Wilde's classic comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, and his other popular plays -- Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and Salome -- challenged comtemporary notions of sex and sensibility, class and cultural identity. This 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 ins
From the incredible wizadry of Merlin to the passion of SirLancelot, these tales of Arthur and his knights offer epicadventures with the supernatural as well as timeless battles without own humanity.
Volume two in a collection of tales representing distinctivegenres- from fairy tales to erotica-revealing the customs andsocieties in the medieval Middle East, as told by the mythicSheherazade.
In The Paradiso, Dante explores the goal of human striving:the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of thetowering creations of world literature, this epic discovery oftruth is a work of mystical intensity- an immortal hymn to God,Nature, Eternity, and Love.
FOLGER Shakespeare Library THE WORLD'S LEADING CENTER FOR SHAKESPEARE STUDIES Each edition includes: · Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play · Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play · Scene-by-scene plot summaries · A key to famous lines and phrases · An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language · An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play · Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books Essay by Stephen Orgel The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.
There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts ofpassionate love than V/uthering Heights. This is the story of thesavage, tormented foundling Heatheliff, who falls wildly in lovewith Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of his benefactor, and of theviolence and misery that result from their thwarted longing foreach other. A book of great power and strength, it is filled withthe raw beauty of the moors and an uncanny un- derstanding of theterrible truths about men and women. It is an understanding madeeven more extraordinary by the fact that it came from the heart ofa woman who lived most of her brief life in the remote wildness ofthe moors. Emily Bronte died a year after this great novel waspublished.
After King Shahryar had his wife killed for cheating, he beganto corrupt-then kill-one virgin a night, as revenge on womankind.Then he meets Scheherazade, who, night after night, saves her ownlife by telling him fantastical tales of genies, wishes, terror,and passion.
The dramatic concluding months of The Wars of the Rosesprovide the setting for Shakespeare’s incomparable saga of powerand intrigue. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars,this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts andauthoritative notes from William Shakespeare: CompleteWorks. Each play includes an Introduction as well as anoverview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past andcurrent productions based on interviews with leading directors,actors, and designers; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about thework; a chronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; andblack-and-white illustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers,these modern and accessible editions set a new standard inShakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.
Gentle linen weaver Silas Marner is wrongly accused of aheinous theft, and he exiles himself from the world-until he findsredemption and spiritual rebirth through his unselfish love for anabandoned child who mysteriously appears one day at his isolatedcottage. Somber, yet hopeful, Eliot's realistic depiction of anirretrievable past, tempered with the magical elements of myth andfairy tale, remains timeless in its understanding of human natureand is beloved by every generation.
Generally believed to be the last play written solely byShakespeare, The Tempest centers on a banished noble who usessorcery to confront his foes. In this play, Shakespeare offers someof his most insightful meditations on themes ranging from vengeanceand forgiveness to nature and nurture. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars,this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts andauthoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Eachplay includes an Introduction, as well as an overview ofShakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and currentproductions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, anddesigners; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; achronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-whiteillustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers,these modern and accessible editions set a new standard in
At a time when we are once again talking and thinking about the meaning of America, bestselling author and award-winning journalist Dan Rather provides a powerful look at Americans who struggle to achieve their desires and ambitions. With the stories of ordinary men and women accomplishing the extraordinary, Rather demonstrates how the American dream brings us together and guides us, as it has for more than 200 years. For some, the American dream is simply to own a home or rise out of poverty. Some wish to serve God, country, or community. There are those who want to learn to read or run their own business. Still others simply wish to exercise fundamental American rights: to openly practice their religion and to speak what is in their minds and hearts. Stirring and provocative, The American Dream illustrates that the basic American desire for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is alive and well. It also confirms what our founding fathers always believed: that we are a country of visionari
The love of a young British woman named Lucy Honeychurch for aBritish expatriate living in Italy is condemned by her stuffy,middle-class guardians, who prefer an eligible man of their ownchoosing. Publisher Comments: This Edwardian social comedy explores love and prim proprietyamong an eccentric cast of characters assembled in an Italianpensione and in a corner of Surrey, England. A charming youngEnglish woman, Lucy Honeychurch, faints into the arms of a fellowBritisher when she witnesses a murder in a Florentine piazza.Attracted to this man, George Emerson--who is entirely unsuitableand whose father just may be a Socialist--Lucy is soon at war withthe snobbery of her class and her own conflicting desires. Back inEngland she is courted by a more acceptable, if stifling, suitor,and soon realizes she must make a startling decision that willdecide the course of her future: she is forced to choose betweenconvention and passion. The enduring delight of this tale ofromantic intrigue is rooted in
His last and greatest work Driven by intense passion, four brothers become involved in thebrutal murder of their own father, one of the most loathsomecharacters in all literature.
