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Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE (22 June 1856 - 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire. His stories, situated at the lighter end of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. (wikipedia.org)

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. (June 5, 1823 - July 20, 1887) was an American writer of popular fiction during the mid-19th century. His work was published in the New York Ledger, The Flag of Our Union, The Weekly Novelette, Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, and elsewhere. Cobb was born in Waterville, Maine to Sylvanus Cobb and Eunice Hale Waite. Cobb served in the United States Navy, 1840-ca.1843. He married Jane Head in 1845; they had two children. He joined the Freemasons in Norway, Maine in 1854. He began writing stories around 1850. Frederick Gleason published Cobb's first story, "The Prophet of the Bohmer Wald: a Tale of the Time of Joseph II, Emperor of Germany" in The Flag of Our Union. His work was also published in Gleason's Pictorial beginning in 1851. Cobb wrote prolifically. He "wrote and sold no less than 120 novels, more than 800 short stories, and found time to prepare some 90,000 manuscript pages of short items to pad out the columns of ... weeklies." Some say he sacrificed quality for quantity. According to one biographer, "Mr. Cobb was a fluent writer, who spent little time in perfecting his style. As he summed up his work he wrote in the 31 years that he contributed to the New York Ledger 89,544 large pages of manuscript." Others evaluated Cobb as "a prolific writer of sensational tales quite without literary value." Cobb published under various pseudonyms: Austin Burdick Charles Castleton Col. Walter B. Dunlap Enoch Fitzwhistler Dr. J.H. Robinson Dr. S. LeCompton Smith Symus, the Pilgrim Amos Winslow, Jr. Several of his stories were adapted for the stage, including "The Mystic Bride." His "stories were reprinted many times by other publishers including Street & Smith (Columbia Library); Beadle & Adams; Frederic A. Brady; Elliott, Thomes & Talbot; George W. Studley; Ogilvie (Detective Series); and Donahue (Flashlight Detective Series)." Around 1869, Cobb relocated to Hyde Park, Boston, where he lived until his death in 1887. "Mr. Cobb amassed a large fortune by his pen, and built himself a handsome house at Hyde Park. His study was situated in a remote corner of the house in a tower built exclusively for his convenience. There he wrote uninterrupted, surrounded by all the curious odds and ends that he had picked up during his life. He was particularly fond of arms and armor, and his collection of these articles was rare and valuable." Friends included the professional magician Jonathan Harrington. Cobb's portrait was painted by his brother, Darius Cobb. (wikipedia.org)

For all of you who have actually waded through Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, here is a much more interesting story by the same author. This is the adventure of Penelope and her two friends, one spinster and one young lady, as they betake their American selves to Scotland. Thrust into Edinburgh high society, the friends blunder and charm their way into the hearts of the Scotch. Featuring laugh-out-loud anecdotes and even a bit of romance, this is a fun story.I would warn those of you who absolutely hate anything but action, Penelope does wax eloquent on occasion about Scottish history. Just so you know. (Joan)About the author:Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 - August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor.Wiggin went to California to study kindergarten methods. She began to teach in San Francisco with her sister Nora assisting her, and the two were instrumental in the establishment of over 60 kindergartens for the poor in San Francisco and Oakland. She moved from California to New York, and having no kindergarten work on hand, devoted herself to literature. She sent The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol to Houghton, Mifflin & Co. who accepted them at once. Besides the talent for story-telling, she was a musician, sang well, and composed settings for her poems. She was also an excellent elocutionist. Her first literary work was Half a Dozen Housekeepers, a serial story which she sent to St. Nicholas. After the death of her husband in 1889, she returned to California to resume her kindergarten work, serving as the head of a Kindergarten Normal School. Some of her other works included Cathedral Courtship, A Summer in a Canon, Timothy's Quest, The Story Hour, Kindergarten Chimes, Polly Oliver's Problem, and Children's Rights. In the 1980s and 1990s, Wiggin's first husband's distant cousin, Eric E. Wiggin, published updated versions of some books in Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series. He later published his own addition to the series, entitled, Rebecca Returns to Sunnybrook. Eric E. Wiggin extended Kate Douglas Wiggin's series after years of writing Christian literature, newspaper articles, and other children's books. Eric E. Wiggin's books sold best among his target audience of homeschoolers; with their help, his updated novels and his new addition to the series have sold more than 50,000 copies.Many of Kate Douglas Wiggin's novels were made into movies. Perhaps the most famous film adaptation of her books is the 1938 film, which stars Shirley Temple. (wikipedia.org)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's joy for life inspires her aunts, but she faces many trials in her young life, gaining wisdom and understanding. Wiggin wrote a sequel, New Chronicles of Rebecca. Eric Wiggin, a grand-nephew of the author, wrote updated versions of several Rebecca books, including a concluding story. The story was adapted for the theatrical stage and filmed three times, once with Shirley Temple in the title role, as well as a Japanese animated short as part of the Anime Tamago project. (wikipedia.org)About the author: Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 - August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor.Wiggin went to California to study kindergarten methods. She began to teach in San Francisco with her sister Nora assisting her, and the two were instrumental in the establishment of over 60 kindergartens for the poor in San Francisco and Oakland. She moved from California to New York, and having no kindergarten work on hand, devoted herself to literature. She sent The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol to Houghton, Mifflin & Co. who accepted them at once. Besides the talent for story-telling, she was a musician, sang well, and composed settings for her poems. She was also an excellent elocutionist. Her first literary work was Half a Dozen Housekeepers, a serial story which she sent to St. Nicholas. After the death of her husband in 1889, she returned to California to resume her kindergarten work, serving as the head of a Kindergarten Normal School. Some of her other works included Cathedral Courtship, A Summer in a Canon, Timothy's Quest, The Story Hour, Kindergarten Chimes, Polly Oliver's Problem, and Children's Rights. In the 1980s and 1990s, Wiggin's first husband's distant cousin, Eric E. Wiggin, published updated versions of some books in Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series. He later published his own addition to the series, entitled, Rebecca Returns to Sunnybrook. Eric E. Wiggin extended Kate Douglas Wiggin's series after years of writing Christian literature, newspaper articles, and other children's books. Eric E. Wiggin's books sold best among his target audience of homeschoolers; with their help, his updated novels and his new addition to the series have sold more than 50,000 copies.Many of Kate Douglas Wiggin's novels were made into movies. Perhaps the most famous film adaptation of her books is the 1938 film, which stars Shirley Temple. (wikipedia.org)

