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First published in 1920, D. H. Lawrence's "Women in Love" is the sequel to his 1915 novel "The Rainbow" and is widely considered one of his best works and one of the most important English novels of the twentieth century. "Women in Love" continues to follow the Brangwen family, focusing on the lives and loves of sisters Gudrun and Ursula Brangwen. Living in the Midlands of England during the 1910's, Ursula is a teacher and Gudrun is an artist. The sisters meet two men who live nearby, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, the four find that they have much in common and the sisters soon get involved with them romantically. Rupert and Ursula are at first friends, but develop a loving relationship and eventually become engaged. Gudrun pursues a romantic relationship with Gerald, a local industrialist, but their romance is stormy and tumultuous and ultimately ends in tragedy. Controversial during its time for its frank depictions of sexuality and the destructiveness of relationships and jealousy, "Women in Love" is a modern and powerful story of love and human imperfections set against the backdrop of the social turmoil of the First World War. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"The Man Who Would be King and Other Stories" is a classic collection of some of the most loved short stories of Rudyard Kipling, one of the most important and accomplished English authors of the twentieth century. The youngest winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature at age 42 in 1907, Kipling, who was born in India in 1865, captured in his writing the British Empire in all of its glory and contradiction in unparalleled detail and nuance. Contained here in this volume are some of his most enduring and fascinating short stories, such as the titular "The Man Who Would be King", a story of two young British adventurers who believe they can talk and intimidate their way into being kings of a small country near Afghanistan. It is a fascinating and brutal tale of greed, imperialism, arrogance, and desperation. Also included is the haunting ghost story "The Phantom 'Rickshaw", where a young man is driven mad by the ghost of the young lady he once spurned, and the dark and heartbreaking "Baa Baa, Black Sheep", a story of an unwanted young ward who is driven to desperate acts by his cruel and heartless aunt. Together this collection includes seventeen of Kipling's best short stories. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

An elegant and intellectual work, "The Book of Tea" was written in 1906 by Okakura Kakuzo, a brilliant Japanese man with an early education in English. Through his intimate knowledge of Japanese aesthetics and ability to effectively communicate them to a Western audience, Okakura is able to discuss 'Teaism' and its impact on Japanese culture, thought, and life in an informative and profound way. He develops this theory by explaining the history and universality of the tea ceremony, its inextricable connection to Taoism and Buddhism, and the importance of one's surroundings when taking tea. This essay expounds on simplicity, nature, and art, from paintings to flower arrangements, to architecture, and ends with an anecdote about one of the most famous tea masters, Sen no Rikyu. This eloquent work puts readers at ease as it explores beauty and imperfection, the subtleties of austerity, and the philosophies of monks, artists, and gardeners in 'the way of tea'. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Originally published serially in 1880 and named for the upscale area in New York where the novel is set, "Washington Square" is Henry James's classic story of familial conflicts and social class in mid-19th century America. It is the tale of Catherine Sloper, a naïve, kind, and plain heiress who has lived a sheltered life, raised by her stubborn and wealthy father and flighty aunt in a grand house. Much to her father's disapproval, she is wooed by Morris Townsend, a handsome and sophisticated gentleman, who is more interested in Catherine's inheritance than he is in her. When the two get engaged against the wishes of her father, Catherine must make a choice between the only man she will ever love and the wealth that she will inherit. Much-loved for its simple and beautiful prose and its detailed and intimate portraits of its complicated and layered characters, the novel captures the complexity of love and family. In a bittersweet turn of events, Catherine is changed by heartbreak and disappointment and matures into a wiser woman. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in 1902, "The Wings of the Dove" is considered to be one of Henry James's great masterpieces. It is the story of Milly Theale, a wealthy American heiress, who has traveled to London and tries to conceal that she is facing a serious illness, and the young couple she spends time with there, Kate and Merton. Milly is in love with Merton, but does not tell him this, while Kate and Merton are secretly engaged to be married to each other, a secret that they too are concealing from Milly. Kate and Merton feel they cannot marry as they are quite poor. Driven by desperation and greed, Kate concocts a cruel plot to inherit Milly's money. She attempts to convince Merton to pretend to love Milly, marry her, and then he will inherit her riches upon her impending death. Kate and Merton would then be free to marry with Milly's money. It is a story of greed and deception, while also a heartbreaking portrait of Milly's struggle to "achieve, however briefly and brokenly, the sense of having lived". A semi-biographical tale of James's own cousin, Minny Temple, "The Wings of the Dove" is a classic and compelling work of American literature. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Collected together here is a selection of six plays by Norway's most famous playwright, arguably one the greatest playwrights of all-time, Henrik Ibsen. In the first play of the volume, "Pillars of Society", Ibsen relates the story of Karsten Bernick, whose ambitious plan to connect his small coastal town by railway is jeopardized when his past comes back to haunt him. In the second play, "A Doll's House", we have the story of Nora Helmer, who has secretly borrowed a large sum of money to help her husband recover from a serious illness, by forging her father's signature, and the turmoil that it causes in her life and marriage. The third play, "Ghosts", is an intense psychological drama concerning Helen Alving, a wealthy widow, and her son Oswald, who suffers the tragic consequences of his late father's infidelity. In the fourth play, "An Enemy of the People", Ibsen explores the animosity that can befall someone whose actions, while in the best interest of the public good, threaten the economic well being of a community. Fifthly there is "Hedda Gabler", the story of a self-centered and manipulative woman who has grown bored of her new marriage to the kind and reliable George. Lastly in "The Master Builder" Ibsen tells the tale of Halvard Solness, a successful small town architect who is encouraged to confront his acrophobia, with tragic consequences. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published posthumously in 1779, "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" is Scottish philosopher David Hume's classic work of religious philosophy. This detailed and exhaustive examination of the nature and existence of God was begun by Hume in 1750, but not completed until shortly before his death in 1776. Hume was an important and influential English Empiricist, along with other English philosophers such as Francis Bacon, John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes. Empiricism rests upon the idea that all rational belief must be supported by experiential evidence. It is within the scope of this philosophy that Hume examines the nature of God in this work and asks the question as to whether or not man's belief in God can be supported by experience or evidence. This exposition takes place in the guise of a dialogue between three characters, philosophers Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes, who each take different points of view on the subject. Arguments such as intelligent design, the existence of evil as evidence that there is no God, and valuing faith over reason are debated by the three philosophers. "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" is a fascinating examination of faith from a philosophical perspective and a must read for any student of philosophy or religion. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in 1739 to an unenthusiastic British public, Hume's "A Treatise of Human Nature" has since been referred to as one of the most significant books in the history of philosophy. Hume, a Scottish philosopher, claimed that he was attempting to discuss moral issues with a methodical reasoning, and proceeded to do so in this foundational text. Divided into three large sections, Hume begins his work with a discussion of human understanding, from the origin of our ideas to how we divide them with space and time, with some interesting observations on skepticism. In the second section, Hume speaks of passions, encompassing a range of human emotions and introducing the effect of free will upon them. Finally, the third section covers a variety of moral ideas, including virtues and justice, promises and obligations, and the effect of politics on human morality. Through this treatise, Hume exhibits a remarkable and creative mind, disciplined and enhanced by a systematic method of reasoning, that has produced a text on moral philosophy that continues to stand the test of time over two hundred years later. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"The Prophet", by Lebanese-American poet and artist Kahlil Gibran, is one of the world's most famous books. Published in 1923, it has been translated into over one hundred languages and has sold nearly ten million copies in the United States. Gibran was born to a poor, Christian family in Lebanon in 1883 and emigrated to America with his mother and siblings at age 12. While he received little education as a child, he became a serious art student as a young adult and studied at the Académie Julian in Paris. Gibran began working on "The Prophet" in 1912 and continued perfecting his most well-known work for over a decade. Gibran was greatly influenced by his Catholic upbringing, as well as Islam, Sufi mystics, Western Classicism and Romanticism, surrealism, and the Bahai Faith. These varied religions are evident in the wisdom that the main character, Al Mustafa, shares with his fellow shipmates in "The Prophet". The diverse topics he discusses include love, marriage, laws, freedom, pain, friendship, religion, death, and most every important aspect of the human condition. This masterpiece of spiritual wisdom, told in 26 prose and poetry fables, is widely considered one of the most beautiful books ever written. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in eight installments from 1851 to 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell's "Cranford", one of her most popular works, is a gentle and humorous picture of an English country village. Based on the village of Gaskell's childhood, the novel is narrated by a young woman visiting the town who describes the genteel poverty of the town's female inhabitants and centers on the lives of two middle-aged spinster sisters, Miss Matty and Miss Deborah. The ladies work hard to conserve their appearances, habits, and social standards of propriety even in their reduced circumstances. Told in a series of graceful and loosely related sketches, the residents of Cranford are challenged when the poor and socially awkward Captain Brown moves to town with his two daughters. He rejects their rules of politeness and openly discusses his poverty and difficulties. Many of the novel's tales concern the love lives, tragedies, and family dramas of the small town's colorful characters. In a changing and modernizing world, the endearing stories and sympathetic struggles of the villagers of Cranford are captured in this compassionate and hopeful portrayal of small-town English life. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Written in Latin in 1509 and published in 1511, "Praise of Folly" by Dutch humanist and scholar Desiderius Erasmus is considered one of the most important works of literature in Western Civilization. The essay is a classic satirical work in the style of Lucian, the ancient Greek satirist, in which the Goddess of Folly extols the virtues of frivolousness and indulgence of one's passions, then moves to a darker praise of delusion and madness, and finally turns to a satirical examination of Christian superstition and the corruption of the clergy. In a humorous way, "Praise of Folly" reveals the greed and abuses of power of the Roman Catholic Church at the time and is seen as a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Wildly popular immediately after its publication, it was translated into numerous languages during Erasmus's own lifetime. Hugely influential, "Praise of Folly" is regarded as one of the most important literary achievements of the Renaissance and marked the beginning of the modern, enlightened age of science and reason over superstition and ignorance. This masterpiece of humor, irony, and wit is a must-read for all students of Western literature and history. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

The famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathon Edwards was delivered on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut and is considered by many to be the most famous sermon ever given in America. It was published soon after and was an immediate commercial success. The sermon is a perfect example of the "fire and brimstone" preaching style that Edwards was well-known for and is an informative insight into the spiritual teachings of the American religious movement known as the "Great Awakening", that began in 1730. This movement was characterized by a teaching that hell was a real place and great suffering awaited any who were not saved by Christ and continued to sin. Edwards had been invited to preach by the pastor at the church at Enfield, which had largely been untouched by the growing "Great Awakening" movement. The sermon was powerfully delivered and instantly affected the listeners in a profound way. He continued to give the sermon several times and members of the congregation would often yell, cry out, or weep. This powerful sermon has endured the test of time and continues to be read, studied, and treasured to this day. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" is a collection of thirteen detective stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous literary creation, Sherlock Holmes. These tales originally appeared in magazines in 1903 and 1904 and were published together as a collection in 1905. Doyle had stopped writing Sherlock Holmes stories after 1893, when Holmes appeared to have died in "The Final Problem". However, the public continued to press Doyle for more tales of his most famous character, especially after the publication of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in 1902, which was set before Holmes' apparent death. Contained within this collection are some of Doyle's own personal favorites of all the Holmes' stories, such as "The Adventure of the Empty House", which addresses the mystery of how Holmes had escaped death at the hands of the diabolical Professor Moriarty, "The Adventure of the Dancing Men", the detective's heart-pounding race to solve a mysterious code and save his client's life, and "The Adventure of the Priory School", the strange disappearance of a young heir from school and the mystery of a murdered teacher. This collection is a must-read for all Sherlock Holmes fans. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Born in 1572 in London England, John Donne is one of the most important and influential of all English poets. The child of Catholic parents at a time when Catholicism was illegal in England, Donne spent much of his life wrestling with his beliefs and trying to find his place in the world. While now regarded as one of the most famous English metaphysical poets and one of exceptional skill and brilliance, Donne published very little poetry during his own lifetime and was not a professional writer. While he inherited riches from his family, he wasted much of his fortune on mistresses and travel and struggled for his adult life to provide for his large family. Despite these obstacles, he wrote a prodigious amount of poetry and prose, much for wealthy patrons. Donne was a master of wit and irony with an unparalleled ability to create metaphors and combine two vastly different ideas or images into one. His vast legacy of poems on life, love, death, and religion, contain some of the most famous and unforgettable lines ever written in English. In this volume you will find a complete collection of John Donne's poetical works. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Originally published in serial form from 1855 to 1857, "Little Dorrit" is characteristic of Charles Dickens' later works. The story is a condemnation of British society, particularly of the system of debtor's prisons, an issue that was of particular importance to Dickens as his father had been imprisoned for his debts when Dickens was a young man. Through the memorable characters of Little Amy Dorrit and her father William Dorrit, as well as the disenchanted Arthur Clennam, recently returned from abroad, Dickens weaves a suspenseful tale that plumbs the depths of lives confined by poverty and their own internal shortcomings. Despite the changing fortunes of many of the characters, financial scandal and personal ruin is never far behind them, and they must use their wits and intelligence to seek freedom in unexpected ways. "Little Dorrit" is in turns a touching romance, a biting social commentary, and a cautionary tale of lies, and personal responsibility. Dickens, at the height of his illustrious career, employs his masterful irony, humor, and experienced writing style to create a powerful story about both physical and psychological imprisonment, as well as the freedom of a spirit that feels love, kindness, and acceptance. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in 1871 and considered his other great work alongside "The Origin of Species," Darwin's "The Descent of Man" is a work that continues the scientist's theories on evolution. Divided into three parts, this book's purpose, as given in the introduction, is to consider whether or not man is descended from a pre-existing form, his manner of development, and the value of the differences between human races. Darwin goes on to systematically explore the evolution of man in terms of physical and mental traits, to condemn the debate on whether humans of different races were of different species, to expound his theory of sexual selection, and to address natural selection and its effect on civilized society, establishing some of the founding ideas on eugenics and what has come to be known as Social Darwinism. Still of great interest and importance in scientific thought today, "The Descent of Man" is a foundational text on the science of human evolution. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

American author Stephen Crane, best known for his classic novel of the American Civil War, "The Red Badge of Courage", was a prolific writer of short stories. His tales are some of the earliest American examples of Naturalism, Impressionism, and the Realist literary movement. Collected together here in this volume, "The Open Boat and Other Stories" are some of his most popular and famous shorter works. In the titular story, "The Open Boat" we find four shipwrecked sailors, the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, who find themselves in the desperate situation of being adrift in the open sea. The eight other stories included in this volume are "The Veteran", "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky", "The Men in the Storm", "The Monster", "The Blue Hotel", "His New Mittens", "A Self-Made Man", and "The Upturned Face". This representative selection of Stephen Crane's short stories will delight and entertain fans of this famous American author. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in 1915, Willa Cather's "The Song of the Lark" is the second novel in Cather's "Prairie Trilogy". The novel tells the remarkable story of Thea Kronborg, a talented young pianist, who leaves her small hometown of Moonstone, Colorado, to fulfill her dream of becoming a professional musician. Setting off on her own, her ambition takes her to Chicago at a young age where she works tirelessly on her music. It is there that a teacher hears Thea's gift for singing and helps her refine her talent. While Thea misses her Colorado home and family, she will not give up on her dream and follows opportunities to New York and eventually Germany, where her beautiful singing is more appreciated. Thea's relentless drive for success is not without its sacrifices and disappointments, but Thea is strong, resilient, and earns her success on her own terms. As is typical with much of Cather's work, "The Song of the Lark" is a portrayal of an independent-minded woman far ahead of her time, who will not allow anything or anyone to get in the way of her own personal achievement. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

First published in 1914, Daniel Carter Beard's "Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties" is the definitive guide to building survival shelters in the outdoors. Beard was the founding member of the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which merged with the Boy Scouts of America upon its founding in 1910. Beard began his career as an engineer and surveyor, as well as a trained artist, and he illustrated many works, including some for Mark Twain. He was also an avid outdoorsman, youth leader, social reformer, and prolific author of articles and books for the Boy Scouts, as well as wilderness and survival guides. In his "Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties" Beard provides detailed and easy to understand instruction on how to build everything including a teepee, a log cabin, a tree house, and a beaver hut. This invaluable guide helps the reader to build any manner of essential shelter in numerous difficult environments without requiring any more special training than the ability to use an axe. As useful as it was when first written over 100 years ago, this brilliant guide belongs in the library of every outdoor adventurer. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Apuleius was a student of Platonist philosophy and Latin prose writer who produced the novel "Metamorphoses", more popularly known as "The Golden Ass". This work is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety. Adapted from an earlier Greek story, "The Golden Ass" tells of the adventures of Lucius, a young man who is obsessed with magic. In attempting to perform a spell, Lucius inadvertently transforms himself into an ass. His long and arduous journey is ornately illustrated by Apuleius' witty, imaginative, and often explicit language, in a series of subplots that carry the reader through to Lucius' salvation by the goddess Isis. These include the stories of Cupid and Psyche, Aristomenes, Thelyphron, and others. The novel reflects Apuleius' own fascination with magic and the occult, and although comical at times, contains very serious messages about impiety towards the gods, and the risks of tampering with the supernatural. This edition follows the translation of Thomas Taylor and is printed on premium acid-free paper.

