This authoritative, accurate text of the first edition (1868—69) of Little Women is accompanied by textual variants and thorough explanatory annotations. "Backgrounds and Contexts" includes a wealth of archival materials, among them previously unpublished correspondence with Thomas Niles and Alcott's own precursors to Little Women. "Criticism" reprints twenty nineteenth-century reviews. Seven modern essays represent a variety of critical theories used to read and study the novel, including feminist (Catharine R. Stimpson, Elizabeth Keyser), new historicist (Richard H. Brodhead), psychoanalytic (Angela M. Estes and Kathleen Margaret Lant), and reader-response (Elizabeth Vincent) . A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included. About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Carefu

The Prophet represents the acme of Kahlik Gibrans achievement Writing in English Gibran adopted the tone and cadence of King James I s Bible fusing his personalised Christian philosophy with a spirit and oriental wisdom that derives from the richly mixed influences of his native Lebanon His language has a breath-taking beauty. Before returning to his birthplace Almustafa the prophet is asked for guidance by the people of Orphalese His words redolent with love and understanding call for universal unity and affirm Gibran s certatinty of the correlated nature of all existence and of reincamation. The Prophet has never lost its immediate appeal and has become a buiquitous touchstone of spiritual literature.

With an Introduction by Dr Pamela Knights, Department of English Studies, Durham University On a poor farm near Starkfield in western Massachusetts, Ethan Frome struggles to wrest a living from the land, unassisted by his whining and hypochondriacal wife Zeena. When Zeena's young cousin Mattie Silver is left destitute, the only place she can go is Ethan's farm. An embittered man and an enchanting young woman meeting in such circumstances unleash predictable consequences as passions are aroused between the three protagonists, Edith Wharton's characterisation and deft handling of reversals of fortune are so accomplished that Ethan Frome has remained enduringly popular since its first publication in 1911 and is considered her greatest tragic story.

I'his edition brings together Shakespeare’S incomparable sonnetsand his major long poems，Venus and Adonis，The Rape of Lucrece，and The Phoenix and the Turtle among them．Shakespeare came tomaturity during the peak of the influence of the sonnet--an Italianimport--on English Doets．And few would doubt he iS the greatestsonneteer the English language has ever produced．In their day boththe light Venus and Adonis and the more tragic Rape of Lucrece werepopularsuccef；ses，delightingboththeEarlofSouthamptontowhomthey were dedicated and the public at large．In an era in which playswere not treated seriously,it Was these long poents--now consideredrelatively minor--that first gave Shakespeare claim to being animportant poet．

This is the perfect introduction for young readers to the lives and times of America’s 43 most influential leaders. Just as the new president is inaugurated, readers can easily relive the course of American history through a detailed timeline, more than 50 vivid photographs and illustrations, information about each president’s term in office, and the major political issues of each era. Quick-reference sidebars provide brief summaries of the major events and important people who emerged during each presidential term. Famous quotes and fun facts about each president ensure that this perennial favorite continues to be an entertaining and enlightening addition to any child’s library.

Agatha Christie's ginius for detective fiction is unparalleled. Her worldwide popularity is phenomenal, her characters engaging, her plots spellbinding. No one knows the human heart--or the dark passions that can stop it--better than Agatha Christie. She is truly the one and only Queen of Crime. The Muder Of Roger Ackroyd Village rumor hints that Mrs. Ferrars poisoned her husband, but no one is sure. Then there's another victim in a chain of death. Unfortunately for the killer, master sleuth Hercule Poirot takes over the investigation. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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.

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.

These beautifully crafted poems - by turns dark, playful,intensely moving, tender, and intimate - make up Margaret Atwood'smost accomplished and versatile gathering to date, " setting footon the middle ground / between body and word." Some draw onhistory, some on myth, both classical and popular. Others, morepersonal, concern themselves with love, with the fragility of thenatural world, and with death, especially in the elegiac series ofmeditations on the death of a parent. But they also inhabit acontemporary landscape haunted by images of the past. Generous,searing, compassionate, and disturbing, this poetry rises out ofhuman experience to seek a level between luminous memory and therealities of the everyday, between the capacity to inflict and thestrength to forgive.

Though the story has been told on film—and whispered inhistoric gossip—this is the first book in almost fifty years tosolely explore the great queen’s attachment to her beloved RobertDudley, the Earl of Leicester. Fueled by scandal and intrigue,their relationship set the explosive connection between public andprivate life in sixteenth-century England in bold relief. Why didthey never marry? How much of what seemed a passionate obsessionwas actually political convenience? Elizabeth and Leicesterreignites this 400- year-old love story in a book for anyoneinterested in Elizabethan literature.

