Authors: Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754

In Success Stories

By Carol Thompson

"Joseph Andrews, Vol. 1" by Henry Fielding is a novel published in 1742. When virtuous footman Joseph Andrews rejects his employer Lady Booby's advances, he loses his position and sets out from London to reunite with his true love, Fanny Goodwill. Along the road, he encounters his mentor, the absent-minded Parson Abraham Adams, and together they na...

Authors: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616

In Motivational

By Carol Thompson

"Ein Sommernachtstraum" by William Shakespeare is a comedy play written in about 1595 or 1596. Set in Athens and an enchanted forest, the play weaves together multiple stories: four young lovers caught in romantic confusion, amateur actors rehearsing a wedding performance, and fairy royals engaged in their own quarrels. When mischievous fairies use...

Authors: Raisson, Horace, 1798-1854

In Motivational

By Carol Thompson

"Code galant, ou, Art de Conter fleurette" by Horace Raisson is a treatise on the art of love and courtship written in the early 19th century. This work explores the intricacies of romance, the nature of love, and the essential skills needed to be charming and appealing to potential partners. It reflects a time when social etiquette and the delicat...

Authors: Abbadie, Arnauld d', 1815-1893

In Success Stories

By Carol Thompson

"Douze ans de séjour dans la Haute-Éthiopie" by Arnauld d'Abbadie is a travel account published between 1868 and 1999. The work chronicles the adventures of brothers Arnauld and Antoine d'Abbadie in Abyssinia from 1837 to 1849. They navigated treacherous political landscapes, religious conflicts, and hostile territories while pursuing scientific go...

Authors: Thackeray, William Makepeace, 1811-1863

In Inspiration

By Carol Thompson

"La foire aux vanités, Tome II" by William Makepeace Thackeray is a novel first published as a monthly serial from 1847 to 1848. This satirical tale follows the cunning Becky Sharp and gentle Amelia Sedley through British society during the Napoleonic Wars. Framed as a puppet show with an unreliable narrator, the story weaves ambition, romance, and...

Authors: Séverine, 1855-1929

In Goal Setting

By Carol Thompson

"Le droit à l'avortement by Séverine" is a polemical journalistic essay written in the late 19th century. It challenges the legal and moral order of its time, arguing for women’s right to end a pregnancy and denouncing social hypocrisy around sexuality, motherhood, and the state’s demands for population growth. The piece opens on the “Toulon scanda...

Authors: Lagerlöf, Selma, 1858-1940

In Goal Setting

By Carol Thompson

"Gösta Berling: Erzählungen aus dem alten Wermland" by Selma Lagerlöf is a novel published in 1891. Set in 1820s Värmland, Sweden, it follows a disgraced pastor who becomes leader of a group of cavaliers living on the Ekeby estate. These former officers and impoverished nobles spend their days in revelry, love affairs, and entertainment. When they ...

Authors: Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895

In Inspiration

By Carol Thompson

"My Bondage and My Freedom" by Frederick Douglass is an autobiographical slave narrative published in 1855. The second of Douglass's three autobiographies, it expands upon his first narrative, depicting in greater detail his journey from enslavement to freedom. Following his liberation, Douglass became a prominent abolitionist, orator, author, news...

Authors: Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885

In Success Stories

By Carol Thompson

"Os Trabalhadores do Mar" by Victor Hugo is a novel published in 1866. Set on Guernsey after the Napoleonic Wars, it follows Gilliatt, a social outcast who loves Deruchette, his shipowner's niece. When her uncle's steamship wrecks on a dangerous reef, she promises to marry whoever salvages the engine. Gilliatt volunteers for this perilous mission, ...