LITMIR.BIZ

“Where Angels Fear to Tread” is the impassioned novel by E. M. Forster, the acclaimed English novelist and essayist. Published in 1905, the title was inspired by a quote from Alexander Pope: “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. This affecting and thought-provoking novel is the story of Lilia Herriton, an English widow, who while traveling with her friend Caroline Abbott in Italy, falls in love with Gino, a much younger Italian man. This puts Lilia at odds with her dead husband’s family as they see this new relationship as a betrayal. In spite of the family’s opposition, Lilia decides to stay in Italy and marries Gino. The Herritons try to stop her by sending Lilia’s brother-in-law, Philip, to Italy but he is too late and she is already married and pregnant by the time Philip arrives. Sadly, Lilia’s happiness in her new life is short-lived and she dies giving birth to her son. The Herritons cannot leave the matter alone however and return to Italy in an attempt to take custody of Lilia’s child and raise him as an Englishman, setting in motion a tragic chain of events. Forster’s novel remains a powerful critique of the narrow-mindedness of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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In the classical tale “The Satyricon”, Petronius Arbiter makes a strong, yet humorous, statement about the social life of ancient Rome. Rather than telling the story of Encolpius and his companions heroically, which was the typical approach of other writings of classical antiquity, Petronius chose to show the true life and vernacular of the Roman lower and middle class through satire and comedy. Narrator Encolpius, a former gladiator, goes on adventures with his best friend and former lover Ascyltos as well as his slave and current lover Giton. Yet Encolpius constantly worries about whether or not Giton’s affections are waning. The trio participates in various parties, events, and celebrations, but their attention is less focused on properly worshipping the gods and more fixated on the sexual nature of the wild bacchanals. Written during the reign of Emperor Nero, “The Satyricon”, gives the reader a realistic sense of what life was like at the time. While he was known for his tyrannical persecution of Christians, Nero’s reign was also filled with over-the-top celebrations in honor of the gods. Petronius was a frequent visitor to Nero’s bacchanals, meaning that “The Satyricon” is a fictional first-hand account of the time. The work is not only a precious gem of Western literature because of its wit, but because it gives modern readers a realistic glimpse into history. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Consisting of three novels and two interludes, “The Forsyte Saga” chronicles several generations of an upper middle class British family at the beginning of the twentieth century. Full of social satire, “The Man of Property” commences this fictional history and introduces the first generation of Forsytes, prominently featuring Soames and his wife Irene. Keenly aware of their nouveau riche standing and highly desirous of material possessions, Soames especially demonstrates the opposing forces of duty and desire. While interrupted by World War I, Galsworthy continued his trilogy with “Indian Summer of a Forsyte”, “In Chancery”, “Awakening”, and finally “To Let”, gradually bringing up another generation of Forsytes, including the second cousins Jon and Fleur Forsyte. The changes that occur over this fictional time, show how this family grows and adjusts in a developing world. This saga demonstrates some of Galsworthy’s best writing, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932 for his life’s work. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1928, “Quicksand” is the first novel by American author Nella Larsen. It is the semi-autobiographical tale of a young, mixed race woman who struggles to find her place in the world. Like her main character, Helga Crane, Larsen was the daughter of a Danish white mother and a West Indian black father who disappeared from her life as a baby. Larsen and the fictional Crane never feel that they belong in either the white world or the black world and both travel around the United States and to Europe in search for a place that feels like home. “Quicksand” is an important novel of the Harlem Renaissance and one of the few novels of its time to explore the sexual feelings of women of color. Helga is a lovely and refined woman, a complicated and nuanced character, who is searching for meaning and purpose in her life. She is also far ahead of her time as she is self-reliant, adventurous, and intent on taking her fate into her own hands. This deeply personal story of a woman’s difficult search for acceptance and human connection while caught between two worlds remains to this day an insightful and thought-provoking novel.

