Before she wrote The Awakening — a powerful novel that has illuminated generations of readers with its strikingly honest and controversial themes of female sexuality and miscegenation–Kate Chopin penned many well-received short stories of Creole and Acadian life. Infused with «local color,» these tales are filled with fascinating characters, idiosyncratic customs, and sometimes shocking details.Reflecting the influences of the French w ...
Ambition overpowers loyalty in this drama of a Scottish noble's rise to power. Goaded by his scheming wife, Macbeth realizes too late that «blood will have blood,» as each monstrous crime demands the reinforcement of another, sending him further and further down the path to his own destruction. Shakespeare's drama of treason and doom features a fast-paced plot, tumultuous action, and a cast of compelling characters, including a trio of ...
Composed in a golden age of Celtic storytelling in the thirteenth century or earlier, this collection of 12 Welsh prose tales is a masterpiece of European literature. Though written down in the Middle Ages, these stories are thought by scholars to be probably much older, perhaps going back to the dawn of Celtic civilization.They fall naturally into several groups: the Mabinogion (stories) proper, composed of the four tales of Pwyll, Branwen, Man ...
Set in 18th-century Scotland, this brooding historical romance unfolds amid the Jacobite Rebellion. A struggle between good and evil begins in the old Scottish castle of Durrisdeer — the ancestral home of the Durie clan — where James Durie, Master of Ballantrae, persists in his lifelong rivalry with his younger brother as well as his relentless quest for the family fortune.<BR>From Durrisdeer, the fast-paced adventure s ...
Includes the unabridged text of Shakespeare's classic play plus a complete study guide that helps readers gain a thorough understanding of the work's content and context. The comprehensive guide includes scene-by-scene summaries, explanations and discussions of the plot, question-and-answer sections, author biography, analytical paper topics, list of characters, bibliography, and more. ...
One of the major works of fiction written during the twentieth century, D. H. Lawrence's last novel is an erotic celebration of life. Described by <I>The</I> <I>New York Times</I> as «our time's most significant romance,» the controversial book was banned, burned, and the subject of a landmark obscenity trial. Printed privately in Florence in 1928, it was not published in Great Britain until 1960, after ...
Determined to make her heroine «as poor and plain as myself,» Charlotte Brontë made a daring choice for her 1847 novel. Jane Eyre possesses neither the great beauty nor entrancing charm that her fictional predecessors used to make their way in the world. Instead, Jane relies upon her powers of diligence and perception, conducting herself with dignity animated by passion.The instant and lasting success of Jane Eyre proved Brontë ...
At convent school, a girl acquires romantic notions of a lover who will live for her alone. She marries a kind but dull country doctor and discovers that «This life of hers was as cold as an attic that looks north; and boredom, quiet as the spider, was spinning its web in the shadowy places of her heart.» Emma Bovary's quest for escape from the emptiness of her bourgeois existence leads to infidelity and financial extravagance, and Gustave ...
"Take heed to yourself for the Devil is unchained!" the King of France warns his treacherous co-conspirator, Prince John of England. The «Devil» is none other than Richard the Lion-Hearted, headed home from the Third Crusade to reclaim his throne. Amid the heat of a tournament, King Richard comes to the aid of another Crusader who has returned in disguise. Wilfred of Ivanhoe also seeks to recover a lost heritage — and the hand of ...
