Portfolio 2 Columns

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most important and influential American writers of the 19th century. He was the first author to try to make a professional living as a writer. Much of Poe’s work was inspired by the events that happened around him. His poetry alone would ensure his spot in the literary canon. Poe’s notable verses range from the early masterpiece “To Helen” to the dark, mysterious “Ulalume.” From “The Raven,” which made him world-famous upon its publication in 1845, to “Annabel Lee,” the posthumously published eulogy for a maiden “in a kingdom by the sea.” Most famously, Poe completely transformed the genre of the horror story with his masterful tales of psychological depth and insight not envisioned in the genre before his time and scarcely seen in it since. Stories like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” reveal Poe’s talent at its height. He was an early pioneer in the genre of science fiction. Poe was fascinated by the science of his time, and he often wrote stories about new inventions. Poe too is credited with inventing the modern detective story with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” His concept of deductive reasoning, which he called “ratiocination” inspired countless authors, most famous among them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. 

A Tale of Two Cities is an 1859 historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Dickens’ best-known work of historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities is regularly cited as the best-selling novel of all time. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC’s The Big Read poll. The novel has been adapted for film, television, radio, and the stage, and has continued to have an influence on popular culture. 

A Tale of Two Cities is an 1859 historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Dickens’ best-known work of historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities is regularly cited as the best-selling novel of all time. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC’s The Big Read poll. The novel has been adapted for film, television, radio, and the stage, and has continued to have an influence on popular culture.

A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle. The story marks the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, who would become the most famous detective duo in popular fiction. The book’s title derives from a speech given by Holmes, a consulting detective, to his friend and chronicler Watson on the nature of his work, in which he describes the story’s murder investigation as his “study in scarlet”: “There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Comandante Ernesto Rafael ‘Che” Guevara de la Serna Lynch. Ernesto was born June 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, in a family with aristocratic roots but strong socialistic ideals. In June of 1955 young Ernesto met Raul Castro. On July 8th Fidel Castro arrived in Mexico to join his brother and Ernesto. When Fidel met Che “he was already an educated revolutionary.” Remembers Castro. The great Cuban revolution against tyranny soon followed and was won chiefly because of the dedication of the Castros and Dr. Guevara. On October 8, 1967 in the village La Higuera, Bolivia, Che and two comrades fell into the hands of the army. A Bolivian colonel and the representatives of the CIA, arrived by helicopter. It was decided to murder Che and his comrades Willy Cuba and Juan Pablo Chang immediately. A nervous, young low level Bolivian soldier did the job, Che, the icon and hero of all hearts and minds however, lives forever!

The story of Stephen Dedalus, a boy growing up in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, as he gradually decides to cast off all his social, familial, and religious constraints to live a life devoted to the art of writing. As a young boy, Stephen’s Catholic faith and Irish nationality heavily influence him. He attends a strict religious boarding school called Clongowes Wood College. At first, Stephen is lonely and homesick at the school, but as time passes he finds his place among the other boys. He enjoys his visits home, even though family tensions run high after the death of the Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell. This sensitive subject becomes the topic of a furious, politically charged argument over the family’s Christmas dinner. This is James Joyce’s first novel, the semi-autobiographical story of a young Irish boy who struggles with family, country, and religion to become an artist and a man.

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation. Since his death he has regularly been rated as second only to Shakespeare among British dramatists. Here in this exciting audiobook experience you will find the very best of George Bernard Shaw’s vibrant personality and inspirational words.

Meher Baba, born Merwan Sheriar Iran on February 25, 1894 was a beloved Indian spiritual master who asserted he was the Avatar, or God in human form. When he was just nineteen he contacted five spiritual teachers before beginning his mission and gathering his own disciples in early 1922, at the age of just twenty seven. From July 1925 to the end of his life Baba maintained silence, communicating by means of an alphabet board or unique hand gestures. In 1931, Meher Baba made the first of many visits to the West, where he attracted many dedicated followers. Baba continued what he called his “Universal Work”, which included fasting and seclusion, until his death on January 31,1969. His samadhi in Meherabad, India, has become a place of international pilgrimage.