Plus nous avançons dans la vie, plus nous avançons dans l'art, plus nous demeurons convaincu que rien n'est abrupt et isolé, que la nature et la société marchent par déductions et non par accidents, et que l'événement, fleur joyeuse ou triste, parfumée ou fétide, souriante ou fatale, qui s'ouvre aujourd ... more »

The Brownie of Bodsbeck is the first novel by James Hogg, one of Scotland's greatest writers. It is set in the late seventeenth century, at the end of the Killing Times, when the religous reformers, the Covenanters, were mercilessly persecuted by the King's forces. The Brownie of Bodsbeck is the story ... more »

Écrit en 1839, ce roman peu connu est l'une des rares fictions de Dumas se situant dans l'antiquité. Acté, une jeune Corinthienne devient la maîtresse de l'empereur Néron. Son histoire permet à l'écrivain d'évoquer le règne du cruel empereur, en une fresque impressionnante. more »

Suddenly he stood still. Into the rattle, the boom, the explosion of artillery there leaped suddenly a new tone. It rose clearly above the rest of the din, which had almost ceased to penetrate the consciousness. It approached with such a shrill sound, with such indescribable swiftness, with so fierce ... more »

Havana, the sultry spring of 1953: gambling is expensive, sex is cheap, and death is free. A half-hour by air from Miami, it's the world's hottest -- and most dangerous -- city. From the plush mobster casinos in Centro to the backstreet brothels on Zanja Street, you can get anything you want, for a price ... more »

As a girl growing up in Kentucky, she lived a sheltered, privileged life filled with picnics and plantation balls. Vivacious, impulsive, and intoxicated by politics, she is a Todd of Lexington, an aristocratic family whose ancestors defeated the British. But no one knows her secret fears and anxieties ... more »

Le dimanche gras de l'année 1578, après la fête du populaire, et tandis que s'éteignaient dans les rues les rumeurs de la joyeuse journée, commençait une fête splendide dans le magnifique hôtel que venait de se faire bâtir, de l'autre côté de l'eau et presque en face du Louvre, cette illustre famille ... more »

Sold! wept Mary Anne on her deathbed. Sold for a bottle of rum! Love him, her mother had said. Loving is not always easy. It will mean caring for him, cooking and cleaning for him -- and bearing his children. But it is a hard man indeed, who can resist consistent love for ever. It had all begun in peaceful ... more »

Nous étions descendus à l'hôtel de la Victoire. Monsieur Martin Zir est le type du parfait hôtelier italien : homme de goût, homme d'esprit, antiquaire distingué, amateur de tableaux, convoiteur de chinoiseries, collectionneur d'autographes, monsieur Martin Zir est tout, excepté aubergiste. Cela ... more »

The Anglo-Saxon race was in its boyhood in the days when the Vikings lived. Youth's fresh fires burned in men's blood; the unchastened turbulence of youth prompted their crimes, and their good deeds were inspired by the purity and whole-heartedness and divine simplicity of youth. For every heroic vice ... more »

A one-eyed man with a stuffed crocodile upon his head paused before the steps of Cairo's gayest hotel and his expectant gaze ranged hopefully over the thronged verandas. It was afternoon tea time; the band was playing and the crowd was at its thickest and brightest. The little tables were surrounded ... more »

One powerful king. Two tragic queens. In the court of Henry VIII, it was dangerous for a woman to catch the king's eye. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were cousins. Both were beautiful women, though very different in temperament. They each learned that Henry's passion was all-consuming-and fickle. ... more »