years ago. Lord Chaitanya introduced the chanting of the holy names of God as the prescribed method of God-realization for our time. He began what is today called the Hare Krishna movement, since the movement’s founder, Srila Prabhupada, comes in the Chaitanya line of spiritual masters.

First published in the year 1907, the present book titled ‘Chamber Music’ is a collection of poems penned by James Joyce. The collection originally comprised thirty-four love poems, but two further poems were added before publication.

Chance is narrated by Conrad’s regular narrator, Charles Marlow, but is characterised by a complex, nested narrative in which different narrators take up the story at different points and attempt to interpret various episodes in the life of Miss de Barral, the daughter of a convicted swindler named Smith de Barral. Miss de Barral leads a sheltered life while her father is prosperous, then must rely on the generosity of others, who resent her or have agendas for her, before she escapes by marrying one Captain Anthony. Much of the book involves the musing of the various narrators over what she and the Captain expected from this union, and what they actually got from it.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) began writing his autobiography long before the 1906 publications of these Chapters from my Autobiography. He originally planned to have his memoirs published only after his death but realized, once he’d passed his 70th year, that a lot of the material might be OK to publish before his departure. These chapters were published in serial form in the North American Review during 1906-1907. While much of the material consists of stories about the people, places and incidents of his long life, there’re also several sections from his daughter, which he calls “Susy’s biography of me”.

Character Writings of the 17th Century is presented here in a high quality edition. This popular classic work by Various is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Various then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

Five years have now elapsed since the publication of my volume, “Chats on English China,” and in the interval a great number of readers have written to me suggesting that I should write a companion volume dealing with old English earthenware. It is my hope that this complementary volume will prove of equal value to that large class of collectors who desire to know more about their hobby but are fearful to pursue the subject further without special guidance.

It is a matter for congratulation in these days, when so many books have only a short life for one season, to know that, owing to the enterprise of my publisher in making the “Chats” Series for collectors so widely known, the volume dealing with old English China still retains its vitality, and holds its place as a popular guide to collecting with profit.

The soul-consuming and friction-wearing tendency of this hurrying, grasping, competing age is the excuse for this little book. Cheerfulness has a wonderful lubricating power. What is needed is a habit of cheerfulness, to enjoy every day as we go along; not to fret and stew all the week, and then expect to make up for it Sunday or on some holiday. This book leads the reader to look on the sunny side of things, and to take a little time every day to speak pleasant words.

The blue southern sky was bedimmed by the dust rising from the haven; the burning sun looked dully down into the greenish sea as if through a thin grey veil. It could not reflect itself in the water, which indeed was cut up by the strokes of oars and the furrows made by steam-screws and the sharp keels of Turkish feluccas and other sailing vessels, ploughing up in every direction the crowded harbour in which the free billows of the sea were confined within fetters of granite and crushed beneath the huge weights gliding over their crests, though they beat against the sides of the ships, beat against the shore, beat themselves into raging foam—foam begrimed by all sorts of floating rubbish.

The sub-title of this book is in reality illogical, for the two children who have been especially studied and who are the subject of this book, have not attended a kindergarten for any considerable period. A trial was made with the eldest child, R., when she was four years and five months old, but unsuccessfully. Before the event R. was greatly excited at the thought of playing with so many other children, and accompanied her mother expectantly. But upon her return home it was obvious that she had been disappointed, and, contrary to custom, she said very little about her experiences. “We built a house with a big door,” and “The mistress sang about a bird that flew,” was all she had to report.

Desiring to form an estimate of the kindergarten, I went there one day, and, I must admit, was not favourably impressed. The mistress did not possess the necessary qualifications for her position; and as R. with good reason found the proceedings wearisome, she was, after about a month’s trial, taken away again.

The sub-title of this book is in reality illogical, for the two children who have been especially studied and who are the subject of this book, have not attended a kindergarten for any considerable period. A trial was made with the eldest child, R., when she was four years and five months old, but unsuccessfully. Before the event R. was greatly excited at the thought of playing with so many other children, and accompanied her mother expectantly. But upon her return home it was obvious that she had been disappointed, and, contrary to custom, she said very little about her experiences. “We built a house with a big door,” and “The mistress sang about a bird that flew,” was all she had to report.

Desiring to form an estimate of the kindergarten, I went there one day, and, I must admit, was not favourably impressed. The mistress did not possess the necessary qualifications for her position; and as R. with good reason found the proceedings wearisome, she was, after about a month’s trial, taken away again.

When in constant intercourse with children in their everyday life we are in a position to obtain a far better insight into their thought-processes and their general psychological condition than can be arrived at by means of tests; for both when the child is occupied playing with its toys and in general conversation we very often find remarkable instances of thought-activity, extending even to the criticism of others. In Child Psychology, I. p. 117 ff., I have quoted a number of examples of early criticism and doubt; and being as I am of the opinion that the critical sense is of extremely high value, and should therefore be carefully cultivated in education, I have been particularly on the alert to remark any evidence of the same in the case of R. or S.

When R. was four years and three months old she saw four portraits in a book and said: “There are three.” I corrected her, saying: “No, there are four;” whereupon R. continued: “But when one was gone there were three.” She could in other words subtract one from four.

Great Stories and poems for children is a collection of most delightful childrens stories.

Written in four parts, a lengthy poem which fits the usual style of many of the romantic poets, widely appriciated British poet Baron George Gordon Byron’s ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ was first published in 1810s. As the following lines in the poem are “To those who gaze on thee, what language could they speak?”, it is an expression of the melancholy and disillusionment felt by a generation weary of the wars of the post-Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras.

Leo Tolstoy began his trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, Youth, in his early twenties. Although he would in his old age famously dismiss it as an ‘awkward mixture of fact and fiction’, generations of readers have not agreed, finding the novel to be a charming and insightful portrait of inner growth against the background of a world limned with extraordinary clarity, grace and color. Evident too in its brilliant account of a young person’s emerging awareness of the world and of his place within it are many of the stances, techniques and themes that would come to full flower in the immortal War and Peace and Anna Karenina, and in the other great works of Tolstoy’s maturity.