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Thomas Middleton (1580-1627), a bricklayer's son, rose to become one of the most eminent playwrights of the Jacobean period. Along with Ben Johnson he helped shape the dynamic course of drama in Renaissance England. His range is broad, as his work successfully covers comedy, tragedy, and history. Praised during his life as well as today, Middleton remains relevant and influential. This edition collects five of his most treasured dramas, demonstrating the breadth of his abilities. «A Trick to Catch the Old One» (1608) and «A Chaste Maid in Cheapside» (1630) are both delightful comedies of greed and lust. «Women Beware Women» (1637) and «The Revenger's Tragedy» (1607) are both deft tales of the pitfalls of vice, wealth, and sex. Lastly, «The Changeling» (1653) is Middleton's most refined and respected tragedy. It has experienced consistent success both upon its initial release and in modern times, with frequent staging over the past hundred years. «The Changeling» is a dark tale of deception and desire exploring the ways in which these impulses transform human beings, often to tragic ends. All five plays demonstrate Middleton's numerous gifts as a playwright of his time, gifts that helped shape the course of English literature.
The Red Fairy Book
"The Red Fairy Book" is the second book in the series of Andrew Lang's «Fairy Books», a popular series of books that collected together various stories of myth, fantasy, and legend which had been passed down through the ages by oral tradition. Included in this volume are the following stories: The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Princess Mayblossom, Soria Moria Castle, The Death of Koschei the Deathless, The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen, The Master Thief, Brother and Sister, Princess Rosette, The Enchanted Pig, The Norka, The Wonderful Birch, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Good Mouse, Graciosa and Percinet, The Three Princesses of Whiteland, The Voice of Death, The Six Sillies, Kari Woodengown, Drakestail, The Ratcatcher, The True History of Little Goldenhood, The Golden Branch, The Three Dwarfs, Dapplegrim, The Enchanted Canary, The Twelve Brothers, Rapunzel, The Nettle Spinner, Farmer Weatherbeard, Mother Holle, Minnikin, Bushy Bride, Snowdrop, The Golden Goose, The Seven Foals, The Marvellous Musician, and The Story of Sigurd.
The Life of Charlotte Bronte
Elizabeth Gaskell's «The Life of Charlotte Bronte» is the official biography of Charlotte Bronte. Having been invited by the Bronte family to undertake the endeavor of writing Charlotte’s biography, Elizabeth Gaskell drew upon an exhaustive collection of letters, interviews of those who knew the author, and recollections of her own experiences with the author, whom she was a personal friend of. Elizabeth Gaskell as a fellow Victorian female writer brings great insight into the life and accomplishments of the talented Charlotte Bronte.
Stories of Red Hanrahan, The Secret Rose, and Rosa Alchemica
Born and educated in Dublin, Ireland, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) discovered early in his literary career a fascination with Irish folklore and the occult. Later awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, Yeats produced a vast collection of stories, songs, and poetry of Ireland's historical and legendary past. Red Hanrahan is a character that Yeats returned to frequently, his creation influenced heavily by Celtic folklore. In this collection, he appears in «Red Hanrahan», «The Twisting of the Rope», «Hanrahan and Cathleen The Daughter of Hoolihan», «Red Hanrahan's Curse», «Hanrahan's Vision», and «The Death of Hanrahan». Also included in this collection are «Dedication to A. E.», «To The Secret Rose», «The Crucifixion of the Outcast», «Out of the Rose», «The Wisdom of the King», «The Heart Of The Spring», «The Curse of the Fires and of the Shadows», «The Old Men of the Twilight», «Where There Is Nothing», «There Is God», «Of Costello The Proud», «Of Una The Daughter of Macdermot», «Of The Bitter Tongue», and Rose Alchemica.
Anna Christie
Eugene O'Neill's 1922 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, «Anna Christie,» is the story of a young woman who following an illness decides to visit and spend some time with her father, a coal barge captain who she hardly knows. During this time she meets a sailor, Mat, who is looking to settle down, and the two fall in love. «Anna Christie» is a gripping drama of a woman torn between the expectations of two men, her father and her lover, and the shocking confession of her past life that this conflict evokes.
The Young Carthaginian
George Alfred Henty (1832-1902) was an English novelist, war correspondent and imperialist who wrote 122 books, mostly for children. As a young man, Henty volunteered for the Army Hospital Commissariat in the Crimean War. In letters to his father, he wrote vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions for British soldiers, which his father sent to be published in the newspaper. This led to his post as a Special Correspondent, and he proceeded to report on wars and rebellions all over the world. His storytelling skills, he claimed, stemmed from entertaining his children after dinner, and his brave, intelligent, honest, resourceful characters are beloved amongst readers as much today as they were over a century ago. «The Young Carthaginian» is set in ancient times, and tells the story of young Malchus, an officer in Hannibal's army, on his journey with the army across southern Europe and the Alps.
The Second Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling's «The Second Jungle Book» is a classic collection of fables set predominately in the Indian jungle with animal characters used to teach moral lessons. A sequel to the popular 1894 work, «The Jungle Book», this volume includes five additional stories of one of Kipling's most famous characters, Mowgli, a 'man-cub' raised by wolves, as well as three unrelated stories. In «The Second Jungle Book» Kipling provides a set of entertaining stories which will enchant and educate readers both young and old.
McTeague: A Story of San Francisco
First published in 1899, this graphic depiction of urban American life centers around McTeague, a dentist practicing in San Francisco at the turn of the century. While at first content with his life and friendship with an ambitious man named Marcus, McTeague eventually courts and marries Trina, a parsimonious young woman who wins a large sum of money in a lottery. The greed of the majority of the characters in the novel creates a chain of events that lead to many painful, gruesome deaths. Norris' work, so strikingly different from that of his contemporaries, is an admirable example of social realism, which provided America with a shocking reflection of its sordid sense of survival. From the opening description of San Francisco to McTeague's final desperate flight far from his 'Dental Parlors,' this novel examines human greed in a way that still causes readers to pause and reflect over one hundred years later.
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) was a prolific novelist of the eighteenth century, whose literary works spanned the genres of fiction, non-fiction, journalism and correspondence. Born in Scotland, Smollett attended Glasgow University before travelling to London to seek his fortune. His travels throughout Scotland, France and Italy provided inspiration for many of his stories, including his wildly funny and successful novel «The Expedition of Humphry Clinker», which he published the year of his death. «Humphry Clinker» is an epistolary novel, considered to be his masterpiece, which follows Matthew Bramble and a group of six humorous characters on a trip through the British Isles. This lively travel story examines social divisions, manners and the psychological evolution of characters from their own emotional responses to new situations. The novel was extremely popular among its eighteenth century audience, and is revered today as a brilliant example of English humor.
The Doctor's Dilemma
First staged in 1906, «The Doctor's Dilemma» is a play that revolves around a community of doctors, most specializing, unbeknownst to them, in different types of expensive, fraudulent treatments. Dr. Ridgeon, who has actually discovered a vaccine for tuberculosis, is conflicted about administering his limited remedy, for the husband of a woman he is in love with can pay, but his kind yet poverty-stricken colleague Dr. Blenkinsop cannot. Shaw's drama highlights the medical predicament of his day, that of treating patients with unnecessary practices to earn a living. A well-written, verbose play characteristic of Shaw, «The Doctor's Dilemma» still resonates with today's audience because of its thoughtful commentary on the continuing problem of providing adequate healthcare to the poor.