The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray by
More than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel's first editor. Upon receipt of the typescript, Wilde's editor panicked at what he saw. Contained within its pages was material he feared readers would find ?offensive??especially instances of graphic homosexual content. He proceeded to go through the typescript with his pencil, cleaning it up until he made it ?acceptable to the most fastidious taste.? Wilde did not see these changes until his novel appeared in print. Wilde's editor's concern was well placed. Even in its redacted form, the novel caused public outcry. The British press condemned it as ?vulgar,? ?unclean,? ?poisonous,? ?discreditable,? and ?a sham.? When Wilde later enlarged the novel for publication in book form, he responded to his critics by further toning down its ?immoral? elements. Wilde famously said that The Picture of Dorian Gray ?contains much of me?: Basil Hallward is ?what I think I am,? Lord Henry ?what the world thinks me,? and ?Dorian what I would like to be?in other ages, perhaps.? Wilde's comment suggests a backward glance to a Greek or Dorian Age, but also a forward-looking view to a more permissive time than his own repressive Victorian era. By implication, Wilde would have preferred we read today the uncensored version of his novel.
Albert Camus by
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses philosophy, literature, politics, and history, John Foley examines the full breadth of Camus' ideas to provide a rigorous guide to his political and philosophical thought, making a significant contribution to current debates in Camus research. Foley argues that Camus' thought can best be understood through analysis of the concepts of "the absurd" and "revolt" and the relationship between them. The book includes a detailed discussion of Camus' writings for the newspaper Combat, a systematic analysis of the discussion of the moral legitimacy of political violence and terrorism, a reassessment of the prevailing postcolonial critique of Camus' humanism, and a sustained analysis of Camus' most commonly neglected work, L'Homme révolté (The Rebel). Written with sufficient detail and clarity to satisfy both academic and student audiences, Albert Camus: From the Absurd to Revolt is an important discussion and defence of Camus' philosophical thought.
The Scarlet Letter by
Like all of Hawthorne's novels, "The Scarlet Letter" has but a slender plot and but few characters with an influence on the development of the story. Its great dramatic force depends entirely on the mental states of the actors and their relations to one another, -relations of conscience, - relations between wronged and wrongers. Its great burden is the weight of unacknowledged sin as seen in the remorse and cowardice and suffering of the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale. Contrasted with his concealed agony is the constant confession, conveyed by the letter, which is forced upon Hester, and has a double effect, - a healthful one, working beneficently, and making her helpful and benevolent, tolerant and thoughtful ; and an unhealthful one, which by the great emphasis placed on her transgression, the keeping her forever under its ban and isolating her from her fellows, prepares her to break away from the long repression and lapse again into sin when she plans her flight. Roger Chillingworth is an embodiment of subtle and refined revenge. The most striking situation is perhaps "The Minister's Vigil," in chapter xii. The book, though corresponding in its tone and burden to some of the shorter stories, had a more startling and dramatic character, and a strangeness, which at once took hold of a larger public than any of those had attracted. Though imperfectly comprehended, and even misunderstood in some quarters, it was seen to have a new and unique quality; and Hawthorne's reputation became national.
Madame Bovary by
One of the acknowledged masterpieces of 19th century realism, Madame Bovary is revered by writers and readers around the world, a mandatory stop on any pilgrimage through modern literature. Flaubert's legendary style, his intense care over the selection of words and the shaping of sentences, his unmatched ability to convey a mental world through the careful selection of telling details, shine on every page of this marvelous work. Now the award-winning translator Margaret Mauldon has produced a modern translation of this classic novel, one that perfectly captures the tone that makes Flaubert's style so distinct and admired. Madame Bovary scandalized its readers when it was first published in 1857. And the story itself remains as fresh today as when it was first written, a work that remains unsurpassed in its unveiling of character and society. It tells the tragic story of the romantic but empty-headed Emma Rouault. When Emma marries Charles Bovary, she imagines she will pass into the life of luxury and passion that she reads about in sentimental novels and women's magazines. But Charles is an ordinary country doctor, and provincial life is very different from the romantic excitement for which she yearns. In her quest to realize her dreams she takes a lover, Rodolphe, and begins a devastating spiral into deceit and despair. And Flaubert captures every step of this catastrophe with sharp-eyed detail and a wonderfully subtle understanding of human emotions. Malcolm Bowie, a leading authority on French literature, explores Flaubert's genius in his masterly introduction to this must-have book for all lovers of great literature. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Pygmalion by