"The Age of Big Business" is a history of how businesses changed from small, competing businesses to large corporations that controlled major portions of or all of an industry. Since the book was written in 1919, it was fascinating to see how the various industries have changed from post-Civil-War to post-World-War-I to now. For example, I didn't realize that America once exported oil.Chapter One compared 1865 to 1919 in terms of technology and business. Chapter Two gave an overview history of the discovery and business of oil and described how "the first great American Trust," the Standard Oil Company, was formed. Chapter Three gave an overview history of the major development and business of steel and how Carnegie Steel Company was formed. Chapter Four gave an overview history of the invention, development, and business of telephones and how the American Telephone & Telegraph Company was formed. Chapter Five gave an overview history of the development of public utilities. Chapter Six gave an overview history of the development and business of agricultural machinery and talked about McCormick's inventions and his three main competitors in that business. Chapter Seven gave an overview history of the invention, development, and business of the automobile and talked about Henry Ford.Overall, the book was easy to read and interesting. I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about technology and business history. (Debbie) About the author:Burton Jesse Hendrick (December 8, 1870 - March 23, 1949), born in New Haven, Connecticut, was an American author. While attending Yale University, Hendrick was editor of both The Yale Courant and The Yale Literary Magazine. He received his BA in 1895 and his master's in 1897 from Yale. After completing his degree work, Hendrick became editor of the New Haven Morning News. In 1905, after writing for The New York Evening Post and The New York Sun, Hendrick left newspapers and became a "muckraker" writing for McClure's Magazine. His "The Story of Life-Insurance" exposé appeared in McClure's in 1906. Following his career at McClure's, Hendrick went to work in 1913 at Walter Hines Page's World's Work magazine as an associate editor. In 1919, Hendrick began writing biographies, when he was the ghostwriter of Ambassador Morgenthau's Story for Henry Morgenthau, Sr.In 1921 he won the Pulitzer Prize for History for The Victory at Sea, which he co-authored with William Sowden Sims, the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, and the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for The Training of An American.In 1919 Hendrick published the Age of Big Business by using a series of individual biographies to create an enthusiastic look at the foundation of the corporation in America and the rapid rise of the United States as a world power. After completing the commissioned biography of Andrew Carnegie, Hendrick turned to writing group biographies. There is an obvious gap in the later works published by Hendrick between 1940 and 1946, which is explained by his work on a biography on Andrew Mellon, which was commissioned by the Mellon family, but never published.At the time of his death, Hendrick was working on a biography of Louise Whitfield Carnegie, the wife of Andrew Carnegie. (wikipedia.org)

Just in time for Veterans' Day:I found this book to be informative, anti-sentimental, definitely NOT propagandistic as so many of the personal narratives about the First World War were. Holmes wrote this book in reaction to America joining the fight against Germany; he had survived two years in the trenches as a soldier in the British Army, fighting in the Somme. Receiving a "million-dollar wound", as referred to in the war to follow the First World War (The War to End All Wars), he is discharged from the King's Service in 1917.What I find fascinating is the practical advice given to the parents of the young people who were about to go "over there" from America to fight in the war: what to send the soldiers, how to send it, how often, what did soldiers like to eat, what cigarrettes to send, etc. The reader comes to learn the existential detail, the minutiae that agglomerated into the daily life of a man in the trenches.This book has the elegance of a survivor's, first-person narrative even if written in colorful, cockney language. I loved it. You can read it for free on Google Books.On the 11th minute, of the 11th hour, of the 11th month of 1918, The First World War formally ended. This is a good read to commemorate this seminal event in world history.Remember our Veterans today! (Chaz)

