In Much Ado About Nothing,Shakespeare's glittering comedy,there wages a'merry war'between Beatrice and Benedick of lacerating words and caustic wit.Their family and friends contrive to spark up love amid thier battles and to bring together the two pronounced bachelors in harmony,with highly comic results.Beatrice's gentle and virtuous cousin Hero is part of the conspiracy and while making this incongruous match she falls in love herself.Howerver,darker elements lurk in the shadows in the shape of the melancholy villain Don John,who threatens to thwart Hero's innocent love and to quash the natural merriment of the court at Messina. The text of this edition is edited by G.B.Harrison and contains notes,a glossary and an introduction.
Here, in a single volume, are four major plays by the first modern playwright, Henrick Ibsen. Ghosts -the startling portrayal of a family destroyed by disease and infidelity. The Wild Duck -- A poignant drama of lost illusions. An Enemy Of The People -- Ibsen's vigorous attack on public opinion. And A Doll's House -- the play that scandalized the Victorian world with its unsparing views of love and marriage, featuring one of the most controversial heroines -- and one of the most famous exists -- in the literature of the stage.
For Kim, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier, India is an exotic, richly coloured, magical land with an exciting array of landscapes, people and cultures. From life as a street vagabond in Lahore, to companion and devotee of an old Tibetan lama, Kim learns to find a new vision amid the kaleidoscopic scenes before him, a vision that unites, not divides, and promotes harmony not discord. Kim is a masterly novel from an expert craftsman and presents an enduring and powerful portrait of India under the Raj. AUTHBIO: Born in Bombay in 1865, Rudyard Kipling retained a deep love for the colour and exotic richness of India throughout his life and this passion affected much of his writing. Best known for his masterpieces The Jungle Books, Kim, and Captains Courageous, Kipling also penned an extraordinary number of powerful and evocative poems and short stories including the remarkable Just So Stories. The first Englishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Kipling commands a place amongst the finest of Eng
Jack London's adventure masterpiece is not only a vivid account of the Klondike gold rush and North American Indian life, but it is also an intriguing study of the effects different environments have on an individual. Celebrate the centennial anniversary of the classic tale of a wolf-dog who endures great cruelty before he comes to know human kindness.
The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American romancenovel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; it is generally considered tobe his masterpiece. Set in Puritan New England in the 17th century,the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth aftercommitting adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles tocreate a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout, Hawthorneexplores the issues of grace, legalism, and guilt.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeares greatest tragedies: a drama of crime and punishment, of temptation, guilt, remorse and retribution. The portrayals of Macbeth himself and his wife are memorably persuasive in the rendition of the psychology of ambition,rationalised treachery and eventual disillusionment. Repeatedly the rich and often sinuously complex verse gives general resonance to the particular situation, so that some of the speechesprovide enduring epitomes of states of being which many of us,intermittently, may experience. Inner division, pangs of conscience, the sense of being ambushed by events, and desperatedefiance: they are there; but so too is a vitality of expression and enactment which offsets the plays sombre atmosphere.
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Oh! Mama, how spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night! I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my seat.' Spirited and impulsive, Marianne Dashwood is the complete opposite to her controlled and sensible sister, Elinor. When it comes to matters of the heart, Marianne is passionate and romantic and soon falls for the charming, but unreliable Mr Willoughby. Elinor, in contrast, copes stoically with the news that her love, Edward Ferrars is promised to another. It is through their shared experiences of love that both sisters come to learn that the key to a successful match comes from finding the perfect mixture of rationality and feeling.
Tracing the lives of a group of friends, this novel followstheir development from childhood to youth and middle age.Separately and together, they query the relationship of past topresent, and the meaning of life itself.
This collection remains the incomparableachievement of one of America's greatest poets-a passionate man wholoved his country and wrote of it as no other has ever done.
A philosopher and his disciple journey to find "the best of all possible worlds" in this classic work of eighteenth-century satire. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives readers important background information A chronology of the author's life and work A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations Detailed explanatory notes Critical analysis, including modern perspectives on the work Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the wo
The Picture of Dorian Gray caused outrage when it was first published in 1890 and marked the onset of Oscar Wilde's own fatal reutation and eventual downfall.An evocative portrayal of London life and a powerful blast against the hypocrisies of Victorian polite society it has become one of Oscar Wilde's most celebrated works,full of the flamboyant wit for which he is justly renowned. 作者简介 Oscar Wilde（1854-1900）.Playwright,poet,essayist and wit,he is now as famous for his idioms and decadent lifestyle as for his plays,poems and fiction.
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821) relates Thomas De Quincey's early life and experiences of opium addiction at the time when that drug was widely used for the relief of pain, and before its addictive qualities were properly understood. It is a work which encompasses amusement with nightmare as the author experiences in turn the marvels of opium-induced dreams and equally vivid nightmares which are their counterpart.
