Best of
19th-Century

1890

Selected Poems


Emily Dickinson - 1890
    Includes "There's a certain slant of light," "Because I could not stop for death," "It was not death for I stood up."

A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four


Arthur Conan Doyle - 1890
    John Watson. Recently discharged from the military, Watson takes a room with an amazing young man — the arrogant crime expert, Sherlock Holmes. Their investigation of a bizarre crime proves to be an auspicious beginning for one of the most illustrious crime-solving partnerships of all time.The second tale, The Sign of Four, is an incredible story of greed and revenge in which Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman on a mission that leads to a terrifying, one-legged man in the dark heart of London.A thrilling experience for legions of Holmes fans, these exciting tales will also serve as an excellent introduction to readers who have never made the acquaintance of this incomparable detective and his colleague.

The Eternal Husband and Other Stories


Fyodor Dostoevsky - 1890
    Filled with many of the themes and concerns central to his great novels, these short works display the full range of Dostoevsky’s genius. The centerpiece of this collection, the short novel The Eternal Husband, describes the almost surreal meeting of a cuckolded widower and his dead wife’s lover. Dostoevsky’s dark brilliance and satiric vision infuse the other four tales with all-too-human characters, including a government official who shows up uninvited at an underling’s wedding to prove his humanity; a self-deceiving narrator who struggles futilely to understand his wife’s suicide; and a hack writer who attends a funeral and ends up talking with the dead.The Eternal Husband and Other Stories is sterling Dostoevsky—a collection of emotional power and uncompromising insight into the human condition.

Hunger


Knut Hamsun - 1890
    The book brilliantly probes the psychodynamics of alienation, obsession, and self-destruction, painting an unforgettable portrait of a man driven by forces beyond his control to the edge of the abyss. Hamsun influenced many of the major 20th-century writers who followed him, including Kafka, Joyce and Henry Miller. Required reading in world literature courses, the highly influential, landmark novel will also find a wide audience among lovers of books that probe the "unexplored crannies in the human soul" (George Egerton).

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge


Ambrose Bierce - 1890
    A noose is tied around his neck. In a moment he will meet his fate: DEATH BY HANGING. There is no escape. Or is there? Find out in . . . An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.

Poems by Emily Dickinson, Series One


Emily Dickinson - 1890
    However, there is a running Japanese thesaurus at the bottom of each page for the more difficult English words highlighted in the text. There are many editions of Poems of Emily Dickinson, Series 1. This edition would be useful if you would like to enrich your Japanese-English vocabulary, whether for self-improvement or for preparation in advanced of college examinations. Websters edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number of difficult and potentially ambiguous English words. Rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are given lower priority compared to difficult, yet commonly used English words. Rather than supply a single translation, many words are translated for a variety of meanings in Japanese, allowing readers to better grasp the ambiguity of English without using the notes as a pure translation crutch. Having the reader decipher a words meaning within context serves to improve vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on previous pages. This edition is helpful to Japanese-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL), or in a TOEFL or TOEIC preparation program. Students who are actively building their vocabularies in Japanese or English may also find this useful for Advanced Placement (AP) tests. TOEFL, TOEIC, AP and Advanced Placement are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. This book is one of a series of Websters paperbacks that allows the reader to obtain more value from the experience ofreading. Translations are from Websters Online Dictionary, derived from a meta-analysis of public sources, cited on the site.

The Indolence of the Filipino


José Rizal - 1890
    Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (1861-1896) was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree sobresaliente. Rizal enrolled in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then travelled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891). As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He is considered the Philippines' national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day.

Novels 1886–1890: The Princess Casamassima / The Reverberator / The Tragic Muse


Henry James - 1890
    The Princess Casamassima was published in 1886, a year that saw riots of the unemployed in London. It is a political novel in which anarchists and terrorists conspire within a fin de siècle world of opulence and glamour. The action ranges from palaces to slums, from London to Paris to Venice and back again. The novel’s hero, Hyacinth Robinson, is torn between his loyalty to revolutionary causes—for which he is about to commit an act of violence that may cost him his life—and his taste for the artistic side of aristocratic culture, represented in part by the beautiful, wealthy, compassionate, and yet deceptive Princess of the title. Possibly to save Hyacinth, she becomes romantically involved with his fellow conspirator Paul Muniment, a calculating political operative, idealistic and treacherous by turns. Assassination plots, sexual betrayals, murder, suicide, and the fierce play of conflicting loyalties—all these bring into play an intricate abundance of attendant figures, like the rakish Captain Sholto and the appealing but faithless Millicent Henning.The Reverberator (1888) is a swiftly paced comic novel named after a newspaper that caters to the American public’s appetite for the “society news of every quarter of the globe.” Francie Dosson, the free-spirited daughter of a wealthy Boston family, innocently provides gossip to George Flack, a “young commercial American” who writes for the paper. His published report imperils her engagement to Gaston Probert, whose family is outraged by the airing of its secrets. James portrays the collision of easily shocked Old World propriety and self-assured New World naiveté with benevolent affection and spirited delight.The Tragic Muse (1890) explores with a topical realism not usually found in James the conflicts between art and politics, society and the Bohemian life. It does so with dazzling glimpses of Parisian theater and of London aestheticism, as articulated by the flamboyant and idealistic Gabriel Nash. At its center are four superbly drawn characters. The fascinating Miriam Rooth is an actress of overwhelming egotistic vitality and dedication to her art. Her suitor, the diplomat Peter Sherringham, is impassioned by her theatrical talent even while asking her to sacrifice it for his career. Nick Dormer faces a similar predicament in his engagement to the rich Julia Dallow, who wants him to forgo his painting so as to make use of her fortune in pursuit of his career in Parliament. Full of witty talk and vividly dramatic scenes, the novel includes a vast array of characters such as the impressive political matriarch Lady Dormer. Perhaps more than any of his novels, it attests to James’s recognition of the costs of any dedication, like his own, to creative achievement.

Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago


Mrs. Oliphant - 1890
    Much of Margaret Oliphant's fiction examines the position of women and the injustice and sterility of denying women outlets of fulfillment, most notably in Kirsteen, one of her last and greatest novels.

Life in Jesus: A Memoir of Mrs. Mary Winslow, Arranged from Her Correspondence, Diary, and Thoughts. By Her Son Octavius Winslow, D. D.


Octavius Winslow - 1890
    When she died, he took excerpts from her correspondence and memorialized her devotion to God in this book. In his foreword, Dr. Joel Beeke says, "Life in Jesus, a memoir of Octavius Winslow's mother, is a veritable treasure of experimental and practical divinity. Living, vital Christianity is here set before us in undeniable reality. Would you like guidance in learning how to live more closely to Christ, how to walk more by faith than by sight, how to be patient in adversity and thankful in prosperity, how to wrestle at the throne of grace? Buy and read Life in Jesus prayerfully".

The Journal of Sir Walter Scott


Walter Scott - 1890
    I have myself lost recollection of much that was interesting and I have deprived my family and the public of some curious information by not carrying this resolution into effect." Sunday, 20 November 1825 With these words Scott began what many regard as his greatest work, a diary which was to turn into an extraordinary day-to-day account of the last six years of his life, years of financial ruin, bereavement, and increasing ill-health. As he labored to pay off debts, Scott emerges, not simply as great writer, but as an almost heroic figure whose generosity and even temper shine through at all times. This revised edition presents a complete edited text and notes drawing on a wealth of other material. The first edition of this book is regarded as one of the standards by which Scott scholarship is judged. Edited and Introduced by WEK Anderson.

A Short History of the Confederate States of America


Jefferson Davis - 1890
     The conflict developed as a result of complicated and intertwined political, economic, and social circumstances. This period in American history tends to be told from the view of the victors — how the Union, following the lead of President Abraham Lincoln, reclaimed those states attempting to secede and brought them back into the fold. Far less often is the conflict depicted by the vanquished. Written by Jefferson Davis, who served as the Confederate States’ president during the entirety of its existence, A Short History of the Confederate States of America tells the story of the secession of the southern states from the Union. The tale begins with the circumstances leading to secession, through the Civil War and on to the surrender of the Southern armies and the capture of President Davis. Davis sets out a case for establishing the constitutional right of secession and the violation of such rights by the government of the United States of America. The Union’s unwillingness to acknowledge such constitutional infringement and rectify the matter resulted, Davis explains, in secession proving to be the only viable course of action for southern, slave-holding states who sought to protect themselves. Published in 1890, twenty-five years after the end of the Civil War, Davis’s account reveals a version of the events of the Civil War that is rarely seen. Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was born in Kentucky, and is best known for serving as the President of the Confederate States of America between 1862 and 1865. Prior to the secession of the South, he held positions as a US Representative and Senator and as the 23rd US Secretary of War. He was captured at the end of the Civil War, indicted for treason, and imprisoned for two years, but was released without trial. In 1881 he wrote The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, followed by A Short History of the Confederate States of America in 1890. He died a few months after the book’s completion of acute bronchitis complicated by malaria.

The Bondman


Hall Caine - 1890
    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The Emancipated


George Gissing - 1890
    But will life change when they return to their own hearthsides?Reminiscent of George Eliot's Middlemarch, The Emancipated tells us as much about Victorian society -- with all its prejudices and rigid conventions -- as it does about one's woman's growth to human understanding. Published in 1890, it was Gissing's last novel before the more embittered view of New Grub Street -- a proclamation of hope, of freedom in the midst of Victorian darkness.

In Darkest England and the Way Out (Patterson Smith series in criminology, law enforcement, and social problems, publication 142)


William Booth - 1890
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.