This collection of short stories by notable Australian author, Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958), reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters. This unique collection includes a foreword by Ian Bruce, grandson of Mary Grant Bruce, and includes the following six stories:* A Gentleman by Accident* An Australi...

This book is a critical analysis by an ex-Muslim activist of religion in general and of Islam in particular.It describes the author's journey out of Islam and discusses in depth many common misconceptions about Islam that are prevalent both within and outside the Islamic world.Production copyright 2020 Voices of Today.

About the Holy BibleA LectureBy Robert G. IngersollNarrated by Denis DalyThis aggressive diatribe against the Bible was published in 1894 and is based on an assertion that formed the basis of many of Ingersoll's attacks on organized religion -the concept of divine inspiration and the evils that spring from this contention.On the title page the author states:"In the nature of things there can be no evidence to establish the claim of Inspiratio...

Accusation is the unperceived catalyst for this dramatic narrative; Job is framed by the accusation that his self-invested allegiance to God will evaporate if he is exposed to adversity. Job is unaware that this wager against his integrity has taken place. The drama that ensues on an epic scale resonates with universal experiences of human suffering—from Job's searching questions, to the grating interventions of Job's friends, and the sense that human misfortune can seem contingent on the ...

The Rubaiyat of Omar KhayyamTranslated by Edward FitzGeraldNarrated by Denis DalyOmar Khayyam (1048 - 1131) was a true polymath.A distinguished mathematician,astronomer and philosopher,he is best known today for his Rubaiyat, a collection of rubai, or rhyming quatrains,of which he is estimated to have composed at least 500.Together with the work of Hafiz and Rumi, Khayyam's poetry represents the high point of classical Persian literature.Edward Fitzgerald wa...

In The Amethyst Box, a vial of incredibly potent poison goes missing on the eve of a wedding. The groom and the best man set out to find it and prevent its misuse. A man's unexpected but natural death in a hotel become more and more mysterious when we learn his obituary was printed before he died. In The Ruby and the Cauldron, a precious gem is lost then found then lost again...finding it will save one woman from shame but will condemn another. Finally, one of Inspector Gryce's first foray...

Richard le Gallienne was, almost to the point of caricature, a notable example of the Bohemian literary figure. He travelled widely, had many acquaintances among notable figures of his day, including Oscar Wilde, Rupert Brooke and John Cowper Powys, and worked through a long series of romantic relationships.However, his poetic verbiage is economical and disciplined, and free from rhetorical affectation. This collection was published in 1895, and reflects the mature style of the poe...

Northanger Abbey is the earliest of Jane Austen’s mature novels. Although scholarly opinion is that the book was actually completed in the late 1790s, it was not published until after the author’s death in 1817.The plot follows the usual trajectory of a young girl falling in love and the relationship becoming compromised by unforeseen circumstances. In this case, Austen’s heroine is a naïve country girl, Catherine Morland, who has an addiction to reading the Gothic horror ...

In the early twentieth century, it was often said that “Australia rides on the sheep’s back”—a reflection of the nation’s dependence on the wool trade. Accordingly, a vast itinerant army of labourers was required to shear the sheep and prepare fleeces for market. In this essay, Rolf Boldrewood provides a vivid picture of the shearing season on a large property.

Baudelaire’s most famous collection of poems is The Flowers of Evil, which was published in 1857 and which was widely condemned as being unwholesome and decadent. The publication actually led to Baudelaire being prosecuted on a charge of offending public morals.There have been numerous translations of Baudelaire’s work into English, but many of them have been judged as not being particularly successful. Sturm’s version of The Flowers of Evil is unusual and notable for its accuracy ...

Sense and Sensibility follows the fortunes of sensible Elinor and her volatile younger sister, Marianne, as each searches for a spouse—a quest made urgent by the family’s financial embarrassment. While Elinor pursues the heart of clergyman, Edward Ferrars, Marianne impulsively falls in love with a glamorous but unscrupulous adventurer, Willoughby. Elinor sees trouble brewing but the enraptured Marianne does not. The sisters question each other’s choices in love.More than i...

The authorship of this Gospel has been widely disputed. Some scholars accept that it was really written by Nicodemus, the Pharisee who visited Jesus by night, as described in chapter three of John’s Gospel. Others have conjectured that the Gospel was a forgery made towards the close of the third century by some zealous believer who imagined it would aid the spread of Christianity. Jeremiah Jones notes that such pious frauds were very common among Christians even in the first three centurie...