La Vita Nuova (Italian for "The New Life") or Vita Nova (Latin title) is a text by Dante Alighieri published in 1294. It is an expression of the medieval genre of courtly love in a prosimetrum style, a combination of both prose and verse. Referred to by Dante as his libello, or "little book," La Vita Nuova is the first of two collections of verse written by Dante in his life. The collection is a prosimetrum, a piece containing both verse and prose, in the vein of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy. Dante used each prosimetrum as a means for combining poems written over periods of roughly ten years-La Vita Nuova contains his works from before 1283 to roughly 1293. The collection and its style fit in with the movement called dolce stil novo.The prose creates the illusion of narrative continuity between the poems; it is Dante's way of reconstructing himself and his art in terms of his evolving sense of the limitations of courtly love (the system of ritualized love and art that Dante and his poet-friends inherited from the Provençal poets, the Sicilian poets of the court of Frederick II, and the Tuscan poets before them). Sometime in his twenties, Dante decided to try to write love poetry that was less centered on the self and more aimed at love itself. He intended to elevate courtly love poetry, many of its tropes and its language, into sacred love poetry. Beatrice for Dante was the embodiment of this kind of love-transparent to the Absolute, inspiring the integration of desire aroused by beauty with the longing of the soul for divine splendor.The first full translation into English was published by Joseph Garrow in 1846. Besides its content, La Vita Nuova is notable for being written in Tuscan vernacular, rather than Latin; Dante's work helped to establish Tuscan as the basis for the national Italian language.American poet Wallace Stevens called the text "one of the great documents of Christianity," noting that the text displays the influence of Christianity in promulgating "the distinctly feminine virtues in place of the sterner ideals of antiquity." The Henry Holiday painting Dante and Beatrice (1883) is inspired by La Vita Nuova, as was Dante Gabriel Rossetti's The Salutation of Beatrice (1859). Rossetti translated the work into English in 1848 and used the character name Monna Vanna from it as a title for his 1866 painting Monna Vanna.La vita nuova is a 1902 cantata based on the text by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari.Vladimir Martynov's 2003 opera Vita Nuova premiered in the U.S. on February 28, 2009 at the Alice Tully Hall, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.A modified version of the opening line of the work's Introduction was used on the television show Star Trek: Voyager in the episode "Latent Image" (1999). The Doctor is concerned with a moral situation and Captain Janeway reads this book and leaves the Doctor to discover the poem.The author Allegra Goodman wrote a short story entitled "La Vita Nuova", published in the May 3, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, in which Dante's words (in English) are interspersed throughout the piece. (wikipedia.org)

A mystery novel by Jean Webster set in the Deep South during the Victorian Era. About the author:Jean Webster, original name Alice Jane Chandler Webster, (born July 24, 1876, Fredonia, N.Y., U.S.-died June 11, 1916, New York, N.Y.), American writer who is best remembered for her fiction best-seller Daddy-Long-Legs, which was also successful in stage and motion picture adaptations.Webster adopted the name Jean while attending the Lady Jane Grey School in Binghamton, New York. In 1901 she graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, where she was a classmate and close friend of the poet Adelaide Crapsey. Webster, who was a grandniece of Mark Twain, showed an early interest in writing. While in college she contributed a weekly column to the Poughkeepsie Sunday Courier and at the same time started writing the stories that were collected in her first book, When Patty Went to College (1903).Webster soon followed with The Wheat Princess (1905) and Jerry, Junior (1907), both inspired by her extended visit to Italy; The Four Pools Mystery (1908), published anonymously; Much Ado About Peter (1909); Just Patty (1911), more stories about her first character, who was perhaps modeled on Crapsey; and Daddy-Long-Legs (1912), her most popular work. Daddy-Long-Legs, first serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal, became a best-seller when published in book form. It was a successful stage play (1914) in Webster's own adaptation, and a popular Mary Pickford silent film (1919). Daddy-Long-Legs was not only a successful piece of fiction but also a stimulus to reform the institutional treatment of orphans. In 1914 Webster published Dear Enemy, a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs and also a best-seller. (britannica.com)