The star-crossed lovers of Romeo and Juliet, the madness and vengeance of Hamlet, and the corrupting lust for power of Macbeth -- this collection of three of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies 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.

The Subterraneans haunt the bars and clubs of San Francisco,surviving on a diet of booze and benzedrine, Proust and Verlaine.Living amongst them is Leo, an aspiring writer, and Mardou,half-Indian, half-Negro, beautiful and neurotic. Their bitter-sweetand ill-starred love affair sees Kerouac at his most evocative.Many regard this as being Kerouac's most touching and tenderbook.

The classic depiction of the harsh realities of American life,the dark side of the American Dream, and one man's doomed pursuitof love and success... "Mr. Dreiser is not imitative and belongs to no school. He is atheart a mysticist and a fatalist, though using the realisticmethod. He is, on the evidence of this novel alone, a power."-TheNew York Times Book Review

A young man, broken down in the fog, witnesses a murder he is asked to conceal...A full-length novel adapted by Charles Osborne from Agatha Christie's acclaimed play. When a stranger runs his car into a ditch in dense fog in South Wales and makes his way to an isolated house, he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheelchair-bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story. But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's retarded young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects! THE UNEXPECTED GUEST is considered to be one of the finest of Christie's plays. Hailed as 'another Mousetrap' when it opened on 12 August 1958 in the West End, it ran for 604 performances over the succeeding 18 months and

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.

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP A collection of quintessentially American poems, the seminal work of one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. 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 scholarship provided in Enriched Class

This allegorical novel, set in sixth-century India around the time of the Buddha, follows a young man on his search for enlightenment.THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives the reader 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 guide the reader's 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

'It is the sum of myself, as far as the written word can go' -Kerouac on "The Town and the City". Kerouac's debut novel is agreat coming of age story which can be read as the essentialprelude to his later classics. Inspired by grief over his father'sdeath and gripped by determination to write the Great AmericanNovel, he draws largely on his own New England childhood.

Book De*ion Christopher Hibbert creates portraits of Napoleon and Wellington, of the French, English and Prussian armies, and a strategical, step-by-step reconstruction of the events that led up to the battle of Waterloo and the battle itself. Waterloo was the battle that ended Napoleon's dreams of a European empire unified under his rule. Christopher Hibbert creates portraits of Napoleon and Wellington, of the French, English and Prussian armies, and a strategical, step-by-step reconstruction of the events that led up to the battle and the battle itself. Divided into three parts, the first studies Napoleon and his rise to power, the second describes Wellington and the allied armies, while the third reconstructs the battle of Waterloo. A final summary investigates the significance of the battles on world history. Book Dimension : length: (cm)19.8 width:(cm)12.6

Though generally overlooked during her lifetime, EmilyDickinson's poetry has achieved acclaim due to her experiments inprosody, her tragic vision and the range of her emotional andintellectual explorations.

In this, his final adventure, Buchan's hero Richard Hannay becomes embroiled in one of the most hazardous escapades of his life. Two men are honour bound to help the tormented Valdemar Haraldsen, and a third decides to mastermind the whole affair out o-f sheer love of adventure and a dislike of villains. In the final event, the fate of Haraldsen and his three redoubtable defenders rests on the undaunted bravery of two children. Buchan is one of the best-loved story-tellers of histime, and this thriller reflects a fundamental faith in the magnanimity of human nature that is both inspiring and refreshing.

Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents and envious of his abilities and opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art and her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city and witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest, Savanarola, who has set out to rid the city of vice, richness, even art itself. Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life, as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis and the asceticism of Savanorola. And through it all, there is the painter, whose love will change everything.

Set on the eve of the Sino-Japanese war, "Fortress Besieged"recounts the exuberant misadventures of the hapless hero FangHung-chien, who after aimlessly studying in Europe at his family'sexpense returns to Shanghai armed with a bogus degree from a fakeuniversity. On the liner back, Fang's life becomes deeply entangledwith those of two Chinese beauties - while when he does finallymake it home, he obtains a teaching post at a newly establisheduniversity, encounters effete pseudo-intellectuals, and falls intoa marriage of disastrous proportions. A glorious tale of love,marriage, war, calamity, disillusionment and hope, this is one ofthe greatest Chinese novels: combining Eastern philosophy, Westerntraditions, adventure, tragicomedy and satire to create a uniquefeast of delights.