Melville House

"e;Ever since I could chase a bone, I've longed to talk...."e;The first talking-dog story in Western literaturefrom the writer generally acknowledged, alongside William Shakespeare, as the founding father of modern literature, no less?Indeed, The Dialogue of the Dogs features, in a condensed, powerful version, all the traits the...

Our woe is upon us.This chilling tale of one man's descent into madness was published shortly before the author was institutionalized for insanity, and so The Horla has inevitably been seen as informed by Guy de Maupassant's mental illness. While such speculation is murky, it is clear that de Maupassanthailed alongside Chekhov...

"e;Why, you simple creatures, the weakest of all weak things is a virtue which has not been tested in the fire."e;Written on hotel stationary while in Europe on the run from American creditors, soon after the death of a daughter, The Man That Corrupted Handleyburg is often cited as a work of bitter cynicisma statement on...

"e;It's an ugly business, Watson, an ugly dangerous business, and the more I see of it the less I like it."e;Sherlock Holmes had been dead for eight yearskilled of in another storywhen Arthur Conan Doyle decided to bring the famous detective back for a new story that he told friends was turning into "e;a real...

About This Book"e;Haven't you heard of the duel going on ever since 1801?"e;An exciting, swashbuckling thriller based on a true story about two of Napoleon's soldiers.Conrad's brilliantly ironic tale about two officers in Napoleon's Grand Army who, under a futile pretext, fought an on-going series of duels throughout the Napoleanic Wars....

"e;I am acting badly,"e; thought Yevgeny, "e;But what's one to do? Anyhow it is not for long."e;Leo Tolstoy is known for epic novels that brilliantly dissect society, but the novella The Devil may be the most personally revealingand startlingfiction he ever wrote. He thought it so scandalous, in fact, that he hid the...