A collection of light romances set in the early part of the twentieth century by Kate Douglas Wiggin.About the author:Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 - August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor.Wiggin went to California to study kindergarten methods. She began to teach in San Francisco with her sister Nora assisting her, and the two were instrumental in the establishment of over 60 kindergartens for the poor in San Francisco and Oakland. She moved from California to New York, and having no kindergarten work on hand, devoted herself to literature. She sent The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol to Houghton, Mifflin & Co. who accepted them at once. Besides the talent for story-telling, she was a musician, sang well, and composed settings for her poems. She was also an excellent elocutionist. Her first literary work was Half a Dozen Housekeepers, a serial story which she sent to St. Nicholas. After the death of her husband in 1889, she returned to California to resume her kindergarten work, serving as the head of a Kindergarten Normal School. Some of her other works included Cathedral Courtship, A Summer in a Canon, Timothy's Quest, The Story Hour, Kindergarten Chimes, Polly Oliver's Problem, and Children's Rights. In the 1980s and 1990s, Wiggin's first husband's distant cousin, Eric E. Wiggin, published updated versions of some books in Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series. He later published his own addition to the series, entitled, Rebecca Returns to Sunnybrook. Eric E. Wiggin extended Kate Douglas Wiggin's series after years of writing Christian literature, newspaper articles, and other children's books. Eric E. Wiggin's books sold best among his target audience of homeschoolers; with their help, his updated novels and his new addition to the series have sold more than 50,000 copies.Many of Kate Douglas Wiggin's novels were made into movies. Perhaps the most famous film adaptation of her books is the 1938 film, which stars Shirley Temple. (wikipedia.org)

ContentsFirst Chronicle Jack O'lantern Second Chronicle Daughters of Zion Third Chronicle Rebecca's Thought Book Fourth Chronicle A Tragedy in Millinery Fifth Chronicle The Saving of the Colors Sixth Chronicle The State O' Maine Girl Seventh Chronicle The Little Prophet Eighth Chronicle Abner Simpson's New Leaf Ninth Chronicle The Green Isle Tenth Chronicle Rebecca's Reminiscences Eleventh Chronicle Abijah the Brave and the Fair Emmajane About the author:Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 - August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor.Wiggin went to California to study kindergarten methods. She began to teach in San Francisco with her sister Nora assisting her, and the two were instrumental in the establishment of over 60 kindergartens for the poor in San Francisco and Oakland. She moved from California to New York, and having no kindergarten work on hand, devoted herself to literature. She sent The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol to Houghton, Mifflin & Co. who accepted them at once. Besides the talent for story-telling, she was a musician, sang well, and composed settings for her poems. She was also an excellent elocutionist. Her first literary work was Half a Dozen Housekeepers, a serial story which she sent to St. Nicholas. After the death of her husband in 1889, she returned to California to resume her kindergarten work, serving as the head of a Kindergarten Normal School. Some of her other works included Cathedral Courtship, A Summer in a Canon, Timothy's Quest, The Story Hour, Kindergarten Chimes, Polly Oliver's Problem, and Children's Rights. In the 1980s and 1990s, Wiggin's first husband's distant cousin, Eric E. Wiggin, published updated versions of some books in Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm series. He late

CONTENTSPreface Prometheus and Pandora PygmalionPhaeton Endymion Orpheus Apollo and Daphne Psyche The Calydonian Hunt Atalanta Arachne Idas and Marpessa Arethusa Perseus the Hero Niobe Hyacinthus King Midas of the Golden Touch Ceyx and Halcyone Aristæus the Bee-Keeper Proserpine Latona and the Rustics Echo and Narcissus Icarus Clytie The Cranes of Ibycus Syrinx The Death of Adonis Pan Lorelei Freya, Queen of the Northern Gods The Death of BaldurBeowulf Roland the PaladinThe Children of Lîr Deirdrê

Exiles is James Joyce's only extant play and draws on the story of "The Dead", the final short story in Joyce's story collection Dubliners. The play was rejected by W. B. Yeats for production by the Abbey Theatre. Its first major London performance was in 1970, when Harold Pinter directed it at the Mermaid Theatre.In terms of both its critical and popular reception, Exiles has proven the least successful of all of Joyce's published works. In making his case for the defence of the play, Padraic Colum conceded: "...critics have recorded their feeling that [Exiles] has not the enchantment of Portrait of the Artist nor the richness of [Ulysses]... They have noted that Exiles has the shape of an Ibsen play and have discounted it as being the derivative work of a young admirer of the great Scandinavian dramatist."Joyce himself described the structure of the play as "three cat and mouse acts".The play follows four players and two couples, Richard Rowan, a writer and his "common-law wife" Bertha, and Robert Hand with his cousin and previous lover Beatrice, both old friends of the previous couple."The plot is deceptively simple: Richard, a writer, returns to Ireland from Rome with Bertha, the mother of his illegitimate son, Archie. While there, he meets his former lover and correspondent Beatrice Justice and former drinking partner and now successful journalist Robert Hand. Robert was also Beatrice's lover, and here the complications begin."As jealousy develops throughout the relationships the action meditates mostly in a budding relationship between Hand and Bertha and thus in Hand's attempts at seduction with the lover of his friend.The first act takes place at Rowan's house where Hand makes his first advance at Bertha. After kissing her "with passion" several times Hand requests she join him in his home for a second meeting later that evening. Bertha in turn confides in Rowan and questions whether or not to accept his invitation. To this, Rowan retorts she must do whatever she pleases.In the second act, Hand waits, expecting Bertha at the appointed hour but instead is surprised when Rowan appears. Calmly, Rowan explains his knowledge of Hand's attempts at wooing Bertha but is interrupted when Bertha herself knocks at the door. Rowan returns home, leaving his wife alone with Hand who continues his advances toward Bertha. The act ends inconclusively, with Hand asking if Bertha loves him, and Bertha explaining: "I like you, Robert. I think you are good... Are you satisfied?"The third act returns to Rowan's home at seven o'clock the following morning. Bertha's maid informs her of Rowan's departure from the home an hour earlier, as he left for a walk on the strand. Printed in the morning newspapers is a favourable article written about Rowan, written the previous evening by Hand himself.The events of the previous night between Bertha and Hand are unclear, as both parties agree it was a "dream." But appearances demonstrate Hand and Bertha shared "a sacred night of love."Hand reports to Rowan, assuring him Bertha in fact did not stay the night but instead Hand spent the night alone. Claiming to have visited the Vice-Chancellor's lodge, returned home to write the newspaper article, then gone to a nightclub where he picked up a divorcée and had sex with her ("what the subtle Duns Scotus calls a death of the spirit took place") in the cab on the way home. Following this conversation, Hand leaves for his cousin's house in Surrey while Rowan and Bertha are reconciled. Bertha admits that she longs to meet her lover, but asserts that the lover is Rowan himself....(wikipedia.org)

