Among the greatest and best known of Ibsen's works, these four plays brilliantly exemplify his landmark contributions to the theater: his realistic dialogue, probing of social problems, and depiction of characters' inner lives as well as their actions. Rich in symbolism and often autobiographical, each of these dramas deals convincingly and provocatively with such universal themes as greed, fear, and sexual hostility, and confronts the eternal conflict between reality and illusion....

This volume gathers together fourteen of Edgar Allan Poe's richest and most influential tales, including: "The Pit and the Pendulum," his reimagining of Inquisition tortures; "The Tell-Tale Heart," an exploration of a murderer's madness, which Stephen King called "the best tale of inside evil ever written"; "The Fall of the House of Usher," Poe's tour de force about a family doomed by a grim bloodline curse; and his pioneering detective stories, "The Purloined Letter" and "The...

Tao Te Ching contains the time-honored teachings of Taoism and brings a message of living simply, finding contentment with a minimum of comfort, and prizing culture above all else.

This is the lauded translation of the eighty-one poems constituting an Eastern classic, the mystical and moral teachings of which have profoundly influenced the sacred scriptures of many religions--and the lives and happiness of countless men and women through the centuries.

Translated and with...

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde's only full-length novel, is the enduringly eerie story of a naive and irresistible young man lured by decadent Lord Henry Wotton into a life of depravity. Though Dorian is steeped in sin, his face remains perfect, unlined as years pass--while only his portrait, locked away, reveals the blackness of his soul. This timeless tale of Gothic horror and fable, reveling in the unabashed hedonism and cynical wit of its characters,...

Readers the world over recognize O. Henry as the best short story writer of the early twentieth century. Widely known as a master of irony, O. Henry also displays here dazzling wordplay and a wry combination of pathos and humor.

The storming of the Bastille...the death carts with their doomed human cargo...the swift drop of the guillotine blade--this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starving people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, Dickens casts his novel of...

For more than one hundred years this compelling tale of the Martian invasion of Earth has enthralled readers with a combination of imagination and incisive commentary on the imbalance of power that continues to be relevant today