Introduction and Notes by Keith Wren, University of Kent at Canterbury A historical romance, The Three Musketeers tells the story of the early adventures of the young Gascon gentleman, D'Artagnan and his three friends from the regiment of the King's Musketeers - Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Under the watchful eye of their patron M. de Treville, the four defend the honour of the regiment against the guards of Cardinal Richelieu, and the honour of the queen against the machinations of the Cardinal himself as the power struggles of seventeenth century France are vividly played out in the background. But their most dangerous encounter is with the Cardinal's spy, Milady, one of literature's most memorable female villains, and Dumas employs all his fast-paced narrative skills to bring this enthralling novel to a breathtakingly gripping and dramatic conclusion
The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had been brought to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night, the stone is stolen. Suspicion then falls on a hunchbacked housemaid, on Rachel's cousin Franklin Blake, on a troupe of mysterious Indian jugglers, and on Rachel herself. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of Betteredge, the Robinson Crusoe-reading loquacious steward, the mystery of the missing stone is ingeniously solved.
Charlotte Bronte was a natural story-teller with a gift for creating memorable characters and for evoking atmosphere. The novel is set among the cloth mills of the author's native Yorkshire and she succeeds brilliantly in creating the full drama of the latter part of the Napoleonic Wars when labour-saving machinery was smashed by desperate, unemployed workers. Rich in historical detail, Shirley is a human as well as a social novel with a perpetual relevance in its exploration of humanity's efforts to reconcile personal and economic aspirations with social justice and harmony.
Dickens had already achieved renown with The Pickwick Papers. With Oliver Twist his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity. Oliver Twist features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical Bumble, the diabolical Fagin, the menacing Bill Sykes, Nancy and 'the Artful Dodger'. For any reader wishing to delve into the works of the great Victorian literary colossus, Oliver Twist is, without doubt, an essential title.
With an Introduction and Notes by Lionel Kelly, University of Reading The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906) are world famous animal stories. Set in Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s, The Call of the Wild is about Buck, the magnificent cross-bred offspring of a St Bernard and a Scottish Collie. Stolen from his pampered life on a Californian estate and shipped to the Klondike to work as a sledge dog, he triumphs over his circumstances and becomes the leader of a wolf pack. The story records the decivilisation of Buck as he answers the call of the wild , an inherent memory of primeval origins to which he instinctively responds. In contrast, White Fang relates the tale of a wolf born and bred in the wild which is civilised by the master he comes to trust and love. The brutal world of the Klondike miners and their dogs is brilliantly evoked and Jack London s rendering of the sentient life of Buck and White Fang as they confront their destiny is enthralling and convincing. The deepe
The Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond which had been brought to England as spoils of war, is given to Rachel Verrinder on her eighteenth birthday. That very night, the stone is stolen. Suspicion then falls on a hunchbacked housemaid, on Rachel's cousin Franklin Blake, on a troupe of mysterious Indian jugglers, and on Rachel herself. The phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of Betteredge, the Robinson Crusoe-reading loquacious steward, the mystery of the missing stone is ingeniously solved.
Dickens wrote of David Copperfield: 'Of all my books I like this the best'。 Millions of readers in almost every language on earth have subsequently come to share the author's own enthusiasm for this greatly loved classic,possibly because of its autobiographical form。 Following the life of David through many sufferings and great adversity,the reader will also find many light-hearted moments in the company of a host of English fiction’s greatest stars including Mr Micawber,Traddles,Uriah Heep,Creakle,Betsy Trotwood,and the Peggoty family。 Few readers,arriving at the end of David Copprfidld,will not wish to echo Thackeray’s famous praise,having read the first monthly part-‘Bravo Dickens’。
This striking addition to Chronicle's successful bilingualseries introduce young readers to the universally loved storiesSnow White. Retold in both Spanish and English, classic fairy talesprovide young readers with a fun way to learn to recognize words inboth languages. Easy-to-follow text coupled with gorgeousillustrations make them wonderful additions to the home orclassroom library.
