A masterpiece of Western culture, this is the first attempt tolink all the Greek myths in a cohesive whole to the Roman myths ofOvid's day. Horace Gregory, in this modern translation, turns hisown poetic gifts toward a deft reconstruction of Ovid's ancientthemes.
In The Tragedy of King Richard III, Shakespeare chronicles the rise and fall of one of history’s most repellent, and the theater’s most mesmerizing, figures. This Norton Critical Edition of Richard III is based on the First Quarto (1597) edition of the play with interpolations from the First Folio (1623). The play is accompanied by a preface, explanatory annotations, A Note on the Text, a list of Textual Variants, and eighteen illustrations of seminal scenes from major dramatic productions and film versions of the play. “Contexts” provides readers with the sources and analogues that informed Shakespeare’s composition of Richard III. These include excerpts from Robert Fabyan’s New Chronicles of England and France, Thomas More’s The History of King Richard III, Edward Hall’s The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York, A Mirror for Magistrates, and The True Tragedy of Richard III. A selection from Colley Cibber’s eighteenth-century adaptation records the compr
Oscar Wilde took London by storm with his first comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan. The combination of dazzling wit, subtle social criticism, sumptuous settings and the theme of a guilty secret proved a winner, both here and in his next three plays, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and his undisputed masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest. This volume includes all Wilde's plays from his early tragedy Vera to the controversial Salome and the little known fragments, La Sainte Courtisane and A Florentine Tragedy. The edition affords a rare chance to see Wilde's best known work in the context of his entire dramatic output, and to appreciate plays which have hitherto received scant critical attention.
A beautiful and hearty farm girl, Tess Durbeyfield is about tohave her life tragically changed by forces outside her control:lust, poverty, and hypocrisy. This controversial Victorian tale hascome to be recognized as a triumph of literary art.
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.
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
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.
Voltaire's shocking wit and biting portrayal of the eighteenthcentury church and aristocracy are now showcased in a newtranslation of Candide, a bestseller in its time and essentialreading for a deeper understanding of Voltaire and Enlightenmentthought. Preserving the text's provocative nature as well as itsaccuracy, Daniel Gordon has paid special attention to improving notonly the rendering of particular words, but to Voltaire's semanticovertones by amplifying the book's innuendo, enhancing Candide'sreadability and ensuring that readers will not miss bold featuresof the story. The introduction places Candide and Voltaire in theirhistorical context, relating the complexities of Voltaire's life tothe events, philosophy, and characters of Candide, showingprecisely why the Enlightenment is known as the Age ofVoltaire.
Beowulf is not folk-song,but belongs to a much more conscious and devepoped stage of art than the popular.The exploits narrted in the poem belong to the life of Germanic peoples before they crossed the North Sea,and the least one of the characters can be identified whith a historical personage.Simple almple almost to bareness in style,withour subtlety or high imageination,the Song of Roland is yet not without grandeur;and its patriotic ardor gives it a place as the earliest of the truly national poems of the modern world,Of the lrish epic tales,The Destruction of DA Derga's Hostel is a specimen of remarkable beauty and power.The primitive nature of the story is shown by the fact that the plot turns upon the disasters that follow on the violation of tabus,or prohibitions often with a supernatural sanction,by the mostrous nature of many of the warrious,and by the utter absence of any attempt of rationalize or explain the beliefs implede or the marvels related in it.The powers and achievements of the heroes are
In The Purgatorio , Dante describes his journey to therenunciation of sin, accepting his suffering in preparation for hiscoming into the presence of God. This brilliant translation ofDante's canticle crystallizes the great poet's immortal conceptionof the aspiring soul.
