"The Fruit of the Tree," sheds light on a highly controversial topic: labor conditions and factory reform. This, in combination with a love story and the ethical debate over euthanasia, made for mixed, positive reviews upon its publication. Conflicts abound in this turn-of-the century tale of love, ethical dilemma and class division.

When Allan moves to New York City from Mississippi, his brother, Oliver, who had been living in the city for a few years prior, decides to introduce Allan to an exclusive group of wealthy people. Hoping that it will help Allan's law business, Oliver gets Allan invites to parties and meetings, which quickly grant Allan access to the decadence of the rich. With expensive cars, private trains, thousand-dollar clothing, and gluttonous meals made by servants,...

Best known for her novel The awakening, Kate Chopin (1851-1904) established her literary reputation with short stories about life in rural Louisiana during the late nineteenth century. After her 1870 marriage to Oscar Chopin, a Creole cotton trader and commission merchant, she lived in and around New Orleans for more than a decade until her husband's death in 1882. During these years, Chopin became acquainted with Creoles, Cajuns, and newly freed...

Set in fifteenth century Switzerland this play is based on a legend characteristic of the Austrian domination period. Schiller exhibits enthusiasm for freedom and natural life in this historic play. The story unfolds on Lake Lucerne with the fateful enmity of the tyrant Gessler, Governor of the Swiss cantons, and William Tell, an obscure huntsman, trying to row to safety a peasant who is pursued by the Governor's horsemen.

"Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gwendolen as Earnest, while Algernon has also posed as Earnest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend--the "rivals" to fight for Earnest's undivided attention and the "Earnests" to claim their beloveds--pandemonium breaks loose"--Page 4 of cover

Norwegian-born Henrik Ibsen's classic play about the struggle between independence and security still resonates with readers and audience members today. Often hailed as an early feminist work, the story of Nora and Torvald rises above simple gender issues to ask the bigger question: "To what extent have we sacrificed our selves for the sake of social customs and to protect what we think is love?" Nora struggle and ultimate realizations about her life...

Written in Middle English during the Tudor period, "Everyman" is the most famous example of the medieval morality play. Popular in Europe during the 15th and 16th century, morality plays were allegorical dramas in which the protagonists are met with the personifications of personal attributes and tasked with choosing either a good and godly life or evil. "Everyman" is the archetypal morality play, as the main character, Everyman, represents all of...

"The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty, and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home. In this fresh, authoritative version--the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman--this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse...