In 1811, Jane Austen's first published work, Sense and Sensibility," " marked the debut of England's premier novelist of manners. Believing that "3 or 4 families in a country village is the very thing to work on," she created a brilliant tragicomedy of flirtation and folly. Romantic walks through lush Devonshire and genteel dinner parties at a stately manor draw two pretty sisters into the schemes and manipulations of landed gentry determined to marry...

This beloved historical satire, played out in two very different socio-economic worlds of 16th-century England, centers around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day: Edward, Prince of Wales, and Tom Canty, a street beggar. During a chance encounter, they realize they are identical and, as a lark, decide to exchange garments and roles -- a situation that briefly, but drastically, alters the lives of both youngsters. Brimming with gentle...

Published to great acclaim and fierce controversy in 1866, Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment has left an indelible mark on global literature and our modern world, and is still known worldwide as the quintessential Russian novel. Readers of all backgrounds have debated its historical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions, probing the moral and ethical dilemmas that Dostoevsky so brilliantly stages throughout his narrative. Yet, at its heart, this...

Just So Stories is a collection of Rudyard Kipling's animals tales in which we learn about 'How the Whale Got His Throat', 'How the Camel Got His Hump', 'How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin', 'How the Leopard Got His Spots', 'The Elephant's Child', 'The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo', 'The Beginning of the Armadillos', 'How the First Letter Was Written', 'How the Alphabet Was Made', 'The Crab That Played with the Sea', 'The Cat That Walked by Himself'...

This “very remarkable novel”—first in the acclaimed Alexandria Quartet—tells a haunting story of love, desire, and deception in the Egyptian city pre-WWII (New York Herald Tribune Book Review).
 Set in Alexandria, Egypt, in the years between World Wars I and II, Justine is the first installment in the distinguished Alexandria Quartet. Here Lawrence Durrell crafts an exquisite and...

Presents the original text of Shakespeare's play side by side with a modern version. Includes a section with discussion questions and quizzes for students. Shakespeare's tragedy of the Moor whose love for Desdemona is destroyed by jealousy unfolds in easy-to-follow English as we speak it today. Othello's passion and Iago's treachery become clear in this straightforward modern version. The complete original text is laid out side-by-side with a complete...

A horse in nineteenth-century England recounts his experiences with both good and bad masters. Illustrated notes throughout the text explain the historical background of the story.

Led by Virgil, the poet is taken down into the depths and shown the seven layers of Hell and those doomed to suffer eternal torment for vices exhibited and sins committed on earth. The 'Inferno' is the first part of the 'Divine Comedy' which continues the journey through Purgatory and Paradise.

Gives a first-hand account of the end of Socrates, one of the greatest figures in history. In the Apology, Socrates defends himself before the Athenian court against charges of corrupting youth. The Phaedo is a young man's account of Socrates' last words and moments.