http://feedbooks.com/list/296 This list is based on The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler. From Wikipedia: It came about as the result of a discussion among American academics and educators, starting in the 1920s and 1930s and begun by Prof. John Erskine of Columbia University, about how to improve the higher education system by returning it to the western liberal arts tradition of broad cross-disciplinary learning. These academics and educators included Robert Hutchins, Mortimer Adler, Stringfellow Barr, Scott Buchanan, and Alexander Meiklejohn. The view among them was that the emphasis on narrow specialization in American colleges had harmed the quality of higher education by failing to expose students to the important products of Western civilization and thought. Great Books started out as a list of 100 essential primary source texts considered to constitute the Western Canon. War and Peace Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy http://feedbooks.com/book/83 urn:isbn:067003469X en 1869 Novels History War War and Peace is a novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russkii Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy's two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world's greatest novels. War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, marriage, age, and death. Though it is often called a novel today, it broke so many conventions of the form that it was not considered a novel in its time. Indeed, Tolstoy himself considered Anna Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/83.png http://feedbooks.com/book/83.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/83.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/83.mobi The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain http://feedbooks.com/book/71 urn:isbn:0520228383 en 1885 Novels Young Readers Adventure Humor/Satire Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (often shortened to Huck Finn) is a novel written by American humorist Mark Twain. It is commonly used and accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. It is also one of the first major American novels written using Local Color Regionalism, or vernacular, told in the first person by the eponymous Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, best friend of Tom Sawyer and hero of three other Mark Twain books. The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. By satirizing Southern antebellum society that was already a quarter-century in the past by the time of publication, the book is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism. The drifting journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on their raft may be one of the most enduring images of escape and freedom in all of American literature. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/71.png http://feedbooks.com/book/71.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/71.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/71.mobi Little Dorrit Charles Dickens http://feedbooks.com/book/687 urn:isbn:037575914X en 1857 Novels Upon its publication in 1857, Little Dorrit immediately outsold any of Dickens’s previous books. The story of William Dorrit, imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea Prison, and his daughter and helpmate, Amy, or Little Dorrit, the novel charts the progress of the Dorrit family from poverty to riches. In his Introduction, David Gates argues that “intensity of imagination is the gift from which Dickens’s other great attributes derive: his eye and ear, his near-universal empathy, his ability to entertain both a sense of the ridiculous and a sense of ultimate significance.” http://feedbooks.com/book/687.png http://feedbooks.com/book/687.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/687.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/687.mobi On the Origin of Species, 6th Edition Charles Darwin http://feedbooks.com/book/3015 urn:isbn:0554267381 en 1872 Non-Fiction Science Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, in which he writes of his theories of evolution by natural selection, is one of the most important works of scientific study ever published. http://feedbooks.com/book/3015.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3015.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3015.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3015.mobi The Iliad of Homer Homer http://feedbooks.com/book/2962 urn:isbn:B0012AHIYI en -900 Poetry War Translated into English Blank Verse by William Cowper. The Iliad is, together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer. The poem is commonly dated to the late 9th or to the 8th century BC, and many scholars believe it is the oldest extant work of literature in the ancient Greek language, making it one of the first works of ancient Greek literature. The existence of a single author for the poems is disputed as the poems themselves show evidence of a long oral tradition and hence, possible multiple authors . http://feedbooks.com/book/2962.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2962.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2962.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2962.mobi Charmides Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/679 urn:isbn:0872200108 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/679.png http://feedbooks.com/book/679.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/679.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/679.mobi Laches Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/986 urn:isbn:0674991834 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/986.png http://feedbooks.com/book/986.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/986.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/986.mobi Protagoras Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/990 urn:isbn:1573920622 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/990.png http://feedbooks.com/book/990.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/990.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/990.mobi Euthydemus Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/984 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/984.png http://feedbooks.com/book/984.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/984.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/984.mobi Ion Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/684 urn:isbn:0521349818 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/684.png http://feedbooks.com/book/684.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/684.