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Professor of English Literature, University of Sussex. The Wordsworth Classics'Shakespeare Series presents a newly-dited sequence of William Shakespeare's works.The textual editing takes account of recent scholarship while giveing the material a careful reappraisal. The Taming of the Shrew is one of the most famous and controversial of Shakespeare's comedies. The central relationship, in which Petruchio boisterously 'tames' a rebellious Kate, has often appeared problematic. In the theatre, it has been treated in a diversity of ways, so that Kate's apparent capitulation varies between the ironic and the sincere. Feminists have been divided in their responses. The provacative vitality of this comedy has been trasmitted by numerous adaptations for stage and screen,notably the flim directed by Franco Zeffirelli and screen,notably the film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and the cole Porter musical,Kiss Me,Kate.
ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP. A timeless, terrifying tale of one man's obsession to create life -- and the monster that became his legacy. 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 contemporary and 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
Exiled by superstition and betrayal from Lantern Yard, and cut off from faith and human love, for fifteen years the solitary simple-hearted weaver Silas Marner has plied his loom in Raveloe and devoted himself to the amassing of a hoard of golden guineas. Silas's chance of redemption, when it appears one New Year's Eve, is intimately connected with the fate of Godfrey Cass, son of the village Squire. Clandestinely married, then blackmailed by his dissolute brother Dunstan, Godfrey like Silas has been trapped by his past, from which he is seeking to escape. Humorous, richly symbolic, subtly characterized and meticulously plotted, George Eliot's 'sudden inspiration' in this slim novel of rural England cut across her plans for Romola, her vast Italian Renaissance epic.
Lody and Tramp would normally neverhave met,but a thrilling aventure brings the unlikely pair together.Then,true love blossoms.
This fiercely comic second novel stands in marked contrast to its genial predecessor,THE PICKWICK PAPERS.Set against London's seedy back streef slums,OLIVER TWIST is the saga of a workhouse orphan capfured and fhrust info a fhieves'den,where some of Dickens's most depraved villains preside:the incorrigeble Artful Dodger,the murderous bully Sikes,and the terrible Fagin,that treacherous ringleader whose grinning knavery threatens to send them all to the "ghastly gallows."Yet ft the heart of this drama is the orphan Oliver,whose unsullied goodness leads him at last to salvation.
It's the last week of Camp Grizzly,and the campers are preparing to elect a mascot. Each day the Grizzly Gazette takes a poll to see who has the biggest percentage of the vote so far. Is it Sophie? Is it Daniel? Or could it be Corey,the new entry in the race? Corey's determined to do her best. But she's got to make up for lost time. Can she win out over Daniel and Sophie? No one will know for sure until the last vote is counted! A lively story about summer camp fun will help young readers understand both percentage and voting!
With an Introduction and Notes by Peter Merchant. Canterbury Christ Church College Trollope paints a picture as panoramic as his title promises, of the life of 1870s London, the loves of those drawn to and through the city, and the career of Augustus Melmotte. Melmotte is one of the Victorian novel’s greatest and strangest creations, and The Way We Live Now is an achievement undimmed by the passage of time. Trollope's 'Now' might, in the twenty-first century, look like some distant disenchanted 'Then', but this is still the yesterday which we must understand in order to make proper sense of our today.
In this selection of tales by the master folklorist Andrew Lang, the reader is taken into the romantic world of the gallant Knights of the Round Table and their courageous and chivalrous deeds, fair maidens, castles steeped in history, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the tragic love of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot for Guinevere, and Tristan for Iseult. The Arthurian legends are the most potent of the thrilling and mist-enshrouded tales of adventure to be passed down from pre-recorded history, and they have as much appeal today as they did in the age of the troubadours.
Black Beauty begins life in a loving home. But his owners are forced to sell him, and Black Beauty's fortunes change He is moved from place to place and job to job, often suffering cruel treatment and harsh conditions-until a chance encounter leads to a new turn of events.
Pride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband. With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language.
With an Introduction and Notes by Dr Keith Carabine,University of Kent at Canterbury Crime and Punishment is one of the greatest and most readable novels ever written.From the beginning we are locked into the frenzied consciousness of Raskolnikov who,against his better instincts,is inexorably drawn to commit a brutal double murder. From that moment on,we share his conflicting feelings of self-loathing and pride,of contempt for and need of others,and of terrible despair and hope of redemption:and,in a remarkable transformation of the detective novel,we follow his agonised efforts to probe and confront both his own motives for,and the consequences of,his crime. The result is a tragic novel built out of a series of supremely dramatic scenes that illuminate the eternal conflicts at the heart of human existence:most especially our desire for self-expression and self-fulfilment,as against the constraints of morality and human laws;and our agonised awareness of the world's harsh injustices a