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The Merchant of Venice Thrift Study Edition

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Everything You Need To Make The GradeTest? Paper? Class discussion? Don't worry, we have you covered. This book has everything you need.Not only does it feature the complete text of The Merchant of Venice, it offers a comprehensive study guide that will easily help you understand Shakespeare's classic drama.You'll make the grade with: Complete and unabridged text Scene-by-scene summaries Explanations and discussions of the plot Question-and-answer sections Shakespeare biography List of characters and more

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The innovative dramas of Henrik Ibsen created a sensation among 19th-century audiences with their mordant attacks on social conventions. Among the finest of these ground-breaking works was Ghosts, first performed in 1881. In it, the playwright assailed the hypocrisy of moral codes, offering a daring treatment of such then-taboo issues as infidelity, venereal disease, and illegitimacy. Ibsen substituted the modern scientific idea of heredity for the ancient Greek concept of fate, exposing hidden sins of the past as the roots of corruption.The sins of the past are at the heart of the play, whose haunted heroine, Mrs. Helen Alving, has accepted her pastor's counsel and endured her husband's many infidelities in silence. Ten years after Alving's death, she is to dedicate an orphanage in his memory. Her son Oswald, kept innocent of his father's profligacy, returns home for the dedication. Oswald's attraction to the housemaid  in reality, his half-sister  conjures up the ghost of his parents' unhappy marriage. This disastrous romance, along with Oswald's increasing symptoms of the venereal disease inherited from his father, force Mrs. Alving to confront her own "ghosts."A powerful and engrossing psychological drama, Ghosts serves as an excellent entree to Ibsen's other works and helps confirm his status as "the father of modern drama."

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The Taming of the Shrew Thrift Study Edition

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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.

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Renowned for his satirical works, Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, 16221673) delighted in lampooning the social pretensions and conceits of 17th-century French society. In this 1664 verse comedy with serious overtones, Tartuffe, a penniless scoundrel and religious poseur, is invited by a gullible benefactor to live in his home.Imposing a rigidly puritanical regimen on the formerly happy household, Tartuffe wreaks havoc among family members. He breaks off the daughter's engagement, attempts to seduce the wife of his host, acquires his patron's property, and eventually resorts to blackmail and extortion. But ultimately, his schemes and malicious deeds lead to his own downfall.Attacked by the Church and twice suppressed, Tartuffe opened to packed houses in 1669. Teeming with lively humor and satirical plot devices, this timeless comedy by one of France's greatest and most influential playwrights is essential reading for students of theater and literature.

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Unjustly deposed by his younger brother, the rightful duke retreats to the Forest of Arden and forms a utopia with his loyal followers while his daughter remains at court as a companion to her cousin. When forbidden romance enters their lives, the girls assume disguises and flee to the forest, where they encounter a magical world of friendly outlaws and wise fools. Both a lighthearted comedy and a deeper exploration of social and literary issues, this play features a memorable cast of characters and some of Shakespeare's finest poetry.

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Prized for their lyrical qualities, the novels of Virginia Woolf favor the psychological realms inhabited by her characters, where thoughts are so revealed that actions lose much of their importance. Most are also concerned with the structure of narrative, including the present novel, in which Woolf conveys the impression of time present and of time passing in individual experience as well as in the characters' awareness of historic time.Considered Woolf's first original and distinguished work, Jacob's Room (1922) concerns a sensitive young man, Jacob Flanders, who finds himself unable to reconcile his love of classical culture with the chaotic reality of World War I. His story unfolds in a series of brief impressions and conversations, stream-of-consciousness narratives, internal monologues, and letters.This inexpensive edition of Woolf's intense and affecting novel offers readers a first-rate example of subtle style and innovative techniques for which the author is admired.

