First published in 1903 in serial form, Henry James’ “The Ambassadors” is the story of the middle-aged and naïve Lewis Lambert Strether, who travels to Europe at the behest of his widowed fiancée to find her supposedly wayward son, Chad Newsome. Mrs. Newsome fears he has fallen under the spell of a sinful woman and Strether must rescue him. With the intent of bringing Chad back to America and to his post at the family business, Strether encounters many unexpected complications along the way and finds that the situation may not ...

Because of the absence of writings by Socrates, we only know of his philosophical beliefs through the writings of his students. Fortunately many of these have survived through to today and provide an excellent primary source for the understanding of this great philosopher. Of all the students' writings none are more comprehensive and informative with regard to Socrates than those of Plato. Contained in this volume are some of the most important of those writings by Plato. In "Euthyphro" we find a dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro, a religious expert ...

“Carmilla” is the 1872 Gothic vampire novella by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, a leading writer of ghost tales and horror fiction of the Victorian era. His haunting and surprisingly modern “Carmilla” was one of the first works in the vampire fiction genre and was written decades before the publication of Bram Stroker’s “Dracula” in 1897. Le Fanu’s story has been widely influential and is notable for its depiction of homosexual desire between the female vampire and her beautiful, young victims. “Carmilla” ...

An early work by the Marquis de Sade, “Justine, Or, The Misfortunes of Virtue” was originally written during a two week period in 1787 while the author was imprisoned in the Bastille. The story is concerned with the titular character, a twelve year old maiden who sets off, to make her way in France, and follows her through age twenty-six in her quest for virtue. In the search for work and shelter Justine continuously falls prey to a series of scoundrels who subject her to sexual torture and abuse. Having been numerously revised by the author ...

Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton used her inside knowledge of upper class New York life in the early part of the 20th century as the basis for her 1905 novel, “The House of Mirth”. The novel is the classic and tragic portrayal of Lily Bart, an intelligent New York socialite during the Victorian era, who seeks to secure a husband and a place in the society life of New York’s upper class. Lily, who was raised to strive for a socially and economically prosperous marital union, finds herself at the edge of thirty, her youthful ...

First published in 1688, “Oroonoko” follows the tragic love story of Oroonoko, an African prince, and his beloved Imoinda. When the king hears of Imoinda’s beauty he demands that she become one of his wives, giving her a sacred veil, thus forcing her to become a member of his harem. Oroonoko, believing that the king is too old to consummate their marriage, secretly plans a romantic rendezvous with Imoinda, an action which consequently results in the two being sold into slavery. After travelling to Surinam, an English colony at the time ...

First published in 1889, “Three Men in a Boat” by Jerome K. Jerome is the humorous story of three Englishman who find themselves in need of a vacation and decide to take a holiday boating on the Thames. The three friends, Jerome (referred to as “J”), George, and Harris, pile into a boat with food, clothes, and a fox terrier named Montmorency, and set off from London to see the English countryside. “Three Men in a Boat” is a first-class comic masterpiece, as the well-to-do upper-class gentlemen are beset by a series of ...

Originally written in Greek sometime in the 3rd century, “Lives of the Eminent Philosophers” is the historically significant collection of biographies of important Greek philosophers by Diogenes Laertius. Little is known about Laertius and his life, but his collection of the life stories and philosophical ideas of over eighty Greek philosophers is the most complete surviving history of these influential figures. Based upon sources that have long since been lost to time, Laertius tells of both the scandalous and touchingly human side of the philosophers ...

“The Prose Edda”, or “Younger Edda”, is a classic collection of Norse myths of the Icelandic people believed to have been written or compiled by Icelandic scholar and historian Snorri Sturluson around the year 1220. Preserved through a handful of medieval manuscripts and another dating to the 17th century, “The Prose Edda” is composed of a prologue and three additional books. In the prologue Sturluson describes the Norse gods as historical descendents of the Trojans who travelled north after the fall of Troy to settle ...

The third novel in the “Anne of Green Gables” saga, Lucy M. Montgomery’s “Anne of the Island” first debuted in 1915. The plucky young Anne Shirley is now all grown up into a smart beautiful young woman. Having left the environs of Avonlea, where she was employed as a teacher in the preceding novel, “Anne of Avonlea”, Anne is off to pursue her dream of obtaining a college degree at Redmond College in Nova Scotia. She is joined there by childhood friends Gilbert Blythe and Charlie Sloane, both whom have affections ...