Best of
Classic-Literature

2007

The Collected Oscar Wilde


Oscar Wilde - 2007
    This volume features a wide selection of Wilde’s literary output, including the comic masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest, an immensely popular play filled with satiric epigrams that mercilessly expose Victorian hypocrisy; The Portrait of Mr. W. H., a story proposing that Shakespeare’s sonnets were inspired by the poet’s love for a young man; The House of Pomegranates, the author’s collection of fairy tales; lectures Wilde delivered, first in the United States, where he exhorted his audiences to love beauty and art, and then in England, where he presented his impressions of America; his two major literary-theoretical works, “The Decay of Lying” and “The Critic as Artist”; and a selection of verse, including his great poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol, in which Wilde famously declared that “each man kills the thing he loves.” A testament to Wilde’s incredible versatility, this collection displays his legendary wit, brilliant use of language, and penetrating insight into the human condition.

King Lear


Gareth Hinds - 2007
    An old king seeks to set aside his crown and divide his realm among his three daughters. But treachery and madness lie ahead for King Lear

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks


Laura Ingalls Wilder - 2007
    Read today, these pieces offer insight into her development as a writer and depict farm life in the Ozarks—and also show us a different Laura Ingalls Wilder from the woman we have come to know.            This volume collects essays by Wilder that originally appeared in the Missouri Ruralist between 1911 and 1924. Building on the initial compilation of these articles under the title Little House in the Ozarks, this revised edition marks a more comprehensive collection by adding forty-two additional Ruralist articles and restoring passages previously omitted from other articles.            Writing as “Mrs. A. J. Wilder” about modern life in the early twentieth-century Ozarks, Laura lends her advice to women of her generation on such timeless issues as how to be an equal partner with their husbands, how to support the new freedoms they’d won with the right to vote, and how to maintain important family values in their changing world. Yet she also discusses such practical matters as how to raise chickens, save time on household tasks, and set aside time to relax now and then.            New articles in this edition include “Making the Best of Things,” “Economy in Egg Production,” and “Spic, Span, and Beauty.” “Magic in Plain Foods” reflects her cosmopolitanism and willingness to take advantage of new technologies, while “San Marino Is Small but Mighty” reveals her social-political philosophy and her interest in cooperation and community as well as in individualism and freedom. Mrs. Wilder was firmly committed to living in the present while finding much strength in the values of her past.            A substantial introduction by Stephen W. Hines places the essays in their biographical and historical context, showing how these pieces present Wilder’s unique perspective on life and politics during the World War I era while commenting on the challenges of surviving and thriving in the rustic Ozark hill country. The former little girl from the little house was entering a new world and wrestling with such issues as motor cars and new “labor-saving” devices, but she still knew how to build a model small farm and how to get the most out of a dollar.            Together, these essays lend more insight into Wilder than do even her novels and show that, while technology may have improved since she wrote them, the key to the good life hasn’t changed much in almost a century. Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist distills the essence of her pioneer heritage and will delight fans of her later work as it sheds new light on a vanished era.

Hamlet


Hamlet Shakespeare - 2007
    This is a drama that takes place between words and language itself, in which Hamlet Shakespeare deconstructs his own version of Hamlet. Hamlet here is a mere word, lost in its own and externally imposed meanings that create the action, which starts, continues, and ends in an abstract scene representing life and everything beyond it is reflected in mirrors, green color, and endless dialogues that are not present, but are substituted by incessant speaking or just text and words, which create and undo themselves in the eyes of the reader.

The War of the Worlds


Chris Sasaki - 2007
    Wells’ chilling tale of alien invasion that every child can enjoy. It begins as the sky lights up with bright cylinders from Mars that look like falling stars—and continues as the Martians emerge from their vessels with machines of fire and deadly smoke. Wells’s depiction of a city in panic—written in 1898—still remains shockingly contemporary.

Approaches to Literature (The Modern Scholar: Way with Words, Vol. 2)


M.D.C. Drout - 2007
    Drout embarked on a thought-provoking investigation into the role of rhetoric in our world. Now, in A Way with Words II: Approaches to Literature, the renowned literary scholar leads a series of lectures that focus on the big questions of literature. Is literature a kind of lie? Can fiction ever be "realistic"? Why do we read? What should we read? Professor Drout provides insight into these and other provocative questions, including those related to the role of the text, author, and audience in the reading process. Throughout, Professor Drout introduces the major schools of literary and critical thought and employs illuminating examples from the world's most important literary works. Literature contributes to our understanding of what it means to be human in a myriad of complex ways, and for all those who appreciate the role of literature in our lives, this course proves a wonderful exploration of one of humankind's most cherished pursuits.

Charlotte's Web: E. B. White (Literature Kit)


Brenda Rollins - 2007
    An eight-year-old girl named Fern saves the life of a newborn piglet named Wilbur and the adventure begins. Soon, Wilbur and the other animals in the barn cellar are a great part of Fern's life. Wilbur notices that everyone in the barn is busy except him. He becomes lonely and sad. A sweet voice comes out of the darkness of the barn cellar and says, ''I'll be a friend to you.'' The voice belongs to a small gray spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica. Charlotte turns out to be a wonderful friend. She listens to Wilbur and enjoys his child-like ways. Soon he finds out what might happen to him when the cold weather comes. Charlotte promises to find a way to save his life. Through the wondrous writings in her web, Charlotte does save Wilbur's life. And because he is her true friend, Wilbur saves Charlotte's future. Features: -Product Type: Lesson Planners.-Country of Manufacture: Canada.Dimensions: -Overall Product Weight: 0.42.