'The Story of General Gordon' is a semi-fictional novel by Jean Lang about a real-life figure named Charles George Gordon. His story begins sixty years ago, at Woolwich, the town on the Thames where the gunners of our army are trained, where there lived a mischievous, curly-haired, blue-eyed boy, whose name was Charlie Gordon. The Gordons were a Scotch family, and Charlie came from a race of soldiers. His great-grandfather had fought for King George, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Prestonpans, when many other Gordons were fighting for Prince Charlie. His grandfather had served bravely in different regiments and in many lands. His father was yet another gallant soldier, who thought that there was no life so good as the soldier's life, and nothing so fine as to serve in the British army. Of him it is said that he was "kind-hearted, generous, cheerful, full of humor, always just, living by the code of honor," and "greatly beloved." His wife belonged to a family of great merchant adventurers and explorers, the Enderbys, whose ships had done many daring things on far seas.

A classic humorous old-fashioned romance set in Italy by Jean Webster.About the author: Jean Webster, original name Alice Jane Chandler Webster, (born July 24, 1876, Fredonia, N.Y., U.S.-died June 11, 1916, New York, N.Y.), American writer who is best remembered for her fiction best-seller Daddy-Long-Legs, which was also successful in stage and motion picture adaptations.Webster adopted the name Jean while attending the Lady Jane Grey School in Binghamton, New York. In 1901 she graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, where she was a classmate and close friend of the poet Adelaide Crapsey. Webster, who was a grandniece of Mark Twain, showed an early interest in writing. While in college she contributed a weekly column to the Poughkeepsie Sunday Courier and at the same time started writing the stories that were collected in her first book, When Patty Went to College (1903).Webster soon followed with The Wheat Princess (1905) and Jerry, Junior (1907), both inspired by her extended visit to Italy; The Four Pools Mystery (1908), published anonymously; Much Ado About Peter (1909); Just Patty (1911), more stories about her first character, who was perhaps modeled on Crapsey; and Daddy-Long-Legs (1912), her most popular work. Daddy-Long-Legs, first serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal, became a best-seller when published in book form. It was a successful stage play (1914) in Webster's own adaptation, and a popular Mary Pickford silent film (1919). Daddy-Long-Legs was not only a successful piece of fiction but also a stimulus to reform the institutional treatment of orphans. In 1914 Webster published Dear Enemy, a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs and also a best-seller. (britannica.com)

Wow. This is the funnest book ever! Ups, downs, and complete turn-arounds! This book is plot-twisty and a lot of fun to read. A LOT of fun to read. (Reviewer)About the author: Jean Webster, original name Alice Jane Chandler Webster, (born July 24, 1876, Fredonia, N.Y., U.S.-died June 11, 1916, New York, N.Y.), American writer who is best remembered for her fiction best-seller Daddy-Long-Legs, which was also successful in stage and motion picture adaptations.Webster adopted the name Jean while attending the Lady Jane Grey School in Binghamton, New York. In 1901 she graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, where she was a classmate and close friend of the poet Adelaide Crapsey. Webster, who was a grandniece of Mark Twain, showed an early interest in writing. While in college she contributed a weekly column to the Poughkeepsie Sunday Courier and at the same time started writing the stories that were collected in her first book, When Patty Went to College (1903).Webster soon followed with The Wheat Princess (1905) and Jerry, Junior (1907), both inspired by her extended visit to Italy; The Four Pools Mystery (1908), published anonymously; Much Ado About Peter (1909); Just Patty (1911), more stories about her first character, who was perhaps modeled on Crapsey; and Daddy-Long-Legs (1912), her most popular work. Daddy-Long-Legs, first serialized in the Ladies' Home Journal, became a best-seller when published in book form. It was a successful stage play (1914) in Webster's own adaptation, and a popular Mary Pickford silent film (1919). Daddy-Long-Legs was not only a successful piece of fiction but also a stimulus to reform the institutional treatment of orphans. In 1914 Webster published Dear Enemy, a sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs and also a best-seller. (britannica.com)

