Artist Basil Hallward is greatly impressed by Dorian Gray's physical beauty when he paints his portrait. Basil becomes strongly infatuated with Dorian, believing that his beauty is responsible for a new mode in Basil's art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new kind of hedonism, Lord Henry suggests that the only thing worth pursuing in life is beauty, and the fulfilment of the senses. Dorian...

"A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation, language, and culture to become one of the most popular novels ever written. It is a quintessential tale of suspense and horror, boasting one of the most terrifying characters ever born in literature: Count Dracula, a tragic, night-dwelling specter who feeds upon the blood of the living, and whose diabolical passions prey upon the innocent, the helpless, and the beautiful. But...

"The story of a young woman from Wisconsin who goes to Chicago, becomes an actress, marries and moves to New York, and when her husband loses his job, returns to the stage." ***"A powerful account of a young working girl's rise to the 'tinsel and shine' of worldly success, and of the slow decline of her lover and protector Hurstwood." Oxford Companion to Engl Lit. ***"Plain, unaffected, and unconventional story of the actual life of the lower middle-classes...

With anxiety, Mr. Sheppard, his nephew, and daughter set up camp in the gathering darkness. They were trying to reach Fort Henry before nightfall but lost their way in the shades of the forest. Their guide had mysteriously deserted them that morning. Suddenly, a band of Indians appeared at the edge of the firelight brandishing tomahawks. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared. Moments later, a man clad in fringed buckskins silently slipped...

Mischief is in the air when the King and Queen of the Fairies quarrel and Puck is left in charge of the love potion. Four young people are lost in the woods on midsummer's night. Will they find each other and true love, or will Puck's meddling leave them broken-hearted and alone? A band of players prepares to entertain the Duke of Athens. But now that the fairies have made a donkey out of their leading man, will Quince and the others ever get to play...

A study in emotional dislocation and renewal--Professor Godfrey St. Peter, a man in his 50's, has achieved what would seem to be remarkable success. When called on to move to a more comfortable home, something in him rebels.

A casual wager hastens the elegant and exacting Phileas Fogg on a rollicking ride around the world with his entertaining sidekick Passepartout in tow and the dogged Detective Fix hot on their heels. By cab, rail, steamer, and ingenious means improvised en route, they cobble together a global adventure in which they overcome all manner of unanticipated and sometimes uproarious obstacles while still managing to rescue the demure princess Aouda. Full...

Master of gibberish Lewis Carroll brings his inventive style of writing to life once more in the collection "Jabberwocky and Other Poems." Though most famous for his creation of Wonderland and Alice's fall into the uncanny world of the nonsensical, Carroll used his wordsmithing ability to form inventive rhymes and lexicons in this collection. Words like "bandersnatch," "chortled," "tulgey," and even "Jabberwocky" are inventions of Carroll's mind....

"Something that cuts across them like a bar of light . . . patiently illumines all their problems, and at another place shoots over or through them as if they did not exist. We shall give that bar of light two names, fantasy and prophecy." -E. M. Forster, Aspects of the Novel Six compelling tales intertwined with fantasy spotlight the profound humanism that E. M. Forster developed in his later novels. These early writings provide readers with...