The story “Lilac Bush” by the famous Russian classic Alexander Kuprin was first published in the print edition “Life and Art” under the number 305 of October 17, 1894. Love and happiness became the artistic idea of this work. For some, happiness lies in the material component or in freedom, for others – in scientific … Read more
Once in the Epiphany Evening Girls guessed: For the gate a slipper, Withdrawed from the foot, threw. They tried to find out their destiny, their destiny. Among the girls only Svetlana is silent and sad, she does not sing, does not guess. Her dear is far away, and already a year from him there is … Read more
Alphonse Dode Extraordinary adventures of Tartaren from Tarascon 186 * year, the country is governed by Napoleon III, all who can, thrive. In the small town of Tarascon, in the south of France, lives the great Tartarin hunter, in whose garden grow baobabs and other exotic trees. The passion for hunting is shared by all … Read more
V. V. Bykov Sign of trouble Stepanida and Petrok Bogatka live on the farm Jáchymovschina, three kilometers from the town of Vyselki. Their son Fedya serves in tank troops, the daughter of Fenya studies “on the doctor” in Minsk. The war begins. The front is rapidly rolling to the east, the Germans are coming. There … Read more
Norway end of X century. Jarl Hakon, who has conquered his country, dreams of royalty: he wants to turn from a jarl-a free and eminent military leader-into a king whose power is sanctified by a dynastic tradition and a people’s habit, that is, indisputable. But on the way to the yarl – Olaf, great-grandson of … Read more
M. Ye. Saltykov-Shchedrin Lord of Tashkent. Pictures of morals. The whole book is built on the boundary of the analytical, grotesque essay and satirical narrative. So what kind of creature is this – a Tashkenter – and what does she crave? She longs for only one thing: “To eat!”. Whatever it was, at the cost … Read more
In the house of an intelligent Narodnik Ivan Akimovich Samgin, a son was born, to whom his father decided to give an “unusual” peasant name to Klim. It immediately singled out the boy among the other children of his circle: the daughter of Dr. Somov Lyuba; the children of the lodger Varavka Varvara, Lydia and … Read more
In the novel by V. Bykov “Survive until dawn” before the reader appears the image of the hero, Lieutenant Ivanovsky. The work clearly reveals human responsibility and an adequate understanding of what is happening. As is known, war establishes its laws, accordingly, orders are given by the senior in rank, and for their implementation, the … Read more
School in a small Kyrgyz aile. Cold, unheated class. The teacher tells the frozen and chilled children about the warm island of Ceylon, where unprecedented fruits grow, amazing animals and summer all year round. But Sultanmurat’s thoughts are far away. Many inhabitants of ail have already perished, his father is now also at the front … Read more
Diana, the Countess of Belfort, late at night entering the hall of her Neapolitan palace, finds there two cloaked men who, when she appears, hurriedly hide. Intrigued and enraged, Diana orders the butler to call, but the latter justifies his ignorance by going to bed early. Then one of the servants returns, Fabio, whom Diane … Read more
The play takes place in Athens. The ruler of Athens is Theseus. On the queen of the Amazon tribe, Ippolite, Theseus wants to marry. The wedding of the Queen of Amazons Hippolyta and the Duke of Theseus, was to take place on the night of the full moon day. At the palace, the angry Aegeus, … Read more
In the first novel in this series, Zola talks about the origins of the Rugon family and the Makkarov family, as well as the emergence of the Second Empire in France, which provided great opportunities for bourgeois speculation and adventure. The narrative begins with the author’s foreword, in which Zola clearly articulates his task as … Read more
A. Pogorelsky Black hen, or Underground inhabitants Forty years ago, in St. Petersburg on Vasilievsky Island, there lived a male housekeeper. Among the thirty or forty children who studied in that boarding house, there was one boy named Alesha, who then was no more than 9 or 10 years old. His parents, who lived far … Read more
Maxim Gorky The case of Evseiikoy The little boy Yevseika is a bit on the beach. With boredom fell asleep and fell into the water. He was not scared. Dived and pulled the bottom. Looks around – it’s good: “The scarlet starfish is crawling slowly, the mustached lobsters walk along the rocks, the crab is … Read more
Charles Dickens The Adventures of Oliver Twist Oliver Twist was born in a workhouse. His mother had only one glance at him and died; before the boy was nine years old, he could not find out who his parents were. No kind word of affection, no kind affectionate glance has ever dawned on his dull … Read more
At the dawn, horses are driven from the bar horse yard. From the entire herd stands a serious, pensive-looking old piebald gelding. He does not show impatience, like all other horses, dutifully waits until old man Nester saddles him, and with sadness watches what is happening, knowing in advance every minute. Having driven the herd … Read more
Sh. De Coster The Legend of Eulenspiegel The book is preceded by the “Foreword of the Owl”, which gives a double interpretation of the name “Ulenspiegel”. According to one version it means “I am your mirror”, on the other – “an owl and a mirror”. The action of the legend takes place in Flanders in … Read more
