classic

Solitude, Survival, and a Mystery Author: Jules Verne The Mysterious Island is classic Jules Verne: adventure tinged with near-misses, engaging survivalist saves, profound mysteries, elements of imagination, and lots of fascinating scientific tidbits. We begin with escape. A group of Union soldiers is held at a Confederate camp, and they take advantage of the proverbial dark and stormy night to steal a hot air balloon, letting the wind carry them where it may. And it does. To save their very lives, they end up throwing all their supplies overboard, finally arriving, five men with varying levels of expertise, plus one loyal [...]

Matters of the Heart Author: Anthony Trollope When you think of Anothony Trollope, you think of a good old drawing room drama. Ladies in pluming skirts, hiding behand fans, talking scandal as piano forte plays delicately in the background and the butler shuffles around, taking in all that aristocratic gossip. And what makes a better scandal than rejecting the status quo and marrying for love, not money! Frank Gresham will be the heir to the Greshamsbury estate – a foundering money pit effectively ruined by Frank’s well-meaning father and extravagant mother. To save the estate, Frank HAS to marry money. The [...]