A mother’s secretive past clashes with high society when her son is offered an irresistible position with a charismatic nobleman.

This volume contains everything Wilde wrote in dramatic form. Wilde's masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest is printed here in its usual three-act form, but with an appendix containing the best material from the original four-act version. Also included are his three 'problem plays', Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband, as well as his once-banned Salome and several other little-known but fascinating dramas. H. Montgomery Hyde, an acknowledged expert on Wilde and author of several books on him, provides an introduction to Wilde's life and work with special attention to the composition and performance of the plays. "Wilde is to me our only thorough playwright. He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audiences, with the whole theatre" (George Bernard Shaw).

From a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the twentieth-century drama that was called "the finest verse play since the Elizabethans" (The New York Times). This modern verse play by the author of The Waste Land, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," and other modern masterpieces deals with the problem of man's guilt—and his need for expiation through his acceptance of responsibility for the sin of humanity. It reveals the depth and versatility of a twentieth-century writer who excelled as both a poet and a dramatist. "What poets and playwrights have been fumbling at in their desire to put poetry into drama and drama into poetry has here been realized." —The New York Times

This book contains 50 of the most beautiful Christmas stories ever written. It is a treasury of fiction by great writers of the past two centuries: Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Willa Cather, Beatrix Potter, Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Hans Christian Andersen, E.T.A. Hoffmann, O. Henry, Mark Twain and many more!

Featuring the entirety of Oscar Wilde's collected poetry, prose, and dramatic works, this collection demonstrates the author's wide range, unerring wit, and unique perspective. Bringing together Wilde's most famous works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Lady Windermere's Fan, this anthology is an important resource for any fan or student of Oscar Wilde.Often considered ahead of his time, Oscar Wilde's works continue to resonate with modern readers and many have been adapted for film and television, including most recently, the 2009 film Dorian Gray starring Ben Barnes and the 2002 film The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Judi Dench and Colin Firth.HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

** *“A young man married is a man that’s marr’d.”* ** **—All’s Well That Ends Well** ** ** Eminent Shakespearean scholars Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen provide a fresh new edition of this classic play about gender, desire, and sexual love. **THIS VOLUME ALSO INCLUDES MORE THAN A HUNDRED PAGES OF EXCLUSIVE FEATURES:** • an original Introduction to *All’s Well That Ends Well* • incisive scene-by-scene synopsis and analysis with vital facts about the work • commentary on past and current productions based on interviews with leading directors, actors, and designers • photographs of key RSC productions • an overview of Shakespeare’s theatrical career and chronology of his plays Ideal for students, theater professionals, and general readers, these modern and accessible editions from the Royal Shakespeare Company set a new standard in Shakespearean literature for the twenty-first century.

In *Othello*, Shakespeare creates powerful drama from a marriage between the exotic Moor Othello and the Venetian lady Desdemona that begins with elopement and mutual devotion and ends with jealous rage and death. Shakespeare builds many differences into his hero and heroine, including race, age, and cultural background. Yet most readers and audiences believe the couple’s strong love would overcome these differences were it not for Iago, who sets out to destroy Othello. Iago’s false insinuations about Desdemona’s infidelity draw Othello into his schemes, and Desdemona is subjected to Othello’s horrifying verbal and physical assaults. The authoritative edition of *Othello* from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Susan Snyder The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu. **

The authoritative edition of Henry VI, Part 3 from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers.Henry VI, Part 3 is dominated by a struggle between two military forces, neither of which can achieve victory for long. Until the end, the Yorkists and Lancastrians strive for the English crown. The conflict between these two families began under Richard II. Half a century later, during the reign of Henry VI, it moved toward civil war. Now, in Henry VI, Part 3, Henry's long reign becomes intermittent as his cousin Richard, Duke of York, seeks the crown and York's son Edward sporadically succeeds in seizing it. As we watch the crown pass back and forth between Henry VI and Edward IV, our attention is caught by other characters: the Earl of Warwick, Queen Margaret, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Warwick is the power behind the challenge to Henry VI, until he shifts to Henry....

