In the fog of London, lawyers enrich themselves with endless litigation over a dwindling inheritance. A sterling example of Dickens's genius for character, dramatic construction, and social satire, th
In this brilliant novel, Paul Laurence Dunbar presents a grim, ironic look at the urban black experience. The story of a displaced Southern family's struggle to survive and prosper in Harlem, The Spo
This is the story of a young woman born in Chicago who came to New York, won fame with her play, A Raisin in the Sun--and went on to new heights of artistry before her tragic death. In turns angry, l
This beautiful and eloquent story tells of a simple peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life is a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loves-an unforgettable nove
Set against the background of the Black Death of 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio's undisputed masterpiece recaptures both the tragedies and comedies of medieval life and is surely one of the greatest achieve
These controversial epic poems demonstrate Milton's genius for fusing sense and sound, classicism and innovation, narrative and drama in profound explorations of the moral problems of God's justice-a
A tale of an evil house, cursed through the centuries by a man who was hanged for witchcraft, haunted by ghosts of its dead and the terror of its living. Nathanial Hawthorne's works are imbued with a
Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, first published in 1910, remained a perennial favorite throughout the twentieth century and into the early 2000s. It was adapted to several popular moti
The author, a distinguished Oxford scholar, brilliantly recreates Napoleon's life and legend through the personal letters of Marie-Louise and the decoded diaries of Grand Marshal Bertrand, who accompa
Over 175 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French nobleman and an astute political scientist, came to the United States to evaluate the meaning and actual functioning of democracy. His brilli
With a new introduction by Robert B. Parker He is the Virginian-the first fully realized cowboy hero in American literature, a near-mythic figure whose idealized image has profoundly influenced our
In a firsthand look at the events and personalities of the American battle for independence, an American colonial soldier presents an account of his experiences fighting for freedom during the Revolut
Belonging in the company of the works of Homer and Virgil, The Inferno is a moving human drama, a journey through the torment of Hell, an expression of the Middle Ages, and a protest against the ways
A bold young English sailor has despised himself ever since an impulsive moment of cowardice. Jim moves East to Patusan, where natives worship himA-and he may be able to find redemption...
A masterwork From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nineteenth-century New England villager Ethan Frome is tormented by his love for his ailing wifeA's cousin. Trapped, he may ultimately be destroyed
Lush with imagery, this is the story of three generations of Brangwen women living during the decline of English rural life. Banned upon publication, it explores the most taboo subjects of its time: m
The Moonstone was published in 1868 and concerns the huge yellow diamond of the title that was once stolen from an Indian shrine. Rachel Verrinder receives the stone as a gift and does not realize tha
In AristophanesA' most popular play, sex is a powerful agent of reconciliation. As war ravages ancient Greece, a band of women, led by Lysistrata, promise to deny their husbands all sex until they st
A"I sing of arms and the man...A"So begins the ageless epic of Aeneas and his men, who are seemingly destined to wander the ancient world endlessly, the playthings of wrathful gods. Fleeing the ruins
The Underdogs Mariano Azuela Ten years after its publication in a small El Paso paper, The Underdogs achieved worldwide renown as the greatest novel of the Mexican Revolution. It tells the sto
A classic tour of the wild west In 1861, young Mark Twain found himself adrift as a tenderfoot in the Wild West?and Roughing It is his hilarious record of his travels come to life with his inimitable
A classic collectionFrom the exquisite lyric A"To Helen,A" to the immortal masterpieces A"Annabel Lee,A" A"The Bells,A" and A"The Raven,A" The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe demonstrates the autho
The master of wit and irony Published here alongside their evocative original illustrations, these fairy tales, as Oscar Wilde himself explained, were written A"partly for children, and partly for th
Dark, but filled with bright genius, Women in Love is a prophetic masterpiece steeped in eroticism, filled with perceptions about sexual power and obsession that have proven to be timeless and true.
Reason, Facts, and statistics... DickensA' scathing portrait of Victorian industrial society and its misapplied utilitarian philosophy, Hard Times features schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, one of his
The provocative masterpieceSinclair LewisA's Main Street is notable for shattering the uniquely American myth of the open, progressive-minded small town. Its incisive attack on the provincial mentali
With an introduction by W.H. Auden and commentary from Helen Vendler, among others, this volume presents all of Shakeseare's non-dramatic poetry in one place.
Possibly the best student of hypocrisy since Voltaire This portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist-who lives a life of hypocrisy, sensuality, and self-indulgence-is also the chronicle of a reign of
A rare look at the hidden side of Victorian life From his precocious childhood to the end of what he calls his "amatory career," an adventurous Victorian known only as "Walter" records a breathtakin
Here are Masters's dramatic monologues written in free verse about a fictional Midwestern town called Spoon River. The dead, "sleeping on the hill" in their village cemetery, awaken to tell the trut
Discusses the life and work of Andrew Carnegie, describing how he left Scotland at age thirteen, began a menial job at a bobbin factory, and eventually amassed a fortune, most of which he gave to char
A masterpiece of modern fiction, James Joyce’s semiautobiographical first novel follows Stephen Dedalus, a sensitive and creative youth who rebels against his family, his education, and his country by
Stendhal's most famous work, this is at once a brilliant portrait of French society after the Revolution and a profound psychological study of a young man's struggle to cope with opposing and often u
The creator of such quintessentially American fiction as "Rip Van Winkle," Irving earned his preeminence with the masterpieces in miniature collected here: dozens of short stories, travel essays, bio
Based on the life of her brother, this unforgettable book chronicles the life and times of Jacob Flanders-and remains an important work in the development of the novel form, and a shining example of W
When Maggie was published, society was unprepared for its grim and stark tale of a pretty young girl's fall in New York's Bowery, and its criticism of the irresponsibility of men toward women. Stephe
Written entirely in letters, this novel conveys the nuances and tensions only present in personal epistolary form. The virtuous but self-deceiving Clarissa and the charming villain Lovelace haunt the
Dr. Moreau, a scientist expelled from his homeland for cruel experiments, finds a deserted island where he can create hideous creatures with manlike intelligence. But as the rigid order on Moreau's i
The Jungle Books can be regarded as classic stories told by an adult to children. But they also constitute a complex literary work of art in which the whole of Kipling's philosophy of life is express