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Much Ado About Nothing Thrift Study Edition

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Test? Paper? Class discussion? Don't worry, we have you covered. This book has everything you need.Not only does it feature the complete text of Much Ado About Nothing, it offers a comprehensive study guide that will easily help you understand Shakespeare's classic drama.You'll make the grade with: Complete and unabridged text Scene-by-scene summaries Explanations and discussions of the plot Question-and-answer sections Shakespeare biography List of characters and more

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Hailed by Nabokov as "the greatest artist that Russia has yet produced," Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) left his mark as a playwright, novelist, and writer of short stories. Gogol's works remain popular with both writers and readers, who prize his originality, imaginative gifts, and sheer exuberance.This collection offers an excellent introduction to the author's works. Opening a door to his bizarre world of broad comedy, fantasy, and social commentary, the title story portrays a petty official's mental disintegration as he struggles for the attention of the woman he loves. Set during the repressive rule of Nicholas I, it satirizes the bureaucratic excesses of the era. Additional tales include "The Nevski Prospect," a portrayal of the feverish pace of St. Petersburg street life, and "The Portrait," a gripping depiction of a soul's perdition.

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The moving testimonies of five African-American women comprise this unflinching account of slavery in the pre-Civil War American South. Covering a wide range of narrative styles, the voices provide authentic recollections of hardship, frustration, and hope  from Mary Prince's groundbreaking account of a lone woman's tribulations and courage, the spiritual awakening of "Old Elizabeth," and Mattie Jackson's record of personal achievements, to the memoirs of Kate Drumgoold and Annie L. Burton.A compelling, authentic portrayal of women held as slaves in the antebellum South, these remarkable stories of courage and perseverance will be required reading for students of literature, history, and African-American studies.

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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.

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A generous and remarkable young prince, together with his loyal and brave servant, find more adventure than they bargained for in The Suicide Club, Robert Louis Stevenson's engrossing trilogy of short stories about a bizarre club for people with a strong desire to end their lives.In these interrelated tales, Prince Florizel of Bohemia and his aide, Colonel Geraldine, travel incognito through some of the most dangerous haunts of 19th-century London. "The Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts" introduces Florizel to the formidable Suicide Club, an organization for people who wish to end their lives, but don't have the courage to accomplish the act themselves. The "Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk" reveals the grim contents of a large piece of luggage that travels hundreds of miles to its final destination; and in "The Adventure of the Hansom Cab," a bloody resolution seals the fate of a notorious and elusive assassin.Brimming with heart-stopping drama, this rare, lesser-known work by a master storyteller will appeal to a wide circle of readers, including fans of the great 19th-century English writer as well as lovers of a good mystery story.

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Tolstoy's novella blends fiction and historical fact to portray a legendary Avar chieftain who switched sides in the nineteenth-century Russo-Caucasian war. Inspired by the author's military service, Hadji Murad offers riveting views of warfare and treason, murder and vengeance, and behind-the-scenes political plotting. An uncharacteristically brief story by the creator of War and Peace, it voices Tolstoy's pacifist beliefs. This novella also provides a compelling depiction of the Caucasus, a mountainous territory between the Black Sea and the Caspian, prized for its strategic location and natural resources. Located at the crossroads of three empires  Turkey, Persia, and Russia  the region has long struggled with incursions by its neighbors and remains a troubled corner of the world to this day. Tolstoy's realistic pictures of life in a war zone raise enduringly relevant issues of life and death.

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Moliere understood profoundly what makes us noble, pathetic, outrageous and funny, and in his splendid comedies satirized human folly to perfection. One of the best of his plays  and one of the greatest of all comedies  is The Misanthrope, first performed in 1666, when the King of France himself had assumed patronage of Moliere's company, and the actor/playwright was at the height of his career.Spotlighting the absurdities of social and literary pretension, The Misanthrope shows us a man who is quick to criticize the hypocrisies, inconsistencies and faults of others, yet remains blind to his own. As "the misanthrope" grows more and more irritable with others, the play becomes more and more entertaining, even as a happy ending for the hero seems less and less likely.

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Renowned for his witty dialogue and macabre humor, Saki skewered the pretensions and follies of the Edwardian age. This 1911 collection of well-plotted, acerbic short stories showcases his mastery of comic repartee. The tales recount the escapades of an irreverent socialite, Clovis Sangraila forerunner to the aristocratic Bertie Wooster of Jeeves fame. Saki's satires remain remarkably contemporary, offering paradoxical combinations of good-natured irony and cheerful cruelty. This compact anthology features some of his most popular stories, including "Sredni Vashtar," "Tobermory," "Esme," and "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger." One of the author's latter-day disciples, A. A. Milne, offers an informative Introduction to this delightful taste of vintage Saki.

