MoonFleet : English and Arabic : Facing Page Format (J. Meade Falkner)
Description
ISBN: None
Author: J. Meade Falkner
Publisher: Dar al Bihar (2006)
Pages: 227 Binding: Paperback
Description from the publisher:
Bilingual English-Arabic version of Moonfleet.Dual language books. The English and Arabic pages are facing each other, matching one-on-one with English on the left page, Arabic on the right page. Easy reference for individuals not strong in one of the languages. Well known fiction titles for different interests and levels.
Description of Book:The novel is set in a fishing village in Dorset during the mid 18th century. The story concerns a 15-year-old orphan boy, John Trenchard, who becomes friends with an older man who turns out to be the leader of a gang of smugglers.One night John chances on the smugglers' store in the crypt beneath the church. He explores but hides behind a coffin when he hears voices. He finds a locket which contains a parchment, in the coffin belonging to Colonel Mohune. Unfortunately after the visitors leave, he finds himself trapped inside, and is only rescued two days later when two of the smugglers, Ratsey, the sexton and Elzevir Block, the innkeeper of the Why Not?, investigate his disappearance. His aunt insists he leave her house and Elzevir Block takes him in to live at the inn.The local magistrate, Maskew, is engaged in the struggle to put a stop to smuggling, and outbids Block for the lease to the inn when it comes up at auction. Maskew discovers the time and landing point of a smuggled consignment, and tips off the militia. Unfortunately for him, the smugglers become aware of the tip-off and change the time. During a struggle with Block, whose son Maskew had previously killed, Maskew is shot by the soldiers by chance. John is also shot in the leg, and is carried up the cliff path by Elzevir to safety in an old quarry on the Isle of Purbeck. John and Block are now outlaws, as they are believed to have murdered Maskew. John, with some inadvertent help from Ratsey, deciphers the coded parchment which allows him to locate a missing diamond of huge value. The diamond was obtained as a bribe from King Charles I during his imprisonment at Carisbrooke Castle and was hidden in a deep well by Colonel Mohune. Block and Trenchard recover the diamond from its hiding place.They flee the country to The Hague in Holland, where they are duped by a diamond merchant while attempting to sell him the diamond. They attempt to recover the diamond by burglary, but set off an alarm, are arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. They spend over a decade at a prison camp at Ymeguen, where they are branded with a Y which strongly resembles the coat of arms of the Mohune family and a symbol often seen around Moonfleet. They are eventually condemned to be transported to Java. A storm breaks out and by coincidence, their ship is cast ashore in Moonfleet bay. Elzevir drowns in the surf on the beach after going back into the waves to rescue John. John recovers some semblance of his old life, marrying his childhood sweetheart, Maskew's daughter (Grace), and unexpectedly inheriting the diamond merchant's wealth which he spends on charitable causes to appease the spirit of Colonel Mohune.
These special, condensed novels are intended for English speakers to learn Arabic, by reading side by side versions of these simplified famous novels.