Showing results for "Of Hope" in Classics

The Prisoner of Zenda is the story of an Englishman who travels to the small European state of Ruritania where he impersonates the ruler and falls in love with Princess Flavia.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton's book is ostensibly a work of Science Fiction. It deals with an underground race of advanced beings, masters of Vril energy - a strange power that can both heal and destroy - who intend to leave their subterranean existence and conquer the world. But the book has been seen by many as a barely concealed account of Hidden Wisdom, a theory that has attracted many strange bed-fellows, including the French author Louis Jacolliot, the Polish explorer Ferdinand Ossendowsky, and Adolf Hitler.

The Galactic Empire has prospered for 12,000 years. Nobody suspects that the heart of the thriving Empire is rotten, until psychohistorian Hari Seldon uses his new science to foresee its terrible fate. Exiled to the desolate planet Terminus, Seldon establishes a colony of the greatest minds in the Empire, a Foundation which holds the key to changing the fate of the galaxy.

The First Foundation survived two centuries of barbarism as the once-mighty Galactic Empire descended into chaos. Now it must prepare for war against the remnants of the Empire as the Imperial fleet advances on their planet, Terminus. Hari Seldon predicted this war; he even prepared his Foundation for it. But he couldn’t foresee the birth of the mutant Mule. In possession of a power which reduces fearsome opposition to devoted slaves, the Mule poses a terrible threat to Seldon’s Foundation. 

Faced with determining the fate of the galaxy, Golan Trevize hesitantly chose to hand over the rule of the galaxy to planet Gaia. Two mysteries now remain: who has erased the records of Earth – and why? Determined to ensure his choice was right, Golan sets off with Janov Pelorat and Bliss, to answer these questions once and for all. But nothing could prepare them for the secrets which await them on Earth. Secrets which predate history as they know it, and will change its significance forever.

In a time before the Foundations, psychohistory’s creator Hari Seldon is made to stand before the Emperor of the crumbling Galactic Empire to present how his scientific theory of predicting the future might be applied to the real world. However, Hari refuses to deploy his theory for political gain, setting off instead with reporter Chetter Hummin in quest of a place to safely apply his theory: Earth, the original home of humanity. All records of Earth have been lost to time. Hari will therefore have to look back into the past, in order to seal the future of humanity for ever.

LongBefore H.P. Lovecraft defined cosmic horror, a generation of pioneering writers was already exploring the unknown. Of the Unknown: Before Lovecraft collects 11 influential tales of early science fiction, weird fiction, and speculative horror that shaped the genre’s foundations. Featuring...

Rudolf Rassendyll travels to the small kingdom of Ruritania for what should be a quiet holiday. But when the newly crowned king is drugged and kidnapped, Rudolf's uncanny resemblance to him pulls him into a dangerous plan. To prevent a national crisis, he agrees to impersonate the king. As he steps into royal life, Rudolf must navigate court politics, betrayal, and a plot to seize the throne.

Tautly-written and suspenseful, Burning Chrome collects 10 of William Gibson’s best short stories with a preface from Bruce Sterling, co-Cyberpunk and editor of the seminal anthology Mirrorshades. These brilliant, high-resolution stories show Gibson's characters and intensely-realized worlds at his absolute best.

Stunning full-cast production of the classic mystery thriller set on the cusp of the First World War First published in 1920, The Great Impersonation was a runaway best-seller. Listen now to this stunning full-cast adaptation, available as a download for the first time. It’s early 1914 and two...

It's 1979, and Rabbit is no longer running. He's walking and beginning to get out of breath. That's okay, though - it gives him the chance to enjoy the wealth that comes with middle age. It's all in place: he's chief sales representative and co-owner of Springer motors; his wife, at home or in the club, is keeping trim; he wears good suits; and the cash is pouring in. So why is it that he finds it so hard to accept the way that things have turned out?

It's been two years since war broke out and the dangers of war are becoming ever more real for the Calvert-Lazenby family. With Raven Hall requisitioned as a maternity hospital, Rosina is rushed off her feet helping to care for the new young mothers and barely has the time to worry about young sergeant Harry who has been posted abroad. Until foreboding news arrives . . .

Will Stark has been sent on a mission to save the life of a young woman named Elizabeth. He does not know who is threatening her or why. He knows only that failure is not an option, for it will mean three of the most important people in his life will cease to exist. Will finds himself in a unique medieval village constructed deep in a forest, its residents prosperous and healthy to an unnatural degree. Their leader, a man named Arthur, weaves an alluring tale....

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins was born on 9th February 1863 in Clapton, London. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford. Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. Despite what was thought to be a promising legal career, he had literary ambitions and wrote in his spare time. His early works appeared in various periodicals of the day but for his first book, ‘A Man of Mark’ (1890), with no publisher interested, he published with his own resources.

Two stunning dramatisations from one of the twentieth century’s most beloved authors Sink into the lyrical landscapes and beautifully observed lives of J. L. Carr’s finest stories, brought to life in these glorious, full-cast dramatisations starring Shaun Dingwall (Noughts and Crosses, Top...

Rupert of Hentzau is a sequel by Anthony Hope to "The Prisoner of Zenda", written in 1895, but not published until 1898. This story commences three years after the conclusion of Zenda, and deals with the same fictional country somewhere in Germanic Middle Europe, the kingdom of Ruritania.

An incriminating love-letter from the Queen of Ruritania to Rudolph Rassendyll, the hero of The Prisoner of Zenda, is intercepted by the dastardly villain Rupert of Hentzau, who is intent on causing trouble for the Royal Family. Rassendyll is forced to return to save the day and again assume his impersonation of King Rudolph. Once more he is embroiled in a world of deception, intrigue, deadly swordfights and strained loyalties, but will he be able to restore peace to Ruritania a second time?

The ultimate escapist adventure story, The Prisoner of Zenda transports the listener into a bygone era, awash with swashbuckling heroism, cunning plots and courtly love. The popularity of Hope’s tale of intrigue was such that it spawned an entirely new genre known as the ‘Ruritanian romance’. When the King of Ruritania is kidnapped, the onus falls on a British tourist, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the King, to stand in for him and to avert disaster by coming to his rescue.

"The Prisoner of Zenda" is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his coronation must go forward. An English gentleman on holiday who fortuitously resembles the monarch, is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an attempt to save the situation.

This swashbuckling romance transports a droll young English gentleman from his comfortable life in London to a fast-moving adventure in a mythical country steeped in political intrigue. Rudolf Rassendyll, pondering his life’s purpose, sets out on a journey to the tiny European kingdom of Ruritania, where he discovers that he bears a marked physical resemblance to the king.