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Revered as one of the greatest writers in the English language, Charles Dickens is celebrated for his masterful storytelling, comic genius, and remarkably memorable characters. His early novels, such as The Pickwick Papers and The Adventures of Oliver Twist, were originally published in monthly installments, capturing a growing audience that quickly spread from England to America. Two centuries later, his popularity endures as readers revel in the warm humanity of his tales of self-discoveryand delight in the annual tradition of revisiting his holiday stories.Following the tremendous success of A Christmas Carol in 1843, there was great demand for more tales of ghostly visitation, and the great Victorian storyteller happily obliged with spellbinding tales such as The Haunted House. The drama begins with a Yuletide gathering in an eerie country retreat that's rumored to be haunted. There, Dickens and his friends, including acclaimed authors Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins, take on the task of finding evidence of a supernatural presence in the house. When they reconvene at a Twelfth Night feast to review their findings, what will their stories reveal?

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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, Manawyddan, and Math; the two short pieces The Dream of Maxen Wledig and Lludd and Llevelys; the incomparable Kilhwch and Olwen, one of the earliest Arthurian tales in Welsh; The Dream of Rhonabwy, a romantic look back to the heroic age of Britain; and the three Arthurian romances proper: The Lady of the Fountain, Peredur the Son of Evrawc, and Geraint the Son of Erbin, with their abundant evidence of Norman-French influences. Also included is Lady Guest's translation of Taliesin, the story of the famous bard. Destiny, magic, chance, knightly feats of arms, love, and betrayal  all are here in these ancient, beautifully crafted stories, sure to delight scholars, students, general readers, and any lover of myth and legend.

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During the tumultuous reign of James II, Englishman Peter Blood, a gentleman-physician barely escapes the gallows after his arrest for treating a wounded rebel. Sentenced to ten years of slavery on a Barbados plantation, Blood escapes from captivity and boldly embarks on a career as a pirate, never losing sight of his goals of clearing his name and returning to England.A rollicking tale of piracy on a grand scale, accented with breathtaking maritime maneuvers, near misses, and broadside hits, Sabatinis fast-paced novel is alive with color, romance, and excitement. A swashbuckling classic that brims with stolen treasure and adventure on the high seas, Captain Blood quickly became a best-seller soon after it was first published in 1922."A salty dose of high-seas adventure for all fiction collections."Library Journal"Captain Blood is the very beau ideal of a pirate."The New York Times Book Review "Glorious. I never enjoyed a novel more."Norman Mailer

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In Greek legend, Prometheus was the Titan who, against the will of Zeus, stole fire from the gods for the benefit of man. His terrible punishment by Zeus, and his continuing defiance of Zeus in the face of that punishment, remain universal symbols of man's vulnerability in any struggle with the gods.In the epic drama Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus (c. 525456 BC), first of the three great Greek tragic poets, re-creates this legendary conflict between rebellious subject and vengeful god. Chained for eternity to a barren rock, his flesh repeatedly torn by a ravaging eagle, Prometheus defends his championship of mankind, rejoicing in the many gifts of language and learning he has given man despite Zeus's cruel opposition.Inspired by Prometheus's spirit, Aeschylus reaches beyond the myth to create one of literature's most gripping portrayals of man's inhumanity to man. How Prometheus clings to his convictions and braves his harsh fate give Prometheus Bound its extraordinary vitality and appeal. For over 2,000 years, this masterpiece of drama has held audiences enthralled. It is reprinted here in its entirety from the translation by George Thomson.

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Frederick Douglass on Slavery and the Civil War

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A former slave, self-taught writer, editor, and public servant, Frederick Douglass was also among the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement. Recognized as one of the first great African-American speakers in the United States, Douglass was an advisor to President Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks.This book includes representative selections from the speeches and writings of this great statesman, with topics focusing on the slave trade, the Civil War, suffrage for African-Americans, reconstruction in the South, and other vital issues.A powerful voice for human rights throughout much of the 19th century, Douglass remains highly respected today for his fight against racial injustice.

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One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit, and more murders, which ultimately spells his doom. Set amid the gloomy castles and lonely heaths of medieval Scotland, Macbeth paints a striking dramatic portrait of a man of honor and integrity destroyed by a fatal character flaw and the tortures of a guilty imagination.A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.