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An unparalleled example of Gothic romance, Radcliffe's novel portrays the multitude of misfortunes heaped upon the admirable French heroine, Emily St. Aubert. Losing first her mother, then her beloved father, the orphaned Emily must be separated from her newfound love Valancourt to live with her aunt and new guardian, Madame Cheron. Emily then faces the evil machinations of her aunt's husband, the Italian brigand Signor Montoni, who imprisons the two women in the dismal, degenerate, and isolated castle Udolpho. It is here where Emily must overcome persecution from an unwelcome suitor, the threats of Montoni, and, most frightening of all, the psychological terror of apparently supernatural occurrences and her own riotous, horrified imagination. Radcliffe transitions from the striking mountain landscapes of France and Italy to the illusory and even phantasmal terrain of the heroine's mind creates an enthralling tale that explores the farthest reaches of a young woman's experiences of outer and inner life.
The Troll Garden
The Troll Garden is a classic collection of short stories by American author Willa Cather. Contained here in this volume are the following tales: Flavia and Her Artists, The Sculptor's Funeral, «A Death in the Desert», The Garden Lodge, The Marriage of Phædra, A Wagner Matinee, and Paul's Case.
A Raw Youth (The Adolescent)
"A Raw Youth (The Adolescent)" is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 1875 novel which tells the story of the life of a 19-year-old intellectual, Arkady Dolgoruky, who is the illegitimate child of the controversial and womanizing landowner Versilov. The novel focuses primarily on the conflict that arises between Arkady and Versilov, when Arkady rejoins his family in St. Petersburg. Arkady who has been away at boarding school hardly knows his family and when he comes to learn more about them he becomes embroiled in the scandalous affairs of his father. Rich with the depictions of the complex psychological, emotional, and moral conflicts that plague the human condition and are so common to the characters of Dostoyevsky's work, «A Raw Youth (The Adolescent)» is a classic work by an author who many consider as the greatest to ever have lived.
The Sleeper Awakes
One of the patriarchs of the science fiction genre, H. G. Wells (1866-1946) produced a vast collection of important works on the topics of scientific progress, politics, history and social commentary. One work in particular marked a watershed moment in the English author's career. With the publication of «When the Sleeper Wakes» in 1899, later republished under the title «The Sleeper Awakes,» Wells gave the world its first dystopia novel. The story concerns a Victorian Englishman who falls into a trance, and awakens to find himself in a terrifying London of the future. In what is essentially a story of radical socialism gone bad, this new, mechanized London has been reduced to a highly regimented society of mental and physical slaves under a totalitarian, power-hungry group of elite. His subsequent novels, including «The Time Machine,» «The Island of Doctor Moreau,» «The Invisible Man,» and «The First Men in the Moon,» continue Wells' exploration of social progress and the dark potential of science and technology.
The Ladies' Paradise
One of the most important, though controversial, French novelists of the late nineteenth century, and founder of the Realist movement, was Émile Zola (1840-1902). In 1871 Zola began to his most notable series of novels, the «Rougon-Macquart Novels,» that relate the history of a fictional family under the Second Empire. As a strict naturalist, Zola was greatly concerned with science, especially the problems of evolution and heredity vs. environment. However, unlike Honoré de Balzac, whose works examined a wider scope of society, Zola focused on the evolution of one, single family. «The Ladies' Paradise» is the eleventh novel in this series, and begins exactly where «Pot-Bouille» left off. Octave Mouret has married and now owns a department store where twenty year old Denise Baudu, who has come to Paris with her brothers, takes a job as a saleswoman. The novel reflects symbolically on capitalism, the modern city, changes in consumer culture, the bourgeois family and sexual attitudes.
Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures
Written over the course of 40 years following a pivotal healing experience in 1867, «Science and Health» is the result of extensive Biblical study by Mary Baker Eddy. This woman, who discovered Christian Science in 1866 and felt inspired to write her book soon after, poses in her work an entirely metaphysical view of Christianity. Eddy conceives of sin, sickness, and death as not of God, and hence not real. She strives to assert that reaching for a spiritual comprehension of the world, one that is God's perfect handiwork, will allow one to discard those beliefs that are unreal. «Science and Health» has carried its message of hope and comfort, healing and strength to millions of readers for well over 100 years, helping countless people find balance and deeper meaning in their lives.
An Ideal Husband
Oscar Wilde's classic drama, «An Ideal Husband,» is the story of an up-and-coming politician with a secret past and the blackmail scheme to keep that secret quiet. Wilde's play is a first-rate comedy that challenges its audience with the basic theme of morality and the greater standard that seems to fall upon those individuals in the public eye.
The Duenna
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) was a man with many roles. He was not only a playwright and poet, he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons and owner of the London Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. Though born in Ireland, Sheridan and his family moved outside of London when he was seven. Both of his parents were theatrical influences for him, as his mother was a playwright and novelist, and his father was at one time an actor. In 1722, the character of Sheridan's intended fiancé was challenged by Captain Thomas Mathews. The result was two duels, the first left both parties unscathed, while the second resulted in bloodshed, though Sheridan was the resounding winner. «The Duenna» was first performed in 1775 and was even deemed «the best opera ever written» by Lord Byron. It was a group effort between Sheridan, his father-in-law Thomas Linley the elder, an expert composer, and brother-in-law Thomas Linley the younger.
The Lays of Marie de France
Though little is known about Marie de France, her work changed romantic writing forever. «The Lays of Marie de France» challenged social norms and the views of the church during the twelfth century concerning both love and the role of women. She wrote within a court unknown to scholars, in a form of Anglo-Norman French. Inspired by the Greeks and Romans long before her, Marie de France sought to write something not only morally instructive, but memorable, leaving an indelible imprint on the reader's memory. In her «Lays», Marie de France confronts the issue of love as a topic of suffering and misery, fraught with infidelity. What was revolutionary about this, however, was the fact that the infidelity she addressed was committed by women, and in some circumstances condoned. This challenged the submissive role of women in her time, and illustrated them with a sense of power and free will. Her condensed yet powerful imagery remains timeless, still relevant and evocative to modern day readers.
The Satyricon
In the classical tale «The Satyricon,» Petronius Arbiter makes a strong, yet humorous, statement about the social life of the Romans. Rather than telling the story of Encolpius and his companions heroically, which was the typical approach of other writings around 1 AD, Petronius chose to show the true life and vernacular of the Roman lower and middle class through satire and comedy. Narrator Encolpius, a former gladiator, goes on adventures with his best friend and former lover Ascyltos as well as his slave and current lover Giton. Yet Encolpius constantly worries about whether or not Giton's affections are waning. The trio participates in various parties, events, and celebrations, but their attention is less focused on properly worshipping the gods and more fixated on the sexual nature of the wild bacchanals. Written during Emperor Nero's era, with «The Satyricon,» Petronius gives the reader a realistic sense of what life during the famously cruel emperor's life was truly like. While he was known for his tyrannical persecution of Christians, Nero's reign was also filled with over-the-top celebrations in honor of the gods. Petronius was a frequent visitor to Nero's bacchanals, meaning that «The Satyricon» is a fictional first-hand account of the time. The work is not only a precious gem of Western literature because of its wit, but because it gives modern readers a realistic glimpse into history.