Biblioteche dell'Alto Adige

Abstract: Alice, William, Robin e Nettie sono i coraggiosi cantastorie di questa raccolta. Ai loro occhi gli adulti non sanno proprio come comportarsi e così decidono che durante l'estate inventeranno dei racconti che insegnino ai grandi… come essere adulti! Li scriverà poi il Redattore designato: William Tinkling, di anni otto. Racconterà di una lisca magica che, per una sola volta, può esaudire qualunque desiderio e viene donata da una Fata a una Principessa. Del Capitano coraggioso Boldheart che combatte la sua guerra contro le angherie del Maestro di Grammatica Latina. E di distinti, educati piccoli signori che accudiscono i grandi come fossero i loro bambini, in un paese incantato dove i ruoli sono ribaltati.

Abstract: Scrooge odia il Natale, ma questa volta la Vigilia ha in serbo qualcosa di speciale per il vecchio avaro, che vive da anni rinchiuso in se stesso. Nella notte, infatti, tre spiriti gli farannovisita per ricordagli chi era un tempo, le persone che ha ferito a causa del suo egoismo e la fine che lo aspetta, se non porrà rimedio ai suoi errori.

Abstract: David Copperfield is also an autobiographical novel: "a very complicated weaving of truth and invention", with events following Dickens's own life. Of the books he wrote, it was his favourite. Called "the triumph of the art of Dickens", it marks a turning point in his work, separating the novels of youth and those of maturity.

Abstract: The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Naively unaware of their unlawful activities, Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin.

Abstract: La storia di Nicholas Nickleby è degna degli intrecci e delle complicazioni umane, tipici, nella letteratura di Charles Dickens. Il giovane Nicholas Nickleby si trova, in giovane età, a dover sostenere la sua famiglia, dopo la perdita del padre. La famiglia, trasferitasi nella caotica Londra, del 1800, cerca appoggio nella figura del fratello del defunto, Ralph Nickleby, che si rivelerà, ben presto, nella sua natura perfida ed egoistica.

Abstract: The role of the explorer and investigator of interesting things was explained by Dickens in the introduction to the work:Allow me to introduce myself--first negatively.No landlord is my friend and brother, no chambermaid loves me, no waiter worships me, no boots admires and envies me. No round of beef or tongue or ham is expressly cooked for me, no pigeon-pie is especially made for me, no hotel-advertisement is personally addressed to me, no hotel-room tapestried with great-coats and railway wrappers is set apart for me, no house of public entertainment in the United Kingdom greatly cares for my opinion of its brandy or sherry. When I go upon my journeys, I am not usually rated at a low figure in the bill; when I come home from my journeys, I never get any commission. I know nothing about prices, and should have no idea, if I were put to it, how to wheedle a man into ordering something he doesn't want. As a town traveller, I am never to be seen driving a vehicle externally like a young and volatile pianoforte van, and internally like an oven in which a number of flat boxes are baking in layers. As a country traveller, I am rarely to be found in a gig, and am never to be encountered by a pleasure train, waiting on the platform of a branch station, quite a Druid in the midst of a light Stonehenge of samples.And yet--proceeding now, to introduce myself positively--I am both a town traveller and a country traveller, and am always on the road. Figuratively speaking, I travel for the great house of Human Interest Brothers, and have rather a large connection in the fancy goods way. Literally speaking, I am always wandering here and there from my rooms in Covent-garden, London--now about the city streets: now, about the country by-roads--seeing many little things, and some great things, which, because they interest me, I think may interest others.These are my chief credentials as the Uncommercial Traveller.

Abstract: William Dorrit è un distinto signore che, governando male i propri affari, finisce nell'impossibilità di saldare i propri debiti. Quando è già padre di due figli, Edward e Fanny, viene incarcerato nella prigione londinese della Marshalsea (ciò avviene una ventina d'anni prima dell'inizio del racconto). La famiglia, secondo la legge, può condividere la sua cella. La moglie, però, muore di lì a poco, mentre Amy, la piccola Dorrit, ha la ventura di nascere dentro la stessa prigione.

Abstract: Il padre di David muore prima della sua nascita e quindi David è costretto a trascorrere l'infanzia senza la presenza di una figura paterna. Allora vive con la madre e la governante Peggotty. La madre di David si sente sola e in seguito si sposa con Mr. Murdstone, un uomo severo e insensibile e accoglie in casa sua sorella che si dimostra addirittura più insensibile del fratello. Entrambi cercano di allontanare David dalla famiglia mandandolo in collegio. Qui David conosce Steerforth, che sarà il suo più grande amico, il compagno Traddles e il severo preside Creakle. Tornato dal college David trova un fratellino nuovo e una madre oppressa dal marito che la porterà alla morte e David verrà costretto a lavorare in una fabbrica di proprietà di un amico del signor Murdstone. David durante questo periodo alloggia presso la famiglia Micawber. Mr. Micawber non è in grado di badare alle spese di casa ; a questo punto David decide di scappare via da Londra.

