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Tremendous Trifles is comprised of 39 chapters, each functioning as their own essay or story. With whimsical, light-hearted prose, vivid figurative language, and unparalleled insight, Chesterton covers a variety of philosophical principles of everyday life. Chesterton often used ordinary events and objects to explain deeper matters. Using relatable and accessible examples, Tremendous Trifles also test biases and preconceived ideas, specifically in...
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The Devil's Dictionary (1906) is a work of satire by Ambrose Bierce. Although he is commonly remembered for his chilling short stories on the experiences of Civil War soldiers, Bierce was recognized in his day as a leading journalist and humorist who spent decades ruffling feathers and drawing laughter with his witty opinion columns, poems, and definitions. Toward the end of his career, he decided to compile these satirical definitions into a book,...
3) De Profundis
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Oscar Wilde's emotionally raw manuscript details the inner turmoil surrounding his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas following his controversial arrest and conviction for gross indecency It's an honest and intimate look at the author in his most vulnerable state.
Oscar Wilde spent two years in prison from 1895 to 1897. It was during this time that he wrote a 50,000-word letter to his former lover and friend, Lord Alfred Douglas. Published under...
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Eulogy on King Philip (1836) is a speech by William Apes. An indentured servant, soldier, minister, and activist, Apes lived an uncommonly rich life for someone who died at just 41 years of age. Recognized for his pioneering status as a Native American public figure, William Apes was an astute recorder of a life in between. His Eulogy on King Philip celebrates the Wampanoag sachem also known as Metacomet, whose attempt to live in peace with the Plymouth...
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William Shakespeare (1864) is an experimental biography by Victor Hugo. Written while the poet was living in exile on the island of Guernsey, William Shakespeare was doomed to fail at its conception. Condemned by critics who expected Hugo to focus on the works of the Elizabethan playwright, William Shakespeare is in reality a sweeping biography of literature itself, a touching tribute to the spirit of creativity which defines humanity's life on earth...
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Featuring twelve simple yet profound essays, Jerome K. Jerome's Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow is a humorous and clever collection. Each essay is crafted around a timeless and relatable issue, such as the unfortunately common inability to make decisions. On the Art of Making Up One's Mind observes this to be a common practice. Beginning with the story of a young woman who cannot decide what color of garment to buy, this essay takes notice of the...
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The Essays of Michel de Montaigne (1877) is a collection of essays and letters by Michel de Montaigne. Originally published in French as Essais (1580), this edition was translated by English poet Charles Cotton in the late-17th century and republished by William Carew Hazlitt, the grandson of renowned English essayist and critic William Hazlitt. "No man living is more free from this passion [of sorrow] than I, who yet neither like it in myself nor...
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Three Sisters (1900) is a drama in four acts by Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1901, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski-who also played the role of Aleksandr Ignatyevich Vershinin, a philosophizing artillery officer in love with middle Prozorov sister Masha. Reviews were mixed at first, but as the play continued to run, Three Sisters became a popular success,...
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American Indian Stories (1921) is a collection of stories and essays from Yankton Dakota writer Zitkála-Šá. Published while Zitkála-Šá was at the height of her career as an artist and activist, American Indian Stories collects the author's personal experiences, the legends and stories passed down through Sioux oral tradition, and her own reflections on the mistreatment of American Indians nationwide.
In "My Mother," Zitkála-Šá remembers...
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The Spirit of Japan (1916) is a speech by Rabindranath Tagore. Published after he received the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, The Spirit of Japan is a powerful lecture on Japanese culture in relation to the modernizing forces of the West. Delivered at the Keio Gijuku University in Tokyo, The Spirit of Japan is a testament to Tagore's gifts as an artist and intellectual. "True modernism is freedom of mind, not slavery of taste. It is independence...
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Glimpses of Bengal: The Letters of Tagore collects letters from 1885 to 1895, a period designated by the author as "the most productive period of [his] literary life." Bridging the gap between fiction and nonfiction, these letters contain personal reflections on the political situation in India, mediations on nature and poetry, and stunning vignettes of life in the nineteenth century. "The unsheltered sea heaves and heaves and blanches into foam....
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Love and Other Stories (1922) is a collection of twenty-three stories by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Recognized today as foundational for the development of the modern short story, Anton Chekhov has transcended Russian literature to become one of the most popular and acclaimed authors in history, in any language. This collection showcases the author's unique talent for illuminating the intricacies of love and critiquing the values of social and...
14) Limbo
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Limbo (1920) is a collection of short fiction by English author Aldous Huxley. Mostly satirical, Huxley's novella, play, and four short stories show a promising writer at the very beginning of his career.
In the novella "The Farcical History of Richard Greenow," Huxley satirizes the lives of his friends and acquaintances at Eton and Oxford. Richard Greenow, a young writer, spends his days as a politically engaged academic. At night, however, he writes...
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The Plays of Aristophanes (425 BC-388 BC) is a collection of comedies by Athenian playwright Aristophanes. Noted for his exploration of fantasy, sexuality, and contemporary politics, Aristophanes was a leading figure in Old Attic Comedy whose award-winning plays continue to delight and inspire nearly 2,500 years after they were first performed. This collection includes some of his best-known work, showcasing his talent as an unmatched humorist and...
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The Experimental Novel (1880) is an essay by French author Émile Zola. Written at the height of his career as a leading proponent of Naturalism, The Experimental Novel serves to illuminate the author's approach to the practice and purpose of writing while advocating for a revolution of style among artists of his era. Read as a reaction against Romanticism, The Experimental Novel proves a convincing counterpoint to the excesses and failures of nineteenth...
17) Azul
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Azul...(1888) is a book of stories and poems by Rubén Darío. Written while the poet was living in Chile, Azul...has been recognized as a pioneering work of Hispanic Modernism that launched the career of a leading Latin American poet. Both experimental and traditional, Azul...blends Darío's concern over the sustainability of modern life with his abiding interest in the myths and magic of ancient cultures.
Infused with classical symbolism, inspired...
18) The Sacred Wood
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The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism (1920) is a collection of essays by T.S. Eliot. Although Eliot is primarily recognized as one of the twentieth century's leading English poets, he was also a prolific and highly influential literary critic. This collection, which includes essays on Algernon Charles Swinburne, Hamlet, William Blake, and Dante, is central to Eliot's legacy and vision of art.
In "Tradition and the Individual Talent,"...
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The Essential Pauline E. Hopkins (2021) compiles several iconic works of fiction by a pioneering figure in American literature. Contending Forces was Hopkins' first major publication as a leading African American author of the early twentieth century. Originally published in The Colored American Magazine, America's first monthly periodical covering African American arts and culture, Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest is a groundbreaking...
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The Cherry Orchard (1903) is Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov's final play. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski-who also played the role of Leonid Gayev, the bizarre and uninspired brother of Madame Ranevskaya. It has since become one of twentieth century theater's most important-and most frequently staged-dramatic works.
After five years of living in...
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