Enter the sumptuous world of 17th century Florence, where art and magic are interwoven. Artemisia Gentileschi is a bright talent mired in shadows and will stop at nothing to make her mark, or exact her revenge – perfect for fans of Susanna Clarke. When Artemisia Gentileschi arrives in Florence seeking a haven for her art, she faces instant opposition from the powerful Accademia, self-proclaimed guardians of the healing and necrotic magic that protect the city from plague and curses...

Macmillan Readers v úrovni Intermediate můžete číst asi po třech až čtyřech letech studia angličtiny. K porozumění vám postačí slovní zásoba 1600 slov. Knihy mají až 128 stran. When Tess Durbeyfield is sent by her family to seek out her rich relatives, she soon finds herself pursued and violently seduced by the ruthless Alex D'Urberville. The sad event which follows gives Tess the chance to hide her past and move on. Eventually she falls in love and finds happiness with Angel Clare, a clergyman's son. But Tess's honest nature means she is doomed to never escape her past as events force her to finally take control of her fate.

Egon Schiele had many faces: the exceptionally talented artistic genius; the sensitive creator of peaceful landscapes and the shameless narcissist, who produced no fewer than 170 self-portraits; and the perpetual child and sex maniac, in whose studio young women and girls lifted their skirts. His work undoubtedly ranks him among the greatest artists of the Modern age. His scandal-prone life is the stuff of legend, immortalised in novels and films. But who was the real Egon Schiele? Featuring over 150 illustrations, this fascinating book paints a portrait of one of the most intriguing artistic personalities of the 20th century. Step by step, we follow Schiele through his life – from childhood to his happy interlude in Krummau, from the crisis of his arrest to the artistic triumph that came only shortly before his death aged just 28.

Stage 3 (1000 headwords) - Victor Frankenstein thinks he has found the secret of life. He takes parts from dead people and builds a new 'man'. But this monster is so big and frightening that everyone runs away from him - even Frankenstein himself! The monster is like an enormous baby who needs love. But nobody gives him love, and soon he learns to hate. And, because he is so strong, the next thing he learns is how to kill . . .

Bohemian Jewry is of necessity difficult to categorize as a unitary element in terms of tendency and affiliation. The Jewish community is very ancient and undeniably local. But Bohemian character is of various kinds and colours. We should be wary of confounding collective generalizations with individual preferences and character. We can however generalize about group tendencies to associate with the Czech or German element, or, on the other hand, with a perceived need to reinforce and adapt an inbuilt separateness. These are the forces and the counterforces. We are considering here a nugatory minority staking out a claim, either to be included within the larger blocks of the population, or, contrarily, to be recognized as a legitimate and actual sub-section. The difficulties that Masaryk encountered in the accommodation of rival patterns of ethnic, religious and linguistic difference within a single governable unit, were also within the experience of the Jews, in their own accommodation to the changing scenario.

Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California on the "mother road", along with thousands of other "Okies" seeking jobs, land, dignity, and a future.

The story, which is set in British Nigeria, centers on Okonkwo, a traditional influential leader of the fictional Igbo clan, Umuofia, who opposes colonialism and early Christianity. Things Fall Apart formed the first part of Achebe's "African trilogy" with his novels No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God. The novel explores many themes, especially culture, masculinity, and colonialism.

"On the Road" swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, its American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than Scott Fitzgerald, and it goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion.

When NUMA agent Dirk Pitt rescues a beautiful undercover agent in a daring underwater operation at Orion Lake, just north of Seattle, he confronts a sinister network run by Qin Shang, a ruthless smuggler who sells Chinese immigrants into slavery. Shang's campaign contributions have bought him a collection of powerful U.S. politicians, but Pitt is not a man to be subverted by politics. As he moves to probe Shang's mystifying seaport in the Louisiana bayous, his investigation involves him in an adrenaline-pumped race up the Mississippi River and a desperate dash to recover sunken Chinese treasures lost half a century before. And in Qin Shang, Pitt faces ones of his most formidable foes—a madman bent on killing thousands of innocent civilians with a catastrophic surge of mass destruction.