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/684.mobi Symposium Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/714 urn:isbn:0226042758 en -400 Philosophy The Symposium (Ancient Greek: Συμπόσιον) is a philosophical dialogue written by Plato sometime after 385 BC. It is a discussion on the nature of love, taking the form of a group of speeches, both satirical and serious, given by a group of men at a symposium or a wine drinking gathering at the house of the tragedian Agathon at Athens. http://feedbooks.com/book/714.png http://feedbooks.com/book/714.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/714.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/714.mobi Meno Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/987 urn:isbn:0300044887 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/987.png http://feedbooks.com/book/987.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/987.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/987.mobi Euthyphro Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/682 urn:isbn:0674990404 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/682.png http://feedbooks.com/book/682.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/682.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/682.mobi Apology Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/678 urn:isbn:0865163480 en -400 Philosophy (The) Apology (of Socrates) is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defends himself against the charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, did not believe in the gods, and created new deities". "Apology" here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the word "apologia") of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions (from the Greek απολογία). http://feedbooks.com/book/678.png http://feedbooks.com/book/678.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/678.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/678.mobi Crito Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/681 urn:isbn:0674990404 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/681.png http://feedbooks.com/book/681.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/681.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/681.mobi Phaedo Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/989 urn:isbn:0674990404 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/989.png http://feedbooks.com/book/989.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/989.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/989.mobi Gorgias Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/985 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/985.png http://feedbooks.com/book/985.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/985.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/985.mobi Timaeus Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/712 urn:isbn:0521790670 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/712.png http://feedbooks.com/book/712.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/712.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/712.mobi Critias Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/680 urn:isbn:0766141624 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/680.png http://feedbooks.com/book/680.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/680.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/680.mobi Parmenides Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/988 urn:isbn:0674991850 en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/988.png http://feedbooks.com/book/988.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/988.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/988.mobi Theaetetus Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/713 urn:isbn:158510101X en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/713.png http://feedbooks.com/book/713.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/713.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/713.mobi Statesman Plato http://feedbooks.com/book/715 urn:isbn:052144778X en -400 Philosophy http://feedbooks.com/book/715.png http://feedbooks.com/book/715.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/715.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/715.mobi The Aeneid of Virgil (I-VI) Virgil http://feedbooks.com/book/3076 urn:isbn:0199231958 en -29 Poetry The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is written in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings from Troy to Italy, and the poem's second half treats the Trojans' ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, under whose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers are destined to be subsumed. The hero Aeneas was already known to Greco-Roman legend and myth, having been a character in the Iliad; Virgil took the disconnected tales of Aeneas' wanderings, his vague association with the foundation of Rome and a personage of no fixed characteristics other than a scrupulous piety, and fashioned this into a compelling founding myth or nationalist epic that at once tied Rome to the legends of Troy, glorified traditional Roman virtues and legitimized the Julio-Claudian dynasty http://feedbooks.com/book/3076.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3076.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3076.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3076.mobi The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri http://feedbooks.com/book/206 urn:isbn:0451208633 en 1306 Poetry Dante Alighieri's poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey through the infinite torment of Hell, up the arduous slopes of Purgatory, and on to the glorious realm of Paradise-the sphere of universal harmony and eternal salvation. http://feedbooks.com/book/206.png http://feedbooks.com/book/206.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/206.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/206.mobi The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli http://feedbooks.com/book/94 urn:isbn:0553212788 en 1513 Non-Fiction Philosophy War Politics Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities), it was written in 1513, but not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. The treatise is not representative of the work published during his lifetime, but it is the most remembered, and the work responsible for bringing "Machiavellian" into wide usage as a pejorative term. It has also been suggested by some critics that the piece is, in fact, a satire. http://feedbooks.com/book/94.png http://feedbooks.com/book/94.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/94.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/94.mobi Gargantua François Rabelais http://feedbooks.com/book/200 en 1534 Novels The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel (in French, La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father (Gargantua) and his son (Pantagruel) and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein. http://feedbooks.com/book/200.png http://feedbooks.com/book/200.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/200.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/200.mobi Pantagruel François Rabelais http://feedbooks.com/book/201 en 1532 Novels http://feedbooks.com/book/201.png http://feedbooks.com/book/201.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/201.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/201.mobi Henry VI, Part 1 William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3033 urn:isbn:0192804715 en 1590 History Plays The First Part of King Henry the Sixth is history play by William Shakespeare, believed written in approximately 1588–1590. It is the first in the cycle of four plays often referred to as "The First Tetralogy". http://feedbooks.com/book/3033.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3033.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3033.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3033.mobi Henry VI, Part 2 William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3034 urn:isbn:0192804146 en 1591 History Plays The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth, or Henry VI, Part 2, is a history play by William Shakespeare believed written in approximately 1590-91. It is the second part of the trilogy on Henry VI, and often grouped together with Richard III as a tetralogy on The Wars of the Roses—the success of which established Shakespeare's reputation as a playwright. http://feedbooks.com/book/3034.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3034.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3034.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3034.mobi Henry VI, Part 3 William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3035 urn:isbn:0199537119 en 1591 History Plays Henry the Sixth, Part 3, is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written in approximately 1590, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England. It prepares the ground for one of his best-known and most controversial plays: the tragedy of King Richard III (Richard III of England). It continues the action from Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, Part 2, though they may not have been written in that order. http://feedbooks.com/book/3035.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3035.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3035.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3035.mobi The Comedy of Errors William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2973 urn:isbn:0486424618 en 1594 Plays The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-incestuous seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2973.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2973.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2973.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2973.mobi The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2999 urn:isbn:0451526791 en 1594 Plays The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. It was one of his earlier plays, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunkard is deceived into thinking he is a nobleman who then watches the "play" itself, which depicts a nobleman, Petruchio, who marries an outspoken, intelligent, and bad-tempered shrew named Katherina. Petruchio manipulates and "tames" her until she is obedient to his will. The main subplot features the courting of Katherina's more conventional sister Bianca by numerous suitors. http://feedbooks.com/book/2999.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2999.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2999.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2999.mobi The Two Gentlemen of Verona William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3009 urn:isbn:1903436958 en 1598 Plays The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare from early in his career. It has the smallest cast of any of Shakespeare's plays, and is the first of his plays in which a heroine dresses as a boy. It deals with the themes of friendship and infidelity. The highlight of the play is considered by some to be Launce, the clownish servant of Proteus, and his dog Crab, to whom "the most scene-stealing non-speaking role in the canon" has been attributed. http://feedbooks.com/book/3009.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3009.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3009.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3009.mobi Love's Labours Lost William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2986 urn:isbn:0192838806 en 1598 Plays Love's Labour's Lost is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s, and first published in 1598. The play opens with the King of Navarre and three noble companions, Berowne, Dumaine, and Longaville, taking an oath to devote themselves to three years of study, promising not to give in to the company of women — Berowne somewhat more hesitantly than the others. http://feedbooks.com/book/2986.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2986.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2986.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2986.mobi Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2936 urn:isbn:0486275574 en 1597 Romance Plays Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play written early in the career of William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-cross'd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding households. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal "young lovers". (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2936.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2936.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2936.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2936.mobi A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2990 urn:isbn:1903436605 en 1596 Romance Plays A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written around 1594 to 1596. It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. http://feedbooks.com/book/2990.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2990.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2990.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2990.mobi The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2989 urn:isbn:0521618754 en 1598 Plays The Merchant of Venice is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Although classified as a comedy in the First Folio, and while it shares certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps more remembered for its dramatic scenes, and is best known for the character of Shylock. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and more famous villain. Though Shylock is a tormented character, he is also a tormentor, so whether he is to be viewed with disdain or sympathy is up to the audience (as influenced by the interpretation of the play's director and lead actors). As a result, The Merchant of Venice is often classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. http://feedbooks.com/book/2989.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2989.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2989.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2989.mobi Henry IV, Part 1 William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3023 urn:isbn:0199536139 en 1597 History Plays Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second of Shakespeare's tetralogy that deals with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV (2 plays), and Henry V. Henry IV, Part 1 depicts a span of history that begins with Hotspur's battle at Homildon against the Douglas late in 1402 and ends with the defeat of the rebels at Shrewsbury in the middle of 1403. From the start it has been an extremely popular play both with the public and the critics. http://feedbooks.com/book/3023.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3023.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3023.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3023.mobi Henry IV, Part 2 William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3027 urn:isbn:0199537135 en 1599 History Plays Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V. http://feedbooks.com/book/3027.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3027.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3027.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3027.mobi Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2991 urn:isbn:1903436834 en 1600 Romance Plays Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. First published in 1600, it is likely to have been first performed in the autumn or winter of 1598-1599, and it remains one of Shakespeare's most enduring and exhilarating plays on stage. Stylistically, it shares numerous characteristics with modern romantic comedies including the two pairs of lovers, in this case the romantic leads, Claudio and Hero, and their comic counterparts, Benedick and Beatrice. http://feedbooks.com/book/2991.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2991.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2991.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2991.mobi Henry V William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3029 urn:isbn:0199536511 en 1599 History Plays Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in 1599. It is based on the life of King Henry V of England, and focuses on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years' War. The play is the final part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II, Henry IV, part 1 and Henry IV, part 2. The original audiences would thus have already been familiar with the title character, who was depicted in the Henry IV plays as a wild, undisciplined lad known as "Prince Hal." In Henry V, the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on an attempted conquest of France. http://feedbooks.com/book/3029.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3029.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3029.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3029.mobi Julius Caesar William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2942 urn:isbn:0174435908 en 1599 Plays Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that he wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the central character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honour, patriotism, and friendship. http://feedbooks.com/book/2942.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2942.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2942.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2942.mobi As You Like It William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2972 urn:isbn:0192834193 en 1600 Plays As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare based on the novel Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge, believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600. It features one of Shakespeare's most famous and oft-quoted lines, "All the world's a stage", and has been adapted for radio, film, and musical theatre. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2972.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2972.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2972.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2972.mobi Twelfth Night William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3008 urn:isbn:0199536090 en 1601 Plays Twelfth Night, Or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, based on the short story "Of Apolonius and Silla" by Barnabe Rich. It is named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season. It was written around 1601 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The main title is believed to be an afterthought, created after John Marston premiered a play titled What You Will during the course of the writing. http://feedbooks.com/book/3008.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3008.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3008.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3008.mobi Hamlet William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2846 urn:isbn:074347712X en 1599 Plays Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption. http://feedbooks.com/book/2846.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2846.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2846.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2846.mobi The Merry Wives of Windsor William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2988 urn:isbn:0199536821 en 1602 Plays The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life. It has been adapted for the opera on occasions. http://feedbooks.com/book/2988.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2988.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2988.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2988.mobi All's Well That Ends Well William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2970 urn:isbn:0199537127 en 1608 Plays All's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare, originally classified as a comedy, though now often counted as one of his problem plays, so-called because they cannot be easily classified as tragedy or comedy. It was probably written in later middle part of Shakespeare's career, between 1601 and 1608, and was first published in the First Folio in 1623. The name of the play comes from the proverb All's well that ends well, which means that problems do not matter so long as the outcome is good. http://feedbooks.com/book/2970.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2970.