Abstract: It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period. Much of Dickens' ire is focused upon the institutions of debtors' prisons—in which people who owed money were imprisoned, unable to work, until they have repaid their debts. The representative prison in this case is the Marshalsea where the author's own father had been imprisoned. Most of Dickens' other critiques in this particular novel concern the social safety net: industry and the treatment and safety of workers; the bureaucracy of the British Treasury (as figured in the fictional "Circumlocution Office"); and the separation of people based on the lack of interaction between the classes.

Abstract: Hard Times - For These Times (commonly known as Hard Times) is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times.

Abstract: Great Expectations is Charles Dickens's thirteenth novel. It is his second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. Collected and dense, with a conciseness unusual for Dickens, the novel represents Dickens' peak and maturity as an author.

Abstract: There happened to be on board the steamboat several gentlemen passengers, of the same stamp as Martin's New York friend Mr Bevan; and in their society he was cheerful and happy. They released him as well as they could from the intellectual entanglements of Mrs Hominy; and exhibited, in all they said and did, so much good sense and high feeling, that he could not like them too well.'If this were a republic of Intellect and Worth,' he said, 'instead of vapouring and jobbing, they would not want the levers to keep it in motion.''Having good tools, and using bad ones,' returned Mr Tapley, 'would look as ifthey was rather a poor sort of carpenters, sir, wouldn't it?'Martin nodded. 'As if their work were infinitely above their powers and purpose, Mark; and they botched it in consequence.''The best on it is,' said Mark, 'that when they do happen to make a decent stroke; such as better workmen, with no such opportunities, make every day of their lives and think nothing of—they begin to sing out so surprising loud.Take notice of my words, sir. If ever the defaulting part of this here country pays its debts—along of finding that not paying 'em won't do in a commercial point of view, you see, and is inconvenient in its consequences—they'll take such a shine out of it, and make such bragging speeches, that a man might suppose no borrowed money had ever been paid afore, since the world was first begun. That's the way they gammon each other, sir. Bless you, I know'em. Take notice of my words, now!''You seem to be growing profoundly sagacious!' cried Martin, laughing.'Whether that is,' thought Mark, 'because I'm a day's journey nearer Eden, and am brightening up afore I die, I can't say. P'rhaps by the time I get there I shall have growed into a prophet.'He gave no utterance to these sentiments; but the excessive joviality they inspired within him, and the merriment they brought upon his shining face, were quite enough for Martin. Although he might sometimes profess to make light of his partner's inexhaustible cheerfulness, and might sometimes, as in the case of Zephaniah Scadder, find him too jocose a commentator, he was always sensible of the effect of his example in rousing him to hopefulness and courage. Whether he were in the humour to profit by it, mattered not a jot. It was contagious, and he could not choose but be affected.

Abstract: The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, A Fancy for Christmas-Time (better known as The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain or simply as The Haunted Man) is a novella by Charles Dickens first published in 1848. It is the fifth and last of Dickens's Christmas novellas. The story is more about the spirit of Christmas than about the holiday itself, harking back to the first in the series, A Christmas Carol.The novel portrays the holiday spirit that is prevalent in all the individuals. Professor Redlaw is the character around which the story revolves who is always immersed in his past and no matter how much he tries, he can never forget it. Now enters the ghost in the plot and in the Professor's life.The ghost is not the usual scary one as one usually thinks of. He actually becomes the professor's friend. The ghost is like professor Redlaw's phantom twin and the professor actually sees his own reflection in the ghost. He feels that the ghost looks and thinks like him. Soon the ghost comes to know about the professor's problem, the problem that he cannot live a peaceful life without forgetting his past and forgetting one's past is practically impossible.

