Résumé
The Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time is a treasury of short fiction by great writers of the past two centuries — from Dickens, Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy to Willa Cather, Damon Runyon and Beatrix Potter. As a literary subject, Christmas has inspired everything from intimate domestic dramas to fanciful flights of the imagination, and the full range of its expression is represented in this wonderfully engaging anthology.
Auteur
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Charles Dickens was an English novelist and social critic known for creating iconic fictional characters. He is considered one of the greatest Victorian-era novelists. His works, such as "A Christmas Carol," "Oliver Twist," and "Great Expectations," are frequently adapted and evoke images of early Victorian London. Dickens drew inspiration from his own experiences, including his father's imprisonment for debt. He began his career as a journalist and writer in his early twenties, and his unique style and humor quickly gained him fame. Dickens was also known for his philanthropy and advocacy for social issues. He made a trip to the United States and Canada in 1842 and expressed his condemnation of slavery. Dickens's novels often depicted the struggles of the poor and disadvantaged, challenging societal norms and advocating for change. Despite some criticism of his sentimentality, Dickens's popularity remained strong, and he is regarded as one of the greatest British novelists. He left a lasting legacy, with museums and festivals dedicated to his life and works.
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Née à l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard en 1874, Lucy Maud Montgomery, comme plusieurs de ses héroïnes, s'est retrouvée orpheline très tôt. Élevée par ses grands-parents, elle a vécu une enfance difficile. Rêvant de devenir écrivaine, Lucy Maud a commencé à écrire à l'âge de neuf ans en tenant son journal intime dans la petite ville de Cavendish, qui ressemble à s'y méprendre au village d'Avonlea où se déroule l'histoire de sa célèbre Anne. Elle a tour à tour été institutrice et journaliste avant de devenir romancière et finalement l'une des auteures canadiennes les plus connues dans le monde.
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Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet known for her novel "Little Women" and its sequels. Raised in New England by transcendentalist parents, she grew up among intellectuals such as Emerson and Thoreau. Alcott began receiving critical success in the 1860s and sometimes used pen names to write lurid stories for adults. "Little Women" was well-received and remains popular today, adapted into plays, films, and TV shows. Alcott was also active in reform movements like temperance and women's suffrage. She died from a stroke just two days after her father's death. Alcott's early life was shaped by her father's strict views on education and her mother's desire to redress wrongs done to women. Poverty forced Alcott to work from an early age, and writing became her creative outlet. She served as a nurse during the Civil War and wrote about her experiences in "Hospital Sketches." Alcott achieved further success with "Little Women" and its sequel "Good Wives." She died at the age of 55, leaving behind a legacy as a feminist and influential author.
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Hans Christian Andersen était un romancier, dramaturge, conteur et poète danois, célèbre pour ses nouvelles et ses contes de fées, écrits dès 1835. On lui doit plusieurs récits célèbres, dont Le Stoïque Soldat de plomb, La Bergère et le Ramoneur, La Reine des neiges, La Princesse au petit pois, La Petite Fille aux allumettes, La Petite Sirène, ou Le Vilain Petit Canard.
Il est traduit dans plus de cent langues et demeure l’un des conteurs les plus populaires.
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Oscar Wilde was a prominent figure in the aestheticism movement, engaging in various literary activities such as publishing poems and lecturing on art. He gained fame with his only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," which incorporated themes of decadence and beauty. Wilde also wrote successful society comedies and was one of the most renowned playwrights of late-Victorian London. However, his fame was overshadowed by a scandal when he prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for libel, leading to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency. Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labor. During his imprisonment, he wrote his last work, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Wilde's life was marked by personal tragedies, including the death of his sister and the loss of his reputation. He left a lasting legacy as a writer and is remembered for his wit and literary contributions.
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Lyman Frank Baum (1856 - 1919) was an American author, actor, and independent filmmaker best known as the creator, along with illustrator W. W. Denslow, of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, one of the most popular books in American children's literature. He wrote thirteen Oz sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and scores of other works; 55 novels, 82 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, as well as many miscellaneous writings.
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Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822), fut tour à tour fonctionnaire, juriste, chef d’orchestre ou encore critique musical. Passionné de musique, de peinture et de littérature, il est compositeur, dessinateur et écrivain. Il connait le succès vers la fin de sa vie grâce à ses contes fantastiques et romantiques.
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Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), dont le véritable nom est Samuel Langhorne Clemens, est né dans la Missouri. Orphelin de père à l'âge de douze ans, il exerce plusieurs métiers : typographe, rédacteur dans un journal, pilote de bateau à vapeur sur le Mississipi. Ne voulant pas se battre au côté des sudistes pour le maintien de l'esclavage, il s'enfuit vers les montagnes du Névada et devient chercheur d'or. A partir de 1864, il exerce l'activité de reporter à San Francisco et se déplace en Europe en tant que correspondant de presse. Romancier, humoriste et essayiste, il décrira avec réalisme et sévérité la société américaine.
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Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer from an aristocratic family. He took part in the Crimean war and after the defense of Sevastopol wrote The Sevastopol Sketches (1855-6), which established his literary reputation. He is the author, among many other works, of War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877), often cited as pinnacles of realistic fiction.
Auteur(s) : Charles Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Lucy Maud Montgomery, O. Henry, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Louisa May Alcott, The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Oscar Wilde, L. Frank Baum, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy
Caractéristiques
Auteur(s) : Charles Dickens, Beatrix Potter, Lucy Maud Montgomery, O. Henry, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Louisa May Alcott, The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Oscar Wilde, L. Frank Baum, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy
Publication : 4 novembre 2025
Support(s) : Livre numérique eBook [ePub]
Protection(s) : Aucune (ePub)
Taille(s) : 3,6 Mo (ePub)
EAN13 Livre numérique eBook [ePub] : 9789895622511
