Three superb short stories from the first great Russian writer to emerge from the ranks of the proletariat, including the title story, in which a thieving vagrant takes on a young, unwilling apprentic
"First published in four volumes between 1532 and 1552, Rabelais' comic masterpiece chronicles the adventures of a giant, Gargantua, and his son, Pantagruel. More than four centuries later, the terms
This classic two-volume work, first published in 1871, was highly influential in the establishment of cultural evolution as the basis for anthropologic studies. Author Edward B. Tylor is widely regard
Amid a backdrop of war, conspiracy, and murder, this historical play depicts the troubled reign of King John, who ruled England from 1199 to 1216. Shakespeare's most enigmatic king struggles with the
A group of revolutionaries in the backstreets of 19th-century London plot the destruction of the Greenwich Observatory in this 1907 masterpiece of suspense. Rich in atmosphere and psychological realis
Prose translation of epic tale, best known to modern audiences as source for Wagner's Ring cycle, recounts the life and death of Sifrid (Siegfried), the dragon-slaying superman who can only be undone
Classic 1722 account of the epidemic that ravaged England nearly 60 years earlier. Defoe used his considerable talents as a journalist and novelist to reconstruct — historically and fictionally
Dramatic and conversational in rhythm and tone and rich in striking, unusual imagery, metaphysical poetry is represented in this anthology by such masterpieces as "Death, Be Not Proud," by John Donne
Acontroversial figure in the history of race relations around the world, Marcus Garvey amazed his enemies as much as he dazzled his admirers. This anthology contains some of the African-America
"After the Civil War, Samuel Clemens (1835-1910) left his small town to seek work as a riverboat pilot. As Mark Twain, the Missouri native found his place in the world. Author, journalist, lecturer, w
One of the greatest of the classic Greek tragedies and a masterpiece of dramatic construction. Catastrophe ensues when King Oedipus discovers he has inadvertently killed his father and married his mot
Martin Chuzzlewit is suspicious — and with good reason. His relatives think he's dying and they're flocking to his side from near and far in eager anticipation of inheriting his vast wea
Natty Bumppo — also known as the Deerslayer, the Pathfinder, and Hawkeye — returns in this adventure by America's first great novelist. Originally published in 1841, The Deerslayer was
Famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass based his only fictional work on the gripping true story of the biggest slave rebellion in U.S. history. The Heroic Slave was inspired by a courageous uprising le
Unjustly neglected but amply rewarding, this historical drama recaptures the turmoil of the Gordon Riots of 1780. Barnaby Rudge combines elements of an unsolved murder and a forbidden romance to draw