اسرار التوحید فی مقامات شیخ ابوسعید جلد اول


محمد بن منور - 2007
    That's a really nice book of how Abou-Sayid Tried to reach the God....He was a famous one in his age and did many surprizing things...Mohammad-ebne-Monavvar is one of his grans grand sons, and as he really liked his grand grand dad and heard many things of him, decided to write this about....It's really a fantastic book, written in an easy way comparing to other ancient Farsi books...so it's no hard to read about...I really suggest it!

Classic Novels: Meeting the Challenge of Great Literature


Arnold Weinstein - 2007
    

Selected Short Stories From Jerome K. Jerome


Jerome K. Jerome - 2007
    Jerome Klapka Jerome (1859-1927) was an English author, best known for the humourous travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). In 1877, he decided to try his hand at acting, under the stage name Harold Crichton. He joined a repertory troupe who tried to produce plays on a shoestring budget, often drawing on the meager resources of the actors themselves to purchase costumes and props. He tried to become a journalist, writing essays, satires and short stories, but most of these were rejected. Over the next few years he was a school teacher, a packer, and a solicitor's clerk. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with On the Stage-and Off, a humourous book, the publication of which opened the door for more plays and essays.

The Listeners and Other Poems


Walter de la Mare - 2007
    Included are "The Dark Chateau," "The Witch," "The Ghost," and more.

The Mutiny on the Bounty


Patrick O'Brien - 2007
    So when the HMS Bounty arrived in Tahiti after 11 months at sea, the crew of the Bounty thought it was heaven on earth. Living on the island paradise made them lazy and careless.As the return journey began, Captain Bligh's crew proved reluctant to leave. His temper began to flare, and his second-in-command and old friend Fletcher Christian suffered the worst of Bligh's outbursts. His honor at stake and a longing to return to the island, Christian led a mutiny, then set Bligh and 18 loyal crew members adrift in a launch.A daring escape by Christian and the mutineers, paired with Bligh's amazing story of survival all make up one of history's most rousing true maritime tales, and Patrick O'Brien's 85 illustrations reach epic proportions of drama and realism.

Three Novels: The Cossacks/War and Peace/Anna Karenina (Library of Essential Writers Series)


Leo Tolstoy - 2007
    Although set in the historical past of his native Russia, the novels of Leo Tolstoy have a universal appeal that transcends their time and place.

A Great Ring of Pure and Endless Light: Selected Poems


Henry Vaughan - 2007
    Lesser known Vaughan works, including some love poems, are collected here beside the famous pieces such as 'The Morning Watch', 'The World' and 'The Night'.Henry Vaughan is the Metaphysical poet from the Welsh borders (he was born at Newton-upon-Usk, Breconshire, in 1621). He went up to Oxford, studied law in London, wrote some astounding religious poetry, and died in 1695.The dazzling night pervades Henry Vaughan's poetry. It is a cosmic night, a night of regeneration. Many of the Vaughan poems collected here pivot around an experience of the cosmic, religious night, from 'The World', with its famous, much-anthologized opening lines: 'I saw Eternity the other night ] Like a great Ring of pure and endless light'. It is a night of rebirth, the night as a dark womb, in which the world is reborn. Cosmic rebirth is one of the major themes in Vaughan's poetry, and especially in his collection or series of sacred poems, Silex Scintillans.Henry Vaughan is one of the most radiant of British poets. Like other Metaphysical poets (poets such as George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Andrew Marvell and John Donne), the deep darkness of the alchemical ferment in Vaughan's poetry is balanced by a radiance, a light shining out of the darkness. It is a divine light, as found in the Mystical Theology of the influential Christian writer, Dionysius the Areopagite. Dionysius' Neoplatonic visions of divinity and the celestial hierarchies of angels influenced Dante Alighieri, among many others poets.Henry Vaughan's poetry moves from dark to light, with the seeds of one being always present in the other. His nights, for all their darkness, also grow light. Vaughan's poetry is about big themes, cosmic themes, religious themes, with titles such as 'The World', 'Regeneration', 'Peace', and 'The Retreat'. Vaughan is not shy of big themes, as some poets are. He dives right in. His openings are particular powerful, striking up a majestic tone immediately:I saw Eternity the other nightLike a great Ring of pure and endless light... ('The World')Happy those early days when I Shined in my Angel-infancy. ('The Retreat')'My soul, there is a countryFar beyond the stars... ('Peace')They are all gone into the world of lightAnd I alone sit ling'ring here... ("They are all gone")Through that pure Virgin-shine,That sacred veil drawn o'er the glorious noon... ('The Night')

Romanian Furrow: Colourful Experiences of Village Life


D.J. Hall - 2007
    Hall's account of rural life in Romania—surprisingly much of which has survived today—admirably meets the reading requirements of Green or Eco tourists, a market segment that Romania is investing much of its tourism budget to attract.