Abstract: Christmas is a time for family, friends, and loved ones to come together and celebrate the season. For some, it is also a time of reflection on the past year and preparations for the coming one. For Ebenezer Scrooge, it is a time to be alone.Since he was a child, Scrooge has been taught that Christmas is a time for charity and goodwill toward others. But after being forced into retirement by his ruthless business partner, Scrooge finds himself lonely at Christmastime. One night in front of his fire, Scrooge has a dream in which an old man named Jacob Marley shows him all of the ways he has wronged others over the years. The most important lesson from Jacob Marley is that change can happen if someone truly wants it to.After waking up from his dream, Scrooge decides to start living life more positively and helps three poor people during Christmas Eve services. Inspired by this change in attitude, other people begin to show up at his door asking for help - even old friends from when he was still successful in business have come back to ask for his advice. In the end, Scrooge learns that happiness comes not from things but from within oneself and shares this message with everyone at his Christmas party.This simple story about redemption contains powerful lessons about self-awareness and forgiveness that are relevant today more than ever. With its timeless messages of hope and encouragement, A Christmas Carol will touch readers' hearts deeply as they journey along with Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey to becoming a better person."It is a classic and it is one of the most loved Christmas stories ever written.It is a story with a lot of moral teachings which can be applied to our lives today.It is a story that will make you laugh and it will make you cry.It is a story that will make you think.It is a story that will make you want to be a better person.It is a story that is worth reading and worth remembering.

Abstract: Sur la route de Douvres, un vendredi de l'année 1775, la malle-poste montait péniblement la côte de Shooter's Hill… Soufflant, suant, trébuchant, les chevaux avançaient lentement sur le sol boueux… Par trois fois, malgré les exhortations du cocher et les coups de fouet, ils s'étaient arrêtés déjà et avaient placé la diligence au travers de la route, comme pour affirmer énergiquement qu'ils ne monteraient pas la colline et préféraient redescendre vers Blackheat…

Abstract: È la Vigilia di Natale e il vecchio, misero e avarissimo Scrooge concede, in modo molto riluttante, la giornata successiva libera al proprio impiegato: il Natale non è altro che un giorno rubato al lavoro, una follia per sciocchi che non capiscono le cose che contano. Per le stesse ragioni, Scrooge caccia via in malo modo i gentiluomini venuti a chiedergli un contributo per le opere di carità e tratta molto male persino il nipote che, sapendolo solo, è venuto a invitarlo a cena a casa propria.Poi, lo spirito del suo defunto socio Marley viene a trovarlo, raccontandogli che la sua vita ultraterrena non è affatto piacevole, a causa della sua condotta in vita, simile a quella di Scrooge. E gli preannuncia la vista di tre Spiriti che colpiranno profondamente Scrooge, mostrandogli tutto quello che ha perso in vita, tutto quello che ha amato e lasciato andare.Il primo Spirito, quello dei Natali passati, fa rivivere a Scrooge momenti importanti del suo passato: le sofferenze di quando era bambino, che hanno determinato la sua durezza e l'errore della sua vita, ovvero l'aver permesso che la sua promessa sposa lo lasciasse a causa del già manifesto ed eccessivo attaccamento al denaro.Il secondo Spirito, quello dei Natali presenti, mostra a Scrooge come gli altri siano felici, pur nella povertà e festeggino i Natali in compagnia. Scrooge mostra i primi segni di pentimento.Il terzo Spirito, quello dei Natali che devono ancora venire, mostra a Scrooge alcune scene del suo funerale e la morte del piccolo Tim, figlio dell'impiegato di Scrooge. Scrooge, scosso e sinceramente impietosito, capisce che se non cambierà il suo modo di agire il futuro che lo spirito gli ha mostrato si realizzerà, se invece inizierà a comportarsi rettamente, il suo futuro cambierà, e il piccolo Tim non morirà. Da questo momento Scrooge sorriderà alle persone, concederà un aumento a Bob e aiuterà chi ha bisogno.Romanzo breve di genere fantastico, unisce al gusto gotico nella raffigurazione dei personaggi, l'impegno nella lotta alla povertà, allo sfruttamento minorile e all'analfabetismo, temi centrali nella produzione dickensiana. Un piccolo capolavoro, tra le cui pagine è racchiusa la magia del giorno di Natale, la gioia del dare anziché del ricevere e, dunque, della condivisione.

Abstract: Bleak House is one of Charles Dickens's major novels.The novel has many characters and several sub-plots, and the story is told partly by the novel's heroine, Esther Summerson, and partly by an omniscient narrator. At the centre of Bleak House is the long-running legal case, Jarndyce and Jarndyce, which came about because someone wrote several conflicting wills. This legal case is used by Dickens to satirise the English judicial system, and he makes use of his earlier experiences as a law clerk, and as a litigant seeking to enforce copyright on his earlier books.Though the legal profession criticised Dickens's satire as exaggerated, this novel helped support a judicial reform movement, which culminated in the enactment of legal reform in the 1870s.There is some debate among scholars as to when Bleak House is set. The English legal historian Sir William Holdsworth sets the action in 1827; however, reference to preparation for the building of a railway in Chapter LV suggests the 1830s.Sir Leicester Dedlock and his wife Lady Honoria live on his estate at Chesney Wold. Unknown to Sir Leicester, Lady Dedlock had a lover, Captain Hawdon, before she married – and had a daughter by him. Lady Dedlock believes her daughter is dead.The daughter, Esther, is in fact alive, and being raised by Miss Barbary, Lady Dedlock's sister. Esther does not know Miss Barbary is her aunt. After Miss Barbary dies, John Jarndyce becomes Esther's guardian and assigns the Chancery lawyer "Conversation" Kenge to take charge of her future. After attending school for six years, Esther moves in with him at Bleak House.

