McTeague

Frank Norris

Summary

McTeague is a dentist of limited intellect from a poor miner's family, who has opened a dentist shop on Polk Street in San Francisco. (His first name is never revealed; other characters in the novel call him simply "Mac.") His best friend, Marcus Schouler, brings his cousin, Trina Sieppe, whom he is courting, to McTeague's parlor for dental work. McTeague becomes infatuated with her while working on her teeth, and Marcus graciously steps aside. McTeague successfully woos Trina. Shortly after McTeague and Trina have kissed and declared their love for each other, Trina discovers that she has won $5000 from a lottery ticket. In the ensuing celebration Trina's mother, Mrs Sieppe, announces that McTeague and Trina are to marry. Marcus becomes jealous of McTeague, and claims that he has been cheated out of money that would have been rightfully his if he had married Trina.

Available since: 03/12/2006.

Other books that might interest you

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Anne Brontë

"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that delves into the themes of love, redemption, and the struggle for personal freedom in 19th-century England. Set in a society bound by strict social norms, the story follows the journey of Helen Graham, a mysterious young woman who takes up residence at the secluded Wildfell Hall. "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" offers a searing critique of the oppressive gender roles and double standards that pervaded Victorian society. Through Helen's story, the novel explores themes of women's agency, the destructive power of addiction, and the importance of personal accountability. Anne Bronte's uncompromising portrayal of the consequences of toxic relationships serves as a powerful social commentary and a call for change. With its richly developed characters, evocative descriptions of the English countryside, and compelling exploration of moral dilemmas, "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" is a timeless novel that examines the complexities of human nature and the transformative power of love and redemption. It is a story that resonates with readers, reminding us of the enduring struggle for personal freedom and the courage required to challenge societal norms in pursuit of a better life.

Show book

Missy's Room (Unabridged)

L. M. Montgomery

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 - April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. The book was an immediate success. The title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following.Missy's Room: Mrs. Falconer and Miss Bailey walked home together through the fine blue summer afternoon from the Ladies' Aid meeting at Mrs. Robinson's. They were talking earnestly; that is to say, Miss Bailey was talking earnestly and volubly, and Mrs. Falconer was listening.

Show book

The Return of Tarzan

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan had renounced his right to the woman he loved, and civilization held no pleasure for him. After a brief and harrowing period among men, he turned back to the African jungle where he had grown to manhood. It was there he first heart of Opar, the city of gold, left over from fabled Atlantis. 
 
It was a city of hideous men—and of beautiful, savage women, over whom reigned La, high priestess of the Flaming God. Its altars were stained with the blood of many sacrifices. Unheeding of the dangers, Tarzan led a band of savage warriors toward the ancient crypts and the more ancient evil of Opar.

Show book

Very Old Folk The (Unabridged)

H.P. Lovecraft

It is a recording of a dream, where the protagonist is a Roman military official in the Vascon country near Pompelo. The countryside is, every year, ravaged by terrible hill people who kidnap citizens and perform cruel rituals at a Sabbath. The narrator wishes to lead a military expedition to crush these hill folk, as a feeling of approaching evil has enveloped the countryside, due to a riot between the citizens and the hill people. These hill folk came to trade, yet some of these are killed and later, no disappearances occur before the time of the Sabbath. The incursion is guided by a local-born son of Roman parents. As the Romans approach the seat of the Sabbath rituals, something terrible attacks them and in an instant, horrible things come to pass: "He had killed himself when the horses screamed... He, who had been born and lived all his life in that region, and knew what men whispered about the hills. All the torches now began to dim, and the cries of frightened legionaries mingled with the unceasing screams of the tethered horses. The air grew perceptibly colder, more suddenly so than is usual at November's brink, and seemed stirred by terrible undulations which I could not help connecting with the beating of huge wings." The story ends with the narrator waking up and claiming that "it was the most vivid dream in years, drawing upon wells of the subconscious long untouched and forgotten".

Show book

Bensons The - A Short Story...

E F Benson

Sibling rivalry can be a means of support but can also erupt into competitive traits of winners and losers.

In this literary instance dear listener, YOU are undoubtedly the recipient of this rivalry. Having said that these are not the usual stories to be told in polite company, no, extinguish that idea immediately. These three brothers (their sister seems far too nice to be in a volume such as this), seem to dwell with dark thoughts, in shadowed recesses and with literary creations that linger in the mind for more than a while. Curious then that these authors are not only brothers but sons of the Bishop of Canterbury, whose 4 surviving children, never married.

Edward Frederic, better known as E F Benson, a Cambridge alumni, was one of the most popular and coveted of the turn of the century authors, with a glorious way of creating soul-searing mayhem in the span of a few pages of a short story, as well as being a novelist, biographer, memoirist and archaeologist.

His brother, Arthur Christopher, also a Cambridge graduate, and better known perhaps as A C Benson in the essay, poetry and academic circles was as accomplished and fiendish.

The third Cambridge attending brother, Robert Hugh, and yes, better known as R H Benson, was a novelist across several genres and a short story writer who was also a Catholic priest. Perhaps that gave him an edge. Although not as well-known as his brothers it may be that the shadows he inhabited were a grand place to meet reprobates that are better known as the subject of scurrilous conversation rather than in the flesh.

Taken together this band of brothers have the literary chops to rise above most others in the ghost and horror veins of fictional literature. Well, we assume its fictional, don’t we?

01 - The Bensons - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction
02 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson
03 - The Blood Eagle by R H Benson
04 - The Room in the Tower by E F Benson
05 - The Closed Window by A C Benson
06 - Caterpillars by E F Benson

Show book

Anne of the Island (Unabridged)

L. M. Montgomery

Anne leaves Green Gables and her work as a teacher in Avonlea to pursue her original dream (which she gave up in Anne of Green Gables) of taking further education at Redmond College in Kingsport, Nova Scotia. Gilbert Blythe and Charlie Sloane enroll as well, as does Anne's friend from Queen's Academy, Priscilla Grant. During her first week of school, Anne befriends Philippa Gordon, a beautiful girl whose frivolous ways charm her. Philippa (Phil for short) also happens to be from Anne's birthplace in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia.

Show book