Brit lit: books tagged “Brit lit” (27/71) @ BookFinder.com

Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years

by Sue Townsend

ISBN 0413650103 (0-413-65010-3)
Hardcover, Random House

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Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years: ISBN 0413650103 (0-413-65010-3)
Hardcover, Random House

As You Like It

by William Shakespeare, Agnes Latham

ISBN 0416178308 (0-416-17830-8)
Softcover, CENGAGE Learning

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Book summary:

In addition to the complete text of "As You Like it", this book includes: activities; a synopsis at the beginning of each act; notes opposite the text; photographs showing various productions of the play; and an introduction which places Shakespeare in context. [via]

More editions of As You Like It:

ISBN 9780440241904 (0-440-24190-1, 0440241901)

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Can You Keep a Secret?

by Sophie Kinsella

ISBN 0440241901 (0-440-24190-1)
Softcover, Dell Publishing

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Book summary:

No marks or damage on pages or cover [via]

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Can You Keep a Secret?: ISBN 0440241901 (0-440-24190-1)
Softcover, Dell Publishing

ISBN 9780395489314 (0-395-48931-8, 0395489318)

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The Fellowship of the Ring

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 0395489318 (0-395-48931-8)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

Frodo Baggins knew the Ringwraiths were searching for him--and the Ring of Power he bore that would enable Sauran to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam to carry the Ring to where it could be detroyed--in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom. [via]

More editions of The Fellowship of the Ring:

ISBN 9780397321650 (0-397-32165-1, 0397321651)

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Frances Hodgson Burnett's the Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Tasha Tudor

ISBN 0397321651 (0-397-32165-1)
Hardcover, Harpercollins Childrens Books

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Book summary:

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12) [via]

More editions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's the Secret Garden:

ISBN 9780448412504 (0-448-41250-0, 0448412500)

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Frances Hodgson Burnett's the Secret Garden

by Kathy Mitchell, Frances Hodgson Burnett

ISBN 0448412500 (0-448-41250-0)
Hardcover, Grosset & Dunlap

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Book summary:

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12) [via]

More editions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's the Secret Garden:

Frances Hodgson Burnett's the Secret Garden: ISBN 0448412500 (0-448-41250-0)
Hardcover, Grosset & Dunlap

ISBN 9780439064873 (0-439-06487-2, 0439064872)

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

by J. K. Rowling, Mary Grandpre

ISBN 0439064872 (0-439-06487-2)
Softcover, Scholastic Paperbacks

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Book summary:

A fantastic mass market edition of the phenomenonally best-selling second Harry Potter novel, to tie in to the second Harry Potter filmHarry's second year at Hogwarts. [via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets:

ISBN 9780439451932 (0-439-45193-0, 0439451930)

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: A Magical 3-D Adventure

by J. K. Rowling, Dena Neusner

ISBN 0439451930 (0-439-45193-0)
Hardcover, Scholastic, Incorporated

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Book summary:

Harry Potter fans will love this Chamber of Secrets pop-up book with pull tabs and hinged flaps featuring full color art on every spread!

[via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: A Magical 3-D Adventure:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: A Magical 3-D Adventure: ISBN 0439451930 (0-439-45193-0)
Hardcover, Scholastic, Incorporated

ISBN 9780439425230 (0-439-42523-9, 0439425239)

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Poster Book

by Scholastic, Inc. Staff, Dena Neusner

ISBN 0439425239 (0-439-42523-9)
Softcover, Scholastic Canada, Limited

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Book summary:

Published in conjuction with the second live action Harry Potter film, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, this beautiful poster book features high quality images from the upcoming movie.

This HARRY POTTER POSTER BOOK includes 32 high-quality posters, each featuring a different character or scene from HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. Movie stills from the movie that's destined to be another blockbuster hit from Warner Brothers bring this exciting poster collection bring this exciting poster collection to life.

[via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Poster Book:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Poster Book: ISBN 0439425239 (0-439-42523-9)
Softcover, Scholastic Canada, Limited

ISBN 9780439139601 (0-439-13960-0, 0439139600)

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J. K. Rowling, Mary Grandpre

ISBN 0439139600 (0-439-13960-0)
Softcover, Scholastic Paperbacks

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Book summary:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire CD Set tells the story of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 18 CDs. The audio book is also available in two volumes, Part 1 and Part 2, each containing 9 CDs.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the long-awaited, heavily hyped fourth instalment of a phenomenally successful series that has captured the imagination of millions of readers, young and old, across the globe. For J K Rowling the pressure is certainly on to continue to come up with thrilling, pacey storylines that allow her hero to mature into a young man without detracting from the magical secret that has made Harry into a superstar. In this book, the teenage Harry has a certain gawky charm that fits well with his advancing adolescence. As the story moves on, Harry too moves on to a new level of maturity that leaves the reader wondering how he will learn from his experiences, and liking him all the more as a character.