Exiles is James Joyce's only extant play and draws on the story of "The Dead", the final short story in Joyce's story collection Dubliners. The play was rejected by W. B. Yeats for production by the Abbey Theatre. Its first major London performance was in 1970, when Harold Pinter directed it at the Mermaid Theatre.In terms of both its critical and popular reception, Exiles has proven the least successful of all of Joyce's published works. In making his case for the defence of the play, Padraic Colum conceded: "...critics have recorded their feeling that [Exiles] has not the enchantment of Portrait of the Artist nor the richness of [Ulysses]... They have noted that Exiles has the shape of an Ibsen play and have discounted it as being the derivative work of a young admirer of the great Scandinavian dramatist."Joyce himself described the structure of the play as "three cat and mouse acts".The play follows four players and two couples, Richard Rowan, a writer and his "common-law wife" Bertha, and Robert Hand with his cousin and previous lover Beatrice, both old friends of the previous couple."The plot is deceptively simple: Richard, a writer, returns to Ireland from Rome with Bertha, the mother of his illegitimate son, Archie. While there, he meets his former lover and correspondent Beatrice Justice and former drinking partner and now successful journalist Robert Hand. Robert was also Beatrice's lover, and here the complications begin."As jealousy develops throughout the relationships the action meditates mostly in a budding relationship between Hand and Bertha and thus in Hand's attempts at seduction with the lover of his friend.The first act takes place at Rowan's house where Hand makes his first advance at Bertha. After kissing her "with passion" several times Hand requests she join him in his home for a second meeting later that evening. Bertha in turn confides in Rowan and questions whether or not to accept his invitation. To this, Rowan retorts she must do whatever she pleases.In the second act, Hand waits, expecting Bertha at the appointed hour but instead is surprised when Rowan appears. Calmly, Rowan explains his knowledge of Hand's attempts at wooing Bertha but is interrupted when Bertha herself knocks at the door. Rowan returns home, leaving his wife alone with Hand who continues his advances toward Bertha. The act ends inconclusively, with Hand asking if Bertha loves him, and Bertha explaining: "I like you, Robert. I think you are good... Are you satisfied?"The third act returns to Rowan's home at seven o'clock the following morning. Bertha's maid informs her of Rowan's departure from the home an hour earlier, as he left for a walk on the strand. Printed in the morning newspapers is a favourable article written about Rowan, written the previous evening by Hand himself.The events of the previous night between Bertha and Hand are unclear, as both parties agree it was a "dream." But appearances demonstrate Hand and Bertha shared "a sacred night of love."Hand reports to Rowan, assuring him Bertha in fact did not stay the night but instead Hand spent the night alone. Claiming to have visited the Vice-Chancellor's lodge, returned home to write the newspaper article, then gone to a nightclub where he picked up a divorcée and had sex with her ("what the subtle Duns Scotus calls a death of the spirit took place") in the cab on the way home. Following this conversation, Hand leaves for his cousin's house in Surrey while Rowan and Bertha are reconciled. Bertha admits that she longs to meet her lover, but asserts that the lover is Rowan himself.... (wikipedia.org)

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century.The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences. They centre on Joyce's idea of an epiphany (a moment where a character experiences a life-changing self-understanding or illumination) and the theme of paralysis (Joyce felt Irish nationalism stagnated cultural progression, placing Dublin at the heart of a regressive movement). The first three stories in the collection are narrated by child protagonists, while the subsequent stories are written in the third person and deal with the lives and concerns of progressively older people, in line with Joyce's division of the collection into childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life. Many of the characters in Dubliners later appeared in minor roles in Joyce's novel Ulysses. The stories"The Sisters" - After the priest Father Flynn dies, a young boy who was close to him hears some less-than-flattering stories about the father."An Encounter" - Two schoolboys playing truant encounter a perverted, middle-aged man."Araby" - A boy falls in love with the sister of his friend, but fails in his quest to buy her a worthy gift from the Araby Bazaar."Eveline" - A young woman weighs her decision to flee Ireland with a sailor."After the Race" - College student Jimmy Doyle tries to fit in with his wealthy friends."Two Gallants" - Lenehan wanders around Dublin to kill time while waiting to hear if his friend, Corley, was able to con a maid out of some money."The Boarding House" - Mrs Mooney successfully manoeuvres her daughter Polly into an upwardly mobile marriage with her lodger Mr Doran."A Little Cloud" - Little Chandler's dinner with his old friend Ignatius Gallaher, who left home to become a journalist in London, casts fresh light on his own failed literary dreams."Counterparts" - Farrington, a lumbering alcoholic scrivener, takes out his frustration in pubs and on his son Tom."Clay" - Maria, a spinster who works in the kitchen at a large laundry, celebrates Halloween with a man she cared for as a child and his family."A Painful Case" - Mr Duffy rebuffs the advances of his friend Mrs Sinico, and, four years later, discovers he condemned her to loneliness and death."Ivy Day in the Committee Room" - Several paid canvassers for a minor politician discuss the memory of Charles Stewart Parnell."A Mother" - To win a place of pride for her daughter Kathleen in the Irish Revival, Mrs. Kearney arranges for the girl to be accompanist at a series of poorly planned concerts, but her efforts backfire."Grace" - Mr Kernan passes out and falls down the stairs at a bar, so his friends attempt to convince him to come to a Catholic retreat to help him reform."The Dead" - After a holiday party thrown by his aunts and cousin, Gabriel Conroy's wife, Gretta, tells him about a boyfriend from her youth, and he has an epiphany about life and death and human connection. (At 15-16,000 words, this story has been classified as a novella.) (wikipedia.org)