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2970.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2970.mobi Measure for Measure William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2987 urn:isbn:0198320094 en 1604 Plays Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was originally classified as a comedy, but is now also classified as one of Shakespeare's problem plays. The play deals with the issues of mercy, justice, truth and their relationship to pride and humility: "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall" http://feedbooks.com/book/2987.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2987.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2987.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2987.mobi Othello William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2941 urn:isbn:0521618762 en 1603 Plays Othello, The Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare based on the short story "Moor of Venice" by Cinthio, believed to have been written in approximately 1603. The work revolves around four central characters: Othello, his wife Desdemona, his lieutenant Cassio, and his trusted advisor Iago. Attesting to its enduring popularity, the play appeared in 7 editions between 1622 and 1705. Because of its varied themes — racism, love, jealousy and betrayal — it remains relevant to the present day and is often performed in professional and community theatres alike. The play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film and literary adaptations. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2941.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2941.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2941.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2941.mobi King Lear William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2940 urn:isbn:1903436591 en 1606 Plays King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of King Leir of Britain. It has been widely adapted for stage and screen, with the part of Lear being played by many of the world's most accomplished actors. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2940.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2940.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2940.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2940.mobi Macbeth William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2935 urn:isbn:0521606861 en 1606 Plays Macbeth is among the best-known of William Shakespeare's plays, and is his shortest tragedy, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606. It is frequently performed at both amateur and professional levels, and has been adapted for opera, film, books, stage and screen. Often regarded as archetypal, the play tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. For the plot Shakespeare drew loosely on the historical account of King Macbeth of Scotland by Raphael Holinshed and that by the Scottish philosopher Hector Boece. There are many superstitions centred on the belief the play is somehow "cursed", and many actors will not mention the name of the play aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish play". (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2935.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2935.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2935.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2935.mobi Antony and Cleopatra William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2943 urn:isbn:1904271014 en 1623 Plays Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Life of Markus Antonius and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony from the time of the Parthian War to Cleopatra's suicide. The major antagonist is Octavius Caesar, one of Antony's fellow triumvirs and the future first emperor of Rome. The tragedy is a Roman play characterized by swift, panoramic shifts in geographical locations and in registers, alternating between sensual, imaginative Alexandria and the more pragmatic, austere Rome. Many consider the role of Cleopatra in this play one of the most complex female roles in Shakespeare's work. She is frequently vain and histrionic, provoking an audience almost to scorn; at the same time, Shakespeare's efforts invest both her and Antony with tragic grandeur. These contradictory features have led to famously divided critical responses. http://feedbooks.com/book/2943.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2943.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2943.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2943.mobi Coriolanus William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2950 urn:isbn:0199535809 en 1623 Plays Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Martius Coriolanus. http://feedbooks.com/book/2950.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2950.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2950.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2950.mobi Timon of Athens William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2951 urn:isbn:0192814974 en 1623 Plays The Life of Timon of Athens is a play by William Shakespeare about the legendary Athenian misanthrope Timon (and probably influenced by the eponymous philosopher, as well), generally regarded as one of his most obscure and difficult works. Originally grouped with the tragedies, it is generally considered such, but some scholars group it with the problem comedies. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2951.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2951.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2951.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2951.mobi Pericles, Prince of Tyre William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2998 urn:isbn:019953683X en 1609 Plays Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a play written (at least in part) by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite some questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. Many modern editors believe that Shakespeare is responsible for the main portion of the play after scene 9 that follows the story of Pericles and Marina, and that the first two acts, detailing the many voyages of Pericles, were written by a relatively untalented reviser or collaborator, possibly George Wilkins. http://feedbooks.com/book/2998.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2998.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2998.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2998.mobi Cymbeline William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/2983 urn:isbn:0199536503 en 1611 Romance Plays Cymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare, based on an early Celtic British King. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify it as a romance. Like Othello, Measure for Measure, and The Winter's Tale, it deals with the themes of innocence and jealousy. While its date of composition is unknown, the play is known to have been produced as early as 1611. (From Wikipedia) http://feedbooks.com/book/2983.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2983.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2983.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2983.mobi The Winter's Tale William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3010 urn:isbn:0199535914 en 1611 Romance Plays The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, first published in the First Folio in 1623. Although it was listed as a comedy when it first appeared, some modern editors have relabeled the play a romance. Some critics, among them W. W. Lawrence (Lawrence, 9-13), consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comedic and supply a happy ending. http://feedbooks.com/book/3010.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3010.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3010.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3010.mobi The Tempest William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3000 urn:isbn:0521618789 en 1611 Plays The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him, although some scholars have argued for an earlier dating. While listed as a comedy in its initial publication in the First Folio of 1623, many modern editors have relabelled the play a romance. http://feedbooks.com/book/3000.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3000.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3000.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3000.mobi Henry VIII William Shakespeare http://feedbooks.com/book/3040 urn:isbn:0199537437 en 1603 History Plays The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eighth is a history play by William Shakespeare, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication in the First Folio of 1623. Stylistic evidence indicates that the play was written by Shakespeare in collaboration with, or revised by, his successor, John Fletcher. It is also somewhat characteristic of the late romances in its structure. http://feedbooks.com/book/3040.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3040.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3040.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3040.mobi Don Quixote Miguel Cervantes http://feedbooks.com/book/183 urn:isbn:B001AAWVRY en 1615 Novels Humor/Satire Don Quixote, errant knight and sane madman, with the company of his faithful squire and wise fool, Sancho Panza, together roam the world and haunt readers' imaginations as they have for nearly four hundred years. http://feedbooks.com/book/183.png http://feedbooks.com/book/183.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/183.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/183.mobi Discourse on the Method René Descartes http://feedbooks.com/book/677 urn:isbn:0872204200 en 1637 Non-Fiction Philosophy The Discourse on the Method is a philosophical and mathematical treatise published by René Descartes in 1637. Its full name is Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason, and Searching for Truth in the Sciences (French title: Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la verité dans les sciences). The Discourse on Method is best known as the source of the famous quotation "Je pense, donc je suis" ("I think, therefore I am"), which occurs in Part IV of the work. (The similar statement in Latin, Cogito ergo sum, is found in §7 of Principles of Philosophy.) In addition, in one of its appendices, La Géométrie, is contained Descartes' first introduction of the Cartesian coordinate system. The Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern science. It is a method which gives a solid platform from which all modern natural sciences could evolve. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism which had been revived from the ancients such as Sextus Empiricus by authors such as Al-Ghazali and Michel de Montaigne. Descartes modified it to account for a truth that he found to be incontrovertible. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions. The book was originally published in Leiden in French, together with his works "Dioptrique, Météores et Géométrie". Later, it was translated into Latin and published in 1656 in Amsterdam. Together with Meditations on First Philosophy (Meditationes de Prima Philosophia), Principles of Philosophy (Principia philosophiae) and Rules for the Direction of the Mind (Regulae ad directionem ingenii), it forms the base of the Epistemology known as Cartesianism. http://feedbooks.com/book/677.png http://feedbooks.com/book/677.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/677.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/677.mobi Paradise Lost John Milton http://feedbooks.com/book/174 urn:isbn:0393924289 en 1667 Poetry Religion Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books; a second edition followed in 1674, redivided into twelve books (in the manner of the division of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. The poem concerns the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall of Man; the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is "justify the ways of God to men" and elucidate the conflict between God's eternal foresight and free will. http://feedbooks.com/book/174.png http://feedbooks.com/book/174.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/174.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/174.mobi Paradise Regained John Milton http://feedbooks.com/book/175 en 1667 Poetry http://feedbooks.com/book/175.png http://feedbooks.com/book/175.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/175.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/175.mobi Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift http://feedbooks.com/book/159 urn:isbn:0451527321 en 1726 Novels Humor/Satire Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships, is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. http://feedbooks.com/book/159.png http://feedbooks.com/book/159.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/159.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/159.mobi Candide Voltaire http://feedbooks.com/book/709 urn:isbn:0553211668 en 1759 Novels Philosophy Candide, ou l'Optimisme (1759) is a French satire by the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, English translations of which have been titled Candide: Or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: Or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Or, Optimism (1947). The novella begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism (or simply optimism) by his tutor, Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this existence, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire concludes with Candide, if not outright rejecting optimism, advocating an enigmatic precept, "we must cultivate our garden", in lieu of the Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss, "all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds". http://feedbooks.com/book/709.png http://feedbooks.com/book/709.