R. Akutagawa In more often The story of the Japanese writer Akutagawa Ryunoske is considered the best in the world story ever written. Several people talk about the murder, everything is different, and it is difficult for the reader to establish what really happened in the thicket of the forest and in the wilds of … Read more
A. Bestuzhev Latnik “On November 22, Seslavin sent me to clear the left side of the Vilna road, with a hundred Sumy hussars, a platoon of dragoons of the Tver regiment and a dozen of donts.” So the dragoon captain begins his story. The detachment moves along the road, along the roadsides, with terrible decorations, … Read more
Main characters: Savel Prokofievich Dikoy – a merchant, a significant person in the city. Boris Grigoryevich is his nephew. Marfa Ignatyevna Kabanova is a rich merchant. Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov is her son. Katerina is his wife. Varvara is Tikhon’s sister. Vanya Kudryash is a clerk of the Wild. Kuligin – a philistine, watchmaker, self-taught, looking … Read more
At the age of 60 the Sorbonne was crowded with crowds of students. Then, reluctantly, the university announced that not everyone will be able to continue their education in Paris. The philological faculty took a difficult decision for him: to send the lion’s share of students to the deserted Nanterre. In 1964, when the faculty … Read more
William Faulkner City It’s been ten years since Flem Snoops, with his wife and baby, arrived in Jefferson and settled at the restaurant counter, half the share in which he traded from VK Ratliff to a third of the abandoned Old Frenchman’s manor. Soon he was already the sole owner of this institution, and some … Read more
N. G. Chernyshevsky What should I do? July 11, 1856 in a room of one of the large St. Petersburg hotels find a note left by a strange lodger. The memo says that its author will soon be heard on the Liteiny Bridge and that no one should have any suspicions. The circumstances are being … Read more
George Sand Indiana The novel takes place in the era of Restoration, a time when everyone still remembers both the events of the revolution and the rule of Napoleon. In the living room of the castle of De la Bree near Paris, three men sit: the master of the house, Colonel Delmar, once a brave … Read more
In the evening, Stets played cards. Among those present was Thomas Garvey, a young man who was stranded in Lisse because of a serious illness. During the game, Harvey heard a woman’s voice, clearly pronounced: “Running on the waves.” And the rest of the players did not hear anything. The day before, Harvey watched from … Read more
The novel, which takes place in 1845-1855, begins with the return of Prince Sergei Myatlev and narrator Amiran Amilahvari after a duel in the spacious St. Petersburg house of the prince, filled with copies of antique masterpieces. The living room was turned into a fencing room, card tables were demolished in one room, and the … Read more
A dull autumn day. In the garden, in the alley under the old poplar, a table is set for the tea. The samovar has an old nanny Marina. “Eat, Father,” she offers to the tea doctor Astrov. “I do not feel like it,” he replies. Telegin appears, an impoverished landowner, nicknamed Waffles, who lives in … Read more
Stefan Zeromski (Polish: Stefan Zeromski, October 14, 1864, Strazcin near Kielce – November 20, 1925, Warsaw) is a Polish writer, playwright, publicist. He was born in an impoverished gentry family. Father for his involvement in the insurrection of 1863 was deprived of property and rented a farm. Zheromsky studied at the gymnasium in Kielce, where, … Read more
The “Great Mirror”, as a Catholic monument in its origin, is characterized by the role assigned to it in the Mother of God, who acts here as a benefactress of the human race. In contrast to the Byzantine legends, the western legends in which the Virgin is featured often differ in the elegance of the … Read more
A translator from Greek, Mr. Melas, a well-known specialist in London, is often approached by Sherlock Holmes, who is often invited, at the most absurd time, to some foreigner who finds himself in a quandary. Therefore, he was not at all surprised when, a few days ago, late at night, a young man named Latimer … Read more
This book is aware of everything that passed before my eyes and worried my heart, I wrote in the silence and seclusion of my house… In the spring it’s dawn. Everything is whiter than the edge of the mountains, here they are lighted up a little. The clouds, touched by purple, spread thinly over the … Read more
PD Boborykin The Victim of the Evening Rainy November evening in 186 * in St. Petersburg Mary Mikhailovna – twenty-three-year-old rich widow of the Guards adjutant – begins to keep an intimate diary to understand the reasons for his constantly bad mood. It turns out that she never loved her husband, that she is bored … Read more
Henrik Ibsen Dollhouse Modern Ibsen Norway. A cozy and inexpensive furnished apartment of lawyer Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora. Christmas Eve. Nora enters the house from the street, she brings with her many boxes – these are gifts for the Christmas tree for children and Torvalda. The husband lovingly fusses around his wife and … Read more
Marianna, having withdrawn from the world, takes the pen on the advice of her friend. True, she is afraid that her mind is unsuitable for writing, and the syllable is not good enough, but believe me, she just flirts. The tragic event, which happened when Marianne was not more than two years, leaves an imprint … Read more
