"Basil Ransom, an attractive young Mississippi lawyer, is on a visit to his cousin Olive, a wealthy feminist, in Boston when he accompanies her to a meeting on the subject of women's emancipation. One of the speakers is Verena Tarrant, and although he disapproves of all she claims to stand for, Basil is immediately captivated by her and sets about 'reforming' her with his traditional views. But Olive has already made Verena her protégée, and soon...
22 Chekhov tales reveal the fullest powers of his genius. His unfailing insight into the lives of ordinary people, his ability to dramatize the most commonplace situations and his gentle humor made him not only one of the greatest of short story writers but also one of the most beloved.
"Discover the story of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray with this exquisite edition from Union Square & Co.'s Signature Gilded Classics series! The stunning Picture of Dorian Grayspecial edition features sprayed edges, color end pages, a built-in ribbon bookmark, and embossed foil cover. The beautiful design and attention to detail set this special edition book apart, whether you're reading for the first time or building a library of your...
Written by French philosopher and writer Ernest Renan, this was one of the earliest works to approach the study of the life of Jesus Christ in the same way that one would approach the study of any other historical figure.
The Republic is a Socratic dialogue, written by Plato around 380 BC, concerning the definition of justice and the order and character of the just city-state and the just man. It is Plato's best-known work and has proven to be one of the most intellectually and historically influential works of philosophy and political theory. In it, Socrates along with various Athenians and foreigners discuss the meaning of justice and examine whether or not the just...
"Most of what we know about Leonardo da Vinci, we know because of his notebooks. Some 6,000 sheets of notes and drawings survive, perhaps one-fifth of what he actually produced. With an artist's eye and a scientist's curiosity, he recorded in these pages his observations on the movement of water and the formation of rocks, the nature of flight and optics, anatomy, architecture, sculpture, and painting. He jotted down fables, epigrams, and letters...
"Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales brings together an unforgettable group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, pilgrims who came from all ranks of society, from the crusading Knight and burly Miller to the worldly Monk and the famously lusty Wife of Bath. Their tales are as various as the tellers, including romance, bawdy comedy, beast fable, learned debate, parable, and Eastern adventure. The resulting collection gives us a set of characters so vivid...
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this classic book is generally regarded as the finest novel ever written on American politics. It describes the career of Willie Stark, a back-country lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for power.
"Written in a simple, lucid prose humorously reminiscent of Sir Thomas Malory's style, this episodic tale concerns the poor but carefree 'paisano' Danny and his friends Pillon, Pablo, Big Joe Portagee, Jesus Maria Corcoran, and the old Pirate, all of whom gather in Danny's house, which Steinbeck tells us 'was not unlike the Round Table.' The novel (accepted after nine publishers had turned it down) contrasts the complexities of modern civilization...
"The reader who has never met Augus-tine before ought to go first of all to the Confessions," reflected the Trappist monk and scholar Thomas Merton. "Augustine lived the theology that he wrote. . . . He experienced the reality of Christ living in his own soul." Saint Augustine, the celebrated theologian who served as Bishop of Hippo from a.d. 396 until his death in a.d. 430, is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers...
Take a trip back in time on the Oregon Trail. This series of non-fiction essays from Francis Parkman details life on the nineteenth-century American frontier, detailing the summer a young Parkman traveled through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas. Along the way, the author spent time hunting and fishing, as well as participating in a buffalo hunt led by members of the Native American tribe, the Oglala Sioux.