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/709.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/709.mobi An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Adam Smith http://feedbooks.com/book/210 urn:isbn:0679783369 en 1776 Non-Fiction Science Politics Adam Smith's masterpiece, first published in 1776, is the foundation of modern economic thought and remains the single most important account of the rise of, and the principles behind, modern capitalism. Written in clear and incisive prose, The Wealth of Nations articulates the concepts indispensable to an understanding of contemporary society. http://feedbooks.com/book/210.png http://feedbooks.com/book/210.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/210.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/210.mobi Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson http://feedbooks.com/book/2675 urn:isbn:B00146LZ1C en 1776 Non-Fiction Essay Politics The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were no longer a part of the British Empire. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the United States of America—Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress. http://feedbooks.com/book/2675.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2675.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2675.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2675.mobi The Federalist Papers Publius http://feedbooks.com/book/2674 urn:isbn:1596052473 en 1787 Non-Fiction History Essay Politics The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist, was published in 1788 by J. and A. McLean. The Federalist Papers serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. The authors of the Federalist Papers wanted to both influence the vote in favor of ratification and shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard B. Morris, they are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer." http://feedbooks.com/book/2674.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2674.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2674.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2674.mobi Beyond Good and Evil Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche http://feedbooks.com/book/676 urn:isbn:1604593210 en 1886 Non-Fiction Philosophy Beyond Good and Evil (German: Jenseits von Gut und Böse), subtitled "Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future" (Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft), is a book by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1886. It takes up and expands on the ideas of his previous work, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but approached from a more critical, polemical direction. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche attacks past philosophers for their alleged lack of critical sense and their blind acceptance of Christian premises in their consideration of morality. The work moves into the realm "beyond good and evil" in the sense of leaving behind the traditional morality which Nietzsche subjects to a destructive critique in favour of what he regards as an affirmative approach that fearlessly confronts the perspectival nature of knowledge and the perilous condition of the modern individual. http://feedbooks.com/book/676.png http://feedbooks.com/book/676.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/676.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/676.mobi Emma Jane Austen http://feedbooks.com/book/45 urn:isbn:0553212737 en 1816 Novels Romance Emma is a comic novel by Jane Austen, first published in December 1815, about the perils of misconstrued romance. The main character, Emma Woodhouse, is described in the opening paragraph as "handsome, clever, and rich" but is also rather spoiled. Prior to starting the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." http://feedbooks.com/book/45.png http://feedbooks.com/book/45.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/45.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/45.mobi Middlemarch George Eliot http://feedbooks.com/book/575 urn:isbn:0451529170 en 1871 Novels Vast and crowded, rich in irony and suspense, Middlemarch is richer still in character, with two of the era's most enduring characters, Dorothea Brooke, trapped in a loveless marriage, and Lydgate, an ambitious young doctor. http://feedbooks.com/book/575.png http://feedbooks.com/book/575.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/575.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/575.mobi Moby-Dick Herman Melville http://feedbooks.com/book/54 urn:isbn:0553213113 en 1851 Novels Adventure Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaling ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby-Dick, a white whale of tremendous size and ferocity. Comparatively few whaling ships know of Moby-Dick, and fewer yet have encountered him. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to exact revenge. http://feedbooks.com/book/54.png http://feedbooks.com/book/54.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/54.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/54.mobi Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx Friedrich Engels http://feedbooks.com/book/209 urn:isbn:0192834371 en 1848 Non-Fiction Politics Manifesto of the Communist Party (German: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), often referred to as The Communist Manifesto, was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, it laid out the League's purposes and program. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian (working class) revolution to overthrow the bourgeois social order and to eventually bring about a classless and stateless society, and the abolition of private property. http://feedbooks.com/book/209.png http://feedbooks.com/book/209.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/209.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/209.mobi The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky http://feedbooks.com/book/180 urn:isbn:0486437914 en 1880 Novels Psychology The Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, and is generally considered the culmination of his life's work. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880. Dostoevsky intended it to be the first part in an epic story titled The Life of a Great Sinner,[1] but he died less than four months after its publication. The book portrays a parricide in which each of the murdered man's sons share a varying degree of complicity. On a deeper level, it is a spiritual drama of moral struggles concerning faith, doubt, reason, free will and modern Russia. Dostoevsky composed much of the novel in Staraya Russa, which is also the main setting of the novel. http://feedbooks.com/book/180.png http://feedbooks.com/book/180.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/180.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/180.mobi The Beast in the Jungle Henry James http://feedbooks.com/book/482 urn:isbn:0486275523 en 1903 Short Fiction This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/482.png http://feedbooks.com/book/482.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/482.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/482.mobi Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw http://feedbooks.com/book/3255 urn:isbn:B000EO9TJA en 1923 History Plays Saint Joan is a 1923 play by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw depicting the life of Joan of Arc. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/3255.png http://feedbooks.com/book/3255.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/3255.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/3255.mobi Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad http://feedbooks.com/book/15 urn:isbn:0486264645 en 1902 Novels Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski). Before its 1902 publication, it appeared as a three-part series (1899) in Blackwood's Magazine. It is widely regarded as a significant work of English literature and part of the Western canon. This highly symbolic story is actually a story within a story, or frame narrative. It follows Marlow as he recounts, from dusk through to late night, his adventure into the Congo to a group of men aboard a ship anchored in the Thames Estuary. The story details an incident when Marlow, an Englishman, took a foreign assignment as a ferry-boat captain, employed by a Belgian trading company. Although the river is never specifically named, readers may assume it is the Congo River, in the Congo Free State, a private colony of King Leopold II. Marlow is employed to transport ivory downriver; however, his more pressing assignment is to return Kurtz, another ivory trader, to civilization in a cover up. Kurtz has a reputation throughout the region. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/15.png http://feedbooks.com/book/15.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/15.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/15.mobi Swann's Way Marcel Proust http://feedbooks.com/book/1262 urn:isbn:0142437964 en 1922 Novels In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past (French: À la recherche du temps perdu) is a semi-autobiographical novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its extended length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine". Still widely referred to in English as Remembrance of Things Past, the title In Search of Lost Time, a more accurate rendering of the French, has gained in usage since D.J. Enright's 1992 revision of the earlier translation by C.K. Scott-Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin. Swann's Way is the first volume. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/1262.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1262.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1262.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1262.mobi A Lost Lady Willa Cather http://feedbooks.com/book/2120 en 1923 Novels This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/2120.png http://feedbooks.com/book/2120.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/2120.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/2120.mobi A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce http://feedbooks.com/book/222 en 1916 Novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialized in The Egoist from 1914 to 1915 and published in book form in 1916. It depicts the formative years in the life of Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of Joyce and a pointed allusion to the consummate craftsman of Greek mythology, Daedalus. A Portrait is a key example of the Künstlerroman (an artist's bildungsroman) in English literature. Joyce's novel traces the intellectual and religio-philosophical awakening of young Stephen Dedalus as he begins to question and rebel against the Catholic and Irish conventions he has been brought up in. He finally leaves for Paris to pursue his calling as an artist. The work pioneers some of Joyce's modernist techniques that would later come to fruition in Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The Modern Library ranked Portrait as the third greatest English-language novel of the twentieth century. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://feedbooks.com/book/222.png http://feedbooks.com/book/222.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/222.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/222.mobi To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf http://feedbooks.com/book/1234 urn:isbn:0156907399 en 1927 Novels To the Lighthouse (5 May 1927) is a novel by Virginia Woolf. A landmark novel of high modernism, the text, centering on the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, skillfully manipulates temporality and psychological exploration. To the Lighthouse follows and extends the tradition of modernist novelists like Marcel Proust and James Joyce, where the plot is secondary to philosophical introspection, and the prose can be winding and hard to follow. The novel includes little dialogue and almost no action; most of it is written as thoughts and observations. The novel recalls the power of childhood emotions and highlights the impermanence of adult relationships. One of the book's several themes is the ubiquity of transience. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50. http://feedbooks.com/book/1234.png http://feedbooks.com/book/1234.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/1234.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/1234.mobi The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka http://feedbooks.com/book/8 urn:isbn:0553213695 en 1912 Short Fiction Horror The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin". This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/8.png http://feedbooks.com/book/8.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/8.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/8.mobi The Prussian Officer David Herbert Lawrence http://feedbooks.com/book/86 urn:isbn:0140187804 en 1914 Short Fiction War This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://feedbooks.com/book/86.png http://feedbooks.com/book/86.pdf http://feedbooks.com/book/86.epub http://feedbooks.com/book/86.mobi