In later life Basho turned to Zen Buddhism, and the travel sketched in this volume relfect his attempts to cast off earthly attachments and reach out to spiritual fulfillment. The sketches are written
Ibsen's last work to use poetry as a medium of dramatic expression, Peer Gynt carries the marks of his later, prose plays. Its literary antecedents include Faust and Hans Christian Andersen, but the
Vividly bringing to life the rift between the old world and the new, Cousin Bette is an incisive study of vengeance, and the culmination of The Human Comedy.
Plautus's broad humor, reflecting Roman manners and contemporary life, is revealed in these five plays: The Pot of Gold (Aulularia), The Prisoners (Captivi), The Brothers Menaechmus (Menaechmi), The S
A French courtier, secret agent, libertine and adventurer, Beaumarchais (1732-99) was also author of two sparkling plays about the scoundrelly valet Figaro?triumphant successes that were used as the b
The defeat of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes and his small band of adventurers is one of the most startling military feats in history. Fifty years after the event Bernal Diaz (c.1498-c.1580), who served
‘As a youth … I had prayed to you for chastity and said “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet”’ The son of a pagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Augustine spent his early years torn b
Gottfried's version of this legendary romance--in which Tristan and Isolde chance to drink a magic potion that causes them to fall in love--portrays Tristan in the round as an attractive and sophistic
Passionate and powerful, the three plays collected together in this volume represent August Strindburge (1849-1912) at his best, 'The Father', 'Miss Julia', and the more mystical 'Easter.' In all thre
Beowulf stands at the head of English literature; a poem of historical interest and epic scope. Although the first manuscript of Beowulf dates from around the year 1000 CE, it is thought that the poem
Eugenie's moving story is set against the backdrop of provincial oppression, the vicissitudes of the wine trade, and the workings of the financial system in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It
Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling the author's ambitious clai
The French author looks at the first fifty-three years of his life, from his childhood in Geneva, to his fame as a novelist and philosopher in Paris, to his persecution by governments and his wanderin
Only the Bible has been more influential as a source of Christian devotional reading than "The Imitation of Christ." This mediation on the spiritual life has inspired readers from Thomas More and St.
Delicate tangles of holly and ivy, bauble-laden Christmas trees, and mountains of exquisitely wrapped gifts are all waiting to be brought to life in this new coloring book from Johanna Basford. From
From the internationally bestselling creator of Lost Ocean comes a beautiful new coloring book that takes you on a wondrous expedition through the jungle Follow ink evangelist Johanna Basford dow
From Johanna Basford, 36 postcards for coloring in and sending to friends (or keeping for yourself!) These clever postcards feature beautiful drawings from Lost Ocean, illustrator and ink evangelist J
A magnificent new translation of the enduring epic about the sundering of the Roman Republic. Lucan lived from 39-65 AD at a time of great turbulence in Rome. His Civil War portrays two of the most
A milestone in the study of culture from the father of structural anthropology. This watershed work records Claude Levi-Strauss's search for "a human society reduced to its most basic expression." F
The quintessential story collection from "the most important black South African writer of the present age" (George Moore). Originally published in 1967, In Corner B contains the core stories of the
An illuminating collection of work by members of the Religious Society of Friends. Covering nearly three centuries of religious development, this comprehensive anthology brings together writings from
An iconic novel dressed in a fierce design by acclaimed fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo. See the other titles in the couture-inspired collection: Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Scarlet Le
Indispensible biographies of major figures in Roman history. A mathematician and philosopher, Plutarch was also an acclaimed biographer and historian. Bringing together nine biographies from his Para
"The best novel to come out of America-or England-for a generation." -V.S. Pritchett, The New York Review of Books In this unique noir masterpiece by the incomparable Saul Bellow, a young man is suck
At twenty-nine, Lily Bart dazzles at New York balls and soirees, but she knows that her days as a fascinating beauty are numbered, as she has not yet found a husband. But when she is accused of an aff
Adolph Verloc leads a double life. As well as running his seedy Soho shop, he is also a secret agent, operating for an underground anarchist cell – and his job is about to get far more dangerous. When
Paul Morel both loves and is repelled by his mother, a good woman who makes up for her poor marriage to a violent, uneducated man by lavishing all her attention on her sons. But as Paul grows up and t
A new edition of one of the most revealing portraits of eighteenth- century London Edinburgh-born James Boswell, at twenty-two, kept a daily diary of his eventful second stay in London from 1762 thro
A new selection of seven of Dostoyevsky's best stories. "The Gambler," about a young tutor in the employ of a Russian general, was written under a strict deadline so Dostoyevsky could pay off his rou
When Dr. Stockmann discovers that his town's water is poisoned, he does what any responsible citizen would do: reports it to the authorities. But Stockmann's good deed has the potential to ruin the to
An important new translation of a fundamental work of Brazilian literature Written by a former army lieutenant, civil engineer, and journalist, Backlands is Euclides da Cunha's vivid and poignant por
The classic genre-defining whodunit, by the mother of the detective novel Introducing the first American series detective, Ebenezer Gryce, The Leavenworth Case was published nine years before the deb
The firecracker verse of a true American original Best remembered as a member of the Algonquin Round Table, the fabled Jazz Age literary coterie, Dorothy Parker built a reputation as one of the era's
Revered for his magnificent works of fiction, Jorge Luis Borges thought of himself primarily as a poet. Poems of the Night is a moving collection of the great literary visionary's poetic meditations o
A newly revised edition of two seminal works on Imperial Rome Undeniably one of Rome's most important historians, Tacitus was also one of its most gifted. The Agricola is both a portrait of Julius Agr
