In this dark and compelling short novel, Dostoevsky tells the story of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young tutor working in the household of an imperious Russian general. Alexey tries to break through the wall of the established order in Russia, but instead becomes mired in the endless downward spiral of betting and loss. His intense and inescapable addiction is accentuated by his affair with the General’s cruel yet seductively adept niece, Polina. In The Gambler, Dostoevsky reaches the heights of drama with this stunning psychological portrait.

There was a time when people communicated through lettersand when it came to expressing their love, the correspondence brimmed with heartwarming, endearing love letters. Sometimes these letters were beginnings of tempestuous, controversial, clandestine love affairs and soon cultivated into relationships that lasted a lifetime, and at other times they were mere feverish rants, the intensity diminishing as soon as it had escalated. No matter who they werescholars, kings, queens, writers, paintersthey all fell passionately and irrevocably in love, their letters capturing their happiness, longing, insecurity, and even suspicion and distrust. We bring together a treasure trove of hundred beautiful letters from around the world in our edition. Beginning with Pliny the Younger, the magistrate of Ancient Rome, pining for his wife as he lay awake at night, and ending with Virginia Woolfs confession that her lady loves mere presence was intoxicating and even physically stimulating, the letters are accompanied by their profound love stories, telling a tale of how their love began, what turmoil it faced, and in some cases, why it ended.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind has been a bestseller since its first publication in 1963, selling many millions of copies since its original publication. It is one of the most brilliant and beloved spiritual self-help works of all time which can help you heal yourself, banish your fears, sleep better, enjoy better relationships and just feel happier. The techniques are simple and results come quickly. You can improve your relationships, your finances, your physical well-being. Dr. Joseph Murphy explains that life events are actually the result of the workings of your conscious and subconscious minds. He suggests practical techniques through which one can change one's destiny, principally by focusing and redirecting this miraculous energy. Years of research studying the world's major religions convinced him that some Great Power lay behind all spiritual life and that this power is within each of us. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind will open a world of success, happiness, prosperity, and peace for you.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer revolves around the youthful adventures of the novel's schoolboy protagonist, Thomas Sawyer, whose reputation precedes him for causing mischief and strife. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly, half-brother Sid, and cousin Mary in the quaint town of St. Petersburg, just off the shore of the Mississippi River. St. Petersburg is described as a typical small-town atmosphere where the Christian faith is predominant, the social network is close-knit, and familiarity resides.

Little orphan Heidi goes to live high in the Alps with her gruff grandfather and brings happiness to all who know her on the mountain. When Heidi goes to Frankfurt to work in a wealthy household, she dreams of returning to the mountains and meadows, her friend Peter, and her beloved grandfather.

If I had my way, every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips, would be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Merry Christmas? Bah humbug!' Introduction and Afterword by Joe Wheeler To bitter, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is just another day. But all that changes when the ghost of his long-dead business partner appears, warning Scrooge to change his ways before it's too late. Part of the Focus on the Family Great Stories collection, this abridged edition features an in-depth introduction and discussion questions by Joe Wheeler to provide greater understanding for today's reader. "A Christmas Carol" captures the heart of the holidays like no other novel.

Returning to Russia from a sanitarium in Switzerland, the Christ-like epileptic Prince Myshkin finds himself enmeshed in a tangle of love, torn between two women—the notorious kept woman Nastasya and the pure Aglaia—both involved, in turn, with the corrupt, money-hungry Ganya. In the end, Myshkin’s honesty, goodness, and integrity are shown to be unequal to the moral emptiness of those around him. In her revision of the Garnett translation, Anna Brailovsky has corrected inaccuracies wrought by Garnett’s drastic anglicization of the novel, restoring as much as possible the syntactical structure of the original story.

"My satire is against those who see figures and averages, and nothing else," proclaimed Charles Dickens in explaining the theme of this classic novel. Published in 1854, the story concerns one Thomas Gradgrind, a "fanatic of the demonstrable fact," who raises his children, Tom and Louisa, in a stifling and arid atmosphere of grim practicality. Without a moral compass to guide them, the children sink into lives of desperation and despair, played out against the grim background of Coketown, a wretched community shadowed by an industrial behemoth. Louisa falls into a loveless marriage with Josiah Bouderby, a vulgar banker, while the unscrupulous Tom, totally lacking in principle, becomes a thief who frames an innocent man for his crime. Witnessing the degradation and downfall of his children, Gradgrind realizes that his own misguided principles have ruined their lives.

One of George Bernard Shaw's best-known plays, Pygmalion was a rousing success on the London and New York stages, an entertaining motion picture and a great hit with its musical version, My Fair Lady. An updated and considerably revised version of the ancient Greek legend of Pygmalion and Galatea, the 20th-century story pokes fun at the antiquated British class system. In Shaw's clever adaptation, Professor Henry Higgins, a linguistic expert, takes on a bet that he can transform an awkward cockney flower seller into a refined young lady simply by polishing her manners and changing the way she speaks. In the process of convincing society that his creation is a mysterious royal figure, the Professor also falls in love with his elegant handiwork. The irresistible theme of the emerging butterfly, together with Shaw's brilliant dialogue and splendid skills as a playwright, have made Pygmalion one of the most popular comedies in the English language. A staple of college drama courses, it is still widely performed.

A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens’s great historical novel, set against the violent upheaval of the French Revolution. The most famous and perhaps the most popular of his works, it compresses an event of immense complexity to the scale of a family history, with a cast of characters that includes a bloodthirsty ogress and an antihero as believably flawed as any in modern fiction. Though the least typical of the author’s novels, A Tale of Two Cities still underscores many of his enduring themes—imprisonment, injustice, social anarchy, resurrection, and the renunciation that fosters renewal.

This hobble of being alive is rather serious, don't you think so? Thomas Hardy's magnum opus, Tess of the d'Urbervilles first appeared in book form in 1891. It initially received mixed reviews and was censored due to the challenges that it presented to the sexual morals of Victorian society. However, through the subtitle of the novel, A PureWoman Faithfully Presented, Hardy sympathises with the working class woman who becomes a hapless victim of the rigid Victorian society. Tess of the d'Urbervilles was later considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. Through Tess Durbeyfield, Hardy skilfully shows the social injustices that are deeply rooted in gender. A moving tale of loss, unrequited love and condemnation, the novel has one of the most tragic endings of all time.

the charms of the alluring city of Paris, and the mysterious br>Madam de VI on NET, Mrs new some sends her ambassador Lambert stretched to Paris to bring him back. However, strether himself falls under the spell of Paris, and finds Chad a rather refined man. Over time, Mrs new some is convinced that she should send another ambassador to confront the two men. A compelling story about stretches, his journey and its unexpected conclusion, the ambassadors is a novel teeming with sensitive characters, lost youth, and people caught in the frenzied pace of life. Woven around James favourite br>Theme - The clash of American innocence and the European experience - The ambassadors, considered Henry James finest work, is a searing portrait of a man's awakening. Published in 1903, It still remains a timeless classic.