James Harrington

The Red Fairy Book (1890) is a collection of fairy tales by Scottish folklorist Andrew Lang. Published in time for Christmas, The Red Fairy Book was the second volume out of 25 in the Lang's Fairy Books series, compiled, written, and edited by Lang and his wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne. Using such sources as the Brothers Grimm and Madame d'Aulnoy, they selected culturally significant stories from all over Europe, crafting carefully organized and beautifully...

But strange as the journey may be, it's nowhere near as strange as what they will find waiting at its end. One of the lesser known novels by Jules Verne, but certainly a novel that is worth reading, An Antarctic Mystery or The Sphinx of the Ice Fields is a fictional travelogue that describes the narrator's adventures as he travels from Kerguelen Islands, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, towards the South Pole. The novel is the account of the...

Five Weeks in a Balloon is not only the first installment in Jules Verne's celebrated Voyages Extraordinaires series, but also the first of Verne's works to earn him widespread popularity as a writer of science fiction and adventure novels. Following his invention of an ingenious new air balloon capable of long-distance flight, Dr. Samuel Fergusson embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his trusted servant, Joe, and loyal friend, Dick Kennedy....

David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. He is an important figure in Western philosophy, and in the history of the Scottish Enlightenment. Hume first gained recognition and respect as a historian, but academic interest in Hume's work has in recent years centered on his philosophical writing. His "History of England" was the standard work on English history for many years, until Macaulay's "The History of England from the Accession...

The Ball and the Cross G. K. Chesterton - The Ball and the Cross starts with a prologue in a flying ship made by a Professor called Lucifer. He is discussing the real truth with a man of religion a pastor called Father Michael. Father Michael believes in religion while the Professor believes in science. The ship runs into a ball and a cross over a Cathedral, where Lucifer pushes Father Michael out on a rooftop in anger caused by their argument. He...

When the government cracks down on alcohol sales, two men decide to leave their small fishing village to avoid the law and find new opportunities. The Flying Inn is an irreverent satire that delivers a unique commentary on power and politics. Humphrey Pump, also known as "Hump," is a bar owner whose business is undercut by strict alcohol regulations. Adult beverages can only be sold when a pub sign in present. But instead, of adhering to the rules,...

TARZAN THE TERRIBLE continues the adventure begun in TARZAN THE UNTAMED - in that volume, the Lord of the Jungle discovered the burnt corpse of his wife, Jane, after a visit to his African home by German soldiers. (One suspects that Burroughs never did like Jane; this sort of thing happened to her a lot.) In this volume, Tarzan learns that Jane was not murdered by the Germans but kidnaped- and sets off in pursuit. As the novel begins, Tarzan has spent...

Tara and Gahan are each Barsoomian royalty, residing in two prominent cities, Helium, and Gathol. Hoping to align the cities and enjoy the advantages of a romantic union, Gahan wishes to marry Tara. However, Tara does not reciprocate this love. After rejecting the engagement, Tara sets out in her flying ship. When she flies into a turbulent storm, Tara crashes her ship in an unknown territory. Unharmed but still in danger, Tara is forced to run from...

Ruth is a young orphaned girl who works in a sweatshop. Mrs. Mason, Ruth's boss, runs the sweatshop in a respectable manner, earning a sterling reputation among her employees and society. However, the comfort and acclaim of Ruth's job is threatened when she attends a ball to repair any dresses that get torn during dancing. There, she meets an aristocratic man named Henry Bellingham, who is infamous for his immoral treatment of women and frivolous...

Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon is a unique addition to Jules Verne's beloved adventure series, Voyages Extraordinaire, as it is among the few Verne novels that does not include elements of science fiction. Instead, Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon combines the adventure genre with a murder mystery. After being falsely accused of a crime, Joam Garral was forced to flee Brazil. Now, many years later, he is living on a thriving Peruvian plantation...