One of the most enduringly popular adventure tales, Treasure Island began in 1881 as a serialized adventure entitled "The Sea-Cook"in the periodical Young Folks. Completed during a stay at Davos, Switzerland, where Stevenson had gone for his health, it was published in 1883 in the form we know today. Set in the eighteenth century, Treasure Island spins a heady tale of piracy, a mysterious treasure map, and a host of sinister characters charged with diabolical intentions. Seen through the eyes of Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy of the Hispaniola, the...
One of the most enduringly popular adventure tales, Treasure Island began in 1881 as a serialized adventure entitled "The Sea-Cook"in t...
The plays of John Millington Synge (1871-1909) are filled with the humors, sorrows, and dreams of the country folk of the Aran Islands and the western Irish coastlands, where, in Synge's works, "we have a popular imagination that is fiery and magnificent, and tender." The Playboy of the Western World, his most famous play, is sweetly funny and ironic as it follows its young hero's progress, in the eyes of others, from timid weakling to paragon of bravery. The shorter one-act play, Riders to the Sea, is a dark elegy to the fragile existence of those who live at the mercy of...
The plays of John Millington Synge (1871-1909) are filled with the humors, sorrows, and dreams of the country folk of the Aran Islands and the west...
The Bhagavadgita is part of the great Indian epic the Mahabharata, and it is one of the major religious documents of the world, occupying in Hinduism a position not unlike the Sermon on the Mount in Christianity. One of the most celebrated treasures of world literature as well, it is in the form of a poetic dialogue between the epic's hero, Arjuna, and his friend Krishna, believed to be an incarnation of God. The dialogue, which takes place on the eve of an historic battle, probes the nature of God and what man should do to reach him. As the Bhagavadgita unfolds, this majestic poem...
The Bhagavadgita is part of the great Indian epic the Mahabharata, and it is one of the major religious documents of the world, occupying in Hinduism ...
The 6 essays and one address in this volume outline the great transcendentalist's moral idealism as well as hinting at the later scepticism that colored his thought. In addition to the celebrated title essay, the others included here are "History," "Friendship," "The Over-Soul," "The Poet" and "Experience," plus the well-known and frequently read Harvard Divinity School Address.
The 6 essays and one address in this volume outline the great transcendentalist's moral idealism as well as hinting at the later scepticism that color...
One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit, and more murders, which ultimately spells his doom. Set amid the gloomy castles and lonely heaths of medieval Scotland, Macbeth paints a striking dramatic portrait of a man of honor...
One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophe...
In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide...
In this celebrated work, his only novel, Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th...
Newspaperman, short-story writer, poet, and satirist, Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) is one of the most striking and unusual literary figures America has produced. Dubbed "Bitter Bierce" for his vitriolic wit and biting satire, his fame rests largely on a celebrated compilation of barbed epigrams, The Devil's Dictionary, and a book of short stories (Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, 1891). Most of the 16 selections in this volume have been taken from the latter collection. The stories in this edition include: "What I Saw at Shiloh," "A Son of the Gods," "Four Days in Dixie,"...
Newspaperman, short-story writer, poet, and satirist, Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) is one of the most striking and unusual literary figures America h...
First published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece and one of the greatest American novels. Its themes of sin, guilt, and redemption, woven through a story of adultery in the early days of the Massachusetts Colony, are revealed with remarkable psychological penetration and understanding of the human heart. Hester Prynne is the adulteress, forced by the Puritan community to wear a scarlet letter A on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister and the secret father of her child, Pearl, struggles with the agony of conscience and his own...
First published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece and one of the greatest American novels. Its themes of sin, gu...
Joyce's semi-autobiographical chronicle of Stephen Dedalus' passage from university student to "independent" artist is at once a richly detailed, amusing, and moving coming-of-age story, a tour de force of style and technique, and a profound examination of the Irish psyche and society.
Joyce's semi-autobiographical chronicle of Stephen Dedalus' passage from university student to "independent" artist is at once a richly detailed, amus...
Considered the preeminent verse satirist in English, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) brought wide learning, devastating wit and masterly technique to his poems. Models of clarity and control, they exemplified the classical poetics of the Augustan age. This volume contains a rich selection of Pope's work, including such well-known poems as the title selection-a philosophical meditation on the nature of the universe and man's place in it-and "The Rape of the Lock," a mock-epic of rare charm and skill. Also included are "Ode on Solitude," "The Dying Christian to His Soul," "Elegy to the Memory of...
Considered the preeminent verse satirist in English, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) brought wide learning, devastating wit and masterly technique to his p...
