New reformatted edition (not low-quality scans of an old book) which includes ten black and white illustrations of Joshua Reynolds's art. As the most successful portrait painter in 18th century England, and the first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, Sir Joshua Reynolds delivered fifteen eloquent discourses at the annual or semi-annual awards presentations, instilling encouragement in the students, and providing a concise summary of art theory that continued to influence artists well into the 19th century. This volume presents a selection of seven of the discourses, that are essential...

New 6x9 inch paperback edition. "Riders of the Purple Sage" tells the story of Jane Withersteen and her battle to overcome her persecution by members of her polygamous Mormon Church. A second plot follows Venters and his escape to the wilderness with a girl named Bess, whom he has accidentally shot. Venters falls in love with the girl, and together they escape to the East, while Lassiter, Fay, and Jane, pursued by both Mormons and rustlers, escape into a paradise-like valley by toppling a giant balancing rock, forever closing off the only way in or out. Zane Grey was an American author best...

New 6x9 inch paperback edition. An early example of Joyce's modernist, free indirect speech style of writing, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is a semi-autobiographical novel that traces the intellectual and religio-philosophical awakening of young Stephen Dedalus as he begins to question and rebel against the Catholic and Irish conventions with which he has been raised. He finally leaves for abroad to pursue his ambitions as an artist. James Joyce (1882-1941) was an Irish novelist and poet considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the...

New 6x9 inch paperback edition with restored text. Challenging the prevailing morals of the Victorian era, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered by many to be the first feminist novel. This is a story of marital betrayal set within a moral framework tempered by an optimistic belief in universal salvation. The main character, Helen, is spirited and forthright, unafraid to speak with frankness to the men in her life. Anne Bronte portrays this approvingly, in contrast to the meekness of Milicent who is trampled and ignored by her unrepentant husband. Helen leaves with her beloved son in tow,...

With 12 color and 21 b/w illustrations, this classic novella, by English author Charles Dickens, tells the story of bitter and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The mid-nineteenth century story highlights the plight of those whom the Industrial Revolution has displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society to provide for them humanely. After its initial publication and critical acclaim, there was a sudden burst of...