Once returned to Hogwarts after his summer holiday with the dreadful Dursleys and an extraordinary outing to the Quidditch World Cup, the 14-year-old Harry and his fellow pupils are enraptured by the promise of the Triwizard Tournament: an ancient, ritualistic tournament that brings Hogwarts together with two other schools of wizardry--Durmstrang and Beauxbatons--in heated competition. But when Harry's name is pulled from the Goblet of Fire, and he is chosen to champion Hogwarts in the tournament, the trouble really begins. Still reeling from the effects of a terrifying nightmare that has left him shaken, and with the lightning-shaped scar on his head throbbing with pain (a sure sign that the evil Voldemort, Harry's sworn enemy, is close), Harry becomes at once the most popular boy in school. Yet, despite his fame, he is totally unprepared for the furore that follows.

This is a hefty volume: 636 pages, of which probably at least 200 could have been cut without detracting from the story. The weight and complexity of the book is perhaps a hint that Rowling now has her eye sharply focused on her adult audience, and the average child-reader (particularly one who is coming to Harry Potter for the first time) may well find its girth daunting. Rowling's ironic and pointed observations on tabloid journalism and the nature of media hype is just one of the references littered through the book that will tickle the grown-ups but may well fly over the heads of her young fans.

However, after a slow start, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire really starts to sparkle halfway through with Rowling's familiar magic (and yes, there is a death--sudden and tragic--and yes, Harry does start to notice girls). The crux of this story, however, is Harry's gradual coming-of-age and his handling of the increasingly determined threats to his own life.

This book is pivotal, not just for the author for whom the heat is well and truly on, but for Harry and his readers who, by the last chapter, are left in little doubt that there is much more to come. (Ages 10 to adult) --Susan Harrison [via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

ISBN 9780439785969 (0-439-78596-0, 0439785960)

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

by J. K. Rowling, Mary Grandpre

ISBN 0439785960 (0-439-78596-0)
Softcover, Scholastic Paperbacks

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Book summary:

The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated, arguably over-hyped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has arrived, and the question on the minds of kids, adults, fans, and skeptics alike is, "Is it worth the hype?" The answer, luckily, is simple: yep. A magnificent spectacle more than worth the price of admission, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will blow you away. However, given that so much has gone into protecting the secrets of the book (including armored trucks and injunctions), don't expect any spoilers in this review. It's much more fun not knowing what's coming--and in the case of Rowling's delicious sixth book, you don't want to know. Just sit tight, despite the earth-shattering revelations that will have your head in your hands as you hope the words will rearrange themselves into a different story. But take one warning to heart: do not open Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until you have first found a secluded spot, safe from curious eyes, where you can tuck in for a good long read. Because once you start, you won't stop until you reach the very last page.

A darker book than any in the series thus far with a level of sophistication belying its genre, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves the series into murkier waters and marks the arrival of Rowling onto the adult literary scene. While she has long been praised for her cleverness and wit, the strength of Book 6 lies in her subtle development of key characters, as well as her carefully nuanced depiction of a community at war. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, no one and nothing is safe, including preconceived notions of good and evil and of right and wrong. With each book in her increasingly remarkable series, fans have nervously watched J.K. Rowling raise the stakes; gone are the simple delights of butterbeer and enchanted candy, and days when the worst ailment could be cured by a bite of chocolate. A series that began as a colorful lark full of magic and discovery has become a dark and deadly war zone. But this should not come as a shock to loyal readers. Rowling readied fans with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by killing off popular characters and engaging the young students in battle. Still, there is an unexpected bleakness from the start of Book 6 that casts a mean shadow over Quidditch games, silly flirtations, and mountains of homework. Ready or not, the tremendous ending of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will leave stunned fans wondering what great and terrible events await in Book 7 if this sinister darkness is meant to light the way. --Daphne Durham

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Begin at the Beginning

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Hardcover
Paperback

Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

* The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

* Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

* Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.

Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling

"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. Im sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.

Did You Know?

The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child.

Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author.

Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer.

A Few Words from Mary GrandPré

"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.

[via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

ISBN 9780439358071 (0-439-35807-8, 0439358078)

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J. K. Rowling, Mary Grandpre

ISBN 0439358078 (0-439-35807-8)
Softcover, Scholastic Paperbacks

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Book summary:

As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief& or will it?

Book five in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series follows the darkest year yet for our young wizard, who finds himself knocked down a peg or three after the events of last year. Over the summer, gossip (usually traced back to the magic world's newspaper, the Daily Prophet) has turned Harry's tragic and heroic encounter with Voldemort at the Triwizard Tournament into an excuse to ridicule and discount the teenager. Even Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of the school, has come under scrutiny from the Ministry of Magic, which refuses to officially acknowledge the terrifying truth: that Voldemort is back. Enter a particularly loathsome new character: the toad-like and simpering ("hem, hem") Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the minister of Magic, who takes over the vacant position of defence against dark arts teacher--and in no time manages to become the high inquisitor of Hogwarts. Life isn't getting any easier for Harry Potter. With an overwhelming course load as the fifth years prepare for their examinations, devastating changes in the Gryffindor Quidditch team line-up, vivid dreams about long hallways and closed doors, and increasing pain in his lightning-shaped scar, Harry's resilience is sorely tested.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, more than any of the four previous novels in the series, is a coming-of-age story. Harry faces the thorny transition into adulthood, when adult heroes are revealed to be fallible, and matters that seemed black and white suddenly come out in shades of gray. Gone is the wide-eyed innocent, the whiz kid of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Here we have an adolescent who's sometimes sullen, often confused (especially about girls), and always self-questioning. Confronting death again, as well as a startling prophecy, Harry ends his year at Hogwarts exhausted and pensive. Readers, on the other hand, will be energised as they enter yet again the long waiting period for the next title in the marvellous magical series. --Emilie Coulter [via]

More editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

ISBN 9780395282656 (0-395-28265-9, 0395282659)

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The Hobbit

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 0395282659 (0-395-28265-9)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

The hobbit-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a "little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves." He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, "looking for someone to share in an adventure," Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves have arrived on the hobbit's doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.

The dwarves' goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, they and their reluctant companion meet giant spiders, hostile elves, ravening wolves--and, most perilous of all, a subterranean creature named Gollum from whom Bilbo wins a magical ring in a riddling contest. It is from this life-or-death game in the dark that J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, would eventually spring. Though The Hobbit is lighter in tone than the trilogy that follows, it has, like Bilbo Baggins himself, unexpected iron at its core. Don't be fooled by its fairy-tale demeanor; this is very much a story for adults, though older children will enjoy it, too. By the time Bilbo returns to his comfortable hobbit-hole, he is a different person altogether, well primed for the bigger adventures to come--and so is the reader. --Alix Wilber [via]

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The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde, Adeline Hartcup

ISBN 0413310000 (0-413-31000-0)
Softcover, A & C Black

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Book summary:

Wilde's "trivial play for serious people" is a sparkling comedy of manners. This hilariously absurd satire pits sincerity against style, barbed witticisms against ostentatious elegance. Wilde's brilliantly constructed plot and famous dialogue enrich the appeal of his celebrated characters, as he turns accepted ideas inside out and situations upside down in this, his masterpiece.

The Student Edition offers a plot summary, full commentary, character notes and questions for study, besides a chronology and bibliography.

[via]

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King Richard II

by William Shakespeare

ISBN 0416475205 (0-416-47520-5)
Hardcover, Routledge Kegan & Paul

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Book summary:

The New Penguin Shakespeare offers a complete edition of the plays and poems. Each volume has been prepared from the original texts and includes an introduction, a list of further reading, a full and helpful commentary, and a short account of the textual problems of the play. [via]

More editions of King Richard II:

ISBN 9780395974681 (0-395-97468-2, 0395974682)

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The Lord of the Rings

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 0395974682 (0-395-97468-2)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin Company

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Book summary:

A Christian can almost be forgiven for not reading the Bible, but there's no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasn't read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R. Tolkien's definitive three-book epic, the Lord of the Rings (encompassing The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), and its charming precursor, The Hobbit. That many (if not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but the influence of the Lord of the Rings is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for one purpose or another.

Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, the Lord of the Rings is timeless because it's the product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar of dead languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep appreciation of nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the closing of Middle-Earth's Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love, creating in the Lord of the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic. --Paul Hughes [via]

More editions of The Lord of the Rings:

ISBN 9780451525192 (0-451-52519-1, 0451525191)

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The Mayor of Casterbridge

by Thomas Hardy, Walter Allen

ISBN 0451525191 (0-451-52519-1)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

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Book summary:

The Mayor of Casterbridge (1984) Signet Classic (Paperback) by Thomas Hardy, Rick Moody [via]

More editions of The Mayor of Casterbridge:

The Mayor of Casterbridge: ISBN 0451525191 (0-451-52519-1)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

ISBN 9780416475302 (0-416-47530-2, 0416475302)

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Measure for Measure

by William Shakespeare, J. W. Lever

ISBN 0416475302 (0-416-47530-2)
Softcover, CENGAGE Learning

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Book summary:

A dark and difficult play, Measure for Measure has been a popular play since the latter half of the 20th century for its prescient dramatisation of the issues of sexual and political hypocrisy, and the ways in which the state interferes in the private lives of its citizens. Set in Duke Vincentio's Vienna, where poverty, disease and prostitution are rife, Claudio and his fiancée Juliet are arrested for having sex before marriage, and Claudio is sentenced to death. Angelo, the Duke's deputy, who stands in for the Duke whilst he ostensibly goes off on a pilgrimage, enthusiastically endorses the sentence. In fact the Duke remains behind the scenes, watching Angelo as he falls for Claudio's sister Isabella, who comes to beg for her brother's life. Angelo is a wonderful creation, loathsome yet fascinating as he struggles with the double standards of his enforcement of draconian laws whilst lusting after the sister of the man he is prepared to execute, debating "The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?".

No one is spared Shakespeare's withering look at the mores of early 17th-century life, not even the pimps and madams who try to get by in the midst of the Duke's bizarre and coercive disguises and performances. The deeply ambiguous ending of Measure for Measure confirms it as one of Shakespeare's most ambivalent and arguably despairing plays. --Jerry Brotton [via]

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

by William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Clemen

ISBN 0451521374 (0-451-52137-4)
Softcover, Penguin Books, Limited

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Book summary:

An illustrated, abridged verison of the Shakespeare comedy with background information and explanatory stage directions. [via]

More editions of A Midsummer Night's Dream:

ISBN 9780451525567 (0-451-52556-6, 0451525566)

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Of Human Bondage

by W. Somerset Maugham, Benjamin DeMott

ISBN 0451525566 (0-451-52556-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

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Book summary:

Philip Carey, a handicapped orphan, is brought up by a clergyman, but Philip sheds his religious faith and begins to study art in Paris. [via]

More editions of Of Human Bondage:

Of Human Bondage: ISBN 0451525566 (0-451-52556-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

ISBN 9780441003839 (0-441-00383-4, 0441003834)

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The Once and Future King

by Terence Hanbury White

ISBN 0441003834 (0-441-00383-4)
Softcover, Ace Books

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Book summary:

T.H. White's masterful retelling of the saga of King Arthur is a fantasy classic as legendary as Excalibur and Camelot, and a poignant story of adventure, romance, and magic that has enchanted readers for generations. [via]

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ISBN 9780395489307 (0-395-48930-X, 039548930X)

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The Return of the King

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 039548930X (0-395-48930-X)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

The standard harcover edition of the concluding volume of The Lord of the Rings includes a large format fold-out map and extensive appendices. As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, has joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and takes part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Sam has left his master for dead after a battle with the giant spider, Shelob; but Frodo is still alive -- now in the foul hands of the Orcs. And all the while the armies of the Dark Lord are massing as the One Ring draws ever nearer to the Cracks of Doom.