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First published in 1903, “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” is the charming and classic children’s novel beloved the world over. Written by the American author and educator Kate Douglas Wiggin, it is the story of young and poor Rebecca Rowena Randall, who goes to live with her spinster aunts in the town of Riverboro when she is ten years-old. Rebecca’s father had died three years before and the family farm had become heavily indebted. In order to ease the burden on her widowed mother, Rebecca is sent to live with her lonely aunts at their farm and there she spends the next seven years till she becomes an adult. Rebecca brings her youthful enthusiasm and imagination to their quiet life and often clashes with her stern Aunt Miranda. Yet, Rebecca finds love and acceptance with her Aunt Jane and she grows up to be a proper and intelligent young lady who never loses her sunny outlook and kind heart. “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm” is a classic coming of age story that has been adapted numerous times for the stage and screen and continues to charm audiences and readers alike with its interesting characters and positive message of finding happiness in life’s simple pleasures. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First serialized in 1907 and then published as a book in 1908, Mary Roberts Rinehart’s “The Circular Staircase” is the popular mystery story about the dowager Rachel Innes as she reveals and prevents a series of strange crimes at the home she has rented for the summer. “The Circular Staircase” was Rinehart’s first bestseller and was the originator of the popular “had I but known” genre of mystery writing, where the main character narrates the tale and foreshadows impending doom and tragedy while reflecting on what they might have done differently if only they had known what was to come. Rinehart was inspired to write this tale after visiting a Gothic revival castle in Virginia and sets her story in a similarly mysterious older house in the country. The main character, Rachel, is an older woman who has raised her niece and nephew, who are now adults and have convinced her to leave her city home behind for the summer and vacation with them in the country. What follows is a masterfully written and suspenseful tale of murder, arson, kidnapping, and mysterious intruders sneaking about in the night that continues to thrill readers over a century later. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in England in 1791 and the United States in 1794, Susanna Rowson’s “Charlotte Temple” was America’s first best-selling novel. The story is an example of the seduction novel genre, which was wildly popular in early American literature and focuses on the dangers to young ladies of being seduced by unscrupulous men. In Rowson’s novel, the main character is Charlotte Temple, a lovely and naïve young British girl who falls for the overwhelming charm of a handsome soldier, Lieutenant Montraville. Charlotte believes they are in love and runs away with him to America, where he quickly grows bored with her and abandons her, leaving her pregnant, alone, disgraced, and penniless. Montraville’s callous friends help him in his seduction and abandonment of Charlotte and all those concerned with this tragic affair face the consequences of their cruel actions. “Charlotte Temple” is a cautionary tale to young ladies to protect their virtue and a warning to those who take advantage of their innocence. The novel remains a compelling and engaging glimpse into the morals and norms of early American society.

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Historically recognized as the man who wrote the dictionary, Dr. Johnson amplified his literary fame with the 1759 publication of “The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia”. This novel was wildly popular upon its release, despite the fact that Johnson completed the work in the evenings of a single week, donning it his “little story book”. The story is of a royal brother and sister who have been kept in a luxurious, fertile valley, where their every desire is quickly fulfilled, and where they are closed off from the problems and suffering of the outside world. However, dissatisfied with their state of affairs, the two escape from the valley with a wise philosopher, and embark on a long journey through the worlds of rich men and lowly peasants, great intellectuals and merchants, monks and ruthless warriors. For centuries, readers have enjoyed this moving story of romantic love, imagination, science, and the eternal search for true happiness. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1907, “Ozma of Oz” is the third book in L. Frank Baum’s Oz series. Dorothy’s story is continued with her beloved companions and given further life with inventive new characters, including a talking yellow hen named Billina; Tiktok, a mechanical man; and the Hungry Tiger, whose conscience prevents him from being the fearsome man-eating tiger he sometimes wishes to be. The tale begins with Dorothy being tossed from a steamship during a storm and finding herself far away from home and Oz. She lands in the kingdom of Ev, where she becomes involved in a journey to the palace of the evil Nome King to rescue the Queen of Ev and her children. From dodging the unfriendly Wheelers to playing dangerous guessing games, Dorothy must overcome many obstacles to help the helpless royal family and reach a happy ending back in Oz. “Ozma of Oz” is a worthy addition to a collection of stories that have delighted children for over a century. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1907, “The Iron Heel” is Jack London’s dystopian novel about the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. Displaying the socialist views that were held by London himself and that were prevalent at the beginning of the 20th century, “The Iron Heel” tells the story of events far in the future when a small, wealthy class squeezes out the middle class and effectively rules with brutality for three centuries until a revolution ushers in a new era called the “Brotherhood of Man”. The novel is set primarily around the San Francisco Bay Area and is told in the form of a rediscovered long-lost manuscript written by a woman named Avis Everhard, who gives up her privileged life to join the resistance and overthrow the repressive regime. As important a commentary today as when it was first written, London’s novel was far ahead of its time and is largely credited with inspiring George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. “The Iron Heel” is a chilling depiction of a possible future world and an excellent exposition on the class struggle which has dominated most of human history. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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