Shaw's dramatization of a Cockney flower girl's metamorphosis into a lady is both a fantasy and a platform for his views on social class, money and women's independence,
The metamorphosis and other stories by
When Gregor Samsa woke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into some kind of monstrous vermin.'With a bewildering blend of the everyday and the fantastical, Kafka thus begins his most famous short story, The Metamorphosis. A commercial traveller is unexpectedly freed from his dreary job by his inexplicable transformation into an insect, which drastically alters his relationship with his family. Kafka considered publishing it with two of the stories included here in a volume to be called Punishments. The Judgement also concerns family tensions, when a power strugglebetw
The Importance of Being Earnest by
A universal favorite, The Importance of Being Earnest displays Oscar Wilde's theatrical genius at its brilliant best. Subtitled "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People", this hilarious attack on Victorian manners and morals turns a pompous world on its head, lets duplicity lead to happiness, and makes riposte the highest form of art. Oscar Wilde was at once a family man and a homosexual outsider, a socialite, socialist, and Irish nationalist. His contradictions inspired him to ponder the roles and masks donned in conventional society, and his acute and wry insights are wonderfully displayed in this, his most popular play. Known not only for his brilliant, epigrammatic language, but also for his sense of theatrical design, color, and staging, Wilde created an enduring body of finely crafted works, whose delights and ironies still speak to modern audiences. "The Importance of Being Earnest," Wilde's most famous play, opened at the St. James's Theatre in London on February 14, 1895. It proved an immediate success critically and commercially, and it remains a showcase for Wilde's comic genius and piercing satirical wit. The play's two protagonists engage in "bunburying" (the maintenance of alternate personas in the town and country) which allows them to escape Victorian social mores. Earnest is even lighter in tone than Wilde's earlier comedies. While their characters often rose to serious themes in moments of crisis, Earnest lacks the by-now stock Wildean characters: there is no "woman with a past", the protagonists are neither villainous nor cunning, simply idle cultivés, and the idealistic young women are not that innocent. Although mostly set in drawing rooms and almost completely lacking in action or violence, Earnest lacks the self-conscious decadence found in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Salome. The play, now considered Wilde's masterpiece, was rapidly written in Wilde's artistic maturity in late 1894. It was first performed on 14 February 1895, at St James's Theatre in London, Wilde's second collaboration with George Alexander, the actor-manager. Both author and producer assiduously revised, prepared and rehearsed every line, scene and setting in the months before the premiere, creating a carefully constructed representation of late-Victorian society, yet simultaneously mocking it. During rehearsal Alexander requested that Wilde shorten the play from four acts to three, which the author did. Premieres at St. James's seemed like "brilliant parties", and the opening of The Importance of Being Earnest was no exception. Allan Aynesworth (who played Algy) recalled to Hesketh Pearson, "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than [that] first night." Earnest's immediate reception as Wilde's best work to-date finally crystallised his fame into a solid artistic reputation. The Importance of Being Earnest remains his most popular play. Wilde's professional success was mirrored by an escalation in his feud with Queensberry. Queensberry had planned to publicly insult Wilde by throwing a bouquet of rotting vegetables onto the stage; Wilde was tipped off and had Queensberry barred from entering the theatre. Fifteen weeks later Wilde would be in prison.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by
ONE OF TIME'S TEN MOST IMPORTANT NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time. The Autobiography of Malcolm X stands as the definitive statement of a movement and a man whose work was never completed but whose message is timeless. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America. Praise for The Autobiography of Malcolm X "Extraordinary . . . a brilliant, painful, important book."--The New York Times "This book will have a permanent place in the literature of the Afro-American struggle."--I. F. Stone
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: from "Kubla Khan" to the Brontë Sisters to The picture of Dorian Gray by
This is a gorgeous, one-of-a-kind trilogy that brings classic literatures of the world together with legendary graphic artists and illustrators. It showcases illustrustrated interpretations of classic literature from the 1800s. Edgar Allen Poe's visions are presented by several artists, including Maxon Crumb and Gris Grimly. Shelly, Keats and Byron are all visualised here, as are the Bront sisters. Coleridge's great poems are represented, with The Rime of the Ancient Mariner interpreted by British comics legend Hunt Emerson, among many more.