Oscar Wilde The Happy Prince Winter has come, but the Swallow has decided to stay with the Prince and told him, already blind, about Egypt, where the bird so sought. After the Swallowtail leaflet after the leaflet handed out all the gold that covered the sculpture, the winged helper died. The prince’s tin heart split … Read more
In the last days of May, the soldiers and the marquee of the Paris battalion “Red Hat” stumble into the Sodreysk forest to the Breton peasant woman with three children – a baby girl and two boys a little older. Michelle Flechard was killed by her husband and burnt the hut-without a piece of bread, … Read more
AP Platonov Fro The main heroine of the work is a twenty-year-old girl Frosya, daughter of a railwayman. Her husband left far and long. Frosya is very sad about him, life loses for her any meaning, she even throws the railway communication and signaling. Frosya’s father, Nefed Stepanovich, retired by age, but continues to miss … Read more
The story “Gifts of the Magi” was written in 1906. Since then, just over a hundred years have passed. During this time, language, life, culture, the Revolution, the formation and disintegration of the USSR changed. With certainty, we can say that Henry used several unknown words for us. Therefore, in order not to find myself … Read more
Sophocles Antigone In Athens they said: “Above all in human life is the law, and the unwritten law is higher than written.” The unwritten law is eternal, it is given by nature, on it is held every human society: it commands to honor the gods, to love relatives, to pity the weak. The written law … Read more
Pietro Aretino The philosopher In the prologue the author reports that he saw in a dream and a fairy tale about the Perugian Andreuccio (the character of the fifth novel of the second day in the “Decameron” by Boccaccio – his name Aretino jokingly awarded his hero), and the story of the false philosopher, who … Read more
The action takes place in Southeast Asia (on the territory of Thailand, South Vietnam and Cambodia) a few years after the First World War. The young Frenchman Claude Vannek is sent to Siam (the official name of Thailand until 1939 – EM) in search of ancient Khmer bas-reliefs. In Europe, there was a demand for … Read more
Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man had her own daughter, and the old woman had her own daughter, who did everything, she was stroked on the head, but she got everything for her daughter, she watched the cattle and burned the stove, and cleaned the … Read more
G. von Kleist The broken jug The play takes place at the beginning of the XIX century. in the Dutch village of Guizum, near Utrecht, in January. The scene of action is the court room. Adam, the village judge, is sitting and bandaging his leg. Likht comes in, the scribe, and sees that Adam has … Read more
Jim Dixon, the protagonist of the novel, works as a history teacher at an English provincial university. He teaches there for the first year and is not yet enrolled in the job, but is undergoing a probationary period. But from the very beginning he makes a bad impression on his colleagues. Still would. In the … Read more
Descendants of the ancient aristocratic family William Legrand pursue a setback, he loses all his wealth and falls into poverty. To avoid ridicule and humiliation, Legrand leaves New Orleans, the city of his ancestors, and settles on a desert island near the Atlantic coast. In the thickets of the myrtle grove, Legran constructs a hut … Read more
IS Turgenev Notes of the hunter: Office Wandering in the autumn with a gun in the fields, the hunter reached a large village. He even noticed the hut from a distance above others and decided that it was the dwelling of the headman. Opening the door, he saw several tables, littered with papers, two red … Read more
Emilia owns a passionate desire to avenge Augusta for the death of her father, Kai Thorania, educator of the future emperor who was executed by him in the time of the triumvirate. As a revengeer she sees her lover, Cinna; no matter how painful Emilia is to realize that, raising her hand to almighty Augustus, … Read more
V. F. Tendryakov Sixty candles Nikolai Stepanovich Echevin celebrates his sixtieth birthday. He worked as a teacher for forty years, and his anniversary was an event for the whole city of Karasin: his portrait was printed in a local newspaper, congratulatory telegrams came down the stream, and musicians played for him in the local restaurant … Read more
AT Tvardovsky On the right of memory In the genre-thematic plan – this lyrical and philosophical meditation, “road diary”, with a weakened plot. The characters of the poem are an immense Soviet country, its people, a swift turn of their deeds and accomplishments. The text of the poem contains a joking recognition of the author … Read more
In 1918 Vladimir brought his beloved Olga a bouquet of asters. At this time, they give their loved ones mainly flour and millet, and bags, like corpses, lie under beds of Karelian birch. Tinting her lips with a gold gerlenov pencil, Olga is interested in her boyfriend, can it happen that Moscow can not get … Read more
The play opens with a scene in the salon of the illustrious intriguer Lady Sniruel, who discusses with her confidant Snake the latest achievements in the field of aristocratic wiles. These achievements are measured by the number of ruined reputations, upset weddings, outstanding rumors, and so on. Lady Snyruil’s salon is the holy of holies … Read more
