Study guides: popular books - Page 7 | Just Great DataBase
Persuasion is worth reading not just because it is the last creation of a legendary Jane Austen. Most of all it is a detailed autobiography that sheds a lot of life on the author’s life. It is also a very mature love story that unfolds in a middle of economic and political changes in the country. At the beginning of the book, the reader meets a respected and wealthy Elliot family. It...
Those of you who think that novellas are something that only TV production can offer will be surprised to read “Daisy Miller” by Henry James. It is a pretty love story about a man courting a woman. The text is full of flirting, adventure and fun, but it also has a lot of deep meaning behind the plot. The protagonists of the book are Annie Miller, who is also called Daisy, and...
“A Tale of Two Cities” was published in Charles Dickens’ own magazine in 1859. He gained inspiration for the plot from another play he participated in as an actor at the time of writing. The book also has a right to be called historical, since the author referred to the French Revolution survivals while collecting the facts for the text. The events take place in the 18th century...
Are you looking for a good Novel Prize winner book that is not too well known, but still impeccable? You found it! John Steinbeck wrote this novel for his two sons and didn’t expect in 1952, when the book was published, that it would be so widely acclaimed by the audience from all over the world. The story revolts around two American families of Samuel Hamilton and Adam Trask. They...
“Great Expectations” is not the first novel written by Charles Dickens and many critics wouldn’t agree to call it his best. But it is definitely a magnificent work of literary art to discover. It encompasses the author’s great style, scenes from his previous works, and themes that touch so deeply into reader’s soul. An orphan named Pip lives together with his sister...
“Sula” is a novel written by Toni Morrison in 1973. Toni came to the literary path from a creative family and her career is a work of art in itself. In "Sula" she created a story about two girls who became women. It is a story about two friends, who turned into fierce enemies over something that wasn’t of their fault. It is also a story about roots and cultural origins...
Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1843 and it has become a legendary scenario for numerous cartoons, movies and theater plays. It’s hard to imagine it now that the story was written at a period when Britain was just discovering its Christmas traditions of decorating a tree, singing carols and cooking turkey. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean old man who is stingy with money...
“Mansfield Park” is an educational novel by Jane Austen, where she with a touch of irony reveals the vices of high society. The events take place at the beginning of the 16th century in England. In the estate of Mansfield Park, where Fanny Price is being raised, there is widespread disagreement and misunderstanding. Selfishness motivates the actions of people here. Relatives do not...
“Bleak House” by Charles Dickens isn’t the most famous of his novels, but it is a brilliant satire on the English judicial system. The main plot drive is the two contradictory wills and the following Jarndyce and Jarndyce court case. The tangled family story with unexpected turns and suddenly revealed relationships, marriages, lost children and enamored cousins makes this...
Even though it wasn’t “The Grapes of Wrath” that won John Steinbeck his Novel Prize, it is still a very strong book of realist fiction genre in his portfolio. Published in 1939, the novel looks back at the Great Depression times and explores the travels of a poor farmer’s family looking for job and survival. The book begins with a story of Tom Joad who spent the...
“Hatchet” is an amazing adventure novel written by American writer Gary Paulsen. This novel tells the story about Brian, a young 13-year-old boy whose parents are divorced. Brian survived a plane crash that left him alone in a desert in Canada. Through internal conflict, external forces acting against him, and with the help of his ax (a recent gift from his mother), Brian learns to...
John Steinbeck wrote his book “The Pearl” in 1947. It is a story about family, dreams, and human greed. The writer managed to write a strong novel using very simple text. The protagonists of the story are Kino, the pearl diver, his wife Juana and their baby Coyotito. One day, when a scorpion bites the boy, the whole family and a couple of curious villagers take off to see the doctor...
“Hedda Gabler” is an outstanding play by the greatest Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. This play can be called one of Ibsen’s most extreme and mysterious dramas. The mystery lies in the image of Hedda - a gorgeous, beautiful woman who has destructive energy influencing her surroundings. The actions took place in 1890. Hedda Gabler is an intelligent young woman, who is able...
There exist play writers that represent the best personification of theatre. Henrik Ibsen is one of them. In his 1879 play “A Doll’s House”, he managed to combine mastery of realism, the suspense of events, depth of colorful characters and beauty of words. There are a lot of words said about the lack of opportunities smart and talented women had in the 19th century. “A...
Ghosts was a very controversial play for its time, touching such delicate topics as venereal diseases, marital infidelity, incest and euthanasia. The audience of Ibsen’s time was shocked by the openly shown sins of the society, but still, despite being so morally dubious, the play was a great success. It touched the problems of the society everyone was aware of, but no one dared to speak...
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Treasure Island” in 1881. Once named a “boy’s book”, it received wide appraisal among general public as a great adventure novel. If you love pirates, gold hunt quests, secret maps, abundance of alcohol or crazy parties, tropical nature and exotic animals, then you will surely fall in love with the story. Prepare to set on a colorful sea...
The bitter and satirical play of Henrik Ibsen was, to the great extent, his answer to the reaction of the critics to his previous work, “Ghosts”. The play was named scandalous, because the author dared to discuss such problems as adultery and syphilis that was too much for the prudish a society of that time. As a result, Henrik Ibsen dedicated his play to the problem of a person...
Bridge to Terabithia isn’t an average story for kids. Deeply inspired by “The Chronicles of Narnia” (this book is even directly mentioned in the story), it is more like “The Neverending Story”, because the troubles and worries of the real life are tightly interwoven with the events in the imaginary kingdom of Terabithia. The story starts from the odd friendship of...
Jane Austen published her first novel “Sense and Sensibility” anonymously. She even undertook all the costs associated with the publishing of 750 copies. It tells a lot about the morals of the time when the text saw the world (1811) and, particularly, how the society didn’t treat women seriously. Nevertheless, the novel was considered to be a success, sold all copies and...
The Wild Duck is a play by Henrik Ibsen that is considered the first modern example of tragicomedy. It, as his another play, The Enemy of the People, tells us the story about an idealist, who believes that absolute truth is an absolute good. He comes to the family of his former classmate to reveal the truth to everyone and take all the skeletons out of the closets. He is sincerely surprised...