Plutarch Comparative biographies “Comparative biographies” – this is 23 pairs of biographies: one Greek, one Roman, beginning with the legendary kings of Theseus and Romulus and ending with Caesar and Antonius, of whom Plutarch heard from live witnesses. For historians, this is a precious source of information; but Plutarch wrote not for historians. He wanted … Read more
Twelve sleeping virgins The mysterious narrative is preceded by an appeal to the Dream, the “air companion of young days”, whose presence promises a sweet recollection. The first ballad. Thunderbolt. In time immemorial over frothy Dnieper sat, twisting, Gromoboy. He curses his sad lot, a beggarly and homeless life, with which he is ready to … Read more
The plot is divided into several separate stories, and in each of them there are several different options. So, for example, the image of the person leading the narrative is divided into two opposite images, Enderlin and Gantenbein, showing the ways of his further existence available for the narrator. The author does not disclose their … Read more
Anna Kupo, nicknamed Nana, the daughter of the drunk laundrywoman Gervaise McCar, and the crippled worker Kupo, died in Paris in 1870, eighteen years of age from smallpox, having survived for several days her two-year-old son and leaving several dozens of her lovers in distress. However, her lovers comforted quickly. In addition, a war was … Read more
Early XVIII century. England, along with Austria, Prussia and other countries, leads an endless and exhausting war for the Spanish inheritance against the Franco-Spanish coalition. England is ruled by a weak-willed and compliant Queen Anne, who does not make decisions without consulting with those around her. In fact, the reins of government – in the … Read more
The first book is preceded by an appeal to the reader, where Montaigne declares that he did not seek fame and did not seek to bring benefits – this is primarily a “sincere book”, but it is intended for relatives and friends, so that they can revive his image and character when he comes the … Read more
Speech from the author. “It’s hard to tell this little story – it’s so simple.” On Sundays, the lyrical hero gathered children in spring and summer, and in the morning took them to nature. “As a shepherd, he walked behind the carefree lambs.” At noon the younger slept, and told the elders stories. “And often, … Read more
Mr. Tachit and his son Ralph live in his Gardencloth manor about forty miles from London. Mrs. Tachit travels a lot and happens in her husband’s house only a month a year. She spent the winter in her homeland, in America, met there with her niece and wrote to her husband and son that she … Read more
Graham Greene Honorary Consul The action takes place in a small Argentine town on the border with Paraguay in the late 1960s – early 1970s. The protagonist is a doctor Eduards Plarr, a political emigrant from Paraguay, from where he left with his mother a fourteen-year-old teenager. His father, an Englishman by birth, a fighter … Read more
Once upon a time in the Magic Country came the evil witch, the giantess Arachna. She harmed everyone, only condescending to the tribe of gnomes. Arachne prolonged their life, helped them to hunt and fish. The kind magician Hurricapa did not want to destroy the giantess, he put her to sleep for five thousand years. … Read more