英语小说网

Life on the Mississippi (1883) is a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, and also a travel book, recounting his trip along the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans many years after the War. The book begins with a brief history of the river as reported by Europeans and Americans, beginning with the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542. It continues with anecdotes of Twain's training as a steamboat pilot, as the 'cub' of an experienced pilot. He describes, with great affection, the science of navigating the ever-changing Mississippi River in a section that was first published in 1876, entitled "Old Times on the Mississippi". In the second half, Twain narrates his trip many years later on a steamboat from St. Louis to New Orleans. He describes the competition from railroads, and the new, large cities, and adds his observations on greed, gullibility, tragedy, and bad architecture. He also tells some stories that are most likely tall tales. Simultaneously published in 1883 in the United States and Great Britain, the book is said to have been the first submitted to a publisher as a typewritten manuscript.

One of series of children's books published between 1910-1920 about two boys who run away to join the circus. "No call to the heart of the youth of America finds a readier response than the call of the billowing canvas, the big red wagons, the crash of the circus band and the trill of the ringmaster's whistle. It is a call that captures the imagination of old and young alike, and so do the books of this series capture and enthrall the reader, for they were written by one who, besides weilding a master pen, has followed the sawdust trail from coast to coast, who knows the circus people and the sturdy manliness of those who do and dare for the entertainment of millions of circus-goers when the grass is green. Mr. Darlington paints a true picture of circus life."

约翰·高尔斯华绥1867年8月14日生于英格兰的萨里。高尔斯华绥家境殷实，出生后不久便举家迁入库姆伯的一个大庄园。《福尔塞世家》中的罗宾山别墅便是以它为蓝本。. 14岁时，高尔斯华绥进了一所著名的男生学校——哈罗公学。5年后他上了牛津大学的新学院学习法律。可他不是个特别聪明的学生——他更喜欢赛马。 高尔斯华绥毕业后并没从事多少法律事务。1895年高尔斯华绥遇见了声乐老师西比尔·卡尔并爱上了她。他的家庭并不接受这位年轻女人，为此他们把他送到国外，去加拿大、加勒比海和俄罗斯旅行。 1905年高尔斯华绥与埃达结婚。他们是10年前在庆祝埃达嫁给高尔斯华绥的表兄阿瑟的一个家庭晚会上见的面。埃达和阿瑟婚后很不幸福。高尔斯华绥听说了埃达的不幸，俩人开始私下幽会。人们知道真相后大为震惊，上流社会容不下这对情人。 他的小叔，画家乔治·索特和埃达都鼓励高尔斯华绥创作。11个年头过去了，他靠创作没赚到什么钱。1906年高尔斯华绥发表了小说《有产业的人》，大获成功。人们认为书里写的是埃达与阿瑟不幸婚姻的故事。 高尔斯华绥创作小说、剧本，写文章和书信。他对许多政治和社会问题表现出极大的兴趣和关注。 1910年高尔斯华绥遇上一位年轻的舞蹈演员，玛格丽特·莫里斯。当时，玛格丽特19岁，约翰43岁。她在他的剧本《小小的梦想》中扮演一个角色。埃达知道自己丈夫爱上这位年轻女人时什么也没说。高尔斯华绥最终决定努力忘掉玛格丽特。他和埃达去了国外。.. 一战期间(1914—1918)，高尔斯华绥由于年纪太大不能上前线，他到法国一家医院工作。他把他在英国的房子让出来做医院收治伤员。 高尔斯华绥曾被授予普林斯顿大学、柏林大学荣誉学位。1926年高尔斯华绥在苏塞克斯郡买下了一幢大宅。那时他已是位名作家，一位富有的“有产业的人”。 1932年高尔斯华绥被授予诺贝尔文学奖。1933年1月13日在生病6个月后去世，时年65岁。 在19世纪的英国，知道什么是言语举止得体的上层人就属于上流社会。上流社会的人对穿什么、去什么地方，喜欢什么音乐、绘画等等都有定见。 上流社会的人大多富有，但富有还不够。上流社会的富人还得拥有土地、马、名画等东西。 19世纪的女人结婚时不能拥有任何东西。她的一切财产归丈夫所有。有的丈夫只把他的妻子当做一件家产。 《有产业的人》中描写的福尔塞家庭属于当时的所谓“上流社会”，是上层家庭的一个典型。他们富有，拥有华丽的住宅，收藏有价值的瓷器及绘画作品。他们知道如何彬彬有礼地与他人相处，他们是“符合体面人身份的”——这个字眼是上流社会用来描绘他们认为得体的一切。...

War and Peace , a Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy, is considered one of the most celebrated works of fiction.It is regarded, along with Anna Karenina (1873–1877), as Tolstoy's finest literary achievement. Epic in scale, War and Peace delineates in graphic detail events leading up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families.

"In its pages you will find adventure, action, romance, love and self-sacrifice, hair's-breadth escape and reckless courage, gallantry, panache and a droll, backhand humor that rivals that of P.G. Wodehouse. You will also find yourself, even more than with the celebrated stories of Holmes and Watson, in the hands of an indisputable artist. For more than any other adventure stories I know, these stories have a power to move the reader." --Michael Chabon on NPR's "You Must Read This"

由于还没有亲眼目睹多瓦悠人最重要的习俗「割礼」，作者再次走进多瓦悠人部落。当作者奈吉尔·巴利进入北喀麦隆丛林，读者便跟着这位欧汉南（Redmond O'Hanlon，《泰晤士报》自然史编辑，知名探险文学作家）誉为「最具可读性的人类学家」深入一趟最有趣、最具启发性的旅程。

 本涅特描写100年前的英国，告诉我们如何度过美好的人生。

 Bracebridge Hall is a series of intimate character sketches that complete an idealized portrait of rural life in the 19th century. Set in the countryside of Yorkshire, Washington Irving’s Bracebridge Hall follows the events leading to the marriage of a young couple, detouring to explore the personalities of the residents in the historic manor.

Taking shelter from the rain in a nearby farm, Harry Marsland encounters a young woman seemingly expecting somebody else...