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The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses his desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging. This reading uses the 20-chapter 1891 version of Wilde's novel....

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Fantasy, Fiction, Horror/Ghost stories, Literature

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Die Totenstadt erschien 1901 im Rahmen der 10 Hefte umfassenden Serie „Aus dem Reiche der Phantasie“, wobei jedes Heft eine abgeschlossene Geschichte ist. Die Reihe wurde von Robert Kraft in Genre der Jules Verne’schen Schriften gehalten und für die Jugend geschrieben. Sie erschien im Münchmeyer Verlag. (Summary by Wassermann)...

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Fantasy, Fiction

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volunteers bring you 25 recordings of The Reaper And The Flowers by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for April 8, 2012. Longfellow predominantly wrote lyric poems which are known for their musicality and which often presented stories of mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas. He has been criticized, however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses....

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Fantasy, Instruction, Mystery, Nature, Religion, Poetry

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Lee Anthony finds himself and two of his friends kidnapped and taken on a strange voyage. (Summary by Richard Kilmer )

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Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Science fiction

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Die Nachtstücke sind eine Sammlung von unheimlichen Geschichten, die der Romantik zuzuordnen sind. Die einzelnen Titel dieser Sammlung sind: Der Sandmann, Ignaz Denner, Die Jesuitenkirche in G., Das Sanctus, Das öde Haus, Das Majorat, Das Gelübde und Das steinerne Herz. (Summary by Rainer)...

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Fantasy, Horror/Ghost stories, Mystery

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William Morris (1834-1896) was a writer, illustrator and medievalist from the Romantic period and associated with other renowned authors of the time such as Dante Rossetti. His fascination with ancient Germanic and Norse people dominated his writings, the first to be set in an entirely invented fantasy world and which helped to establish the fantasy genre. The House of Wolfings (1890), some argue, is a demonstration of Morris' socialism as the society described, though not an utopia, is clan-based, elects leaders and makes decisions in clan tribal meetings. Notwithstanding, it tells the story of how Thiodolf and his clan - the Wolfings - fight and vanquish the Roman invaders. The book is built with Morris' knowledge of the historical period and his own idealistic views, which allow him to combine facts and mythical elements. Thiodolf is protected by a dwarfish coat of mail, given to him by his lover Wood Sun, herself one of the Vala, the immortals. But things are not what they seem and what is meant to protect him, is also a curse... (Summary by Sailormoon)...

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Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Myths/Legends

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Lilith, written by the father of fantasy literature, George MacDonald, was first published in 1895. Its importance was recognized in its later revival in paperback by Ballantine Books as the fifth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in September, 1969. Lilith is considered among the darkest of MacDonald's works, and among the most profound. It is a story concerning the nature of life, death and salvation. Many believe MacDonald is arguing for Christian universalism, or the idea that all will eventually be saved. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Fiction, Fantasy

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This classic 1922 fantasy novel brings you to a strange and lovely world where a young lord wrestles King Gorice for his land's freedom, where unscalable mountains can only be conquered by stubbornness and hippogriffs, where the great explorer Lord Gro finds himself continually driven to betrayal, where sweet young women occasionally fall for evil wizards, and where the heroes actually win their hearts' desire. (Summary by www.archive.org)...

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Fantasy, Fiction

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May Agnes Fleming is renowned as Canada's first best-selling novelist. She wrote 42 novels, many of which have only been published posthumely. The Midnight Queen is set in London, in the year of the plague 1665. Sir Norman Kingsley visits the soothsayer La Masque who shows him the vision of a beautiful young lady. Falling madly in love with her, he is astonished to find her only a short time later and saves her from being buried alive. He takes her home to care for her, but while he fetches a doctor, she disappears. Sir Kingsley and his friend Ormistan embark on an adventure to solve the mystery of the young lady - will they ever find her again? (Summary by Availle)...

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Fantasy, Mystery

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volunteers bring you 15 recordings of The Dried-up Fountain by Robert Leighton. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for December 18, 2011. This poem is taken from A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895, Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). (Summary by David Lawrence)...

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Fantasy, Myths/Legends, Nature, Romance, Poetry

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The novel is a humorous oriental romance and allegory written in the style of the Arabian Nights. Like its model, it includes a number of stories within the story, along with poetic asides. (Summary by Wikipedia.) “The variety of scenes and images, the untiring evolution of plot, the kaleidoscopic shifting of harmonious colours, all these seem of the very essence of Arabia, and to coil directly from some bottle of a genie. Ah! what a bottle!” -Edmund Gosse in /gossip-in-a-library-by-edmund-gosse/ Gossip in a Library...

