The Beggar's Opera is a satirical play, reflecting various aspects of English reality at the beginning of the 18th century. The author, among others, sought to reveal to the reader the shortcomings of modern society, which seemed very far from perfect. Moreover, he largely took into account the interests of the people who experienced severe oppression. Serious and deep criticism of the political and social life of England at the beginning of the 18th century is the main task that the playwright set himself when creating the “The Beggar's Opera”. In the play, Gay parodies the Italian opera and...
A natural pause appears to have come in the career of Mr. H.G. Wells. After so many years of travelling up and down through time and space, familiarizing himself with all the various parts of the solar system and presenting himself imaginatively at all the various geological epochs, from the Stone Age to the end of the world, he has for good and all domesticated himself in his own planet and point of time. This gradual process of slowing down, so to speak, had been evident from the moment of his first appearance. The most obvious fact about his romances of science, considered as a series, is...
Forme of Cury is an extensive collection of medieval English recipes from the 14th century. It was originally a scroll of master chef king Richard II. The manuscript is one of the most famous medieval cookbooks. This is the first English book to mention the use of olive oil, pumpkin, mustard and spices such as nutmeg and cloves in English cooking. Contains about 205 recipes....
Here is a story that has been at rest for seven hundred years. It was first suppressed by one of the English kings of Plantagenet. It was later forgotten. I happened to dig it by accident. The incident was the relationship of my wife's cousin with a certain abbot of a father in a very ancient monastery in Europe. He let me figure out the number of moldy and musty manuscripts, and I came across this. This is very interesting - partly because it is a bit of an unwritten story, but mainly because it records the story of the most remarkable revenge and adventurous life of her innocent victim -...
The author wrote this book to show the two extremes of the decisions we make in life. Two people made their free choice based on life experience and education. The contrast of religions, also shown in the book, prompts reflection on philosophy....
A man may be a scoundrel, a crook, a high-phased confidence man, and still work toward a great dream which will be worth far more than the momentary damage his swindles cost....
"Strayed off again--the young idiot! If he's playing in the shallows, with this tide going out...." Pater let the sentence hang blackly. He leaned upslope as far as he could stretch, angrily scanning the shoreward reaches where light filtered more brightly down through the murky water, where the sea-surface glinted like bits of broken mirror....
“The heart of the wise is in the house of weeping, and the heart of the foolish is in the house of fun,” warned the biblical Ecclesiastes. So for the young beauty Lily Bart, New York at the turn of the century symbolizes not only the Golden Age, but the golden cage. Only a profitable marriage will help her regain the high position lost by the Bart family as a result of her father's bankruptcy - but over and over again Lily misses a profitable chance, consumed either by the demon of self-destruction, or by the expectation of great love. And not without reason she was compared with another...
This book has cultural and historical significance, as knowledge of the literature of civilization, as we know it. The author did a great job collecting in one book works and an analysis of these works, which allows a different look at familiar stories....
Daniel Feldman was already a doctor. He violated the rules of the hospital lobby and made a mistake to save his friend's life. Now he avoids pariah, everything, and forbids touching another patient. But there is more and more freedom on Mars. There, Doc Feldman greets the colonizers, even if they are hunted by force. However, Feldman sees himself as the main character, realizing that the Martian plague could soon destroy humanity on two planets. The war began. The world is ready to destroy the colonies of Mars. Treating the plague is the price of peace, and only Feldman can find it....
"It has become increasingly difficult," said the psychologist carefully to the group sitting in his office, "to ignore such actions by the Sur-Malic." He gazed through an open window-wall to where the newsmen's tiny jet-copters glinted beneath a summer sun at the forest's edge. "Of course, I might have predicted it; Sy insisted upon browsing through old city ruins for relaxation, and he seemed to delight in eluding his guard escort."...
This is not an ordinary book about the country of Oz. It, of course, was written in the style of the original work of L. Frank Baum, but Evans included in the story a philosophy, even somewhat controversial. These thoughts, presented in the story, can be mental pabulum, especially for young individuals who have not fully formed their worldview. This philosophy can lead to a better world in which there will be more freedom and honesty and less violence....
They laughed at his notions of heavier-than-air flying machines. But the last laugh he had with Albatross - the most incredible flying machine ever built. Lord of the sky, Robur became a potential conqueror of the world! A fascinating satellite of 20,000 leagues under the sea, Robert the Conqueror explores many of the same topics....
The parable, first published in 1879 in the journal "Russian Herald" in the fifth chapter of the fifth book "Pros and Cons" of the second part of the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Brothers Karamazov." The author called the “Grand Inquisitor” the “peak” of his last novel. It is an allegorical story by Ivan Karamazov to Alyosha Karamazov on the topic of Christian freedom of will and freedom of conscience....