ContentsIn Praise of UnicornsAn American Composer: The Passing of Edward MacDowellRemy de Gourmont: His Ideas. The Colour of His MindArtzibashefA Note on Henry JamesGeorge SandThe Great American NovelThe Case of Paul CézanneBrahmsodyThe Opinions of J.-K. HuysmansStyle and Rhythm in English ProseThe Queerest Yarn in the WorldOn Rereading MallockThe Lost MasterThe Grand Manner in Pianoforte PlayingJames JoyceCreative InvolutionFour Dimensional VistasO. W.A Synthesis of the Seven ArtsThe Classic ChopinLittle Mirrors of SincerityThe Reformation of George MoorePillowlandCross-Currents in Modern French LiteratureMore About Richard WagnerMy First Musical AdventureViolinists Now and YesteryearRiding the WhirlwindPrayers for the LivingAbout the author: James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 - 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century. Joyce's novel Ulysses (1922) is a landmark in which the episodes of Homer's Odyssey are paralleled in a variety of literary styles, particularly stream of consciousness. Other well-known works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939). His other writings include three books of poetry, a play, letters, and occasional journalism.Joyce was born in Dublin into a middle-class family. He attended the Jesuit Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare, then, briefly, the Christian Brothers-run O'Connell School. Despite the chaotic family life imposed by his father's unpredictable finances, he excelled at the Jesuit Belvedere College and graduated from University College Dublin in 1902. In 1904, he met his future wife, Nora Barnacle, and they moved to mainland Europe. He briefly worked in Pula and then moved to Trieste in Austria-Hungary, working as an English instructor. Except for an eight-month stay in Rome working as a correspondence clerk and three visits to Dublin, Joyce resided there until 1915. In Trieste, he published his book of poems Chamber Music and his short story collection Dubliners, and he began serially publishing A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in the English magazine The Egoist. During most of World War I, Joyce lived in Zürich, Switzerland, and worked on Ulysses. After the war, he briefly returned to Trieste and then moved to Paris in 1920, which became his primary residence until 1940.Joyce's work still has a profound influence on contemporary culture. Ulysses is a model for fiction writers, particularly its explorations in the power of language. Its emphasis on the details of everyday life have opened up new possibilities of expression for authors, painters and film-makers. It retains its prestige among readers, often ranking high on 'Great Book' lists. Joyce's innovations extend beyond English literature: his writing has been an inspiration for Latin American writers, and Finnegans Wake has become one of the key texts for French post-structuralism. It also provided the name for the quark, one of the elementary particles proposed by physicist Murray Gell-Mann.The open-ended form of Joyce's novels keep them open to constant reinterpretation. They inspire an increasingly global community of literary critics. Joyce studies-based on a relatively small canon of three novels, a small short story collection, one play, and two small books of poems-have generated over 15,000 articles, monographs, theses, translations, and editions. (wikipedia.org)

Abbott makes reading history easy. Xerxes the Great is the Ahaseurus of the Book of Esther in the Bible. He was also the one whose army was drastically reduced by the famous 300! This is a fascinating insight into the man and life at that time. (JennyF)About the authorJacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

Queen Elizabeth is a very well researched book on the life and times of Queen Elizabeth. The author did painstaking research to get it right. He does a stupendous job at describing the area in which she lived as well as the customs of the people which shaped her. ...( Steven Walle)About the author: Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

For a history book, this is a highly entertaining read. Jacob Abbot has a way of keeping the take on this particular period in time interesting. The book starts by telling the reader a little bit about Rollo, and how the Vikings were able to capture such a prominent bit of land as Normandy. The succession continues until it rests upon William, and then it maps out William's beginnings, all the way through his death. If you are a reader who is interested in the exploits of Nordsmen or like to study French and English history, or just like to read about real people who did amazing things, this is a must-read. (Jerimy Stoll)About the author:Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