[via]

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The Return of the King: ISBN 039548930X (0-395-48930-X)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin

Richard II

by Kenneth Muir, William Shakespeare

ISBN 0451522176 (0-451-52217-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

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Richard II: ISBN 0451522176 (0-451-52217-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare, Ivan Kyncel, Simon Trussler

ISBN 0413619109 (0-413-61910-9)
Softcover, Methuen Publishing Limited

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Book summary:

Shakespeare's tragic drama of young love is supplemented by textual notes and information on the date and sources of the play. [via]

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ISBN 9780440400554 (0-440-40055-4, 0440400554)

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The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

ISBN 0440400554 (0-440-40055-4)
Softcover, Dell Publishing

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Book summary:

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12) [via]

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The Secret Garden: ISBN 0440400554 (0-440-40055-4)
Softcover, Dell Publishing

ISBN 9780439099394 (0-439-09939-0, 0439099390)

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The Secret Garden: A Young Reader's Edition of the Classic Story

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

ISBN 0439099390 (0-439-09939-0)
Softcover, Scholastic Canada, Limited

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Book summary:

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12) [via]

More editions of The Secret Garden: A Young Reader's Edition of the Classic Story:

ISBN 9780451524270 (0-451-52427-6, 0451524276)

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe

by George Eliot, Frederick R. Karl, Walter Allen

ISBN 0451524276 (0-451-52427-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

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Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe: ISBN 0451524276 (0-451-52427-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group (Canada)

ISBN 9780395346464 (0-395-34646-0, 0395346460)

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The Silmarillion

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 0395346460 (0-395-34646-0)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

Although The Silmarillion takes place in the same imaginary world as J.J.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was originally published four years after the author's death and over two decades after the former book, it is set much earlier, in the First Age of the World. The tales and the book which reads as a fusion between a story collection and historical chronicle, are a matter of legend even to the characters of The Lord of the Rings:

In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him

Tolkien wrote the heart of this material very early in his career, and continued to work on it throughout his life. It fell to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit it into book form, and such proved the unquenchable public appetite that he subsequently oversaw 12 volumes of The History of Middle-Earth. This edition features 20 highly evocative colour plates by Ted Nasmith, themselves worth the price of admission, while reinforcing the sense of a historical work are genealogical tables, an extensive index, appendix and colour map. Far removed from the genial style of The Hobbit, this is Tolkien at his most formal, his prose austere, poetically beautiful, his storytelling capturing the epic scale, high drama and melancholy wonder of myth. These stories of elves and heroes and old gods are quite literally the foundation of the entire modern fantasy-publishing revival, and are therefore essential reading. --Gary S. Dalkin [via]

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ISBN 9780416178005 (0-416-17800-6, 0416178006)

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The Taming of the Shrew

by William Shakespeare, Brian Morris

ISBN 0416178006 (0-416-17800-6)
Softcover, Methuen & Company, Limited

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Book summary:

One of the most controversial and problematic of all of Shakespeare's plays, The Taming of the Shrew is a typical Elizabethan domestic comedy written around 1592. Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, arrives in Padua and announces to his friends that "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily, then happily in Padua". He soon finds that a group of men keen to marry Bianca, the younger daughter of rich old Baptista, are frustrated by her elder, "shrewish" sister, Katherine. There is much subsequent hilarity as Bianca's suitors make a bet with Petruchio that he cannot "tame" and marry Katherine. Despite Katherine's protestations, Petruchio goes ahead with the match, using deliberately unorthodox behaviour to confuse Katherine (including a scene where he starves her), claiming that "this is the way to kill a wife with kindness". The play culminates with a scene of Katherine's apparently spontaneous subjection to her husband's will, where she places her hand beneath her husband's foot, and tells the other wives present that "thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper". The play's gratuitous scenes of women being abused and vilified in the name of "comedy" has made many directors and critics very uncomfortable with the play, and many feminist critics have condemned contemporary productions of the play as reproducing certain 16th-century stereotypes concerning women who speak out against male authority. --Jerry Brotton [via]

More editions of The Taming of the Shrew:

ISBN 9780415027038 (0-415-02703-9, 0415027039)

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The Taming of the Shrew

by Morris

ISBN 0415027039 (0-415-02703-9)
Softcover, Van Nostrand Reinhold

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Book summary:

One of the most controversial and problematic of all of Shakespeare's plays, The Taming of the Shrew is a typical Elizabethan domestic comedy written around 1592. Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, arrives in Padua and announces to his friends that "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily, then happily in Padua". He soon finds that a group of men keen to marry Bianca, the younger daughter of rich old Baptista, are frustrated by her elder, "shrewish" sister, Katherine. There is much subsequent hilarity as Bianca's suitors make a bet with Petruchio that he cannot "tame" and marry Katherine. Despite Katherine's protestations, Petruchio goes ahead with the match, using deliberately unorthodox behaviour to confuse Katherine (including a scene where he starves her), claiming that "this is the way to kill a wife with kindness". The play culminates with a scene of Katherine's apparently spontaneous subjection to her husband's will, where she places her hand beneath her husband's foot, and tells the other wives present that "thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper". The play's gratuitous scenes of women being abused and vilified in the name of "comedy" has made many directors and critics very uncomfortable with the play, and many feminist critics have condemned contemporary productions of the play as reproducing certain 16th-century stereotypes concerning women who speak out against male authority. --Jerry Brotton [via]

