英语小说网

From a volume entitled "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow"

 《绿林荫下》(Under the Greenwood Tree)是托马斯·哈代于1872年匿名发表的一部小说，这是他的第二部小说，也是他威塞克斯系列小说的第一部。 这本小说的情节围绕着教堂圣乐团展开。梅尔斯托克教区圣乐团于圣诞前夜挨家挨户巡回演出，乐团成员包括年轻人迪克·杜威、他的父亲鲁本·杜威、他的爷爷威廉·杜威。迪克·杜威在巡演途中对新来的教区女老师芬西·戴一见钟情。同时年轻漂亮的芬西还引来其他的追求者：富农瑞克·夏纳和牧师梅伯。 新来的牧师梅伯宣布让芬西演奏管风琴替代传统周日礼拜的伴奏方式。圣乐团成员到牧师家与其协商，最后他们勉强妥协，同意让更现代的管风琴伴奏。迪克开始似乎赢得了芬西的芳心，但是杰弗里·戴却竭力反对女儿和搬运工儿子结婚。迪克救出陷入捕兽陷阱的杰弗里·戴，并交由夏纳照顾，为了让女儿嫁给富有的夏纳，杰弗里戴把救人的事迹全部归功于夏纳，得知真相后芬西更倾心于迪克。芬西拒绝夏纳的求婚后，失落的夏纳以为她喜欢牧师梅伯，并把这个错误的信息传达给梅伯。自负的梅伯向芬西求婚，却遭到她的拒绝。最后芬西和迪克终成眷属。

In search of himself in the Arizona wilds, shellshocked war veteran Glenn Kilbourne realizes that he can never return to his former shallow life, but to give it up means giving up the love of his life.

Niccolo Machiavelli, the first great Italian historian, and one of the most eminent political writers of any age or country, was born at Florence, May 3, 1469. He was of an old though not wealthy Tuscan family, his father, who was a jurist, dying when Niccolo was sixteen years old. We know nothing of Machiavelli’s youth and little about his studies. He does not seem to have received the usual humanistic education of his time, as he knew no Greek.1 The first notice of Machiavelli is in 1498 when we find him holding the office of Secretary in the second Chancery of the Signoria, which office he retained till the downfall of the Florentine Republic in 1512. His unusual ability was soon recognized, and in 1500 he was sent on a mission to Louis XII. of France, and afterward on an embassy to C?sar Borgia, the lord of Romagna, at Urbino. Machiavelli’s report and description of this and subsequent embassies to this prince, shows his undisguised admiration for the courage and cunning of C?sar, who was a master in the application of the principles afterwards exposed in such a skillful and uncompromising manner by Machiavelli in his Prince.

在伦敦，两位富翁兄弟打赌，把一张无法兑现的百万大钞借给Henry，看他在一个月内如何收场。一个月之后，Henry不仅没有被饿死或被捕，反倒成为有钱人，还赢得一位美丽小姐的芳心。

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine.Wilde later revised this edition, making several alterations, and adding new chapters; the amended version was published by Ward, Lock, and Company in April 1891.The title is sometimes rendered incorrectly as The Portrait of Dorian Gray. The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging. The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered a work of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.

《基督山伯爵》是通俗历史小说，法国著名作家大仲马（1802-1870）的代表作。故事讲述19世纪法国皇帝拿破仑“百日王朝”时期，法老号大副爱德蒙·唐泰斯受船长委托，为拿破仑党人送了一封信，遭到两个卑鄙小人和法官的陷害，被打入黑牢。狱友法利亚神甫向他传授各种知识，并在临终前把埋于基督山岛上的一批宝藏的秘密告诉了他。唐泰斯越狱后找到了宝藏，成为巨富，从此化名基督山伯爵（水手森巴），经过精心策划，报答了恩人，惩罚了仇人。充满传奇色彩，奇特新颖，引人入胜。

About the Author English writer, editor, critic, and suffragist, Meynell is now remembered mainly as a poet. She remained editor of different magazines and expressed her concern against British Imperialism. Her essays are known for their unique style.