In the year 778 A.D., Charles the Great, King of the Franks, returned from a military expedition into Spain, whither he had been led by opportunities offered through dissensions among the Saracens who then dominated that country. On the 15th of August, while his army was marching through the passes of the Pyrenees, his rear-guard was attacked and annihilated by the Basque inhabitants of the mountains, in the valley of Roncesvaux. About this disaster many popular songs, it is supposed, soon sprang up; and the chief hero whom they celebrated was Hrodland, or Roland, Count of the Marches of Brittany. By the latter part of the eleventh century, when the form of "The Song of Roland" which we now possess was probably composed, the historical germ of the story had almost disappeared under the mass of legendary accretion. Charlemagne, who was a man of thirty-six at the time of the actual Roncesvaux incident, has become in the poem an old man with a flowing white beard, credited with endless conquests; the Basques have disappeared, and the Saracens have taken their place; the defeat is accounted for by the invention of the treachery of Ganelon; the expedition of 777-778 has become a campaign of seven years; Roland is made the nephew of Charlemagne, leader of the twelve peers, and is provided with a faithful friend Oliver, and betrothed, Alda. Simple almost of bareness in style, without subtlety or high imagination, "The Song of Roland" is yet not without grandeur; and its patriotic ardor gives it a place as the earliest of the truly national poems of the modern world. This edition follows the translation of John O'Hagan and is printed on premium acid-free paper.

"Ragged Dick is a well-told story of street-life in New York, that will, we should judge, be well received by the boy-readers, for whom it is intended. The Hero is a boot-black, who, by sharpness, industry, and honesty, makes his way in the world, and is, perhaps, somewhat more immaculate in character and manners than could naturally have been expected from his origin and training. We find in this, as in many books for boys, a certain monotony in the inculcation of the principle that honesty is the best policy, a proposition that, as far as mere temporal success is concerned, we believe to be only partially true. However, the book is very readable, and we should consider it a much more valuable addition to the Sunday-school library than the tales of inebriates and treatises on the nature of sin, that so often find place there."-Putnam's Magazine, July, 1868. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, late 18th century and early 19th century English lyricist William Wordsworth was one of the most prominent poets of the Romantic era. His first work "Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems" was penned with Coleridge, though most of the volume is by Wordsworth, and its publication in 1798, is generally considered to mark the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. Second editions of "Lyrical Ballads" were released in 1800 and 1802. The entirety of the "Lyrical Ballads" are collected together here in this volume along with his 1807 publication "Poems, in Two Volumes" and numerous other miscellaneous poems. Wordsworth lines evoke the beauty of both nature and the commonplace everyday world. A description of Wordsworth's work may best be found in his own famous definition of poetry: "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility". This edition collects together nearly the entirety of Wordsworth's non-narrative lyrical work in a truly representative volume, printed on a premium acid-free paper, with an introduction by John Morley.

Arguably the earliest written work of feminist philosophy, Wollstonecraft produced this manifesto of woman's rights in the time of the American and French Revolutions. This era induced many to reconsider not only the rights of men, but also of women, and none argued for female emancipation more eloquently or effectively than Wollstonecraft. Her strong use of analogy and philosophical language compared women of her day to both slaves and soldiers, forced to be docile and decorative. Wollstonecraft is passionate and candid as she lays out the principles of feminine freedom, stating that education should be equal, there should be an end to the prejudices that proved so restrictive, and that women should be defined, not by their partner, but by their profession. Having been received with both approval and anger when first released, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" is a book that was ahead of its time, which continues to be a foundational and influential work of feminism. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper and includes an introduction by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.