Abstract: Dombey and Son is a novel by Charles Dickens, published in monthly parts from 1 October 1846 to 1 April 1848 and in one volume in 1848. Its full title is Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation. Dickens started writing the book in Lausanne, Switzerland, before returning to England, via Paris, to complete it. Illustrations were provided by Hablot Knight Browne ('Phiz').There is some concern with the railways and the novel's conception, and writing, belong to the years of the railway boom, 1844–47. The sea, meanwhile, becomes the image of things of 'an older fashion yet', 'the dark and unknown ... that rolls round all the world.'The story concerns Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company of the book's title, whose dream is to have a son to continue his business. The book begins when his son is born, and Dombey's wife dies shortly after giving birth. Following the advice of Mrs Louisa Chick, his sister, Dombey employs a wet nurse named Mrs Richards (Toodle). Dombey already has a six-year-old daughter Florence but, bitter at her not having been the desired boy, he neglects her continually. One day, Mrs Richards, Florence, and her maid, Susan Nipper, secretly pay a visit to Mrs Richard's house in Staggs's Gardens so that Mrs Richards can see her children. During this trip, Florence becomes separated from them and is kidnapped for a short time by Good Mrs Brown, before being returned to the streets. She makes her way to Dombey and Son's offices in the City and there is found and brought home by Walter Gay, an employee of Mr Dombey, who first introduces her to his uncle, the navigation instrument maker Solomon Gills, at his shop the Wooden Midshipman.

Abstract: David Copperfield is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens. The novel's full title is, The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account). It was first published as a serial in 1849–50, and as a book in 1850. Many elements of the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is often considered as his veiled autobiography. It was Dickens' favorite among his own novels. In the preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens wrote, "like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield."The story follows the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity. David was born in Blunderstone, Suffolk, England, six months after the death of his father. David spends his early years in relative happiness with his loving, childish mother and their kindly housekeeper, Peggotty. When he is seven years old his mother marries Edward Murdstone. During the marriage, partly to get him out of the way and partly because he strongly objects to the whole proceeding, David is sent to lodge with Peggotty's family in Yarmouth. Her brother, fisherman Mr Peggotty, lives in a house built in an upturned boat on the beach, with his adopted relatives Emily and Ham, and an elderly widow, Mrs Gummidge. "Little Em'ly" is somewhat spoilt by her fond foster father, and David is in love with her. On his return, David is given good reason to dislike his stepfather and has similar feelings for Murdstone's sister Jane, who moves into the house soon afterwards. Between them they tyrannise his poor mother, making her and David's lives miserable, and when, in consequence, David falls behind in his studies, Murdstone attempts to thrash him – partly to further pain his mother. David bites him and soon afterwards is sent away to a boarding school, Salem House, under a ruthless headmaster, Mr. Creakle. There he befriends an older boy, James Steerforth, and Tommy Traddles. He develops an impassioned admiration for Steerforth, perceiving him as something noble, who could do great things if he would.

Abstract: Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel; a bildungsroman that depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens' weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes.The novel is set in Kent and London in the early to mid-19th century and contains some of Dickens' most memorable scenes, including the opening in a graveyard, where the young Pip is accosted by the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. Great Expectations is full of extreme imagery--poverty, prison ships and chains, and fights to the death--and has a colourful cast of characters who have entered popular culture. These include the eccentric Miss Havisham, the beautiful but cold Estella, and Joe, the unsophisticated and kind blacksmith. Dickens's themes include wealth and poverty, love and rejection, and the eventual triumph of good over evil. Great Expectations, which is popular both with readers and literary critics, has been translated into many languages and adapted numerous times into various media.Upon its release, the novel received near universal acclaim. Although Dickens' contemporary Thomas Carlyle referred to it disparagingly as that "Pip nonsense," he nevertheless reacted to each fresh instalment with "roars of laughter." Later, George Bernard Shaw praised the novel, as "All of one piece and consistently truthful." During the serial publication, Dickens was pleased with public response to Great Expectations and its sales; when the plot first formed in his mind, he called it "a very fine, new and grotesque idea."