PrefaceThe author of this series has made it his special object to confine himself very strictly, even in the most minute details which he records, to historic truth. The narratives are not tales founded upon history, but history itself, without any embellishment or any deviations from the strict truth, so far as it can now be discovered by an attentive examination of the annals written at the time when the events themselves occurred. In writing the narratives, the author has endeavored to avail himself of the best sources of information which this country affords; and though, of course, there must be in these volumes, as in all historical narratives, more or less of imperfection and error, there is no intentional embellishment. Nothing is stated, not even the most minute and apparently imaginary details, without what was deemed good historical authority. The readers, therefore, may rely upon the record as the truth, and nothing but the truth, so far as an honest purpose and a careful examination have been effectual in ascertaining it.About the author: Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

PrefaceThe history of the life of every individual who has, for any reason, attracted extensively the attention of mankind, has been written in a great variety of ways by a multitude of authors, and persons sometimes wonder why we should have so many different accounts of the same thing. The reason is, that each one of these accounts is intended for a different set of readers, who read with ideas and purposes widely dissimilar from each other. Among the twenty millions of people in the United States, there are perhaps two millions, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, who wish to become acquainted, in general, with the leading events in the history of the Old World, and of ancient times, but who, coming upon the stage in this land and at this period, have ideas and conceptions so widely different from those of other nations and of other times, that a mere republication of existing accounts is not what they require. The story must be told expressly for them. The things that are to be explained, the points that are to be brought out, the comparative degree of prominence to be given to the various particulars, will all be different, on account of the difference in the situation, the ideas, and the objects of these new readers, compared with those of the various other classes of readers which former authors have had in view. It is for this reason, and with this view, that the present series of historical narratives is presented to the public. The author, having had some opportunity to become acquainted with the position, the ideas, and the intellectual wants of those whom he addresses, presents the result of his labors to them, with the hope that it may be found successful in accomplishing its design.About the authorJacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.... (wikipedia.org)

PrefaceIn writing the series of historical narratives to which the present work pertains, it has been the object of the author to furnish to the reading community of this country an accurate and faithful account of the lives and actions of the several personages that are made successively the subjects of the volumes, following precisely the story which has come down to us from ancient times. The writer has spared no pains to gain access in all cases to the original sources of information, and has confined himself strictly to them. The reader may, therefore, feel assured in perusing any one of these works, that the interest of it is in no degree indebted to the invention of the author. No incident, however trivial, is ever added to the original account, nor are any words even, in any case, attributed to a speaker without express authority. Whatever of interest, therefore, these stories may possess, is due solely to the facts themselves which are recorded in them, and to their being brought together in a plain, simple, and connected narrative.About the authorJacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

PrefaceThere are very few persons who have not heard of the fame of Peter the Great, the founder, as he is generally regarded by mankind, of Russian civilization. The celebrity, however, of the great Muscovite sovereign among young persons is due in a great measure to the circumstance of his having repaired personally to Holland, in the course of his efforts to introduce the industrial arts among his people, in order to study himself the art and mystery of shipbuilding, and of his having worked with his own hands in a ship-yard there. The little shop where Peter pursued these practical studies still stands in Saardam, a ship-building town not far from Amsterdam. The building is of wood, and is now much decayed; but, to preserve it from farther injury, it has been incased in a somewhat larger building of brick, and it is visited annually by great numbers of curious travelers.The whole history of Peter, as might be expected from the indications of character developed by this incident, forms a narrative that is full of interest and instruction for all.About the author: Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)

PrefaceThe story of Margaret of Anjou forms a part of the history of England, for the lady, though of Continental origin, was the queen of one of the English kings, and England was the scene of her most remarkable adventures and exploits. She lived in very stormy times, and led a very stormy life; and her history, besides the interest which it excites from the extraordinary personal and political vicissitudes which it records, is also useful in throwing a great deal of light upon the ideas of right and wrong, and of good and evil, and upon the manners and customs, both of peace and war, which prevailed in England during the age of chivalry.About the author: Jacob Abbott (November 14, 1803 - October 31, 1879) was an American writer of children's books. On November 14, 1803, Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine to Jacob Abbott II and Betsey Chandler. He attended the Hallowell Academy. Abbott graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. At some point during his years there, he supposedly added the second "t" to his surname, to avoid being "Jacob Abbot the 3rd" (although one source notes he did not actually begin signing his name with two t's until several years later).Abbott studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and 1824. He taught in Portland academy and was tutor in Amherst College during the next year. From 1825 to 1829 Abbott was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Amherst College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1829-1833; was pastor of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848 of the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City.He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He wrote 180 books and was a coauthor or editor of 31 more. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School.His Rollo Books, such as Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe, etc., are the best known of his writings, having as their chief characters a representative boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two generations of young American readers a service not unlike that performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of Evenings at Home, The History of Sandford and Merton, and The Parent's Assistant. To follow up his Rollo books, he wrote of Uncle George, using him to teach the young readers about ethics, geography, history, and science. He also wrote 22 volumes of biographical histories and a 10 volume set titled the Franconia Stories. (wikipedia.org)