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.

Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and EricRasmussen provide a fresh new edition of Richard II,chronologically the first of the eight plays in Shakespeare’sHistory Cycle, which marks the beginning of a great schism withinthe nobility of England that will leave the nation riven by bloodyconflict for the next hundred years. This volume also includes morethan a hundred pages of exclusive features, including: ? an original Introduction to Richard II ? incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital factsabout the work ? commentary on past and current productions based on interviewswith leading directors, actors, and designers ? photographs of key RSC productions ? an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career and chronologyof his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers,these modern and accessible editions from the Royal ShakespeareCompany set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for thetwenty-first

Folger Shakespeare Library The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies 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 leading Shakespeare scholar, William C. Carroll, providing a modern perspective on the play Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books 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 1920s novel of a passion threatened by convention andplayed outagainst a backdrop of New York City-s upper class,unimaginable wealth,and unavoidable tragedy.

Wishing she could enjoy the freedoms and pleasures so casuallyenjoyed by ordinary women, orthodox rabbi's daughter Rachelanticipates her arranged marriage and imagines what her life willbe like. Reprint.

在线阅读本书 An immensely popular bestseller upon its publication in 1905, The House of Mirth was Edith Wharton’s first great novel.Set among the elegant brownstones of New York City and opulentcountry houses like gracious Bellomont on the Hudson, the novelcreates a satiric portrayal of what Wharton herself called “asociety of irresponsible pleasure-seekers” with a precisioncomparable to that of Proust. And her brilliant and complexcharacterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty anddependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to adecorative object, becomes an incisive commentary on the nature andstatus of women in that society. From her tragic attraction tobachelor lawyer Lawrence Selden to her desperate relationship withsocial-climbing Rosedale, Lily is all too much a product of theworld indicated by the title, a phrase taken from Ecclesiastes:“The heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” For it is Lily’svery specialness that threatens the elegance and f

A tragic, spiritual portrait of a perfect English butler andhis reaction to his fading insular world in post-war England. Awonderful, wonderful book.

HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. 'Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.' Living with his sister and her husband, Pip is an orphan without any expectations. It is only when he begins to visit a rich old woman, Miss Havisham and her adopted niece that he begins to hope for something better. When it is revealed that Pip has inherited a large sum of money from a mysterious benefactor on the condition that he moves to London to become a gentleman, Pip's adventure really begins. Epic, illuminating and memorable, Dickens mysterious tale of Pip's quest to find the truth about himself is one of his most enduring and popular novels to date.

Joyce Carol Oates's Wonderland Quartet comprises fourremarkable novels that explore social class in America and theinner lives of young Americans. In "A Garden of Earthly Delights,"Oates presents one of her most memorable heroines, Clara Walpole,the beautiful daughter of Kentucky-born migrant farmworkers.Desperate to rise above her haphazard existence of violence andpoverty, determined not to repeat her mother's life, Clarastruggles for independence by way of her relationships with fourvery different men: her father, a family man turned itinerantlaborer, smoldering with resentment; the mysterious Lowry, whorescues Clara as a teenager and offers her the possibility of love;Revere, a wealthy landowner who provides Clara with stability; andSwan, Clara's son, who bears the psychological and spiritual burdenof his mother's ambition. A masterly work from a writer with "theuncanny ability to give us a cinemascopic vision of her America"("National Review"), "A Garden of Earthly Delights "is the openingstanza i

Joyce Carol Oates's Wonderland Quartet comprises four remarkablenovels that explore social class in America and the inner lives ofyoung Americans. In Expensive People, Oates takes a provocative andsuspenseful look at the roiling secrets of America's affluentsuburbs. Set in the late 1960s, this first-person confession isnarrated by Richard Everett, a precocious and obese boy who seeshimself as a minor character in the alarming drama unfolding aroundhim. Fascinated by yet alienated from his attractive, self-absorbedparents and the privileged world they inhabit, Richard incisivelyanalyzes his own mismanaged childhood, his pretentious privateschooling, his "successful-executive" father, and his elusivemother. In an act of defiance and desperation, eleven-year-oldRichard strikes out in a way that presages the violence ofever-younger Americans in the turbulent decades to come. A NationalBook Award finalist, "Expensive People" is a stunning combinationof social satire and gothic horror. "You cannot put this novel a

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Every night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleepswith a different virgin, executing her the next morning. To endthis brutal pattern and to save her own life, the vizier'sdaughter, Shahrazad, begins to tell the king stories of adventure,love, riches and wonder - tales of mystical lands peopled withprinces and hunchbacks, the Angel of Death and magical spirits,tales of the voyages of Sindbad, of Ali Baba outwitting a band offorty thieves and of jinnis trapped in rings and in lamps. Thesequence of stories will last 1,001 nights.