On 7 December 1941, four brothers exploring a shaft on a small island off the coast of Washington state make an extraordinary discovery, only to be interrupted by news of Pearl Harbour. In the present, Cabrillo, chasing the remnants of a crashed satellite in the Argentine jungle, makes a shocking discovery of his own. His search to untangle the mystery leads him, first, to that small island and its secret, and then much farther back, to an ancient Chinese expedition, and a curse that seems to have survived for over five hundred years. If Cabrillo's team is successful in its quest, the reward could be incalculable. If not . . . the only reward is death.

Susan Fletcher has been summoned to the one of the world's most secretive organisations, the National Security Agency. Their unbeatable code-breaking machine has been hacked. Susan is supposed to be able to help. But instead she uncovers the truth. They are being held hostage. Can she protect her country from the most deadly of enemies?

In Gustav Meyrinks "Walpurgisnacht" entfaltet sich ein faszinierendes und mystisches Narrativ, das vor dem Hintergrund der Walpurgisnacht in der schillernden Stadt Prag spielt. Diese Erzählung verbindet Elemente der Schauermär, des Okkulten und des spirituellen Suchens, prägend für den literarischen Expressionismus der frühen 20. Jahrhunderts...

Once upon a time the distinction had been the Circus handled all things political while the Department dealt with matters military. But over the years, power shifted and the Circus elbowed the Department out. Now, suddenly, the Department has a job on its hands. Evidence suggests Soviet missiles are being positioned close to the German border. Vital film is missing and a courier is dead. Lacking active agents, but possessed of an outdated mandate to proceed, the Department has to find an old hand to prove its mettle. Fred Leiser, German-speaking Pole turned Englishman -- once a qualified radio operator, now involved in the motor trade -- must be called back to the colors and sent East....

Contemporary / British EnglishMark Sway is eleven and he knows a terrible secret. He knows where a body is hidden. Some secrets are so dangerous that its better not to tell. But its just as dangerous if you dont. So Mark needs help fast... because there isnt much time.

Contemporary / American English Detective Somerset has seven days before he can retire from work and escape from the city. Detective Mills is starting his first week on the job. This story is about seven days and seven shocking murders. The serial killer has one thing on his mind -- seven deadly sins.

Homicide Detective Alex Cross teams up with his wife to beat a D. C. criminal at his own game. Washington, DC, has never been more dangerous. After shots pierce the tranquil nighttime calm of Rock Creek Park, a man is dead: what looks at first like road rage might be something much more sinister.

Lamont has a special job for Garano. As part of a new public relations campaign about the dangers of declining neighborhoods, she’s sending him to Watertown to “come up with a drama,” and she thinks she knows just the case that will serve. Garano is very skeptical, because he knows that Watertown is also the home base for a loose association of municipal police departments called the FRONT, set up in order that they don’t have to be so dependent on the state—much to Lamont’s anger. He senses a much deeper agenda here—but he has no idea just how deep it goes. In the days that follow, he’ll find that Lamont’s task, and the places it leads him, will resemble a house of mirrors—everywhere he turns, he’s not quite sure if what he’s seeing is true.

Apart from the classical fairy-tale with illustrations by Jiří Trnka the book offers beautiful fold-up puppets made by this world-famous Czech illustrator and creator of puppet films. Four stage sets are attached which children may use to play out the fairy-tale. This arran­gement offers fun as part of a creative activity and boosts the children’s imagination.

Pip lives in the marshland of rural England with his older sister and her husband Joe. One day he meets Magwitch, an escaped convict, who asks for his help. Then, Pip is invited by Miss Havisham, a wealthy but eccentric lady, to meet Estella, a beautiful girl whom he immediately falls in love with. How will the encounter with the convict affect Pip’s life and will Estella ever return his love? / Retold by Virginia Evans & Jenny Dooley. Comics with Audio CD

Lenka Reinerovas Geschichten sind eine Schule in der Wahrnehmung des Guten, Schönen, Freundlichen und Lehrstücke für die Bewältigung von Krisen. Der Schlüssel, den sie uns dafür in die Hand gibt, heißt Aufmerksamkeit in jeder beliebigen Situation, gegenüber jedem winzigen Detail. Ihre Geschichten vermitteln eine ernste Zuversicht, daß man auch lebensbedrohliche Situationen bewältigen kann, wenn man sich nicht aufgibt und die Fünkchen Freude im Alltag sammelt.