Purchase of this book includes free trial access towww.million-books.com where you can read more than a million booksfor free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: IllSTEVE TREATS It was for several minutes, I suppose, that I stooddrawing these silent morals. No man occupied himself with me. Quietvoices, and games of chance, and glasses lifted to drink, continuedto be the peaceful order of the night. And into my thoughts brokethe voice of that card-dealer who had already spoken so sagely. Healso took his turn at moralizing. "What did I tell you?" heremarked to the man for whom he continued to deal, and whocontinued to lose money to him. "Tell me when?" " Didn't I tell youhe'd not shoot ? " the dealer pursued with complacence. " You gotready to dodge. You had no call to be concerned. He's not the kinda man need feel anxious about." The player looked over at theVirginian, doubtfully. " Well," he said, " I don't know what youfolks call a dangerous man." " Not him " exclaimed the dealer withadmi
Book De*ion The work of the world's greatest dramatist is edited byoutstanding scholars and presented here, along with an extensiveoverview of Shakespeare's life, world and theater, a special noteon the sources from which Shakespeare derived this work, dramaticcriticism, commentaries, and much more.
From the exquisite lyric “ To Helen ,” to the immortalmasterpieces “ Annabel Lee,” “The Bells, ” and “ The Raven,”The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates theauthor’s gift for the form.
Two boys: the same age, almost the same face. The onedifference: Tom Canty is a child of the London slums; Edward Tudoris heir to the throne. How insubstantial this difference is becomesclear when a chance encounter leads to an exchange of clothing andof roles...
Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filledwith the sweep and violence of human passions, LES MISERABLES isnot only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The storyof how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past andreaffirm his humanity, in a world brutalized by poverty andignorance, became the gospel of the poor and the oppressed.
Book De*ion H.G. Wells's sciencefiction classic, the first novel to explore the possibilities ofintelligent life from other planets, it still startling and vividnearly after a century after its appearance, and a half-centuryafter Orson Wells's infamous 1938 radio adaptation. The daringportrayal of aliens landing on English soil, with its themes ofinterplanetary imperialism, technological holocaust and chaos, iscentral to the career of H.G. Wells, who died at the dawn of theatomic age. The survival of mankind in the face of "vast and cooland unsympathetic" scientific powers spinning out of control was acrucial theme throughout his work. Visionary, shocking andchilling, The War Of The Worlds has lost none of its impact sinceits first publication in 1898. Amazon.com This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, firstpublished by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as thelone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would havebelieved in the last years of the nineteenth century tha
Before the huge crowd that packed the cathedral square, LaEsmeralda stood between two executioners. Suddenly Quasimodo, thehunchback of Notre Dame, rushed at the executioners and felled themwith his enormous fists. He snatched the gypsy girl in one arm andran with her into the church. A moment later he appeared at the topof the bell tower. Holding the girl above his head, he showed hertriumphantly to all of Paris while his thunderous voice roaredsavagely to the sky: "Sanctuary Sanctuary Sanctuary " Set amid theriot, intrigue, and pageantry of medieval Paris, Victor Hugo'smasterful tale of heroism and adventure has been a perennialfavorite since its first publication in 1831 and remains one of themost thrilling stories of all time.
Spine-tingling and entertaining, "The Invisible Man" is ascience fiction classic-and a penetrating, unflinching look intothe heart of human nature. To its author, H. G. Wells, the novelwas as compelling as "a good gripping dream." But to generations ofreaders, the terrible and evil experiment of the dementedscientist, Griffin, has conveyed a chilling nightmare of believablehorror. An atmosphere of ever-increasing suspense begins with thearrival of a mysterious stranger at an English village inn andbuilds relentlessly to the stark terror of a victim pursued by amaniacal invisible man. The result is a masterwork: a dazzlingdisplay of the brilliant imagination, psychological insight, andliterary craftsmanship that made H. G. Wells one of the mostinfluential writers of his time.
The havoc wrought on lovers by magic in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the furious battle of the sexes waged in The Taming of the Shrew, and a stranded woman finding her way in a man's world in Twelfth Night -- this collection of three of Shakespeare's greatest comedies is based on the acclaimed individual Folger editions of the plays. The present volume offers accurate texts in modern spelling, full explanatory notes, and scene-by-scene action summaries.
Tolstoy startled the world with this powerful story ofadultery and its aftermath, of the human need for love andhappiness, and of the unyielding demands of society.