More editions of The Taming of the Shrew:

The Taming of the Shrew: ISBN 0415027039 (0-415-02703-9)
Softcover, Van Nostrand Reinhold

ISBN 9780395775370 (0-395-77537-X, 039577537X)

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

ISBN 039577537X (0-395-77537-X)
Hardcover, McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

classic romantic romeo and juliet [via]

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet: ISBN 039577537X (0-395-77537-X)
Hardcover, McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin

Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare, H. C. Baker

ISBN 0451521293 (0-451-52129-3)
Softcover, Northwestern University Press

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Book summary:

One of Shakespeare's finest comedies, Twelfth Night was written at the same time as Hamlet and Troilus and Cressida, and whilst it shares their fascination with sex, death and confused identities, its exuberant comedy and linguistic inventiveness rises above the introspection of these plays. Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are separated in a storm, which washes them both up at different points on the shores of Illyria. Believing each other to be dead, both attempt to survive by using their wits. Viola cross-dresses and enters the service of the lovesick Orsino, in love with Olivia, an heiress in mourning for the loss of her brother. Orsino's saucy young page Cesario (Viola) soon falls in love with "his" master, who tells "him", "all is semblative a woman's part". Unfortunately, whilst Viola falls in love with Orsino, Olivia falls in love with her alter ego, Cesario, whilst also being pursued at the same time by her pompous servant Malvolio. Olivia's house is also turned upside down by the antics of her drunken uncle, Sir Toby Belch, and the whole crazy situation reaches boiling point when Sebastian reappears.

Despite the madcap plot, Twelfth Night remains one of Shakespeare's most complex and inventive comedies, fascinated with questions of cross-dressing, gender confusion, language and inversion, as well as retaining a darker edge to some of its laughter. --Jerry Brotton [via]

More editions of Twelfth Night:

ISBN 9780395489338 (0-395-48933-4, 0395489334)

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Two Towers

by J. R. R. Tolkien

ISBN 0395489334 (0-395-48933-4)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin

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Book summary:

The standard hardcover edition of the second volume of The Lord of the Rings includes a large format fold-out map. Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs. Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin -- alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

[via]

More editions of Two Towers:

Two Towers: ISBN 0395489334 (0-395-48933-4)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin

ISBN 9780451524898 (0-451-52489-6, 0451524896)

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Vanity Fair

by William Makepeace Thackery

ISBN 0451524896 (0-451-52489-6)
Softcover, New Amer Library Classics

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Book summary:

The story of English society in the early nineteenth century. [via]

More editions of Vanity Fair:

ISBN 9780440227120 (0-440-22712-7, 0440227127)

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William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

by William Shakespeare

ISBN 0440227127 (0-440-22712-7)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books

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Book summary:

Award-winning director Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom) has updated Shakespeare's classic tragedy of young love and teen suicide in a unique new film, in which the warring Capulets and Montagues are gangsters who carry guns instead of swords. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries) and Claire Danes (My So-Called Life, Little Women) as the doomed lovers, the film is set in a modern city. The actors speak Shakespeare's words--but with their own American accents.

Readers can now experience this new vision of Shakespeare's violent, tragic play alongside the Bard
s original text, in a special single volume that features an introduction by the film's director. [via]

More editions of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: ISBN 0440227127 (0-440-22712-7)
Softcover, Random House Childrens Books

ISBN 9780451519047 (0-451-51904-3, 0451519043)

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The Woman in White

by Wilkie Collins

ISBN 0451519043 (0-451-51904-3)
Softcover, New Amer Library

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Book summary:

The Woman in White (1859-60) is the first and greatest "Sensation Novel." Walter Hartright's mysterious midnight encounter with the woman in white draws him into a vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue. This new critical edition is the first to use the original manuscript of the novel. John Sutherland examines Collins's contribution to Victorian fiction, traces his practices as a creator of plot, and provides a chronology of the novel's complicated events.

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. [via]

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