CARL MARIA WEBER 1786-1826 Weber is an outstanding German romantic composer. A versatile gifted personality – conductor, pianist, literary man, music and public figure, Weber was an active fighter for German national art. His creative heritage includes sonatas, concerts, program pieces for piano, chamber works, songs, but the leading role belongs to the opera. Weber’s … Read more
The Night Is Gentle 1925 Rosemary Hoyt, a young but already famous after the success in the film “Father’s daughter” Hollywood actress, together with her mother comes to the Cote d’Azur. Summer is not a season, only one of the numerous hotels is open. On a deserted beach, two companies of Americans: “white” and “black”, … Read more
Front-line correspondent of the newspaper “Pravda” Boris Polevoy knew the war firsthand. He, who started his career as a technologist of a textile factory, helped to enter into journalism Maxim Gorky. And I was not mistaken. The inquisitive look of the writer among numerous frontline scenarios considered the “Story of a real man.” The summary … Read more
A messenger with a small jewel case in the name of Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina was delivered by a messenger through a maid. Princess pronounced it, but Dasha said that the messenger immediately ran away, and she did not dare to tear the birthday girl away from the guests. Inside the case was a gold, … Read more
E. T. A. Hoffmann The Golden Pot On the Feast of the Ascension, at three o’clock in the afternoon, at the Black Gate in Dresden, the student Anselm overturns an enormous basket of apples for his eternal misfortune – and hears terrible curses and threats from the old woman-merchant: “You’ll fall under the glass, under … Read more
JB Shaw Caesar and Cleopatra The events of the play unfold in Egypt, in the city of Alexandria, at the end of the reign of the XIII dynasty, in 48 BC. The legions of Caesar enter Egypt. In the city of panic. The queen Cleopatra, a sixteen-year-old girl, disappeared. She can not be found anywhere. … Read more
One Japanese industrialist, under the influence of American fashion, decided to start building individual nuclear shelters, but the mass production could not be established, and the only constructed shelter was abandoned. Five years later, the construction company, using a bunker as a foundation, erected a three-story building, the back of which was closely adjacent to … Read more
Madame de Stal Corinne, or Italy Lord Oswald Nelvil is going to spend the winter in Italy and at the end of 1794 leaves Edinburgh. Handsome, with a noble appearance, he is endowed with a great mind and in his twenty-five years owns a solid income. But despite the brilliant position in society, Lord Nelvil … Read more
After the death of her mother, Nikolai Nikolaevich Vedenyapin, his uncle, is engaged in the fate of the 10-year-old Yura Zhivago. The father of the boy, having squandered the millionth state of the family, threw them even before his mother’s death, and later reduced his life to scores, jumping off the train. The witness of … Read more
Petronius Satyricon The text of the first known adventure novel (or picaresque) in the world literature was only fragmented: excerpts from the 15th, 16th and, presumably, the 14th chapter. There is no beginning, there is no end, And all, apparently, there were 20 chapters… The main character (on his behalf is narrated) – rasskotorevshy in … Read more
September 6, 1958 This day one of the main characters of the novel, the architect Henry Femel, turns eighty years old. The anniversary is a good occasion to evaluate the life you have lived through. More than fifty years ago he appeared in this city, almost at the last moment submitted his project for the … Read more
Officer Zhilin served in the Caucasus. He received a letter from his mother, and he decided to go on vacation home. But along the way, and another Russian officer, Kostylin was captured by the Tatars. It happened due to Kostylin’s fault. He had to cover Zilin, but he saw the Tatars, was frightened and ran … Read more
Pierre de Marivo Life of Marianne, or The Adventures of the Countess de Marianne, departing from the world, on the advice of a friend takes up her pen. True, she is afraid that her mind is unsuitable for writing, and the syllable is not good enough, but believe me, she just flirts. The tragic event, … Read more
The action unfolds in the late XVI or early XVII century. on four continents, everywhere where Spain has any possessions or where it is trying to conquer something else, and also on the sea, that is, the giant scene of this voluminous five hundred pages, the play is the whole world, the whole universe. It … Read more
Part one Introduction Alexander Petrovich Goryanchikov I met in a small Siberian town. Born in Russia as a nobleman, he became an ex-convict of the second class for the murder of his wife. After serving 10 years of hard labor, he lived his life in town K. He was a pale and thin man of … Read more
JL Borges The Babylonian Library The universe – some call it the Library – consists of a huge number of hexahedral galleries, with wide ventilation wells, enclosed by handrails. The arrangement of the galleries is invariable: five shelves on each wall… To one of the free sides there is a corridor leading to another gallery, … Read more
