Pushkin’s story “The Shot” was written in 1830 and entered the famous Boldin cycle of the writer “The Tale of Belkin.” The story refers to the literary realism direction and narrates the history of the duel of the retired hussar Silvio and Count B ***. The story consists of two sections, in the first the … Read more
A. Strindberg Red Room The second half of the 60’s. XIX century. Stockholm, May. The young man, who was disgusted by the service in the College of official salaries (this is the name of the ministry), burns with a desire to bring benefits to society. He meets with Struve, a venerable journalist from the opposition … Read more
Volodya came with a friend home. Mother and aunt rushed to hug and kiss him. The whole family was overjoyed, even Milord, a huge black dog. Volodya introduced his friend Chechevitsyn. He said he brought him to stay. A little later, Volodya and his friend Chechevitsin, stunned by a noisy meeting, sat at a table … Read more
James Caine The Postman Always Rings Twenty-four-year-old hero-narrator Frank Chambers wanders around America, nowhere else for long. And now, after settling down to work for the Greek, Nick Papadakis, the owner of a gas station and a snack bar not far from Los Angeles, he is sure that he will soon be on his way … Read more
Virdzhiniya Vulf at the lighthouse Ramsey Family: Father – Mr. Ramsey, mother – Mrs Ramsay (50 years old, but still quite attractive), children – Nancy, James, Cam, Pru, Rose, Andrew, Jasper, Roger. They live on the island of Skye. A lighthouse is visible in the distance. First in the narrative there are a lot of … Read more
The action takes place in one of the counties of the central strip of Russia. Nikolai Alekseyevich Ivanov, a landowner, sits in his garden and reads a book. Misha Borkin, his distant relative and the manager of his estate, drunkenly returns from the hunt. Seeing Ivanov, takes aim at him with a gun, laughs at … Read more
M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin Lord Golovlevy Russia, the middle of the XIX century. Serfdom is already running out. However, the family of the Golovlevs’ landowners is still quite prosperous and is increasingly expanding the boundaries of its already vast estates. Merit in that entirely belongs to the owner – Arina Petrovna Golovleva. She is an adamant … Read more
FM Dostoevsky Demons The novel takes place in the provincial city in the early autumn. The events are narrated by Mr. Chronicler, who is also a participant in the events described. His story begins with the history of Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, an idealist of the forties, and a description of his complex platonic relations with … Read more
Friedrich Schiller Maria Stewart The action takes place in England, at the end of 1586 – beginning of 1587. In the castle of Fotringei, her half-sister Mary Stewart was imprisoned on the orders of the English Queen Elizabeth, claiming the English throne. With her, her nurse Anna Kennedy. Despite the severity of detention and many … Read more
In a nutshell: The protagonist Niels Holgersson turns a dwarf into a dwarf, and the boy makes a fascinating journey on a gus from Sweden to Lapland and back. On the way to Lapland, he meets a flock of wild geese flying along the Gulf of Bothnia, and with them peeks into remote areas of … Read more
DEATH OF GODS The third day of the tetralogy “Ring of the Nibelung” in three acts (five scenes) with a prologue R. Wagner’s libretto Characters: Siegfried Brünnhild, Siegfried’s wife Waltrauth, her sister, Valkyrie Hunter Gutrun, his sister Hagen, their half brother Alberich, Nibelung (dwarf), father of Hagen Three Norns, Goddesses of Fate Three daughters of … Read more
Henry Lawson Hat in a circle The main heroes of the stories of Henry Lawson are simple Australians, mostly people of manual labor. In the story “Cap on a circle” the author tells about shearing sheep Bobe Brasserce nicknamed Giraffe. He’s a tall guy, about six feet three inches tall. He is complicated, and his … Read more
February 20, 1598. For a month already, Boris Godunov has shut himself up with his sister in a monastery, leaving “all worldly” and refusing to accept the Moscow throne. The people explain Godunov’s refusal to marry the kingdom in the right spirit for Boris: “He is afraid of the radiance of the throne.” Godunov’s game … Read more
In the Italian city of Ferrara, around the 16th century, two young men lived: Fabius and Muzio. They were relatives and close relatives, they belonged to old and rich families and never parted. Muzio was a musician, and Fabius an artist. Having the same tastes and inclinations, outwardly they were not alike. Fabius was tall, … Read more
“The Hari clan” is an ancient Indian epic poem in 3 books, considered an attachment to the “Mahabharata”. The first and third books of the poem set forth the most important Hindu myths about the creation, origin of gods and demons, the legendary kings of the Sun and Moon dynasties, earthly incarnations for the salvation … Read more
S. de Bergerac Other Light, or State and Empire of the Moon At nine in the evening the author and four of his friends returned from the same house in the vicinity of Paris. A full moon shone in the sky, attracting the gaze of the revelers and arousing wit already sharpened on the pavement … Read more
Venus has a cold. Speaking about the coldness of Europe and Europeans, she constantly sneezes and wraps her marble shoulders in dark sable fur. “The more rude a woman will treat a man, the more she will be loved and worshiped by them.” Pleasant companion! However, we must wake up – Severin is already waiting … Read more
