Kon-Tiki
Author: Thor HeyerdahlCountry: NorwayLanguage: NorwegianPublished: 1948Read Summary The book Kon-Tiki is Thor Heyerdahl's account of his extraordinary 1947 voyage, with 5 colleagues, on a primitive wooden raft from South America to the Polynesian islands in the South Pacific. The journey was Heyerdahl's effort to show that it was possible that…
Frankenstein
Author: Mary ShelleyCountry: UKLanguage: EnglishPublished: 1818Read/Download Summary An exploration team at the North Pole find a half-frozen man, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, who tells them the story of his terrible creation: A keen scientist, Frankenstein discovers a way to reanimate body parts and so decides to make a beautiful human. However,…
The Divine Comedy
Author: Dante AlighieriCountry: ItalyLanguage: ItalianPublished: 1321Read/Download Summary The Divine Comedy was written between 1308 and 1321, the year Dante died. The story concerns the poet Virgil leading Dante on a spiritual journey through the worlds of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. It was written in 3 parts: (i) Inferno(ii) Purgatory ('Purgatorio')(iii)…
The Metamorphosis
Author: Franz KafkaCountry: Austria-HungaryLanguage: GermanPublished: 1915Read/Download Summary The Metamorphosis (originally Die Verwandlung) is a novella describing the life of Gregor Samsa after he wakes up one day and finds he is 'vermin'. It is generally seen that Gregor has become an insect. The book is often viewed in several different…
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Sir Arthur Conan-DoyleCountry: UKLanguage: EnglishPublished: 1892Read/Download Summary The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was the first collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. The 12 stories had originally appeared (one-by-one) in The Strand Magazine. Before this, Sherlock Holmes had already appeared in two full-length books: A Study in Scarlet, and The Sign…
Animal Farm
Author: George OrwellCountry: UKLanguage: EnglishPublished: 1945Read Summary Animal Farm is an allegoric novel, in that it has a secondary meaning representing a different idea. In the case of Animal Farm, the story is meant to resemble the problems and ideas that overtook Russia in the early 20th century. The story…
To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper LeeCountry: USALanguage: EnglishPublished: 1960Read Summary The book is told through the eyes of the 6 year old white girl Scout Finch as she lives in the America's Deep South. Despite Scout's own adventures, the heart of the story is her viewing of the lives of her older brother…
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Author: Jules VerneCountry: FranceLanguage: FrenchPublished: 1864Read/Download Summary The story is told through the eyes of a young German man named Axel as he, his uncle Professor Lidenbrock, and near-silent but strong Icelandic guide Hans, follow clues left by a previous explorer down a volcano and into the centre of the…
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar WildeCountry: IrelandLanguage: EnglishPublished: 1890Read/Download Summary The Picture of Dorian Gray is a look at the corruption of a human soul. The story describes a young, good-looking rich man named Dorian Gray who, at the beginning of the book, has his picture painted by Basil Hallward. Dorian then meets…
Dracula
Author: Bram StokerCountry: IrelandLanguage: EnglishPublished: 1897Read/Download Summary The first part of Dracula is told through the eyes of Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor who is sent to Transylvania, Romania to work on some papers for a mysterious Count Dracula. Whilst staying at the Count's castle Harker begins to realise his…