Like the celebrated Klondike Tales, the stories that compriseSouth Sea Tales derive their intensity from the author’s ownfar-flung adventures, conveying an impassioned, unsparing visionborne only of experience. The powerful tales gathered here vividlyevoke the turn-of-the-century colonial Pacific and its capricioustropical landscape, while also trenchantly observing the delicateinterplay between imperialism and the exotic. And as Tony Horwitzasserts in his Introduction, “When London’s stories click, we areutterly there, at the edge of the world and the limit of humanendurance.”

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) A famous legend surrounding thecreation of "Anna Karenina" tells us that Tolstoy began writing acautionary tale about adultery and ended up falling in love withhis magnificent heroine. It is rare to find a reader of the bookwho doesn't experience the same kind of emotional upheaval. AnnaKarenina is filled with major and minor characters who exist intheir own right and fully embody their mid-nineteenth-centuryRussian milieu, but it still belongs entirely to the woman whosename it bears, whose portrait is one of the truest ever made by awriter. Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude

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

aNo other popular writer of his time did any better writingthan you will find in The Call of the Wild.a--H. L. Mencken One ofthe greatest American storytellers, Jack London enjoyed phenomenalpopularity in his own time and remains widely read throughout theworld. His work is characterized by thrilling action, an intuitivefeeling for animal life, and a sense of justice that oftenmanifests itself through violence. "The Call of the Wild," perhapsthe best novel ever written about animals, traces a dogas suddenentry into the wild and his education in survival among the wolves.Library of America Paperback Classics feature authoritative textsdrawn from the acclaimed Library of America series and introducedby todayas most distinguished scholars and writers. Each bookfeatures a detailed chronology of the authoras life and career, andessay on the choice of the text, and notes. The contents of thisPaperback Classic are drawn from "Jack London: Novels and Stories,"volume number 6 in The Library of America series. I

"The Age of Innocence," one of Edith Wharton's mostrenowned novels and the first by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize,exquisitely details the struggle between love and responsibilitythrough the experiences of men and women in Gilded Age New York.The novel follows Newland Archer, a young, aristocratic lawyerengaged to the cloistered, beautiful May Welland. When May'sdisgraced cousin Ellen arrives from Europe, fleeing her marriage toa Polish Count, her worldly, independent nature intrigues Archer,who soon falls in love with her. Trapped by his passionlessrelationship with May and the social conventions that forbid arelationship with Ellen, Archer finds himself torn betweenpossibility and duty. Wharton's profound understanding of hercharacters' lives makes the triangle of Archer, May, and Ellen cometo life with an irresistible urgency. A wry, incisive look at theways in which love and emotion must negotiate the complex rules ofhigh society, "The Age of Innocence" is one of Wharton's finest,most illuminative w

This is the story of an artist as an aging man, strugglingthrough the wreckage of Japan's World War II experience. Ishiguro'sfirst novel.

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language andthe inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early workof H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest fromreviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted toknow more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in hisfirst book, "The Time Machine, "not its potential for misuse andterror. In "The Island of Dr. Moreau" a shipwrecked gentleman namedEdward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by thenotorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures,and a reason to run for his life. While this riveting tale wasintended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and thetension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiarwith genetic engineering will marvel at Wells's prediction of theethical issues raised by producing "smarter" human beings orbringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add arichness to Prendick's adventures on Dr. Moreau's island o

Leo Tolstoy’s short works, like his novels, show readers his narrative genius, keen observation, and historical acumen—albeit on a smaller scale. This Norton Critical Edition presents twelve of Tolstoy’s best-known stories, based on the Louise and Aylmer Maude translations (except “Alyosha Gorshok”), which have been revised by the editor for enhanced comprehension and annotated for student readers. The Second Edition newly includes “A Prisoner in the Caucasus,” “Father Sergius,” and “After the Ball,” in addition to Michael Katz’s new translation of “Alyosha Gorshok.” Together these stories represent the best of the author’s short fiction before War and Peace and after Anna Karenina. “Backgrounds and Sources” includes two Tolstoy memoirs, A History of Yesterday (1851) and The Memoirs of a Madman (1884), as well as entries—expanded in the Second Edition—from Tolstoy’s “Diary for 1855” and selected letters (1858–95) that shed light on the author’s creative p