The story “Get up and go” – the story of the relationship between father and son, on whose behalf the narrator-author acts. Divided into relatively short twenty-two chapters, she honestly talks about filial feelings, sincere and spontaneous, passing from adoration to pity, from deep devotion to duty, from sincere love for condescension and even anger. … Read more
M. Navarre Heptameron Ten noble gentlemen and ladies who went to the waters, stuck on the way back because of the autumn mudslides and attacks of the robbers. They find shelter in the monastery and wait for the workers to build a bridge across the spilled river, which should take ten to twelve days. Thinking … Read more
On one of the hottest days of 1853, two young people were lying on the shores of the Moscow River in the shade of a blooming linden tree. The twenty-three-year-old Andrei Petrovich Bersenev has just graduated as the third candidate of the Moscow University, and an academic career awaited him. Pavel Yakovlevich Shubin was a … Read more
Part 1. In the rear Svejk is a former soldier who left the service a few years ago because of his idiocy. Now Švejk lives in Prague, trades with the sale of dogs and, in addition to idiocy, suffers from rheumatism. The novel begins in June 1914, after the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand. This … Read more
Pyotr Alekseevich Marakulin colleagues of his fun and carelessness infected. Sam – a narrow-chested, mustache with a thread, about thirty years old, but he felt almost twelve years old. Marakulin was famous for his handwriting, the reports showed the letter after the letter: he scribbled exactly as if he were beading down, and more than … Read more
PI Melnikov In the woods The middle of the XIX century. Privolny, rich in forests and crafts people – the upper Zavolzhie. They live here in labor and prosperity, confessing the old faith. There are quite a few peasants who have escaped to the merchants, that they are called thousandths. One of such rich-thousand-captains Patap … Read more
Germany after the First World War. Economic crisis. The ruined fates of people and their souls. As one of the heroes of the novel says, “we live in an era of despair.” Three school and then front-line comrades – Robert Lockman, Gottfried Lenz, Otto Kester – work in a car repair shop. Robert was thirty. … Read more
Stupidity says: let the gross mortals talk about her as they please, she dares to assert that her divine presence, only one, cheers the gods and people. And therefore now the laudable word Nonsense will be spoken. Who, if not Nonsense, should become a trumpeter of his own glory? After all, lazy and ungrateful mortals, … Read more
Bayyndyr Khan, for a long time established among Oguzes, organized a feast for the Beks. He ordered white tents for those who have sons, red for those who do not have sons, but have a daughter, and black tents for childless beks. In order to humiliate the latter more, he ordered them to serve them … Read more
A. Rhodesian Argonautics In Greece, there were many myths about the exploits of individual heroes, but only four – about such exploits, to which heroes from different parts of the country united. The last was the Trojan War; penultimate – the campaign of the Seven against Thebes; before this – Kalidon’s hunt for a giant … Read more
The main events described in the saga are considered historically reliable, they date back to 962-978; Visy attributed to Gisli, probably composed much later. Thorbjorn marries the Torah, and they have children: the daughter of Tordis, the eldest son of Torkel and the middle Gisli. Nearby lives a man named Bard, who wants to get … Read more
DS Merezhkovsky Christ and Antichrist I. Death of the Gods (Julian the Apostate) (1896) Cappadocia. The Roman tribune condemned wanted to curry favor with his boss. To do this, he is going to kill two children – cousins of the current Constantinople emperor Constantius. Constantius is the son of Constantine the Great, who began his … Read more
Characters. Mikhailo Ivanovich Moshkin, 50 years old. lively, busy, good-natured. Pyotr Ilyich Vilitsky, 23 years old. indecisive, weak, self-interested man. Rodion Karlovich von Funk, 29 years old. Cold, dry creature. Philip Yegorovich Shpundik, landowner of 45 years. with claims of education. Marya Vasilievna Belova, an orphan who lives near Moshkin, is 19 years old. Ekaterina … Read more
Lawrence Stern Sentimental journey through France and Italy Deciding to make a trip to France and Italy, an Englishman with Shakespeare’s name Yorick landed in Calais. He reflects on travel and travelers, dividing them into different categories. He attributes himself to the category of “sensitive travelers”. A monk comes to Yorik with a request to … Read more
Denis Veras History of Sevarambs In the preface to the History of Sevarambs, the author notes that this book is not the fruit of a rich fantasy, but the true notes of Captain Silenus. This is confirmed not only by the doctor’s testimony, to which the captain, when he died, gave the main work of … Read more
Main characters: Savel Prokofievich Dikoy – a merchant, a significant person in the city. Boris Grigoryevich is his nephew, an educated young man. Marfa Ignatyevna Kabanova – a widow, rich merchant. Tikhon Ivanovich Kabanov is her son. Katerina is his wife. Varvara is the sister of Tikhon Kabanov. Kuligin is a self-taught watchmaker looking for … Read more