The story takes place in the era of the Regency, when the mores of French society were extremely free. With the cheerful and frivolous regent Philippe of Orleans in France, immediately began the reaction to the “lean” spirit that reigned under the elderly king. French society sighed more freely and gave vent to the thirst … Read more
AV Druzhinin Polinka Saks When Konstantin Alexandrovich Saks announced to his wife that he must go for three weeks to the province, Polinka burst into tears and began to ask her husband to refuse to travel. She is sad, she is tormented by bad forebodings. But Sachs is not just an official at large, but … Read more
Yearning for strong and harsh passions, which he did not find in the reality surrounding him, Flaubert turned to a profound history. He settled his heroes in the III century. BC. e. and chose a real episode – when the famous Carthaginian commander Hamilcar Barca, with unprecedented cruelty, suppressed an uprising of mercenary troops. It … Read more
In the house of this Elizaveta era and almost Biron lived writers, artists, musicians. However, there lived servicemen, tailors, workers, and former servants… This was also later, and not only in the border with the NEP and the first NEP years. Life was simplified to its primordial nature, and life took on a fantastic shape. … Read more
On a sunny summer day, the talented painter Basil Hallward takes in his workshop an old friend of Lord Henry Wotton – the epicurean esthete, the “Prince of Paradox”, by definition of one of the characters. In the latter one easily recognizes the features of Oscar Wilde, familiar to contemporaries, to whom the author of … Read more
Jean Racine Britannic The action takes place in Ancient Rome in the palace of Emperor Nero. He ascended to the throne illegally, thanks to his mother Agrippina. The emperor was to become Britannik, the son of Agrippina’s second husband Claudius, but she managed to bribe the army and the senate and elevated her son to … Read more
A. Pushkin Bakhchsarai Fountain In his palace sits the formidable Khan Girey, angry and sad. What is sad about Girey, what is he thinking about? He does not think about the war with Russia, he is not afraid of the machinations of enemies, and his wives are loyal to him, they are guarded by a … Read more
In the hot summer afternoon the mouse prince Krokhobor drank water from the swamp and met the frog king of Vzdulomord there. He turned to him, as Homer turned to Odysseus: “Wanderer, who are you from what kind of family?” And came from where? ” Word for word, they met, the frog planted a mouse … Read more
The novel of A. A. Fadeev “The Defeat” was written in 1926. The work is based on the story-study of the writer “Snowstorm”, which was then deployed by the author to a major work. In the novel The Defeat, Fadeev, concentrating on depicting the military life of a small detachment of partisans, describes the events … Read more
The end of the XXI century. The girl Alice went to first grade. Since the morning, she was congratulated by numerous friends not only from Earth, but also from other planets. When the bustle subsided a little, Alisin Dad decided to write down a few stories about his daughter and transfer them to Alisina’s teacher. … Read more
I. E. Babel Cavalry My first goose Correspondent of the newspaper “Red Cavalryman” Liutov (narrator and lyrical hero) is in the ranks of the First Cavalry Army headed by S. Budyonny. The First Horse, fighting with the Poles, makes a trek through Western Ukraine and Galicia. Among the gunmen, Liutov is a stranger. Ochkarik, an … Read more
The life of Benvenuto, son of Maestro Giovanni Cellini, Florentine, written by himself in Florence Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini are written in the first person. In the opinion of the renowned jeweler and sculptor, every person who has accomplished something valiant is obligated to tell about himself to the world – but it is only … Read more
Hell On the half-way of life, I – Dante – got lost in a dense forest. Scary, wild animals all around – allegories of vices; to go nowhere. And here is a ghost that turned out to be the shadow of my beloved ancient Roman poet Virgil. I ask him for help. He promises to … Read more
The action takes place in post-war Italy, in a small Sicilian town. Apothecary Manno receives an anonymous letter, where he is threatened with death, without going into an explanation of the reasons. Friends of the pharmacist – Don Luigi Corvaya, Pecorilla’s notary, Laurent’s teacher, Rosello’s lawyer, Dr. Rosho – consider the anonymous letter an evil … Read more
Foreword in the letters Twenty-year-old Robert Walton dreamed of traveling from childhood. He wanted to open the continent, presumably located on the north pole of the Earth, with all its wonders and riches. To make this dream a little inheritance helped. All the vicissitudes of travel Robert described in detail in letters to his sister … Read more
THE PEAK LADY Opera in three acts (seven paintings) Libretto by M. I. Tchaikovsky Characters: Hermann Count Tomsky The Prince Yeletsky Chekalinsky Surin Chaplitsky Narumov The manager Countess Lisa Pauline Governess Masha Boy Commander Tenor Baritone Baritone Tenor Tenor Bass Bass Tenor Mezzo soprano Soprano Contralto Mezzo soprano Soprano Without singing PLOT Petersburg. In the … Read more
The first part of the novel – Odile – is written on behalf of Philippe Marsen and is addressed to Isabel de Chaverni. Philip wants to truthfully and humbly tell her his whole life, for their friendship “has outgrown the time of flatter recognition alone.” Philip was born in the estate of Gandumas in 1886. … Read more