Plays Two: The Dissolution of Dominic Boot 'M' is for Moon Among Other Things If You're Glad I'll Be Frank Albert's Bridge Where Are They Now? Artist Descending a Staircase The Dog It Was That Died In the Native State Introduced by the author, this second collection of work by Tom Stoppard contains his radio plays, written between 1964 and 1991. These plays reflect the full range of Stoppard's gifts as well as his craftsmanship and versatility. His work for radio complements (and sometimes prefigures) his work for the stage. Included in this volume is In the Native State, which became the stage play Indian Ink. Albert's Bridge won the Italia Prize and In the Native State won a Sony Award.

Family relationships are at the center of *Henry IV, Part 1*. King Henry IV and Prince Hal form one major father-son pair, with Henry in despair because Hal lives a dissolute life. The father-son pair of Hotspur (Lord Henry Percy) and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, is in seeming contrast; the king envies Northumberland “his Harry,” wishing he could claim the gallant Hotspur as his own. Meanwhile, Hal has entered into a quasi-father-son relationship with a disreputable but amusing knight, Sir John Falstaff. Another strand of action centers on still more family relationships. Hotspur’s stand against Henry focuses on Hotspur’s brother-in-law, Mortimer. Mortimer, who fought against the Welsh magician Owen Glendower, was defeated and captured and has married Glendower’s daughter. King Henry pronounces Mortimer a traitor whom he will not ransom. Hotspur, in declaring war on Henry, sees himself as fighting for Mortimer, his wife’s brother. The authoritative edition of *Henry IV, Part 1* from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes: -Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play -Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play -Scene-by-scene plot summaries -A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases -An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language -An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play -Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books -An annotated guide to further reading Essay by Alexander Leggatt The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu. **

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde is a light-hearted novella that parodies gothic horror as well as cultural differences between the United States and the United Kingdom. The Family Otis from USA decided to purchase Canterville Chase from England, however the Lord Canterville warned Hiram Otis of the existence of one ghost........... **

One man’s spiritual quest leads him to a mysterious guru high up in the Himalayas, a man who is rumoured to be able to show the way to Enlightenment - but only to those who are ready to embrace it. A short story.Joshua Laden is tired of ashram life. Setting out with a group of friends, he goes in search of a mysterious Yogi living in isolation far up into the mountains. It is said that this man has achieved Enlightenment - the divine state of bliss - and not only that, he is willing to share his experience with anyone willing to make the effort to go and find him... A short story

The present volume gathers all of Beckett's texts for theatre, from 1955 to 1984. It includes both the major dramatic works and the short and more compressed texts for the stage and for radio. 'He believes in the cadence, the comma, the bite of word on reality, whatever else he believes; and his devotion to them, he makes clear, is a sufficient focus for the reader's attention. In the modern history of literature he is a unique moral figure, not a dreamer of rose-gardens but a cultivator of what will grow in the waste land, who can make us see the exhilarating design that thorns and yucca share with whatever will grow anywhere.' - Hugh Kenner Contents: Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Happy Days, All That Fall, Acts Without Words, Krapp's Last Tape, Roughs for the Theatre, Embers, Roughs for the Radio, Words and Music, Cascando, Play, Film, The Old Tune, Come and Go, Eh Joe, Breath, Not I, That Time, Footfalls, Ghost Trio,...but the clouds..., A Piece of Monologue, Rockaby, Ohio Impromptu, Quad, Catastrophe, Nacht und Traume, What Where.

"I have put my genius into my life," declared Oscar Wilde, adding, "I have put only my talent into my works." This gift edition of the renowned poet and playwright's aphorisms draws upon both realms. Hundreds of sparkling jests and epigrams include quips from Wilde's personal letters and conversations as well as his fiction, essays, lectures, and plays. The most comprehensive collection of Wilde's witticisms, it will delight both longtime fans and new readers.