Venice. At the house of Senator Brabantzio the Venetian nobleman Rodrigo, unrequitedly in love with the daughter of Senator Desdemona, reproaches his friend Iago for taking the rank of lieutenant from Othello, the noble Moor, the general in the Venetian service. Iago is justified: he himself hates the self-willed African because he, bypassing Iago, a … Read more
DAEMON Opera in three acts (six scenes) Libretto by Pavel A. Viskovatov Characters: Prince Gudal Tamara, his daughter Nanny Tamara Prince of the Synodal, the fiance of Tamara The old servant of Prince Synodal Messenger Daemon Angel Bass Soprano Contralto Tenor Bass Tenor Baritone Contralto Choruses of evil and kind spirits, Georgians and Georgians, guests, … Read more
Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov is a modern classic writer, an internationally recognized artist of the word. A master who knows how to interest, even fascinate the reader with original legends and stories, vivid metaphors and comparisons, unforgettable images of people and animals. Communication with a great artist brings into my life the joy of knowing the … Read more
On the way to Valaam on the Ladoga Lake there are several travelers. One of them, dressed in a novice cassock and in the form of a “typical hero”, says that, with the “gift of God” to tame the horses, he died, according to the parental promise, all his life and could not perish in … Read more
In the fifth grade of one of the schools in Severyansk comes a new boy Gesha Cheremish. Classmates and teachers are delighted, because the new student is the brother of the heroic pilot Klimentii Cheremysh. Gesha is becoming popular. First-graders and high school students look in the classroom to look at the hero’s brother. For … Read more
AI Solzhenitsyn Matrenin Yard In the summer of 1956, on a hundred and eighty-fourth kilometer from Moscow, a passenger leaves the railway line on Murom and Kazan. This is a storyteller whose fate reminds the fate of Solzhenitsyn himself (he fought, but from the front “delayed with a return of ten years”, that is, he … Read more
When Collin Fenwick turned eleven, he became a round orphan. Shortly after the death of his mother, the father gets into a car accident. He was never saved. Care for the boy was undertaken by the cousins of Father Collina, Virena and Dolly Talbo. Virena is very rich: she is the mistress of a pharmacy, … Read more
VA Zhukovsky The Tale of Tsar Berendeye Once upon a time there was Tsar Berendey, he was married for three years, but there were no children. The Tsar somehow inspected his state, said goodbye to the queen and spent eight months in absence. The ninth month was running out when he approached the capital and … Read more
Harsha Ratnavali The storm broke the ship on which the daughter of the king of Lanka (Ceylon) Ratnavali, who was destined for the wife of the king of Watsa Udayana, was sailing. Grasping at the board, Ratnavali was rescued, and, found on the shore, she was given to the Queen’s first wife, Vasavadatta, in the … Read more
Old northern forest under the high starry sky. Leaning against the trunk of the old hollow oak, the decrepit priest froze in a dead stillness. His blue lips are half open, his stopped eyes no longer look at this, the visible side of eternity. The emaciated hands are kneeling. To his right on the stones, … Read more
The thirteen-year-old boy Kish lives along the Polar Sea, along with his mother Aikigoy. Kish does not have brothers and sisters, and his father Bok died in a battle with the polar bear, which he entered, saving people from starvation. Over time, people forgot about the heroic deed of a brave man, as well as … Read more
For a hunter, rain is a real calamity. Such a disaster we suffered with Ermolai during the hunting for black grouses in Belevsky district. Finally, Ermolai suggested that Alexeyevka, owned by my mother, go to the farm, the existence of which I had never suspected before. When the hamlet was an old outbuilding, uninhabited and … Read more
The main heroes of the novel are the first revolutionary terrorists of the 60s of the XIX century. “Dressed as a stone for Empress Catherine II.” The inscription on the Trubetskoi bastion Part one On March 12, 1923, the day when I, Sergey Rusanin, was 83 years old, I decided to publicize what I had … Read more
Jane Austen Feeling and Sensibility At the center of the narrative are two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Endless vicissitudes of their love (“sensitive”) experiences and languor and will form the plot of the novel. But let us start from the beginning and try to understand the intricate plot lines and related ties of the … Read more
LF Baum Ozma from Oz Dorothy and Uncle Henry sail on a steamer to Australia. Suddenly a terrible storm rises. Waking up, Dorothy can not find Uncle Henry in the cabin and decides that he went on deck. In fact, Uncle Henry slept, covering himself with his head, but Dorothy did not notice him. Once … Read more
“Pushkin’s Queen of Spades” is written in the traditions of the literary realism direction. The idea and plot of the work was suggested to the writer by the young prince Golitsyn, who somehow managed to recoup, putting, on the advice of his grandmother, N. P. Golitsina, while playing three cards. Golitsina in due time, suggested … Read more