In this powerful book we enter the world of Jurgis Rudkus, ayoung Lithuanian immigrant who arrives in America fired with dreamsof wealth, freedom, and opportunity. And we discover, with him, theastonishing truth about "packingtown," the busy, flourishing,filthy Chicago stockyards, where new world visions perish in ajungle of human suffering. Upton Sinclair, master of the"muckraking" novel, here explores the workingman's lot at the turnof the century: the backbreaking labor, the injustices of"wage-slavery," the bewildering chaos of urban life. The Jungle, astory so shocking that it launched a government investigation,recreates this startling chapter if our history in unflinchingdetail. Always a vigorous champion on political reform, Sinclair isalso a gripping storyteller, and his 1906 novel stands as one ofthe most important -- and moving -- works in the literature ofsocial change. --This text refers to an alternate Mass MarketPaperback edition.
Written at the pinnacle of Shakespeare’s career and featuringhis most soaring poetic idiom, Antony and Cleopatra is both animmortal love story and a political drama played out on a globalscale. Under the editorial supervision of Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen, two of today’s most accomplished Shakespearean scholars,this Modern Library series incorporates definitive texts andauthoritative notes from William Shakespeare: Complete Works. Eachplay includes an Introduction as well as an overview ofShakespeare’s theatrical career; commentary on past and currentproductions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, anddesigners; scene-by-scene analysis; key facts about the work; achronology of Shakespeare’s life and times; and black-and-whiteillustrations. Ideal for students, theater professionals, and generalreaders, these modern and accessible editions from the RoyalShakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literaturefor the twenty-first century.
A magnificent drama of vengeance, infidelity, and retribution,Anna Karenina portrays the moving story of people whose emotionsconflict with the dominant social mores of their time. Sensual,rebellious Anna falls deeply and passionately in love with thehandsome Count Vronsky. When she refuses to conduct the discreetaffair that her cold, ambitious husband (and Russian high society)would condone, she is doomed. Set against the tragic love of Annaand Vronsky, the plight of the melancholy nobleman KonstantineLevin unfolds. In doubt about the meaning of life, haunted bythoughts of suicide, Levin's struggles echo Tolstoy's own spiritualcrisis. But Anna's inner turmoil mirrors the own emotionalimprisonment and mental disintegration of a woman who dares totransgress the strictures of a patriarchal world. In Anna KareninaLeo Tolstoy brought to perfection the novel of social realism andcreated a masterpiece that bared the Russian soul. A magnificent drama of vengeance, infidelity, and retribution,Anna Kareni
The companion to the bestselling Dealing with People You Can't Stand。 Whether it's the overbearing mother-in-law, the complaining uncle, or just the brother who annoys you at Thanksgiving, here is expert advice on how to successfully deal with every kind of behavior or situation that families face. Divided into three essential sections: Basic Training, Types of Behavior, and Tough Situations, Dealing with Relatives covers all the skills required to navigate and survive dreaded gatherings and excruciating visits. From learning "The Art of the Apology," to understanding the personality types common to most families, Drs. Rick and Rick come to the rescue once again by applying their winning combination of savvy advice and quick wit, along with new insights, anecdotes, and appealing cartoons. 作者简介： Dr.Rick Kirschner and Rick Brinkman are naturopathic physicians,professional speakers,and trainers who perform more than 150 programs a year all over the world.They are coatuhors of th
Enduring Literature Illuminated by Practical Scholarship An idealistic professor transforms an unsophisticated Cockney girl into a refined young lady in this classic drama set in turn-of-the-century London. This 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 sch
A passionate young woman, her cowardly lover, and her aging,vengeful husband are the central characters in this stark drama ofthe conflict between passion and convention in the harsh world ofseventeenth-century Boston. Tremendously moving and rich inpsychological insight, this tragic novel of sin and redemptionaddresses our Puritan past. Depicting the struggle between mind andheart, Hawthorne fashioned a masterpiece of American fiction.
A continuation of the major series of individualShakespeare plays from the world renowned Royal ShakespeareCompany, edited by two brilliant, younger generation Shakespeareanscholars Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen Incorporating definitive text andcutting-edge notes from William Shakespeare: CompleteWorks -the first authoritative, modernized edition ofShakespeare's First Folio in more than 300 years-this remarkableseries of individual plays combines Jonathan Bate's insightfulcritical analysis with Eric Rasmussen's textual expertise.
This superb translation of Death in Venice and six otherstories by Thomas Mann is a tour de force, deserving to be thedefinitive text for English-speaking readers. These seven storiesrepresent Mann's early writing career and a level of literaryquality Mann himself despaired of ever again matching. In thesestories he began to grapple with themes that were to recurthroughout his work. In" Little Herr Friedemann, " a character'scarefully structured way of life is suddenly threatened by anunexpected sexual passion. In "Gladius Dei, " puritanical intellectclashes with beauty. In "Tristan, " Mann presents an ironic andcomic account of the tension between an artist and bourgeoissociety. All seven of these stories are accomplished and memorable,but it is Death in Venice that truly forms the centerpiece of thecollection. The themes that Mann weaves through the shorter piecescome to a climax in this stunning novella, one of the mosthauntingly magnificent tales of art and self-destruction everwritten.
Written in 1852, this grand indictment of Victorian society--on its surface a mystery story-- deals with the themes of thevagaries of the High Court of Chancery and misplaced children. Fromthe Inside Flap Introduction by Barbara Hardy
