‘Paul and Virginia’ (1788) is a novel by Bernardin de St. Pierre. Inspired by his experiences in Mauritius as a young man, the novel was written for children and adults alike. In its depiction of an ideal lifestyle on an island where equality and harmony reign, ‘Paul and Virginia’ is a sharp critique of social conditions in pre-Revolutionary France. It is also a fascinating, albeit problematic artifact of the colonial era, arguing for emancipation...

Margaret Ogilvy (1897) is a biography by J. M. Barrie. Although he is more widely known as a popular storyteller whose Peter Pan books are filled with the wit and wonder of history's greatest fairytales, Barrie was also a gifted memoirist and biographer. Margaret Ogilvy is the story of his mother and their life as a family in Scotland. Written in tribute to her influence on his life as a professional writer, Margaret Ogilvy was a bestselling book...

Love and marriage are the concerns of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Lucentio's marriage to Bianca is prompted by his idealized love of an apparently ideal woman. Petruchio's wooing of Katherine, however, is free of idealism. Petruchio takes money from Bianca's suitors to woo her, since Katherine must marry before her sister by her father's decree; he also arranges the dowry with her father. Petruchio is then ready to marry Katherine, even...

The People of the Abyss (1903) is a work of nonfiction by American writer Jack London. Written after the author spent three months living in London's poverty-stricken East End, The People of the Abyss bears witness to the difficulties faced by hundreds and thousands of people every day in one of the wealthiest nations on earth. Inspired by Friedrich Engels's The Condition of the Working Class in England (1845) and Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives,...

"Exiled royals--including a duke's daughter, disguised as a man--and country folk, learn lessons about class and gender through a series of love triangles in the Forest of Arden."--

"Features a newly edited text of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Shakespeare's comedy of love, magic, and transformation; and provides an introduction, commentary, detailed notes, an account of the play as it would be performed in Shakespeare's theaters, and an essay on how to read Shakespeare's language."--

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879) is a work of travel literature by British explorer Isabella Bird. Adventurous from a young age, Bird gained a reputation as a writer and photographer interested in nature and the stories and cultures of people around the world. A bestselling author and the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society, Bird is recognized today as a pioneering woman whose contributions to travel writing, exploration,...

The Cruise of the Snark (1911) is a work of travel literature by American writer Jack London. In 1906, after achieving early success as an author of novels and short stories, London began dreaming of the adventures of his youth. Inspired, he spent a fortune to build a 45-foot yacht complete with two sails and a 70-horsepower engine, powerful enough to carry him across the Pacific. Envisioning a seven-year journey, London and his wife Charmian set...

Wrestling with the disease of alcoholism for most of his life, Jack London tells all in his autobiography John Barleycorn. Beginning with a discussion of the prohibition movement and its effects, London explores the ways that alcohol affects daily life in the Victorian era. Because there were not many forms of affordable entertainment or reliable communication, bars were the perfect spot for social activity. People were able to sit and drink, enjoying...

The Post Office (1914) is a play by Rabindranath Tagore. Published following his ascension to international fame with the 1912 Nobel Prize in Literature, the play was introduced to an international audience by W. B. Yeats. When the Irish poet discovered Tagore's work in translation, he felt an intense kinship with a man whose work was similarly grounded in spirituality and opposition to the British Empire. Brought to Dublin's Abbey Theatre in 1913,...