Crime and Punishment by
Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic tale of Rodion Raskolnikov, the murder he commits as an exploration of the human condition, and the crushing criminal and psychological consequences.The two years before he wrote Crime and Punishment (1866) had been bad ones for Dostoyevsky. His wife and brother had died; the magazine he and his brother had started, Epoch, collapsed under its load of debt; and he was threatened with debtor's prison. With an advance that he managed to wangle for an unwritten novel, he fled to Wiesbaden, hoping to win enough at the roulette table to get himself out of debt. Instead, he lost all his money; he had to pawn his clothes and beg friends for loans to pay his hotel bill and get back to Russia. One of his begging letters went to a magazine editor, asking for an advance on yet another unwritten novel - which he described as Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky wrote also crime and punishments, crime and punishment by fyodor dostoevsky, the gulag archipelago, the myth of sisyphus, fyodor dostoyevsky notes from underground and wrote war and peace book, the idiot fyodor dostoevsky, demons dostoevsky. One of the supreme masterpieces of world literature, Crime and Punishment catapulted Dostoyevsky to the forefront of Russian writers and into the ranks of the world's greatest novelists. Drawing upon experiences from his own prison days, the author recounts in feverish, compelling tones the story of Raskolnikov, an impoverished student tormented by his own nihilism, and the struggle between good and evil. Believing that he is above the law, and convinced that humanitarian ends justify vile means, he brutally murders an old woman - a pawnbroker whom he regards as "stupid, ailing, greedy...good for nothing." Overwhelmed afterwards by feelings of guilt and terror, Raskolnikov confesses to the crime and goes to prison. There he realizes that happiness and redemption can only be achieved through suffering. Infused with forceful religious, social, and philosophical elements, the novel was an immediate success. This extraordinary, unforgettable work is reprinted here in the authoritative Constance Garnett translation.Others novels and novellas by Dostoevsky are: (1846) Poor Folk (novella); (1846) The Double (novella); (1847) The Landlady (novella); (1849) Netochka Nezvanova (unfinished); (1859) Uncle's Dream (novella); (1859) The Village of Stepanchikovo; (1861) Humiliated and Insulted; (1862) The House of the Dead; (1864) Notes from Underground (novella); (1866) Crime and Punishment; (1867) The Gambler (novella); (1869) The Idiot; (1870) The Eternal Husband (novella); (1872) Demons (also titled: The Possessed, The Devils)(1875); The Adolescent (1880); and The Brothers Karamazov. Similar russians books includes Anna karenina by leo tolstoy, dostoevsky crime and punishment and war and peace by tolstoy. Considerated as a masterpiece of the russian literature and classic crime, crime and punishment has been edited by oxford world's classics and barnes and noble. The translation of this edition is by Constance Garnett, a recognized spectalist in russian translation books.
A Christmas Carol by
One Christmas Eve, after being particularly cruel to his employee, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him that he will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, Future. Each ghost shows him things that rekindle the joy and spirit of Christmas within his heart and awaken his goodwill toward his fellow man. In typical fashion, Dickens deals with social injustice in a way that transcends the 19th century. This illustrated version of the classic holiday tale is brough to life with an illustrated Character List (like a Dramatis Personae), 134 pages of color story artwork, and fascinating support material that details the life and work of Charles Dickens as well as information on Victorian England.
Man and His Symbols by
Here, Jung examines the full world of the unconscious, whose language he believed to be the symbols constantly revealed in dreams. Convinced that dreams offer practical advice, sent from the unconscious to the conscious self, Jung felt that self-understanding would lead to a full and productive life. Thus, the reader will gain new insights into himself from this thoughtful volume, which also illustrates symbols throughout history. Completed just before his death by Jung and his associates, it is clearly addressed to the general reader.
Pygmalion by
Shaw's dramatization of a Cockney flower girl's metamorphosis into a lady is both a fantasy and a platform for his views on social class, money and women's independence,
The Complete Stories by
The Complete Stories brings together all of Kafka's stories, from the classic tales such as "The Metamorphosis," "In the Penal Colony," and "A Hunger Artist" to shorter pieces and fragments that Max Brod, Kafka's literary executor, released after Kafka's death. With the exception of his three novels, the whole of Kafka's narrative work is included in this volume.nbsp;
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1 by
A gorgeous, one-of-a-kind trilogy brings classic literature of the world together with legendary graphic artists and illustrators. Volume 1 whirls from eye-popping renditions of the great epics like The Odyssey and The Canterbury Tales; to Robert Crumb's rarely seen adaptation of Boswell's London Journal; from the Book of Esther from the Old Testament to Hinduism's Bhagavad Gita; from three of Shakespeare's greatest plays (including a manga Macbeth) to Gulliver's Travels; all the way to the decadent French classic Dangerous Liasons. And much, much, much more.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by
ONE OF TIME'S TEN MOST IMPORTANT NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time. The Autobiography of Malcolm X stands as the definitive statement of a movement and a man whose work was never completed but whose message is timeless. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand America. Praise for The Autobiography of Malcolm X "Extraordinary . . . a brilliant, painful, important book."--The New York Times "This book will have a permanent place in the literature of the Afro-American struggle."--I. F. Stone
A Christmas carol
Madame Bovary