Gustav Meyrink Golem Prague, the beginning of the century. The narration is from the first person. The hero is not sleeping, or awake. Moonlight falls in the foothold of his bed. The hero feels that his sleeping body is in bed, and “the feelings are separated from the body and do not depend on him … Read more
BA Pilniak The Tale of the Unexplored Moon In the foreword the author emphasizes that the reason for writing this work was not the death of MV Frunze, as many think, but simply the desire to reflect. Readers do not need to search in the stories of genuine facts and living persons. Early in the … Read more
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. At this time Julius Caesar, … Read more
T. Tolstaya was in fact recognized as one of the most brilliant authors of the new literary generation. To date, the volume written about Tolstoy is several times greater than the volume of her prose. It is interesting that Tolstoy struck readers not with the content of their stories, but with the exquisite complexity and … Read more
About the work The comedy of Moliere “The philistine in the nobility” was written in 1670. The work was created within the literary realism direction. In the comedy “The Bourgeois in the Nobility” the author ridicules the typical bourgeois – the ignorant Mr. Jourdain, who tried to join the “upper class”, but he could only … Read more
MI Tsvetaeva The Story of Sonia “The Tale of Sonechka” tells about the most romantic period in the biography of Marina Tsvetaeva – about her Moscow life in 1919 – 1920. in Borisoglebsky Lane. This is the time of uncertainty (her husband has no information from whites for a long time), poverty (her daughter – … Read more
The old man is sitting in the wheelchair next to the billboard. He sees the Student talking to the Milkmaid and telling her that on the eve of rescuing people from the rubble of the collapsed building. The old man hears the Student’s words, but does not see the Milkmaid, for she is a vision. … Read more
BA Pilnyak Naked Year The novel is preceded by two epigraphs. The first (to all the novel) is taken from the book “Being reasonable, or Moral view of the dignity of life.” “Every minute swears to fate in preserving a deep silence about our lot, even up to the time when it merges with the … Read more
Zaretsky is troubled by the fate of a friend. Having changed into the uniform of the murdered French officer, he goes to Moscow in search of Roslavlev. A chance meeting with the captain of the gendarmes, Renault, threatens him with exposure: the Frenchman identified the horse and the sword of Zaretsky, who belonged to the … Read more
Becoming the debut of Byron-playwright, the philosophical tragedy “Manfred”, perhaps the most profound and significant of the poet’s works in the dialogic genre, is not without reason the apotheosis of Byron’s pessimism. The writer’s distressed dissonance with British society, which ultimately led him to voluntary exile, the inevitably deepening crisis in personal relationships, in which … Read more
WILHELM TELL Opera in four acts Libretto by V. Etienne (Jouy) and I. Bis Characters: Wilhelm Tell Walter Furst Melchtal Arnold, the son of Melchtal Leithhold Gesler, governor of the Kaiser in Switzerland Rudolf Garras, the leader of the soldiers of Gesler Matilda, Hapsburg Princess Hedwiga, Tell’s wife Jemmy, the son of Tell Fisherman Hunter … Read more
Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights Having felt the urgent need to relax from the hustle and bustle of London light and fashionable resorts, Mr. Lockwood decided to settle in the country wilderness for a while. He chose the place of his voluntary seclusion as an old landed house, the Skvortsa Manor, which stood amidst the hilly … Read more
“In the sequel, after the author informs about what they gathered about and what they talked about, the persons who will act further spoke, the people gathered on the day of Pampinae’s rule talk about what is more to everyone’s liking” In 1348, Florence was visited by a destructive plague, and a hundred thousand people … Read more
PSKOVITYANKA Opera in three acts (six scenes) Libretto by NA Rimsky-Korsakov based on the same drama by LA Meya Characters: Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible Prince Yuri Ivanovich Tokmakov, the Tsar Viceroy and the stately posadnik in Pskov Boyarin Nikita Matuta Prince Afanasy Vyazemsky Bomelius, the king’s doctor Mikhail Andreevich Tucha, posadniki son Yushko Velebin, … Read more
“My mother died when I was six years old” – so the hero of the story, the boy Vasya begins the story. His father-judge grieved over his wife, paying attention only to his daughter Sonia, as she resembled her mother. And the son “grew up like a wild tree in the field”, left to himself, … Read more
The Little Mermaid is the youngest daughter of a sea king, who is not allowed to swim on land. She lives in full prosperity in the father’s palace at the bottom of the sea, but she is bored with such a life. One day, during a storm, the Little Mermaid sees a beautiful young man … Read more
The lyric “I”, on whose behalf the story is narrated, is a “mimic”, an unnamed engineer who serves Mima – a machine that reproduces sensual images captured from the remotest corners of the universe. Mimorob and Mima, along with eight thousand passengers and crew, are aboard the “Goldonder” Aniar, making an ordinary flight from Doris … Read more