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Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure

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Radioactive decay is a major theme in the novel The World Set Free, published in 1914. Wells explores what might happen if the rate of decay could be sped up. The book may have encouraged scientists to explore theories of nuclear chain reaction. It also served as a vehicle for Wells to develop his ideas on survival of the human race. (Summary by Bill Boerst)...

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Fantasy, Fiction, Science fiction

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In der Nacht des 30. April, der Walpurgisnacht, stört ein schlafwandelnder Schauspieler die Abendgesellschaft im Hause des Barons Elsenwanger auf dem Hradschin in Prag. Für die nächsten 4 Wochen steht das Leben der dort versammelten Personen unter dem Zeichen der Walpurgisnacht. Meyrinks Werke habe einen starken Zug ins Fantastische und Esoterische. Walpurgisnacht erinnert in seiner Dichte und Tiefgründigkeit an die Erzählungen aus Des deutschen Spießers Wunderhorn. (Zusammenfassung von Hokuspokus)...

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Fantasy, Literature

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Being a collection of some of the OLD TALES told in those Western Parts of Britain served by the GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, now retold by LYONESSE

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Fantasy, Myths/Legends

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The Metal Monster is an Abraham Merritt fantasy novel. Dr. Goodwin is on a botanical expedition in the Himalayas. There he meets Dick Drake, the son of one of his old science acquaintances. They are witnesses of a strange aurora-like effect, but seemingly a deliberate one. As they go out to investigate, they meet Goodwin's old friends Martin and Ruth Ventnor, brother and sister scientists. The two are besieged by Persians as Darius III led when Alexander of Macedon conquered them more than two thousand years ago. The group is saved by a magnificent woman they get to know as Norhala. She commands the power of lightning and controls strange metal animate Things, living, metallic, geometric forms; an entire city of sentient cubes, globes and tetrahedrons, capable of joining together and forming colossal shapes, and wielding death rays and other armaments of destruction. They are led to a hidden valley occupied by what they name The Metal Monster, a strange metal city occupied by the metal animate Things Norhala commands This city is governed by what they call the Metal Emperor, assisted by the Keeper of the Cones. Ruth is slowly being ...

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Fantasy, Fiction

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volunteers bring you 21 recordings of title by My Flower by Ira Titus. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 19, 2012 A short and sweet poem about being happy with yourself. There is no information available about the author, Ira Titus.(Summary by Lucy Perry)...

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Fantasy, Nature, Romance, Poetry

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volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Moth Terror by Benjamin De Casseres . This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 13, 2011. Benjamin De Casseres was an American journalist and author. He worked for various New York City newspapers writing columns and editorials. He also wrote poetry, fiction, essays, and critical reviews. (wikipedia) This poem taken from The Second Book of Modern Verse: A Selection from the Work of Contemporaneous American Poets, edited by Jessie B. Rittenhouse. (1869 - 1948)...

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Poetry, Fantasy, Humor, Nature, Horror/Ghost stories

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Very brief, well-crafted stories, many having surprise endings, all steeped in the dye of myth and calling to every reader's neglected imagination. (Summary by Thomas Copeland)...

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Fantasy, Fairy tales, Short stories, Teen/Young adult, Satire

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Jefferies' novel can be seen as an early example of post-apocalyptic fiction. After some sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first part of the book, The Relapse into Barbarism, is the account by some later historian of the fall of civilisation and its consequences, with a loving description of nature reclaiming England. The second part, Wild England, is an adventure set many years later in the wild landscape and society. The book is not without its flaws (notably the abrupt and unsatisfying ending) but is redeemed by the quality of the writing, particularly the unnervingly prophetic descriptions of the post-apocalyptic city and countryside. (Summary by Ruth Golding and Wikipedia)...

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Fantasy, Adventure, Science fiction

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A young man named Anodos experiences dream-like adventures in Fairy Land, where he meets tree-spirits, endures the presence of the overwhelming shadow, journeys to the palace of the fairy queen, and searches for the spirit of the earth. The story conveys a profound sadness and a poignant longing for death....

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Fantasy, Fiction